CHAPTER 301: CHAPTER 300: MISUNDERSTANDING?

Steven laughed nervously, bowing his head slightly as he spoke again, "No, no... there’s no way someone of your stature would recognize a lowly one like me."

Now Rex was even more confused. Power? Stature? Me? His mind roared in disbelief, but outwardly, none of that turmoil showed. His features didn’t so much as twitch. His posture remained unshaken, hands resting loosely at his sides, shoulders relaxed, eyes steady. To the crowd, he looked like a man standing above it all, calm, serene, untouchable... as if the chaos around him was beneath his notice.

"...Are you sure you aren’t mistaking me for someone else?" he asked flatly, his voice steady, almost bored.

"Y-yeah, yeah," Steven stammered, nodding so quickly it was almost comical, his voice trembling but overflowing with eagerness, as if afraid Rex would doubt his sincerity. "There’s no way I could ever forget seeing your excellency. You were... you were like the moon in the whole party, radiant, untouchable. No one could forget your appearance after seeing you once."

His words tumbled out in a rush, the sharp, domineering edge everyone in the company knew him for completely gone. Instead, he sounded almost reverent, his voice trembling with a strange mixture of awe and fear.

"I—I was only fortunate enough to slip in with someone I knew," he admitted, his tone bordering on self-deprecating. "Just being in that hall felt like a blessing for someone like me. Compared to you—someone who received a direct invitation... what am I? Not even worth mentioning in the same breath."

His tone was almost reverent, bordering on worship. Around them, silence fell heavier. The employees exchanged bewildered glances, unable to reconcile the image in front of them. The same boss who chewed them out for the tiniest slip-up was now practically groveling, tripping over himself to flatter a young man they thought was about to be crushed. A few glanced at each other, silently mouthing moon? presence? excellency? like they were losing their grip on reality.

Victor’s heart thudded violently in his chest, his mind blank. He could hardly process the venomous words he had just thrown at Rex compared to the scene before his eyes.

Hannah’s lips parted slightly, her confusion plain. Sophie and Elara were also as confused as her. Daisy blinked hard, wondering if she’d misheard, her grip tightening on her phone. The indignation they had felt moments ago dissolving into pure astonishment. Excellency? They turned toward Rex, studying him in a new light, as though they were seeing him for the first time.

Rex, however, remained silent. His calm expression hadn’t shifted an inch, which only deepened the mystery. To everyone watching, it looked as though he was simply letting Steven’s frantic praise wash over him... above it all, unfazed.

However, he pieced it together quickly. So that’s it. The invitation. He must have mistaken him for someone rich or powerful simply because of that invitation. Rex’s expression remained steady, but inside, a faint realization settled in. So the invitation carries that much weight? More than I imagined...

"Ohhh..." Rex murmured, dragging the sound out as if he were humoring the man. Then he fell silent, allowing Steven to stew in his own nervous eagerness.

The pause was unbearable. Employees stared as if every second was stretched into eternity. Steven licked his lips, then suddenly remembered why he had stormed in in the first place. His gaze swept the room, sharp and heavy, before landing on a nearby employee who was nervously pretending to type at his computer as if nothing had happened.

"You," the boss barked, his voice cutting through the silence like a whip. "What happened here?"

The employee stiffened, his shoulders jerking as though someone had poured ice water down his back. He hesitated, glancing at Rex, then at Victor, as if choosing between the executioner and the savior. Finally, with trembling lips, he forced himself to speak.

"S-sir, it was Manager Victor... he... he started mocking and threatening this guest, saying he wasn’t welcome here. He even tried to pressure him, boasting about his authority... then he said... he said..."

The man’s voice faltered as though the words themselves might invite disaster. But the weight of the boss’s glare pushed him forward. "He said... ’you’re finished.’"

The more Steven listened, the paler his face grew. the blood rising hot under his skin only to turn cold as it sank in. By the time the final phrase was uttered, a tremor ran through him. He drew in a sharp breath, his chest rising and falling heavily. By the time the words ’you are finished’ came out, his hands were trembling. Cold sweat broke out across his forehead.

A low, dangerous sound escaped his throat... half scoff, half growl... as he spun toward Victor with a fury that seemed to shake the room itself.

"What the fuck do you think you are doing!?" His voice thundered, echoing against the walls.

Victor’s face went slack, the blood draining so quickly it was as though his soul had already left his body. His lips quivered, hands twitching at his sides, but no words came out beyond a broken stammer.

"I–I... I didn’t... I was just—"

"Just what?!" Steven thundered, his face contorted in rage. "Do you have any idea who you were speaking to?!"

Victor looked around wildly, his eyes searching the room for support that wasn’t there. Every employee avoided his gaze, their faces pale, their bodies stiff, terrified of being dragged into the storm.

"You ungrateful little bastard," Steven spat, his voice shaking with the force of his anger. "It seems your wings have grown too hard... daring to mouth off to his excellency of all people?!"

Victor staggered back, his lips trembling. His mind reeled. Excellency? HIM? The word echoed like a nightmare, shredding through the last of his confidence.

"You’re fired!" Steven roared, his finger stabbing the air like a blade. "Get your things and get out of my sight—NOW!"

The command rang like a death knell.

A hush crashed over the office, deafening in its weight. No one dared breathe, no one dared blink. The employees stared in awe and horror, as if watching an execution. The girls’ eyes widened in disbelief... first in shock, then in a creeping, undeniable satisfaction as Victor’s mask of smug superiority crumbled to ash.

(End of Chapter)