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Annette stared blankly at him, then tilted her head slightly. Her trembling lips opened and closed a few times before snapping shut again.
She knew she had to explain myself. She couldn't be seen as a useful hostage to threaten the Commander-in-Chief. She couldn't be seen as important to Heiner...
Even though she knew it, her lips wouldn't part. Her mind felt completely filled, or paradoxically, empty.
As if he was being considerate of her situation, Elliot shrugged and said calmly.
“Well, I don’t know. At the time, I thought it was because he was desperately in love with Miss Rosenberg, but after hearing the story again today...”
“...”
“Maybe it wasn’t such a romantic situation, calling out the name of the woman you love?”
Elliot chuckled and added jokingly.
“Did the rest of the sentence get cut off? ‘Annette, I’m going to fucking kill you.’ I only heard the first part. Haha.”
Annette was confused as to whether he really believed her when she said, 'I'm not worth a hostage,' or if he was just pretending to believe her.
‘If it’s the latter... what should I do?’
In fact, even Annette didn't believe what he said.
If she wasn't important to Heiner in the first place, he wouldn't care if she became a hostage. Heiner wouldn't negotiate anyway.
But Annette desperately denied and explained herself, because in fact, she also knew it unconsciously.
That she is important to him.
It was strange that she didn't know. It was evident from the fact that he had persistently urged her to be discharged and twice ordered her to move to the rear.
But Annette didn't consider that "importance" to be love, as Elliot had thought. At least, that wasn't the kind of love she knew.
“I only become unhappy when I’m with you...”
Love wasn't like that.
Annette calmed her expression and breathing, then spoke calmly.
“...Because that person’s goal was to destroy my family and me.”
“That quiet, boring guy is rebelling. As expected, things in life don’t always go as planned.”
Elliot opened the church door with perfect etiquette and led her out, as if he were escorting a lady through the entrance of a party hall.
“Yes, let’s go in first.”
Elliot had returned to his usual lighthearted and playful demeanor. Annette entered the building, keeping as much distance from him as possible.
At that moment, something flew towards her and fell down.
Annette stumbled backwards with a short scream. Elliot supported her back, saying, "Oh, my."
A man collapsed in the doorway, curled up in a ball, coughing in agony. He was the only surviving friendly sniper among the troops who had accompanied her.
His face was completely covered in blood. It was difficult to discern his original facial features.
"Oh my god...!"
Annette, startled, pushed Elliot away and ran forward. Elliot, who had been thrown out of the church door, regained his composure.
“I feel like I got rejected without even confessing.”
Elliot babbled nonsense behind her. Annette knelt down and frantically examined the soldier's condition.
Seeing as there were no major problems elsewhere, it seemed the assault was concentrated on the face. Annette turned to Elliot and shouted.
“I told you to stop!”
“Me? Why?”
Elliot tilted his head in puzzlement. Annette let out a breath. It felt like her way of thinking was completely different from that man.
Then Private Frances walked out and spoke quickly, but his tone was so agitated that she couldn't understand a word.
Elliot asked Private Frances something. The soldier grumbled and then strode towards Annette.
“Wow, wow.”
Elliot reached out to stop him. Private Frances, still looking menacing, froze in place, unable to disobey his superior.
Elliot looked down at Annette, seemingly troubled.
"Well, Miss Rosenberg. The unit that the sniper was in killed quite a few of our kids. His friend's face was blown up by a bomb. I think he was just venting his frustration."
“...Venturing, you say?”
"And it's hard to send them off intact anyway, you know? There are things I need to figure out."
“Give us at least the bare minimum of humane treatment!”
"Miss Rosenberg. I can see you've changed quite a bit, but as I said, you're still so innocent."
Elliot said with a sigh.
"Do you want to save your allies, or do you want to save people? If it's the former, I understand, but if it's the latter..."
“...”
"I'm doing this to save as many of our people as possible. To do that, I'll have to kill a lot of Padanian soldiers. That's what war is all about, isn't it?"
Annette glared at Elliot, trembling. Her chest tightened with anger, frustration, and helplessness.
