Annette narrowed her eyes and looked at the man’s face standing under the umbrella. She wondered why he had such a dark look on his face. The moment their eyes met, Railin suddenly smiled at Annette. His face immediately turned bright as usual.
‘He sure didn’t look happy. Did I see it wrong?’
Annette tilted her head. Railin approached her while playfully twirling his umbrella. With a window between them, he stopped and greeted her in a slightly different way than usual.
“Give me the grace of the goddess, O’ servant of the faithful goddess.”
The greeting that Railin just said was only used to greet the priests serving the Goddess Odessa. Annette, who understood his joke, grinned and replied in the same way.
“The breath of the goddess will always be with you, O’ Lamb of the devout Goddess.”
Seeing Annette accept the joke, Railin nodded satisfactorily and entered the cafe. Despite the rain, there was no trace of any water splashing on Railin’s pale gray trousers. Annette asked, looking at this curiously.
“Do I have to use magic to become a Secret Guild Master? Like walking on water or something.”
“I don’t know. After all, a charming beauty like me needs to have some secrets.”
With a mysterious smile, Railin pretended to show off his beauty. It was a unique charm of Railin but she didn’t dislike it. However, Annette hadn’t come here to crack jokes with Railin.
“So, have you set a date for the infiltration?”
“Of course. A week from now, it will be the second day of the harvest festival. We will meet at the Western Burial Tomb, a little far from the Odessa Louis temple. Very few people come there.”
Annette nodded her head. Well, though the festival was said to be celebrated for giving ancestral worship, the period of harvest ahead was celebrated no different from a carnival. On such a fine day, there would not be many mourners wandering around the graves. Annette asked Railin just to make sure.
“Are you sure Celestine Keers will come to the temple that day?”
“Has my information ever gone wrong?”
Railin asked back with a dizzying smile, with his eyes curved beautifully under the long eyelashes. Annette nodded at the fairly reliable answer. While lost in thought, Annette caressed the rim of the warm teacup and muttered,
“Recently, Celestine rarely socializes. I heard that because of this, people are doubting her qualifications to be a Crown Princess.”
“Well, yes. After all, her family doesn’t have that much power to support her for that position. There’s a rumor going around here that she’s showing signs of social phobia these days. Thanks to this, she seems to be getting a lot of resentment from her acquaintances. Of all the things, this came out as soon as she was confirmed to be the Crown Princess. It seems to everyone it’s the so-called case of ‘After she has succeeded, she has changed‘.…”
Railin explained by acting it out and skillfully changing his voice. Annette frowned at the words. Come to think of it, Celestine also suddenly canceled her attendance at the garden party of Marquis Eloque. Something was off.
“Why is Celestine acting so carelessly now?’
Annette, who suspected Celestine as the real culprit, was puzzled. Now, Celestine had finally got the position of the Crown Princess that she wanted so much. However, at this time with her goal so close, Annette couldn’t understand why she was suddenly throwing away the prepared soup handed out to her.
Well, it didn’t matter. She would eventually know all this when she confronts her anyway. The lingering desire to clear all the false accusations against her was the only reason keeping Annette here. If she was lucky, she might get the answer right away from her encounter with Celestine. And after that…….
Annette smiled when she recalled her prepared plans for the future. Unlike her bitter mood, her voice flowed out smoothly as usual.
“Mister Railin, if you don’t mind, could you please prepare for me to move to Osland? I’d like to visit the place, once this is all over. I have to check it out since I’ll be living there from now on.”
Finally! Railin’s ruby red eyes twinkled with joy.
After finishing her conversation with Railin, Annette headed to the carriage without much thought. It was time to go back to the mansion. It was a rainy day, and if she delayed any longer, Raphael would get worried. Annette laughed at herself for having delusions that ‘Raphael would care about her’. She wondered when this started to happen.
Annette quickened her steps and finally reached the front of the carriage. It was raining, so the leather boots that she wore had become soaked. The moisture sticking between her toes felt unpleasant. Just as she was about to get into the carriage, someone called her from behind.
“Lady…… No, Marchioness.”
The young man’s voice mixed with a foreign accent sounded very aristocratic. After waiting for her for quite a while, the man was completely soaked in the rain. Annette was surprised to see who it was. The young man, whose neatly done blond hair was sticking to his pale forehead, was someone she didn’t expect.
“Gerard? Oh my, don’t you have an umbrella? It’s raining so hard, what are you doing?”
It was Gerard, the butler of the Bavarian family, who was waiting for her. Annette, surprised by Gerard’s pitiful appearance of a wet mouse, grabbed his hand. Gerard’s hands were cold from being out for so long in the rain. She wanted him to come inside the carriage to warm himself up before his temperature dropped further, but Gerard refused.
“It’ll ruin the leather covers, Madam. It’s okay, so I’ll just…….”
“What nonsense are you talking about! Do I look like a person who can’t buy new leather covers? It’s all right, come on, get in.”
While scolding him, Annette pulled his hand in a determined manner and then made him sit inside the carriage. Gerard was her father’s trusted butler and he took care of her for a long time. Although she was now a little distant from him, she had always thought of him as a distant cousin. So to leave Gerard in the rain, while she talked with him sitting comfortably in the carriage, she wasn’t that heartless.
