Please Forget Me - Chapter 140
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
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“Nothing happened, right?”
“No, no one came. I just slept.”
“That’s a relief.”
“What about school? Was everything okay?”
“There was something.”
Startled, I opened my eyes wide, but Johann smiled and gently closed them again.
“Because my mind was completely occupied with you, I almost taught the wrong subject, thinking it was Tuesday.”
“Considering you didn’t show up when you thought it was Sunday, that doesn’t sound so bad.”
“Hmmm… Maybe I should’ve gone along with it, since I was already mistaken…”
I don’t know the last time we had such carefree conversations, laughing over trivial things. Sharing simple chatter without any meaning, I felt a sense of warmth and comfort from Johann’s touch and voice, and soon I drifted into a deep sleep, forgetting my pain.
Bang, bang, bang.
Suddenly, I was jolted awake by the sound of someone angrily knocking on the door downstairs. Johann was no longer by my side. He must have gone back to school after lunch.
Since the effects of the medication were still with me, it couldn’t have been long ago. I tried to close my heavy eyelids again, but another sound caught my attention, and I opened my eyes wide once more.
‘The sound of an engine?’
I could hear the engine of a car from outside the window. At that moment, an ominous thought flashed through my mind.
Maybe the Major, having reached the end of ‘soon’, has sent someone to bring me in.*’
According to what the Corporal said, the soldiers were likely watching me closely, and with the commotion from earlier, they probably knew about it.
If I pretended not to be home, they might knock a few more times before leaving. Maybe even the soldier secretly hoped that I would act this way.
Hoping for that, I buried myself under the blankets. But then, the voice of a soldier calling out pierced through the thick cotton covers.
“Open this door!”
At that moment, I realized. No matter how much I resisted, they wouldn’t leave.
Because it was Major Felkner.
I jumped up in terror, my body trembling. I stumbled toward the door, dragging my unsteady legs, panicking as I approached it.
Johann must have locked it when he left, but the door was so old and flimsy that any strong man could easily break it down with a single kick. Johann had installed three additional locks for situations like this, but since they all needed to be locked from the inside, none of them were in place now.
‘I have to lock it quickly.’
As I rushed to the door, I heard the sound of footsteps running up from below. Then, the sound of the creaky old front door opening made me freeze as I grabbed the doorknob.
‘No.’
Mrs. Becker must have opened the door for the Major.
Click, click, click.
I quickly secured the locks. The metallic sounds echoed through the building, almost as loud as my racing heartbeat. It felt as though I could hear the Major laughing at the fear rising inside me.
Step, step, step.
The sound of footsteps climbing the stairs began.
‘What do I do? What should I do?’
I wasn’t reassured by just the locks, so I grabbed the revolver from the bedroom, holding it in both hands.
Even with a weapon in my hand, I couldn’t feel safe. I wanted to scream out the window, begging someone to save me.
But with everyone working, there wouldn’t be many neighbors at home, and even if there were, no one would come to my aid as they did before. This time, it wasn’t a low-ranking soldier, but a high-ranking officer known for his ruthless behavior.
‘Johann…’
The only one who could save me from the Major was Johann, but he wasn’t here. The Major had been watching us all along and must have come for me while Johann wasn’t around.
In the end, the only person who could save me was me. Frantically, I moved a chair from the table to wedge it under the doorknob. Even then, I couldn’t feel at ease, so I sat on the chair, bracing myself.
Step, step, step.
The heavy sound of boots grew closer, each step echoing ominously behind the door. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
The footsteps suddenly stopped. Behind me. Even with the thick door between us, I felt exposed, like I was offering myself to the enemy. I struggled to suppress the sob that was trying to escape. My hands trembled, still gripping the revolver like a prayer.
Thud.
“Hah…”
There was no sound for a moment, then suddenly, the door shook.
It must have been kicked lightly with a boot, but the shock made me jump. Then, a short, mocking laugh came from the other side of the door. He must have been confirming I was still there.
“Rize.”
He must have figured out where my head was, as the Major’s voice whispered right behind my ear, just inches away from me, even though there was a door between us.
“Weren’t you sick?”
That made my skin crawl even more. He knew I was sick. Who had he used to monitor us, and how far did his surveillance reach?
“Y-yes, I’m not well, so please, just go away.”
“Is it really right to turn away without even showing your face towards someone who’s come to check on you because you’re sick?”
“I—I appreciate your concern, but I’m not feeling well, so….”
“Oh, foolish Rize, a check-in is just an excuse. I couldn’t care less unless you were dying.”
If I had believed his lie, I wouldn’t have been trembling from the start.
