NOVEL NEXT After Resignation, I Refuse the Obsession from the Male Leads
Chapter 17
The Imperial Library during lunchtime.
Seamus was staring intently at ‘Layla Lowell.’ As fellow members of the same team and now colleagues in the same department. Right now, she was looking at a thick book with a serious expression on her face. 《The Embarrassing Encyclopedia of Magic Potions》 And that too, taking up precious lunch time. It was all because of the question Layla Lowell had asked earlier. ‘Why are you asking that?’ [There’s a magic that allows you to recall things you saw a long time ago in great detail. But…] [But?] […but that’s something only the current Lord of the Wizard Tower can do.] Since he hasn’t inherited the position of Lord of the Wizard Tower yet, he can’t perform such advanced magic. He hates to admit that fact very much… But, well, it’s not like there is no way. [But if you can’t do it with magic, you can substitute it with food.] [Aha!] So right now, Layla Lowell was checking the names of herbs with him. Seamus stared intently at Layla, who was quickly flipping through the book. ‘There’s nothing particularly unusual about the first impression.’ Rather, on his first day as an official, he was more wary of Yuriana Crosswell. ‘The number one who beat me.’ The moment Seamus recalled that word, it became difficult for him to breathe. Even without wearing a tie, it felt like his neck was being choked just like when he was a child. [Seamus. You have to be perfect.] When he was a child, the Lord of the Wizard Tower would whisper while slowly tightening his tie. [You are the masterpiece of our family…] [But there will be moments when someone surpasses you.] [You are nothing.] And then, the endless struggle to ‘be perfect.’ Seamus stared at Layla Lowell again. ‘I thought she was just an ordinary human at first.’ But her ability to see the core was even more outstanding than Seamus’s. Ugh. It was painful to breathe for a moment. Just like those hands that tightened his tie too tightly. At that moment, Layla Lowell looked up. “But Seamus, are you okay with not going to eat? I’m fine, but…” “Forget it. That’s the ‘condition,’ right?” “Haaah…” Layla Lowell wore a grim expression. Instead of telling her how to do it, the condition he set was simple. [When we’re at the palace, stick with me all the time. I want to observe you.] He would closely observe her to prove that he was the superior being. ‘Let’s find that woman’s weakness and break her.’ Layla Lowell waved her hand as if she was fed up. “If you want to waste your break time during work, do whatever you want. It’s all on your salary, so take care of it yourself.” “…I know everything, you know.” Seamus replied sullenly. In fact, he didn’t really know that. Layla Lowell kept telling him the situation, even though she was annoyed. Until then, no one had ever taken the time to explain things to him like that. ‘If you can’t figure it out on your own, you’re not a genius.’ [Seamus. You, you’re the best in the Wizard Tower, right?] She didn’t even praise him so openly. At that moment, Layla Lowell covered her mouth with her hand and gasped. “Ah, this is it. This is it.” “What is it? Why are you doing that?” “Hehehe…I found something useful.” Layla opened the page she was reading and showed him. She smiled wickedly. “Seamus, from now on, I’m aiming for a one-shot, two-kill.” “What?” “Oh, but you need to help me too. Will you help me testify?” “What…?” * * * Finally, Arthur Featherstone (38) showed them a lesson! ‘Ah, this is what life feels like.’ Especially against that annoying BM-RP Department! ‘How dare they rush the request when they’ve taken over our department’s work?’ And how vulgar are the actions of Young Grand Duke Lupesque and Duke Crow? They even have beds in their offices and work day and night? ‘A real noble wouldn’t do that!’ Well, it was 300 years ago. Their ancestors had aimed their swords at the ‘Mad Emperor,’ so that says it all. ‘No matter how much they claimed to save the empire, how dare they go against His Majesty the Emperor?’ Nobles who are ‘royal faction’ to their core. And the ‘nobility faction’ that supports the actions of the Lupesque and Crow families. These two factions have been secretly fighting for a long time. The ‘noble’ faction is currently in the upper hand, but Arthur, who is part of the ‘royal’ faction, laughed heartily. “Pfft, so they both got punished, right?” Most of the members of both families are now dead… Of course, he kept his distance and stayed silent in front of them! However, if they’re not in a position of power, there’s no need to bow down. Just thinking about that ‘bottom-tier commoner’ girl makes his blood boil. “Back in my day, I would have let that kind of girl get fired!” …Arthur, who had been chewing on the righteousness of his generation countless times, arrived at his destination. After clearing his throat a few times outside the door, a dignified voice was heard from inside. “Come in.” “Ahem! Excuse me.” Arthur cleared his throat and opened the door. “It’s been a while, Sir Wadsworth!” Theodore was standing at the table in the middle of the glass greenhouse. This magic potion research lab was always peaceful. If other departments were like this, he would be furious, but he didn’t even feel hostility. ‘Haha, he’s just so stupid.’ He doesn’t even realize how much Arthur has been selling these herbs for all these years! Theodore smiled boyishly and gestured toward the empty chair. “I’m sorry, you must be very busy.” “Oh, that’s ridiculous! Haha, but what’s the matter…?” “Actually…I have something on my mind. I need to talk to Team Leader Featherston about it.” “Oh my, please tell me whatever it is!” At those words, Theodore lowered his eyebrows sadly. “Your team has been intentionally taking more than they need from our lab and…” “Hmm…?” “I received a report that they’re secretly selling herbs in the market. Even the poisonous plants.” “Hmm?!” “Oh, it was such a big problem for me, Featherston.” Theodore’s watery eyes sparkled behind his glasses. But he didn’t cry and just held out the papers. “So actually, before calling Featherston, I reported it to the Ministry of Finance.” “What, what did you say…” “I hope you can forgive me for making such a terrible report today. However, after what happened with Team Leader Capress, things have been quite tense…” “Oh, oh, oh…!” “You’ll definitely be found not guilty, right? If so, I will definitely compensate you under the name of the Wadsworth family.” “Nooo…!” Arthur Featherton (38), on a day that might have been lucky. That afternoon, he had to watch helplessly as the audit team stormed into the office! * * * After Arthur Featherston turned pale and stammered, “E, excuse me, I’ll take my leave first,” and fled. “Miss Lowell, thank you for telling me this.” “N, no, Sir. I was so worried that I might have jumped to conclusions.” Seamus and I came out of our hiding place and greeted Sir Theodore. ‘It’s under the pretext of the errand the director sent to the BM-RP Department.’ The alibi was perfect. “I was bothered by the excessive number of ‘magic supplies and herbal documents for the Magic Knights Department’ that I saw during my apprenticeship…” I also had an excuse ready. I fumbled around regretfully and pointed to the expressionless grape-hair. “Seamus mentioned that it’s way too much for high-performance artifact production!” Seamus was staring blankly ahead, but when I nudged him with my elbow, he finally nodded. Director Theodore’s face turned red. “I’m grateful and embarrassed that you’re being so thorough. There are dangerous herbs that shouldn’t be sold in the market…” “Then I am truly grateful.” “Thank you so much, Miss Lowell. Finley. How should I repay you…” “Oh my, what do you mean by repay?” Yeah, I was waiting… for this story about a reward to come up. If it was material embezzlement, then of course, the supplies from the magical herb research lab would also be involved. But how should one act when doing company work? ‘I have to aim for a one-shot kill and leave work early.’ No matter how much Director Theodore was once my golden ticket, relationships at work are all about give and take. I couldn’t just tell him and say, ‘Thank you! I’ll buy you coffee!’ Let’s go, a social deal! “Director, even though I’m not a member of the lab, I want to be a newbie who contributes to the empire somewhere else, so can I get you one mandrake that helps improve my memory?” I would greatly appreciate your continued support by leaving a positive rating on NU so I can continue translating this novel. Thank you.
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