Chapter 22 (2/2)

‘Anyway, he’s so mean.’

Fortunately, there was a knife for opening letters on the table. Annette used the knife to cut off the choker around her neck. She was sorry to do that since it was a gift from her new sister-in-law, Claire. But she knew Claire would be satisfied knowing her gift fulfilled her purpose very well.

Annette sighed as she recalled yesterday’s Rafael. Although his anger seemed to have been a little subdued through their affair, he seemed quite displeased hearing about her meeting with Ludwig.

‘It would be better to make him feel better.’

Annette felt sorry for him and made up her mind. No matter how little Rafael loved her, it would still be unpleasant to see his wife have a private conversation with her ex-fiance. After getting dressed, Annette went downstairs to find Rafael. On the way, she ran into a maid and asked her thoughtlessly.

“Do you happen to know where he is?”

“Sir has gone out, Madam. He said he was going to the royal palace.”

The maid answered, bowing her head politely. Annette nodded and passed her with a nonchalant face. It was a bit disappointing that Rafael went out without leaving a note, but anyway, he never went around revealing his destination. He was angry with Annette, so he probably must have gone out to vent that anger.

Annette sighed and decided to go to the study. She luckily hoped that she could find more books on regressors. But Annette’s plan was unintentionally halted. It was because she found an unexpected person coming out of the reception room.

‘Gerard?’

The tall, elegant-looking young man with blond hair, was Gerard, the butler of the Bavarian family. Last time, he was severely rebuked when he came to return the wedding presents from Rafael. Annette thought he would never visit the Mansion of Carnesis again.

Gerard, who had not yet noticed Annette’s presence, headed for the front door with an indifferent face. Just as he was about to leave, he told the servant who came out to see him off,

“Then, I will visit again when Your Excellency, Marquis of Carnesis is present.”

Annette’s eyes narrowed hearing his words. Although Rafael was absent, the hostess herself was definitely there. However, Gerard dared to return, saying, ‘I will visit again when Your Excellency is present.’ Annette found Gerard’s actions very suspicious.

‘You’re not trying to insult Rafael again, are you?’ Annette was on the edge, feeling an ominous premonition. If that was the case, she couldn’t let Gerard go back like this. If Gerard revisited when she was not in the mansion and provoked Rafael’s anger again, then the worst would happen.

So, just before Gerard could leave the mansion, Annette quickly called him. Her voice sounded very pretentious even to her own ears.

“Gerard! What are you doing here?It’s good to see you again.”

“Greetings to the Marchioness. Have you been well?”

Gerard seemed to have made up his mind. He bowed politely to Annette as if he had just met her. Looking at Gerard’s businesslike attitude, who could guess that he had served Annette for nearly a decade?

Annette nodded gracefully. Just like he knew her, Annette also knew him quite well. Annette could see a little bit of dismay on Gerard’s smooth face when she encountered him. Pretending not to have seen this, she calmly said to Gerard.

“I was too heartless the other day, wasn’t I, Gerard? But I won’t apologize. As a wife, I can’t stand anyone insulting my husband. But still I’d like to invite you for a cup of tea for old times sake. Let’s talk about the old times. Now, follow me.”

Annette turned around naturally. Then, Gerard’s mouth became a little stiff. He was eager to somehow avoid being alone with Annette.

“I wish I could, but I must obey the Duke’s orders. I think I should go now. I’m sorry, Madam.”

Sure enough, he rejected Annette’s request. At that, Annette’s eyes widened and she covered  her mouth in amazement. She looked at Gerard with a hurt face.

“Oh, my God! Did my father order you not to even have a cup of tea with me? No matter how busy you are, how can he not even allow me to say hello to the old butler? I can’t… I’ll write a letter to my father right now…”

Gerard was very embarrassed when he  saw Annette protesting directly against her father. It was already a disaster for Gerard to face Annette instead of Rafael in the first place. If Annette’s letter of protest was also added to this, it would be impossible to deal with the mess. Allamand who was already once disappointed with Gerard, would not forgive him twice. Gerard finally accepted Annette’s request helplessly.

“A cup of tea will do. Thank you for your kindness.”

Annette took the lead and headed to the parlor with a victorious smile. Now, through Gerard, it was time to dig deeper into her father’s intentions.