Please Forget Me - Chapter 244

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

“Wait… did you actually do something wrong?”

Killian’s uneasy expression filled me with dread.

“Dana, I’ll only say this once. Please don’t ask me again, and if I ever do something that seems completely insane to you, just remember it’s because of this.”

“You want me to never ask about it again? How am I supposed to understand if you do things I can’t comprehend? I don’t even understand this request.”

I protested, but after hearing Killian’s answer—his ‘just this once’ confession—I couldn’t argue any longer.

“Everything I did in Eisensthal could be considered treason.”

“…What? What do you mean? You were just trying to survive—”

“What I did went beyond just staying alive. I tried to live as a Highlander, got close to the enemy leadership and received their protection. That alone would be dangerous, but on top of that, I even offered to work as the enemy prime minister’s speechwriter. Dana, I’m a collaborator.”

“But… you only did it for me!”

“That kind of reasoning won’t hold up in a military court.”

Now I was the one starting to fear the military police.

“But, but, there’s no way the army could know all that. Right?”

“They already know we lived in hiding under the names Johann and Rize Renner.”

“…What? How…?”

Apparently, he’d heard it from Lieutenant O’Brien yesterday. The army regularly acquires the Highland government gazette distributed near the front, and in doing so, they came across an article about a missing couple using our assumed names.

The lieutenant had learned about it when he called headquarters to decode the cipher in Killian’s letter.

“Oh god… they saw that?”

“So headquarters already knew we were alive and living in enemy territory disguised as civilians.”

They were even expecting that, sooner or later, word would come that we’d shown up somewhere near the front lines.

“That’s why we never should’ve been in the paper… That bastard Hildebrandt…”

That article had put us at risk of being exposed as spies by the enemy. But I’d thought, since the danger had already passed, that it was over and done with. I never imagined it could also brand Killian a traitor at home.

That landmine was still active, lying somewhere in our path.

“So… that’s why…”

That’s why he’d been so anxious, even after coming home, like a man still being hunted by the enemy. Why he’d wanted to avoid all contact with soldiers and hurry away from the base. Why he’d told me not to say anything to anyone…

“Then… does headquarters know about everything you did too?”

“I don’t think they know everything. Not yet.”

It was too soon to breathe easy.

“But if our military ever finds the prime minister’s bunker and takes it, they could find out we were living there, and how we lived…”

“Oh no…”

Another realization dawned on me. If Killian had just taken a job as a private tutor with the Hildebrandt family, he could’ve avoided Felkner calling for me from the start.

But he hadn’t—at least not until Felkner crossed a line that Killian had been unwilling to let anyone cross.

I’d thought he’d hesitated out of patriotism, that he loved his country more than me. But that was just a foolish assumption.

‘It was a matter of life and death.’

Killian had risked his life to chase away a dog that was trying to bite me.

“Oh, Killian… I’m so, so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. That’s why I didn’t want to tell you…”

“Sniff… And I didn’t even realize… I’m so sorry.”

“I’m the one who should apologize, for saying all this.”

He was the one who truly needed comfort, yet Killian only stroked me, soothing me as if I was the one who needed it. So I reached out and gently touched the back that was carrying a burden far heavier than I could bear.

“My love… I don’t know what to do. What can I possibly do for you?”

Killian gripped me tightly with the hand that had been stroking me, almost desperately.

“No matter what happens, don’t leave me.”

“That’s the easiest thing in the world.”

The promise itself was so easy.

“I’ll follow you, even to hell.”

* * *

That night, the train we were on finally arrived at the Argen River as scheduled.

I prayed we’d be able to cross the river without incident, but as the train approached the bridge, it came to a halt—and soldiers burst into our compartment.