Please Forget Me - Chapter 34
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
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When did he approach silently, and how long had he been watching me? Clutching the hem of my cardigan and blouse tightly, I trembled.
The sound of a match striking and lighting a cigarette broke the silence before the officer finally spoke.
“So you disappeared only to be found under another man.”
The anger and sense of betrayal in that single statement plunged me into a different kind of fear.
‘He might try to harm Johann.’
Initially ignoring Johann as if he didn’t exist, the officer now scrutinized Johann with a cold gaze, eventually addressing him.
“Mr. Renner?”
“That’s correct.”
Johann’s blunt response elicited a chuckle from the officer as if he found the situation absurd.
“Ha, I thought you were a maiden, but you have a husband.”
Was he looking for me thinking I was unmarried?
“Where did you pawn your wedding ring?”
The officer, without finishing his cigarette, threw it to the ground and stomped on it. His agitated demeanor made me even more frightened, but he laughed off my fear.
“Small mountain villages spread rumors faster than bullets. You’ve probably heard I’m a womanizer. It’s true. But I don’t touch women who have husbands, so rest assured.”
Whether his words could be trusted or not, the Major claimed he was merely monitoring the traffic in and out of the area due to its proximity to the bunker.
“So, I’m asking…”
He gestured with his hand.
“Your identification.”
After receiving our IDs, the Major scrutinized them to confirm our identities.
“Johann Renner.”
He compared Johann’s appearance with the photo on the ID with a sharp gaze.
“The photo looks a bit different. Well, that’s common. Black hair, green eyes, height… it’s indeed you.”
Even after confirming Johann’s identity, the Major didn’t return the IDs but questioned him as if interrogating.
“What does Johann Renner do?”
It seemed like he was asking about Johann’s occupation, but his tone was twisted. Upon hearing that Johann was a laborer and would start teaching at a school next year, the Major scoffed, then suddenly dropped his laughter and asked accusingly.
“How did you avoid conscription?”
All healthy Hyland men between 20 and 50 were subject to conscription. That was the reason for his question.
“I was drafted the year before last but was discharged due to medical reasons.”
“What illness?”
“Tuberculosis.”
“It’s cured now, I see?”
The Major looked at Johann as if contemplating re-enlisting him, now holding my ID next to my face to compare.
“Rize Renner. Your maiden name was Einemann. I prefer Rize Einemann.”
It sounded like he disapproved of me being a married woman.
“Rize Einemann must have married Johann Renner while he was suffering from tuberculosis. Didn’t catch it, did you?”
“….”
I was caught off guard by the unexpected question. I glanced at Johann out of habit whenever someone asked about my past, which the Major found suspicious.
“Why aren’t you answering and looking at your husband instead? Are you two trying to concoct a story?”
“My wife suffered a severe head injury from a bombing a year ago and lost her memory. That’s why she can’t answer your question.”
“Lost her memory?”
The Major stared at me intently. Uncomfortably so. It was only after hearing from Johann that I never had tuberculosis that he flung our IDs back at us and turned to leave.
“If you don’t want your young and desirable wife to be devoured by a hungry wolf, better head home quickly.”
Before turning away, the curiosity in his gaze as he looked at me made me hope it was just my imagination.
* * *
“Is it true that Major Felkner doesn’t touch married women?”
Worried, I asked about Major Felkner from Mrs. Bauer.
“That’s what the rumors say.”
In the two months since Major Felkner appeared here, he’s been known to seduce women from virgins to widows, but supposedly, he never touches married women.
“Is that brute also chasing after Rize?”
“Yes.”
“He once sent his men to my house, but they left empty-handed. After that, Major Felkner asked about where Rize Renner moved to from women working at the bunker.”
“My goodness…”
He had been searching for me for two months.
“Fortunately, everyone guessed why that ruffian was looking for Rize and claimed they didn’t know.”
“Thank you.”
“But why would a man who doesn’t glance at married women chase after Rize so much?”
“Well… it seems he thought I was unmarried because I wasn’t wearing a ring.”
“Ah… So if he comes looking again, maybe hint that you’re married…”
“He already knows.”
I told her the incident of me encountering him in the forest with Johann, and Mrs. Bauer sighed.
“If he knows you’re married, then there’s no need to worry.”
It seems a similar situation had happened before.
“He even made advances towards Anna.”
“But Anna is Paul’s wife.”
“Right, and once he found out, he completely ignored Anna, treating her as if she didn’t exist.”
“That’s a relief.”
Now that he knows I’m married, he should consider me nonexistent too.
