Chapter 59

Listening to Annette’s words, Thomas’s eyes shook like reeds. He was even dubious about what he had heard. Suspecting Annette’s intentions, Thomas said nonchalantly,

“Oh, are you? I’m sure Marquis would be very pleased to hear that. His wife not only cares about the household but also the operations of his mine! As a fellow man, I really envy the Marquis. Hehe!”

Thomas laughed loudly, but the tips of his eyebrows were slightly twitching. From Thomas’s point of view, her interest could not be entertained. Even though Raphael was the owner, Thomas was able to do whatever he wanted because Raphael had left all the mining operations to him and did not pay much attention. But if the ownership of the mine gets in the hands of Annette, he would be left with nothing. Naturally, his eyes, looking at Annette, were filled with caution.

After seeing this, Annette raised her hand gracefully and held her chin. Then a large diamond tucked over her velvet glove gave off a dazzling glow. It was an excessive design that she never would have worn if it was her usual self. However, it was also a good bait to attract attention. As soon as Thomas’s gaze turned to the diamond, Annette smiled arrogantly.

“That’s right. He has little interest in mines. So… Shouldn’t something precious belong to someone who recognizes its value? What do you think, Mr. Bradley?”

“…What? Excuse me, Madam, what are you talking about? Well, I can’t understand…”

Annette looked at the embarrassed Thomas with an even more charming smile. It was the smile that she had learned from Railin. It was only for this moment that she had intentionally dressed up in fancy clothes and shown Thomas too much attention. Annette, lazily leaning her head, whispered with a gleam in her eyes.

“I mean, I think I can do a lot better if I become the owner of the mine. Whether it’s regarding its operations or profits. And maybe… also give the loyal employees who helped me, plenty of my ‘sincerity’?”

When Thomas heard Annette’s suggestion, his eyes became wide open with shock. He looked as if he had never expected to hear something like this from her. After seeing this, Annette became more confident. It seemed she was doing a good job in acting. Annette, with her head tilted, smiled like a cat and further cornered Thomas.

“What do you think, Mr. Bradley? Are you willing to help me out?”

“Madam, that…… It’s so sudden, I’m not sure how to answer.”

Thomas’s bald head gleamed with embarrassment. In fact, from his current standpoint, he couldn’t help but be embarrassed. He had come here as Raphael’s mine manager at the order of Allamand. But the employer’s daughter suddenly stepped in, saying that she too wanted the mine. So it was a bit embarrassing. After putting Thomas into a spot, just like she wanted, Annette decided to step back.

“I think you need time to think, Mr. Bradley.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m so sorry, but I can’t give you an answer right now.”

Thomas, who was sweating a lot, analyzed her words and bit her bait. In response, Annette nodded and pretended to be sullen for not receiving an answer. There was an awkward silence between the two, but it was soon broken by Annette.

“Then Mr. Bradley. I heard you say you’re from West Deilun?”

“That’s right, ma’am. Do you know about Deilun?”

Thomas answered Annette’s question with a confident smile. ‘He must have forged his hometown as well.’ It seemed he was also a good actor. Annette decided to be generous with him. She was cheating Thomas anyway. Annette with a curious look asked by tilting her head.

“There’s a traditional song that’s popular in the Deilun area, isn’t there? I listened to it by chance before. It was really rich in notes and was more pleasant to hear than I thought. But maybe it was because the lyrics were unfamiliar, I couldn’t understand what the song meant. Since Mr. Bradley is from there, you should know the meaning, right?”

“Meaning of the traditional song? Ah…. yes.”

A drop of sweat trickled down from Thomas’s dazzling head. Although he had memorized the specialties of the fake hometown and famous names related to it, he didn’t know much about the traditional songs. But it was okay. Annette also didn’t know anyway.

‘Ah, it’s all made up.’

Annette smiled, concealing her thoughts. Then she asked Thomas, naively blinking her eyes as if she was not at all suspicious of him.

“Yes. I’m not good enough at singing, but would you like to hear it? I really want to know the meaning of that enchanting song.”

“Oh, yes, yes! Of course, I would like to hear it!”

Thomas, whose face became red, nodded knowingly. He was very embarrassed because he knew nothing about the traditional songs of Deilun. He wondered what he would do if he got caught because of this and his identity was exposed. But on the other hand, he was also grateful to hear Annette sing it for him first. After listening to the song, he could make some meaning out of it, right?

