60

Raphael, who went home first as promised, practiced his sword in the training camp. However, compared to the drops of sweat dripping down his face, the efficiency of his training was not very good. Now his head was full of worries about Annette. He knew she was a very cautious person, so she would never do anything dangerous. Still, he couldn’t help but worry about her.

Raphael sighed and let go of the sword he was holding. It was dangerous to wield a sword in such a state. With one wrong step, he could fall on his own sword. ‘I need to become a Sword Master as soon as possible, but why is it so slow?’ It was so frustrating.

‘I’m in pretty good shape these days.’

His condition was far much better from what it had been before when he suffered from chronic sleep deprivation. It was perfectly peaceful to fall asleep by Annette’s side every night. He didn’t know why, but whenever he fell asleep in her bedroom, he did not suffer from sleepwalking.

Raphael did not know that Annette would sing and put him to sleep whenever he was suffering from his sleep disorders. He simply believed that he had recovered from his illness and that Annette was his mysterious cure. Perhaps it was because he had found a peace of mind in this relationship with her. Otherwise, he couldn’t explain this strange situation where he would sleep well if he was on good terms with her and would have insomnia if they were on bad terms.

‘By the way, Annette is too late…’

Raphael realized that he was circling around the same spot. Although Thomas, the mine manager, was far from the type to try anything, he was still a man. What if he raised his hand on Annette on being discovered! It was really foolish to send Annette alone. Raphael was so anxious that he was about to leave the place to get her.

“Raphael!”

The voice coming from behind his back was as cheerful and happy as a lark. As he turned his head, he could see Annette coming towards him from a distance. She, who had always walked gracefully, was now running towards him with all her might. The well-braided blonde hair became disheveled, and the long dress fluttered in the air like a flower. But the flushed cheeks and eyes of Annette seemed to have no concern for this.

Raphael looked at Annette’s face as if he was bewitched and opened his arms unknowingly. Then Annette, who had sprinted from a distance, jumped into his arms and gasped for air. A pleasant shock hit his body, and he felt her soft arms curl around him like vines. Annette raised her head and shouted gleefully.

“I succeeded, Raphael!”

Excited, Annette took out a bunch of papers from under the hem of her large dress. Raphael, who received it, felt Annette’s lingering warmth on the document and his face slightly reddened. Annette, who knew nothing about this, explained her success in a high-pitched voice.

“This is a double ledger that Thomas Bradley hid. He has been giving fake business reports to you all this time. Here’s the amount of embezzled money he’s been steadily siphoning over the past several months.”

“That’s a lot of data. How didn’t I manage to catch it?”

Raphael pressed his tongue to the inside of his cheek and checked the thickness of the paper. ‘How did this come from underneath her dress? Is it magic?’ Annette smiled awkwardly when she saw Raphael’s surprised expression. She had actually thought of this method after seeing Railin’s maid outfit.

Since the hem of a woman’s dress was so big, it was easy to hide something under it. Even if it was noticeable, who would dare to go ahead and examine under the skirt of a Lady? Annette purposely wore a rustling dress with a big hem. It was to hide the sounds of documents that might be heard. Thanks to that, Thomas couldn’t even guess what was hidden under her dress.

“Raphael, I went over this paper on the way here…. This is a pretty long-term and detailed plan. Thomas Bradley was going to steadily deteriorate your mining business over the years. So that it would fall into enormous debts and you would be forced to auction it off to someone else.”

After speaking, Annette smiled sadly. If that had happened, it was obvious who the new owner of the mine would be. If she hadn’t intervened, an iron ore mine would have also been added to the Duke of Bavaria’s property list in the future. And her father would have laughed at them coldly, just like a snake that had swallowed its prey.

Annette sighed deeply. Allamand’s method was to work hard for several years to bring the mine down and then swallow it all at once. So Annette began her investigation with the mine manager. If Thomas wasn’t the spy, she had planned to next investigate the mine site supervisor. Afterwards, she was going to investigate the deputy director and everyone involved with the mining business one by one. Fortunately, she didn’t have to do it as she caught the big fish in her first try.

Annette suddenly wondered whether after her death in her previous life, Raphael could keep the mine till the end. Since her father’s plan was quite long, Annette in her previous life died without seeing the results. However, there was no way to check it now. At least in this life, Annette’s only consolation was that she got to know about this early and was able to prevent it in time.

