My Wonderful Second Life

Chapter 13- Troublemaking sisters

There was only one way to get a moody and idiotic priest out of his office. Panic. Uncontrollable panic.

And it was with that in mind that I and Jenni prepared the perfect plan. A plan we were watching unfold as we hid behind a large vase. We saw Fanny knock on the door that led to Emmanuel's office, on the farthest corner of Rosalinda's manor. She was nervous, but that was in favour of our plan. After a soft knock, she tried again, more forcefully this time. It didn't work either, and she glanced back at us. When we nodded, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Then she opened them and banged on the door. "My Lord!! My Lord!!! Come to my aid, my Lord. Lady Lucreatia has gone to the garden with one of the strange weapons to do some kind of experiment. Oh..." she wailed- a nice bit of acting to add some misery. "Lady Jennifer has gone to stop her, but Lady Lucreatia is in one of those stubborn moods of hers. My lord!" Besides the jab (intentional, I believe) to my person, I was happy with all the performance and waited.

I didn't have to wait long.

"HOLY HEAVENS!" the door opened at such a speed and strength, it created currents of air that moved furiously along the hall. Fanny would have fallen, if not for Emmanuel's secure grab. He was out of that horrible cape, dressed in his black pants and white shirt. For a split moment, he almost looked decent. Maybe why some maids were such big fans of him. We waited again as Fanny untied herself from his grasp and led the way to my supposed "experimentation site".

They disappeared from our view. However, I could still hear him. "That girl! I swear on the goddess' name, I will hide those weapons! Bury them where not even death can reach!" he said some more, but by then he was too far to be heard by us.

With the first part of our plan concluded, we began our next step. The stealing. To do that, we entered Emmanuel's mysterious office. Bigger than what I had thought from such a small door, it was what some sensible people would call a gigantic scholar library. Full of books, scrolls and maps. It smelled of paper, burnt candles, and ink. The room was in such chaos that only a man like Emmanuel could understand or live with it. Nothing seemed in order, and there was no book left unturned or scroll properly closed.

We didn't stick around to see more and went instead to the desk at the end of the room. Three immense windows behind it showed the night sky full of flickering stars. Made of dark oak, the desk was in the same chaos as the room, except this time there were fireflies as well. They circled the desk with a strange and busy dance, illuminating whatever was close by. My eyes went first to the half-empty bottle of brandy and the empty glass beside it, confirming the drinking habits of the foolish priest. We went through the mountains of letters and papers deposited there, our stressed movements interfering with the waltz of the fireflies.

After a hassled search, Jenni found the letter, and we left to my room. Anyway, in that mess, Emmanuel would have lost it either way. So we were good. Except for a tiny, weeny detail. The firefly that followed us.

In my room, Jenni took the two pieces of paper out of the envelope, without waiting to catch a breath.

Emmanuel,

I hope while you read this letter that you do so without my brandy by your side. When I return, I shall order a count on the barrels. I expect to find the same number of barrels as when the records were set.

Well... that may be difficult, Gobbie...

Moving on to other topics.

I would like to express my gratitude for the countless letters you have sent me. They bring me joy after a full day of work. To know that Lucreatia is back to her vivacious self, and that Jenni is adapting well to life in Aerabitina, makes my heart leap with elation. I am glad to know Fanny is also happy with the new living arrangements.