I Received The First Time Of My Extraordinary Superior (9 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 15
Logan Redford stood with his hands clasped behind his back, wearing a black coat that reached his knees. He loomed over the building manager, John Duffman, by a full head, making his downward gaze appear exceedingly haughty—so much so that John Duffman, standing before him, looked visibly intimidated.
Why did he look so troubled? If even the building manager found the question difficult to answer, it must concern something like the times or frequency of a tenant’s visitor.
Judging by the circumstances, Logan Redford was likely inquiring about Sydney Warden and Marien.
Sydney Warden had entered on December 31st and left on January 1st, so that should be fine.
But Marien had left the apartment with Victoria on December 31st.
Damn, how could I have missed that? Sydney Warden bit her lower lip, recalling John Duffman’s puzzled expression at the time.
Sydney leaned close to Victoria’s ear and whispered,
“Vicky, stay right here. Don’t say a word.”
“Huh? Okay.”
As soon as she heard Victoria’s reply, Sydney Warden walked toward the two men who were speaking.
They turned toward the sound of her footsteps. Though their faces were obscured by the backlight of the sun, John Duffman’s shoulders visibly relaxed—clearly, he was quite relieved to see Sydney.
Just as she’d thought. Sydney confirmed her suspicion was correct, and deliberately raised her voice to address Logan Redford.
“Chief, what brings you here so early in the morning?”
“I had something to ask the apartment manager.”
While Logan Redford gave Victoria a slight nod of acknowledgment, Sydney Warden silently mouthed “What?” toward John Duffman.
Seizing the moment, John Duffman quickly shuffled over to Sydney.
“Good morning, Lord Warden. Just now, that gentleman was asking about Lady Orwello’s guest…”
“Hmph!”
At Logan Redford’s sharp cough, John Duffman flinched and immediately clamped his mouth shut.
What is he trying to do? Sydney lowered her eyes, suppressing a surge of irritation, and began pondering how to navigate this situation.
In truth, it didn’t require much thought. Victoria was a high-ranking noblewoman protected under Imperial law.
Article 52 of the Arsenal Imperial Code:
Women belonging to noble families may only be questioned in the presence of a family member, except in cases of treason or harm inflicted upon another noble or member of the imperial family. Moreover, any investigation conducted without the family’s consent is deemed illegal.
This law had been enacted ten years ago by the Emperor of Arsenal as a reluctant compromise to secure noble cooperation during the war—so that many noble men would fight on the battlefield with confidence in the safety of their wives, daughters, and sisters.
Without “Article 52 of the Arsenal Imperial Code,” Anthony and Sydney would never have gone to war, worried about their younger sister left behind.
With a bitter smile, Sydney Warden asked,
“Chief, did you really investigate Lady Orwello’s private affairs?”
“Hm. Sydney Warden.”
Sydney gestured for John Duffman to go inside and stepped forward one pace, facing Logan Redford directly as she continued.
“According to Imperial Code Article 52…”
“Lady Orwello is connected to Miss Marien’s disappearance. Of course, I’ve already obtained consent from the Orwello ducal family.”
As if waiting for those very words, Logan pulled a document from his coat.
Sydney’s hands trembled slightly as she carefully read through the consent form. Her lips twitched as she stared at the crimson seal of the Orwello ducal house.
“You said Miss Marien is missing?”
“I’ve met every Marien registered at Marcel City Hall, but… none matched the ‘Marien’ I know. There’s no record—before or after January 1st—of her staying at any lodging facility in Marcel.”
“…”
Logan looked down at Sydney, who was fixated on the document, and gave a satisfied smile—his eyes gleaming like a hunter patiently waiting for his prey to step into the trap.
“So… I’m currently investigating under the assumption that she’s gone missing.”
Brilliant sunlight reflected off the freshly fallen snow, illuminating the two figures standing at the entrance.
Logan Redford, at 195 cm, and Sydney Warden, at 179 cm.
Their tall silhouettes stretched long and elegant across the snow, harmonizing perfectly.
Dressed in black coats over their uniforms, they looked like a masterpiece of art—so stunning that Victoria and Sarah, who normally trembled at the sight of Logan Redford, couldn’t help but gasp.
Logan Redford looked down at Sydney Warden with an expression both dangerously intense and protectively tender.
Protected from a dangerous beast—
Victoria found the phrase deeply ironic, yet perfectly fitting for the pair before her.
Just as Victoria thought they looked rather well-suited, Sydney slowly raised her head.
With a sharp flick of her index finger, using her middle finger as a lever, she struck the consent form.
A crisp sound rang out, followed by Sydney’s husky voice.
“I see. But this consent form states that Marien is a woman of the Redford Marquessate… yet she’s a commoner.”
Logan Redford responded with a scornful smirk, as if amused by how insignificant her point was.
“Miss Marien is also my fiancée, so yes—she is indeed a woman of the Redford Marquessate.”
Madness. Sparks flew from Sydney’s eyes. Every word she spat out, stripped of reason, was as sharp and fierce as a blade—matching the intensity of her gaze.
“You said Miss Marien is your fiancée?”
“…”
He must have realized. If Sydney Warden hadn’t gone completely mad at the word “fiancée,” she surely would’ve noticed it herself.
