CH 53

When the office door burst open, Campbell jumped up from the couch where he had been sitting on his butt for hours and saluted.

“Go home.”

The Captain strode inside and instructed him. There was another long fingernail mark on his hand holding the yellow file folder.

Campbell glanced away and approached his superior.

“Captain.”

“What?”

The reason Campbell waited for him without leaving work was because there was an issue that hadn’t been decided yet.

That was, Grace Riddle’s future.

This hadn’t even been reported to the superiors yet. If the report were delayed, the superiors would be displeased, so he thought it would be safer to decide what to do today.

“What of Grace Riddle…”

“Grace Riddle?”

He hesitated for a moment, not knowing why Winston asked again while narrowing his eyes. The captain lit Grace Riddle’s files with a lighter and threw them into the fireplace.

“Who is that?”

“….”

“Oh, by the way, Sally Bristol left the mansion this morning.”

Campbell quickly nodded his head. This meant that Grace Riddle’s arrest would be kept a secret known only to the staff of this annex.

“Then, I will inform the soldiers in charge as well.”

He was stopped by the Captain as he was about to leave, saying that he should close his mouth so that this information would not leak out of the annex, whether it was to the superiors or the Winston family.

“One more. The torture chamber’s closed since a ghost started appearing.”

At those words, Campbell nodded his head as he walked out. Leon muttered as he looked down at the ashes in the fireplace.

“A female ghost who responds to the name Daisy.”

Daisy, Sally, and Grace. There were so many names, what to call her.

Daisy. It was a cute name that did not suit a girl with dark skin and a bold temper.

Sally. This name, too, was inappropriately cute for its cleverness and guts.

Grace…

This name was even more inappropriate. A grace… She was a disastrous grace that came upon his perfect life.

‘Whatever your name is…’

Even though he didn’t know what to call her, it was clear what she was.

‘You are mine now.’

º º º

[ Dear James Blanchard Jr.,

I had a very satisfying time with the personal maid prostitute you sent me.

Have you ever seen Miss Riddle naked?

I’m guessing you have never seen it. If it had been, you wouldn’t have sent her to me. I’m thrilled that you sent such a great item. Besides, I didn’t expect you to value me so highly to send your fiancée for me. In particular, I prepared for her solitary confinement.

For the sake of your poor fiancée, who is still expected to give birth to an heir to the Blanchard family, the ‘Royal Family of the Revolutionary Army,’ with a body stained by my c*m, I’d like you to pay a visit. You’d better hurry, because if it’s too late, you might end up getting my baby first.

Western Command Intelligence, Domestic Intelligence Division

Captain Leon Winston. ]

“Damn it…”

The letter was badly crumpled, and someone put a hand on Jimmy’s shoulder as he rested his forehead.

“Jimmy…”

Among those who comforted him, the faces of several elders who opposed Grace’s extraction stood out. Seeing them exchange dark glances, Jimmy closed his eyes in disillusionment.

“You tried to make the dog eat the dog…”

“The dog you sent to eat has been eaten.”

When he opened his eyes and glared at the two elders, they cleared their throats and shut their mouths.

“What should I do with Grace… that poor thing…God look after that child.”

When the female elder sitting next to him clicked her tongue and made a cross, the gray-haired man replied sullenly.

“Still, her life was saved. I guess he’ll keep it alive for a while, so I’m lucky. I feel sorry for Wilkins.”

The man glanced at the only empty seat at the round table with bitter eyes before taking out a cigarette and asking. Fred’s father, Dave, was not present preparing for the funeral.

Jimmy glared at the elder smoking a cigarette.

He felt sorry for Fred.

No one knew how he was discovered just before the extraction. Fred said he had talked about Winston before Nancy could ask what heinous things Winston had done to him though he kept quiet about how he was discovered. And suddenly, he disappeared from Winsford’s house and was found dead in a ditch the next day.

So, only Grace would know the answer.

Nonetheless, Jimmy knew. Probably all the elders gathered here know intuitively that it wasn’t Grace’s fault.

“Let’s start with the operation.”

Having regained his composure with difficulty, he began planning a rescue operation for Grace.

“I gave orders to Peter to keep an eye on the Winstons’ movement, and a rescue team was dispatched to the Winsford side in advance, and during the escort…”

“But, there’s a chance the Winsford safe house will be discovered.”

