Becoming the Guide of the Mysophobic Villain? Absolutely Not! - Chapter 52
In turn, Claude seemed sorry for harming me, buying me food, letting me leave work early, and taking me to nice places whenever he could.
Honestly, if he weren’t such a terrible person, I wouldn’t even consider guiding him at all, even if it could lead to his death.
But if I were to guide him…
The thought left me restless, unable to sleep.
Tossing and turning in bed, I finally sat up.
And then I did something I would never normally do.
I crouched down under Irene’s bed.
“Irene, you know…”
“I’m not here.”
…Irene harshly responded without opening her eyes. Typical of her bluntness.
But I wasn’t deterred, knowing her all too well. I continued,
“I’ve got a problem…”
“Just another useless thought that won’t help you in life. Why should I listen?”
“…Because you’re the only one who will listen.”
“Think about why I’m the only one. Who else would want to listen to your pathetic thoughts?”
Irene, always speaking her mind and yet friendless, retorted.
“Ugh, just listen. I need the rational judgment of someone like you, devoid of emotion.”
“Haah…”
Eventually, Irene sat up with an exasperated expression.
“Fine, let’s hear it. How pathetic can your thoughts be?”
“Well, it’s about my friend, not me…”
“Get to the point.”
“…There’s this guy, he’s really successful, handsome, and dangerous. My friend had heard so many bad things about him and avoided him at first… but after spending time together, he seemed less scary and surprisingly kind.”
“…”
“But he’s in a tough situation, and it seems like my friend being there might solve the problem…”
“So you’re saying Lord Claude is flirting with you?”
“?”
Caught off guard, I quickly denied it.
“It’s about my friend, not me! And it’s not about Lord Claude.”
“As if you have other friends. And who doesn’t know that Lord Claude has been hanging around you like a keychain lately?”
“???”
“That’s my advice, Rose Valentine. Don’t be naïve.”
Irene flicked my nose and spoke firmly.
“For some reason, Lord Claude seems to be testing you these days.”
“…”
“He’s always reigned supreme over others. He wouldn’t know the first thing about caring or considering others. You, naïve as you are, aren’t capable of understanding or handling a man like him.”
“…”
“Wake up and live in reality, Rose Valentine.”
With that, Irene lay back down, pulling the covers over her head in a definitive gesture that she had nothing more to say.
I had no choice but to slink back to my bed.
…I had sought Irene’s advice to clear my thoughts, but it only made my mind more muddled.
***
Irene’s advice did have a point.
But it matters who gives the advice.
Of all the people I know in this world, Irene is the most negative.
Even if I brought a genuinely good guy to her, she would never approve of him. She would just scowl and criticize, saying, ‘Is that really the best you can do?’
There’s a reason why someone as beautiful as Irene has never had a boyfriend.
So, I decided to seek advice from someone more positive, more normal.
“Wow, is it okay to just barge in here?”
“Yes, Lord Claude is running late. Come in, senior.”
Claude was busy preparing for the operation.
Technically, my role was to assist him, but Claude, the only person who could give me work, had been absent these past few days.
So, I just clocked in and out, doing nothing, lazing around.
Although it was the kind of life I had dreamed of at the Guide Division…
But as the idle time stretched on, I was plagued with doubts. Is this right? What should I do? Such thoughts.
So, today, I invited Azir to my workplace.
Azir must have realized that I’m the one guiding Claude but has been making excuses to protect me.
I wanted to express my gratitude and thought he would be the perfect person to consult about my only secret.
