Chapter 69. Between Love and Acting (7)

Of course, our first meeting was not as beautiful as Ian remembered.

After being criticized by the brothers of the Avedes, I faced Ian in spite.

And I lost horribly.

Ian, a 14-year-old, reached out to me who collapsed, and at that time I…

“It was a good fight…”

“Get lost, XX. It must have been a good fight for you.”

I had spat out abusive language after hitting his hand.

It was a typical villain who could not give in to a gentlemanly winner.

Ian’s words continued as I sighed while recalling the past.

“It was only my first impression, and I ignored it because it was dirty to curse and attack.”

It was embarrassing because it was a lie that was secretly well-proven in reality.

“But the time piled up, so I forgot the nervousness I encountered for the first time from some time on.”

He scratched his cheek with a clumsy smile.

“But one day, the level of swear words decreased a little along with the number of reckless attacks…”

It was clear that it was not a compliment, but I didn’t know why that came to mind.

“As a result, I wondered if she was as bad as I thought, and I became more curious, so I kept looking at her more and more…”

Ian continued to talk without looking toward me.

“As I observe, I think of days when I can’t see her…”

“You are one of the ordinary stupid people.”

Even before Ian’s words continued, my uncle sighed and intervened.

“Stupid people say, ‘Why is she like that?’ when someone who has always been kind gets angry.”

“Uh… Umm…”

“On the other hand, they’re touched when a person who’s always been in trouble does well once.”

He even laughed at Ian with a cynical expression.

“I guess you’re one of them.”

In the meantime, the feeling that seemed to have risen slightly had been broken.

I couldn’t believe he compressed a fairly romantic narrative into a foolish human idiot in an instant.

It was the moment when I was convinced that we were fine.

The butler, who was listening with a little immersion, also looked tired of the uncle.

“Uh… That’s…”

Even Ian seemed a little embarrassed, but at that moment, the ring on my right hand sparkled.

So Robert contacted me again.

It came almost every few hours and now it was bothersome.

Ian, who was looking at it, grabbed my hand.

“Even so, we can’t help it.”

‘Oh? The story is kind of excessive. Are you trying to win against my uncle?’

Ian added low whether he knew what I was thinking or not.

“It’s okay to treat me carelessly.”

“What?”

“I mean I want to get all the attention. Even if it is hate and disgust.”

I quickly pressed down on the jewelry and sent a signal, fearing that my uncle would catch me.

There was no need to let them know that we had magical items.

‘Why does Robert keep in touch so often and needlessly…’

As I was thinking of Robert, I suddenly realized something.

At that time, the managers couldn’t be interrogated because they couldn’t remember what happened.

So, didn’t you owe me a debt for trying to interrogate Reid?

It seemed like I didn’t have to do anything because I was just going to hit my uncle first.

I rolled my eyes and asked my uncle at first.

“Lord, do you know Oscar Rainfield, who has neither blood nor tears? How about the naive and tender-hearted Marilyn Rainfield?”

My uncle was annoyed as if it was ridiculous.

“What? Why are they talking about them here? And you’ve got it wrong.”

There was nothing special about it. Because my uncle was annoyed the whole time.

However, the content was noteworthy.

“Oscar Reinfield, who shed tears like a snowman in midsummer, and Marilyn Rainfield, who has a stronger personality than a sturgeon.” (Nick correcting her)

I nodded inwardly.

He really remembered the past.

This was not a reaction that could be seen by simply covering the skin.

It must have been that he knew the two of them accurately and remembered the past clearly.

“Are you from the capital? It’s said that they live crazy about money, are they okay? Well, they both have sharp fingertips, so they should be living well.”

Without realizing it, I greeted him politely while holding Ian’s hand tightly.

Now there was no reason to hide.

“Well… Hello. I didn’t expect to meet you like this, but…”

No matter how much I thought about it, there was no way that my uncle was with Lanella unless he was afflicted with black magic.

Because an unconcealed worry flashed through the eyes of my uncle who spoke of my parents’ names.

“My name is Annabelle Rainfield. Therefore…”

My uncle’s eyes widened as soon as he heard my name.