“It’s a good thing that we got to know this earl, Raphael. Your iron ore business is now safe.”

Annette blushed with shame and whispered in a small voice. As the joy of success subsided, she could see the reality before her eyes and her blood turned cold. It was her father who was behind all this, so she had no face to look at Raphael. When her pink eyes distorted as if she was about to cry, Raphael saw it and held her up. Then, in a curt tone, he tried to soothe her.

“Shh, why are you crying? You did a good job.”

“But, Raphael, my father almost ruined your business.”

Even though she did well this time, will Allamand give up the mine just because she got rid of Thomas? Annette was very worried about that. Tears welled up in her eyes as she felt a mixture of fear and guilt. Raphael started panicking when he saw that her tears were about to fall. Naturally, his tone of soothing Annette became a little faster.

“What are you sorry about? You saved my business from going bankrupt. Come on, let’s go find the money stolen by this damn manager. And last time didn’t you want a blue diamond? Let’s go buy that too.”

“Diamonds?”

“Yeah. I haven’t gifted you anything aside from those stupid flowers I collected last time. As your husband, I’ve wanted to buy you something at least once. If you want, you can buy whatever color of diamond you want.”

Raphael sneakily tried to coax her using his wealth. At the same time, he couldn’t make eye contact with Annette. He was grateful that he still had a sulky look on his face. Raphael, who was not honest, looked more shy than he usually looked. Annette, who looked at his brusque face with tearful eyes, finally laughed.

“But it was a pretty flower. You were the first one to pick a flower for me. Thank you very much, Raphael.”

Raphael’s temples turned a little red on hearing Annette’s affectionate words. The redness that appeared on the cold, snowy white skin was more pronounced. Under the broad daylight, there was no darkness to cover his face. Pretending not to have seen it, Annette asked carefully.

“So what are you going to do about Thomas Bradley?”

“Well, I’ll think about it now.”

Raphael carefully lowered Annette, who had stopped crying, to the ground. Then he picked up the double ledger that she had stolen. He didn’t know how she found this, but Annette was quite competent, unlike her modest appearance. Maybe she was better than him, who only knew how to wield a sword.

Raphael’s eyes gradually sharpened as he looked down at the ledger book. It was a different feeling to hear Annette’s suspicions regarding Thomas, and to actually see the result. Looking at the systematic plan, he was overwhelmed with anger. This way that jerk wanted his business to go bankrupt so that he could take away his mine.

‘That greedy jerk wants to add more to his piece.’

Raphael felt he needed more power. He was an excellent prosecutor and a brilliant Major with several military achievements in the war. But the war of independence in Lehtan was now all over. He had finished it with his own hands.

After the hunt, the useless hounds were eaten. Luckily Raphael was a human, but it was clear that his status and property were now in jeopardy. So this time, he had to prove his new usefulness and gain the power to protect himself. All of his enemies were great men who were difficult to fight.

“Well done, Annette, I’ll take care of the rest. Now go in and rest.”

Raphael bowed his head and kissed Annette’s cheek affectionately. The blond hair that touched his fingertips and the soft cheeks under his lips were precious to him. To protect Annette, he had to be stronger.

* * *

‘I can hear the sound of rain from outside.’

Annette, sitting in a cafe in the posh shopping district, looked out of the window with a steaming herbal tea in her hand. Raphael thought she was out shopping for the jewels, but this was a trick. Annette had actually come here to meet Railin.

‘I told you I was ready.’

It was early autumn. They would soon hold a ritual at the Temple of Odessa Louis to pray for a bountiful harvest. Since the autumn harvest ritual there was a quite famous occasion, Annette was planning to take this opportunity to infiltrate the temple. No one would know about the identity of Annette if she went in as one of the masked priests.

Annette stared out of the window, waiting for Railin. At that moment, there was a scene that caught Annette’s eye. The first thing that stood out was a beautiful and colorful umbrella. The red lace-covered umbrella was full of pale purple butterflies. Maybe it was sprinkled with diamond powder, but the wings of the butterfly twinkled brightly whenever the umbrella moved.

But even those butterflies couldn’t be more glamorous than the face of the man holding the umbrella.

“…Mr. Railin?”

As soon as the name was called, Railin looked this way. The white face, under the dark red shadow was as colorful as a red butterfly. He didn’t smile at her as usual and looked very grim.

