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LOS 88
Giles held Anna in his arms and hid in a secluded spot. Though they had managed to flee from the soldiers, they were now heading toward the frozen wasteland known as the Land of Death.
A camp across the sea where political prisoners and hardened criminals were forced into hard labor. Everyone had only heard rumors about it; the Land of Death was a place shrouded in mystery.
According to the stories, no prisoner could survive more than a month in that frozen land where the ground never thawed. It was because there was no way they would be provided with proper clothing or food in such a place. Calling it a camp was a formality; it was essentially no different from being sent to an execution.
He could not let Anna go to such a place.
He had to turn the ship around somehow... But Anna was now struggling even to walk, and Giles was the most notorious murderer whose face was known to everyone. Changing the course through peaceful means seemed far-fetched.
Having attempted to escape while dragging her already weakened body, Anna was on the verge of fainting.
Giles grew anxious as Anna kept trying to close her eyes.
“Anna, are you okay?”
“I want to sleep... just a little.”
“I’ll find a way. No matter what it takes.”
“Thank you,” Anna said in a faint voice. “For saving me.”
“It’s not over yet.”
“I know. I know, but... I wanted to say it now. It’s better than saying it too late.”
“Don’t say things like that.”
Giles took off his military jacket and wrapped it around Anna's body. He couldn't be sure if she was simply exhausted or truly standing on the threshold between life and death.
He had to think. How could he turn this ship around?
Considering they hadn't encountered a single crew member yet, it seemed that the ship wasn't heavily manned.
Even so, it was too much for Giles to handle all the crew members alone. It wasn't as if they wouldn't have guns.
He could try to steal a lifeboat and escape, but where would they go? They had only just left Beldam. Fleeing to another country was the only answer, but he didn't think he could wander the vast ocean with a sick person.
Suddenly, a word flashed through Giles's mind.
He felt that they needed a revolution.
Surely, there would be a passage leading to the ship's prison, separate from the boarding ramp.
Giles lifted Anna and walked carefully. However, contrary to his worries, there was no one on the deck. Why were the crew members nowhere to be seen?
After circling to the opposite side, Giles finally found the stairs leading down. After scanning the surroundings once more, he descended the stairs carefully to avoid making any creaking sounds.
As he passed through the corridor, the low murmur of people's voices soon reached him. The prisoners were definitely nearby. Giles reminded himself once more that he was known as a heinous criminal.
The result might not be good... but he had to try.
Because Anna was still breathing in his arms.
Cells arranged on both sides of a central corridor appeared. Giles involuntarily gasped.
Too many people were crammed into the narrow space like cargo. There was hardly any room given per person. It seemed almost impossible to sit with one's legs stretched out here.
The prisoners paid him little attention. They likely thought he was a soldier on patrol. Or perhaps their situation was too dire for them to spare any interest in others.
Standing alone in the dim corridor, Giles spoke.
In the narrow space, his voice sounded exceptionally loud.
“My name is Giles Hessen.”
At that, dozens of pairs of eyes turned toward him.
“I need your help.”
For a moment, no one responded to his words. Most people were neither excited nor surprised by the name Giles Hessen.
Eventually, someone gripped the bars with both hands and leaned toward Giles. It was a woman whose face was etched with the marks of hardship.
“Giles Hessen? Is it really him?”
“It is.”
“Why is Hessen here? I heard he had his trial just a couple of days ago.”
“Move aside, let me see his face.”
The people who hadn't shown much reaction slowly pressed closer or stood up. Giles was overcome by a strange sensation, as if he were the one trapped in the cage, having become some sort of exotic animal.
“Are you really Giles Hessen?”
“I am.”
“You look too clean-cut to be him.”
“Don't be foolish. No one in this world is born looking like a criminal. There are many who walk among people with a decent face while hiding a devil's nature.”
Men were held on one side, and female prisoners on the other. An exchange of arguments flew back and forth between the two sides.
“We're in no position to say such things.”
“I told you, I am Giles Hessen.”
“Everyone here is the same as Giles Hessen. That's why we've set sail to die.”
“Shh! Someone from above might come down!”
“Mr. Hessen, who is the woman you're holding?”
Giles looked down at Anna. She was now motionless in his arms.
“She is my lover. Her name is Anna Keating.”
“That count's daughter?”
“Not anymore.”
Now that Anna's name had come up, the people began to show even more interest. Among them, an older-looking man gestured to Giles.
“Come here. I worked as a doctor in Beldam for thirty years. Though I was a pediatrician.”
Giles approached him and showed him Anna. Although the bars separated them, the doctor was able to examine Anna's condition slightly with his thin, dirty hands.
“She's bruised all over.”
“That's...”
“No need to explain. Everyone locked up here is in no different a state. The story of how the assault happened is meaningless.”
Giles knelt on one knee and watched as Anna received what could barely be called an examination. Perhaps it was a relief to have met someone with medical knowledge.
“Will she survive?”
“She's not in critical condition. Of course, it's too early for an accurate diagnosis, but at least her internal organs seem intact. I'm saying this because there are many who are not.”
The doctor examined Anna's condition a bit more and spoke.
“She's suffering from both exhaustion and dehydration. She needs to rest. She needs clean water, but you won't find any here.”
“I need your help. I must get Anna out of here.”
“How do you plan to do that?”
“I'm going to turn the ship around.”
At that, the doctor burst into laughter, as if he were hearing the most absurd nonsense.
“This man is gravely mistaken about something.”
“If you help me, we might be able to seize the ship. I have no hope on my own.”
“Even if we all step forward, the lack of hope remains the same.”
“Isn't that better than having no possibility at all?”
“How exactly can we help? The people here are not soldiers. They are all ordinary people. Most of them probably don't even know how to fight.”
“Wait, what are you doing right now?”
An unpleasant voice erupted from the opposite side.
“No one will step forward to help that man. Because they shouldn't. That man is Giles Hessen.”
“And?”
“And what! Does it make any sense to help a person like that? He's someone who even killed his own family...”
“That is correct.”
Giles's voice instantly brought about silence.
“I caused my sister's death. In effect, it was as if I killed her myself. Not only that, I killed countless people in the name of revolution. It was all to save myself and my sister. I believed I would pay any price if it meant we could survive. I thought it didn't matter what happened to others. Because if I didn't kill others, I would be the one to die.”
The narrow corridor, smelling of salty stench, became a confessional for him. Numerous people were listening to his words.
“I have no intention of denying my crimes. It is a fact that I indiscriminately killed others to protect my own life, and I will not resist even if I am punished. However, there is one person I must protect one last time before I die.
Countless karmic debts are piled upon my shoulders, but not upon Anna here. She has committed no crime. Despite that, she was beaten by soldiers until she was nearly dead, and eventually dragged onto this transport ship. All of this happened simply because she is the lover I cherish. I cannot bear to see Anna dragged into the abyss as well.”
Giles continued to speak, gripping Anna's hand tightly.
Unaware that Anna was holding his hand back.
“I am not asking you to help me. I am asking you to help a woman who suffered all sorts of torture simply for receiving my love, despite having no sin. Until Anna is safe, I cannot give up. Because Anna is... my only remaining hope and my final salvation.”
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