Chapter 4 – Part 1 (Calohas 2)

The sound of distant artillery fire was as persistent as ever today.

Usually, she could sleep through the noise, but her back ached, causing her to toss and turn until it was morning.

The sunlight today was hotter than ever, and she could occasionally hear people’s voices.

A day that felt different from yesterday. Never before had the fleeting nature of happiness been so terrifying.

For a moment, she thought back to last night, when she’d slept in his arms.

Anne recognized the woman standing before her and made a troubled expression. To be caught by Carly Dehart after spending the night with him.

“Lady Carly, this is… well, you see…”

Excuses were excuses, but Anne didn’t want to dismiss this as a mere accident. That would be a hurtful lie to Carly.

“You want me to believe I brought this on myself, don’t you?”

Anne was taken aback by Carly’s calm demeanor.

“…You said you wanted to be friends with me, that it was okay to be lovers… Sleeping together in the same room… Didn’t you give me a chance?”

As Evan said, the fact that Anne had decided to follow him to Calohas did imply a tacit acceptance of a deeper relationship.

However, she hadn’t expected Carly to push her directly once they arrived.

“Yeah. Right.”

Her easy acknowledgment left Anne feeling empty. She suddenly sensed something strange about Carly’s attitude.

“Lady Carly, what’s your goal in doing this?”

Anne’s eyes locked with hers, and Carly smiled brightly as she stroked Anne’s hair.

“Because I want to be friends with you, and what happened last night was a bit of a prank, taking advantage of my status as the daughter of the owner of this castle.”

The reason Anne couldn’t be angry at Carly, despite her seemingly mocking words, was simple.

Carly still smiled warmly at her.

As Anne gazed into Carly’s clear, sincere eyes, she quickly came to her senses.

‘Am I going to fall for it again?’

“Anne, do you mind if I follow you around today?”

Carly smiled meaningfully and grabbed Anne’s arm.

“…I don’t think the Count would approve, saying it’s dangerous.”

“Don’t worry. Lieutenant, just say the word. Promise to take me outside the inner castle.”

There was a long silence.

Unlike before, she looked resolute, and Anne couldn’t give her a definitive answer. Taking her outside the inner castle…

No matter how much the current situation favored the Imperial Army, it was a battlefield where lives could be lost so easily.

It was no place for the curiosity of a young woman who knew nothing.

For a moment, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly at the thought that she had been too serious. Then she opened her mouth with just the right amount of sarcasm.

“I can’t promise.”

She wrapped her hands around her throat, which had been exhausted from the groaning she’d been doing all night.

Anne’s face contorted into a grimace at her answer.

Carly cupped Anne’s cheek and whispered.

“Evan Davis will be here soon, Anne, and remember, he’s someone’s son of a b*tch, too.”

‘Son of a b*tch. ‘

Such a vulgar term.

After a hot night with Evan, it was disturbing to hear the words “He’s somebody’s son of a b*tch, too,” coming from the mouth of a lovely young woman who was talking about getting engaged to him.

A truly incomprehensible person.

“Lady Carly, I’m very confused right now. At first, I thought you were in love with him.”

“…Of course, I don’t think poorly of Lord Davis.”

Hearing Carly’s answer made Anne’s left br*ast ache. Subconsciously, she hoped it wasn’t.

“Then what’s the matter with you? You seem to be contradicting yourself.”

“I’ve loved chess since I was a kid.”

“Lady Carly?”

“Wouldn’t you like to be my chess piece? Think it over and tell me next time we meet.”

Carly stood up as if she were in a hurry.

“Lady Carly!”

“Another time, another time, I’m busy.”

Anne couldn’t catch up with Carly as she walked away. She tried to stand up, but her body wouldn’t listen.

An unfamiliar tingling sensation kept reminding her of the night before.

‘It’s clear she’s up to something….’

Anne let out a soft moan as Carly left the room, the tension draining from her.

She hadn’t realized that just standing and facing Carly would strain her back.

If she stayed like this, she’d never get anything done and would end up lying down.

Anne leaned her uncomfortable body close to the wall, staring at the papers listing the medical supply needs.

In truth, the number of medics here was adequate.

It was just that their efficiency was extremely low, making it look like they were understaffed. Anne’s eyes widened.