Raphael, who went home first as promised, practiced his sword in the training camp. However, compared to the drops of sweat dripping down his face, the efficiency of his training was not very good. Now his head was full of worries about Annette. He knew she was a very cautious person, so she would never do anything dangerous. Still, he couldn’t help but worry about her.

Raphael sighed and let go of the sword he was holding. It was dangerous to wield a sword in such a state. With one wrong step, he could fall on his own sword. ‘I need to become a Sword Master as soon as possible, but why is it so slow?’ It was so frustrating.

‘I’m in pretty good shape these days.’

His condition was far much better from what it had been before when he suffered from chronic sleep deprivation. It was perfectly peaceful to fall asleep by Annette’s side every night. He didn’t know why, but whenever he fell asleep in her bedroom, he did not suffer from sleepwalking.

Raphael did not know that Annette would sing and put him to sleep whenever he was suffering from his sleep disorders. He simply believed that he had recovered from his illness and that Annette was his mysterious cure. Perhaps it was because he had found a peace of mind in this relationship with her. Otherwise, he couldn’t explain this strange situation where he would sleep well if he was on good terms with her and would have insomnia if they were on bad terms.

‘By the way, Annette is too late…’

Raphael realized that he was circling around the same spot. Although Thomas, the mine manager, was far from the type to try anything, he was still a man. What if he raised his hand on Annette on being discovered! It was really foolish to send Annette alone. Raphael was so anxious that he was about to leave the place to get her.

“Raphael!”

The voice coming from behind his back was as cheerful and happy as a lark. As he turned his head, he could see Annette coming towards him from a distance. She, who had always walked gracefully, was now running towards him with all her might. The well-braided blonde hair became disheveled, and the long dress fluttered in the air like a flower. But the flushed cheeks and eyes of Annette seemed to have no concern for this.

Raphael looked at Annette’s face as if he was bewitched and opened his arms unknowingly. Then Annette, who had sprinted from a distance, jumped into his arms and gasped for air. A pleasant shock hit his body, and he felt her soft arms curl around him like vines. Annette raised her head and shouted gleefully.

“I succeeded, Raphael!”

Excited, Annette took out a bunch of papers from under the hem of her large dress. Raphael, who received it, felt Annette’s lingering warmth on the document and his face slightly reddened. Annette, who knew nothing about this, explained her success in a high-pitched voice.

“This is a double ledger that Thomas Bradley hid. He has been giving fake business reports to you all this time. Here’s the amount of embezzled money he’s been steadily siphoning over the past several months.”

“That’s a lot of data. How didn’t I manage to catch it?”

Raphael pressed his tongue to the inside of his cheek and checked the thickness of the paper. ‘How did this come from underneath her dress? Is it magic?’ Annette smiled awkwardly when she saw Raphael’s surprised expression. She had actually thought of this method after seeing Railin’s maid outfit.

Since the hem of a woman’s dress was so big, it was easy to hide something under it. Even if it was noticeable, who would dare to go ahead and examine under the skirt of a Lady? Annette purposely wore a rustling dress with a big hem. It was to hide the sounds of documents that might be heard. Thanks to that, Thomas couldn’t even guess what was hidden under her dress.

“Raphael, I went over this paper on the way here…. This is a pretty long-term and detailed plan. Thomas Bradley was going to steadily deteriorate your mining business over the years. So that it would fall into enormous debts and you would be forced to auction it off to someone else.”

After speaking, Annette smiled sadly. If that had happened, it was obvious who the new owner of the mine would be. If she hadn’t intervened, an iron ore mine would have also been added to the Duke of Bavaria’s property list in the future. And her father would have laughed at them coldly, just like a snake that had swallowed its prey.

Annette sighed deeply. Allamand’s method was to work hard for several years to bring the mine down and then swallow it all at once. So Annette began her investigation with the mine manager. If Thomas wasn’t the spy, she had planned to next investigate the mine site supervisor. Afterwards, she was going to investigate the deputy director and everyone involved with the mining business one by one. Fortunately, she didn’t have to do it as she caught the big fish in her first try.

Annette suddenly wondered whether after her death in her previous life, Raphael could keep the mine till the end. Since her father’s plan was quite long, Annette in her previous life died without seeing the results. However, there was no way to check it now. At least in this life, Annette’s only consolation was that she got to know about this early and was able to prevent it in time.

