I Became a Gallery Manager in Another World

“What… you?! What are you doing here! Don’t tell me you’ve been stalking me all this time!”

“What nonsense… You walked into the library yourself…”

“What? Who are you calling nonsensical?! And a library? You’re the one talking nonsense…. Huh? Oh?”

Helen furrowed her brows and blinked.

It was strange.

Just as Ian had said, looking around, it really was a library.

“Why am I here? I thought I was going to catch a carriage…”

“How would I know that? So, why did you sigh?”

“Hmph! It’s none of your business! Don’t meddle in other people’s affairs!”

“…Then, just be quiet. Even though I try to ignore you, you’ve been pacing back and forth, sighing as if you want me to talk.”

“Don’t spout nonsense! I would never do that! Besides, what time is it… Ahh!! …I have a meeting today! I’m late! It’s all your fault!”

As Helen shrieked, Ian shook his head.

“Wow… blaming me, huh? Let’s keep it down. This is a library, after all.”

“Then it is your fault, who else’s!”

“Yeah, yeah. Blame me… You said you’re late for a meeting? Isn’t it okay if you don’t go?”

“Hah! Ha! Cha! I’ll go whether you say so or not!!”

Ian waved his hand dismissively, and Helen’s mouth fell open.

“What kind of man is this! I can’t believe it!!”

Someone was worried for days whether she might be pregnant, and the father of the child didn’t show any sign of concern.

Thud-! Thud-!

Helen walked resolutely towards the library door but…

“How do you even make a person out of that?”

Thud- Thud-

Strangely, her steps slowed as she approached the door.

“No, the more I think about it, the angrier I get? I really should say something!”

Stop!

Retreating here didn’t seem like something Helen Redrose would do.

“Hey you.”

“…What now.”

“Don’t you have anything to say to me?”

“How did you know… I do have one thing.”

“Hmm?”

A slight smile curled the corners of Helen’s mouth.

She seemed unbothered, but she was actually paying attention.

‘That makes sense! Maybe he’s the type who’s secretly very shy.’

Her slightly cold demeanor from earlier could now be understood as a way of hiding her shyness.

After all, it would be absurd if Helen Redrose’s first partner didn’t care at all.

“Hah! Alright. I’ll make time especially for you. Go on, say it.”

“Not now, suddenly like this.”

“A man without guts… Just hurry up and say it.”

Helen flicked her fingers on her cheek, smirking as Ian said quietly,

“Then, could you lend me some money.”

“That’s right. Of course… What, what?”

“Lend me some money…”

Crack─

Helen’s heart, momentarily uplifted, sank in an instant.

This man’s purpose was money after all.

It wasn’t a request but a threat, demanding money while holding the ‘Rose Brooch’ hostage.

“Tell me the exact amount. How much do you want?”

“100…no, if possible, about 150?”

“…Are you crazy? It’s absolutely impossible to prepare 150 billion Eris.”

Helen spoke in a chilly voice.

It seemed he had lost touch with reality ever since he had the ‘Rose Brooch’.

“Who said billions? I said ‘ten thousands’. 150,000 Eris.”

“…What? I thought you meant 150 billion Eris, but it’s only 150,000 Eris?”

Upon hearing Ian’s words, Helen furrowed her brow.

She had naturally assumed it was 150 billion because he was dragging it out, but if it was only 150,000, that wouldn’t even buy a single plate of what she had posted in the gallery yesterday.

“Ha! Just as one wouldn’t mistake him for a commoner! What if Harin takes after him and becomes just as petty!”

Helen shook her head and opened her wallet, pulling out a check for 200,000 Eris.

“Here.”

“…I asked for 150,000 Eris, you know?”

“Just take it. What’s the big deal between 150,000 and 200,000…”

“…Still, thank you. I’ll pay it back as soon as possible.”

“Hmph, do as you like.”

Seeing this man awkwardly accept just 200,000 Eris, Helen thought she might need to teach him how to spend money before teaching him how to make it.

“Ha… You really are high maintenance.”

Helen, soon to be the head of the Redrose family, was considering introducing a completely new business management style called ‘separation of ownership and management’, previously unheard of in the Empire, once she officially inherited the trading company.

This method was currently used only in some demon trading companies, and she anticipated a lot of opposition, but she was determined to implement it for Harin’s sake.

‘Harin will definitely not grow up like me.’

She didn’t need to inherit the trading company.

But she had no intention of raising Harin in poverty if she gave up her position at the company.

She would feed him only the best, clothe him in the best, and fulfill all his wishes.

‘Child education should really involve a lot of support from the father…’

But looking at Ian, she felt as if instead of helping, she was raising two children.

