Chapter 14

“Hmmm.”  

Chase let out a long sigh, as if he were struggling to make a decision.  

Sabrina stared at him intently, her heart pounding.  

She had poured herself into drafting the speech, even cutting back on meals. Now it was time to face the results.  

After a long moment of deliberation, Chase finally spoke.  

“First of all, both of you did a great job. I know the time was tight, but both drafts were excellent.”  

“Thank you.”  

“The strengths of each speech were different, which made the decision difficult. But after much thought, I chose one.”  

Chase placed a speech draft in the center of the table.  

“The message was similar in both, but this one felt more polished.”  

Sabrina and Joel’s tense gazes followed Chase’s hand.  

“So, who prepared this speech?”  

After a brief pause, the person who raised their hand was—  

“It was me, Your Highness.”  

“Joel? I didn’t know you were such a good writer.”  

It wasn’t Sabrina, but Joel.  

Joel’s face lit up with a triumphant grin as he scratched the back of his flushed neck and replied in a loud voice,  

“You’re too kind.”  

“Let’s discuss this further in my office. Sabrina, you did well too. Why don’t you assist Avery for now? He’ll likely need help with the workload.”  

Chase offered Sabrina a faint, apologetic smile.  

Sabrina returned his smile, brighter than usual, and replied,  

“Yes, I understand.”  

Joel, now seated beside Chase, beamed as he said to Sabrina,  

“Thanks for your hard work, Sabrina. Sorry about this.”  

Ugh, how annoying.  

A vein throbbed on Sabrina’s forehead.  

But what could she do? She had to accept the outcome gracefully.  

It was Chase’s decision, after all.  

‘This isn’t the last opportunity.’  

…At least, that’s what she intended to believe.

***

Two days later.  

Sabrina was placing a report on Chase’s desk when it happened.  

Flutter.

A small breeze caused by Sabrina’s movement sent a piece of paper on the desk fluttering to the floor.  

“Oh.”  

Sabrina instinctively bent down to pick it up but froze mid-action.  

「…The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.」  

A single sentence, all too familiar, caught Sabrina’s attention.  

‘Did I write this?’  

But Sabrina clearly remembered retrieving her submitted speech draft with her own hands.  

‘Then… does this mean this was Joel’s submission?’  

It was one of the most famous phrases in history. A line almost everyone had heard at least once. But this was Belfort, not anywhere else.  

A chilling intuition ran down Sabrina’s spine.  

‘I was trying to ignore it and focus on my work…’  

Sabrina, as if bewitched, picked up the fallen paper.  

No way. Surely not. I must be overthinking it. One overlapping sentence could just be a coincidence.  

But as Sabrina slowly read through the speech, her expression hardened further and further.  

While there were differences in some parts, the overall structure was far too similar to Sabrina’s draft.  

‘The message might inevitably be similar, but… could this really be a coincidence?’  

At that moment, a scene suddenly replayed in her mind.  

“Heading out?”  

“Yeah.”  

“Well, go ahead. It’s your free time, won fair and square. Enjoy it, right?”  

Was the unease I felt back then because of this? 

Sabrina bit her lower lip.  

‘I can’t let this slide. I need to address it.’  

***

“I called you here because I want to hear it directly from you. What do you think?”  

Sabrina had pulled Joel aside into a corner of the hallway and asked in a firm tone.  

As she explained the circumstances that led her to suspect him, Joel merely scratched his head with an unreadable expression.  

After dodging her gaze for a long moment, Joel suddenly responded with this:  

“So, what kind of answer are you looking for? What do you want me to say?”  

Sabrina, dumbfounded, replied,  

“I just want to know the truth. Surely you have something to say for yourself.”  

“Well, I just think you’re being too uptight. You should know when to admit defeat.”  

“What?”  

Sabrina was momentarily at a loss for words. As she remained silent, Joel, emboldened, continued speaking in a mocking tone.  

“And isn’t it pointless to bring this up now? In the end, it was His Highness who made the choice. If your draft had been better, he would’ve chosen yours. Don’t you think?”  

Joel, who had started to turn away, suddenly added with a smirk,  

“Not that I’m admitting to anything…”  

“……”  

“But isn’t keeping important things secure also part of one’s job skills? That’s how I see it.”  

