Please Forget Me - Chapter 167

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

“It seems like the General still has no intention of sending his family away. While I’m stuck working under the Prime Minister, he probably thinks his wife will be quiet when she has no one left on her side.”

“He’s a real fox.”

It was like trying to get rid of a wild dog, only to end up with a sly fox instead.

“Rize, not everything in a bottle is medicine. It could be poison.”

Suddenly, I remembered what Johann had told me when he refused the Hildebrandt’s offer earlier this year. Maybe, from that moment on, Johann had a premonition of all this. That’s why he avoided it so desperately, but in the end, he was forced to drink whatever was in that bottle to protect me. Unfortunately, it turned out to be poison.

“Why is nothing ever going right? It started with me, and now it’s you… Why does everyone insist on interfering with us?”

It seems that Johann, just like me, has a fate that attracts unwanted attention.

“Yes, all I need is you. Why is it so hard to just have you to myself?”

He briefly closed his eyes in exhaustion but suddenly opened them wide and spoke urgently.

“No matter what happens, we have to escape from here. Right now.”

I knew that, but we had no way to escape, and that’s why we were still trapped here.

The military had fenced off the forest with barbed wire and set up more watchtowers, so even escaping through the forest wasn’t possible anymore. Just last week, Mrs. Becker and her son tried to escape into the woods at night and were shot on the spot.

So, the only remaining option was to leave with permission, but that had been blocked too…

We wouldn’t be able to escape from this death valley.

But the next day…

“I got the relocation permit.”

Johann had obtained the government’s approval. I thought it was impossible just yesterday, but it happened within a day. Before I could even rejoice, I heard a shocking detail.

“Just for you.”

“…What? Why?”

“I have to work under the Prime Minister.”

Johann had decided to work as the Prime Minister’s ghostwriter. In exchange, he had asked for permission to send his wife, who was extremely fearful of air raids, out of the valley.

The authorities were already aware of our article, so they knew I was a person who had narrowly survived an air raid. They didn’t find his request suspicious.

The permit was granted much more easily than expected—but only for me.

“I won’t go without you.”

“Calm down. How could I send you alone? I got a ten-day travel permit.”

“Travel… permit?”

Since I knew not just the bunker’s location but also its internal structure, the government decided to send me as a worker to a rear military hospital for monitoring.

Johann had asked to go with me because he needed to find a place for us to live near the hospital. However, the government didn’t grant him permission because they feared he might run away with me.

“How did you manage to get it?”

“It was General Hildebrandt who helped.”

He had assured Johann that he was an honest man, and that no matter what, Johann knew that if he fled, his life would be at risk. He suggested that it would be impossible for Johann to escape with his fragile wife, so they should allow him to go.

“So, you have to return in ten days.”

“I won’t return.”

Johann whispered to me in a secretive and resolute voice.

“In ten days, we will escape this country together.”

* * *

The day we received the permit was Wednesday, and we would receive the official document on Friday. We were to leave by Sunday, so we had less than five days to prepare for our escape.

We decided what to take with us. Johann’s clothes, books, and other belongings would mostly be left behind. Even if the military came here, we needed to appear as though he was just temporarily taking me somewhere before returning.

Our goal for those ten days was to deceive the government completely.

The reason we had to leave most things behind wasn’t just because of that. This wasn’t a move—it was an escape, so we had to keep our belongings light. Packing was completed in just one night.

That evening, Johann brought a bag I had never seen before. Inside were several leather pouches. One of the pouches contained two neatly rolled-up bundles of bills. This must have been the hidden money that Brigitta had told me about when the police showed up.

‘Thank goodness we have escape funds.’

There was even a map. Johann spent that night looking over several maps he pulled from another pouch, carefully planning our escape route.

I wondered if he had any talent for this sort of thing.

I was nervous, but I decided to trust Johann. After all, he had managed to desert the army and had evaded their pursuit up until now. I didn’t have the skills for these kinds of things, so there was no point in doubting him.

* * *

“I’m so envious.”

On Thursday afternoon, Mrs. Hildebrandt invited me to have coffee. She must have heard the news that I received the relocation permit. I was worried that she might be disappointed because, although we had planned to leave together, it seemed like I would be the only one leaving.

But instead, she was concerned about me.

“By the way, what will you do, Rize, living alone? I’m sure Mr. Renner will be worried sick about you.”

“I’m worried about that too. I don’t want to go alone, but he’s so determined…”