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LOS 17
By the time I opened my eyes, the house was empty. I opened my door and stepped out, but there was no sign of Sheila anywhere. I soon found a note she had left behind. ‘I’m off to work! I’ll be back around lunchtime.’
Setting the note aside, I discovered a loaf of bread. Was I allowed to eat it? I was far too hungry to worry about such things.
I felt as though I had been able to endure it well at the mansion in Salzburg, but now that I had left that empty estate, the hunger tormented me twice as much. It was strange.
Sheila had told me I could stay in this house, but in truth, I had no intention of doing so. This place was too close to the mansion, and I felt that staying here for long would not be a wise move. I was someone who needed to leave this vicinity as quickly as possible.
The rain had stopped overnight. What had happened last night was certainly a stroke of luck. I had been able to shelter from the rain in a safe place, eat warm food, and even obtain good clothes. None of this would have happened if that boy had known I carried the blood of the Beldam.
Sheila was practically my savior, and I was truly grateful to her. However, I was penniless. I didn't believe I could leave for a distant land without a single cent to my name.
So, I ransacked my savior's house. I knew it was wrong, but I had no choice. Morality could not save my life. I had learned long ago that such things were useless when one is simply trying to survive.
Having managed to find a few coins, I pushed open the front door and stepped outside. It would be a long time before Sheila returned. I didn't know exactly how much the currency I had obtained was worth, but I believed it would be enough to at least leave for the nearest city.
The weather had cleared up brilliantly, as if it had never rained at all. People seemed to be in much better spirits. I walked among them naturally, as if I had been a part of this village from the beginning.
As I walked, I spotted a couple of revolutionary soldiers leaning against a building wall, chatting. They were unfamiliar faces, but my heart immediately began to race and my fingers curled. I took a small, deep breath and passed them by. Fortunately, they seemed to have no interest in me at all.
I felt relieved by that fact. At the very least, it meant Giles had not released his subordinates to search for me.
Thinking back, I felt my delusions were foolish. The delusion that a revolutionary officer, who lacked for nothing, would be anxious over the daughter of a fallen noble dressed like a beggar.
Yes! It must have just been a delusion. He was a hero of the rising new era, and he was even handsome. Even if he had the slightest lingering attachment to me, the women around him certainly wouldn't leave him alone.
I was a pathetic woman, not worth tracking. At least, that was how I must have appeared in his eyes.
The kindness he showed me was simply out of pity. He likely bestowed his attention and food upon me with the heart of someone giving alms to a beggar. No one goes searching for a beggar who has disappeared after receiving alms. There is nothing to be gained from such a being.
I walked with my shoulders relaxed, feeling a bit lighter.
Everything will be fine.
Just as I was thinking that, I came to a dead stop. A familiar face was closer than I expected. A man standing with a straight posture, dressed impeccably in a dark military uniform. It was Giles Hessen. He was in this village!
Coming to my senses, I hid myself in a spot where I would not enter his line of sight. What is he doing here? He probably just stopped by for some business. That's what I believed. Giles stood still, scanning the surroundings with his eyes, and then called out to a passerby.
I watched his actions. Giles pulled something out from his breast pocket. It looked like a piece of paper... but it was obscured by the pedestrian's body. Giles held the paper and began to ask something.
I strained my ears to listen.
“Have you seen a woman who looks like this?”
He began to describe a woman's appearance. Black hair, blue eyes... a thin, pale woman of about this height, wearing white clothes.
He was looking for me. It wasn't a delusion. This was a stark reality.
What should I do? Why is he looking for me? It's probably because I ran away. Does he think I'm an insolent woman who fled without gratitude after he showed me kindness?
He knew my fatal weakness. The fact that I was the daughter of a Beldam noble. He was the only one who knew that.
I felt that I must not be caught by Giles.
He would surely want revenge on me. I remembered his large, thick-knuckled hands and the pistol hanging from his waist. I had survived the clutches of Johann Meier and Count Bismar, but I was certain I would not survive this man.
A familiar emotion took hold of me. Fear. I was overwhelmed by an instinctive terror. It wasn't because of any logical thought, but a primal instinct urging me to run.
I had to get out of here quickly.
The revolutionary army was searching for me.
-
Lily had disappeared.
When he faced the empty room, his mind went blank for a brief moment. It was even more so because he had never imagined such a thing would happen.
No matter how much he called her name, there was no answering voice. Lily had clearly left the mansion entirely.
Giles Hessen sat on the piano bench, calming his thumping heart. What was as bewildering as Lily's disappearance was the fact that he was shaken to an unbearable degree by the realization that she was gone.
In a way, it was natural. Because now, Lily was all he had left. Nothing remained by Giles's side, and the only existence left amidst the ashen ruins was Lily.
The woman he had saved simply because he didn't want to let her die had unintentionally become his everything, and he had reached a point where he could not endure without a presence he had never expected to need.
Had something happened to Lily? Could her whereabouts have reached the ears of the revolutionary army? Had she been put in danger because he couldn't help but frequent the mansion?
If the revolutionary army found out about Lily, there was zero chance of her survival. She was Eloise Bismarck, the daughter of a Beldam noble.
If Lily, who had become Giles's only solace, were to die because of his greed... he felt he truly wouldn't be able to endure it. Even at this moment, Giles was living as if clinging to a single rope that could snap at any second.
He could never tolerate the possibility of Lily dying.
He would absolutely not let such a thing happen.
After confirming that Lily was not at the mansion, Giles returned to headquarters. He searched through the arrest lists and patrolled the prison under the pretext of checking if anyone was missing. However, he could find no trace of Lily here. At the very least, the revolutionary army did not yet know about her.
Then why did Lily disappear from the mansion?
There must have been another threat he was unaware of. Otherwise, Lily would not have recklessly left the mansion in her still-ailing condition. Especially without leaving him any word.
His mind was filled with nothing but the thought of finding Lily. There must have been a reason she had to leave without even the luxury of telling him. If she had left the mansion alone, she would surely be in the surrounding area. She would be hiding somewhere, waiting for him. Waiting for him to come and help her...
Now, Giles had to play his part.
I have to find Lily. She needs me.
I must find her...
“We have tracked the movements of the escaped Beldam noble. She has definitely gone to Lindsdale.”
The hand of Giles, who had been writing a report at his desk, stopped. For a moment, he was unable to react, as if his body had frozen.
Lindsdale was the village closest to Salzburg. Giles had also been thinking of Lindsdale. He believed it was the place where Lily was most likely to be staying.
“...Which fugitive are you talking about?”
The facial muscles of his adjutant twisted subtly.
“Don't you remember? I submitted a report not long ago. The woman who escaped during the accident involving the vehicle transporting prisoners. I am telling you that we have tracked the movements of Martina Solze.”
“Ah, right.”
Giles struggled not to look relieved. All his nerves were consumed by the missing Lily. He couldn't even immediately recall a matter he had been reported on just a few days ago.
In any case, Lily was still outside the revolutionary army's radar.
“Is the information reliable?”
“It is certain. Our agents lying in wait in that area discovered a woman presumed to be Martina Solze in a nearby forest. Unfortunately, we failed to arrest her, but if we depart now, we will surely catch her this time.”
“Did you say Lindsdale?”
Giles traced the map with his finger. It was a place that could be reached within about an hour's drive from here.
He organized the reports, stood up, and put on his coat.
“Let's depart.”
He had to move quickly.
In another sense, he had to be truly swift.
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