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LOS 20
Several pairs of flashlight beams appeared, illuminating me once again. In an instant, their faces twisted.
“What? It’s not that woman!”
“What were you doing here? Didn’t you hear the curfew order? Do you even realize what you’ve just—”
“Enough.”
At a single command from Giles, they shut their mouths. He still looked shaken, but his voice remained that of a calm and rational commander.
“I will handle returning this one myself, so all of you return to your positions. There is little time left. I understand your frustration at this wasted effort, but we have no time to dawdle. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Go back. Even as we stand here, that woman is getting further away with every step.”
The subordinates scattered instantly. Finally left alone with me, he slowly released the grip he had on my hair. For a few seconds, we simply stared at each other in silence.
I didn't know what he was thinking. But at the very least, he let me go.
“Lily. Now, listen—”
The moment he spoke, my senses snapped back. I turned and bolted. Giles did not call out to stop me. Was he chasing me? He probably was.
Pain began to radiate from the soles of my feet. I ran frantically, half-sobbing from the terror that was slowly closing in on me.
Twice is okay, but three times is too many.
I cannot suffer three times over because of the men I hate!
He will surely do the same things to me. There was no room for doubt. I had experienced the same thing twice already. There wasn't a single reason to believe it wouldn't happen again.
Because that was how everything had happened to me until now!
I did nothing wrong. I did nothing...
There was a limit to running without a destination. I felt my consciousness beginning to fade. Strength left not only my legs but my entire body. It was even worse after Giles had grabbed my hair.
It felt as if I had entered a nightmare. No matter how hard I tried to wake up, my body wouldn't move as I wished, as if I were struggling in the depths of the deep sea.
Eventually, I hid myself in a dark shadow and sank to my knees, trembling. I prayed that he would not find me. I hoped someone else—anyone other than him—would find me first.
At this point, I felt it didn't matter who it was.
I slowly opened my eyes. A shaded incandescent bulb dimly lit my vision. The light it emitted was so bright that I tried to turn my head away, but something suddenly appeared and blocked the light.
It was someone I didn't know. A man leaned down close to me. At first, thinking it was Giles, I instinctively pushed him away, but upon hearing the man's voice, I knew it wasn't him.
“Shh, it’s okay.”
Even while my mind drifted in and out, I struggled to grasp my situation. For starters, this place didn't seem to be a prison. I was lying in a small room. And I had a fever. I couldn't fully regain my senses.
The man spoke as he wiped my forehead with a wet towel.
“You were lying there collapsed in a thin sweater on a cold winter night; how could you not come down with a fever? Poor thing.”
He kept telling me it was okay, that everything would be alright. As if he knew exactly what was on my mind.
Though I knew I shouldn't trust him so readily, I found myself wanting to lean into the warmth and comfort his words provided. Until now, the only person who had told me it would be okay was myself.
I thought comforting myself would be enough, but hearing such consolation from another's voice made me realize how lonely a battle I had been fighting.
Perhaps because my body was sick and my heart had grown weak, I almost burst into tears. But I held them back. I couldn't shed tears in front of a stranger.
Instead, I closed my eyes.
I felt that it would be okay to rest just a little longer.
When I opened my eyes again, the world had brightened. My mind was much clearer. Waking up to the morning sunlight, I remembered the events of the previous night and bolted upright.
I had certainly been caught by Giles while fleeing from the revolutionary army. But for some reason, he let me go... and I ran. After that, my memory was blank. What happened?
I looked around. It was a narrow room that looked visibly worn. A stove made from a modified drum emitted popping sounds, keeping the room warm. From outside the window, the voices of people passing through the street could be heard sporadically.
In that moment, I remembered. That man! There was a man I didn't know. He had spoken to me while wiping my face with a wet towel last night. Where was he? Was he one of Giles's subordinates? If I stepped outside that door, would I lock eyes with a uniformed revolutionary?
However, when the door opened and the man who had cared for me last night reappeared, I realized I was wrong.
He was not part of the revolutionary army. He wasn't wearing a uniform, and above all, if Giles had caught me, he would have wanted to face me personally rather than sending someone else.
The man sat on a chair beside me and held out a cup of water.
“Thirsty? Drink.”
I stared at him intently even as I took the cup. If he wasn't Giles's subordinate, then who was he? I was someone with no ties to the world. That meant there was no one in this world who would help me for no reason.
The man smiled, as if soothing me or making a request.
“It’s just clean water. There’s nothing in it. You can trust me.”
“Why should I trust you?”
“Do you think someone who brought you to a safe place would harm you with a mere cup of water?”
“I don't know you.”