“It’s a good thing that we got to know this earl, Raphael. Your iron ore business is now safe.”

Annette blushed with shame and whispered in a small voice. As the joy of success subsided, she could see the reality before her eyes and her blood turned cold. It was her father who was behind all this, so she had no face to look at Raphael. When her pink eyes distorted as if she was about to cry, Raphael saw it and held her up. Then, in a curt tone, he tried to soothe her.

“Shh, why are you crying? You did a good job.”

“But, Raphael, my father almost ruined your business.”

Even though she did well this time, will Allamand give up the mine just because she got rid of Thomas? Annette was very worried about that. Tears welled up in her eyes as she felt a mixture of fear and guilt. Raphael started panicking when he saw that her tears were about to fall. Naturally, his tone of soothing Annette became a little faster.

“What are you sorry about? You saved my business from going bankrupt. Come on, let’s go find the money stolen by this damn manager. And last time didn’t you want a blue diamond? Let’s go buy that too.”

“Diamonds?”

“Yeah. I haven’t gifted you anything aside from those stupid flowers I collected last time. As your husband, I’ve wanted to buy you something at least once. If you want, you can buy whatever color of diamond you want.”

Raphael sneakily tried to coax her using his wealth. At the same time, he couldn’t make eye contact with Annette. He was grateful that he still had a sulky look on his face. Raphael, who was not honest, looked more shy than he usually looked. Annette, who looked at his brusque face with tearful eyes, finally laughed.

“But it was a pretty flower. You were the first one to pick a flower for me. Thank you very much, Raphael.”

Raphael’s temples turned a little red on hearing Annette’s affectionate words. The redness that appeared on the cold, snowy white skin was more pronounced. Under the broad daylight, there was no darkness to cover his face. Pretending not to have seen it, Annette asked carefully.

“So what are you going to do about Thomas Bradley?”

“Well, I’ll think about it now.”

Raphael carefully lowered Annette, who had stopped crying, to the ground. Then he picked up the double ledger that she had stolen. He didn’t know how she found this, but Annette was quite competent, unlike her modest appearance. Maybe she was better than him, who only knew how to wield a sword.

Raphael’s eyes gradually sharpened as he looked down at the ledger book. It was a different feeling to hear Annette’s suspicions regarding Thomas, and to actually see the result. Looking at the systematic plan, he was overwhelmed with anger. This way that jerk wanted his business to go bankrupt so that he could take away his mine.

‘That greedy jerk wants to add more to his piece.’

Raphael felt he needed more power. He was an excellent prosecutor and a brilliant Major with several military achievements in the war. But the war of independence in Lehtan was now all over. He had finished it with his own hands.

After the hunt, the useless hounds were eaten. Luckily Raphael was a human, but it was clear that his status and property were now in jeopardy. So this time, he had to prove his new usefulness and gain the power to protect himself. All of his enemies were great men who were difficult to fight.

“Well done, Annette, I’ll take care of the rest. Now go in and rest.”

Raphael bowed his head and kissed Annette’s cheek affectionately. The blond hair that touched his fingertips and the soft cheeks under his lips were precious to him. To protect Annette, he had to be stronger.

* * *

‘I can hear the sound of rain from outside.’

Annette, sitting in a cafe in the posh shopping district, looked out of the window with a steaming herbal tea in her hand. Raphael thought she was out shopping for the jewels, but this was a trick. Annette had actually come here to meet Railin.

‘I told you I was ready.’

It was early autumn. They would soon hold a ritual at the Temple of Odessa Louis to pray for a bountiful harvest. Since the autumn harvest ritual there was a quite famous occasion, Annette was planning to take this opportunity to infiltrate the temple. No one would know about the identity of Annette if she went in as one of the masked priests.

Annette stared out of the window, waiting for Railin. At that moment, there was a scene that caught Annette’s eye. The first thing that stood out was a beautiful and colorful umbrella. The red lace-covered umbrella was full of pale purple butterflies. Maybe it was sprinkled with diamond powder, but the wings of the butterfly twinkled brightly whenever the umbrella moved.

But even those butterflies couldn’t be more glamorous than the face of the man holding the umbrella.

“…Mr. Railin?”

As soon as the name was called, Railin looked this way. The white face, under the dark red shadow was as colorful as a red butterfly. He didn’t smile at her as usual and looked very grim.