.png)
The officer led her to the backyard of the church, which is currently used as a military mass site.
“You can just go inside.”
The officer stopped at the back door, shining his flashlight along the path, and spoke. Annette stared at the cone-shaped, hazy light for a moment, then stepped inside.
The backyard was dark and deserted. The unkempt grass was so thick that it could occasionally brush against the hem of her clothes.
As they made their way through the narrow path, they came to a small clearing. Moonlight dimly illuminated the space. Annette stopped just inside the shadowy edge of the grassy plain.
In the middle of the empty lot, a tall figure stood bathed in pale moonlight.
The surface of his black hair and coat appeared whitish. Every line of the man's face was opaque, as if he were enveloped in fog.
Sensing a presence, Heiner slowly turned his head. Annette froze in place, watching him warily, like a small animal facing a hunter.
Their gazes met in the air.
For a moment, his expression wavered.
It was such a small change that she wondered if it was an illusion. Like a thin layer of skin peeling off, like a sand castle slowly being eroded by the wind...
For a brief moment, Annette felt as if she had glimpsed deep inside him.
But in the blink of an eye, the subtle change vanished. Heiner was back to his original form, his usual bleak and withered face.
When Annette didn't move, he took his first step. The grass crunched beneath his hard boots.
His distinctive, broad, angular body drew closer. Annette looked up at him with a strange expression, as if she were encountering a stranger.
Suddenly, Heiner slowly reached out. Annette instinctively tried to step back, but then hesitated.
His hand didn't reach hers. Heiner, with his hand in the air, seemed unaware of what he was doing and spoke softly.
“On your face...”
“...”
“There’s a wound on your cheek.”
His fingertips were directed at her left cheek. Only then did Annette become aware of the wound on her cheek that day. It wasn't deep, so she'd only applied some ointment.
Annette took a step back, covering her left cheek with the back of her hand. Heiner then withdrew his hand. She responded somewhat defensively.
“It was just scratched.”
“Where did you get scratched?”
“I’m working.”
“So, what happened while you were working?”
“You don’t have to worry about it.”
Heiner seemed slightly taken aback by her businesslike demeanor. An awkward silence fell. He stared at Annette for a moment, then spoke blankly.
“I didn’t expect to see you here.”
It sounded both unexpected and reproachful. Annette asked, as if pointing out his inconsistency.
“Wasn’t it Your Excellency’s will that I move here?”
Heiner's eyebrows twitched at the name she spoke. After a brief pause, he asked again.
“Why do you think so?”
“There’s no way the higher-ups would interfere with the fate of a civilian nurse.”
“It sounds like you have a complaint about it.”
“Please withdraw that order. Unless there is a good reason, I would like to return.”
“...Do you want to go back?”
"Yes."
“To the front lines?”
"Yes."
“What do you want?”
"Yes?"
Annette frowned at the sudden question. Heiner repeated the same thing.
“What do you want?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
"Well, I understand why you volunteered to be a military nurse. But why would you be on the front lines? Have you forgotten what you promised me as a condition of your divorce?"
“What promise are you talking about?”
A heavy silence descended after Annette's question. Heiner's face, which had been growing increasingly hard as the conversation continued, now looked almost angry.
“... You will live.”
His voice was muffled by something.
“I told you I would live.”
“You promised me that.”
“Please answer me, Annette...”
The words overlapped, as if they were about to collapse at any moment.
Only then did Annette recall the promise, and a subtle look of bewilderment appeared on her face.
She had never once considered that. No, she had never even considered it a "promise" she had to keep.
Even immediately after their divorce, Annette had contemplated death. Even now, quite some time had passed. The promises he spoke of held no weight for Annette.
Heiner narrowed his eyes, reading the emotions in her ambiguous expression. Finally, he let out a hollow laugh.
Heiner muttered bitterly.
“You didn’t even remember that promise from the beginning.”
“...”
“I was the only one who believed that, like a fool, again.”
Annette couldn't figure out what he was trying to say. If he was angry because she hadn't remembered the promise, their relationship was now truly nothing.
Her heart was in constant turmoil. She tried to exclude emotional facts as much as possible and present only objective statements.
"Your Excellency, first of all, I don't think you need to understand that I volunteered for the front lines. Furthermore, I don't believe that promise is valid..."
“Don’t you think it’s a very convenient logic to arbitrarily judge the validity of a mutually agreed-upon promise?”
"Even if it were valid, Your Excellency has no authority over my life or death. Then, and now."
“Now I have no authority.”
Heiner chuckled softly, as if he was dumbfounded. Annette ignored him and continued speaking.
"And I'm not dead yet. I never tried to die here. So why are you telling me I broke that promise?"
