My Boss is the Villainous Grand Duke - Chapter 4

Elena’s smiling face was almost filled with annoyance. Why didn’t you say that earlier?

“Wasn’t it always open for recruitment?”

Quiet quietly asked if there was a separate day for recruiting aides. Then he flinched at Rudfelix’s gaze.

‘He must not trust me.’

Moreover, in this world, if a woman wanted to be an aide, her father or brother had to vouch for her identity. Otherwise, it was a structure where it was absolutely impossible.

It wasn’t that women were treated as less than human, but it was still an era with occupational limitations.

This is an era where a father had to step up and certify if his daughter wanted to work, so she understood why the Grand Duke didn’t trust her.

“I came to become Your Highness’s aide. I look forward to working with you.”

There was no response, but she spoke kindly. She even smiled out of courtesy.

Then she looked directly at the Grand Duke. She waited for his reaction, hoping her straightforward gaze would reach him.

“I’m not in such a hurry that I need to borrow a child’s hands. Moreover, I’m worried that if I accept a young lady, you might ruin my work with terribly poor skills.”

Elena’s lips trembled slightly.

‘Can I do well?’

He was paving the way for her to go back as she originally wanted.

‘I should turn around and say thank you, but why can’t I?’

She resented her personality that couldn’t simply say ‘thank you’.

“It might be rude to say this upon first meeting, but I’ll say one thing.”

The Grand Duke’s gaze fell heavily on Elena as he looked down at her.

“Do I really look like a child to you?”

If so, your eyes must be crooked.

Elena didn’t hide her anger. She raised her chin and looked straight into his eyes.

“Terribly poor skills, you say. You speak as if you’ve experienced something you haven’t. Is this something to say where there are many ears listening all around? How will you bear the dishonor that will be cast upon me because of this?”

Grand Duke Rudfelix’s gaze changed. It was a look that said ‘See?’. Elena realized that he thought her to be audacious.

“So, do you want an apology?”

If so, it seemed he would apologize roughly and send her back.

‘Should I go back now?’

Her feet under her skirt lifted slightly and then fell heavily.

‘If I leave, Father will try to repay the favor in another way.’

Moreover, a heavy burden will be placed on his heart.

‘I’m frustrated with myself too.’

She was unable to turn around and go home even though there was no benefit in sticking to someone who would later become a villain and be executed.

“Instead of a worthless apology, give me money of worth.”

Elena held out both her hands.

“What?”

“If you spill water on someone else’s clothes, don’t you either wash the clothes for them or give them compensation no less than that? The same applies to me.”

He might think her audacious, but Elena didn’t care.

No matter how upset he was, he wouldn’t swing a sword at a noble young lady for the sake of the Grand Duke’s face.

‘But they said this guy was really bad and a crazy pervert.’

Elena’s eyes scanned the Grand Duke’s waist. At least he wasn’t wearing a sword.

“Quiet.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Go and get my…”

‘Is he going to ask for his sword?’

Elena thought, oh no. If there’s no sword, he could just have one brought.

“However, according to my conscience that has always respected Your Highness, I’ll stop asking for money here. You called me a child, so what? It’s not like you called me a lump of flesh or a milk-smelling baby.”

“Wallet…”

They spoke at the same time, but the Grand Duke closed his mouth following Elena’s rapid words.

“…If you give it to me, I won’t refuse.”

Elena, who belatedly heard ‘wallet’, subtly changed her stance.

The Grand Duke’s gaze changed.

Earlier he looked at her like a child, but now he looked at her like she was crazy.

‘I want to cry.’

* * *

Elena, guided to the reception room, was sitting alone at the round table.

She propped her chin on both hands and looked out the window with serious eyes. At a glance, she seemed lost in thought, but it wasn’t exactly that; she was just spacing out.

Elena, who had been blankly staring at the sky to the point where she wondered if it was okay to do this, blinked her eyes while patting her cheeks.

“I should focus before the interview.”

She had consumed a lot of mental energy after seeing a face she shouldn’t have seen up close.

“First, let’s consider the Grand Duke I’ll have to work with… The Grand Duke has the qualification to become Emperor, so he’s a figure the Crown Prince is wary of.”

