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LOS 58
We became even more cautious, but we did not stop walking. I continued to follow Giles and asked,
“Were you targeted too?”
“Because I helped you even knowing you were a noble. And I'm still running away with you now.”
“Then if we're caught...”
He would die as well. It had been foreseen from the beginning. So, I asked nothing more. The reason Giles had cared so much for my well-being must have been because my situation was no longer just someone else's business.
“Hessen, surrender immediately!”
The Revolutionary Army shouted again, but Giles and I continued walking, pretending not to hear. However, no matter how far we walked, the forest showed no sign of ending.
I began to grow anxious.
“Are we actually going the right way?”
“Don't worry and just follow me. If we go a little further, they won't be able to follow us anymore.”
“Tell me, where are you taking me?”
“The border.”
“What?”
“We're going to the border.”
In that moment, I reflexively shook off Giles's hand. It was obvious what lay beyond the border, even if he didn't tell me.
“Are you insane right now?”
“Anna, we don't have time for this!”
“You mean you're going to Beldam. Am I wrong?”
“There is no other way.”
My chest felt tight. I simply could not understand the man standing before me.
“You'll die!”
“You won't. It's certain that they won't kill you. So hurry and follow me. If we stay like this, we'll both die.”
“What about you? What do you plan to do?”
Giles silently pulled my hand. Even as I was dragged along, I couldn't be sure if this was the right decision. I wanted to scream that we should think of another way, but it was already too late. With the Revolutionary Army pursuing us, there truly was no other way, just as Giles had said.
“If you go to Beldam, they'll try to beat you to death.”
“I know.”
“And yet you're still going? Because of me?”
“If we stop here, two people die. But if we cross the border, at least one person can live. It's obvious which is the wiser choice.”
“Then what about me? What about me, who has to watch you die right before my eyes?”
Even as I said this, I felt ridiculous. When I was trapped in the safe house, I had made up my mind to leave Giles forever. Yet here I was, fearing his death. I hoped he would not die.
The hatred that had briefly reared its head had already lost its voice and sunk back into the abyss.
“If they realize it's you, they might shoot you on the spot.”
“Even so, it doesn't matter.”
“I'm not ready yet!”
I'm not ready to face your death. The moment I said that, Giles turned around and faced me. He grabbed my shoulders and spoke firmly.
“Get a grip, Anna. You have to live. You've struggled so hard to survive until now. If you stop here, it's over. You know that too.”
“Don't you care about yourself?”
I couldn't understand him, worrying about me while facing his own imminent death. In a short while—perhaps within minutes—he might be executed by firing squad. Yet he was urging me to survive.
“How can you do that? Why don't you worry about yourself? Aren't you afraid of dying? Just as I prioritize myself, you should prioritize your own life above all else. Why are you ignoring yourself entirely?”
Then, surprisingly, a faint smile appeared on Giles's lips. It was a self-deprecating smile, far from joy.
“We both know what kind of tragedy happened because of that, Anna.”
While I was left speechless, he looked straight at me again, the smile gone from his face.
“Don't think about anything else. This is the best choice we can make.”
“Why... why are you...”
As it is before a storm arrives, the surroundings were silent. It had been a long time since I could even hear the sound of leaves brushing against each other in the wind.
I had wanted to ask for a long time. Why did he save me? Why couldn't he just let me leave and instead chose to follow me, throwing himself into danger? Why are you so...
“Why are you so desperate to save me?”
How can someone cling to another person to the point where their own life or death doesn't matter? I will probably never understand it. Because if it were me, I would never do such a thing.
Giles looked at my face as if treating something precious and spoke.
“My soul already died. A long time ago. Perhaps I chose death for myself last winter. But the reason I was able to live instead was because of you. I couldn't just give up on life because you kept weighing on my mind. When you disappeared from the mansion, when you boarded the train to Beldam... I couldn't give up on life because I was worried about you. Because anything can happen, even tomorrow.”
“...Giles Hessen.”