If this continues, this soldier will be tortured. In the worst case, not only this soldier, but others could be "made" to divulge information.
She bit her lower lip and looked around the chapel. Everyone was holding their breath, terrified.
The only people present were civilians, nurses, and wounded soldiers. With this number of personnel, it was impossible to plan a countermeasure or escape.
There was nothing she could do here. That was the reality.
Elliot smiled and spoke with a feigned kindness.
“I would appreciate it if you would be relieved that I don’t immediately cut off one of your hands and send it to the Commander-in-Chief.”
“...”
“Then go over there now. Leave him behind.”
Elliot approached, nodding to the soldier. Below him, the soldier let out a series of groans.
Annette simply knelt, unable to leave or to put up a proper protest.
“I really...”
Elliot clicked his tongue and took a step closer. Annette's body flinched. Just as he was about to take another step, someone called out to him.
Elliot turned around with an annoyed expression. At the church entrance, Frances's signalman stood, breathing slightly out of breath.
"What?"
Elliot asked absentmindedly. The signalman saluted him and then, without pause, reported something.
“...South... Orders to move... tomorrow morning...”
As the report continued, the expressions of the Frances soldiers, including Elliot, became more serious.
Elliot listened to the report with a frown, then gave a vague reply and gestured. Several of the Frances soldiers sitting around the chapel rose.
They began discussing something in a serious tone. It seemed to be about a report they'd received from the signalman.
Annette concentrated as hard as she could to understand what they were saying.
“It’s no longer my responsibility here...”
“Then what about those people...”
“Now... it’s worthless...”
However, their voices were not loud, and it was not a situation where she could concentrate peacefully, so it was difficult to hear them.
Suddenly, Nicolo turned his head this way. Annette's eyes met his. Nicolo glanced at her lightly, his mouth moving.
“Time... just at dawn... to take care of everything...”
“Your Excellency, I hear that the Huntingham occupation force has been ordered to be assigned to the Southern Front Armored Corps!”
That evening, an urgent report reached headquarters. It was welcome news. Heiner immediately summoned his staff.
"As expected, the enemy will redeploy their forces to focus on Cheshire Field. We will send reinforcements across the river to recapture Huntingham, and then send Waitress reinforcements to Cheshire Field..."
At first glance, Frances's bombardment of the Padanian mainland appeared to have inflicted significant damage on Padania, as evidenced by the sight of ruined cities and the declining morale of the Padanian military.
Therefore, Frances expected that Padania would surrender soon.
No matter how hard you defend the front lines, it's useless if you don't protect the mainland. Indeed, after the mainland airstrike, the citizens of Padania felt a real sense of threat.
But it was Frances's mistake.
While Frances focused on raiding the Padania capital and other urban areas, Padania was preparing a massive counteroffensive.
Thanks to the continued bombing of the mainland, factories and military installations were spared. Padania quickly restored most of its facilities to operational condition.
Moreover, the enemy's advance was temporarily halted due to the redeployment of troops, giving Padania precious time to establish a defensive line.
The plans Heiner had been developing in his head were progressing fairly smoothly. While he knew he shouldn't jump to conclusions during wartime, he unconsciously continued to plan until after the war ended.
First, she wanted to publicize Annette's contributions. Not only for her service as a nurse, but also for her crucial role in deciphering the code.
He also had to correct the false articles and rumors about Annette. Then, she could live a more peaceful life again... without having to think about things like death.
And after her discharge, the plan was to find her a house in the most peaceful and livable place in Padania.
If she wanted to live with the Grotts family, they'd need to find a slightly larger house. Managing the divided assets might be difficult, so they'd probably need a separate manager.
“I really hope this meeting will be our last.”
Even though he was not confident at all those moments.
Even if he had to stand behind Annette for the rest of his life, just like that, listening to the news of her life...
The long meeting finally drew to a close. The huge map on the desk was covered in all sorts of marks and numbers.
The discussions that had been dragging on for so long had finally reached a conclusion. Heiner opened his mouth, placing both hands on the desk.
“Two days later at dawn.”
The eyes of the high-ranking officers turned to him. Then, the final order came from the commander-in-chief.
