For some reason, Peter held out his hand like a gentleman.
Grace, who tried to hold his hand, froze as the vision that had been blurry from rubbing her eyes became clearer. A hand in a black leather glove, and beyond that, rain-soaked hair and a black trench coat…
The man who reached out to Grace wasn’t Peter.
“…Gasp!”
The man grabbed Grace’s wrist, who flinched and avoided it. As she groaned at the strength of the grip that seemed like it would break her bones, a cold whisper penetrated her ear as the cold, rain-soaked lips touched her ear.
“Darling, did you have a good last outing before you die?”
Goosebumps ran up all the way to her head.
When she turned her head away from the sharpened frost eyes, over Winston’s shoulder, she could see the iron door of the annex that was firmly closed. At the end of the lined-up soldiers with their hands clasped obediently, Peter entered her eyes.
Tears thicker than raindrops covered her eyes at that moment.
“H, ho, ho…”
…The one she believed to be her ally gave her into the enemy’s hands.
Even at this moment when her reason was paralyzed, she could clearly see.
Fred even leaked Peter’s identity…
Because of that, he became Winston’s double agent in order to survive, and she was completely unaware. That call was to Winston, not Nancy… and then he went so far as to make an unnecessary scuffle about taking her to Nancy.
As Grace sobbed, feeling betrayed, Winston approached Peter. He patted Peter on the shoulder like congratulating him before twisting his lips in a sneer.
“I didn’t know that the post office even delivers women?”
A hand in a black leather glove gripped Peter’s shoulder tightly.
“Laugh. I’m just kidding.”
From Peter to his enlisted men, all the contemplative men forced a laugh. Winston dragged Grace, the only one who didn’t laugh, out of the wagon and into Peter’s front.
“Miss Riddle, why didn’t you tell me beforehand that you were acquainted with this diligent courier? Oh, I also didn’t tell you in advance that we knew each other, so I guess it’s a tie?”
When she faced Peter, who was avoiding her gaze, anger ran to the tip of her head. Grace shrugged off Winston and pounced on Peter.
“Dirty renegade…! How could you do this to an ally?! I will kill you! Go to hell!”
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“Grace! Stop!”
Peter acted impudently to Grace, who had no energy and was just messing around. The guy who shook his hand and head like a fly and made a troubled face muttered.
“Right, just be quietly locked up….”
At that moment, she clenched her fist painfully and swung it into Peter’s face.
Wham.
Her fist landed right under Peter’s cheekbone. As soon as his head snapped to the side, her eyes suddenly changed.
“Where did this come from?”
Peter’s palm flew towards Grace’s cheek. Just before being hit, a black-gloved hand grabbed his wrist. At the same time, as she stepped back to avoid it, Grace slumped on the rain-soaked gravel as her legs gave out.
“Huhuu…”
With sorrowful cries without a second to feel the pain of falling…
Bang.
A gunshot went off.
Grace’s eyes widened, and she let out a short scream in shock. The bloody Peter was lying on the cobblestones just steps away, gasping for his last breath. White smoke billowed from the muzzle of the pistol in Winston’s hand.
“How dare this dirty mouse…”
Winston, glaring at the dying Peter, suddenly turned to Grace.
Step.
The black shoes came toward Grace, stepping on the bloodstained cobblestones. The pistol was still in Winston’s hand.
He was going to kill her, too.
“Ah, heuk…”
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She wanted to scream, but there was no voice. As she tried to escape, her trembling hands gripped the sharp pebbles, and she was caught. The texture of the cold leather gloves wrapped around the nape of her neck was creepy.
“That guy, I sent him to hell just as you said.”
He bent his back toward her.
Grace couldn’t even shed a tear as everything froze in front of her eyes, which flashed cold anger more than anything else in the world.
“Do you want to go, too?”
The moment she shook her head, forcing her body not to listen, he let go of her and ordered.
“Then beg.”
When he said that he would give her a chance to escape death, Grace despaired. Just looking up with confused eyes, Winston gritted his teeth.
“Yes, I am the easiest in the world for you.”
Winston raised the pistol that was pointed at the floor. As the cold muzzle pressed against her forehead, she hurriedly let out a desperate scream.
“You said it with your mouth that you don’t listen to everything I ask for?! You’ve never listened to me, even if I beg! I’d rather you kill me!”