“I heard that you recklessly ran out alone to retrieve supplies while bullets were flying.”
Annette flinched slightly at that. She couldn't figure out where he was coming from and how much he knew.
Heiner said that to her as if he was laughing at her.
"At least one thing is certain: your life is not a priority to you."
“...I am a military personnel here. You cannot criticize me for being prepared to die for my country.”
Annette's words clearly indicated the distance between them. The commander-in-chief and the accompanying personnel were there.
"In the first place, I don't understand why Your Excellency would tell me this. You don't need to know whether I'm alive or dead. If that's what you wanted to say, I'd like to go back now."
“Stop being a military nurse.”
“Unless there is another reason.”
“You’ve had enough. Now go back to Launceston.”
“...Unless there is a good reason, I would like you to refrain from interfering with my work.”
“The fighting will start again soon.”
Annette paused, looking at him. Heiner, his characteristically sharp gaze fixed, spoke without hesitation.
"It was a remarkable accomplishment to serve on the Western Front. Regardless of the circumstances, I want to express my gratitude for your service and dedication. Now that that's all, please go back."
"...Your Excellency."
"There will be a transport train heading to Dornante tomorrow. Join it."
"Your Excellency."
"I heard a reporter came to see you. I'll handle the article issue in your favor..."
"Your Excellency!"
"Please!"
Suddenly, a harsh voice burst from him. A sharp silence followed. They both glared at each other with stubborn faces.
It was Heiner who spoke first again.
“Please... listen to me.”
“...”
"I'm not telling you to do anything harmful. I'm just telling you to go somewhere safe. I told you I'd take care of the cleanup. So—"
"I will follow any order you give as Commander-in-Chief. However, Your Excellency, what you're saying now seems difficult to regard as an order from a superior officer."
“It doesn’t matter which way you take it.”
"I hope you treat me like a military man. No, if you treat me at least like a human being, then this can't happen."
At those words, a strange light passed over Heiner's face. Annette clenched her fists and demanded an answer.
"Your Excellency, you keep talking as if I came here to die. I have no intention of dying. Isn't that enough?"
"I've seen your record. I don't know if this is a new way to commit suicide or not."
“...This is a meaningless argument.”
Annette turned her head wearily. The cold night air flowed between them. Heiner stared at her with eyes full of something and said.
“Is this all meaningless to you?”
“...”
“No, did I ever mean anything to you in the first place?”
“You can just go inside.”
The officer stopped at the back door, shining his flashlight along the path, and spoke. Annette stared at the cone-shaped, hazy light for a moment, then stepped inside.
The backyard was dark and deserted. The unkempt grass was so thick that it could occasionally brush against the hem of her clothes.
As they made their way through the narrow path, they came to a small clearing. Moonlight dimly illuminated the space. Annette stopped just inside the shadowy edge of the grassy plain.
In the middle of the empty lot, a tall figure stood bathed in pale moonlight.
The surface of his black hair and coat appeared whitish. Every line of the man's face was opaque, as if he were enveloped in fog.
Sensing a presence, Heiner slowly turned his head. Annette froze in place, watching him warily, like a small animal facing a hunter.
Their gazes met in the air.
For a moment, his expression wavered.
It was such a small change that she wondered if it was an illusion. Like a thin layer of skin peeling off, like a sand castle slowly being eroded by the wind...
For a brief moment, Annette felt as if she had glimpsed deep inside him.
But in the blink of an eye, the subtle change vanished. Heiner was back to his original form, his usual bleak and withered face.
When Annette didn't move, he took his first step. The grass crunched beneath his hard boots.
His distinctive, broad, angular body drew closer. Annette looked up at him with a strange expression, as if she were encountering a stranger.
Suddenly, Heiner slowly reached out. Annette instinctively tried to step back, but then hesitated.
His hand didn't reach hers. Heiner, with his hand in the air, seemed unaware of what he was doing and spoke softly.
“On your face...”
“...”
“There’s a wound on your cheek.”
His fingertips were directed at her left cheek. Only then did Annette become aware of the wound on her cheek that day. It wasn't deep, so she'd only applied some ointment.
Annette took a step back, covering her left cheek with the back of her hand. Heiner then withdrew his hand. She responded somewhat defensively.
“It was just scratched.”
“Where did you get scratched?”
“I’m working.”
“So, what happened while you were working?”
“You don’t have to worry about it.”
Heiner seemed slightly taken aback by her businesslike demeanor. An awkward silence fell. He stared at Annette for a moment, then spoke blankly.
“I didn’t expect to see you here.”
It sounded both unexpected and reproachful. Annette asked, as if pointing out his inconsistency.
“Wasn’t it Your Excellency’s will that I move here?”