Sabrina, who had been about to retort, let out a hollow sigh instead. Joel’s words only confirmed her suspicions.  

“Wow, seriously…”  

For a moment, tears of frustration welled up. It felt as though all the resentment she had bottled up until now was resurfacing.  

She didn’t want to cry. There was nothing worse than crying out of anger.  

Sabrina tilted her head back, staring at the ceiling to hold back her emotions. As she calmed herself, she began to think about what she could do next.  

Should I tell His Highness?  

But there was no evidence. There were no CCTV cameras here, nor had she recorded their conversation.  

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth? Should I pay Joel back in kind?  

‘…Hmm.’  

But nothing particularly good came to mind. And it wasn’t a course of action that appealed to her anyway.  

‘For now, I should just focus on preparing for the trip. Time is short, and there’s a lot to do.’  

Sabrina took a deep breath, regaining her composure.  

“Let’s focus on doing my job well.”  

As she walked down the hallway with a heavy heart, Sabrina didn’t realize that someone around the corner had overheard the entire conversation.  

***

An hour later.  

Sabrina entered Chase’s office after being summoned.  

“Yes, Your Highness. Did you need something?”  

“Oh, just a moment. Sit on the sofa and wait for me.”  

The sofa?  

Sabrina tilted her head in confusion but obediently sat on the guest sofa as instructed.  

Before long, the office door opened.  

“You called for me, Your Highness?”  

The one who entered confidently was Joel.  

Joel’s expression stiffened the moment he saw Sabrina sitting on the sofa. His wavering eyes stared at her intently.  

‘Did you tell him?’  

While his lips remained shut, it was obvious what Joel wanted to say.  

“Have a seat for now.”  

Chase gestured for Joel to sit as well before rising from his seat.  

“I called you both here because of the upcoming southern tour…”  

Chase slowly crossed the room and took his place at the head of the table.  

“There’s something I want to confirm.”  

Joel, now visibly uneasy, asked,  

“Confirm… what, exactly?”  

“Nothing to be too nervous about.” 

Chase replied with a light smile before turning his gaze toward Sabrina.  

“I’d like the two of you to prepare one more speech. There will be several occasions for speeches during the tour, so think of it as preparing in advance.”  

Joel’s face visibly brightened at Chase’s unexpectedly cheerful and kind tone. He seemed confident now that Sabrina hadn’t said anything to Chase.  

Joel responded enthusiastically,  

“Understood! I’ll get right on it.”  

“Yes, Your Highness.”  

Sabrina also nodded with a bright expression. After all, this was another opportunity for her, making it a favorable suggestion.  

Then, Chase casually added one more condition.  

“But it needs to be done by today.”  

Joel and Sabrina’s eyes widened in shock.  

“…Pardon?”  

Without any change in expression, Chase calmly continued,  

“I understand it’s a sudden request and that it may feel rushed. I’ll take that into account when reviewing them. Just do your best within the time given.”  

***

Meanwhile.  

‘Was the conflict between them worse than I thought?’  

As Joel and Sabrina buried themselves in their sudden assignment, Chase’s mind was also tangled with complicated thoughts.  

He had always known that Joel and Henry weren’t particularly friendly toward Sabrina. That was part of why Chase had paid extra attention to her in the beginning.  

But Sabrina had far exceeded Chase’s expectations, quickly finding her footing. Her work skills were incomparable, even to Henry, who had years of experience.  

And yet.  

“Not that I’m admitting to anything, but isn’t keeping important things secure also part of one’s job skills? That’s how I see it.”  

While waiting for their tense conversation to end, Chase had overheard something he hadn’t expected.  

Joel had plagiarized Sabrina’s draft.  

Chase had never thought Joel would harbor such malice toward Sabrina, let alone act on it. The revelation was a shock.  

How should I mediate the situation between them?  

With no evidence other than the accidental eavesdropping, how could I get Joel to confess?  

What level of punishment and compensation would be appropriate?  

These questions swirled in Chase’s mind. After much deliberation, he devised a small test.  

He would evaluate their work again, under the same conditions, with fairness.  

‘I hope things proceed as I expect.’  

But the outcome of Chase’s plan would far exceed his expectations.