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Episode 153

Episode 153

Stayed 5 nights at the Mayflower Hotel in Dunwich. Alone. Black hair. Checked out on Wednesday and took a taxi to the train station in the afternoon.

But that was where it ended.

At the train station, I found the porter who had helped her with her luggage, but he did not know where she was going. At the platform where she had waited for her train, five trains had stopped at that time, and the stations after those five trains combined were dozens of stations.

"Fuck...."

As Leon lay stretched out on the sofa, muttering curses, the private on duty, who was sitting upright at a desk in a corner of the office, scribbling something, shrugged his shoulders.

"Niels."

"Yes, Major."

"I would have told you to go and sleep."

"No, Major."

Leon cast his gaze toward the wall in front of him. It was still dark outside the window, but the clock showed that it was a quarter to six in the morning.

"Well, it's almost time for you to get off work. I don't have any such thing as getting off work."

He hasn't left his command post since last Wednesday.

"Me too today...."

"Okay. I'll leave work when it's time."

Leon muttered, cutting off the private who was looking around uselessly.

"The other guys will be coming to work soon anyway."

Another day passed like this, without any harvest.

Knock. Knock.

The baseball flew up to the ceiling, barely touching it, and then fell into his hand. Leon lay on the sofa, throwing and catching the baseball, and then lost in thought again.

How could you not know that woman was making a bold survival report in the most unexpected, no, most uncharacteristic place?

There have been four reports so far, with intervals of four to ten days.

The last call was last Wednesday, so today, Friday, was the 9th day.

It's time to call again.

Leon mechanically threw and caught the baseball, chewing over the information he had been tediously repeating over the past few days.

Sunglasses. Yeah, that's what I bought first. The pupils are the most crucial.

Leon laughed at the thought of somehow linking up with the rebels and banning sunglasses. That would be something a dictator would do.

Then maybe we can ban hair dye too.

'Black hair... . Black hair Daisy... . Black hair Grace Riddle... .'

The corners of Leon's mouth slightly rose as he imagined it. Maybe there was no need to ban hair dye.

It was quite a shocking sight. If it had been right in front of me, I would have lifted up my skirt and ripped my underwear. It was obvious what would happen next.

"Fuck...."

A man was walking around the city with such a look that made you want to pounce on him. Fortunately, it was obvious that he had an owner. No one would dare touch him.

Knock. Knock. The meaningless noise began again.

You seem to be in good health, seeing as you're traveling around the country.

As the worry subsided somewhat, resentment reared its head again.

This is incredible.

Grace Riddle, you abandoned me. Without a last word.

For the last time, it was a woman who left the last punch.

But why are you calling my office so blatantly?

It was extremely cruel.

I don't want to see you again, but you're going to keep using me.

That was even more brutal.

There was a moment when I was gripping the baseball so tightly that the tendons and veins on the back of my hand bulged.

Ring ring.

The phone rang. The loud ringing was that of a tip-off phone.

As the private sitting in front of the phone looked at him with anxious eyes, Leon hastily got up from the sofa and gave instructions.

"Do as you have decided."

"yes."

The private swallowed dry saliva and picked up the receiver.

"This is the 1st Special Mission Group. How may I help you?"

As soon as he received the call, the private raised his head and nodded vigorously to Leon, who approached him. This meant that the caller was a young woman. Leon immediately took the receiver.

[... Is this the right place to receive reports?]

It was a voice that sounded a little hoarse. It was that familiar voice I heard every morning.

The woman's voice pierced through his ears and sent a subtle shiver through his entire body. It felt like every cell in his body was waking up. He had to grit his teeth and resist the urge to ask where she was right now.

Leon picked up a pencil rolling around on the desk and scribbled on the notebook the private handed him.

Yes, that's right. Where are you?

The private, who had no idea what the woman had said, recited the exact words she had written into the receiver.

"Yes, that's right. Where are you?"

[This is Billford in Camden.]

Leon had to grit his teeth and hold back his laughter. Camden, huh? And Bilford was only a four-hour drive from here.