How desperately Logan Redford must have anticipated this moment during the two days she lay unconscious, meticulously preparing for it.
But now, her fury had utterly obliterated her rationality, and Sydney Warden laid bare her rawest self.
“It’s impossible that Marien agreed to marry you.”
“You’re awfully certain… even though you haven’t met or contacted Marien all this time.”
Ah—crap. Sydney instantly realized her blunder and raised her hand to her forehead.
They say the moment you think it’s too late is when you must act fastest. She fervently hoped that saying was true as her mind raced desperately.
Though her brain, having already stumbled once, refused to think clearly, Sydney knew such weakness wouldn’t save her in this crisis.
Forcing her thoughts into motion, she lifted her head and searched for the building manager, John Duffman.
John Duffman, who had been watching anxiously from behind Victoria Orwello, now wore a face twisted in despair.
That expression confirmed he’d already told Logan there was no visitor named Marien—meaning Sydney had never met her.
“Sydney Warden, you’ve been staying here the whole time. When exactly did you meet her?”
She’d been caught. Utterly and completely.
Of course. Logan wasn’t the type to back down so easily.
On the day Sydney Warden collapsed, Logan Redford had failed to obtain either Marien’s contact information or properly examine the marks left on Sydney’s neck.
That’s why he’d cornered Victoria Orwello’s apartment manager.
After verifying the visiting times of both Sydney Warden and Marien, he’d used the engagement as leverage, waiting for Sydney to slip up.
Now she couldn’t claim she’d never met Marien—and he’d surely demand she hand Marien over, invoking the Redford family name.
Just as she’d predicted…
“As her fiancé, I have both the right and duty to ensure Marien’s safety. Captain Sydney Warden, will you tell me where she is?”
“Chief, even without meeting Marien, you could deduce that much.”
Sydney lifted her eyelids and met Logan’s eyes squarely. Seeing his infuriatingly calm demeanor, her mouth moved of its own accord.
“If Marien were truly going to marry you… she wouldn’t have disappeared. She’s the kind of person who always keeps her promises.”
“That’s true. Or perhaps…”
“…”
He stepped closer, lowering his head until his lips were right beside her ear, whispering softly.
“She’s already right in front of me.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
Did he truly believe she was Marien?
Impossible. If that were the case, Logan Redford wouldn’t be acting so politely.
Sydney’s eyes flicked sideways. Right on cue, Logan’s blue eyes narrowed into a knowing smirk.
That meant his fatal blow was yet to come. Bracing herself firmly, Sydney resolved not to be startled.
“Exactly as I said. I need to find ‘my woman’… yet the only tangible lead I have is ‘Sydney Warden’—you. Which means…”
Logan pointed at Sydney with eyes narrowed in near-certainty.
Instinctively, Sydney gave a soft, mocking laugh. Just as she was about to speak—
“We should probably get to work before we’re late, don’t you think?”
Logan’s face pulled away, but his hand reached out to grasp her shoulder. Sydney glanced sideways and coldly swatted his hand away.
“Lord Redford, Sydney is coming with me.”
Logan’s derisive snort was drowned out by Victoria’s shrill voice.
He growled toward Victoria, who had looped her arm through Sydney Warden’s—much like a predator robbed of its prey.
“Lady Orwello, please postpone that. Before Lord Warden enters the office… there’s a place she absolutely must visit with me.”
“Lord Redford, if I’m not mistaken, it’s not yet working hours?”
Amid the tense standoff between Logan and Victoria, Sydney—having regained her composure—stepped between them.
Turning her back to Logan, she gently stroked her excited friend’s head.
“Vicky, I’ll see you tonight.”
“But we promised to do our first day back at work together this year…”
Victoria pouted, glaring past Sydney’s shoulder.
Sydney flinched under the intensity of Victoria’s glare—it reminded her of childhood, when Victoria would yank the hair of noble girls who clung too obsessively to Sydney Warden.
Back then, a piece of candy would calm her down—but that wouldn’t work with the Victoria of today.
Sydney pulled two tickets from her coat pocket and pressed them into Victoria’s hands.
“Then let’s attend the year’s first opera together instead.”
Victoria’s eyes and mouth widened as she examined the tickets.
“Good heavens, this is…”
“It’s an opera adaptation of your favorite novel, ‘When You Close Your Eyes.’”
Before Sydney could even finish her sentence, Victoria threw her arms around Sydney’s neck and cheered ecstatically.
“I love you, Sydney Warden! More than anyone else in this world! With all my soul… I love you!”
“Oh, uh… sure.”
“Last night you were wild like a beast, yet now you’re so sweet…”
Good heavens.
Sydney was utterly dumbfounded by Victoria’s dramatic, dreamy recitation.
Just as Sydney stood flustered, Victoria winked one eye, giving her a deliberate signal.
Only then did Sydney realize—this was an act.
“Sydney Warden!”
She never thought Logan Redford’s furious outburst would sound so welcome.
She was genuinely grateful to him for ending this awkward and embarrassing situation.
At that moment, Sydney Warden couldn’t have imagined just how deeply this clumsy little performance would wound Logan Redford.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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Ahhhh the “I have a friend” line. How did she keep her gender hidden this long smh lol
Could it be he was the one who designed the dresses Victoria gifted her?