She unfolded the expensive parchment and began to sketch out the structure of the castle as she remembered it.

It wasn’t too difficult to make it look like the organized hospital she’d seen in her previous life.

As if she were writing a thesis, she described it in such detail that anyone who saw it could put it into practice.

By the time the parchment was nearly filled with dense writing and drawings, time had passed.

– Authorized by. Evan Davis.

Anne suddenly realized.

The more distinguished Evan Davis, became in the war, the more enemies he would attract.

However, Carly’s behavior didn’t seem to indicate that she had any animosity toward Evan Davis.

It remained uncertain how long Carly would continue to behave like the beloved daughter of the Count’s family, but one thing was clear.

Carly had decided that Anne was suitable as a pawn in her game and wouldn’t miss the opportunity while she was here.

She wasn’t going to let that happen. Anne hurried out the door.

She planned to make sure she had at least one medic to bend to her will.

As soon as she opened the door, she was startled by a figure in the doorway. It was Commander Evan Davis.

“Anne.”

“I have a lot of work to do, and I need to see them now….”

She took a few steps, clutching the papers in her arms, and was about to turn away when Evan stopped her.

“In this condition? I’m going to do what you say, but you need to get some rest today.”

“Not now.”

But she really didn’t feel well. Strangely, sleeping in a warm room seemed to make her feel worse.

‘At this rate, I might really die.’

She was so mentally exhausted that she kept drifting in and out of consciousness.

Anne tried to stay awake by clenching her teeth, but a painful groan escaped her lips.

“Hmph….”

“Ha, you’re trying to make me feel guilty.”

Evan immediately lifted her into his arms. He walked down the corridor and called out to a maid.

“You there.”

“Yes? How can I help…?”

“Fetch a doctor.”

“What?”

“I mean a real doctor, not a battlefield medic.”

“I’ll… I’ll ask the Count.”

Evan cupped the back of Anne’s head with one hand.

When Anne’s body, still breathing raggedly, began to tremble, Evan spoke urgently.

“Carly. Tell Carly.”

Evan walked into the room with Anne in his arms and leaned his back against the head of the bed at an angle.

Guilt washed over him, thinking he had pushed her too hard the previous night. Anne, burying her lips into his shoulder, kept letting out shallow groans.

Evan stroked her limp body, unable to keep his hands off her.

‘Please, I hope it’s nothing.’

* * *

In the center of the misty lake, a patch of land barely big enough for a foot stood tall. Anne stood there alone.

Only her breathing broke the silence on the still lake shore. The eerie atmosphere added to the tension.

“This is strange.”

Anne crouched down and stared at the surface of the lake.

But the reflection was not her own. There was something turbid and white.

She touched the reflection with her index finger, and a shattering headache hit her.

‘Hey, aren’t you going to do it quickly? It’s because you’re so slow that we have to nag. Huh? Do you want to make us look like bad people?’

‘…….’

‘Why aren’t you answering? Why are you looking at me like that? Huh? Do you want to get hit?’

Painfully familiar memories flooded her mind. She had decided to forget the past.

She wanted to stop being dragged down by the lingering remnants of bygone days.

Anne quickly removed her hand from the surface of the lake. Instead, she placed her hand in another puff of smoke next to it, and a strange scene unfolded.

Piercing red eyes stared intently at her.

Suddenly, Anne was holding a revolver. Her short hair brushed the bridge of her nose and whipped in the gusting wind.

A strange yet familiar sensation flashed through Anne’s mind.

A sharp-eyed man, unlike Evan Davis, had suddenly come to stand in front of her.

Anne stumbled backward, everything but her eyes a blur.

The red-eyed man spoke in a low voice.

‘Leave this place now. You’re free.’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘Come with me.’

Anne shook the man’s grip on her wrist.

She wondered if she had ever cut her hair this short; she couldn’t recall it in her memory.

‘It’s not me.’

Even as she thought this, tears inexplicably welled up in the corners of her eyes.

Suddenly, the ground she was standing on shook.

In an instant, the lake’s calm waters were transformed into waves the size of a house, rising from within and engulfing her.

She was drowning and barely holding her breath.

A voice whispered in her ear.

‘Why, why did you do that?’

Anne’s consciousness faded, the low, accusing bass lingering in her head for a long time.

* * *