Chapter 56
‘When your memories return, come find me, poor child. I will tell you all the secrets. That will be my final act of redemption, so please, I, Margaux will…’
“Ugh!”
With the voice ringing in her head, the headache she thought had fully healed began again. She covered her mouth to prevent any sound from escaping and curled up her body.
‘Come find me. Come find me!’
Just as her trembling body began to regain stability, an unfamiliar sensation pierced her mind as if someone were forcibly inserting a message into her brain.
Mel, who had been biting her teeth and groaning, suddenly stared blankly into space.
“…I need to find that old woman. Where do I even start? No… I think I know where to go. Yes. I definitely know.”
Mel threw away the letters from Hermia and what she had written into the trash can and took out a new sheet of paper, starting to move her pen across it.
“None of it matters anymore. Cousins? The lady is not on my side either. No one is on my side anymore.”
Her monotonous muttering sounded like that of a mad person, but her mind was clearer and calmer than ever after the storm had passed.
[Just as you tried to abandon me, I’ll abandon you too.]
Mel left that line as a note on the desk and grabbed a suitcase filled with money. It felt light. The bag that would have been burdensome for her in the past felt as light as a feather.
As long as she doesn’t lose it, it should be fine. Still, it would feel safer if it were a bit heavier.
She took the suitcase and went back down to the basement, pulling back the covering on the floor. She stuffed gold bars left by her father into the empty spaces of the bag, and when she buckled it up, it felt significantly heavier than before.
“When I meet that old woman and learn the truth, I’ll expose Duke Leonard’s crimes to the world. I’ll come back for my father’s inheritance then.”
As she made that vow towards the remaining gold and turned around, for some reason, her feet wouldn’t move.
She glanced back. A small box containing a necklace caught her eye.
“……”
A moment later, she exited through the back door of the kitchen. She left the mansion and started walking, but Walter’s subordinates were nowhere in sight.
Was Hermia the one being watched instead of me? Her mood plummeted in an instant.
The road leading to the train station was desolate and eerily quiet.
She turned off the main road into a secluded alleyway. She wanted to check if her bag was heavy enough for someone else.
“What’s a grown lady like you doing, running away in the middle of the night?”
As expected, a drunken vagrant approached with a staggering gait. He was pulling something out from his tattered robe pocket. This too was anticipated.
Mel felt insulted by being threatened with such a small knife no longer than her finger. It was infuriating that he thought this would be enough.
“Scream, and it won’t be fun for you.”
“I won’t scream.”
Looking at the sharp weapon held in his thick hand, Mel spoke softly.
Surprisingly obediently responding caused the man’s laughter to deepen.
Underneath the moonlight stood a pale little woman who seemed like a ghost coming out at midnight saying ‘come catch me,’ so was his purpose to target women? He chuckled sinisterly.
“Hand over your bag first. Let me see what’s inside before we have some fun.”
Mel calmly extended her arm. As she handed over her bag with one hand, he tried to take it with one hand too but ended up tumbling over along with the suitcase.
“Ugh!”
She pushed him back and placed the large suitcase on his belly. The man flailed like an overturned turtle on the ground.
Now she felt confident the bag wouldn’t be easily snatched even if she got distracted for a moment. When she tried to take away his pocket knife, she accidentally exerted too much force causing his fingers to bend too much.
“Ahhh……!”
Mel hurriedly covered his mouth.
“S-scream, and it won’t be fun for you.”
The man’s face turned pale with fear as he nodded at Mel who pressed him down with monstrous strength under moonlight like a ghost.
She dusted off her skirt and stood up to grab her bag before leaving the alley nonchalantly. The only one seeing her off was the vagrant clutching his broken fingers.
However, there were those quietly watching from somewhere Mel did not know.
When the vagrant pulled out his weapon, two figures who had approached within arm’s reach disappeared back into shadows and began following behind her.
* * *
The door of the publisher’s office burst open violently as if it would break down on an otherwise peaceful afternoon.
The employees stood up in shock at this unexpected intrusion; they were faced with a face they had only seen from afar or in newspapers.
Walter glanced at them with a dry expression.
It was different from merely witnessing a celebrity in person; all employees wore expressions that seemed to say ‘the inevitable has come.’
“W-What brings you here, Your Grace…?”
