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LOS 61
Only then did Giles lift his head to look at the officer's face. A familiar sense of déjà vu flickered across the unfamiliar features, and memories buried deep within his mind resurfaced.
As Giles recognized her, the officer laughed cheerfully. For a brief moment, the image of her as a cadet flickered across her face.
“Luise.”
“Right, that's more like it. I was starting to wonder if you'd completely forgotten me. It's been a long time, Giles Hessen. To think we'd meet again like this.”
A peer he had studied and trained with during his days at the academy stood right before him. Luise Gottlieb. She looked as if she had been transported exactly as she was from the time when Giles was still untainted.
Whether it was intentional or not, Giles was overwhelmed by a deeper sense of despair the moment he recognized Luise.
He looked at her rank insignia. Many things must have happened during the war, for she now wore the insignia of a Major.
“Do you feel like having a conversation now?”
“Why... are you here?”
“I've been put in charge of you for the time being. Someone has to handle this bomb that's on the verge of exploding, don't they?”
“Why did it have to be you?”
“That reaction is a bit disappointing.”
Contrary to her words, Luise didn't seem disappointed in the slightest.
“Where is this?”
“If you eat your food, I'll answer everything you're curious about.”
“Is that really necessary?”
“Giles. It may be true that we were once close academy peers, but you must still obey me. You are my subordinate and my prisoner. Do not forget that fact.”
When Giles didn't immediately move, Luise sighed and pulled something from her chest. It was a jet-black, gleaming gun.
Pointing the pistol at Giles, she spoke.
“By order, Captain.”
Without taking his eyes off her, Giles slowly picked up the utensils. Satisfied, Luise put the gun away.
She even placed a piece of meat on Giles's plate. He didn't just lack an appetite; his stomach felt so unsettled that he felt he would vomit immediately if he ate anything, but Giles had no choice but to cut the meat with his knife.
Only after seeing him put a piece of meat in his mouth as ordered did Luise speak again.
“This is a safe house for you. But don't think for a moment that it's any different from a prison. It may look luxurious on the outside, but the fact remains that it is a place to confine you.”
“Why go through all this trouble?”
“Giles. You are a notorious traitor. The prisoners you'd be with in a cell wouldn't be ignorant of that. You still don't seem to realize what kind of atrocious demon you've become. If we had put you in an ordinary prison as you are, you probably wouldn't have been safe.”
“Are you saying Beldam is concerned for my well-being?”
“It's better than having to clean up after some unnecessary incident occurs.”
Luise poured the same wine she was drinking into Giles's glass. It was an order. Giles lifted the glass to comply with the strange command.
He couldn't taste a thing.
“Is there any point in keeping me alive?”
He wasn't asking out of defiance, but out of genuine curiosity. Giles wondered why he had survived and why he was being forced to eat.
“Why didn't you let me die? What meaning is there in treating me and prolonging my life?”
“You're talking as if we've committed some great crime.”
“Tell me, Luise.”
“Of course, you will die eventually. The appropriate time has simply not yet come. Until then, your job is to wait patiently.”
“I don't understand. If you want to kill me, kill me now. Why must you stall for time?”
“Giles. There is only one thing I can tell you. The fact that you will remain loyal to the state until the moment you die.”
Luise smirked, raising her wine glass as if offering a toast.
“Your death will by no means be dishonorable. Be glad of that. When the time comes, we will take care of everything, so enjoy the time you have left. I'll make sure you can live quietly here. I can even provide books if you need them.”
Giles still couldn't understand Luise's words, but he didn't ask further. In the end, the only thing that mattered was the fact that he would eventually be executed.
That fact alone was enough.
“Patients need to eat well. Don't be modest. I won't let you leave until you've cleared your plate.”
Meanwhile, Luise quietly watched Giles silently eat his portion of food. The feelings she had during their academy days had long been forgotten.
Not only had much time passed, but through the experience of a great war, the traces of the past remaining in her heart had vanished cleanly, as if washed away by water.
Giles Hessen was merely her mission; he held no meaning beyond that.
He was simply a man who was going to die anyway.
“Why aren't you asking about Anna? Miss Eloise Bismarck.”
