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LOS 63
“What is this?”
“What do you think it is? A newspaper article.”
“Anna didn’t do anything to harm Beldam. She is just an ordinary pianist.”
“That might have been the case if you hadn't chased after her so fervently. But not anymore. Do you think the world would leave a woman loved by Giles Hessen alone?”
“Wasn't it enough that I was the one who should be pelted with stones?”
“You really do love Anna. You didn't react at all to the articles tearing you down, yet you get this angry just because Anna's name appeared.”
Luise looked at his every reaction with interest, as if Giles were an experimental subject. The Giles she had known as a peer during their academy days had long since faded from her mind. In its place was only the demon the state had instilled through the media.
To Luise, it was truly a sight to behold—Giles, fidgeting over the well-being of a woman. Contrary to how the press tore him apart, she thought he looked like a truly ordinary person.
“It’s fine. There’s nothing to worry about. Beldam doesn’t hate Anna. They've simply developed a profound curiosity about her.”
“The newspapers are dissecting Anna's life piece by piece. Are you telling me I should be okay with this?”
As Giles stood up abruptly in anger, a soldier standing in the corner quickly approached and pressed a gun to his head. However, Giles didn't care.
He had truly believed Anna would be fine. He thought she would find the freedom she desired here, but it was his miscalculation.
Anna was already on everyone's lips. People would judge her or pity her as they pleased. Or, they might condemn her.
And such phenomena would not easily disappear.
Luise looked up at Giles with indifferent eyes and spoke.
“Sit down.”
He reluctantly obeyed her words. The fact that he had brought Anna into another kind of hell broke him once again.
Giles pleaded in a trembling voice.
“Just leave Anna alone so she can live in peace.”
“It's useless to ask me. I'm just a mere officer. No, even if His Excellency the Prime Minister stepped in personally, he wouldn't be able to stop what has already happened.”
“Wasn't it Beldam who led the charge in putting Anna on the chopping block? There's no way they found out all these facts through the power of a mere press agency.”
“That's why I told you. You aren't a traitor. Rather, you're still the most loyal soldier, even after killing all those nobles. Beldam needs you. As you know, we lost the World War. The entire nation suffered devastating damage. People's lives were ruined. Normally, our government would have had to absorb all the public's rage—unless you had surrendered to Ipswin and wiped out all the nobles. A very good topic has emerged, Giles. A story to divert the people's anger.”
“It's fine. You can do whatever you want to me. I am ready to pay for my sins. There is no need to drag Anna into this.”
“Do you still not get it? I'm telling you, we need a story. How many times do I have to tell you that you aren't a criminal? To be honest, we aren't interested in the fact that you murdered the nobles at all. We just had to provide a provocative narrative. Do you think we intentionally dragged Anna in, Giles? You are a massive topic of interest. Since you loved Anna, she simply couldn't avoid being swept up in it.”
In the end, it was Giles who had thrust Anna into this fate. His inability to let her go was returning to haunt them in this way.
Despondent, Giles asked.
“If I die... if the state executes me, will Anna finally be free?”
Luise seemed to think for a moment, then smiled as if to comfort him.
Then she answered.
“No.”
An invisible label would follow her forever.
Though Anna's life was saved, she was still not free.
And the one who made her that way was Giles.
Giles wanted to help Anna. Because she was precious. Because he loved her. But the closer he tried to get to her, the more misfortunes poured over her head.
Giles clutched his head due to a surging headache. He momentarily erased the conversation he had with Luise from his mind.
What could I do?
If I tried to do something, would it only manifest as another misfortune?
Dying was fine. It was something that was bound to happen eventually. He was merely finding solace in the single fact that he had finally restored the life Anna wanted. That fact made even death seem like nothing.
But in the end, he had ruined everything until the very last.
Giles looked at Anna's photo in the newspaper and unconsciously stroked the part where her face was printed with his thumb. However, he felt only the texture of the stiff paper.
-
“Please discharge me.”
I made the request to the doctor. He seemed quite flustered by my demand, repeatedly adjusting his glasses for several seconds.
“Discharge, you say?”
“Yes. Please discharge me.”
The doctor exchanged glances with the nurse who had been watching the situation from the side.
“It hasn't even been three days since you were admitted to the hospital. Was there something you were dissatisfied with?”
“I'm not that sick. Of course, I know I need treatment, but I can recover sufficiently at my own manor.”
“The Lady must receive treatment in a professional facility.”
“Can't I just call a house-call doctor to my private residence for treatment?”
“That is...”
The doctor couldn't give a definitive answer, unable to decide. Since I had already firmly made up my mind, I did not back down a single step.
“If it doesn't work out, I'll come back to the hospital. I'm the one who knows my physical condition best, aren't I? I can handle that much on my own.”
“If the Lady insists so strongly...”
Eventually, the doctor signaled his surrender. In the first place, he couldn't force anything upon me. In reality, I wasn't so sick that a nurse had to be by my side at all times. I was simply at a stage where I needed to recover while resting, and there was no rule saying that had to happen only in a hospital.
He spoke reluctantly, letting out a slight sigh.
“Please refrain from active tasks as much as possible and focus on resting. I recommend that you do not engage in outdoor activities until your wounds have healed to some extent. Also, please have your bandages and gauze changed periodically. Do not forget to disinfect the wound area.”
“Yes, yes.”
I answered half-heartedly and immediately stood up to prepare for my departure. My clothes were neatly laundered and folded in the wardrobe.
“Have you called for a servant to escort you?”
“They should be on their way.”
When I stepped behind the partition, the doctor left hurriedly without asking further. Now, I was alone in the hospital room.
The possibility of the doctor refusing my request was low. Wanting to leave the hospital as soon as possible, I had already declared to Arent that I would be discharged before even receiving the doctor's permission.
For some reason, I didn't want to see him often because of his characteristically cold impression that made me feel uneasy, but contacting him was inevitable. I didn't even know the way back to the manor that had become mine.
I gathered all the newspapers Lotte had given me. They were full of content that was hard to endure with a clear mind, but they were certainly things I needed to know.
Not only the content dealing with Giles's inhuman side, but also the articles that dissected me and displayed me on the pages. There was no way to ignore how vulnerable I was in Beldam.
Soon, a man in neat clothes came to the hospital room. He was likely one of the servants my father had employed. Even while dealing with a new employer, he bowed naturally as if he were very accustomed to treating me.
“Lady Eloise. The car to escort you has arrived in front of the hospital.”
“Thank you for coming.”
He led the way and took me out of the hospital. Nothing happened while leaving the hospital. Most of the nurses and patients were absorbed in their own work. I was just an ordinary patient who had gone through the discharge process.
However, the moment I stepped outside the hospital, the story changed.
The reporters waiting near the hospital spotted me and immediately lunged forward, triggering their flashes. Because of the intense flashlights, I reflexively covered my eyes.
“Miss Bismar! How do you feel about returning to Beldam?”
“Is it true that you almost died because of Giles Hessen?”
“Do you still love Giles Hessen?”
The reporters shouted at me, but I didn't even have the presence of mind to answer. The servant who had come to pick me up roughly pushed away the reporters trying to thrust cameras at me and threatened them.
“Get back! If you so much as touch the young lady, know that this will be settled legally!”
With the servant's help, I barely managed to get into the car. Even after I got in, the reporters continued to take photos, making clicking sounds against the car window.
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