Your Eternal Lies - Chapter 73

‘I haven’t… yet.’

But if he didn’t help me, I might really have to go home and kill Hindley. In fact, I was prepared to do so.

“You gave this to me because you wanted to sleep with me. Why do I have to talk so much?”

I pointed at the note. He glared at me and tore the note in half before my eyes.

“You’re misunderstanding something. It’s just a pass.”

“…”

“We didn’t call you for that purpose.”

Belatedly, I realized that it was out of Henry Reville’s own will that he gave me the note. Was his boss actually involved at all?

I bit my lip. My voice rose without my knowledge.

I shouted.

“I beg you to listen. Henry Reville did! He will listen if I ask.”

Looking at the torn note, I felt the last hope I held on to was broken. He sat with his arms crossed and stared at me. I was angry at his calmness.

I was desperate.

He was asking me for an explanation, saying he could get me anything I wanted. Memories of the past overlapped with reality. I remembered the soldiers handing me back to Hindley at the ticket office. The soldiers didn’t listen to my screams, even until now.

But why, after I was scarred and tattered, did he show up and ask me why?

“You said you would protect me.”

“…”

“D*mn it, why do I have to beg? Why do I have to explain? This happened before! Of course, you have to protect me. You have to make sure I can live safely! That’s a given. Isn’t that how it’s supposed to be?”

I couldn’t suppress my anger and shouted.

I didn’t want to cry, but at that moment, tears burst out. I knew that a woman who screamed and cried didn’t look very good. But even when I thought I was ruined, I couldn’t stop screaming.

“You are soldiers! Soldiers should protect me, protect the Empire! That’s why I’m paying taxes and working so hard!”

“…”

“You never listened to me before. You were always on the side of the man who hit me. So why? Why are you asking me now? I’m just asking for a train ticket! That is all I need.”

“…”

“If you’re going to do anything, please finish it quickly. We have to run away quickly. Emily and I are dying!”

He was still staring at me.

I stopped crying. As expected, he wouldn’t speak anymore.

Yes, he was a soldier. He was no different from the others.

But as soon as I turned around to leave the office, he grabbed me.

He silently rolled up my sleeves. My bruised arms were exposed in the light. He checked them quietly, then sat me down and lifted my skirt. He stared at the scars on my thighs and calves for a long time as if counting them one by one.

That was it. He fixed my dress and got up, leaving me alone. I shouted at his back.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to carry out justice.”

He turned around.

“I’m going to do the thing that we’re supposed to do. Wait here.”

And the door closed.

* * *

He brought Emily back within an hour. I was stamping my feet in my seat when I noticed them enter and helped Emily. Emily said that she had stopped by the military hospital on the way to receive treatment.

Without saying a word, he handed me two tickets to Malona, departing in the morning.

* * *

Emily and I arrived at the train station. Surprisingly, nothing happened to us. There were no checks. When I glanced back at the ticket booth, the soldiers who had sent us back to Hindley were gone.

He packed our things and brought them to the platform. I checked Emily’s condition carefully. Emily was better than expected. She was able to walk on her own without assistance.

Then I asked Ian Kerner.

“What happened to Hindley?”

“The clinic is closed for now. Take up residence in Malona for a while and I will contact you as soon as the matter is settled.”

He did not elaborate on what had become of Hindley. He cut off my questions in a businesslike tone. I tried to guess the meaning of what he said.

‘Did you put Hindley in jail? Without a trial?’

That would be impossible.

“He won’t be able to catch you.”

“…”

“That’s for sure.”

He spoke emphatically. In fact, I didn’t really wonder what he did when he went to my house or what happened to Hindley. I was just happy Hindley wouldn’t be able to come after us.

Maybe he was registered for a military tribunal rather than a formal trial.

Since Hindley was a deserter, the cause must have been sufficient. I got on the train without further questioning. He carried our luggage to the shelf above our seats.

“I’m not going to say thank you.”

“I know.”

“Actually, you are the one who should apologize. It was your lieutenants who pushed me into that corner.”

“I know that, too. I’m sorry.”

He was an uncommonly conscientious soldier, and he helped us. My heart was agitated by that fact, so I stopped accumulating resentment toward him. He apologized profusely. I rather felt sorry for him.

“…I didn’t mean to receive an apology.”

The station staff went from compartment to compartment, saying the train was about to depart. I bowed my head to him, letting him know that he could leave now.

But he didn’t leave his seat. Rather, he took a gray muffler out of his bag and wrapped it around my neck.

“What is this?”

“…You always look cold.”

He stared at me.

The train got ready to steam along the railroad tracks. Then it started to move.

When the train attendant finally approached us, he took a train ticket out of his coat pocket and sat in the seat across from us.

“Are you going to Malona, too?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I’m going to give you an escort.”

It was only then that I realized I had more time to ask questions. I brought up things that I was curious about but couldn’t bear to ask.

“Why did you help me?”

At no cost…

“I did it because it was something I had to do.”

What he said was right. Originally, soldiers should protect the people. He was only faithful to his duty, so I didn’t have to thank him. It was a matter of principle. But that principle wasn’t followed well in this d*mn world.

But it definitely felt like a little too much. His duty ended with getting me a train ticket and putting Hindley in jail. Hindley probably wouldn’t get much punishment, but we could run away while Hindley is tied up for trial.

“…Then why did you follow me here?”

So Ian Kerner didn’t have to follow me to Malona, carry our luggage to the train cupboard, or wrap a muffler around my neck.

“Answer me. Why did you follow me here?”

He didn’t answer my question for a long time.

I buried my head deep in the gray muffler and thought for a moment. Then he raised his head again and asked me back.

“…Why do you think?”

The train roared again. The landscape quickly passed the window as the train chugged along. I was leaving Leoarton for the first time in my life. I expected to be with Emily, but there was also an unexpected variable. The handsome soldier who was still unfamiliar to me.

I wanted to find out why.

Why on earth did he follow me?

Anyway, looking at that face made me hot again. I couldn’t judge whether it was because I was in a cold place and came into the warm train or because he made my heart flutter.

I dug into Emily’s arms to hide my redness. Unlike me, who avoided eye contact, he kept staring at me as if possessed. I talked to Emily to ignore his presence.

“This Walpurgis night will be spent in Malona, not Leoarton.”

“That’s right.”

“What if we end up on the street?”

“Who cares. It’s a day where we’ll spend all night dancing in the square anyway.”

The thought of dancing peacefully with Emily made me happy.

“I’m going to dance with Emily.”

“No, I’m not going to dance this year.”

“Why?”

When I asked, Emily looked at Ian Kerner with a devious smile.

“You have a new partner.”

This time Ian avoided Emily’s eyes. He opened the curtains on the train window and began to look out. A moment later Emily uttered an exclamation.

“Oh my God! Rosen, it’s the first snow. It’s Walpurgis night and I’m glad.”

Emily leaned against me.

“Is it good if it snows on Walpurgis night?”

“The Great Witch Walpurg likes snowy days. This time, she will grant more people’s wishes.”

I looked out the window.

Ian Kerner followed my gaze.

As the train passed through a tunnel, I could see the outside scenery stained with the blue light of dawn.

The whole world had turned white.

***

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