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LOS 77
11.
Escape Route
“I heard you went to see Miss Eloise.”
Luise frowned deeply the moment she heard Arent's words. Despite this, she merely took another drag of her cigarette instead of answering. Arent did not give up.
“Why did you do that?”
“Why what.”
“If you had business with her, it would have been sufficient to tell me.”
“I simply wanted to ask her myself. It was out of personal curiosity.”
As Luise spoke with irritation, Arent narrowed his eyes and looked at her.
“So, you are saying you visited her without a word just to satisfy a ‘personal’ curiosity?”
“I didn't say much. I just asked why she said those things on the radio broadcast. Be honest—you didn't have a clue what Miss Anna was thinking either. That's why you couldn't do anything until the incident happened. Isn't that right?”
“That matter is...”
“Enough, there's no need for excuses. Nor do I intend to explain myself to you. Someone has to know, don't you think? Whether she truly harbors some ulterior motive. I am the one directly responsible for this mission. I need to know what I need to know.”
Arent's expression softened slightly, but he still could not erase a look of skepticism from his face. He noticed that Luise had been smoking more than usual lately. She had become a chain smoker after the war, but it was even worse recently.
Something was clearly weighing on her mind.
What could it be?
“If perhaps handling Giles Hessen is becoming a burden for you...”
“Don't speak such absurdities.”
“I have a sense of intuition as well.”
“Holtzman.”
Luise put out her cigarette and glared at him. Her face, worn down by insomnia and accumulated stress, was evident. Yet, despite that, the authority she held as a high-ranking officer commanding subordinates had not faded in the slightest.
“You aren't suggesting that I would harbor ulterior motives for Giles Hessen, are you? What exactly is the intent behind asking such a question? Speak plainly.”
“I am simply saying there is no need for you to act in a way that might arouse suspicion from the higher-ups.”
“Report that I am handling things well, or do as you please. I am a soldier who fought even the great war for Beldam. Do you think I would betray my country for the sake of a mere traitor? Do I look that shallow in your eyes?”
“...No, ma'am.”
“Stop wasting time and leave. If there is a problem, I will be the first to tell you, so rest easy. And even if I were to harbor other thoughts, no one can change the fact that Giles Hessen will be executed. You know that well.”
After gazing at her for a moment, Arent nodded. With a short bow, he stepped away from Luise. Luise looked forward again and inhaled the cigarette smoke.
The cigarette tasted foul. This was a first for her. She felt unpleasant, but she couldn't tell if it was because of the cigarette.
“Damn it.”
She let out a short curse.
-
Suddenly, soldiers swarmed into the room. Giles, who had been sitting on the edge of the bed with his hands bound, was seized by a soldier's arm without warning.
“Stay still.”
Giles nodded. He had no intention of resisting. The soldier searched his body here and there, but found nothing. He glared at Giles with a sharp gaze, signaling him to speak now if he was hiding something.
However, instead of giving the answer the soldier wanted, Giles shifted his gaze to the other soldiers. They were inspecting the room, which was practically empty save for the minimum necessary furniture.
Of course, it was impossible for them to achieve any results. Eventually, having found nothing, they spoke.
“Nothing unusual here.”
Only then did the nameless soldier release Giles. He still looked at Giles with suspicion, but there was no evidence anywhere.
“Don't think about playing any clever tricks.”
A warning was all the soldier could manage. Giles obediently nodded. Soon, the soldiers who had stormed in began to leave the room one by one. The scene, which had been momentarily chaotic, was once again enveloped in a lonely silence.
Giles knew why they had carried out the search. It must have been because of the lighter. Luise was not such a naive fool as to believe the disappearance of the lighter was a coincidence.
He sat back down on the edge of the bed. Outside the door, a soldier was still glancing at him from the corner of his eye. Thus, Giles behaved like a docile prisoner awaiting his trial date. However, his mind was far from it.
Giles thought back to the day the power outage occurred. Even before the war, power failures in ordinary houses happened rarely. Thus, it was no exaggeration to say that after Beldam's defeat in the great war, it had become entirely unsurprising for a blackout to occur at any time.
He had hesitated for a moment. Whether he should escape while the lights were out, or save Luise, who had collapsed before him... In the end, he saved Luise. Just as he had during his days as a green cadet, he held onto Luise, who was struggling for breath, and helped her breathe.
But even in the midst of that, Giles remained conscious. He did not forget the fact that such an opportunity might never come again. He could not ignore the words Anna had delivered through the radio.
He could not simply wait until he received a death sentence.
While Luise was disoriented, Giles had secretly stolen the lighter from her pocket. He could have stolen something more useful, but he didn't have the time to pick and choose as if he were at a stall.
After the brief commotion ended and he returned to his room, Giles used the cover of the dark night to tear the bottom of the mattress using the protruding part of his handcuffs. It took several hours to tear it enough to hide an object. The soldier had been standing guard even at night.
Even now, the lighter was hidden beneath the mattress. This was his only chance. Giles had to escape from here. He could not bring another despair upon Anna.
He had committed numerous sins in his life. Even until the moment of his death, he did not want to leave a scar on someone's heart.
If Anna wanted him, he would live. The punishment of death was something he could accept once she no longer needed him.
-
I thought retaliation would come back to me for ruining the broadcast, but surprisingly, I was fine. Neither was I suddenly dragged away to an unknown place without my knowledge.
The Intelligence Agency left me alone. As if they had realized that not touching me would be more beneficial for them.
I stopped reading the newspaper. There was no longer any meaning in such things. The world was merely putting on a show with Giles and me. After realizing that the more I protested, the more thrilled they became, I informed the maid that she no longer needed to bring me the newspaper.
However, one problem arose. Somehow knowing that I lived here, unknown visitors frequently requested to meet me.
It was obvious who they were without even looking. They were likely reporters. There is nothing they fear, and they are the kind of people who would enter a beast's den if it meant getting a story.
I rejected every request for a visit. What good would it do for me to meet reporters? They were like a flock of crows waiting to tear away every last piece of my flesh.
Sickened by the medium of newspapers, I sent all the reporters away. Just as I was wondering what Arent was doing while strangers tried to invade my mansion, a thought occurred to me.
Then, what can I do?
The thought struck me suddenly. I had no power. No matter how much I shouted what I wanted to say to the world, no one listened. I did not possess power. Power is not about becoming the head of a count's family, but about making people listen intently to even my smallest words.
Still, I had to keep speaking. Because that was the only thing I could do. However, I had no intention of asking just anyone to deliver my story.
If I could only make it known that the stories reported in the newspapers were not all true, I would do anything. Even if it were a futile effort. I couldn't just sit and cry like a tragic heroine.
“Miss, may I come in?”
“Come in.”
The maid opened the door and entered. She spoke hesitantly, her voice lacking confidence.
“Um, well... a guest has arrived, but they seem to be no different from the people who came last time.”
“Is it a reporter?”
“Yes, it appears so.”
If it had been yesterday, I would have told her to kick them out immediately without listening further, but I decided to ask a few more things.
“Did they say which newspaper they are from?”
“They said it is not a newspaper, but a magazine. They are from ‘Glübhine’.”
I knew of that magazine. Recently, I had carefully scanned through the newspapers and magazines that people mainly sought. It was to choose a place that would not arbitrarily fragment and distort my story.
After thinking for a moment, I spoke.
“Tell them to come in.”
“Pardon?”
“I should try having a conversation. Please escort them to the drawing room.”
I gave a request to the wide-eyed maid.
“However, only one person may enter.”
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