The woman, without fear, set foot on his land. This too felt like a cruel mockery.

[I think the person living in the same alley is a rebel...]

He scribbled on his notes while the woman reported.

Camden Billford. Track him.

The private immediately stood up, followed his gaze to the aide's office, and closed the door. He would now contact the telephone company and inquire about the operator at Winsford who had connected this call. By doing so, he could narrow down the location of the call.

[From the intersection of Newton Street and Belmont Street, head south...]

Leon sat down in the seat where the private had been sitting and quietly listened to the woman's voice chattering away without any sense of propriety before sighing.

[Madison...]

At that moment, the woman's voice suddenly stopped. Leon, who had been listening to the woman's silence amidst the tense atmosphere that seemed to be a silent argument, spoke first.

"Hello, honey."

Her voice was lower than usual because she was trying to suppress the emotions that were welling up inside her and threatening to overflow.

The woman remained silent for a long time after hearing his voice, then suddenly burst into laughter.

[Hello. You came to work pretty early?]

"I don't have to wait for you to wake up anymore."

[Oh, are you saying I'm too lazy?]

"No way. It's the opposite, that's the problem."

The two people exchanged greetings with such a calm demeanor that if someone who didn't know them had heard, they might have mistaken them for ex-lovers who had just reconnected with each other after a long time.

"Did you eat breakfast?"

[I ate.]

"Good job. By the way, how is our child? Tell him that his father misses him very much."

A snicker could be heard on the other end of the line. Leon dragged out the call as long as possible to buy time for the chase, but he slowly got to the point.

"My dear, where are you wandering around in this cold winter, leaving my warm embrace behind? Huh? I'm worried."

[I'm not lost. I'm doing very well in a warm and comfortable place without you.]

"Oh, I know that very well."

The woman giggled, wondering what was so funny about her finding out about my whereabouts. Leon sighed and wiped the false playfulness from his voice.

"Now, please be rational... ."

[Oh, right! Congratulations!]

The woman did not even listen to his words and immediately began to congratulate him.

[Should I call you Your Majesty the Count now, or should I call you Major?]

"Hmm, I didn't think you'd heard from me."

[Of course. I'm so bored. I feel like I'm still stuck even after I got away from you.]

"If that's the case, then I'd rather get caught...."

[Do you know that this is all thanks to me? I will always be grateful.]

"I know. So I'll be paying off the debt for the rest of my life...."

I was dragging out the conversation while glaring at the still firmly shut door to the secretary's office when the woman suddenly brought up a new topic.

[Oh, right. I have a confession to make to you.]

"...What confession?"

[I lied to you.]

"I forgive you. So come back."

The woman grumbled that Leon was being generous when she hadn't even heard the lies, and then went to confession even though Leon hadn't asked for it.

[Actually, there were four people involved in your father's work that night, not three.]

"what?"

[Remember Fred Wilkins? That traitor who deserved to die.]

"Oh, so that's why I killed him."

[The guy's father, David Wilkins, was also at the villa that night.]

The moment Leon remembered seeing that name on the list of leaders imprisoned in the camp, he gripped the pencil tightly as if he was going to break it.

[I heard he made a fatal mistake. I don't know what it was. I saw Jonathan Riddle Sr. comforting Uncle Dave.]

Leon asked with his teeth clenched.

"Why did you hide it until now and tell me now?"

[Why would you? It wasn't like that before, but now you and I have the same enemy, right? We help each other.]

"Am I using you to get revenge, or are you using me to get revenge?"

Leon muttered and let out a long sigh.

[Why? You couldn't catch that guy?]

"I'm in the camp."

[But what's the problem?]

"You're the problem, you fox."

The woman became enraged when he indirectly accused her of lying about her father's death, not to mention anything else.

[Wow, I finally told you, and now you're criticizing me like that. I'm not going to help you in the future...]

I wonder if I am doing this because I feel guilty or something. The moment the unexpected noise mixed in with the excited voice of the woman who was shouting, the hand that was holding the pencil started moving busily.