~Chapter 10~
After receiving a brief orientation at the employment agency office, Edith began moving toward the Bellen City Hall, where the auditorium was located, following the work supervisor.
There were quite a few new cleaning staff hired besides Edith. It seemed they planned a major cleanup in preparation for the upcoming events, starting with the award ceremony.
Some of them were already gathered in small groups, chatting quietly.
“Did Richet get introduced here too?”
One of them spoke to Edith. She was a woman with light freckles across the bridge of her nose, which added to her charm.
“Yes.”
Richet was the alias Edith was currently using.
“Hm, I thought so. These days, jobs are scarce, so it must be hard to get such a good position without an introduction.”
“…”
“I’m Gisela. Nice to meet you.”
Edith smiled awkwardly, a polite way of signaling she didn’t want to continue the conversation, but Gisela still seemed curious about her.
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“Ah… I’m married.”
“Really? Wow!”
“Yes. I even have a child.”
“Oh my! I wouldn’t have guessed. You must have married very early.”
“…Something like that.”
As they passed the plaza with a large fountain, Edith only answered questions or added brief comments, keeping her voice low. Before long, the group arrived in front of the city hall.
The city hall, with its towering central clock tower, lived up to its nickname “White City Hall,” built entirely of gleaming white bricks.
Its size, reminiscent of a castle, was impressive, giving off an almost majestic aura. It was said that the facilities hidden behind the building were even larger, making it hard to imagine the true scale.
“Wow, they’ve kept expanding it every year; it’s really huge.”
Gisela whispered softly, sharing Edith’s impression. Just then, the work supervisor at the front of the group clapped his hands loudly.
“Alright, no more chatting. As I explained earlier, today we’ll start with garden maintenance. Those from here to here will take care of the front garden near the main entrance; the rest will handle the back garden.”
Gisela waved goodbye with a hint of disappointment.
“Oh, different team. Take care, Richet.”
“Yes. You too.”
Edith turned toward the back garden, following the gradually moving group.
As she headed there, she kept a stern expression, carefully observing her surroundings.
‘It’s bigger than I thought.’
Even moving from the front gate to the back took considerable time. The auditorium was also near the back, which meant leaving the area after the event would take just as long. Moreover, there were many guards stationed at each checkpoint. They had already checked her ID twice just to reach this point.
Edith realized that escaping via the route she had walked was going to be impossible.
The group eventually reached the back garden. The work supervisor handed out tools to each member. Edith received a large broom and was tasked with sweeping the fallen leaves scattered throughout the corners of the garden.
The once-green leaves, now faded, rustled across the ground with each sweep.
Starting from the center, she gradually swept toward the building’s perimeter—a deliberate move, as she intended to glance inside through the windows.
Swish—swish—
The rhythmic sound of sweeping suddenly stopped. In its place, a faint child’s laughter filled the air.
Edith lifted her head in a daze. The child’s distinct giggle drifted out from a half-open window. Her golden eyes, as if pulled by a string, followed the sound. On the hallway of the city hall stood a woman, holding a young boy in her arms.
He looked about two, maybe three years old—exactly the same age as Leon.
“Did you come to see your dad today, little Goz?”
“Yes.”
“Where’s your dad?”
“Well… he’s supposed to be out on a short business trip. I don’t know exactly where he is. He should be back soon.”
The woman continued her gentle explanation, but Edith could no longer listen. The sight of Leon surged vividly in her mind.
Dad.
Leon, who spoke faster than most children, had learned this word last.
He had been born near the end of the war, around the time Elize died. Not long after, Ernill also passed away, marking the period when Edith had endured the hardest days.
Because of this, Edith had never been able to tell Leon about Maximilian. He had been a proud man who gave his life for their country, but merely speaking his name brought grief to the surface.
At the time, Edith had recently lost her entire family and could not bear it. Instead, it had been Leon who asked first:
“Where’s dad?”
The boy in front of her had asked the same question, but Edith could never explain like the child’s mother did. The deep black eyes that should have belonged to Maximilian stared silently at her, leaving her speechless.
Leon, after waiting patiently, reached out with his small hand and touched Edith’s cheek.
“Sorry, Mom. Don’t cry.”
Though Edith reassured him that he had no reason to apologize, Leon continued to apologize for a long time and never asked about it again.
