The Male Lead’s Secretary Is Too Good at Her Job – Chapter 15

Author: isuzuuy

The thought alone was horrifying.

Someone had secretly broken into my house.

And since it wasn’t merely my imagination, my mind went even darker.

There was no way I was mistaken. I was practically paranoid when it came to locking doors.

I pulled on my locked front door at least seven more times, and sometimes, after walking quite a distance, I’d get so anxious that I’d turn around and come back to check it again…!

I desperately tried to steady my trembling fingertips.

There were three possibilities.

They’d seen me coming and hurried out.
They’d tried to leave when I arrived, but the timing hadn’t worked out.
They’d entered at the exact same time I did.

The third possibility was the worst. It meant they’d waited outside for me to arrive.

That meant they weren’t ordinary burglars…!

W-what should I do?

Someone might say that I should just throw an uppercut like I did on the day of the interview.

But let me make one thing clear: that had been a purely reflexive action.

When I’m fully aware that someone is targeting me, I turn into a coward!

Stay calm. I don’t know how to stay calm, but just stay calm for now.

I was currently in the living room.

I’d come in and immediately flop down on the sofa because I was tired.

And I still couldn’t sense anyone’s presence.

If someone was inside… they were probably watching me.

There’s also a chance no one’s here. Maybe they just stole a few things and left…!

I desperately clung to that hopeful possibility as I stood up. I wanted to check with my own eyes whether anything had been stolen.

I stretched my arms out as if I were warming up and even patted my trapezius muscles a few times.

“Ahem, I’m a little t-tired…”

Don’t laugh at me for being embarrassing.

This was the best acting I could manage.

“Where did I put my pajamas~?”

My own awkward voice was enough to make me sigh, but I forced myself to keep walking.

My destination was the bedroom. More specifically, the safe inside the wardrobe.

It was an obvious hiding place, of course. But that was precisely why I was fortunate today. If a burglar broke in, they’d check the wardrobe first and go straight for the safe, wouldn’t they?

So I flung the wardrobe doors wide open.

And there it was, completely untouched: the safe.

Not a single sign that anyone had tampered with it.

Pristine.

That confirmed it.

There was someone in this house right now.

They were watching my terrible acting, waiting for an opportunity to attack me from behind.

Wait a minute. An opportunity?

It was strange that I’d thought of it that way.

I lived alone here. The neighbors all knew that, and with so few belongings, it wouldn’t be hard to figure out.

Yet my intruder still hadn’t emerged, even though they were waiting for an opportunity to ambush me.

Even now, while I was looking inside the wardrobe and had my back turned, they hadn’t attacked.

There was only one possible conclusion.

They think I’m skilled.

And why would they think I was skilled?

Because they’d heard the story.

The story about how I’d saved Rashak Barsen with an uppercut.

Their real target isn’t me. It’s Rashak.

Whether they intended to use me as a hostage or torture me for information, the person hiding in my house was an enemy of Rashak’s.

It was an even more terrifying conclusion. Didn’t this mean the crime had been carefully planned?

Maybe they’re professional assassins.

Cold sweat trickled down my spine.

What should I do? Should I suddenly bolt through the front door and scream for help?

While I was agonizing over what to do—

Knock, knock.

A knock sounded at the door.

I thought my heart had stopped. I was so startled that the strength drained from my legs.

But the assassin was probably still watching me.

I forced myself to act nonchalant and headed toward the front door at an extremely brisk pace.

“Y-yes! I’m coming!”

I didn’t care who it was. I wasn’t even curious.

The moment I opened the front door, I would get out of this house. Clinging to that one thought, I approached it. By the end, I was practically running. And the instant I opened the door—

Tap. Something touched my forehead.

When I looked up, I saw slightly damp silver hair.

“What is it? Why are you in such a hurry?”

Rashak smiled as he swung my bag in his hand.

“You left this in the carriage.”

A sudden surge of emotion welled up inside me.

It wasn’t anger. Of course, if we were talking about the cause of all this, it was true that an assassin had broken into my house because I’d gotten involved with this man…

But right now, he was the only person who could help me.

Driven by that desperate feeling, I clutched his coat tightly.

“B-Boss.”

“Hmm?”

“Boooss…!”

I whispered in a trembling voice.

“There’s someone inside my house…”

Another icy shiver ran down the back of my neck.

I’d never imagined I’d live to say something like this. I seriously felt like crying.

I didn’t even have the presence of mind to check Rashak’s expression. I simply held on to him tightly, my head bowed.

Then, the next moment, warmth enveloped the back of my hand.

“Hiel.”

His hand came to rest on my shoulder, too. He gently drew me into his embrace and smiled.

“We just parted, and you already missed me that much?”

Excuse me?

“Then shall we go inside? I’ll watch you sleep before I leave. How does that sound?”

