49.
“Is there some kind of problem, Your… Your Majesty? Standing there like that.”
Whether by some stroke of divine intervention, Kyle managed to pivot his phrasing at the very last second. Even so, he bit his tongue hard to mask the slip—a necessary sacrifice to keep the mission from collapsing before it had even begun. He stood there, discreetly wiping away the tears that welled up from the sharp, stinging pain.
Meanwhile, Ri-Na and Edwin, who had been busy scrutinizing one another—suddenly realizing they had both been caught in their own clumsy deceptions—jolted into motion, as if waking from a petrifying curse at the sound of Kyle’s voice.
“I was blocking the way.”
“It is I who opened the door without checking if someone was outside.”
Awkwardly trading apologies, they both shuffled toward the doorway at once, eager to clear the path. Then, they froze again, flustered by the collision of their intentions.
“We overlapped.”
“Indeed.”
After ten seconds of a silent, hovering standoff, Ri-Na finally made the first move.
“Should I go to the right, and Lord Rohas to the left?”
“Understood.”
Yet they still moved with the jerky, unnatural gait of broken puppets. It was, frankly, a pathetic sight. One had to remember that they were still standing face-to-face. Kyle, forced to witness this debacle from behind Edwin’s massive frame, pressed a palm to his forehead.
*They’re perfectly rational people when you look at them separately…*
“Would you two please just come inside?”
He ushered them in, eager to move the spectacle off the public street. *There are still too many passersby.* If this bucket was going to leak, he preferred it to happen behind closed doors.
Kyle took the lead, and Edwin and Ri-Na followed. While Ri-Na managed to recover a shred of her composure, Edwin moved like a defective golem. *Is his goal to make it painfully obvious to everyone that he’s hiding something?*
Kyle hid a sigh behind a thin smile. Now that they were conscious of their true identities, they seemed to be overthinking every breath they took. The situation was so dire that Kyle couldn’t help but wonder if Ri-Na’s timely arrival was divine retribution for him fleeing the Grand Prayer Meeting earlier.
*Well, it’s not like Edwin has ever had to hide anything in his life.*
The most serious wrongdoing Edwin had ever committed—at least, the only one that would cause a stir if discovered—was accidentally breaking his mother’s favorite tea set as a child. Even then, he had confessed immediately; he simply wasn’t built for deceit.
While Edwin continued to stutter and Kyle agonized over how to salvage the operation, Ri-Na searched for clues, leaning slightly toward Edwin. She still found him significantly less intimidating than Kyle.
“By any chance, is this the task you mentioned earlier?”
If the business that had pulled him away from the Grand Prayer Meeting remained unfinished, she was prepared to step aside.
Kyle interjected before Edwin could fumble his response.
“My business with him has concluded. Isn’t that right, Lord Rohas?”
He nudged Edwin, who was still silently rehearsing how the real Everett Rohas would speak.
“And you must return to the Imperial Palace now.”
Since his expectations for Edwin’s acting skills had hit rock bottom, Kyle provided the excuse for him. *Leave. Please.*
Fortunately, his prayer was answered. Edwin offered an awkward, stilted bow, then ducked out of the café in a hurry.
Now, only Ri-Na and Kyle remained.
*Wait a second.*
He realized that in the quiet, late-night café, only his friend’s date and he remained. *Everett, you really are something else.*
Once Everett had scrambled out the door, Kyle guided me to a window seat overlooking the street. Deciding tea was more appropriate than coffee at this hour, he poured me a cup of jasmine and gestured toward the entrance.
“Should I leave the door open?”
Though it was late, this was a commercial district, and passersby were still drifting past. Our conversation wasn’t necessarily a state secret, but it wasn’t meant for public ears either. *The existence of the Blue Falcon is a secret known only to those with a need to know.*
I was about to tell him it didn’t matter, but my eyes caught on the high, tightly fastened buttons of his shirt. He had installed magic stones to regulate the temperature, but the combination of the summer heat and the floor-to-ceiling glass was overwhelming the cooling system.
*I’ll just have to speak quietly.*
When I told him it was fine either way, Kyle laughed.
“I am not hot.”
He glanced briefly through the glass, then sat across from me.
“Well, I suppose that would be fine. But what brings Miss Diaz to visit me at this hour?”
The shift was instant; his playfulness evaporated, replaced by a sharp, professional intensity. I straightened my posture, feeling as tense as I had during my final interview for the Imperial Palace.
*Come to think of it, it’s not all that different.*
Choosing my words with care, I opened my mouth.
“It’s a bit late, but I’ve come to give you an answer regarding your offer.”
I had delayed this day after day because the offer was too enticing to refuse, but I had turned that hesitation into a strategy. *It looks better than flip-flopping after an initial refusal.* I had worried he might have found someone else in the meantime, but Kyle’s reaction was immediate and positive.
“I hope the answer is the one I’ve been waiting for.”
He looked as if he’d received an unexpected gift. The air between us was thick with the promise that if I simply said, ‘I will join the Blue Falcon,’ the deal would be struck.
*It’s a relief the opportunity is still there.*
“If the answer you expected is that I will join the Blue Falcon, then yes.”
I smiled back. I couldn’t afford to be entirely at ease, though. The reason for my decision was clear, and there was one final thing I had to confirm.
“However, I’d like to make my final decision after hearing about the blank sections of the contract I saw last time.”
If the position involved working in another country or barred me from sensitive information, there would be no reason to join. *Maintaining my current status would be more beneficial.* I tried to keep my expression firm. Kyle was no easy opponent.
“Miss Diaz is an outsider until you sign the confidentiality agreement.”
The refusal was cold and immediate.
*I didn’t think he would retract his words so easily after trying so hard to scout me, but he’s rigid.*
Just as I began to weigh my options for persuasion, Kyle opened the door.
“However, because I truly want you to join us, I will exercise a little flexibility.”
He laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners. It seemed his firm refusal had been nothing more than a test.
“I cannot tell you enough to cause problems if leaked, but if you are satisfied with a general summary, then…”
A condition, then.
“That will be enough.”
I nodded before he could change his mind.
“Do you remember me saying that the work you will be doing probably won’t be very different from what you do now?”
From the beginning, there was a limit to what an office worker with an accounting background could achieve. *The devil is in that “very different” part.* Having learned in my past life how creatively one could weave together job descriptions, I didn’t lower my guard.
*Don’t repeat what you said last time.*
“I remember. And now it is your turn to tell me what comes next.”
As I pressured him with a steady gaze, Kyle obediently leaned in.