The train departing from the capital was scheduled to arrive at its destination, the northern gateway, after passing through more than ten stations. 5:30 PM. Andert checked the arrival time and closed his eyes.
But even blocking his vision only made the pain in his temples more intense. The feeling of his entire skull ringing wasn’t unbearable but quite bothersome.
Chloe’s image floated up over his blackened vision. Chloe with her hair neatly pinned up, Chloe hesitantly speaking to him, Chloe dancing with him holding his hand after the royal banquet…
It was truly just a collection of fragmentary memories. Pieces of broken memories without a story.
His lack of proper memories with Chloe was entirely his fault. Literally, he had never given his wife time for such things. It was the same last year on Chloe’s birthday.
“Andert, how about having dinner with just the two of us tomorrow?”
“Is there some occasion?”
“No. Nothing special. Just… since tomorrow is my birthday. I wanted to have a meal together with you.”
The memory ended there too.
Because he had flatly rejected that request, citing an important appointment. Yes, there was an appointment. It was clearly a meeting related to major investments, but…
Now he couldn’t even distinguish who he had met for such an appointment. Yet these moments with Chloe, which he didn’t even know he remembered, were so vivid. As if she was really speaking right in front of him.
Since they were this clear, she must surely be alive. This was just a process of confirming Chloe’s safety.
Andert struggled with all his might to suppress any ominous thoughts. After traveling like this for over ten hours, the train finally entered Saphi Station.
“This station is the train’s final stop, Saphi. Have a good day everyone.”
Even before hearing the station attendant’s announcement passing through the corridor, Andert was already standing from his seat.
His nerve endings, stretched to their limit, felt completely frayed. But to quell this anxiety, he had to go to the police station and confirm.
“Let’s go. I’ll escort you.”
The quick-witted Roman picked up his hat and began clearing the way. Soon after, Andert stepped onto Saphi Station for the first time in his life.
The station, which didn’t have many visitors, was mostly filled with tourists coming to see the snow-capped mountains. Those who had gathered to climb the mountains were wearing thick coats and shoes with sturdy soles.
Among them, Andert’s attire stood out distinctly.
People kept glancing sideways at the man in an obviously expensive suit and gleaming shoes. But with his mind completely filled with lingering images of Chloe, he paid no attention to others’ gazes.
***
“This way. The body was found on a remote roadside. It appears to have been a carriage accident. Since identifying through the lower body and face will be difficult, you’ll need to confirm through other means. Let’s go.”
The stocky man pointed to the basement below the building. The employee assigned to guide them after Roman said they were here to identify a body spoke in a disinterested voice. Perhaps because it was a frequent occurrence, his stiff and perfunctory face kept checking the time.
Of course, if he had known Andert’s identity, his attitude would have been different, but having come here unofficially, Andert paid no mind to the other’s tone. No matter how much he told himself it couldn’t be true, his throat kept going dry with tension. Andert, uncharacteristically, loosened his neatly tied necktie.
But the suffocating feeling, as if someone was gripping his throat, remained. Ignoring Andert’s anxiety, the man leading the way quickly descended the stairs.
Finally reaching the basement corridor, the man guided them to the innermost door.
“Here it is. The restroom is right there on the right. Let’s go in.”
After randomly pointing out the location of the restroom, the employee headed straight inside.
Roman looked at Andert who had stopped at the threshold. His face under the fedora was barely visible in the dark basement lighting.
Though this was likely a situation his master had never experienced before, Roman kept his mouth firmly shut. It would be troublesome if their identities were revealed unnecessarily. The moment the Dietrich name became public, rumors would spread faster than their return to the capital tomorrow.
There were repeated metallic sounds from inside, then the voice came again.
“You can come in.”
But despite the repeated urging, Andert couldn’t take a step. Besides the headache that hadn’t subsided since dawn, his chest kept tightening.
It was an unfamiliar feeling, as if someone was squeezing his heart. Andert consciously tried to breathe in.
Right. The person inside couldn’t be Chloe.
He had come all this way to confirm exactly that fact, so he had to go in. After steeling himself, Andert slowly entered.
The police employee was waiting in front of a cot in the center.
“Well then, please confirm.”
“……”
The man stepped back a few paces after confirming Andert had come closer.
