Chapter 92

Dispatch

“What are you going to do?”

Noel asked, her voice thick with a sense of dizziness.

It carried the trauma of having suffered all kinds of hardships when the personnel decision for Katya had come out of nowhere.

In truth, there wasn’t much to consider or decide.

“We can’t just reject her and send her back. Not if what’s written here is true.”

Aiden replied, clearly just as troubled.

Through the window into the adjacent room, he could see Morrigan gazing blankly into the air with a subdued expression.

When he turned his eyes back to the front, the additional letter from Ganesha she had brought was lying on the desk.

—Please, make good use of her. If my prediction is correct, you’ll definitely need her help.

He didn’t know what kind of ominous thing she was talking about. It felt unsettling.

Aiden didn’t know everything about this Ganesha Aldebaran, but he at least knew she wasn’t someone who acted without reason.

Saying her help would be ‘definitely’ needed could be interpreted to mean something serious would happen without it.

“Is this person, Ganesha, trustworthy?”

“...It’s not nonsense, at least.”

Judging from her consistent behavior so far, Ganesha didn’t seem to harbor any hostility toward Aiden.

He couldn’t say for sure that she didn’t have any hidden motives, but at the very least, she did seem to want Aiden to ‘grow.’

If she judged that she could be of help, and that such help was needed, then she must have had grounds for it.

‘I don’t like that she’s not telling me what those grounds are, though.’

As he frowned and mulled over that thought, Noel, with an equally displeased look, twirled the pen in her hand. Her displeasure was obvious.

“But if that’s the case, she’s going to end up staying close to you, kind of like a secretary.”

“Most likely. We’ll need to look into her background, though.”

“...”

Noel’s expression crumpled even further at Aiden’s thoughtless response.

…At this point, even he couldn’t help but ask one more question.

“...Is there something bothering you, Dame Noel? Surely it’s not because she’s non-human—”

“What do you take me for, Mr. Aiden? I might advise her to present herself as human in public to avoid drawing attention from strange people, but I hold no prejudice against non-humans.”

“Then is there another reason?”

“It’s the secretary thing. A female secretary.”

“...Excuse me?”

“She’s a secretary, she’s a woman, and on top of that—”

Noel trailed off, turning her gaze toward Morrigan.

There was no doubt—she was beautiful.

Though her form was slightly outside what one would call a typical human appearance, she possessed a unique kind of beauty. Except for her face, parts of her body were scattered with dragon scales, which lent her an even more mysterious aura.

And that woman was going to be by Aiden’s side, assisting him with his duties all day long...

“—You’ve got to be kidding me, seriously...!”

“……”

No.

He could build Affection Level if he needed to copy a skill, but he had never even considered the possibility that something might actually spark between them.

“...I assure you, there’s nothing to worry about in the way you’re thinking. What we should be concerned with is her background—”

“You don’t need to worry about that either.”

A clear voice rang out from the room Morrigan was in, making both Noel and Aiden freeze in place at the same time.

That room should be soundproof. Especially given the nature of the Capital Government Office, it was likely reinforced against supernatural abilities, considering the number of gifted individuals present.

And yet this woman acted as if she had heard everything they’d been saying, without a hint of surprise.

“My body is engraved with a seal. A powerful geas is in place, preventing me from ever causing harm to the seal’s master. If I were to try and break it, my heart would immediately stop functioning due to the geas. The seal’s master was changed to Sir Aiden before I came here. I can show you proof right now if you wish.”

“……”

“Though it may be embarrassing to say so, my body possesses a number of useful abilities. Would you like to try using me for a day? If you’re not satisfied, feel free to ‘dispose’ of me at any time.”

“……”

“Does that give you a sense of credibility?”

...Credibility, she says.

At this point, it was practically a threat telling him to try her out.

▣

In truth, Aiden had far more official duties now than he had expected.

Dame Noel did her best to keep him out of such matters, but from the beginning, the Aslan Ducal House had blatantly bestowed various powers upon him.

With backing from such a grand noble house, it was the perfect setup for Aiden to build connections.

Even if he tried to cut off every request and stay uninvolved, people looking to latch onto him were bound to appear.

Of course, it was an exhausting process. No matter how politely he tried to decline, adhering to the proper decorum was always the baseline. And people who considered themselves important all expected to be treated with a certain level of respect, no matter the context.

In that regard, Morrigan was an exceptionally competent secretary.

“At 3 PM and 6 PM respectively, Viscount Trajin and the representative of the Small Farmers' Association will be visiting. Viscount Trajin is fond of appearances, so I recommend paying extra attention to your attire. The recommended outfit has already been prepared, so it would be best if you chose it yourself.”

“……”

Katya, who stood beside him, was visibly glaring at her in displeasure.

Every sentence from Morrigan radiated competence, and that clearly rubbed Katya the wrong way.

