RRVB 11

Chapter : 11

What drove him even crazier was that the kid absolutely never listened to a word he said—yet, for some reason, only followed Iklis.

And on top of that, he would casually tell him to use himself as bait to bring down the family.

The real problem was that there wasn’t even the slightest doubt that he meant it sincerely.

That was what made it such a headache.

Iklis stood up, intending to grab him and throw him into the carriage.

It wasn’t like the brat would listen just because he was threatened verbally anyway.

What an annoyingly sly fox of a kid.

“Grandfather seems to be digging into Uncle. There was an attack recently, right?”

Iklis, who had paused, let out a small scoff.

“Is that so?”

Having his life threatened wasn’t anything new, so it wasn’t particularly surprising.

So one of them was the old man, huh.

He responded calmly, but before he knew it, Lexiard had already pulled several documents from the desk with black smoke and was tearing them to shreds.

Smiling innocently at Iklis as if nothing were wrong.

Those were the documents Iklis had received early that morning from Padrid to review.

In other words, he hadn’t even opened them yet.

It was a blatant protest against Iklis constantly trying to kick him out.

Lexiard, who had been staring at the torn pieces scattered across the floor, suddenly looked up as if something had occurred to him.

“Jamie said he got some important information, so I got rid of him without even asking. If it reached Grandfather’s ears, Uncle would’ve been bothered. Uncle, I did well, right?”

A composure no ten-year-old should have.

Calmness.

Cruelty.

And the chilling sensation that came from it.

Behind Lexiard, thick black smoke spread, almost as if it were wrapping around him protectively.

There was no need to ask how he had “gotten rid” of Jamie.

“……”

One of the biggest reasons Iklis couldn’t let go of Lexiard—while still trying to protect him—was that power he discovered after the kidnapping incident.

That black smoke flickering before his eyes made it seem like it was turning Lexiard into a monster.

After staring at Lexiard and the shredded papers for a long time, Iklis finally spoke.

“I’ll give you three seconds. Pick it all up.”

A little while later.

“My name is Jin Jane. You may call me whatever is comfortable.”

“I’m Rody! Brody!”

Rody glanced back at Iklis and Lexiard heading up to the third floor before following Jin.

“Yes, Mr. Brody. Starting today, you will receive various forms of training. I heard you’re seven years old—is that correct?”

“Yes! I’ll be eight soon!”

Jin, who had been wearing a gentle yet somewhat dry expression, suddenly smiled warmly.

“Good. Ah, we’re heading to the administration office now. We’ll register the necessary information and talk more there.”

“Yes!”

As Rody answered energetically and hurried to keep up, Jin subtly slowed her pace.

She had never thought her walking speed was fast, but she could hear panting behind her.

Stopping in front of the administration office, Jin knocked.

“This is Jane.”

“Come in.”

As soon as a voice responded from inside, Jin opened the door.

She gestured for Rody to enter first.

Rody swallowed nervously and peeked inside.

The room was filled with books and papers, and in the center sat a heavy-looking desk.

Behind it, a silver-haired man with neatly slicked-back hair was writing diligently.

Rody followed the rhythmic movement of his pen with his eyes—until he met pale sky-blue eyes, lighter than Jin’s.

“Iklis said… hm? Jin, were you always this short?”

“I’m over here, Mr. Padrid.”

Jin corrected him as she entered.

“Ah, the rumored new recruit… I see. It seems Jin will be in charge.”

“Yes. May I have the empty vault key and the necessary documents?”

Padrid quickly checked a few drawers on his right, then handed Jin a set of keys and a bundle of documents from his desk.

“A pen as well?”

“Yes.”

“Here.”

While the two moved efficiently, Rody simply stood there blinking.

He had absolutely no idea what he was here to do.

He only thought that being with Lexiard earlier had been more fun.

Jin sat beside Rody with the documents.

“Now, could you fill this out? This key is for the vault you’ll be using. You can go to the underground vault room to set your own code and use it freely. The administration office manages it, but you may access it yourself as well.”

“…A vault?”

“You may store necessary items there. You can also deposit the salary you’ll receive going forward. And here is a pen.”

Jin handed him a long wooden pen.

“Um…”

As Jin looked at him, Rody’s face turned slightly red.

He couldn’t fill out the form.

“I… don’t know how to read or write…”

White was just paper.

Letters were nothing but black shapes.

The director had forbidden the teachers from teaching Rody, so he couldn’t read, let alone write.

“Ah, I see. My apologies. Then please tell me, and I will write it for you.”

Unlike Rody, who was embarrassed, Jin didn’t seem bothered at all and calmly picked up the pen.

Padrid, who had stopped working and was watching them, made an awkward expression.

“Jin, rather than that, wouldn’t it be better to hire a teacher first?”

Jin and Rody looked at each other.

A little later.

Jin had only stepped out briefly and returned, yet the administration office was suddenly packed with executives.

“Wow! Hey, kid, hello! We meet again, huh? You remember me, right? You’re learning letters? Want me to teach you?”

“I’d be better than you. You skip parts in reports all the time. You’re the most careless one here.”

“No, that’s not the issue. The real reason I should do it is because I’m more handsome than you. Haven’t you heard? Babies look at faces too.”

“Padrid wouldn’t allow it. If he learns from you, he’ll only pick up weird things. Why would he entrust him to you?”

“What? I’m a law-abiding citizen, okay?”

“You mean a delinquent citizen. Neglect of duty. You’re the biggest problem here.”

“Hah, want to drop ranks?”

“Do we even have a rank difference, idiot?”

Technically, they had been recruited at almost the same time, making them practically peers.

Ekision and Horace bickered noisily in front of Rody.

Large men quickly surrounded him.

Padrid, seeing Jin bring in a line of executives instead of a teacher, trembled at the corners of his mouth.

“What is the meaning of this?”

He pressed his temples, feeling a familiar headache.

Jin bowed.

“My apologies. I was stopped on the way.”

“Then you should have taken refuge elsewhere.”

“…I was carried by Mr. Horace. Next time, I will escape more quickly.”

Padrid fell silent again.

Jin was good at her job… very good.

But moments like this were… difficult.

Sometimes, when Jin made that absent-minded expression and apologized like that, it was hard to tell what she was thinking.

Padrid wished she were a bit more cold-hearted.

The only people he truly trusted were Gembil and Jin Jane.

The rest of these fools weren’t even worth considering.

Glancing around the room, Padrid sighed.

Fortunately, the one he disliked most—Halo—wasn’t there.

Well, that was something.

Lately, Halo had been teasing him so much that he felt like he was losing hair from the stress.

Maybe it was his imagination, but every morning while grooming, his hair seemed flatter than usual, forcing him to spend an extra thirty minutes styling it.

If he confirmed actual hair loss, he would immediately report Halo’s harassment to Iklis and have him thrown out.

Of course, that resolution remained yearly and never acted upon.

“We will hire a professional for the training. The new recruit seems overwhelmed, so please leave. At this rate, he might run away.”

“Why! What’s wrong with us?!”

“There’s nothing bad about getting close to us, right?”

“He would become corrupted. I hope you’re not serious. New recruit, stand up. I’ll assign you a proper teacher.”

As Rody began to stand—

The last visitor entered.

“Wow—everyone’s here. Busy, busy. Darling, hello.”

Padrid let out a silent scream.