“The battle to recapture Huntingham begins.”
She knew she had to explain myself. She couldn't be seen as a useful hostage to threaten the Commander-in-Chief. She couldn't be seen as important to Heiner...
Even though she knew it, her lips wouldn't part. Her mind felt completely filled, or paradoxically, empty.
As if he was being considerate of her situation, Elliot shrugged and said calmly.
“Well, I don’t know. At the time, I thought it was because he was desperately in love with Miss Rosenberg, but after hearing the story again today...”
“...”
“Maybe it wasn’t such a romantic situation, calling out the name of the woman you love?”
Elliot chuckled and added jokingly.
“Did the rest of the sentence get cut off? ‘Annette, I’m going to fucking kill you.’ I only heard the first part. Haha.”
Annette was confused as to whether he really believed her when she said, 'I'm not worth a hostage,' or if he was just pretending to believe her.
‘If it’s the latter... what should I do?’
In fact, even Annette didn't believe what he said.
If she wasn't important to Heiner in the first place, he wouldn't care if she became a hostage. Heiner wouldn't negotiate anyway.
But Annette desperately denied and explained herself, because in fact, she also knew it unconsciously.
That she is important to him.
It was strange that she didn't know. It was evident from the fact that he had persistently urged her to be discharged and twice ordered her to move to the rear.
But Annette didn't consider that "importance" to be love, as Elliot had thought. At least, that wasn't the kind of love she knew.
“I only become unhappy when I’m with you...”
Love wasn't like that.
Annette calmed her expression and breathing, then spoke calmly.
“...Because that person’s goal was to destroy my family and me.”
“That quiet, boring guy is rebelling. As expected, things in life don’t always go as planned.”
Elliot opened the church door with perfect etiquette and led her out, as if he were escorting a lady through the entrance of a party hall.
“Yes, let’s go in first.”
Elliot had returned to his usual lighthearted and playful demeanor. Annette entered the building, keeping as much distance from him as possible.
At that moment, something flew towards her and fell down.
Annette stumbled backwards with a short scream. Elliot supported her back, saying, "Oh, my."
A man collapsed in the doorway, curled up in a ball, coughing in agony. He was the only surviving friendly sniper among the troops who had accompanied her.
His face was completely covered in blood. It was difficult to discern his original facial features.
"Oh my god...!"
Annette, startled, pushed Elliot away and ran forward. Elliot, who had been thrown out of the church door, regained his composure.
“I feel like I got rejected without even confessing.”
Elliot babbled nonsense behind her. Annette knelt down and frantically examined the soldier's condition.
Seeing as there were no major problems elsewhere, it seemed the assault was concentrated on the face. Annette turned to Elliot and shouted.
“I told you to stop!”
“Me? Why?”
Elliot tilted his head in puzzlement. Annette let out a breath. It felt like her way of thinking was completely different from that man.
Then Private Frances walked out and spoke quickly, but his tone was so agitated that she couldn't understand a word.
Elliot asked Private Frances something. The soldier grumbled and then strode towards Annette.
“Wow, wow.”
Elliot reached out to stop him. Private Frances, still looking menacing, froze in place, unable to disobey his superior.
Elliot looked down at Annette, seemingly troubled.
"Well, Miss Rosenberg. The unit that the sniper was in killed quite a few of our kids. His friend's face was blown up by a bomb. I think he was just venting his frustration."
“...Venturing, you say?”
"And it's hard to send them off intact anyway, you know? There are things I need to figure out."
“Give us at least the bare minimum of humane treatment!”
"Miss Rosenberg. I can see you've changed quite a bit, but as I said, you're still so innocent."
Elliot said with a sigh.
"Do you want to save your allies, or do you want to save people? If it's the former, I understand, but if it's the latter..."
“...”
"I'm doing this to save as many of our people as possible. To do that, I'll have to kill a lot of Padanian soldiers. That's what war is all about, isn't it?"
Annette glared at Elliot, trembling. Her chest tightened with anger, frustration, and helplessness.
If this continues, this soldier will be tortured. In the worst case, not only this soldier, but others could be "made" to divulge information.
