Chapter 356
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
It had already been an entire season since we fled after our cover as spies was exposed. The thought crossed my mind that the prime minister and the command headquarters might no longer be there.
But I wasn’t foolish enough to say that out loud.
—If this ends the war, you’ll become a hero, Madam. An unsung hero, if you prefer.
I don’t want to be a hero. I just want my love back. That’s all I want.
How many people would I have to kill for that one thing?
The moment I heard the word bunker, I saw our future and at the same time, the fate of the innocent neighbors we had left behind.
Mrs. Bauer. Mr. Kohler. Anna. The children Johann used to teach. They had been good people, our neighbors. Even if they were now considered the enemy, they had committed no crime deserving of tragedy.
I thought of those who had chosen less honorable paths under the pressure of war. But even so, they too did not deserve such a fate. None of them were responsible for starting this war.
The real criminals may already have fled. But the innocent were likely still there, in that valley, trying to piece their shattered lives back together with bare hands.
For the sake of the one person who meant everything to me, I would be committing a sin against them all.
“…All right. I’ll tell you everything I know.”
The decision itself was easy. Living with it was not.
God, though I may be a sinner, please save my love.
Killian must have prayed the same way, committing sins in order to protect me.
My love, if only you survive, then this must be the right path.
For the first time, I truly understood how he must have felt the night he returned after killing innocent monks for my sake.
If so, then please understand my decision as well. But I pray you never know the countless sleepless nights that await me.
“But I won’t say a word until his innocence is officially confirmed.”
—Then we’ll have no choice but to do everything in our power to free the priest as quickly as possible.
The Operations Command officer—who clearly didn’t know me well—muttered that I was a skilled negotiator, that he could see why the Marquis had struggled with me, and then apologized for the unnecessary remark.
It wasn’t unnecessary at all.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
—Go ahead.
“You can locate and bring in Frida Schmidt, who lived in Leningen, can’t you?”
Perhaps sensing the purpose behind my request to find a woman in enemy territory, the officer let out a low chuckle.
—We’ll do our best.
* * *
A few days later, Killian sent me a letter through his lawyer.
Dana—why did you do that?
So it was true. They really had kept all outside news from him in the military prison.
The fact that Killian had finally learned the truth meant the Marquis no longer had influence over him. It also meant that Operations Command was keeping its promise.
I was overjoyed, until I read the rest of his letter, and my anger began to rise.
A lady’s honor is her life. How could you throw it away?
So that was it. He really had been keeping silent to protect my honor. He was ready to sacrifice his life for something like that?
Don’t let my mother manipulate you. I told you what kind of person she is.
Why couldn’t he understand that this had been my decision? It was cruel.
If you don’t immediately issue a statement saying the exposé is false and that you didn’t write it, then I will deny everything and testify that I am, in fact, a traitor.
How could he say something so heartless to me…?
Instead of grabbing him by the collar, I grabbed my pen.
* * *
Dana, do you even understand what you’ve done?
Revealing the truth to the world was surely my mother’s idea. With only one son left, she would have been willing to do anything to save him.
But what did she sacrifice?
It wasn’t her honor dragged through the mud, it was yours.
Dana, why did you do this? You’ll be condemned for the rest of your life. No, probably even after death. And you don’t even fully understand what that means. You must have nodded along happily when my mother said she had a plan to get me out of prison. I can picture it perfectly.
“Ha… what a headache…”
“If you’re feeling unwell, shall I fetch some medicine from the infirmary?”
A military police officer asked as he opened the interrogation room door. I lifted my face from my hand and shook my head.
“Then let’s get straight to the point again today.”
The investigator, who was at least ten years older than me, sat across from me and smiled pleasantly.
Dana… what have you done this time?
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