Please Forget Me - Chapter 168

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

I pretended to be anxious about being apart from Johann, not wanting to seem suspicious. When I mentioned that I would be leaving, Mrs. Hildebrant’s face softened for a moment, but then she quickly regained her composure and asked with a smile.

“When are you leaving?”

“On Sunday.”

“Not much time left. What do the people in the village say about it?”

“I haven’t told anyone yet.”

While Johann’s departure needed to remain a secret, mine didn’t. However, I still kept quiet, as it might cause unnecessary complications if the villagers knew, so we packed our things quietly, without anyone noticing.

“Good decision. It’s wise. Is everything ready?”

“We don’t have much, so I finished packing in one night. The permit will be given on Friday, and once I get that, everything will be set.”

“Permit…”

Her face darkened for a moment.

“I’m back!”

The sound of running footsteps echoed as a child flung open the door to the sitting room.

“Thomas, you need to knock.”

The child closed his mouth, not because of his mother’s scolding, but because there was a stranger in the room. When he recognized me, however, he spoke again.

“He, hello…”

His shy greeting was cute.

“Hello, Thomas. It’s been a while. How was school?”

“…Yes. The teacher is still at school.”

His shy demeanor was sweet.

“He’ll be here after class.”

But today would likely be the last time. I felt guilty, though I quickly reminded myself that children belong to their parents.

“Go wash your hands, have a snack, and then do your homework.”

Mrs. Hildebrant sent him off. Moments later, the sound of a violin started drifting into the room, causing her to pause as she sipped her coffee and frowned.

“He’s just like his father, ignoring my instructions.”

It wasn’t because the child was playing, but because he was practicing the violin.

“These days, he’s obsessed with becoming the violinist for the Prime Minister, practicing day and night.”

Apparently, the Prime Minister, who always listened to music to help with concentration, hated recorded music because he had a keen ear. So, even during work, he always had live musicians around.

Last month, however, his favorite violinist passed away from the flu. The staff was trying to find a replacement, but since the Prime Minister was so particular, every candidate they found was rejected, and the staff was frustrated.

“His father has been putting ideas in his head, and that’s why he’s like this these days. It’s really not the time for that…”

Mrs. Hildebrandt sighed deeply, then suddenly set down her cup and stood up.

“Coffee won’t do. Let’s celebrate with something stronger.”

She went to the cabinet, brought out a bottle of liquor, and poured it into the coffee.

“Rize, I’m really envious of you.”

As I listened to Mrs. Hildebrandt, it felt more like she was offering a consolatory drink than a celebratory one.

“Rize truly has a good husband. A real man is one who sacrifices himself to save his wife, don’t you think?”

“But… as the General said, there shouldn’t be any danger.”

I felt like it would sound insincere if I spoke any further, so I added,

“I may be in danger since I live on the surface, but you’re safe in the bunker. By the time the enemy and tanks reach the bunker, the headquarters will have already retreated. By then, the General will have already moved you and the children to safety.”

“If you wait until then, it’s too late, but if we do it now, it might be better…”

Mrs. Hildebrandt, who was tipsy from the alcohol, began to pour out her frustrations, starting with the story of how she married her husband. It seemed like there was a lot of pent-up resentment.

“He kept the teacher hostage. And now, he wants us to stay too. What kind of husband does that? I married the wrong man.”

She buried her face in her hands, then suddenly slammed her fist on the table, making the tea cup rattle.

“I can’t stand it. If he won’t let me go, then I’ll leave on my own.”

“With the child too? That would be a huge problem if you get caught…”

But my concern, thinking of what happened to Mrs. Becker, was truly irrelevant.

“I can go back and forth without a permit.”

She explained that the family of high-ranking officials could pass checkpoints freely without special permits.

“At first, I was going to gently convince him to leave, but now I can’t wait any longer. We’ll just pick a day and leave without telling him.”

Ah, so they could leave whenever they wanted.

I felt a deep sense of helplessness.

* * *

“Johann, did you know? Mrs. Hildebrandt can leave without a permit.”

That evening, I told Johann about the money Mrs. Hildebrandt had given me for travel and the conversation we had.

“But she stayed because of her husband.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“She said she’s leaving soon, though.”

“I heard about that.”

Johann had been talking to Mrs. Hildebrandt after his lesson with Thomas earlier in the day.

“So, what about the car?”

We were kindly offered a car and driver, but I couldn’t feel fully thankful. We weren’t going to the military hospital, after all. I didn’t really know what to do, so I told Johann to figure it out.

“I asked her to just take us to the central station since we don’t have much to carry.”

That’s when we’d escape.

Escape.