Suddenly being pulled into the carriage by Annette made Gerard finally laugh. He could feel the fine leather covers getting wet under his clothes. It was a little cold in the rain, but his heart warmed up from her kindness. His young lady was as sweet and gentle as she used to be.
“What’s wrong, Gerard? You came all the way here. Did my father make you do it?”
Annette asked while covering Gerard’s body with a blanket. Her heart thumped, wondering whether her father, Allamand, was going to send her another warning note. But Gerard shook his head and glanced intently at Annette. A small shadow covered his graceful face.
“My Lady, no……Madam.”
“Just call me whatever you like. What’s the matter?”
“I’m sorry, but I heard this by accident. The…… the mine of your husband. I heard you kicked out the mine manager.”
Annette’s heart started pounding. The news of her handling Thomas Bradley, her father’s subordinate, had reached his ears. She had expected it, but never thought it would happen so fast.
Annette now wondered how much she could trust Gerard, who was also her father’s subordinate. He would definitely never harm her as he had cared for her since she was a child. But it was different for her husband, Raphael. Annette warily asked Gerard,
“Aah right. Are you asking why he did that? Thomas kept a double ledger and tried to siphon off the profits of the mining business. From a business owner’s point of view, it is natural to fire such people.”
“It’s not just because of that, My Lady. You’re a smart person, so you must have already guessed everything.”
Gerard smiled bitterly. He knew the real reason Annette kicked Thomas out. Annette stared straight at Gerard’s face, not knowing what would happen. Then Gerard sighed deeply and knelt on the floor of the carriage.
“I’m not here to harm you or your husband today. Actually, I will quit this job and return to my hometown tomorrow. Before that, I wanted to say goodbye to you, so I apologize for coming here all of a sudden.”
“You’re going home? Why?”
“My life in Deltium was great, but now it seems it’s time to return to my native country. My brother, who just took over the estate, also needs help.”
Gerard did not give his reasons for leaving. Maybe it was because his plate of troubles got too big and he felt a sense of crisis, or maybe he was uncomfortable with the situation where he had to keep confronting her. Of course, there was also a possibility that it was a lie to bring down Annette’s guard. However, his candid tone and detached face felt sincere.
Just like how he knew Annette well, Annette too knew him very well. Although they had some conflicts in the middle, the time spent with Gerard was very long. It could even be exaggerated that the time spent with Gerard was much longer than the time she spent with her father. During those times, Gerard had consistently been a good butler. Now that he was leaving, she couldn’t continue to treat him coldly.
“I see. Please be careful on your way. I hope we can meet again, Gerard.
Annette bid her farewell in a soft tone and hid her regret. But Gerard’s visit wasn’t just for saying goodbyes. With Annette in front of him, he suddenly looked around. Then he pushed the window of the half-open carriage. Gerard then lowered his voice and whispered very carefully.
“Lady, although I don’t know everything…… but I’ve found one thing.”
“What? What are you talking about all of a sudden, Gerard?”
“The mine. It’s not just the Master, but there are some other people who are helping him. It’s a much more dangerous and bigger conspiracy than what the Lady thought.”
Annette’s eyes widened at the unexpected words. Allamand, the Duke of Bavaria, alone, was a great power. The self-righteous man didn’t need anyone’s help. She couldn’t believe that Allamand had someone’s help in planning something. It was totally unexpected.
“Would you mind telling me more about this, Gerard? I really appreciate it, but if you get caught…….”
While Annette was trembling with anxiety, she was very worried about Gerard. Although she was just trying to protect Raphael, she regretted being too harsh on him. Gerard chuckled sadly and shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, what can they do with someone who’s already gone? There’s something else I really want to tell you.”
Gerard, kneeling on the floor of the carriage, bowed his head. Then he kissed Annette’s rain-soaked boots without any hesitation. At his reverent attitude, Annette’s eyes widened in surprise. He looked up at Annette, still being on his knees, and smiled grimly.
“I sincerely apologize for insulting your husband the other day. That day, I felt like I had been robbed of my precious young lady whom I had brought up. I was really ashamed of my behavior. I shouldn’t have done…….”
“It’s all right, Gerard. You apologized to my husband then. It’s all in the past.”
Gerard again bowed at Annette’s words. Annette’s husband, Raphael’s face flashed in front of his dark eyes. Gerard hoped that he would soon realize what a great privilege it was to stand tall next to Annette. Because he was just a butler, he didn’t even get that chance. Gerard suppressed his lingering feelings and closed his eyes. He deliberately said his last farewell in a bright tone.
“The time I served my lady will always be the most precious and warmest memories of my life. Even if I go back to my native country, I will always think of you. Please be happy.”
When Gerard had finished speaking, he smiled with a cheerful face. Some tears had already accumulated near his eyes. Now not having anything to say to Annette, Gerard turned his back and jumped out of the carriage. Then he strode and disappeared into the darkness.
“Gerard….”
Annette sighed as she looked sadly at Gerard’s back from the window. She was worried if he would safely find his way back home. But now it was really time to go back home. Annette, looking out of the dark window, gave orders to start the carriage.
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