The first person to regain composure rushed out of his chair in panic.
Walter shifted his gaze from the man bowing deeply before him who was holding out his business card habitually.
“It is truly an honor to meet you. I am the editor-in-chief here…”
“This is an official investigation.”
“Oh! Yes! Thank you for your hard work!”
The quick-witted editor-in-chief immediately changed his address and awkwardly assumed a salute position. Walter impassively surveyed the spacious and luxurious office before pulling out a search warrant from his pocket.
“We are here to seize all materials related to a suspect under espionage charges.”
“S-Suspect?”
The editor’s eyes shook violently at the name “Joel Bright” written on the document.
His body stiffened like a statue, except for his trembling eyes, as soldiers poured in endlessly on either side of him. They began to rummage through bookshelves, cabinets, and the drawers of employees’ desks without care.
Terrified, the other employees huddled together in a corner, forced to watch as their office was completely ransacked. The man who was supposed to be the editor-in-chief lifted his head and steadied his trembling voice.
“But why did you come personally, Colonel…?”
“Where is the representative?”
Completely ignored, the editor-in-chief fidgeted with his intertwined fingers, unable to answer easily this time.
“Well… that is…”
If he opened all the doors, he would eventually reach the president’s office, but Walter chose to be polite.
“Where is he?”
Even with such a short and simple question, the editor felt a chill run down his spine. After meeting countless people in his forty years of life, he never imagined he would feel such intimidation from a duke much younger than himself.
He was experiencing firsthand that the title of war hero, who led troops to numerous victories on the notoriously dangerous Western Front, was not just an impressive label or exaggeration.
“T-the president is currently in jail. His wife is temporarily here right now…”
The editor whispered this and pointed to the door marked with the president’s nameplate. Just then, the door to the president’s office burst open, and a clear voice echoed inside.
“Where on earth did you go to buy a cake… Who… who are you?”
A middle-aged woman stood there with cream smeared all over her mouth and bread in her other hand.
Despite the shock, Walter frowned slightly as she immediately took a big bite of the bread after speaking.
She had well-groomed hair, a dress made from high-quality fabric, and jewelry adorning her ears and neck. And then…
‘… Cream bread?’
“That person is the president’s wife. As you can see, she’s not quite normal right now…”
“I can hear you, editor!”
The woman retorted sharply while mumbling. Just then, a junior staff member rushed into the office carrying heavy paper bags in both hands.
“I’m sorry for being late… Oh?”
As he looked around in surprise at the soldiers, the woman who had come out of the office walked over confidently. She pushed aside desks that were in her way irritably and approached the employee before snatching away the bread bag he was holding.
“I thought I was going to die from hunger! What good are you if you’re so slow? Do you want to get fired too?”
“I-I’m sorry!”
“The police caused a scene here just a while ago, and now this! What the heck is going on?!”
“Oh dear, ma’am!”
The editor was sweating profusely and didn’t know what to do, but she ignored him and returned to the president’s office, slamming the door shut.
“Well, she has always been a bit irritable, but it has gotten worse lately.”
“The representative is in jail.”
Walter asked while staring at the closed door with a frown. It was a question about why he had been arrested.
“Well, there was an unfortunate incident…”
Just as the editor hesitated to answer in frustration, one employee raised his hand excitedly from the corner.
“He has been arrested three times for public indecency! He can’t even get bail now!”
Perhaps encouraged by that statement, another employee added,
“He took off his pants three times in Central Square.”
With a grim face, Walter walked toward the president’s office. He hesitated momentarily at the cream smeared on the doorknob when the editor rushed over like wind to open it for him.
“I apologize for my rudeness… Ah, oh! Amazing love!”
The bowing editor suddenly began singing loudly.
As Walter turned slowly to follow the sound of singing while trying to enter,
“Take my hand! Kiss this humble slave…”
“There he goes again! What an amazing singer we’ve got. I’ve told you countless times to quit and audition already!”
The woman inside the office shouted while scooping chocolate cake with her hands.
“……”
Walter stood frozen for some time without being able to say anything. Even the soldiers who were gathering documents also stopped all actions at this incomprehensible scene.
Only the junior employees wore tired, exasperated expressions.
“…Take them both away.”
With great difficulty, he managed to utter those words as someone clapped their hands alone but quickly lowered their arms when they noticed.
