Please Forget Me - Chapter 162

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

I was stunned by the first paragraph of the article and couldn’t proceed. I quickly scanned the rest. It was true. The article mentioned that the Prime Minister had praised us as exemplary citizens after hearing our story.

“Exemplary citizens… As expected, the Prime Minister knows how to judge people.”

The Principal, who had been congratulating Johann as if he was his own son receiving praise from the Prime Minister, widened his eyes again and asked,

“…Did you not know?”

“No, I didn’t.”

Johann, who had been staring at the article with a stiff face, responded with an unenthusiastic tone. We had never been told that an article would be published, nor had we been interviewed.

“I’ve never met the Prime Minister either,” I added, just in case the Principal and his wife misunderstood us as having some powerful connections.

‘How did this happen?’

After dinner, when we returned to our bedroom, Johann crumpled the article, which the Principal had proudly cut out and given to us, and muttered a curse under his breath.

I was startled by his aggressive actions, which he usually kept hidden from view.

I felt confused but not upset… The article didn’t defame us, it portrayed us in a good light, calling us exemplary citizens. Sure, it was embarrassing that our story and names were spread across the nation, but…

‘Wait, could this expose us as deserters?’

If there were any soldiers or officers from our unit, they would know that Johann didn’t leave as an honorable discharged soldier, but rather escaped. And it would be highly unlikely that no one would have seen this article.

This was the government gazette, published to instill patriotism and reassure the public. It must have been distributed nationwide, and since maintaining the morale of the military is paramount, the government would have made sure it reached the front lines.

I, too, collapsed at the edge of the bed.

“Johann…”

He was tugging at his pomaded hair, making it messy, and then buried his forehead in his hands, looking clearly distressed. I wanted to say something, but I didn’t know what. I fell silent again because I had no clever solutions.

“We need to leave this country as quickly as possible.”

As always, Johann knew what to do. He seemed to understand how the article had come to be published.

“That shameless fox… I thought he was asking too many questions…”

He muttered through clenched teeth. The only person who could be called a sly fox was Major Felkner.

‘Did he publish the article? Is this how he’s trying to find witnesses?’

It made sense, so I thought it was Major Felkner, but Johann’s words made it clear that the ‘fox’ he referred to was none other than General Hildebrandt.

Coincidentally, that day was also the day we were supposed to play cards with the Hildebrandt couple.

The conversation was deliberately set up by Mrs. Hildebrandt to convince the General to send us out of the valley.

While Mrs. Hildebrandt was shuffling the cards, Johann, who had been quietly watching the General pour me a drink, casually brought up the subject, as if making small talk.

“You’ve written an article about us, based on the story I told you before.”

“Oh, you saw it too, Teacher? It was a story too good to keep to myself. The Public Affairs office was looking for an optimistic piece, so I mentioned your story. The Prime Minister said it was a good story. By the way, how about going fishing this weekend?”

The General dismissed it as if it were nothing, moving quickly to change the subject.

At first, I thought he was embarrassed and trying to avoid the awkwardness of publishing the article without our consent, but that wasn’t the case.

“You should have asked for my permission first.”

“Permission?”

The General, who assumed Johann would be grateful, looked at him with a confused expression.

He didn’t seem to understand why he seemed displeased. He had done us a favor, and naturally expected thanks, but Johann clearly didn’t feel that way. The General was just offering his generosity once again, without realizing it wasn’t what we wanted.

“Well…,” the General frowned.

He was in his middle age and an esteemed officer, so he didn’t understand why Johann was upset. To him, this was a good thing, and since Johann was much younger, he probably thought Johann didn’t grasp how big of a favor he was offering.

“This isn’t a bad thing for you or the country. In fact, it’s a good thing. You’ve made your name known.”

“I don’t want to make my name known. If you plan to write about us again, please get my consent first, or at least use a pseudonym.”

“You were born a man, yet you don’t want your name known? What’s the reason?”

I tensed up under the table, clutching my skirt. Could he be thinking that Johann was suspicious like Major Felkner?

“You’ve probably already guessed, but I’m not the kind of person who seeks attention. My dream is…”

Johann took my hand, which had been clutching my skirt, and gently placed it on the table, interlocking our fingers, so we could be seen by the others.

“My dream is to live quietly and happily with my wife, not to gain fame. You must know that the attention we get, especially the attention directed at Rize, brings more harm than good.”

Although Johann didn’t directly mention Major Felkner’s name, he subtly used him as a reason for our actions.

“Then you should aim for success. I like everything about you, but your small-mindedness is disappointing.”

The General clicked his tongue as he picked up the cards the wife had distributed.