Chapter 22

Contrary to their expectations—no crashing sounds or chases—the annex was quiet all the way to the heir’s office.

Now feeling a bit uneasy, Denny knocked carefully.

“Come in.”

The tightly closed door opened, and the two men were left speechless at the scene before them.

With the green garden outside the window as a backdrop, Latrian sat at his desk. His shirt collar was crisp, his hair neat, and his gaze calmly fixed on his paperwork.

That alone was surprising, but what was even more shocking was the person beside him.

Hailey’s brown ponytail wasn’t flying wildly as usual, her clothes weren’t stained with wine, and above all, her hands weren’t grabbing her superior by the collar.

Unable to hide his expression, Denny gaped at Latrian.

“Did you stay up all night?”

Latrian chuckled at the question, eyes still on the papers.

“If I’m awake at this hour, does that mean I was up all night?”

“It’s not time for you to be up. It’s not even noon yet…”

Denny trailed off at what he saw next.

Latrian, instead of tossing the documents, handed them to Hailey.

“Next, look at this.”

Hailey, receiving the papers, immediately held out another document.

Latrian, barely noticing Denny’s increasingly agape mouth, began reviewing the new document.

He nodded obediently at his aide’s prompting and immediately picked up a pen. Calmly reviewing the document, he pointed to a section.

“This route, is it okay?”

Hailey bent over and examined the spot Latrian indicated.

“It’s good in terms of safety. It might be a bit slow, though.”

“Do you think there’s a better option?”

“Yes. Rather than this route…”

It was the very picture of what a superior and aide’s teamwork should look like. If one hadn’t seen them grabbing each other’s hair, they’d think the two had worked together for years.

Milo was so confused he couldn’t grasp the situation, and Denny, of course, couldn’t believe what he was seeing. His voice was utterly bewildered.

“What kind of change of heart did you have?”

“Aris assigned me a direct aide. I can’t just ignore that, can I? It’s the Head’s will, so I have to follow.”

“Why? You weren’t like this just a few days ago.”

“Maybe today’s different.”

Latrian spun his pen between his fingers, adding in a bored tone,

“If you’re so curious about the reason, let’s just say the aide was so competent I was persuaded.”

Though it was a compliment to her, Hailey was indifferent. In the most aide-like manner, she simply reviewed the documents her superior handed over.

“So, what brings you here?”

“Well…”

Denny wanted to say, ‘Something came up, but now it’s gone.’ Milo, trusting his friend’s cluelessness, quickly stepped in front of Denny and spoke up.

“The Head of the family asked if you could attend the Grants Bank executive meeting in her place. Is that okay?”

“Sure, I’ll go.”

“Should I or Denny accompany you… Oh, Shale’s back, so Shale could go too.”

Perhaps because he’d gotten up earlier than usual, Latrian covered his mouth with a small yawn.

“Why bother, when I have my direct aide? I’ll go with Hailey.”

Even Milo had to stifle a groan at that answer.

Latrian was picky about people. Especially about who accompanied him up close. Other than those who grew up with him—himself, Denny, and Shale—he rarely allowed anyone.

But now, he’d allowed Hailey, whom he’d only met a week ago? If he was serious, this couldn’t be explained by a mere change of heart. For him, it was a revolution.

Careful as ever, Milo stepped back for now.

“Understood.”

He quickly grabbed the dazed Denny by the scruff and bowed politely.

And only after leaving the annex and reaching the garden did they let out a small exclamation.

“This is unexpected. I knew it wouldn’t be easy… Did Hailey really persuade Lord Latrian?”

“Milo. Could it be…”

Denny, standing beside him, wore a seriously earnest expression. Milo listened carefully, sensing the rare gravity.

“Could Latrian… have feelings for Hailey?”

Milo clicked his tongue and turned away coldly.

After all that waiting, the result was utter nonsense.

Denny, keeping up beside him, was spitting as he passionately argued.

“Weren’t those two acting suspicious just now?”

“Stop it. Have you ever been right about things like this? Unless you’re on deck, your intuition’s always off.”

“That’s true! It’s true! But this time could be different!”

The two bickered as they headed toward the central mansion.

And at the annex window, two people watched them.

* * *

Latrian, pressed close to the window, narrowed his eyes.

He was curious about what they were saying, but maybe because of the distance, he couldn’t hear their conversation.

“…‘Unexpected, was he persuaded?’ It sounds like that.”

He lowered his gaze. Hailey, also pressed against the window, narrowed her eyes and watched them closely.

“Can you hear them?”

“No. I can’t hear them, but I can see. I read their lips.”

“You’ve got a lot of tricks.”

“What do you mean, tricks? It’s versatile.”

“And after that?”

“… I can’t see.”

Strangely, her earlobes seemed to be flushed, but Latrian didn’t point it out. Since they’d agreed to be on the same side, he could let this much slide.

Only after the two aides disappeared beyond the central mansion did the pair at the window stand up.

“Do you think we can fool the Head of the family with just this?”

“No.”

Latrian, humming a tune, flopped onto the sofa. When he picked up a small box from the table, a shadow fell across the back of his hand.

Hailey had approached, frowning deeply as she looked down at him.

“So what do we do?”

“Who knows?”

“Seriously.”

“Stop creeping up on me and take this.”

Latrian offered his fist to Hailey, and after a moment’s serious deliberation, she reached a conclusion.

“Are you picking a fight?”

“… Am I really that hopeless?”

“Absolutely.”

“Give me your hand.”

When Hailey held her hand out under his fist, something wrapped in paper dropped into her palm.

It was small, round, and had a cool scent.

“A token for your tricks. It’s my favorite candy.”

Her face still sour, Hailey obediently unwrapped the paper and popped the candy into her mouth.

Her face twisted instantly.

“What is this flavor?”

“You’ll like it once you get used to it.”

Her cheeks alternately puffed out, but soon she shook her head as if even this wasn’t right.

Latrian laughed, then unwrapped his own candy and popped it into his mouth.

“For now, just spend each day as my loyal aide.”

“That’s it?”

“Yep.”

The office was already empty, but Hailey double-checked. After making sure the window was tightly shut, she lowered her voice to a whisper.

“You told me to dig up info about the Head of the family…”

“Go to Arcitina right now and you won’t find anything, I’ll bet the back of my head on it. If you do, you can hit me.”

Hailey stared at her hand, then lifted her gaze to the back of his head. Sensing she was calculating the angle for a strike, Latrian waved his hand.

“Don’t get your hopes up. You absolutely won’t find anything now.”

“So, I’m just supposed to play the aide for now? Until when?”

His gaze turned to the water bottle on the table. Then he tapped the table under the bottle. The still water rippled quietly.

“When the peaceful surface starts to stir in a way you’ve never seen before?”

With a relaxed gesture, Latrian stroked his chin. For now, he intended to act as the reformed heir. Only when Arcitina was convinced he’d accepted the position of head, would she move to the next stage.

That’s where her ‘true intentions’ would be.

Of course, Hailey herself was a safety device, someone who could prevent the worst if everything went wrong, so he absolutely had to keep her close.

He turned to look at his partner in this plan.

“… What are you saying.”

Latrian watched Hailey grumble as usual, wearing a deeply satisfied smile.

He hid the thought, ‘It’s really lucky you’re a Perlo.’