I Became The Villain's Secretary

Chapter 17

'Woah, what the heck happened?! Only about ten minutes have passed and this has happened?!'

Renar looked around, all attention was not yet on this scene, probably because the first dance had just ended.

'Better end this soon!' He took one of the glasses filled with wine from a servant's tray.

'Sorry if I took the glass of the person you were supposed to serve, but I'm doing this for the greater good of all of us!' Then he headed, more calmly, into the lions' den. 'Phew, I can do it! Devland will surely understand...no?'

Disputes between the two usually end in duels, but of course it doesn't really matter the initial reasons or who wins, the public perception is that Devland is the villain of the story and Edward is the hero.

Renar cleared his throat weakly. “Your Majesty, I deeply apologize for the inconvenience, but His Grace is suffering from thirst!” He said, handing the glass to Devland.

Devland immediately turned his gaze to Renar, staring at him.

Edward however opened his mouth instantly. "Lord Renar, I hope you are aware that interrupting a conversation between me, the Emperor, and Devland, the Grand Duke, is extremely rude." Well, Edward is a very disciplined man, excluding Devland from the picture. Renar bowed instantly.

But then again, a disciplined man cannot punish a dedicated worker. "I deeply apologize for my impertinence, Your Majesty. I let His Grace's safety have a bearing on me." He wasn't particularly scared, in this circumstance the only one who could get angry is Devland, Edward was simply scolding him.

The ruler looked at him with calmer eyes, bingo, he calmed down as Renar had predicted. Edward was different from Devland, all it took was a clear sign of honesty and everything calmed down.

"Okay, I understand the concern, Lord Renar, just be careful next time" He said, looking at Devland for some seconds and then just left.

'Phew, I successfully avoided a disastrous situation.' He felt observed. 'But how do I avoid him now?'

He almost didn't have the will to turn his head. But then again, even if he hadn't done it then Devland would have done it for him.

"Your Grace—" He turned to face him, but unexpectedly, Devland walked the other way.

'What??' He was in deep confusion, considering that he expected two or three threatening words. Renar immediately thought it was a terrible sign, maybe Devland would torture him, lock him up or even kill him! Renar followed him.

'It's not possible, I've already gained a lot of his trust by now, let's keep calm.'

Little did Renar know that Devland was just pouting, nothing more.

"Renar." His voice was quite angry. "Don't follow me, follow Edward instead, since you are so dedicated to him."

'Huh?' Renar was surprised. 'What the heck is he talking about?'

They had already exited the main hall, somehow Renar was starting to worry. "Your Grace, I deeply apologize, but I was too worried about your safety! I'll be honest, it wouldn't have been good for you to have a fight this year again!"

"So you did it for me?" He asked, well would you look at that, the terrifying Grand Duke who is rumoured to kill with a smile needs this kind of reassurance.

'Oh. Did it seem like I was protecting His Majesty? Well, I did that for your reputation but if you put it like that...'

Renar smiled. "Of course I did it for His Grace."

Devland stopped, the air seemed lighter. “Ren, you have surely heard of pearls filled with divine power.”

Renar nodded. "Yes, Your Grace."

'Obviously I've heard of them, Clair's pearls, they're important in the story.' He sighed internally. 'Those however will never belong to you, Her Holiness Catherine and Edward will win.'

Basically the Church and the Emperor will join forces and will have shared possession of the pearls. The Mors will not be given any rights of possession.

“Those pearls, I intend to take them back.” Devland said, turning to him, eyes lighting up the night.

Renar was almost stunned, even though he already knew it. 'The fact that he's talking to me about it moves me.'

Devland smiled slyly, walking next to him. "So you, good secretary that you are," he started off, now right in front of him, "will help me to ge them back, won't you?"

'???' Renar's eyes widened. "Your Grace, I don't have the skills of a lawyer, I couldn't possibly do it—"

Devland raised his hand to stop him. "And yet you will, didn't you want to think about my safety? Those pearls are neither the Church's nor the Emperor's." His face was covered by shadow, but his eyes remained more visible than ever. "But of the Grand Duchy."

'I see, so I can't really refuse, but...this is happening too soon, Catherine isn't even the Saintess yet, will it really be okay?' Renar gulped. 'Besides...this means that I will completely go against the two heroes of the world, Clair's pearls will really be useful to Catherine. However I cannot object, Devland hates the Imperial family and anyone close to them, if I refuse it would mean that I'm on their side.'

Renar sighed internally. "It's an honor, Your Grace."

Devland's smile widened. "Good. Now, I really want to know why you went off having fun when I clearly told you to just bring me a glass of water."

'Ugh. If I knew I would tell you. Like an idiot I forgot and that's all.'

Renar looked at him with a forced half-smile. "I have no excuse. I didn't want to humiliate a young Lady and I...forgot."

Devland stared at him for a while, raising an eyebrow. Suddenly he burst out laughing.

'H-huh? Is he laughing??' Somehow he couldn't take his eyes off him, Devland seemed very human in that moment.

"Ren, you're funnier than I thought." He said, reaching out with his hand, moving the strand of hair that was falling on Renar's forehead. "But I'll only tell you this once. Just worry about my safety from today on."

Renar froze, woah...who expected something like this? He and Devland got along better than expected.

"Of course, His Grace..." He almost muttered.

Renar has already dug his own grave multiple times, but this is what started Devland's tendencies.