Elena, with her chin propped up, recalled the relationship between Grand Duke Rudfelix and the Crown Prince. The reason why the two had to be enemies was because of the right of succession to the throne.

When the Emperor dies, naturally the Crown Prince inherits the throne. But the problem was that the Grand Duke also had the qualification for succession.

“While the Crown Prince has the primary right of succession, in the current absence of other princes, the Grand Duke has the secondary right.”

Imagine if someone perfect, with outstanding abilities and capable of everything, has the qualification to become Emperor right after you?

“It must be burdensome.”

The current Crown Prince also had a strong presence, not inferior to the Grand Duke. However, he had one flaw that didn’t match up to the Grand Duke.

“Time. Or should I say experience?”

Youth had the unlimited potential for future growth, but for the Crown Prince who had to face the Grand Duke right now, youth was like a huge obstacle that couldn’t overcome the Grand Duke’s maturity.

“Seeing him in person, I understand why the Crown Prince is so anxious.”

It was said that anyone who directly faced and conversed with the Grand Duke would leave a part of their heart there. That’s how much people fell for the Grand Duke’s charm, regardless of age or gender, including young women.

“If I didn’t know anything, I would have thought that was cool too.”

When she first heard his voice, she thought he was casting a spell on her. She barely endured as his low, resonating voice tickled her ears and almost reached her heart.

The moment she thought about what would happen if she fell for a villain who would disappear like dew on the execution ground, she was able to regain her reason.

Elena lowered her hands that were propping her chin and straightened her posture.

From the moment their eyes met as the Grand Duke entered opening the door, time seemed to flow slowly.

‘I understand why he’s qualified to be Emperor, and I understand why many people follow this man.’

She slowly perceived even the sight of the Grand Duke raising his hand, and a question arose.

‘But that’s not a reason for rebellion. Why did that man try to usurp the throne?’

In the novel, the Grand Duke only became a villain and confronted the Crown Prince, but the cause was not mentioned.

* * *

Round table interview.

The Grand Duke and Elena sat amicably at the round table.

It was a face-to-face seat, but perhaps because it was circular, Elena sat slightly closer to his left.

‘Fortunately, our eyes don’t meet directly.’

While it was a pleasure for her eyes to see a beautiful man, it wasn’t particularly welcome to see him trying to hold back a sigh while looking at her.

She thought she had become quite ladylike at 18, but to the Grand Duke, she must just look like a young girl.

‘You shouldn’t judge people by their appearance…’

Thinking this only inwardly, Elena glanced at the Grand Duke’s eyes.

A spell that seemed to draw people in resided in his eyes.

“I can’t be away from my post for long, so let’s keep the interview short.”

As soon as he became the interviewer, he changed his attitude. She immediately understood the reason for keeping the interview short.

‘He’s the commander of the Imperial Guard. Not to mention, the highest decision-maker ruling the Grand Duchy. Even with various departments in operation, the Grand Duke probably has a lot to do.’

But there’s only one aide.

Elena’s eyes turned to Quiet and then back.

He seemed to have just staggered while carrying a pile of documents, but let’s pretend not to have noticed.

“Well. If you become an aide, what can you do?”

Elena pondered the Grand Duke’s question, feeling the softness of the carpet under her shoes.

“I will assist Your Highness to handle work efficiently.”

As Elena summarized the role of the aide she would become, Rudfelix pointed at himself with his index finger extended.

“Can a young lady who has been raised gently, being waited on all her life, assist me?”

‘The concept of assistance isn’t the same as waiting on someone,’ she thought, but first answered his question.

“As they say, those who have eaten meat know, I know what I know from being waited on.”

She learned that it was easier to think of nobles in this world as two-year-old babies.

‘From eating to dressing, even bathing, they do everything.’

Since the role of an aide is to increase work efficiency, she wouldn’t have to feed or bathe him, right?

… Is it right that she doesn’t have to?

Elena cautiously asked a question with a look that said ‘surely not’.

“Do I have to wait on you as well?”

Rudfelix frowned.

“I don’t mind dressing Your Highness, but I asked because it might cause rumors.”

She asked because he said ‘wait on’, but wasn’t the aide’s duty originally different?