I added shyly.

“…Nice to meet you. I’m your niece.”

~*~

I explained the situation to my uncle.

“So you are fake lovers.”

After listening to all my explanations, my uncle said sharply with his arms crossed.

“You mean you’re here to investigate the human trafficking in our territory? Do you think it has something to do with black magic?”

“Yes.”

I also told my uncle all the stories that had happened in the past.

Of course, I hid the identity of Ian and the fact that Prince Robert was behind it, because I didn’t think it was necessary to tell him.

It was because I thought it was right to be careful in everything until all the problems were solved.

“And… Lanella swapped you for another dead child.”

“Yes.”

“How can I believe that? How can I believe you are the child of Oscar and Marilyn?”

That was a reasonable question.

“Lanella has been in the South for over 20 years. Even after I became the lord, she worked on a small farm in our estate and stayed close with me.”

I clicked my tongue inward.

As we expected, Lanella was here. She probably had something to do with black magic as well.

The assumption that the Lord of Caronda had something to do with black magic was also correct to some extent.

She used her acquaintance at her nursery school to cheat my uncle’s eyes and do bad things.

“Wait. A small farm?”

At first glance, it looked like it was not a small farm, but a large black magic business.

“Perhaps… Could you please explain to me what’s strange that is going on in this estate? That’s something you can tell me even if you don’t believe me.”

My uncle answered with a sigh with a face full of apprehension.

“One day, all of a sudden, young people who have reached the end of their marriage disappeared. Neither the mouse nor the bird disappears… Everyone was speculating that it was human trafficking rather than a simple disappearance.”

It seemed that Paul knew the meaning of the phrase, ‘Young people are the most dangerous here’.

Nick spoke slowly.

“I haven’t been able to find most of them. But there were people who have been miraculously found elsewhere, and they all say something very strange.”

“What is it?”

“Almost all of them live abroad with families.”

Setting up a family in a foreign country was an ordinary thing in itself. But the words of my uncle, who were full of sorrow, continued.

“But, without even remembering when, where, or how they left Caronda, they were just parrots saying that they lived with this person, like…”

I seriously questioned.

“Like people who lost their conscience?”

“…Yes.”

It was clear. It was the black magic.

And I could also see what the cheeky “origin of black magic” was, leading in Caronda.

“The small farm where Lanella worked.”

I looked at my uncle’s eyes and asked half confidently.

“Was she raising any animals?”

“Animals… Of course, it’s a farm, so she raised a few. But…”

When the topic moved back to Lanella, my uncle’s voice became cold.

“I’ve been with Lanella throughout my childhood at the nursery, so I’ve been seeing her for over 30 years.”

He stared at me and added.

“Why should I trust you, the suspicious niece I’ve never seen in my life?”

In common sense, I was new to him and of course he had no choice but to be wary.

Of course, I wasn’t particularly offended because I didn’t come here to find relatives.

“You don’t have to believe it. You can find out after catching Lanella.”

I answered coolly.

Even there seemed to be an easy path.

“In that sense, please call Lanella. Let’s keep it a secret that we’re here. Let’s all gather together and reveal it.”

It was perfect for breaking the trap.

But my trick was smashed right away.

“She recently went to the capital city.”

My uncle said with a frown on his forehead.

“She hasn’t returned since then.”

When I heard that, Ian and I’s expressions hardened at the same time.

We found out that we were thinking the same thing after exchanging glances with each other once.

There was no way that Lanella, who had always been in the south, would hide elsewhere.

In addition, Caronda’s traffickers had yet to be caught.

Of course, she would have hidden in Caronda, and we could make two inferences about not informing my uncle of the fact.

First, it was the fact that Lanella thought he might find out about my parents and me someday, so she decided not to appear in front of my uncle anymore.

Second, it meant that my uncle was no longer useful for Lanella, and maybe that was why it could be more dangerous.

“Uncle, you know…”

It was when I spoke in a hurry. He coughed in vain as if he was slightly surprised by the title “uncle”.

“Cough, cough, u-uncle?”