ARML 05

Chapter 5

Allison, who had been smiling just a moment ago, suddenly froze.

“Huh? What did you say?”

“I said I finished all the work you told me to do.”

I tapped the report neatly on the desk—an expensive one at that—and handed it over to her.

The work Allison gave me was sorting out the messy materials she had gathered without care.

‘I’ve been doing this kind of thing for years.’

I firmly added,

“I also checked for typos. I double-checked the font, format, and spacing too.”

“Sigh. You really don’t get it! Who’s going to read it when it’s all packed with text like this?”

“Oh, would you prefer the version with visuals?”

“What?”

“I thought that might happen, so I made another version.”

I brought out a second report from the desk and gently handed it to her.

‘People like her always care more about looks than content.’

I’d prepared just in case—and of course, she complained.

Allison looked me up and down and mocked me.

“Trying to show off where you used to work?”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“Well, you’re from an orphanage, so I’m sure you did a lot of menial jobs.”

Wow. What a jerk…

Allison grinned at me.

“What? Not true? That’s what your file said. Or do you actually have parents?”

“Oh! You saw it correctly. I assume they’ve passed away.”

I smiled sweetly and replied,

“But either way, whether someone has parents or not, we all have to work.”

“Huh…?”

“Unless you’re born with a silver spoon, that is.”

Allison’s face twisted at my words.

The female lead looked worried as she watched us.

Grape-head (the guy with purple hair) crossed his arms and silently watched too.

“Lowell, are all the kids these days as rude as you?”

“I wouldn’t know. But I never asked about Team Leader Capres’s parents either.”

A newbie talking back to a boss?

‘Unheard of.’

Your boss is treating you unfairly? They’re abusing power?

‘Just endure it. The world outside is even worse.’

But insulting your family?

‘That’s crossing the line.’

There are some things in life you just don’t let go.

For me, that was family.

Even if Layla’s parents abandoned her as a baby, my parents from my past life had made me happy.

‘I may be poor and have no status, but why should I tolerate this kind of insult?’

Allison looked shocked and stammered.

“Y-You… who do you think you are?”

“I’m just a newbie from an orphanage.”

Honestly, unless someone’s from the royal family or a famous noble house, we’re all the same anyway.

Allison glared at me, then turned her head sharply.

‘She realized that picking a fight with me doesn’t work.’

Better to pick a fight with me than with the sweet female lead.

Still, every morning at 9 and every afternoon at 3, Allison scolded the female lead in front of everyone.

The next day.

And the day after that.

“I’m leaving early today. You all finish your work and go home.”

At 4 p.m., Allison left. She dumped a pile of unfinished documents on the expensive desk.

‘What a freaking—!’

The rest of us quietly started sorting through the paperwork.

‘Whatever. In two days, I’ll be out of here anyway.’

Just as we were finishing up, the grape-head suddenly spoke.

“That person…”

“Huh?”

“Why doesn’t she say anything to me?”

“Well… because you’re from the Magic Tower, and your parents are alive.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Why wouldn’t it matter?”

This guy came from a top-class elite family, almost like the male lead or the main villain.

‘She knows who she can mess with.’

But grape-head looked confused.

“That’s not logical.”

“People aren’t always logical. Life’s not all 0s and 1s.”

Hold on.

While I was explaining this to the clueless kid, I suddenly noticed that the female lead’s seat was empty.

“Hey, where’s Yuriana?”

“She ran outside. I think she was crying.”

“What the—?! Why didn’t you say something earlier?!”

I had been too focused on work to notice.

Also—why didn’t the grape-head follow her?

She’s the heroine! When she cries, you’re supposed to give her a canned coffee or something so the romance can start!

‘Ugh, grape-head! This is why you’re just a second male lead!’

What if the original story changes and the heroine decides not to become a royal official anymore?

‘What if she doesn’t join the “Black Spoon” department?!’

I rushed out of the room.

Maybe it wasn’t “logical,” so grape-head didn’t follow.

Thankfully, Yuriana wasn’t far.

She was crouching in a corner of the garden, hidden from the passing people.

“Yuriana!”

“L-Layla…”

“Are you okay?”

Sniff…

Yep. She was definitely crying.

When I found her, she covered her face and cried even harder.

“Hic, sniff, hic…”

“Yuriana, don’t cry…”

Wait a minute.

Wasn’t this the part where the male lead was supposed to comfort her?

I clearly remembered the scene: she leaves upset from Allison’s bullying, and the male lead just happens to see her and comforts her.

[Original Scene:

“I thought you wanted to join the Black Spoon, Crosswell.”

“Sob… y-yes, I did.”

“Then don’t cry over something like this.”

“Yes, sir…”

He turned away but said warmly,

“But if you come to our department, I’ll make sure you never cry because of unfair treatment again.”

There was a gentle warmth in his voice.]

Oh no…

I had to get out of there, fast.

But just as I tried to back away—

“L-Layla…”

The tear-stained heroine grabbed my hand.

“C-Can you stay with me?”

“W-Wait… well…”

Sniffle, sob…

…When your friend is crying like that, you can’t just say, “Well, a guy is coming to comfort you, so I’ll leave now.”

So I ended up staying, crouching next to her and listening to her sadness.

“Hic. What should I do, Layla?”

“Huh? About what?”

“I really want to do well… But maybe I’m just not good at this.”

Oh no.

Allison’s dumb comments must’ve really hurt her.

“Listen, Yuriana. You’re not bad at it. You just don’t have much experience yet.”

“Experience…”

“Everyone struggles at first.”

“But you, Layla…”

“Huh?”

“You’re good at everything… from the beginning.”

“That’s only because, like she said, I grew up in an orphanage and had to do lots of odd jobs.”

“That’s awful…”

“So stop caring about what that woman said.”

Yuriana had stopped crying, but she still looked down.

‘Tsk. She’s the top graduate—she must have a lot of pride.’

Gaslighting really does break people.

This won’t do. It’s time for a harsh reality check.

“Listen carefully, Yuriana.”

“Okay?”

“We’re all going to end up as small business owners someday.”

“H-Huh?”

Unless we become executives in a company, we’re all going to end up running something—whether it’s a fried chicken shop, a café, or being a landlord.

“Not all of us are going to become high-level officials, right? So we don’t have to treat this place like our whole life.”

Don’t throw your life away for a company!

Yuriana, who didn’t know how worn-out my thinking was, smiled brightly as if my words had comforted her.

“Thanks, Layla. I’m glad you’re here.”

“Oh… well…”

“I’m going to go wash my face now!”

She jumped up and ran off.

She must have been really embarrassed about crying so hard.

‘Yeah, I should head back too…’

But just as I tried to stand up, I froze awkwardly.

The male lead was standing nearby, just around the corner.

‘Why is he here?!’

And why is he looking at me instead of walking away? Hands behind his back, just standing there.

‘Why didn’t you go to comfort the heroine?!’

…But first, I need to figure out what’s going on here.