Please Forget Me - Chapter 181

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

My mind went blank and I almost ran out the back door to chase the man on the carriage. The sound of the car engine and the wheels screeching to a sudden stop echoed through the front yard.

‘Is it him?’

Has he come back without being caught? Since we were close to General Hildebrandt, the military had no problem lending us a car and driver. I hoped that, since they didn’t know he was a spy, they had just brought him home as usual.

‘Please…’

Moments later, I heard the sound of boots climbing the steps to the front door, followed by a knock.

“Who is it?”

The principal cracked open the door, peering out, and I could tell by the quick whispers that the person outside was someone he knew. But why hadn’t he let him in? My uneasy feeling made my voice tremble as I asked:

“…Is it Johann?”

At that moment, the door was roughly pushed open, and in walked none other than Major Felkner, far more ominous than I had imagined. His eyes were cold and menacing as he walked straight toward me, standing near the back door.

“What are you doing here?”

As I questioned the major about breaking his promise, I was overpowered by his presence and, without realizing it, stepped backward toward the door.

“You said you’d give me time…”

Smack!

Before I could react, the major swung his right hand and slapped me across the face.

Thud.

I couldn’t even dodge. The force of the slap sent me crashing to the floor, unable to keep myself from falling.

“Ugh…”

My body ached from hitting the wooden floor. My cheek, stinging like it had been seared by fire, throbbed painfully, and my vision, which had blackened from the impact, didn’t return easily.

‘Why did he hit me? Why?’

I couldn’t get up from the shock, and through my flashing vision, I saw a pair of military boots approach.

“How dare this filthy mongrel deceive me?”

…Did I deceive the major?

I couldn’t even understand what he was saying. In my daze, I couldn’t even cry, but I could hear the sound of Mrs. Werner and her daughter-in-law sobbing on my behalf.

“Major! Why are you doing this?!”

As the boots moved toward my fallen body, the principal stepped forward, trying to stop him.

“Why are you stopping me? Are you in on this too?”

“In on what?”

“I told you, didn’t I? I told you she was suspicious.”

“But there’s been no suspicious behavior so far…”

“No suspicious behavior? Ha.”

The suspicious conversation was abruptly cut off when the major scoffed.

“Johann Renner is a spy for Falkland.”

The women gasped in horror. The principal remained silent. But it wasn’t just silence—his hand, which had been holding the major back, was slowly losing strength, showing that he, too, was deeply shocked.

‘He said he’d give me time. So why is he exposing everything now?’

That was when the tears finally came.

He looked up at me with a gaze full of resentment, and the major glared at me, as if ready to tear me apart, and asked:

“Then, what about Rize Eineman?”

“Ugh…”

He immediately reached out and yanked my hair, pulling me up, and answered for me.

“Of course, she’s a spy for Falkland.”

…What?

“They’re spies for Falkland.”

“I’m not!”

“No?”

The major tugged on my hair, pulling me up to his chin, and spoke in a tone as if he wanted to devour me.

“Do you know what the piece you played in front of the prime minister was?”

…Why is he bringing that up now?

“It was the national anthem of Falkland.”

The national anthem of Falkland?

“I’d heard that melody before, but it was the song those vermin in the prison camps used to howl. And the prime minister must have listened without knowing it, he must not have known, right? Or did he enjoy it?”

The major laughed bitterly, mocking the prime minister.

“Do you really think that old man, hiding in the comfort of his luxurious residence, has ever heard the enemy’s national anthem? He’s never even seen the frontlines. But I’ve heard that song until it made my ears bleed. Though now, I’ve been comfortably stationed in the rear just like him, so I haven’t heard it… until you played it today.”

So that’s why the man told me not to play the violin. The one song my hands remember just so happened to be the anthem of the enemy… no, of my country.

‘…Was I really from Falkland?’

I had never doubted that I was Highland, but now, in my confusion, I suddenly recalled the evidence that I was actually from Falkland.

“Because I loved you…”

I didn’t realize immediately that the language the man had used was not Highland, and that I understood Falkland’s language because I knew it. How could I have missed that?

‘I’m from Falkland.’

I hadn’t betrayed my country because of the man. From the start, I had infiltrated the enemy country for my homeland, but lost my memory and mistook the enemy country for my own.

‘How could I have made such a mistake? Why didn’t he tell me? If I had known…’

Now I believed that I was a spy for Falkland, but the principal still didn’t believe it.

“Mrs. Renner is a spy for the enemy…? There must be some mistake.”

“Don’t be fooled by this innocent face.”

“Ugh…”

The major shook my head roughly, as if showing me my own face.

“I, too, was deceived by this innocent-looking face. I thought she wasn’t that kind of person. Though, the operation command was also deceived, so who am I to say…”

“Huh…”

He shoved me away and threw off his military jacket, tossing it to the floor before ordering Principal Werner.

“Everyone, get out.”

What was he planning to do, leaving me alone?