Chapter 4 (2/2)

Once again, after speaking ill of the director, I began to quickly search his drawers, thinking that this was not the right time.

The first drawer had nothing special, and the second drawer had nothing special too.

What was left was a large, third drawer, locked with a key. Yet it was locked when I tried to open it, and I could hear only the rattling sound.

“…You need a key.”

I didn’t think there would be a problem like this. Well, they said the male protagonist was very strong, so I guess he just blew it open.

I was impatient, so I tried to open the drawer a few more times, but I immediately turned my head to another place with a sense of aphorism.

‘Let’s think slowly. The director is more clumsy than a horseman, so he could hide his keys here for some possible circumstances.’

I stood up and headed toward the center of the room.

A wall filled with expensive-looking books.

A desk made of solid wood and two large flowerpots next to it.

A thick carpet on the floor and a large sofa on it.

‘He’s a person who’s too lazy to move, so if he thinks he’s minimizing the flow of movement, it’s a nearby flowerpot, and if you think about the director being left-handed then…’

I walked to the flowerpot on the left side of his desk and looked inside, and there was a little key twinkling in it as I expected.

‘Found it!’

The key that I found was, fortunately, the key to the drawer.

I put the key in the keyhole and turned it around, and then the drawer opened with a click and a cheerful sound.

Unfortunately, it was difficult to grasp the contents of the document because I did not learn the letters of this world properly.

‘Okay, I’d be happy if I had enough documents to trade.’

I took all the documents out of the drawer and put it in my bag one by one.

‘But what is this?’

In addition to the documents, there was a unique-looking stamp.

‘If it’s kept in a place like this, then it’s important. I’m going to take this, too.’

No one is watching, but just in case, I will hide the seal in the pocket next to my bag and now, I have taken everything I need.

Click.

I closed the drawer, locked it back with a key, and put it back in the pot.

All I had to do was carry my bag properly and walk out, but I could hear footsteps outside at that moment.

The clatter of footsteps somehow seemed to be more than one.

‘Oh no, what should I do?’

This room was at the end of the building’s hall.  So, it was clear that the footsteps were heading to this room.

If you go out now, you’ll get caught.

‘I might be beaten to death here.’

The director was much more hot-tempered than other employees, and sometimes he was very violent towards the children who did wrong. If he knew that I was trying to take this and get away, he could kill me on this spot.

‘You’re doing this so you won’t die. You need to wake up, Daphne!’

Taking control of my confused mind, I hurriedly looked around the room again.

Jumping from the second floor with this body would lead me to death.

There was only one place where I could hide in this place where there was not even a wardrobe, and I didn’t have time to hesitate.

I wiped the sweat off my forehead and crumpled myself under the sofa, holding my bag dearly.

I couldn’t even eat properly, so, fortunately, my small and soft body was able to get under it when I put a little effort.

The door opened as soon as I hid perfectly, covering my front with a descending cloth.

I held my bag in my arms and covered my mouth with my other hand to make sure my breath sound wouldn’t be heard and to swallow it as much as possible.

Immediately, the voice of the room’s owner, the director’s voice was heard.

“So you’re taking Daphne there tomorrow?”

“Yeah, she’s been a little cheeky since I was a little nice to her so I need to give her some scolding.”

The voice of Ulinee followed.

“Oh, my God. Look at you saying that now your plans are messed up. There are so many people who hate her mother. You might get beaten to death if you go there. Do you think purple hair is common?”

“Why would she die? All I have to do is make her scared and act properly.”

“Do as you please. The Duke doesn’t seem to care about her anyway, and seeing that we haven’t heard from her mother’s side too, she’s completely abandoned. She’s pathetic, too.”

“Do you feel sorry for her?”

A giggle followed a playful voice.

However, after a while, the conversation between those two was interrupted.

“ …Come here for a moment.”

And it seemed that a slow movement of footsteps was coming towards the sofa.

‘Did I get caught?’

I held my breath as much as I could, shut my mouth tightly, and pushed my body further inside.

With the slowly approaching sound, the footsteps stopped in front of the sofa I was hiding.

‘No, please…’

I closed my eyes and hoped the two wouldn’t know.