The woman on the cot was lying straight. Andert’s unsteadily trembling eyes went to her hair, the same color as Chloe’s. As he’d heard, the legs and face were already difficult to make out. Suddenly, fear surged that this person might really be Chloe.
Just as the telegram had said, the overall appearance was familiar. Even the slender wrists seemed similar to his wife in his memories.
As Andert stood frozen as if he’d stopped breathing. Something suddenly occurred to him.
Soon, gloved fingers lifted the collar covering the nape of the neck. Fortunately, there were no notable wounds around the neck.
To others, it was just a brief moment. But for Andert, time seemed to stop. His dark, sunken eyes wavered when he checked the skin beneath the blood-stained collar. As if to confirm what he’d just seen, he checked the woman repeatedly.
But it wasn’t there.
Chloe had two small moles forming a straight line on her neck. Right at that spot where the neck meets the collarbone. Though he had seen it in bed, under dimmed lights, he remembered accurately from the many times his lips had touched there.
This person wasn’t Chloe. He was certain. As the tension suddenly released, he gripped the bed’s railing.
“It’s not her. Roman.”
His voice, which was silent all day, cracked miserably. But Roman immediately understood his meaning, having wished countless times for this news.
“The confirmation is complete. This isn’t the person we’re looking for.”
“Ah, yes. I understand. Just sign here please. It’s simply stating that you’ve completed the confirmation but this isn’t the person you were looking for.”
The employee held out a file as if he’d been waiting. At his businesslike attitude, Roman accepted the pen without delay.
Just as Roman finished the short signature…
Andert, who was turning to leave the bed, suddenly covered his mouth. After freezing for a moment, he immediately burst through the door and ran out. When a startled Roman tried to follow, the employee held out an envelope.
“This happens all the time here. When the tension releases, all the sensations they hadn’t been conscious of hit at once. It’s fine if they vomit in the corridor. Just go ahead. Have a good day.”
“…Thank you.”
Vomit? For Roman, who had watched over Andert his entire life, it was unimaginable. He quickly left through the door with the envelope.
Having rushed out of the morgue, Andert desperately tried to hold back the rising nausea. As soon as he reached the bathroom and braced against the wall, he ended up throwing up everything, including his stomach acid.
In fact, there wasn’t much to throw up since he’d barely eaten anything. Still, once the nausea rose, it wouldn’t easily subside.
His stomach had turned right after confirming that the person who met such a tragic death wasn’t Chloe. The smell of blood and stench suddenly rushed in through his sense of smell, which he hadn’t noticed anything due to the overwhelming tension. It was strange that he hadn’t noticed anything until now.
Bent over and catching his breath, Andert finally straightened up after several minutes. As he turned on the faucet and rinsed his mouth with cold water, the retching gradually began to subside.
“Are you alright?”
Roman, who had followed at some point, handed over a neatly folded handkerchief.
Andert wiped his mouth and stared straight into the mirror. His appearance, which needed no further inspection, was a mess. His tie was disheveled, and his eyes were bloodshot as if blood vessels had burst.
Above all, he wanted to ask Chloe.
His life’s goal had been to completely possess Dietrich. And he was at a point where that goal was about to become reality.
‘Then why? Why did you throw all this away and disappear without a trace? Chloe, you were about to take the seat of the Duchess of Dietrich. Was even that not reason enough to stay here? Didn’t you accept this marriage because you also dreamed of that position?’
The fool asking questions with no one to answer was right there in the mirror.
He mocked his own foolishness. After wiping his mouth once more, Andert crumpled the handkerchief. He couldn’t end things with her so meaninglessly. He had to meet Chloe no matter what.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
Nous_Defions
It makes my eyes tear that this man, now desperately looking for his wife, clearly knew nothing about his wife, despite having lived with her for 5 years. I’m not sorry for him… Serves him right that Chloe finally decided to live life for herself. For him to think that being Duchess Dietrich was Chloe’s goal and that it would certainly make her happy is just PATHETIC. Whatever he feels at this point does not compare to what Chloe had to endure for the 5 years with him… To think that it came to a point where she almost lost her identity, and almost extinguished her passion is more than tragic… To have a husband such as him… She deserves better…