“Well, it’s somewhat embarrassing, but I’ll sing a little bit.”

Annette cleared her throat, pretending to be unaware of Thomas’s feelings. Then Thomas, with a flattering smile, bowed his head and leaned in a little to focus on her singing. After confirming this, Annette opened her mouth and began to sing a random song.

🎶The morning sun is golden.

The afternoon sun is white

The evening sun is red.

And when the moon rises, everything disappears🎶

It was just a random song, but its effect was clear. Thomas, who was leaning forward, fell asleep on the table and snored loudly. Annette, who confirmed this, quickly got up from her seat.

‘I don’t have much time. I have to quickly find the evidence that could prove Thomas is a traitor.’

As a regressor, Annette’s “special ability” was to put people to sleep. Fortunately, the ability was instantaneous, so most of the people fell asleep in 30 seconds. However, the only flaw in this was that it was difficult to estimate the duration of the ability.

If the opponent was as sleep-deprived as Raphael, the ability lasted for a longer duration. However, if she forced a sober person to sleep, the effect did not last for more than five minutes. Therefore, she had to move as fast as possible in situations like this.

Annette looked around the parlour and searched everything that stood out. But there was nothing on the shelves near the table or on the bookshelves. According to Railin’s report, Thomas didn’t get a house around here. Instead, Thomas shared a room and board in this large mining office building.

‘Then the only thing left to search is there.”

She approached the back door that she had noticed earlier. Perhaps inside this door was Thomas’s personal living space. But the door was tightly locked. Annette hurried back to Thomas and searched his arms carefully.

‘Key, key… I found it!’

She felt something similar to a key when she looked in the inner pocket of Thomas’s right vest. But Thomas fell asleep in a precarious position on the table. So she was unable to take out the key from his inner pocket. Annette grunted and then lifted Thomas by grabbing him by the shoulder. Fortunately, after much effort, she was able to take the key out of his vest pocket, but there was another problem.

“Ummm….”

Thomas, who frowned, showed signs of awakening. The sounds of his loud snoring had disappeared. Frustrated, Annette quickly sang and put him back to sleep. She was doubtful whether it will work again on the person she had already used it on. But fortunately, Thomas fell asleep again. As he started snoring again, Annette breathed a sigh of relief.

‘I almost got in trouble there.’

Her hands trembled as she felt the danger of this work. It was a very tense moment for Annette, who had always lived as a good child and like a flower in a greenhouse. But now there was no time to hesitate. Annette, grasping the warm key, hurriedly opened the door behind the parlour. Inside, there was a bedroom with a slightly stale smell.

‘Please, I hope I can find any evidence……!’

Annette went into Thomas’s bedroom, praying earnestly. She wanted to bring some gain to Raphael, who had entrusted her with this job. And at this opportunity, she also hoped that she could cut off her father’s paws extending toward Raphael.

Fortunately, her prayers were soon answered.

* * *

“Thank you very much for forgiving my rudeness, madam.”

Thomas, who got up after falling asleep, blushed deeply. Then his head turned red, making him look like a big boiled octopus. Annette politely took her gaze off his bald head and smiled generously.

“Oh, it was because you were tired. I know Mr. Bradley works very hard for the mining business.”

“I’m really grateful for your generosity. Well, I’ll think seriously about your request. So please give me a little time.”

Thomas lowered his voice and whispered, to which Annette nodded with a subtle glance. He still seemed to believe that Annette was a greedy woman who coveted her husband’s mine. She was sure he would tell her father about this and ask him what to do.

But it didn’t really matter. The evidence of Thomas’s embezzlement was hidden inside the large hem of Annette’s dress. Thomas would be done for as soon as she returned to Raphael with this. So he won’t have a chance to get a reply from Allamand. Annette smiled gracefully, suppressing her still pounding chest.

“Good-bye, then Mr. Bradley. It was really nice meeting you.”

“It was an honor for me too, madam. Then please be careful on your way home.”

Thomas didn’t realize that Annette was saying goodbye instead of ‘see you soon’. He thought she had said it wrong and just simply shrugged it off.

And that was the last time ‘Thomas Bradley’ saw Annette.