“No, I don’t think so. There are no suspicious movements or trends yet, even Nancy says there was no tail or surveillance.”

“The rescue team found a new safe house…”

It was when Jimmy was about to continue discussing the rescue operation.

“Anyway, Grace knows too much so I’m worried.”

Everyone was silent at the elder’s words. Everyone gathered here was destined to be shot the moment Grace opened her mouth. While exchanging unspoken meanings through their glances, the eldest elder smiled bitterly at Jimmy and brought up difficult words.

“Then, an honorable death…”

Jimmy’s eyes shook at the thought of ordering her suicide. Immediately, a heated discussion ensued across the table.

“Still, she hasn’t even played her part yet.”

“You’re right. She’s a card, and it would be a shame to burn it like this.”

“However, isn’t that card now in the hands of the military? It would be like giving them our location.”

“If they know the value of the card, it could be used for propaganda against us…”

“That’s not right. If they find out, they will get rid of her.”

There was a moment of silence as if everyone agreed with that statement.

“Anyway, I think it’s reasonable to give Grace a chance to die in peace.”

The executives who had reached an agreement began to stare at Jimmy though he wasn’t ready to answer.

“Jimmy.”

Grate.

There was the sound of a chair being pulled, and one of the elders who had opposed Grace’s extraction came up to him and put his thick hand on Jimmy’s shoulder.

“There are many women. I hope you don’t have any personal attachments.”

“To be honest, Angie was alive at the time so I kept quiet, but from the moment you got engaged to a woman of dirty blood, I wanted to object.”

An elder who could not be unaware of Jimmy’s discomfort added.

“I may sound cruel now, but you are our commander-in-chief. You have to think of everyone and the cause first, not your personal feelings.”

“Yes, is there anyone here who hasn’t sacrificed someone they love?”

It was not wrong.

“Think about what your father would have done.”

At those words, the air in the conference room grew heavier and heavier. Jimmy let out a long sigh and reluctantly opened his mouth.

“There is no way to deliver the order. Starting a new infiltration is too risky, and there is no guarantee that Grace will be given a newspaper there…”

“You have Peter.”

“Peter can’t get inside Winston’s fence…”

“I mean, I believe Grace sent me a list of what was supplied to the torture chamber. Hide the order inside and send it to Peter’s side.”

“….”

There was no room for more objection. Jimmy nodded his head eagerly and closed his eyes.

º º º

April, when the sky was capricious, was over before anyone knew it, and sunny days continued.

It meant the beginning of a season that Leon, who had a keen sense of smell, didn’t like very much. Even so, after entering the garden, the delicate scent of lilacs kept wafting around his nose and bothering him.

On the way to the greenhouse, he suddenly stopped in front of lilacs in full bloom. As he reached for it, he ignored the curious glance from his mother, who was walking beside him, with her arms crossed.

Flap, flap.

A brown bird sitting on a branch of light purple flowers and drinking nectar flapped its wings in surprise. As the bird broke off the branch on which it was sitting, his mother whispered, glancing out of the corner of her eye at the walking guests.

“It’s not dignified to give to the Grand Lady.”

Instead of replying, Leon only lightly twisted his lips.

The Grand Lady…

This was a gift to that woman.

It might not be a bad idea for him to pick May’s flowers for that woman who did not know the date or season. He was very curious about what kind of face she would make when she knew that the lilacs were in bloom.

Taking the flower branch in his hand, he took his steps again. As he started walking through the lilac garden and up the straight-lined gray tree path, his mother smiled as she patted the silk handkerchief tucked in his chest.

“It looks good.”

She was talking about him wearing a suit instead of an officer’s uniform, as she hated military uniforms. She rummaged through his closet a few days before the appointment with the Grand Lady and prepared a suit.

It was a little funny when she pleaded with him and told him to take off the uniform, knowing he was going to come in his officer’s uniform.

So, he ended up wearing a suit that was far from the old-fashioned things his mother had picked out, but his mother seemed to be fine with it.

“If you receive the title, quit the military.”

Leon couldn’t believe it, to think that a smart son could come out of such a woman. The Grand Duke was discussing an engagement with a military official because his family needed it. However, to quit the military… did she know what she was saying?

“You did a good job closing the torture chamber.”

Leon stared down at his mother, who smiled approvingly. It was unknown to her that her son was hiding a woman under the ground somewhere in the mansion.