Excuuuse me???

I stared up at him in utter bewilderment.

I was about to tell him that wasn’t what I meant and that he absolutely couldn’t go inside, when he lowered his head and whispered into my ear.

“Don’t worry.”

His hand, still wrapped around mine, gently stroked the back of it in a soothing gesture.

“I won’t let a single hair on your head be harmed.”

Perhaps it was the warmth of his touch. My wildly pounding heart gradually began to settle, and my mind started to clear.

In other words…

Does he mean we’re going inside to catch the intruder?

It was a possibility I never would have dreamed of attempting on my own.

But with this man, it was entirely possible.

After hesitating for a moment, I nodded. Rashak entered the house with me held in his arms.

I carefully moved my feet, too. Thanks to the firm strength supporting my shoulders and back, the trembling in my fingertips eventually stopped.

He whispered into my ear again.

“What should we do? Go straight to the bedroom?”

It wasn’t something anyone would normally say in a situation like this. What he probably meant was—

He’s asking if I suspect someone is hiding in the bedroom.

I shook my head.

“N-not the bedroom…”

“Then where would you like to go?”

I looked around the house.

Although I’d been trembling in fear here just moments ago, this was still my home.

I’d only been living here for four months, but I’d been coming here every day for almost a year while running my magic potion shop.

Half of the place had been used as a shop, so the living quarters were rather cramped. But that also meant there wasn’t much furniture, leaving nowhere to hide in the living room or kitchen.

We’d already checked the first room, the bedroom.

That left the second room, the storage room, and… the bathroom.

And the place where someone would be best positioned to hide and launch a surprise attack was—

“The bathroom…”

Anyone overhearing us might have mistaken that for a bold invitation to seduce someone.

But there wasn’t the slightest hint of that kind of tension on my face. The smile had disappeared from Rashak’s lips, too.

We strode toward the bathroom in step with each other.

And the moment Rashak flung the bathroom door open without hesitation—

Psssh—

A cloud of pure white smoke began pouring out of the bathroom, almost like steam.

Smoke screen…!

Then a shadow burst from the smoke like the wind.

Clang!

The sound of blades clashing rang out in an instant.

I squeezed my eyes shut in shock, and a moment later, I heard a loud crash as someone fell to the floor.

When I opened my eyes again, Rashak was already standing about two steps away from me.

He was holding a dagger that I hadn’t even seen him draw.

And at his feet lay a man dressed in black.

“Why go to all this trouble when you’re going to lose anyway?”

“Rashak Barsen…!”

“Calling my name so passionately. You must have missed me terribly.”

His tone was playful, but his eyes were thick with murderous intent.

In a low, hoarse voice, he said, “Go outside and tell the coachman to call Fidel.”

“Y-yes!”

I hurried out of the house, pushing my way through the smoke.

My heart was still pounding like crazy, but I truly hadn’t been hurt at all.

That fact gave me at least a little relief.

***

The coachman used the communication orb, and it wasn’t long before Mr. Fidel arrived.

“Where’s the boss?”

“He’s inside…”

When I followed Mr. Fidel back into the house, the assassin was still sprawled on the floor.

Somehow, Rashak had managed to knock him unconscious in the meantime.

Rashak handed Fidel the weapons he’d taken from the assassin.

“Take him down to the basement.”

“Yes, sir.”

At Fidel’s signal, the members who had accompanied him swarmed into the house and dragged the unconscious assassin away.

Mr. Fidel soon left as well, leaving just the two of us.

Rashak glanced at the floor before approaching me.

“I made sure he didn’t bleed. We wouldn’t want blood getting all over your house.”

“Yes, thank you…”

“You don’t need to thank me. This happened because of me.”

He spoke with a slightly bitter tone.

“I’ll find whoever’s behind this and settle things by the end of the week. If I can’t get answers after capturing the culprit alive, I might as well give up my position as boss.”

“Don’t assassins usually refuse to reveal their employers…?”

“Even so, we can at least find out where that bastard came from.”

As he spoke, Rashak slipped a hand into his coat pocket. He seemed to be looking for a cigarette, but apparently there wasn’t one, because his hand came out empty.

His empty hand then moved to the back of his head.

He rubbed it awkwardly before speaking in a low voice.

“I’m sorry. I made you go through something you shouldn’t have had to experience.”

I couldn’t tell him it was fine or that it didn’t matter. I’d been terrified, after all.

But he was also the one who had taken care of the problem.

I lowered my gaze and nodded.

“…I’ll trust you. That you’ll find them soon.”

That was the best I could say right now.

Still, Rashak seemed satisfied enough, because he let out a small chuckle.

“Until the end of the week, be extra careful. Don’t go anywhere suspicious.”

“Yes…”

“When you’re working, stay close to Pierce. He may look careless, but he’s skilled.”