“Perhaps that's why I came to love you. Because you were the only string that kept me living. That's why I may have had no choice but to love you.”
Surprisingly, Giles smiled again. He was also shedding tears. Knowing that he had little time left, he was giving me his final confession.
“I loved you in order to survive.”
He embraced me and whispered in my ear. So please, grant my last request. Live until the end and prove that my efforts were not in vain, Anna.
I remained in his arms, unable to give any answer. I didn't know what to say. Giles's confession only left me more confused.
I didn't want to survive alone, leaving him behind...
“We have to keep going.”
There wasn't much time. Giles took my hand again and continued with a determined stride. With every moment, we were getting closer to the border. The moment Giles would die was drawing closer as well.
-
Vincent, holding a pistol in one hand, pushed through the dense forest with his subordinates. It seemed very certain that Giles Hessen had fled into the forest with his lover.
He couldn't fathom what was going through that bastard's head. What did he hope to achieve by engaging in a chase in the forest? Once he entered here, there was nowhere for Giles to go. Even at this moment, his subordinates were surrounding the forest, and the only thing on the opposite side of the perimeter was the border.
Giles did not fall into his hands as easily as he had expected. He was a man who was irritating in many ways. However, Vincent had no complaints. On the contrary, he was enjoying himself. He had waited for this moment for a very long time.
The chance to hunt Giles Hessen with his own hands!
Finally, he had become Vincent's target. He knew this moment would eventually come. There was no way that filthy bloodline would simply vanish.
He absolutely wanted to catch Giles. No, he would be caught.
And just as his fate was meant to be, he would kneel at Vincent's feet and beg for words of mercy. Finally, everything would return to normal.
He could already feel his blood boiling.
Even the fact that Giles didn't appear easily felt like part of the pleasure.
Vincent shouted as he crossed the forest.
“Hessen, you're already finished! You're just wasting your time!”
Naturally, no answer came, but Vincent was certain. He was close. Now, it was only a matter of time.
A subordinate searching with Vincent spoke up hesitantly.
“Will it be alright to proceed like this?”
“About what.”
“We will soon enter the border zone. If we continue, we might end up in a confrontation with the soldiers stationed at the border.”
“What are you trying to say? Are you suggesting we withdraw now?”
“It's not that... I just wanted to inform you in advance, sir.”
“I know that much. What do those Beldam bastards think, I don't care.”
A country that had already collapsed. Vincent thought to himself. The great nation that had once made Ipswin tremble with fear had vanished into history. Beldam no longer held any meaning for Vincent.
The only thing that mattered to him was arresting Giles Hessen with his own hands.
It was after searching the forest for a few more minutes. The moment the dense trees began to thin and the field of vision opened up, a human figure appeared in the distance. They were definitely not his subordinates. If so, it was obvious who they were.
Without hesitation, Vincent aimed his pistol at them. Then, his subordinate stopped him.
“You can't!”
“Let go of me!”
“We cannot engage in a firefight here! The border is right in front of us!”
If he fired recklessly, as the subordinate said, conflicts large and small could erupt. Cursing, Vincent put the pistol back into his waistband and commanded,
“Follow me!”
They ran together toward the targets. Perhaps sensing something, Giles and his lover also increased their pace. However, they were still slow. If they caught up just a bit more, arresting them would be a piece of cake.
There was just one problem.
The fact that they had become truly close to the border.
As a soldier of Ipswin, Vincent could not recklessly enter the border of Beldam, which was practically an enemy nation. Unless he insisted on crossing the border, there wouldn't be a huge problem, but at the very least, the opposing soldiers would harass him. That would interfere with capturing Giles.
He had to arrest him quickly before entering the border...
It was strange. Giles could not possibly be unaware that the Beldam border was just a little further. Yet, far from giving up, he was striding toward the border.
As if he had made up his mind to enter Beldam.
Was he crazy? Giles was a murderer who was torn apart daily in Beldam. It was obvious what would happen to him if he left for Beldam.
Was he choosing to meet his death in his homeland rather than at Vincent's hands?
