Chapter 56: Delaying Suspicion

Having studied the book she found at Stonehenge in her early archaeological days, pretty much none of the magical symbols in that book can escape Lecia's eyes, even if she may not understand it. Thus, the circular pattern on one of Daniel's canvases can be no mistake. While she may not understand the purpose of such a symbol, it's definitely outside where it should be found.

This is no mere coincidence.

Even if Daniel may not understand the undue attention by his client, it's clear he can't let the drawing be attached to him and Anne. His head races about what to say.

"No, um, that was—"

"Dumpster!" Anne cuts in hastily. With a rigid smile, she steps forward to her son's client, holding a tray with cups of tea.

"Dumpster?" Lecia repeats, raising her brow.

The artist blinks, but quickly adjusts to his slime mother's quick thinking with a small chuckle. "Ah, yes, that's right! I was taking out the trash when I saw it lying in our bin. I'm not sure who drew it, but it caught my eye. It seemed a shame to let it be thrown out."

'But why did this painting catch her eye? Fuck, this isn't good,' he adds in his mind. Not to seem anxious, he casually tries to take his cup from the tray as Anne approaches.

Lecia stares at the two for a moment before closing her eyes easily. Reaching to the tray as well, she takes the offering.

"Well, that's a shame. It's not surprising you have a good eye. I, too, quite like minimal abstract art like this."

'Bullshit,' both Daniel and Anne think at the same time. Still, they relax more, seeing how the Stonehenge leader isn't pressing.

Taking a sip of the tea, Lecia returns to Anne with a smile. "Also, I don't think I caught your name?"

"Oh, um, it's Anne."

The slime mother hopes there's not much to be gained by revealing a common first name; however, she intentionally avoids any last name in hopes it wouldn't be pressed upon.

Thankfully, Lecia doesn't think much of it as she hums. "Well, Anne, thank you for the tea! It's delicious."

Turning back to Daniel, she clears her throat. "Anyway, I didn't mean to become distracted from your work."

Anne gladly retreats to the kitchen with the tray. Meanwhile, the artist forces himself to relax by taking his own draw of the brew. Swallowing slowly, he shakes his head. "No, it's fine. What caught your eyes about that piece?"

"I've seen something similar to this pattern, that's all. Why do you think it was thrown out?"

"I'm not sure. To be honest, I don't really dabble in abstract art or minimalism, but I can appreciate the symmetry and neatness of the strokes."

'Nothing else, huh,' Lecia concludes in her head while smiling bitterly. Regardless of whether Daniel is hiding something or truly happened upon a symbol related to the Stonehenge text, she has unexpectedly gained a lot from this visit.

Simply, there's someone out there who knows about the text. It could very well be a leak from her organization, or it exists elsewhere in other form.

"Well, I don't have much else to say, Daniel," the president begins, pushing her thoughts away for now. She takes another sip of her tea, then breathes out slowly as she absorbs the sight of her commission. "You've done a wonderful job on the painting, so I'll tell my secretary to release the rest of the payment to you since you've finished what I originally requested. Do we need to go over payment for the additional changes?"

Daniel wishes he could peek into his client's true thoughts, but burying his worry, he shakes his hands. "No, I'd be happy to apply the shadow without any extra, since what you're asking for isn't a lot. It'd be a different story if I had already applied the varnish."

Lecia giggles. "I'd say it's quite popping even without it, but I won't insist. Please let my secretary know when the final product is ready."

"I'm happy you like it! Before I apply any varnish, I'll make sure to send a photo to confirm your opinion."

"Of course," Lecia agrees. "I'd prefer to see it in person before it's coated like now, but no guarantees with my future schedule, I'm afraid. In any case..."

She drinks her cup one last time before lowering her gaze. "I can't delay any longer, I'm afraid. Again, I appreciate the tea."

"Please tell that to my girlfriend on your way out, and thank you for giving me this opportunity!"

Lecia beams, shaking Daniel's hand, then makes her way back to the hallway. With the artist following her out, she stops before the open entrance to the kitchen.

Having already heard the footsteps, Anne keeps a light mask on as she moves to take Lecia's half-finished cup. "Thanks for coming!"

"Of course, and thank you and your boyfriend for the hospitality."

"O-of course."

Shaking the slime mother's hand without thinking much about her lack of heat, Lecia continues her exit through the hallway. Within the entryway, she leaves the couple with a slight nod of her head before descending the stairs.

Only when her footsteps can't be heard does Daniel close the door and breathe out slowly. Coming behind him, Anne wraps her hands around his front and rests her chin on his shoulder.

"Daniel, that was..."

"...bad," he finishes, exhaling again.

Thinning her lips, the slime mother lowers her gaze. "You think she may know more than she's leading on?"

"Absolutely, no doubt."

"Suspicious?"

"Probably. That painting had to have caught her eye for a better reason than she claimed."

Sighing again, the artist shuts his eyes while wrapping his hands over his mother's hold. "Really, it's my fault. I didn't think too much about hiding the drawing you did, especially after Viviane confirmed Marlin's drawings were more than they seemed."

Anne gasps, lifting her head. "N-no, Mama is at fault for not being more aware! I was the one who redrew it from Mary's memories, after all."

Slumping, Daniel shakes his head. "Either way, we need to be on our toes. I don't know how my client is related, but at least she didn't seem to recognize anything strange about you."

"But if she recognized the symbol, she could've been related for my summoning, right?"

"Possibly. We still don't have a lot to go on, but we'll have to start looking more into her history now."

The slime mother hums, then recalls the originator of the symbol. "Do you think Lecia and Mary's uncle are related?"

"I don't know," Daniel answers, slightly frustrated with the lack of information. "For now, we did the best we could by disassociating ourselves from that painting."

"Still, she's bound to come back again since you have changes for the painting."

"What can she do, though?"

"Do we want to find out too late?"

"Urgh...alright," Daniel gives. "But, let's wait to hear from Mary before committing to our next steps."

Anne nods, and with a small breath, she touches her son's shoulder. "There's also...something else. I might be going crazy, but all of a sudden, I'm having food disappear on me!"

The artist raises a brow, but gladly accepts the change to a lighter topic. "Food?"

"Yeah!" his slime mother huffs, bringing her arms together. "I literally had two sandwiches for us prepared and a zucchini in my hand. I turned away one moment when I heard the doorbell ringing, then poof! Gone!"

"Are you sure you didn't dissolve it subconsciously?"

"No, that has never happened!"

"I mean..."

"Okay, so maybe it has happened before, but I knew I was low on energy. That's not what's happening here, I swear!"

Anne's claim does remind Daniel that something happened to his breakfast earlier this morning. He had been so focused on his slime mother that, when he returned to his plate after she left to research, it was nearly cleaned.

"Ungh..."

Before such strange events could be further dwelled on, a strange growl causes both of them to flinch. Fixed on each other, the slime mother and artist son are certain neither of them had said anything.