Ch.74Chapter 10. My Savior Who Came to Ruin You (3)

‘I didn’t know the Commander could make such an expression.’

Despite being just an ordinary translucent glass bottle with an equally ordinary worn label, Virginia was caressing it with a faint smile.

“Commander. Do you know about this liquor?”

“Ah, this wine? It’s called ‘Dishonor’…”

But that was all.

After making eye contact with Letitia, Virginia hesitated, then quickly stiffened her face.

It was a familiar expression to Letitia, who had often participated in key suspect interrogations.

The face of someone who regretted saying too much.

Virginia said nothing more. She wrapped the wine in a cloth and put it back in the bag to return it.

“Take one more day off tomorrow. There’s a lot to do. Just a moment.”

Virginia gestured for her to come closer. When Letitia approached, she whispered so close that her breath touched Letitia’s skin.

“The 14th National Gendarmerie’s communication equipment and encryption systems have all been stolen. It seems certain that Central Liberation members took them. What’s worse is that the gendarmerie’s communication officers and soldiers tried all sorts of connections, exposing the entire network.”

Letitia’s face turned pale. This was a bolt from the blue. The word ‘discharge’ circled in her mind.

The military is fundamentally an organization that operates on orders. It needs smooth communication with both higher and lower units. And that content must never be leaked outside.

The fact that the encryption system had been completely compromised meant that the entire military system would have to be changed, and the operations, communications, and intelligence departments would need to become familiar with the new system more than anyone else.

It was like having to go back to freshman year and retake major courses after already having graduated—a similar level of annoyance and inconvenience awaited them.

“Rest well tomorrow without thinking about anything.”

Leaving those words of encouragement that weren’t quite encouragement, Virginia departed.

Letitia shouldered her bag and walked. Her subordinates from the intelligence department greeted her cheerfully and guided her to a vehicle they had prepared in advance.

“I heard what happened. As expected of you, Lieutenant.”

“…Just drive quickly. I’m dying of sleepiness. I’m off tomorrow, so adjust the duty roster.”

“Already done.”

The military vehicle sped through the streets of Hampton. The soldiers guarding the safe zone opened the gate without question.

“Haah.”

Upon arriving home, Letitia collapsed onto her bed. There was so much she needed to do. But she did what she wanted to do most first.

Taking out her personal mobile phone, Letitia first opened the “Scale plus” app. The chat with Caesar was still open. After writing and deleting for a long time, she finally sent a simple message.

– Did you get home safely? I’m really worried. Please send me a short message when you see this.

Thinking it seemed too formal, she added another line.

– I had a really good time today. When and where shall we meet next? Next week works for me! Don’t forget the apple pie!

Even after two whole minutes, the message still showed “unread.”

Watching it made her feel like she was burning up inside, so she decided to wait. If there was still no contact after she showered, she planned to call.

She was tired, sleepy, had a headache, and was exhausted. But thinking about what happened today made her happy. The wine in her bag was proof of that.

“Should I have just one glass?”

Her mouth watered, but Letitia decided to restrain herself. Such good wine should be enjoyed in the best condition.

“Dishonor, huh.”

Getting up from the bed, Letitia turned on her computer. She searched for information about the “Dishonor” wine.

Information wasn’t abundant, but she could easily find that it was quite a rare liquor and traded at premium prices.

“Dishonor” wine was made about ten years ago by a famous Domaine in Minsk, a winery that owned its own vineyard.

The reason it was named “Dishonor” was because this wine was treated as a sort of abandoned child by the Domaine.

Originally, this wine was secretly made ten years ago when Minsk declared war on Römer over the ownership of Elsa.

At that time, Minsk firmly believed they would win and was already producing commemorative items to sell after their victory. This wine was one of them.

The problem was that the war ended in Römer’s victory after just ten days.

But since it would be a waste to throw away the wine they had already made, the winery disguised it as a cheap wine without a proper name or label and sold it all.

However, they couldn’t hide the distinctive bottle design and label band of the Domaine, so experienced wine enthusiasts could recognize it immediately.

“…While it’s produced in relatively large quantities, it’s famous for its excellent taste, and even more famous for the story behind the wine. But how did the Commander recognize it at a glance? Does she like alcohol?”

No, it wasn’t just that.

For a very brief moment, Letitia had seen some humanity in Virginia.

If she had been wearing casual clothes instead of a uniform, and if it had been an ordinary day without war or disaster, she would have looked like an ordinary woman in her mid-twenties, smiling with a drink in a café.

When talking about the wine, the Commander seemed lost in some sentiment. If she had to describe it, it was nostalgia. Or perhaps, a sense of loss.

“Ah, I don’t know. I should take a shower.”

Before undressing, Letitia checked her phone once more. It still showed “unread.”

She promised herself that if there was still no contact after her shower, she would try calling.

As soon as she came out of the shower, she collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep as if passing out. She even had a happy dream about choosing a name for her first child.

* * * * *

It’s a pleasant journey home.