Vincent gritted his teeth. Unable to contain his rage, he shouted his name.
“Hessen!”
However, his shout was far from enough to stop Giles's movement.
It couldn't be helped. If he hesitated here, he would lose Giles Hessen.
Despite his subordinate's dissuasion, Vincent raised his gun.
-
Wilhelm, who was on duty at the border, doubted his ears. Looking beside him, his colleagues were thinking the same thing. This was definitely gunfire. Someone had fired a gun nearby.
Once everyone grasped the situation, an emergency was declared shortly after. Wilhelm muttered as he moved toward the point where the gunfire occurred with a colleague.
“Are they insane?”
What kind of bastard was causing a ruckus? On the other side of the border was Ipswin. No matter how much their power had weakened, it was clear that the Ipswin bastards were underestimating them too much. Otherwise, such an absurd thing would not happen.
His colleague, Sebastian, spoke.
“It's certain. Those guys have had a few drinks. They've got a lot of nerve, doing this in broad daylight.”
“What do you mean?”
“Last time, something similar happened during night duty. I heard gunfire and went to check, and the Ipswin bastards were giggling with their noses bright red. Do you know what song they were belting out when they locked eyes with us? Our national anthem. Those drunks were singing our national anthem. We're nothing more and nothing less than a laughingstock to them.”
Sebastian sighed, guaranteeing that it would be the same this time. Wilhelm imagined the sight of encountering soldiers drunk in broad daylight. If that happened, how should he handle it?
“So what did you do then?”
“What else could I do? I just had to come back. Was I supposed to smack them on the head?”
The state of the world is truly pathetic. Sebastian spat out a curse. They moved forward in formation with their guns held. Perhaps this had happened more than once or twice, as the faces of his colleagues were filled only with irritation.
However, what appeared before their eyes was not some drunk soldiers. A blonde woman was approaching, trembling violently. The woman's stomach was stained red with blood.
As an entirely unexpected situation unfolded, the bewildered colleagues quickened their pace. Wilhelm supported the woman and asked,
“What happened?”
The woman, pale as a ghost, could not speak immediately. She seemed to want to say something but was unable to do so for some reason.
“Please speak. Were you attacked?”
“...Please save me.”
“What did you say?”
“Please, don't kill me. I'm begging you to save me.”
The woman, who had been pleading in a voice mixed with sobs, suddenly turned her head. Wilhelm looked where her gaze landed. There was another man there. Black hair, black eyes... he was someone he had never seen before, yet he didn't feel strange, as if he were someone he saw every day.
He was walking slowly toward them with an expressionless face.
Suddenly, Sebastian shouted.
“That guy, isn't that the man?”
“Who?”
“That traitor, Giles Hessen!”
Only then did Wilhelm realize the source of his sense of déjà vu. Upon hearing Sebastian's words, he finally remembered. The face and name that had been in the newspapers for days. The man who earned the hatred of the entire nation. The despicable traitor who deserved to die, Giles Hessen. He was right before his eyes.
He reflexively aimed his gun along with his colleagues. The mere fact that he had approached the border this closely was enough, and the opponent was even Giles Hessen. It was obvious what they had to do now.
“Hands up!”
They shouted. However, Giles did not comply with the order.
The woman seemed to be shouting something beside him, but no one was listening. At the same time, Giles's hand moved toward the pistol at his waist.
Bang! A scream rang out along with the gunshot.
The surroundings became silent for a moment. The colleagues lowered their guns and looked at the fallen man.
Drip, drip. Raindrops began to fall from the sky. Only when the rain soaked his shoulders did Wilhelm come to his senses and approach the man before him.
Looking down at him from close range, the man was definitely the one he had seen in the newspapers. Giles Hessen lay motionless, like a dead man.
It didn't feel real at all, but he instructed his colleagues.
“...Bring the Lieutenant. Tell him something serious has happened.”
On the day the dark shadow that swallowed Beldam reached its peak.
Giles Hessen was captured.
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