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LOS 73
I was practically dragged out of the recording studio. While the officials held an emergency meeting to figure out how to smooth over the situation, Arent stormed in, grabbed my arm, and pulled me out into a deserted hallway.
I had already prepared myself. I wasn't unaware that what I had done would be enough to make him angry.
This was a live broadcast being transmitted across the country in real-time. Everyone listening to the radio had likely heard my words.
Instead of exploding at me immediately, Arent took off his glasses and sighed with a troubled expression. Even if they were from the same intelligence agency, I could tell he wasn't the type like Albert. If it had been Albert, he would have been desperate to kill me for defying him.
Instead of grabbing me by the hair, he asked in a grave voice.
“Miss Eloise, are you aware of what you have just done?”
“I'm sorry for ruining the show.”
“Was this your intention from the start?”
“Did you think I would babble about things that didn't happen into a microphone?”
“You made a promise to me. And I offered you a reward befitting that promise.”
“Yes. I feel sorry for deceiving you. But I will never lie. I wouldn't do it even if a knife were at my throat. If you heard what I said earlier, you have to understand. I will not stain the most brilliant moments of my life with my own hands. Never.”
Of course, Arent would not understand me. I could tell just by looking at his expression. He was a man who usually seemed cold, but facing me now, his face was frozen in a different sense.
“Miss Eloise... I understand what you are thinking, but acting out like this will never bring a positive result back to you.”
“I don't care.”
“By taking Hessen's side in this manner, you will only attract the full attention of the press and the public. It means you will have to share the burden that Giles Hessen must bear.”
“That sounds fine. I never had any intention of living a comfortable life anyway. Even if I had criticized Giles as you asked, the whole country would have whispered about me regardless. If I'm going to receive everyone's attention anyway, I'd rather choose to stand by Giles's side. He saved my life several times. Do you think I can't handle taking a few stones for him?”
“He is a man who is destined to die anyway. Why can't you let go of this lingering attachment?”
“Who said I'm letting Giles die?”
Arent seemed to have lost the will to persuade me. He looked back and forth between his wristwatch and his surroundings, then muttered.
“...I will take you back to the private residence.”
And so, the interview broadcast came to an end. Arent and I left the building, leaving behind the station officials who were struggling to clean up the program I had so beautifully ruined.
I climbed into the backseat of the car he had driven. I don't know if he had pulled some strings, but this time, there were no reporters to be seen.
He didn't say a word throughout the drive. His stomach was probably turning. It was only natural. However, since I hadn't expected it to be any different, I didn't bother apologizing. The only thing that mattered to me right now was Giles.
Just as Arent said, I had delivered the ultimate provocation into the ears of the public. Society would retaliate in its own way. But would anything change if I behaved obediently?
Giles and I were a community of fate. At least, that's what I thought. If I was to be pointed at for being tied to a being like Giles, I would rather choose to hold onto him until the end than grovel to please the public.
“There is one thing I wish to tell you.”
Arent spoke up.
“Even if you take Hessen's side, you cannot save him. His death is a scheduled event. There is no one who can reverse that decision. And even if there were, it would not be Miss Eloise.”
“....”
“I suggest you think carefully about whether it is wise to worsen the situation for something that will end in futility. I am telling you this for your own sake, Miss Eloise.”
“Whether it's a waste of effort or not will be revealed later.”
“Miss Eloise.”
“Please stop calling me by that name! That's not my real name. My name is Anna Keating. Eloise died a long time ago. I killed that girl with my own hands.”
Unable to endure it any longer, I snapped.
“And don't pretend to be on my side in such a clumsy way. You've never been on my side from the very beginning. If you truly cared for me, you wouldn't have pushed such a wretched interview proposal on me. If you really wanted to be on my side, you should have shut the mouths of the press, not me. I'm not an idiot. I know how to distinguish who is actually on my side and who isn't.”
As soon as the car stopped in front of the mansion, I kicked the door open and stepped out. The first person to greet me as I entered the mansion without looking back was Adele.
“Anna! Are you okay?”
“Of course. Did you hear the broadcast?”
Adele nodded silently.
“It was a bit different from the script, wasn't it?”
“That... what happened?”
