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LOS 36
6.
Spring Festival
Giles scoured the train, searching for Anna. He opened every cabin door and searched every possible entrance, but he could find no trace of her.
As time passed, his chest tightened. Why couldn't he find her? Giles struggled to stop himself from imagining Anna as a corpse. His breath grew shallow and his fingertips trembled, like someone suffering from withdrawal. He strode forward with rapid, long steps.
Then, he spotted a man attempting to escape while carrying a semi-conscious woman. Giles loaded his pistol. The opponent did the same. Giles recognized him instantly. It was Albert Shaw.
Giles glanced at Anna, whom the man was clutching like a piece of luggage. She didn't look well. He didn't know what had happened to her, but it seemed she needed to be seen by a doctor immediately.
“Let go of Anna,” Giles said.
Albert stepped backward, keeping his gun aimed at Giles. This was the end for the Beldam agent who had boldly infiltrated Ipswin to plot against him.
“Don’t come any closer,” Albert warned. Of course, he wasn't particularly threatening.
However, the situation changed the moment he pressed the muzzle of the gun against Anna's head.
“Or this woman dies!”
“Killing her will gain you nothing.”
“I'm a dead man anyway; it wouldn't be so bad to take a bitch along to the afterlife.”
He heard the sound of subordinates running up behind him. It meant the situation was largely under control. Only Albert remained. Albert glared with wary eyes at the soldiers confronting him, then clung to Anna and began to shout.
“You lot shouldn't be complaining to me! I'm doing a good deed! At least for you people. Do you even know who this woman is?”
A final flash of ecstasy appeared on his face, now that he was cornered.
He was dragging Anna down into the abyss he had fallen into.
“Anna Keating isn't just a pianist! This woman is the Beldam you all want to kill so—”
But Albert couldn't finish his sentence.
Bang! With the sound of a gunshot, his body collapsed backward. Giles hurried to support Anna, who had fallen along with him.
He checked Anna's complexion. Her gaze as she looked up at him was blurred. Her entire body was feverish, and her forehead was burning hot. She even had unhealed wounds, as if she had been beaten.
“Did the medic come along?”
“They are waiting outside.”
Giles scooped Anna into his arms and rushed out of the train. As his subordinate had said, a soldier wearing a Red Cross armband was waiting for him. Giles handed Anna over to the medic. After examining her, the medic gave Giles a nod.
Giles let out a long breath. The sudden release of tension caused him to momentarily lose his balance. He barely managed to steady himself against a truck. He wished he could just rest for a moment, but there were still things to be handled.
Giles stared blankly at the passengers disembarking from the train, signaling their surrender. Some of them were weeping. Giles desperately hoped that no order had been issued to execute them here and now.
Because if gunshots rang out, it would confuse Anna.
-
I was lying on the floor, catching my breath. I knew I was going to die soon. No one could come to save me, and it felt as if my head were about to explode. Just as I was wondering if my entire body was about to be consumed by fire, it happened.
Someone forcibly pulled me up. He removed the bag that had been covering my head. I took a deep breath. My vision brightened, and I regained some consciousness. However, I was still in no condition to resist or say anything useful.
Barely walking, as if being dragged by legs that had no strength, I came to a stop at some point. Because the man holding me showed no consideration, my body lurched violently.
I could see the silhouette of another man wearing a military coat. I wanted to see his face more clearly, but my vision was dizzy. The man aimed a gun toward me. No, was he aiming it at the man holding me?
The two men began to speak. I couldn't understand a single word. Just as I was barely breathing, a single phrase from the man pierced through to me, snapping me awake.
“This woman is the Beldam you all want to kill so—”
The man in the military coat fired.
Bang!
Startled by the roar that echoed in my head like thunder, I woke up with a jolt. Something was inserted into my arm. It was an IV drip. I could see the white hospital gown I was wearing, the white sheet covering my body, and the thin linen curtains dancing in the breeze.
And when I turned my head to the side, he was there. Giles Hessen.
Returned once again to his familiar military uniform, he asked, “How are you feeling?”
“......Where am I?”
