WARDV08

CHAPTER 08

“What is it?”

The secretary, who had rushed in to speak, was too out of breath to answer immediately.

Just as Feydan’s irritation was about to boil over—

The secretary hastily handed over a newspaper he had been gripping in his hand.

[Duke and Duchess of Farnese on the Brink of Divorce!
We Uncover the Shocking Truth!]

Feydan’s face turned pale as he read the headline.

This was something that absolutely had to remain secret until after Founding Day.

“Who the hell wrote this garbage?!”

He had already been irritated from rifling through documents—this was the final straw.

As he moved to rip the paper apart in fury, the secretary quickly intervened.

“Y-Your Grace! Please calm down. We need to assess the article first to formulate a proper response!”

“You read it, didn’t you?”

“I only saw the headline—I brought it right away…”

Grinding his teeth, Feydan eventually tossed the paper toward the secretary.

“Read it.”

The secretary began to read aloud, haltingly.

“Th-The discord between the Duke and Duchess of Farnese is rumored to stem from a shocking… physical secret of the Duke.”

“Physical secret?”

Feydan was stunned by the completely unexpected angle.

At the same time, a hint of unease crept in.

He nodded slightly to prompt the secretary, who gulped nervously and continued reading.

“The Duke of Farnese’s hidden, physical secret is that… he allegedly has three buttocks—pfft!”

“…You’re laughing?”

The air grew even colder around Feydan.

The secretary tried to bite his lips to suppress the giggles, but the damage was done.

“You find that funny?”

“M-My apologies!”

The secretary bowed low, practically slamming his head to the floor, setting the paper down in the process.

Feydan let out an exasperated sigh and picked the paper back up.

[Duchess leaves mansion amid rumors that Lady Élise is pregnant with the Duke’s child?]
[Sources claim Duchess now residing in hotel after departure from Farnese estate…]
[Duke’s bizarre sexual preferences alleged to be the real reason for divorce…]
[Business disagreements over New Continent project—What does this mean for the future?]

Outrageous rumors—like the one about his three buttocks—were interspersed with partial truths.

But to the public, the difference between truth and fiction didn’t matter.

Feydan, after seeing all the salacious nonsense the newspapers had churned out, hurled them across the room and shouted:

“Lockhard!”

“Y-Yes, sir?!”

“Go shut those newspaper rats up!”

“How much should we offer them—?”

“I don’t care how much it costs! Just make sure I never see this crap again!”

“Yes, sir!”

Clutching the newspapers, the secretary bolted from the office like he was fleeing for his life.

Still seething, Feydan let out a furious roar and swiped everything off his desk in a rage.

“Filthy rats, spreading whatever lies they please…”

His furious gaze landed on the portrait hanging in the center of his office.

A painting of him and Leticia, commissioned early in their marriage.

Seeing it made him grit his teeth.

Leticia…

Even after bringing Élise into the mansion, the press had remained silent.

Though not honorable, nobles keeping mistresses wasn’t exactly scandalous.

But a divorce between a duke and duchess? That’s another story.

All this chaos began when Leticia left the estate.

Sure, he was the one who brought up divorce—but it was just a tactic to break her spirit.

He never meant for things to spiral this far.

You think I’ll let this end the way you want it to?

Feydan smirked coldly as he began scheming.

He had to find a way to shut this scandal down—quietly.

In a quiet café…

“Ahahaha!”

I couldn’t hold back my laughter, and a passing staff member turned to look at me in alarm.

Clearing my throat, I adjusted my sunglasses and composed myself.

Spread out in front of me were copies of today’s newspapers.

That’s right.

Roughly half the content in today’s headlines? I leaked it.

The rest were rumors the papers made up to spice things up.

Of course, I never told them to print rumors.

All I did was pass the information through one extra mouth.

Gossip always gets distorted and inflated the more it’s passed along.

Still, I hadn’t expected this level of sensationalism.

I see now—when the media is on your side, it’s incredibly powerful.

My mind drifted back to my past life.

To when, with just one word from Élise, the papers branded me a murderer and a wicked woman who caused the miscarriage of her child.

…No, they weren’t “on her side.” They were on the side of whatever attracted public interest.

Whether it was true or false.

The memory left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Better not to rely on the media unless absolutely necessary.

In truth, my aim in stirring the papers wasn’t just to mess with Feydan.

My real goal was—

I looked up at the anxious man sitting across from me, nervously sipping tea.

Wig Sebastian.

One of the final candidates for the secretary position.

“Did you see today’s papers?”

“I—I swear it wasn’t me! I didn’t leak anything, I promise!”

“I know. The articles didn’t contain only the story I told you.”

During the interviews, I had told each of the three finalists a different version of my situation.

One consistent element: that I was divorcing Feydan.

But to each, I added a different reason:

“Lady Élise is pregnant with my husband’s child. He asked me for a divorce.”

“We clashed over a new business project. We had too many disagreements.”

“He cited Élise’s pregnancy as the reason, and I… happened to meet Grand Duke Del Lua, so I agreed.”

Two of the candidates clearly leaked what I said—whether intentionally or not, the rumors reached the press.

But only Wig said nothing.

No newspaper had printed anything about my connection to Idris.

“Secretaries work closer to me than anyone. That means they’ll inevitably learn many of my secrets.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am.”

“I need someone who can pretend they didn’t see or hear anything. That’s why…”

“…”

“Wig Sebastian. I’ve decided to hire you as my secretary.”

I pushed a contract toward him.

“Working hours are 9 to 6. Base salary starts at 100,000 gold. Overtime will be paid at double—”

“Ma’am.”

“Is the salary too low?”

Wig’s eyes widened in shock and he waved his hands in panic.

“N-No! It’s more than generous!”

I looked at him curiously, wondering what the problem was.

Fidgeting with his hands, he finally spoke.

“I just… I’m not sure I fit the kind of person you’re looking for.”

“Why do you think that?”

“You said you wanted someone discreet. But… truthfully, I didn’t keep your secret out of some noble sense of duty.”

“Then why?”

“I just… I didn’t want to contribute to someone else’s misfortune. It sounds silly, but I feel like that kind of thing comes back to bite you.”

“Ahh.”

“So… I kept the secret out of fear, not because I wanted to protect you. I’m not sure someone like me deserves to be your secretary…”

Judging by how timid he looked…

He’s probably worked under some truly awful bosses before.

The kind who throw around lines like, “Treat this place like your home,” or “Be loyal like family.”

It was endearing. And the fact that he was being so honest, despite having already earned the job, made me trust him even more.

He showed me sincerity in the interview. It’s only fair I show him what kind of person he’d be working for.

Most people think job interviews are about the employer choosing the employee.

But I think differently.

Employees have just as much right to evaluate their boss.

So I said—

“No matter your reason, the fact is: you kept the secret. That’s good enough for me.”

Wig blinked, clearly confused by my response.

I continued firmly.

“I don’t expect grand loyalty or ideals in exchange for a paycheck.”

“…”

“Trust and loyalty should come from your own heart. When that time comes—you’ll act.”

His expression turned blank with surprise.

I smiled at him.

“So… are you ready to work with me now?”