Aetheric Chronicles: Reborn As An Extra

Suddenly, Adrian spoke, his voice calm but cutting through the whispers like a blade. "Miss Jenny, if you tell us the names of your accomplices from the sanctuary, I'll consider letting you continue working here. I'm sure you couldn't have done this alone."

'Though I can't really do that, she has no choice but to believe me because of the pressure.'

A gasp rippled through the room at Adrian's unexpected move. Miss Jenny's eyes widened, panic flashing across her face. A few workers exchanged nervous glances, their discomfort palpable.

"How dare you accuse us!" one of the staff members shouted, stepping forward. "Have you no shame, trying to turn us against each other?"

'Is he one of them?'

Adrian's cold gaze shifted to the speaker, and the man immediately fell silent under the weight of Adrian's glare. "I have no shame when it comes to helping this sanctuary," Adrian said icily. "If you're not guilty, you have nothing to worry about. But I will not allow anyone who threatens this place to remain here."

'Well, I just said what needed to be said. However, they might have sounded.'

His words hung heavily in the air, and a tense silence followed. Miss Jenny's face contorted with fear and anger, her fists clenching at her sides. She gritted her teeth, clearly torn between her loyalty to her accomplices and her desire to stay at the sanctuary.

After a long moment, she finally spoke, her voice barely more than a whisper. "All right... I'll tell you."

Adrian nodded, his expression still cold and unyielding. "Good. Start talking."

'Hehe, I knew it would work.' He secretly smiled.

Miss Jenny hesitated, taking a deep breath before she began to speak. "It was... Carl, from the feeding team. And Lydia, she's one of the caretakers. They helped me... they knew what we were doing." Experience more content on m v|l e'm,p| y- r

A collective gasp echoed through the room as all eyes turned to Carl and Lydia. Both of them looked stunned, but as the realization set in, their expressions shifted to ones of anger and betrayal.

"You traitor!" Carl was the one who shouted earlier, he walked towards Miss Jenny. "How could you accuse me?"

Lydia, on the other hand, burst into tears, collapsing to her knees. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I never wanted this to happen!"

Adrian watched the scene unfold with a detached calmness. "Alright, stop before I stop you" he called out the man, Carl.

"We have three people - Carl, Lydia, and Miss Jenny on our list. Mrs. Rena, it's your job to decide what to do with them."

"T-This..." Mrs. Rena was surprised by the sudden shift of attention to her.

"I..."

"P-Please, Miss Rena, we have worked here for a long time, please don't...."

The three started to beg one after another. Mrs. Rena struggled to decide but when her gaze landed on Adrian, his silent and cold expression, she understood.

She couldn't be emotional anymore.

She took a deep breath and looked at them.

"I... I'm firing all three of you. Don't show your face in the sanctuary again."

The room fell silent, the gravity of Mrs. Rena's decision sinking in. Shock was evident on the faces of the sanctuary staff and volunteers. No one had expected Mrs. Rena, who was known for her strict yet gentle nature, to make such a swift and firm decision.

Carl was the first to react. His face twisted with anger and disbelief, and his hands balled into fists at his sides. "You're making a big mistake, woman," he snarled, his voice filled with venom. "I've been working for you for years, and this is how you repay me? You let some outsider waltz in here and turn us against each other? You're a fool."

Mrs. Rena flinched at his harsh words, but she stood her ground, her expression resolute. "Carl, you betrayed the sanctuary," she said, her voice steady despite the hurt in her eyes. "You put everyone here at risk. I can't forgive that."

Carl sneered, his eyes narrowing. "Fine, have it your way," he spat. "But don't think for a second that this place will survive without me. You think you can just throw me out and carry on like nothing happened? You're in for a rude awakening, Miss. You'll regret this."

With that, Carl turned on his heel and stormed toward the exit, his steps heavy and angry. The crowd parted to let him pass, watching as he slammed the door open and disappeared into the hallway.

Lydia was next. She was still on her knees, tears streaming down her face. Her body shook with sobs as she looked up at Mrs. Rena, her eyes filled with remorse. "Please, Mrs. Rena," she pleaded, her voice breaking.

"I'm so sorry. I never wanted to hurt anyone. I just... I was scared. They pressured me, and I didn't know what to do. Please, give me another chance."

Mrs. Rena's expression softened for a moment, a flicker of empathy in her eyes. But then she glanced at Adrian, who stood calmly with his arms crossed, his eyes hard and unyielding. She knew what she had to do.

"I'm sorry, Lydia," Mrs. Rena said quietly. "But I can't let fear be an excuse for endangering the sanctuary. You knew what you were doing, and you made your choice. Now you have to live with the consequences."

Lydia's sobs grew louder, but she didn't protest further. She slowly got to her feet, her shoulders slumped in defeat. She cast one last, sorrowful look at Mrs. Rena before turning and walking out of the room, her footsteps heavy with despair.

Finally, all eyes turned to Miss Jenny. She had been standing off to the side, her face pale and drawn. Unlike Carl and Lydia, she didn't beg or plead. She seemed resigned to her fate, as if she had known this would be the outcome from the start.

"Miss Jenny," Mrs. Rena said softly, her voice tinged with sadness. "I trusted you more than anyone. I never thought you would betray me like this."

Miss Jenny looked down at the floor, unable to meet Mrs. Rena's gaze. "I'm sorry," she murmured, her voice barely audible. "I really am. But what's done is done, and there's no taking it back now. I just...

I hope you can forgive me one day."

Mrs. Rena nodded, her expression pained but resolute. "I hope so too, Jenny. But for now, you need to leave. This sanctuary can't afford to have people it can't trust."

Miss Jenny nodded slowly, a tear slipping down her cheek. She turned and walked toward the exit, her steps slow and heavy. As she reached the door, she paused and glanced back at Mrs. Rena, her eyes filled with regret. "Goodbye, Mrs. Rena," she whispered before slipping out the door and into the hallway, leaving the room in a tense silence.

As the door closed behind her, Mrs. Rena let out a shaky breath, her shoulders sagging as the weight of her decision finally hit her. She looked around at the remaining staff and volunteers, her expression tired but determined.

"I know this has been a difficult day for all of us," she said, her voice wavering slightly. "But we need to pull together and make sure the sanctuary stays safe. We can't afford any more mistakes."

The staff nodded in agreement, murmurs of support filling the room. Despite the tension and uncertainty, there was a sense of relief in the air. They had faced a crisis and come through it, stronger and more united than before.

Adrian watched the scene unfold, his expression unreadable. He knew that this was just the beginning—there would be more challenges ahead, more difficult decisions to make. But for now, they had won a small victory, and that was enough.

Mrs. Rena turned to Adrian, her eyes filled with gratitude. "Thank you, Sir Adrian," she said quietly, calling him Sir. "I don't know what we would have done without you."

Adrian nodded, a small smile tugging at his lips. "I'm just glad I could help," he replied. "But there's still a lot of work to do."

Mrs. Rena nodded, her expression resolute. "You're right. We need to be vigilant. But I have faith that we can get through this, as long as we have each other's support."

Adrian nodded in agreement, his gaze sweeping over the sanctuary. There was a lot of work to be done, but he was confident that they would rise to the challenge. After all, he already knew this would happen.

'Now, the next step is to catch the chameleon and the big fish behind him.'