At the mention of Anna's name, Giles's movements stopped for a moment. A flicker of light returned to his lifeless eyes. Giles looked at Luise. She was smiling.
“You loved Anna. I thought you'd naturally be curious.”
“If you know anything, tell me.”
“I can't tell you where she is, but I can tell you that she is at least safe. However, Giles, I've been told an interesting story... can you confirm if it's true with your own mouth?”
Luise rested her elbow on the table and leaned her upper body slightly toward Giles.
“I heard that crawling into Beldam was your own will. Is that true?”
“...What?”
“I'm asking if it's true that you headed for the Beldam border, even risking death, to save Anna.”
Why did she know the truth? Something was wrong. Normally, Anna should have been someone who fled to the border to escape Giles.
“Who did you hear that from?”
“I heard Anna said so herself.”
Watching Giles's expression, Luise suddenly burst into laughter.
“Don't misunderstand; I definitely didn't put her through any interrogation process. Anna is staying in a very comfortable environment. She said it all of her own accord. Answer my question first, Giles. Is that really true?”
What was the point of lying now? It was clear that Luise had come knowing everything. It was unbelievable that Anna had told the truth herself, but in the end, Giles had no choice but to admit it.
“Yes. It's true.”
“Then Albert was right from the beginning. If there was a weakness that could be used to shake you, it was only Anna.”
“Please, don't touch her. She has done nothing wrong.”
“I know, I know. Calm down. Anna will be fine.”
Wiping her mouth with a napkin, she handed Giles a book-like notebook that had been lying on the chair beside her.
“Read this for the time being. You have a right to know what they've been blabbing about you in the outside world.”
Giles opened the book. It was a collection of newspaper clippings. They were all articles dissecting and tearing him apart. As he scanned the contents quickly, his gaze stopped at one point.
Anna's name and photo were in a newspaper article.
-
Just as Arent had warned, people would not let me go outside. I had to remain confined to the hospital room until the doctor gave his permission.
The things I could do in the hospital room were limited. A nurse offered to teach me how to play cards, but even that didn't last long. To begin with, the amount of time the nurse spent in the room wasn't long.
Fiddling with the cards alone, I eventually grew tired and let the hand holding the cards drop onto my lap. The nurse who taught me the card game wasn't particularly skilled. Because she rambled, I was still confused about the rules.
I closed my eyes. If it were Giles, he would have explained it clearly. What would it be like if he were by my side? I imagined Giles sitting next to me, explaining the role of each card in his characteristic calm voice.
I can still vividly picture Giles's face, yet he was not by my side. Perhaps he would never return. That was the reality.
I spent the night thinking without sleep, but I could only conclude that there was nothing I could do. Giles must be locked in a heavily guarded prison; how on earth could I save him?
The whole country wanted his execution. Facing the giant state called Beldam, I felt powerless and incompetent.
Now that no one was trying to kill me, I felt like crying. I had achieved the goal of a safe life, but I wasn't happy at all. Of course, Giles had killed many people. In some eyes, he might truly seem like a demon. But at least to me, he wasn't...
Giles saved my life. I remembered his voice whispering that he loved me by my bedside. I had to do something, but I was just pacing anxiously, unable to do anything for him.
And yet, Giles had given everything for my survival.
While I was sinking into helplessness alone, the nurse entered carrying a tray with a meal. I now knew her name was Lotte.
Lotte smiled brightly and set the tray down beside me. I wasn't even curious about what was on the menu.
“Here, please eat. You have to eat well to recover quickly. Don't you want to go back to the mansion soon? If I had a mansion like that, I would have worked hard to recover so I could return as soon as possible.”
“I'm not sure.”
“Well, you probably don't know yet how wonderful and large that mansion is, Miss. It's not that I know it well myself. I can only imagine it.”
When I didn't answer, Lotte looked at me with a worried expression.
“What's wrong? Do you have no appetite? Or is something uncomfortable?”
“I just... wonder what the point of eating is.”
I ended up confessing my true feelings to her. That thought truly filled my head. Whenever I started to calm down, the fact that the day Giles would be shot was drawing near would suddenly spring to mind.
Such thoughts made me infinitely lethargic.
Lotte seemed to realize what I was thinking. Observing my complexion, she asked cautiously.
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