I Abandoned the Male Lead Who Cheated with the Villainess - Chapter 19
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
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The time of early summer was a busy period in any company. The Imperial Palace of Sortanic Empire was no exception. Moreover, the birthday celebration of the twenty-year-old Crown Prince was just around the corner this year.
As a result, the palace was bustling with lively activity, which translated into indifference toward the new employees.
“Oh, um… It’s not usually this cold. Don’t take it to heart, okay? Rix.”
“It’s alright.”
As Ivonne and Rix agreed to call each other by their first names while strolling through the palace, she discreetly observed Rix’s reaction. In truth, if Rix had the same refined appearance as the one she saw in her dream yesterday, perhaps he wouldn’t have received such cold treatment.
‘…I think I might be going crazy for real. It was just a dream, after all!’
She felt she might unintentionally offend Rix, who was following closely with an unreadable expression. Ivonne scolded herself inside, trying to pull herself together.
By the time the two returned to the department, it was already lunchtime. The morning had been entirely consumed just exploring the vast palace.
“Oh no, I had something to check this morning!”
Ivonne felt a fire beneath her feet, quickly rushing back to her desk.
“If it’s something that needs to be sent to the Fire Safety Department, I already did it.”
“Oh, Department Head!”
Johann, who had not returned to his role as the Crown Prince’s aide for some reason, smiled and leaned on the partition.
“Did you enjoy the tour of the palace?”
“I guess it was fun since I enjoy it.”
Ivonne glanced back at Rix, who was sitting quietly in his seat, and continued, “I mean, Rix… Oh, we decided to use informal titles.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
It seemed as if Johann knew everything and responded with a hint of knowingness, as if he anticipated that the two would start calling each other by their names.
‘How so?’
Although puzzled, Ivonne didn’t dwell on it and continued, “It will depend on whether Rix can navigate the departments of the palace from now on.”
“Well, you probably don’t need to worry too much.”
Johann spoke to Rix as if questioning that, but he didn’t seem to expect a separate response. Rix just nodded indifferently. What was intriguing was that even though the new employee was giving a stiff attitude, the department head, Johann, didn’t seem the least bit uncomfortable. Instead, he seemed to accept it quite naturally.
‘Is the department head usually this flexible?’
Or should this be seen as a mandate of flexibility? Ivonne briefly questioned this but didn’t dwell on it much. Since Rix’s arrival, everything had been shrouded in mystery.
‘Surely he must be a parachute hire, but how is it that not a single person in the palace knows Rix? The timing of his recruitment is also strange. With the Crown Prince’s birthday celebration just around the corner, why choose our department? But then, is there anyone in our department with enough influence to place someone here?’
If she continued to scrutinize every little thing deeply, it would surely never end, even if she thought about it all day.
As Johann returned to his seat, Ivonne glanced briefly at Rix who was reviewing the documents Johann had organized. He was recording the list of items purchased by the Crown Prince’s household last week, even though no one had specifically instructed him to do so. There wasn’t much time left until lunch, so taking a short break wouldn’t hurt.
‘He seems like a very diligent person.’
There was no reason to dislike someone who was diligent and hardworking. A new employee who could be left alone from the first day without any worries, wouldn’t it be nice if all new employees were like that?
Ivonne hugged the documents that Johann had kindly prepared for her with a contented feeling. They had to be delivered to the fire safety department by the morning. By now, the fire safety department would be eagerly anticipating Ivonne’s arrival, not just for the documents she was bringing, but to exchange a few words with her.
It was just as Ivonne was leaving the office.
“Ivonne!”
Someone ran down the corridor.
“Oh, Aten.”
He was a worker from the neighboring department of “domestic history,” the department responsible for managing the Crown Prince’s personal expenses. One more peculiar thing was that for the past three months, he had been asking Ivonne out on a date every day.
“The weather is very nice today, isn’t it? How about having a meal with me after work?”
Ivonne tilted her body slightly to glance out the window. They had predicted showers in the afternoon, and black clouds were already gathering. Aten’s face showed a hint of disappointment as he followed Ivonne’s gaze out the window.
“I know a restaurant that tastes even better when it rains. On rainy days, I think of deep-fried food. Do you know why? The sound of food sizzling in oil is similar to the sound of rain falling…”
Aten rambled on with a story that was neither interesting nor engaging for quite some time. Even with a white froth at the corners of his mouth, his chatter didn’t cease.
Ivonne began to feel a little restless. Aten was persistent and stubborn, so if she refused the invitation, he would only let her go if she engaged in conversation with him.
“I need to deliver the documents to the fire safety department quickly…”
However, she couldn’t ignore him either, considering he was the son of a Baron and the deputy head of the neighboring department. Ivonne found Aten quite bothersome.
But it was at this moment.
“Ivonne! It’s a call for you!”
Cutting through Aten’s incessant chatter, a colleague from the same department put a hand to her mouth and shouted. The purple light was flickering on the communication port that resembled a public phone.