“A military hospital. Rest here until you've fully recovered. The nurses will take good care of you.”
Giles held something out to me. It was grapes on a plate. I had never seen grapes with such thick, large berries in my life.
“Eat.”
“Who gave you these?”
“.......”
Giles said nothing. He simply gazed at me intently, as if hoping I would eat at least one. Unfortunately, I had no appetite at all. I didn't know what medication they had given me, but my stomach felt nauseous.
“I don't want to eat right now.”
At that, Giles withdrew the plate. He looked somewhat sullen.
“I'll eat them when I feel a bit better, so don't worry.”
“You eat them all. Don't give any to anyone else.”
“What if a nurse asks me to share?”
“Tell them Captain Giles Hessen did not permit it.”
I let out a small laugh. As I spoke with him, my hazy mind gradually began to clear. Simultaneously, various scenes flashed through my head. Come to think of it, we were on a train. I...... I survived that engine room.
“What happened to the train? The passengers?”
“The authorities seized it and are currently investigating. The passengers are......”
“Dead?”
It felt as if my heart dropped. Fortunately, Giles shook his head.
“They're alive. They've been detained in a safe location.”
“What will happen to them?”
“Beldam is negotiating with us for the repatriation of their citizens. If it's settled well, they'll return home.”
“I guess they aren't just killing people indiscriminately now.”
“Because there's more profit in keeping them alive.”
“......What about Albert?”
Even in my blurred memories, I remembered him holding onto me.
Giles answered immediately without a shred of hesitation.
“He's dead.”
Before I could ask anything more, he added, “And his name isn't Albert.”
“Then what is it?”
“Albert Lehmann. An agent of the intelligence service, formerly of the army. I believe he also served in the war.”
“Isn't Albert or Albert basically the same thing?”
“They are strictly different.”
Well, I suppose so. I simply shrugged my shoulders. It was a bit surprising that Albert was dead. I had expected them to keep Albert alive to extract as much information as possible.
“Did he hit you?” Giles asked.
I suddenly touched my face. There were bandages and gauze attached. Only now did all the memories return.
“He acted as if he wanted to kill me. I think he was driven mad because I told you about the train.”
“How much did he hit you?”
“It was the most painful beating I've ever had.”
As I said this, I glanced at Giles. He looked as if he wanted to resurrect Albert just to kill him once more.
“I shouldn't have left you alone.”
“It's okay. I didn't die. I was confident I could hold out until the end.”
“Your condition was truly critical when I found you. You could have almost lost your life. That won't happen again.”
“What are you going to do? I'm not a child. Are you going to carry me around on your back?”
“I'd like to, if I could.”
No way. I looked at him with appalled eyes. He often seemed to mistake me for a goldfish taken out of water. Is this what happens to everyone when they develop affection for someone else?
I knew he was expressing affection in his own way, but I couldn't respond. Because I didn't love Giles. At least, not as much as he cared for me.
It couldn't be helped. It had only been very recently that I got to know him properly.
Instead, there was something else I wanted to tell him.
“Still, I'm glad. That you didn't go to Beldam.”
“You shouldn't think I'd be caught that easily.”
“How did you do it? It couldn't have been easy to ambush the train.”
“I'll tell you the details later. For now, just focus on resting.”
“Are you leaving now?”
“I'll be back soon, so get some sleep for a bit.”
Giles stood up and draped his coat over one arm. I spoke to his back as he prepared to leave.
“Don't jump to conclusions. It's a misunderstanding if you think I'm saying this because I've fallen in love with you. I just...... didn't want to do something I'd regret in the future.”
“Right. Such a thing must not happen.”
Giles showed a smile. Perhaps because the bright sunlight was pouring in, his smile looked even lighter. He looked like a man who had set down a heavy burden.
There was a reason I couldn't help but be afraid of him at the mansion in Salzburg. Back then, there had truly been a shadow cast over his face at all times.
Just as he bid me a brief farewell, someone opened the hospital room door and walked in. It was a man I had never seen before. He was also wearing a military uniform and looked older than Giles.
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