Chapter 04
“That adulteress customer filed a complaint?!”
“She said Ellie laughed at her.”
“What?!”
“Exactly.”
So apparently, that cheating couple had a fight when they left yesterday.
Yes—right when you were selling that handsome customer a handkerchief.
He told the woman, “My wife might find out, so stop sending me letters with lipstick marks from now on.”
At that moment, Ellie was loading a packaged dress into the carriage. Then suddenly, the woman said,
“Hey, why are you laughing?”
“Pardon?”
“I said, why are you laughing? What’s so funny?”
“And then she wrote a complaint letter right in front of Ellie. She said Ellie mocked her for being a mistress.”
She demanded disciplinary action against such an ‘unprofessional employee’ and said she’d check personally until it was done.
So that’s why Ellie looked so down yesterday.
But still—
“You’re firing her over that?!”
“Mrs. Scrooge’s orders.”
“That makes no sense!”
“What kind of policy is this? You don’t protect your employee, you throw her out?!”
“This is way too much!”
Everyone protested on Ellie’s behalf, but the head manager only shook his head.
“There’s nothing we can do. Mrs. Scrooge is adamant.”
“…….”
“Besides, Ellie shouldn’t have given the customer any reason to misunderstand, right?”
I clicked my tongue in disbelief.
Ellie, clueless about being fired, had come early, fully dressed in her uniform, and even swept the first floor. When they told her she was dismissed, she was completely devastated.
It was absurd.
I grabbed a coworker’s wrist and whispered,
“So Ellie’s really getting fired? There’s no way to stop it?”
“Nope… unless someone tells the adulterer’s wife, maybe.”
“The adulterer’s wife? What does that have to do with Ellie getting her job back—oh.”
Right. If the cheating woman was too busy dealing with her own mess, she wouldn’t have time to target Ellie.
Then Mrs. Scrooge might reinstate her, since no one is as skilled and hardworking as Ellie.
“But we don’t know who that adulterer’s wife is. We don’t even know his name, do we?”
“True. I mean, who cheats and leaves their name and address—wait. Actually…”
“What? Why?”
“That guy bought a bonnet for his wife yesterday. He gave an address and told us to deliver it to his estate.”
“Oh! Then—”
“But what good is that? We don’t have access to it. It’s in Mrs. Scrooge’s office.”
“Ugh…”
Only Mrs. Scrooge can enter that office. My shoulders slumped.
“Sera, I’m angry too, but there’s nothing we can do. Drop it before you get hurt. We could lose our jobs anytime too, so if a customer looks crazy, avoid them.”
The coworker left to prepare for opening.
But I couldn’t.
I watched Ellie—dazed, crying—get chased out by the manager.
“….”
“While you were selling that handsome customer a handkerchief…”
I had been the one originally assigned to that cheating couple.
Meaning—it could’ve been me fired today.
If Arden hadn’t walked in and switched with me at that moment—
Why should this be happening?
Why should Ellie—or I—lose our job because of a customer’s tantrum?
“……”
Do you know that feeling?
When you feel so wronged that even if it’s troublesome, even if you suffer some loss,
you desperately want to punish someone—not out of pettiness, but because it feels like justice.
If this counts as justice, then I want justice.
So I made up my mind.
I will get that address.
Night.
Past 1 a.m., with many streetlamps already out.
The moonlight made the building walls glow faintly blue, while a few windows leaked yellow light into the dark.
I crept toward Scrooge Tailor, where I worked earlier that day.
Just the order sheet and the address. Touch nothing else and leave.
I hadn’t even started yet, but I was trembling. I checked the empty street and turned into Demarcy Street.
Thunk.
“Ah!”
I bumped into a man stepping out of an alley.
Startled, I stumbled back, but he caught my elbow lightly.
“My apologies.”
He nodded and disappeared.
I stared at his retreating figure in a gray hood.
His eyes…
Sky-blue.
Like the pure ice of a fairy-tale glacier.
“….”
A hooded man lurking in an alley at this hour?
A pickpocket?
I patted myself nervously—
…Oh. I don’t even have sleeves worth picking.
I hadn’t brought a single gold coin. Because I had none.
Lucky me.
“Where are the documents…♪”
The fifth floor—Mrs. Scrooge’s office was dark.
Using the sharp pin on my brooch, I picked the lock and slipped inside.
Lock the door again. Just in case.
I dug through a mountain of folders when—
Clack.
“!”
My body dove under the desk before my brain caught up. The door opened.
“Believe me, darling! Why don’t you trust me?”
Mrs. Scrooge. But… she wasn’t alone.
“It’s not you I don’t trust—it’s HER! She keeps acting like she owns you. Yesterday she even told me to fire that employee by letter… I feel so miserable…”
“Relax. Once this deal is done, I’ll never see her again.”
Mrs. Scrooge whimpered, and the man hugged her, kissing her forehead.
It was yesterday’s adulterer.
Oh.
My.
God.
I slapped my own mouth shut to hold in a scream. In the mirror, I could see the two of them.
What a circus!
So THIS is why Ellie got fired so fast.
This guy had not one, not two, but THREE women tangled around him—
his wife, his mistress, and Mrs. Scrooge.
“By the way, you weren’t actually interested in that employee, right? The letter sounded like you were.”
“I told you, no! SHE was interested in me. I just ignored her.”
“So you don’t care that I fired her?”
“Of course not!”
Wow. Just. Wow.
While my jaw was still dropped, their conversation continued.
“Anyway, baby, I’m getting thirsty.”
Baby? He calls Mrs. Scrooge baby too?
“Heat milk to 70 degrees, mix in two spoons of matcha powder, add ice, then pour espresso on top. And the sugar has to be from the Eastern Continent.”
Sir. You’re an adult. Make your own drink.
“You’re helpless without me.”
Mrs. Scrooge left. Leaving him alone. In the office. With confidential documents.
Once the door closed, the triple-timing slimeball smiled—
then walked toward my hiding spot.
“Now, where’s that pretty employee’s personal file~?”
“……”
“The young one next to her was cute too. Now that she’s fired, maybe I should ask her out~”
I couldn’t even breathe.
He stopped right in front of me. Our eyes met around the chair.
His eyes widened.
“What the—!”
Oh, to hell with this!
Wham!
I kicked him right in the knee. He tumbled across the room.
I scrambled out, racing for the exit.
“Don’t move!”
Click!
He had drawn a gun and aimed it at me.
“Hands up! Turn on the light!”
“No—!”
Why did this suddenly escalate like a crime scene?!
“Turn on the light! Hands up!”
How do I turn on the lights with my hands in the air?!
“Are you deaf?!”
Then—
“Seraphina!”
“Maltese?!”
“Catch!”
Something flew toward me. Instinctively, I grabbed it.
A cold necklace chain wrapped around my fingers. Hanging from it—
A sparkling, jewel-encrusted hand mirror with a red heart, tiny wings, and glowing lights.
A hand mirror?!
“You expect me to block a gun with a mirror?!”
“Seraphina! Say the spell!”
“What spell?!”
“A spell that brings happiness!”
“Happiness?!”
“Yes! Dreams! Love! Justice! Something bright and hopeful! Think of what you desire most!”
“Oh!”
That, I know.
I held the mirror and shouted:
“Money! Fame! Health!”
“Are you serious?!”
“Of course!”
It even had perfect syllable count!
“I’ll give you a chance to fix it!”
“Is this really the time?!”
“Fine! I’ll do it!”
The tiny dog hopped and chanted:
“Money!”
“Fame!”
“Health!”