“I just said what I wanted to say to Giles. I hope he was listening.”
I started walking again before she could ask anything more.
I wanted to be alone, even if only for a moment.
-
You are the person I saved.
So do not give up on your life.
The words Anna had spoken would not leave his mind. Come to think of it, they were such obvious words, yet the moment he heard them, he was deeply shaken. That was it. His life could not be said to belong entirely to him. Giles owed his life to Anna.
Therefore, he could never throw it away as he pleased.
What had I been thinking until now? As if waking from a long sleep, his mind became clear once again. Rather than blaming himself and submitting to fate, he had to continue to fight against it. He had momentarily forgotten that fact.
That Anna did not wish for his death, and that he, too, had an obligation to survive for Anna.
Self-pity was utterly useless. He was the only one who could protect Anna. Even if it were arrogance, it was fine. At the very least, he had an obligation to pull Anna out of the mire he had created. Until then, he absolutely could not die.
Anna was his love and his mission, and the final destination he would eventually reach after a long journey—the end of the world.
Wasn't there still a long way to go before standing at the end?
She was the one who endlessly threw fuel into Giles's engine. As long as he was by Anna's side, Giles could not stop. Because she made him move. It was the same this time. Anna noticed that the burning engine was gradually cooling down, and she raised him up once more.
That was why Giles could not let go of Anna. Anna was the only existence that allowed him to keep moving forward.
Therefore, Giles must continue to advance, if only for her. To prove that her efforts were not in vain.
Meanwhile, Luise turned off the radio. The room was once again filled with silence. For a while, no one spoke. It was Luise who broke the silence first.
“My, she ruined it quite spectacularly.”
“Will Anna be okay?”
“Don't worry, she'll have returned home safely. Of course, I don't know what will happen after that. Not yet, anyway. By the way, what on earth did you do to Anna?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, what did you do to make a woman act so blindly toward you? Looking at your track record, you're certainly not the kind of person who should be receiving such undivided love.”
Giles did not answer. It was because he himself did not have a clear answer. Giles knew that he was not a person worthy of being loved. Her love was more than he deserved.
“You are a murderer, Giles Hessen.”
“I know.”
“There is no woman in this world who would love a murderer. Unless she's insane.”
“....”
“So, for the sake of Anna's life, why don't you just reveal your true self now? There's no way you killed all those fellow countrymen while sane. If it were the Giles Hessen I know, the Giles from the cadet days, he would have rather committed suicide with a gun than kill his friends. But you've changed. You might be able to deceive people who don't know your past, but you can't deceive me. I am someone who knows you from the time you were flawless. So stop pretending to be decent and just relax. Right?”
Luise believed he was acting. Giles was confused about how he should react every time she openly displayed her suspicion.
“Do you believe there is a specific face for a murderer?”
Luise let out a small laugh.
“Just be honest now, Giles.”
“I don't know what it is you want.”
“You're fabricating the image of your cadet self in front of me right now. Am I wrong?”
Giles did not answer. Of course, it was a nonsensical assumption. He was a man who had already forgotten how he spoke and acted during his time at the military academy.
“That's why I said it earlier. The you from that era could never have committed such an act. If my memory serves me correctly, that is. You must have changed into someone else. At least someone different from the Giles Hessen sitting in front of me.”
“What are you talking about...”
“I am not Anna. So reveal your real voice now, Giles. Don't think you can deceive me forever.”
While he was unable to find the words to answer, they were suddenly engulfed in pitch-black darkness. The lights illuminating the mansion went out all at once. Because the windows had been completely blocked off, no one could see ahead properly.
The soldier guarding the door turned on a flashlight.
“I will go find out what the problem is.”
“Wait...”
The light of the flashlight receded. Now they were in complete darkness.
And in this moment, Giles's mind raced faster than ever. He could attempt to escape taking advantage of the blackout. There would be no better opportunity to effectively block the soldiers' vision than now.
Should he flee? Although he was handcuffed, it was a feasible attempt if he utilized his combat skills properly.
It was while he was mapping out the escape route in his head.
Suddenly, a sound—both unfamiliar and familiar—reached his ears. Someone was groaning with difficulty, making a sound as if they were gasping for breath.
And it was very close by.
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