Richard and Brando waited for about an hour until they saw Annie come out of the manor. By now, it was completely dark.
Annie walked out of the manor, carrying a food box. Her face showed no expression as she stepped onto the wooden stool placed on the ground by the coachman and boarded the carriage.
Richard had been waiting in the carriage for a while and reached out, trying to take the food box from Annie to lighten her load. But Annie did not appreciate the gesture; she lifted the food box higher, avoiding Richard's hand, and went straight into the carriage.
Richard stopped his hand in mid-air and slowly retracted it. He glanced at the food box Annie was holding, noticing that the swing was a little beyond his expectation—indicating that the box was much lighter than before, almost empty. Moreover, he heard a faint sound of an object rolling inside the box, something like a cylinder, which made him think of a scroll.