“I know. I know it must be confusing to suddenly wake up in a strange place and have to talk to a stranger. You're better than you were last night, but you're still sick. You need to recover quickly to get out of here. I'll help you. But before that, you must hydrate. You must be dehydrated from last night.”
I looked down at the water cup. It looked normal. I moistened my lips slightly, intending only to test if there was anything in the water. The taste was fine. Moreover, realizing I was far thirstier than I thought, I gulped down the water as soon as I confirmed it was safe.
“Drink slowly.”
By the time he cautioned me, I had already emptied the cup.
“Want more?”
“Why are you helping me?”
“Sometimes, good things just happen.”
“Not for me.”
The man nodded as if respecting my opinion. He leaned back comfortably against the chair and spoke.
“I know what situation you're in.”
“...”
“Don't be tense. I have no intention of using this to blackmail you. Rather, I want to ask for your cooperation.”
“Don't make me laugh. Where have you sold off all the women you've picked up wandering the streets like this? Are you planning to sell me too?”
“Giles Hessen is chasing you, isn't he?”
I fell silent. He seemed to know more than I had expected.
When I didn't say anything, he continued.
“He is a famous man. Of course, not in a good way. To the people of Ipswin, at least, he must be something like a hero. Because he brought down the Beldam and restored the glory of this place. But to someone like me, he is a cold-blooded monster. You must know that the victims he's thrown into prison are not just one or two. I am someone dispatched to rescue people like you.”
“Rescue?”
“Yes. Once you've caught the eye of the revolutionary army, it's hard to survive in this land. You'd probably have to spend your whole life running. I will get you out of this land. Then you will find your freedom.”
“And what do you get in return?”
“I don't necessarily need a reward to do my work.”
“Bullshit. There is no one in this world who steps forward to help others for no reason.”
“Giles Hessen killed many people. He tortured even more. Have you never considered that he must have many enemies? While he killed people for the freedom and glory of Ipswin, while the medals on his chest shone, the number of people harboring grudges must have increased just as much.”
“Then...”
I asked cautiously.
“Is Giles an enemy to you as well?”
“Of course. It goes without saying.”
“Then is Giles chasing you too?”
“If he finds out about me, he will certainly chase me. It's fine if you don't understand right away. But this is the only revenge I can manage. Making the thing he desires most impossible. Since Giles wants you so desperately, I will do the opposite and restore your freedom.”
“...How can I believe that you aren't just lying to me with plausible words to traffic people?”
“If that were my intention, I wouldn't go through the trouble of trying to persuade you. If I intended to sell you to a brothel, wouldn't I have already sold you while you were unconscious last night?”
He didn't sound like he was joking. In fact, he was right. I was nothing more than a powerless woman. He could have easily overpowered me with force right now, yet he was bothering to attempt a conversation.
“...Will you really take me to another country?”
“As long as you trust me and follow. The choice is yours. I won't force anything. I would be truly happy if you decided to trust me, but I won't get angry if you don't. You decide. At the very least, I am a different kind of person than Giles Hessen.”
The man stood up and looked down at me.
“I'll be outside. Let me know when you've made up your mind.”
With those words, he left the room. As he said, I was at a crossroads. Could I trust him? Was the promise of taking me to another country just a hollow lie?
I could choose not to follow him. But... then I truly had nothing left. I didn't even have the travel funds to leave this town. Even if I did leave, Giles might be faster. No, he would be.
No matter how I thought about it, I had no hope on my own.
The man's words echoed in my head. You'll have to spend your whole life running. If I couldn't leave this land, I might have to change my name countless times. He would hunt me until he changed his mind. And something like him changing his mind would never happen in a lifetime.
In that case, should I trust the man? Who was he, and where did he come from? Why did he harbor such animosity toward Giles?
At the very least, the man knew about Giles Hessen. His name, his status, and the things he had done. Perhaps he could tell me more about Giles.
I stepped out of the bed. I had nothing. So, I felt that I should try trusting him first. Isn't a possibility better than no possibility at all?
I wasn't trusting him. I decided to trust the hostility he held.
He was outside the door. He turned his head toward me while smoking a cigarette.
I spoke to him.
“Tell me what I need to do. And your name.”
He smiled.
“My name is Albert Shaw.”
The man, who had been strolling the streets, closed the door of the abandoned building as naturally as someone arriving at an office for work. Before him sat an old typewriter. Whistling, he inserted a piece of paper into the typewriter and began to type. The telegram he had to send consisted of only a few very short and concise words.
Only his colleagues would be able to understand this message. He was pleased that he had to exert less effort than expected. He certainly wasn't cut out to be a salesman. He was so grateful that the woman had trusted him so readily.
The typewriter moved with a clatter-clatter sound.
「OPEN FOR BUSINESS」
Anna Keating had fallen into his hands.
The rest was up to him.
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