“Ha…”

“….”

“Ha…”

“….”

“Ha…”

“….”

“…Hey.”

“What.”

“Why? Did you just say ‘why’? If you are a man, shouldn’t you at least ask why a lady like me is sighing here?”

“If I ask, you’ll say it’s because of me again.”

“Hmph! You know it. Why do you act like you don’t?”

“…What have I done now to make you sigh?”

“Don’t you know why I’m asking? You as the fa…mph!”

Helen clamped her mouth shut.

‘Are you crazy?’

She nearly blurted out that he was lacking awareness as a father.

“Child?”

“Ugh… forget it! It’s obvious! Why are you playing dumb!! You’re acting like this because you stole my ‘Rose Brooch’!!”

Just as Helen was about to change the subject by shouting, Ian’s finger touched her lips.

“I told you not to shout. Remember, this is a library.”

“….”

Ian spoke earnestly, but Helen did not listen.

“…What…what is it? Suddenly…”

At that moment, all of Helen’s focus was on Ian’s finger.

Seeing it up close, she could clearly tell.

Indeed, his fingers were much thicker and longer than hers.

Having been poked by such fingers, it was no wonder it felt so good…

“Helen?”

“Eh, eh? What? What?!”

“Ha… I just told you. Don’t shout in the library.”

“Ugh! When did you become the one with all the sense, pretending to assault me here?”

Yet, Helen’s voice steadily decreased.

“Yeah. Speak with that level of voice.”

“I can’t believe this… And why do you keep speaking informally? Show some manners?”

“You said it was fine last time. And we’re in the same grade, so you could speak informally too.”

“Ha! That’s not what I meant by ‘fine’!!”

Helen was momentarily overwhelmed, but she knew if this continued, she would only get sucked into this man’s ‘flow’.

She had to remain calm and bring the ‘flow’ back to her side.

“Sigh… Anyway, you better be taking good care of the ‘Rose Brooch’ you stole. If you lose it or even scratch it, I won’t let it go!”

“Your words have been strange for a while now. It wasn’t assault but a trade, and I didn’t steal it, I received it. And don’t worry, it’s here.”

Clang-!

Apparently, he had made the ‘Rose Brooch’ into a necklace, since he was wearing a necklace she hadn’t seen before.

“What kind of item do you think it is to put it in such a filthy place?! Surely since the day you stole it from me, you’ve been carrying it close…”

“No, I left it at home but have been carrying it since yesterday because I thought you might come.”

“…I see.”

For some reason, anger surged suddenly, and she thought about forcibly taking the brooch back.

“…Calm down, Helen. You know that’s not right.”

As much as she hated to admit it, as Ian said, the ‘Rose Brooch’ wasn’t stolen but was transferred in ownership.

Trying to take it by force would trigger the enchanted protective spells.

“Ugh!! I should have never said it symbolizes the heir!”

If she had just undervalued it slightly, she might have had a chance to buy it back…

Now that this man knew the value of the Rose Brooch, she couldn’t imagine what he might demand in return.

Click-

“Here.”

“…?”

That’s when Ian offered the ‘Rose Brooch’.

“…What are you trying to do?”

“I’m giving it back since it’s precious to you. Don’t you want it?”

“I didn’t say I didn’t need it! But you don’t understand what this is?”

“It’s a symbol of the Redrose heir, isn’t it?”

“Yes! But…that…!”

“But it’s important to you, isn’t it?”

She was so flustered she could barely speak, but Ian said it nonchalantly.

“For just that reason… honestly, even if I took it to my brother…mph!”

Why she kept making mistakes she never made before around this man was beyond her.

Especially since this mistake was incredibly fatal.

This time, Helen also cautiously spoke while watching him.

“…Even if you are trash, you wouldn’t do that, would you?”

“What do you think I am… I only asked for it in the first place because if you didn’t submit later, it would be troublesome without clear proof that you did.”

“Is that really all?”

Helen blinked her green eyes in disbelief.

“That’s it? Well, if you don’t want to take it, then don’t.”

“…I will take it!”

Swish─

“…What are you doing?”

“Ah, I forgot to tell you…”

Just as Helen reached out for the ‘Rose Brooch’, Ian raised his hand high.

“It’s not for free.”

Ian whispered in Helen’s ear with a mischievous look.

“Ugh…! This trash! I knew it!”

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not asking for something grand.”

“Do I look like a fool? Hurry up and tell me what you want!”

Swoosh─

Ian’s fingertip pointed at Helen’s chest.

Last time, she mistook what was at the tip of his finger for the ‘Rose Brooch’…

“Ugh…!”

This time, she knew exactly what Ian wanted.