Heiner's eyebrows twitched at the name she spoke. After a brief pause, he asked again.
“Why do you think so?”
“There’s no way the higher-ups would interfere with the fate of a civilian nurse.”
“It sounds like you have a complaint about it.”
“Please withdraw that order. Unless there is a good reason, I would like to return.”
“...Do you want to go back?”
"Yes."
“To the front lines?”
"Yes."
“What do you want?”
"Yes?"
Annette frowned at the sudden question. Heiner repeated the same thing.
“What do you want?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
"Well, I understand why you volunteered to be a military nurse. But why would you be on the front lines? Have you forgotten what you promised me as a condition of your divorce?"
“What promise are you talking about?”
A heavy silence descended after Annette's question. Heiner's face, which had been growing increasingly hard as the conversation continued, now looked almost angry.
“... You will live.”
His voice was muffled by something.
“I told you I would live.”
“If I divorce you, promise you’ll live.”
“Please answer me, Annette...”
The words overlapped, as if they were about to collapse at any moment.
Only then did Annette recall the promise, and a subtle look of bewilderment appeared on her face.
She had never once considered that. No, she had never even considered it a "promise" she had to keep.
Even immediately after their divorce, Annette had contemplated death. Even now, quite some time had passed. The promises he spoke of held no weight for Annette.
Heiner narrowed his eyes, reading the emotions in her ambiguous expression. Finally, he let out a hollow laugh.
Heiner muttered bitterly.
“You didn’t even remember that promise from the beginning.”
“...”
“I was the only one who believed that, like a fool, again.”
Annette couldn't figure out what he was trying to say. If he was angry because she hadn't remembered the promise, their relationship was now truly nothing.
Her heart was in constant turmoil. She tried to exclude emotional facts as much as possible and present only objective statements.
"Your Excellency, first of all, I don't think you need to understand that I volunteered for the front lines. Furthermore, I don't believe that promise is valid..."
“Don’t you think it’s a very convenient logic to arbitrarily judge the validity of a mutually agreed-upon promise?”
"Even if it were valid, Your Excellency has no authority over my life or death. Then, and now."
“Now I have no authority.”
Heiner chuckled softly, as if he was dumbfounded. Annette ignored him and continued speaking.
"And I'm not dead yet. I never tried to die here. So why are you telling me I broke that promise?"
“I heard that you recklessly ran out alone to retrieve supplies while bullets were flying.”
Annette flinched slightly at that. She couldn't figure out where he was coming from and how much he knew.
Heiner said that to her as if he was laughing at her.
"At least one thing is certain: your life is not a priority to you."
“...I am a military personnel here. You cannot criticize me for being prepared to die for my country.”
Annette's words clearly indicated the distance between them. The commander-in-chief and the accompanying personnel were there.
"In the first place, I don't understand why Your Excellency would tell me this. You don't need to know whether I'm alive or dead. If that's what you wanted to say, I'd like to go back now."
“Stop being a military nurse.”
“Unless there is another reason.”
“You’ve had enough. Now go back to Launceston.”
“...Unless there is a good reason, I would like you to refrain from interfering with my work.”
“The fighting will start again soon.”
Annette paused, looking at him. Heiner, his characteristically sharp gaze fixed, spoke without hesitation.
"It was a remarkable accomplishment to serve on the Western Front. Regardless of the circumstances, I want to express my gratitude for your service and dedication. Now that that's all, please go back."
"...Your Excellency."
"There will be a transport train heading to Dornante tomorrow. Join it."
"Your Excellency."
"I heard a reporter came to see you. I'll handle the article issue in your favor..."
"Your Excellency!"
"Please!"
Suddenly, a harsh voice burst from him. A sharp silence followed. They both glared at each other with stubborn faces.
It was Heiner who spoke first again.
“Please... listen to me.”
“...”
"I'm not telling you to do anything harmful. I'm just telling you to go somewhere safe. I told you I'd take care of the cleanup. So—"
"I will follow any order you give as Commander-in-Chief. However, Your Excellency, what you're saying now seems difficult to regard as an order from a superior officer."
“It doesn’t matter which way you take it.”
"I hope you treat me like a military man. No, if you treat me at least like a human being, then this can't happen."
At those words, a strange light passed over Heiner's face. Annette clenched her fists and demanded an answer.
"Your Excellency, you keep talking as if I came here to die. I have no intention of dying. Isn't that enough?"
"I've seen your record. I don't know if this is a new way to commit suicide or not."
“...This is a meaningless argument.”
Annette turned her head wearily. The cold night air flowed between them. Heiner stared at her with eyes full of something and said.
“Is this all meaningless to you?”
“...”
“No, did I ever mean anything to you in the first place?”
Previous Next
Comments
Post a Comment