My Beloved Oppressor

you’ll reach the ocean, and the border between the river and the ocean there is an art.”

Western Tourist Attraction.
Annette looked with new eyes at the urban scene after all these years.

 “Then why don’t you take a vacation to Belmont County sometime soon? When spring comes, you can visit Sunset Cliff and other western area.” (H)

Yes, Heiner had said that.

The suggestion seemed far fetched.
In fact, it wasn’t that long ago………..
All of her memories associated with the man were.

Everything seemed far away.

In the end, they didn’t make the trip.
Soon she attempted suicide again and they divorced.

In fact, the time Heiner made that suggestion was after her first suicide attempt.
Recognizing that fact Annette posed the unreachable question.

Why did he speak as if they had a future?

With what feelings did he say those words?

As if saying so would bring any hope in their future…

Annette stared distantly at the burned and trampled buildings of Huntingham.

No matter how beautiful the city had been in the past, it was now nothing more than a ruined battlefield.

“…And why did you say you wanted to walk?”

“I told you, I’ll tell you what you’re curious about.
Is there anything you really want to ask me?”

“No.”

“I see you don’t have any interest in your husband.
Heiner, that bastard, must have suffered quite a bit.
My heart hurts for him.”

Elliott grabbed his chest with one hand, acting all grandiose.
Annette reluctantly stared at his action.
What was he doing, this man?

“Actually, I was just making an excuse to ask Miss Rosenberg to go for a walk.
I called you because I was a little curious.
How’s Heiner? All I hear about him is just his movement as Commander-in-Chief.”

“…were you really close? With him?”

“Yes.”

“Did you defect or are you a spy?”

“Oh, you’re a lot cleverer than I thought.
But let me correct one thing.
If you defected before the war, you’re considered a traitor.
There’s no way around it.”

“So, which is it?” 

“Which one do I look like?”

“I’ve heard that the trainees at Sutherlane Island enter at a fairly young age.
So it’s the former.”

“That’s a good guess.”

Elliott added with a short laugh.

“But it’s too pure a guess.
No matter how much you roll on the battlefield because you’re a nurse, you’re still clueless.”

“That…”

“I was in Padania for a very long time, Miss Rosenberg.
I’ve been here since I was quite young.
It was a mission I received from my homeland (France) to infiltrate the Sutherlane Island Training Camp.”

Annette stopped for a moment.
Elliot followed suit and pulled out a new cigar.
He rummaged through his pockets and mumbled with a faint frown.

“Oh, I didn’t bring my lighter.”

“….”

“You don’t have a lighter, do you?”

“no …….”

“Try smoking.
It’s pretty good… Oh, I wonder if Miss Rosenberg is the type of person who only smokes elegantly rolled cigarettes like  Marquis Dietrich?”

“How can you say you are friends with Heiner?”

“Hm?”

Elliot cocked his head.
Annette glanced at him and said coldly,

“You’re a spy.
You’re a traitor.”

“Well, yes, I am.
It’s a little funny to hear you talk like that when Heiner betrayed you and your family.”

“That’s another matter.”

“Then I have nothing to say, but hey, don’t glare too much.
You’re so beautiful no matter what expression you wear.”

Elliot chuckled.
Annette looked at him with her brows narrowed in dismay.
He shrugged his shoulders.

“But I don’t have any feelings for you.
I feel like all women look the same to me, no matter how beautiful they are.
Maybe it’s because I’m sick of pretending to be the fake lover.”

As soon as Annette heard that, she thought of Heiner again.
He, too, had come from a trainee background and must have played the role of a spy countless times.

Would all women have felt similar to Heiner? Was she just a target work object to him, nothing more and nothing less?

Even though she already knew the fact, she couldn’t help but feel new when she heard it from the man who had done the same thing.

“But what can I say—you were a great presence to the trainees and soldiers who were in and out of the Marquis’ mansion at that time.
That’s why it’s a little difficult for me to deal with you.”

“…What do you mean by ‘a great presence’?”

“I told you, it wasn’t just one or two soldiers who adored you.
You are beautiful, elegant, high status, the daughter of the highest superior.
You were untouchable, we could only look from afar…so wouldn’t that make you special?”

Elliot chuckled as he folded his fingers and listed his reasons.

“But I didn’t think that was the case with that stone-like bastard Heiner though.”

***