Madness began to flash in her eyes as she vented her resentment.
“Yes, kill me…! You always wanted to kill me with your own hands! Do it! Go ahead, pull the trigger! Is my attitude of asking a problem? Kind Captain, please kill me!”
The white hand grabbed the pistol and pulled it down. The moment a hard piece of metal touched her lips, Grace opened her mouth willingly. The twisted smile slowly erased from Winston’s face as she held the gun to her mouth and glared with spiteful eyes.
With the last of her strength, Grace clutched the barrel and Winston’s hand with both hands.
She staked her life on a gambling table with the devil. Her turn was over, and now, she had no choice but to wait for her opponent to play.
As she closed her eyes, rainwater trickled down the muzzle and dripped onto her tongue, with only the sound of rain audible. The rainwater tasted of gunpowder and iron. It was no different from the taste of blood.
It tasted like death… and it was the taste of freedom.
Maybe death was freedom, not bondage… especially for those for whom death was the only way to regain freedom.
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Grace, who had been deceiving herself that losing this gamble was not bad, hit the hard piece of metal against her teeth again and again. Was it her who was shaking now, or was it the muzzle?
It was a pointless moment to ask. The muzzle was pulled out of her teeth.
“You’re using a cheeky trick again.”
The pistol was put into the holster.
“You will have to pay the price.”
Leon turned his back on the woman looking up with weary eyes.
…The pathetic bastard who turns into the easiest man in the world for that woman.
He wanted to put a bullet in his head.
º º º
Campbell glanced behind his superior. The day was slowly dawning outside the window, where the thin curtains were drawn.
“Will that work?”
At the sudden laugh, he turned his gaze back to his superior in front of the desk. What was funny? Just as he was about to ask why, the captain waved his hand, holding a cigar.
“Go on.”
“Yes, the commotion this morning is that the person who tried to break into the annex and steal military secrets was killed, and I plan to report it to the headquarters today.”
After receiving a call from the orderly that an emergency had occurred while Campbell was sleeping, as soon as he hurried to work, he was greeted by corpses scattered in the front yard of the annex.
He was speechless for a moment when he realized that it was the rebels that the captain had personally enlisted as a double agent a while ago. However, it was not surprising that the one who obeyed the order died, but the woman who escaped and caused a commotion was alive and well.
“What is the escape route?”
“She dug the wall between the bathroom and the storage room with an interrogation tool…”
“Campbell, I know that.”
It meant to reveal the escape route after that.
Campbell was stumped. Even when she came out of the storage room, it was a closed room blocked by iron bars and a dead-end hallway, but how the hell did that woman escape without going through the bars?
“After that, the path leading to the garden wall is still unclear, but we are investigating and will report it as soon as we figure it out.”
“Do so.”
“Captain.”
The Captain, who had a cigar in his mouth, raised one eyebrow.
“The surest way would be to ask the person who escaped.”
“I guess so.”
If she could speak…
Leon twitched the corners of his mouth as he drew in the cigar smoke in time.
“Who is in charge?”
“At that time, the guards guarding the corridor were two, and they said they did not see or hear any suspicious movements.”
“The woman from the storage room to the garden…”
The Captain snapped his fingers.
“Did you mean she teleports?”
“The private in charge of the torture room door stepped out of the hallway in front of the torture room door between three and four o’clock as he was standing in front of the iron cage.”
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“Campbell, what was the first thing that came to your mind when you heard that?”
Seeing the Captain asked with a smile, curling the corners of his eyes, Campbell, who had assisted Captain Winston at close range for many years, knew it well. That now was the moment to lower his head.
“I’m sorry, Captain. The private in question will be reprimanded for leaving the workplace, and all deployed personnel will be thoroughly trained to prevent this from happening in the future.”
“That’s a given.”
The Captain who turned the cigar’s ashes hastened the report.
“So, what about the repair work of the torture chamber I ordered?”
“As for the replacement work you mentioned, we will check the schedule and post it as soon as the related companies open. Additionally, the wall repairs, removal of the shed doors, and installation of additional bolts and locks were expected to be completed within the morning.”
“To prevent a recurrence thoroughly.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Go.”
When Campbell left, Leon gave orders from the empty office.