She bit her lower lip and looked around the chapel. Everyone was holding their breath, terrified.
The only people present were civilians, nurses, and wounded soldiers. With this number of personnel, it was impossible to plan a countermeasure or escape.
There was nothing she could do here. That was the reality.
Elliot smiled and spoke with a feigned kindness.
“I would appreciate it if you would be relieved that I don’t immediately cut off one of your hands and send it to the Commander-in-Chief.”
“...”
“Then go over there now. Leave him behind.”
Elliot approached, nodding to the soldier. Below him, the soldier let out a series of groans.
Annette simply knelt, unable to leave or to put up a proper protest.
“I really...”
Elliot clicked his tongue and took a step closer. Annette's body flinched. Just as he was about to take another step, someone called out to him.
Elliot turned around with an annoyed expression. At the church entrance, Frances's signalman stood, breathing slightly out of breath.
"What?"
Elliot asked absentmindedly. The signalman saluted him and then, without pause, reported something.
“...South... Orders to move... tomorrow morning...”
As the report continued, the expressions of the Frances soldiers, including Elliot, became more serious.
Elliot listened to the report with a frown, then gave a vague reply and gestured. Several of the Frances soldiers sitting around the chapel rose.
They began discussing something in a serious tone. It seemed to be about a report they'd received from the signalman.
Annette concentrated as hard as she could to understand what they were saying.
“It’s no longer my responsibility here...”
“Then what about those people...”
“Now... it’s worthless...”
However, their voices were not loud, and it was not a situation where she could concentrate peacefully, so it was difficult to hear them.
Suddenly, Nicolo turned his head this way. Annette's eyes met his. Nicolo glanced at her lightly, his mouth moving.
“Time... just at dawn... to take care of everything...”
***
“Your Excellency, I hear that the Huntingham occupation force has been ordered to be assigned to the Southern Front Armored Corps!”
That evening, an urgent report reached headquarters. It was welcome news. Heiner immediately summoned his staff.
"As expected, the enemy will redeploy their forces to focus on Cheshire Field. We will send reinforcements across the river to recapture Huntingham, and then send Waitress reinforcements to Cheshire Field..."
At first glance, Frances's bombardment of the Padanian mainland appeared to have inflicted significant damage on Padania, as evidenced by the sight of ruined cities and the declining morale of the Padanian military.
Therefore, Frances expected that Padania would surrender soon.
No matter how hard you defend the front lines, it's useless if you don't protect the mainland. Indeed, after the mainland airstrike, the citizens of Padania felt a real sense of threat.
But it was Frances's mistake.
While Frances focused on raiding the Padania capital and other urban areas, Padania was preparing a massive counteroffensive.
Thanks to the continued bombing of the mainland, factories and military installations were spared. Padania quickly restored most of its facilities to operational condition.
Moreover, the enemy's advance was temporarily halted due to the redeployment of troops, giving Padania precious time to establish a defensive line.
The plans Heiner had been developing in his head were progressing fairly smoothly. While he knew he shouldn't jump to conclusions during wartime, he unconsciously continued to plan until after the war ended.
First, she wanted to publicize Annette's contributions. Not only for her service as a nurse, but also for her crucial role in deciphering the code.
He also had to correct the false articles and rumors about Annette. Then, she could live a more peaceful life again... without having to think about things like death.
And after her discharge, the plan was to find her a house in the most peaceful and livable place in Padania.
If she wanted to live with the Grotts family, they'd need to find a slightly larger house. Managing the divided assets might be difficult, so they'd probably need a separate manager.
“I really hope this meeting will be our last.”
Even though he was not confident at all those moments.
Even if he had to stand behind Annette for the rest of his life, just like that, listening to the news of her life...
The long meeting finally drew to a close. The huge map on the desk was covered in all sorts of marks and numbers.
The discussions that had been dragging on for so long had finally reached a conclusion. Heiner opened his mouth, placing both hands on the desk.
“Two days later at dawn.”
The eyes of the high-ranking officers turned to him. Then, the final order came from the commander-in-chief.
“The battle to recapture Huntingham begins.”
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