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LOS 62
“You’re not acting this way because of that man, are you?”
“What man?”
“Giles Hessen. Please forgive me if I’m overstepping. I just wondered if you loved that man... and if that love is still valid. I thought that might be why you aren't eating well...”
I didn't answer. What was the point of talking about Giles to a Beldam nurse? In the end, there was nothing she could do, nor was there anything I could do.
Lotte, interpreting my silence as an affirmation, shifted her posture and began to speak with even more conviction.
“Look, miss. You’ve been deceived by that man all this time. It’s because you don’t know how cruel and atrocious Giles Hessen truly is. He probably fabricated a persona completely different from his real self just to take advantage of your heart. Now, you have the right to know who Hessen really is.”
“Lotte, I don’t want to talk about that right now.”
“But you’re still depressed because of Giles Hessen. Aren’t you worried about him? I want to tell you that there is absolutely no need for that. If our soldiers hadn't torn Hessen away from you, he would have ended up killing you too. Is there anything he wouldn't do? He is a man who murdered his own only sister with his own hands.”
“...What?”
I knew that Giles had a sister. He had told me himself. I had believed that Celeste Hessen had gone missing and that she and Giles had been forcibly separated.
However, this was the first time I had heard that Giles had killed Celeste himself.
Having finally succeeded in capturing my attention, Lotte continued her story with even more excitement.
“You didn’t know? Giles Hessen killed his sister. He is a beast wearing human skin. Otherwise, how could he... to a family member he grew up with...”
“Who did you hear that from?”
“I didn't hear it from anyone in particular; it's a fact that anyone in Beldam would know. Stories about him are printed in the newspapers every few days.”
“The newspapers are talking about Giles?”
“Yes, and that’s not wrong. He is the most fatal stain on our nation. Everyone has the right to know. If the worst murderer in Beldam's history appeared and no one told us what he was doing, wouldn't that be wrong in its own way?”
It wasn't surprising. I had already heard from Albert that Beldam was using Giles as an outlet for the anger and sorrow erupting from the defeat.
Whenever people began to think about the reality of Beldam, the newspapers likely jumped at the chance to talk about Giles.
The right to know applied to me as well. I wanted to know exactly what kind of stories they were using to tear Giles apart in Beldam.
“Those newspapers, may I see them too?”
Lotte readily agreed to my request. Thinking she had finally found a chance to change my mind, she brought me a stack of newspapers that looked to be several years' worth.
“Once you read them, you'll see what a devil that man is. I can't tell you how lucky it is that the Beldam army rescued you, truly. You may take the newspapers to your private residence later. They were scheduled to be discarded anyway since they're outdated.”
Lotte soon left my side to fulfill her duties as a nurse. The meal beside me continued to cool slowly, but I had long since lost interest in things like bread and soup.
I opened the newspaper and read. I didn't even need to struggle to find the parts where Giles's name appeared. His name and photo were placed in the most prominent positions. It was the same in other newspapers. Giles was an existence that demanded attention.
I stared silently at the photo of Giles in the newspaper. The features were certainly Giles's, but for some reason, he looked like a stranger to me. The man in the newspaper looked far more cold-hearted and cunning than he actually was.
Next to his photo was a large headline.
‘Hessen’s Horrific Familicide.’ ‘Can God Truly Save Him?’
The body of the article began as follows: A week ago, the Beldam Intelligence Agency obtained information that Giles Hessen murdered his own sister, Celeste Hessen, to emphasize his loyalty to Ipswin...
I read further down the article. According to the report, Giles had pursued people attempting to flee from a place called Mainbach to Beldam.
Among them was Giles's sister, Celeste, and Giles had ruthlessly stabbed her to death and offered her to Ipswin.
The article didn't end there. To prove he was a loyal member of the Ipswin Revolutionary Army, the pages were filled with horrific additional details, such as how he tied a string to Celeste's ankle and dragged her around, or how he spoke obscenities about her immediately after the murder.
The space not yet filled by Giles's atrocities was completed by short snippets about the person named Celeste Hessen. They described her as a beautiful and kind person, the opposite of Giles, who met her death after trying to lead Giles toward the right path and incurring his wrath.
This couldn't be true. At the very least, the claim that he had insulted Celeste's death seemed far from the truth. The image of Giles, faintly smiling as he listed memories of his sister, was still vivid.
But was it true that he killed Celeste?
Looking at the date the article was published, it was clearly from the beginning of winter, when I was barely surviving at the mansion.
Back then, Giles... there was a time he appeared with a particularly haggard face. It was also on that day that he had impulsively kissed me. Was that why? Because he had come to me in an unstable state after killing Celeste?
He didn't tell me many things. Therefore, it was difficult for me to distinguish between truth and lies. I could only pick out the passages written with obvious malice.
Did Lotte hope that I would read all these newspapers? I felt sorry for her, but I couldn't do that. These people hated and loathed Giles far too much. I was afraid that this hatred would influence the Giles in my memories.
At the very least, this was not the Giles I knew. The way Beldam and I viewed him was fundamentally different. I tried to close the newspaper before I had even read half of it.
Then, I discovered a person I never expected to find in the newspaper. It was me. My name was there. In an instant, my gaze fixed back onto the newspaper.
Eloise Bismarck, who is she?
<The Unfortunate Woman Receiving the Twisted Love of Giles Hessen>
Everything about me was in the newspaper. From the name I was given at birth to the private lands and mansion in Salzburg where I lived, Count Bismar, and even Johann Meier, who was once my fiancé...
Even the fact that I had a natural talent for the piano and wanted to be a pianist, but used a pseudonym for fear of being tracked by Giles Hessen. Everything was written here.
According to the article, I was an unfortunate and pitiful woman who barely survived the flames of the Ipswin Revolution only to be discovered by Giles, and despite several attempts to escape him, ultimately failed to break free from his grasp.
They knew every single move I made. Not only the Beldam Intelligence Agency, but all the people of Beldam were well aware of everything from my personal details to my private life. My hands began to shake. Is this the freedom I was searching for? I had certainly become safe, but this was distinctly different from the freedom I had learned about.
The thought that I could live freely if I came to Beldam was a delusion.
I was already not free here.
Giles would die, and instead of simply surviving, I would have to spend the rest of my life avoiding the attention of the press. Because I was the lover of the infamous Giles Hessen.
Had I sacrificed Giles's life for such a life?
I barely suppressed the urge to rush out of the hospital. Instead, I caught my breath to regain my reason. At the very least, I didn't want to live as something taxidermied in a newspaper. This was not a life for me.
Now, I had to think again.
About what I must do from this moment forward.
-
Giles was looking down at the newspaper while bound in handcuffs. He had returned to his room. It looked like an ordinary room, but in reality, it was no different from a cage built for him. Even now, he could feel a soldier standing by the door, monitoring him from the corner of his eye.
The soldier's mission was surely to ensure that Giles did not do anything reckless. Attempting to escape, or perhaps... attempting suicide. However, Giles had no desire to engage in useless rebellion.
The only thing he was interested in was the newspaper containing the story of Anna.
Anna was as good a subject for an article as Giles was. The story of a woman who shared a romance with the worst murderer in history... Of course, the target of all Beldam's hatred was Giles, but as he read the newspaper, he thought that the public's interest seemed to be leaning more toward Anna.
A few hours ago, Luise had looked at him with an intrigued expression as she watched him turn pale upon discovering Anna's name in the newspaper. As if she hadn't expected to discover a human side to him again.
When Giles lifted his head to face Luise, his eyes were no longer sunken in emptiness. Anger and despair were mixed together, reigniting the ashes within.
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