From what he’d heard, she had served as Ganesha’s secretary for a long time. It made sense that someone who had assisted a tycoon who operated in the underworld would be this seasoned...

Still, it was obvious Katya didn’t like her. Even while all this top-tier support was being provided, she kept pouting and grumbling.

“...But I’m the lieutenant.”

Officially, yes—officially.

It wasn’t that Katya was unintelligent, but when it came to this kind of administrative or logistical support, she had no experience at all, making it practically impossible for her to be of help.

In fact, even if she did have the experience, it was doubtful whether she’d have been able to help.

As they walked down the hallway to move to another location, Morrigan suddenly stepped ahead of Aiden, taking the lead. Whenever they walked down corridors, she naturally guided him to the inside of the hallway, positioning herself on the outer edge.

When he asked if there was any particular reason, her answer came promptly.

“Security positioning.”

“Excuse me?”

“There’s always a risk of sniping or ambush. If that happens, it’s better that I take the hit.”

“……”

…Now that he thought about it, a lieutenant was also supposed to double as a bodyguard.

If he had never experienced that until now, it was probably because—

“…Ah, that was something to be concerned about?”

Starting with Katya, the official lieutenant herself didn’t take any precautions like that.

Then again, it could just be that she wasn’t cautious about getting hurt in the first place.

“…Oh, right. That’s a dangerous thing, huh?”

“……”

Aiden gave Noel a stunned look as she repeated the same thing absentmindedly.

His expression clearly asked, “Why can’t you understand this?”

But Noel, her face still blank, continued speaking.

“...I just figured, if something flies in, you just deflect it, right? And if it’s aimed at you, I could just do that in your place.”

“……”

He sometimes forgot, but in the end, she was a monster on par with Katya.

This person might be different in tone, but she was fundamentally the same in that she didn’t view such things as threats.

By contrast, Morrigan approached every situation with meticulous foresight, thinking through every possible contingency. It was as if she moved to preemptively snip away the very seeds of danger, all precisely aligned to his level of risk.

‘…She’s competent…’

She truly was a competent person.

It wasn’t an empty boast when she claimed to have a body with many talents—that impression naturally formed on its own.

No matter what task she was given, she handled it with ease. Be it administrative work, security duties, or even mundane errands.

It was telling that Katya, who had never shown the slightest interest in such things before, was now visibly uneasy just watching her work. For someone as laid-back as her to react like that, it spoke volumes about Morrigan’s abilities.

But still, one thing lingered in his mind.

‘…She said I could dispose of her.’

Aiden recalled the expressionless way Morrigan had uttered those words and frowned internally.

Everything about her so far—how should he put it?

From start to finish, she seemed like a robot.

It was the lack of emotion. He honestly couldn’t even tell if she felt anything at all.

The way she so nonchalantly said she could be discarded led to a certain impression.

Though similar in how she treated herself carelessly, it was different from the suicidal impulses Katya carried.

‘It’s like she sees herself as a tool.’

She handled herself as if it didn’t matter how she was treated.

Like a tool. As if being treated that way was perfectly fine.

Still, since she was carrying out her tasks so efficiently, there wasn’t much room to nitpick about it. At the moment, Morrigan was proving her worth far beyond what she initially claimed.

“…That’ll do.”

Even Noel, who had shown the strongest resistance, ended up saying that by the time evening came.

“It would be a loss for us not to use someone this capable. We should thank Miss Ganesha.”

Morrigan offered her a silent, expressionless nod. A gesture of thanks, presumably.

“……”

Well.

Since they’d already decided to work together, there wasn’t much point in voicing those earlier concerns. Aiden shook off his thoughts and changed the subject.

“Then I’ll take my leave. I need to do some combat training.”

Every evening, Aiden would head to the training grounds to keep his body in shape.

Of course, he still got beaten down like a dog in the Mental World by Meyer every day, but that was beside the point. He needed that physical training time to stay sharp for real combat.

Upon hearing that, both Noel and Katya nodded as if they understood. They didn’t insist on tagging along because Aiden had always flatly refused their offers to join him.

‘Of course I had to refuse.’

The reason was simple.

…Their level was just way too different.

If they so much as swung a strike with their eyes closed, he might die on the spot…

“……”

He didn’t know whether to be happy or sad about that thought when Morrigan’s emotionless voice dropped beside him.

“Then I’ll accompany you.”

“…Excuse me? But—”

“There’s no need to worry.”

Aiden, startled, had tried to decline, but Morrigan interrupted him before he could finish.

“—Because no matter ‘how’ it happens, I’m confident I’ll be of help.”

“……”

Aiden narrowed his eyes.

He had a bad feeling about this.

-Sub Quest

▶ You’re about to enter a conflict with the target!

▶ If resolved well, Affection Level will skyrocket!

…That window, which he hadn’t seen in a long time, proved it.