Please Forget Me - Chapter 41

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

And finally, on Christmas Eve, we hung the new socks I knitted, one for each of us, above the fireplace. Our living room, doubling as a dining area, was modestly adorned with a pine tree and a pinecone wreath, emanating a rich Christmas spirit.

“Rize, look outside. It’s snowing.”

But the scene outside didn’t match. Despite being on the most bustling street with shops in the area, it was engulfed in pitch darkness due to blackout regulations. To avoid enemy bombings, street lights were turned off at sunset, and windows were covered to prevent any light from escaping.

‘It doesn’t feel like Christmas at all. What a pity.’

The absence of festive window decorations wasn’t just because of the need to cover windows. It was because people had given up on decorating for Christmas.

As food and money quickly became scarce, so did the community’s spirit and trust. Bragging about having the means to celebrate lavishly during times of hardship was considered unwise.

So, everyone seemed to have silently agreed to spend Christmas quietly. There was no festive decoration to be seen on the streets, nor could the sound of children singing carols be heard.

Yet, the falling snow brought a flutter of excitement, akin to a child’s.

“Snow on Christmas Eve is so romantic.”

“It’s as if God is tenderly comforting those enduring a harsh winter with a blanket of warm snow.”

We watched the heavy snowfall in the dim moonlight through a gap in the curtains for a long time. It was only when my stomach growled that we finally closed the curtains and sat down for dinner.

Tonight’s meal was simple, but tomorrow’s Christmas dinner would be lavish.

After dinner, we sat together, chatting until we decided to go to bed early.

“Dream sweet dreams, Rize.”

“Dream of me, Johann.”

Hoping Santa Claus would visit while we slept and fill our socks with gifts.

Of course, I haven’t reverted to a child just because I lost my memory. I know there’s no Santa Claus, and that we are each other’s Santa.

After Johann fell asleep, I stealthily slipped out of bed and filled his sock with the gift I had prepared for him. My sock was already filled; it seemed he had put his gift for me in there while insisting I use the bathroom first.

‘What did he put in there?’

I was very curious about the gift Johann had prepared for me, but I decided not to peek. I could wait a few hours to enjoy opening our gifts together right after waking up.

Bang, bang, bang.

“Rize Renner, Major Felkner summons you.”

But before the day could break, Major Felkner was already sending for me, turning a few hours into half a day.

This time it wasn’t to his office. The soldier, following the Major’s orders, led me past the work area to the officers’ quarters.

‘Why suddenly take me here?’

When the soldier stopped in front of a door marked with Felkner’s nameplate, my ominous premonitions turned into reality.

‘This is his bedroom.’

Perhaps I had let my guard down, just as Johann feared. I felt dazed, as if I had been suddenly struck. If the sound of the soldier knocking on the bedroom door hadn’t reverberated in my ears, I might have thought the world had stopped just like me.

‘Is the Major finally revealing his true intentions?’

Even though there was no answer from inside, the soldier cracked the door open and gestured for me to enter.

Who would willingly walk into a hungry dog’s den?

I stood still, giving him a troubled look, but the soldier only looked back at me with a blank and firm gaze.

‘Attempting to flee here would surely get me captured.’

Escaping from the bunker undetected after shooting him in this corridor, where officers roamed, seemed impossible. Reluctantly, I stepped into the room, clutching the handle of the revolver in my coat pocket with a trembling hand.

The walls were thick enough to muffle sound, so shooting him in a closed room might give me a chance to escape without the soldiers noticing.

Seeing myself automatically making such calculations, it seems I didn’t learn to handle a gun just for fun in the past.

‘Oh?’

When I entered inside, I was startled to find my calculations off.

‘No one’s here?’

It was indeed a bedroom, but contrary to my expectations, the Major wasn’t waiting for me. The room was empty, with only its disarray indicating someone had been there.

‘Was I just called to tidy up his bedroom while he was out?’

Just as I was about to remove my hand from my pocket in relief.

“I see a sleepy face is more tempting.”

A familiar rogue’s voice came from behind.

Turning towards the door, I saw the Major entering the room, apparently just out of the shower, wearing only a bathrobe.

Was he wearing nothing under that robe? As he walked, his bare legs flashed under the fluttering hem. The robe was loosely tied at the waist, revealing much of his chest. In short, the Major was nearly undressed.

‘And to think of what he said to me as I entered….’

Now, he might reveal his true colors and pounce on me.

With the Major blocking the entrance, there was nowhere to run. I stealthily slipped my hand back into my pocket, keeping a wary eye on him.

However, the Major passed by me without a touch and flopped down into the armchair on the other side of the bed.