As time passed and her grief lessened, Edith occasionally began to mention Maximilian, but Leon often listened indifferently. Yet he never interrupted her, showing it wasn’t that he wasn’t interested—he was merely worried she might cry again.
‘…You don’t have to worry about that.’
Edith bit her trembling lips. The longing for Leon surged like a tidal wave, different in feeling from the longing for Maximilian.
“Hey! Don’t slack off!”
The supervisor’s shout snapped Edith back to reality. The mother and child by the window had turned their attention toward her.
Edith quickly lowered her head. Thick drops of water fell, leaving round marks on the dry leaves below.
“Sorry.”
Amid the resumed sweeping, her muted voice lingered faintly.
＊＊＊
Evening arrived.
“Alright, good work today. Come to the office at the same time tomorrow. You can’t enter the city hall alone, so you’ll need to go with me.”
After the supervisor’s final briefing, the gathered staff began to disperse. Gisela gently tapped Edith’s shoulder, which seemed a bit downcast. Though it was just a light gesture, Edith’s reaction was stronger than expected.
Gisela gave a guilty smile.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you… Was it really tiring?”
“Ah… no, I was just lost in thought for a moment.”
“That’s good to hear. I’m heading this way. What about you, Richet?”
“This way.”
“Okay, see you tomorrow then.”
With a tired smile, the two went their separate ways.
With the sun setting early, the streets were unusually dark. Gisela hurried along, thinking of the groceries she needed to buy with today’s wages.
Stopping at the store and then returning home would likely push past dinner time. So, she chose a shortcut through an alley instead of the main road.
As she turned a corner in the secluded alley, she felt a dull metallic sensation against her back. She realized it was the barrel of a gun after hearing a low male voice behind her.
“Don’t turn around. Just answer my questions.”
Her mind went blank, and Gisela nodded violently. She hadn’t sensed him following so closely. Any resistance could have meant her being found dead by morning.
“Are you acquainted with the woman you just parted from?”
“W-who… R-Richet?”
“Richet? Well, anyway.”
“No. Oh, I met her today for the first time.”
Before the man could continue questioning, Gisela began explaining about Richet. Though the details were trivial—she married early, has a child, and came from the countryside to Bellen for work—it was all she knew.
“I-I’m shy, so that’s literally all I know about Richet. Really.”
“…”
“P-please, spare me.”
Shivering with extreme fear, Gisela trembled. Then the man, still behind her, began listing not only her name but her home address and her family members’ names. He didn’t specify any intent, but it was enough to overwhelm Gisela with pressure.
“I-I’ll do whatever you say. Please… just don’t harm my family.”
The man’s only request was simple: observe Richet during her work and report back to him.
It sounded simple, and Gisela nodded even before he finished speaking. Even if it weren’t simple, she had no choice but to comply.
Meanwhile, unlike Gisela, Edith walked home peacefully—or at least appeared to from the outside.
Thoughts of Leon brought a deep sense of emptiness.
‘What am I even doing here?’
Leaving Leon, the one she longed for most, behind. All this so-called greater cause felt meaningless. Even if this led to liberation, what good would it do if she failed and Leon became an orphan?
Edith staggered as she wrestled with her thoughts. Leaning on the wall, she barely regained her balance, but her breathing grew erratic. The depression she had long suppressed was beginning to consume her.
Depression.
At one point, Edith had been so severely depressed that she relied on tranquilizers. Especially after the war, she couldn’t sleep without sleeping pills. Resistance work and time had helped, but the underlying depression still occasionally resurfaced, tormenting her.
She must go back to Leon.
Her shattered mind abandoned rational thought, focusing instead on her most desperate desire. Her unfocused golden eyes wandered through the air.
My child, my Leon.
‘I’ll go back. Quit everything and live in a quiet countryside with Leon. Just the two of us, safe forever.’
Just as Edith, overcome by this impulse, took a step forward, a massive military truck passed in front of her, filled not with livestock but dozens of people, in cages instead of a roof.
“…!”
Amid the crowd filled with despair and fear, Edith spotted a familiar face and stopped in her tracks.
“…Loris.”
He was one of the resistance members who had planned to join Edith’s group, last seen before they lost contact after boarding a train.