I left the car in a suitable place along with my mobile phone. Whistling, I returned to the hotel with two solar panels tucked under my arm, a power bank in my hand, and my bag on my shoulder.

There were soldiers all over the streets, but they were too busy with their own tasks to stop me.

The hotel looked like a mess from the outside, but fortunately, it hadn’t been breached.

Cleaners who had borrowed fire trucks were spraying soapy water and cleaning the streets. The bodies had already been removed.

Fernando happened to be in the lobby. He came over and helped carry my luggage to my room.

– At the door now.

Shortly after sending the text, there was a clattering sound. The door flung open, and Camilla stood there, drenched in sweat but smiling.

“I’m back.”

I smiled, showing her what I had brought.

“Welcome back.”

Camilla embraced me first, ignoring the items. The smell of gunpowder was quite strong.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah. You?”

Camilla answered so nonchalantly that I replied the same way.

“Nothing happened.”

We moved the luggage inside first.

The room looked quite dramatic. Bed mattresses were stuffed into the window frames, and guns and ammunition were laid out by type in the living room. Judging by the carbon fouling, there must have been quite an intense fight.

But I didn’t ask for details. I was just happy we could see each other alive.

“You had a tough day, right? Come here.”

Camilla tried to undress me. I deliberately stepped back.

“Ah, haha. I sweated a lot today…”

“What’s the big deal suddenly? That makes it better, you know?”

Before I could stop her, she grabbed my outer clothes with sparkling eyes. Then suddenly her face turned fierce.

“Hey. Johan.”

“Uh, yes?”

Camilla picked up a strand of hair from my outer clothes. Long blonde hair. It was Leti’s.

Wait, when did that get stuck there?

“You know what? They say having these things on you brings bad luck. No, wait. There’s some on your back too? We need to burn these right away.”

Before I could say anything, she brought out a lighter, burned it completely, and blew away the ashes. Her demeanor was quite menacing, though she didn’t lose her smile.

“If you want to wear something, wear mine, okay? I’ll give you some anytime. Anyway, did you do well today?”

The answer came from the mobile phone I had placed on the floor. It buzzed and displayed a pop-up message.

– Did you get home safely? I’m really worried. Please send me a short message when you see this.

– I had a really good time today… (See more)

Camilla looked at it silently, then gave me a savage smile.

“…You did very well. Oh, you did so well. Should I give you a pat on the bottom?”

“Camilla. I understand what you’re worried about, but really, nothing happened today…”

Wait, why am I making excuses? Before I could think further, Camilla flipped open my outer clothes.

“…You were wearing a shirt when you left. What’s with the jacket under your coat? And it’s a women’s jacket!”

“W-wait, Camilla! If you grab there like that, eek!”

How cowardly to grab my crotch like that.

Pushing me against the wall with one hand, Camilla pulled down the jacket zipper with the other. Th-that’s where Leti clearly marked with lipstick…

“See? I had a tough time too.”

…which I had completely wiped off with wet wipes I got from a store I briefly visited. All that remained were some bruises from rolling around.

Camilla gently touched around the bruises with her finger, checking if the injuries were serious.

“Hey, w-wait, let me shower first…”

“That’s strange.”

“Uh, what is?”

“There’s an unpleasant smell. A smell that shouldn’t be here?”

Camilla suddenly flipped the jacket open. She stared intently at the lining.

Ah.

I missed that.

Some of Leti’s lipstick marks remained there. They must have transferred like a print from all the rolling around.

Camilla’s body seemed to grow slightly larger somehow. Her arms tensed, muscles twitching. Her knuckles turned white. Her eyes seemed to roll a bit.

“Uh, um, Camilla.”

Camilla turned her head toward me, cracking her neck with a loud pop.

“Yes? What is it?”

“…the bag.”

“What about the bag?”

Camilla added with a grin.

“…you traitor.”

Oh boy. This is a real danger signal.

“…I brought strawberry cream cake. For you.”

That seemed to have the opposite effect. The muscles in her arms seemed to bulge even more, with veins now visible. Camilla was still smiling.

“Want to eat and talk? You must be hungry?”

Seeing her swallow, it seemed to work, but her arms weren’t relaxing. I carefully added one more thing.

“…I also got whiskey bonbon chocolates. If we don’t eat them now, they’ll melt…”

“Phewww…”

She seemed to deflate a bit. Camilla let out a stormy sigh.

“…Let’s shower, eat, and talk again. I feel a bit uneasy too.”

* * * * *

Is she eating cake or chewing meat? It was hard to tell the difference.

With each bite of the various cakes and chocolates I had brought, there was dynamic movement inside her deep V-neck sleeveless top.

But she didn’t touch the strawberry cream cake. I thought she liked it, but was I wrong?

I gently pushed the chocolate mousse pie I had saved for myself. Camilla looked back and forth between the pie and me, then snorted and pushed it back toward me.

“…It’s fine. You eat it. You worked hard too.”

“I really didn’t do anything, I swear.”

Before speaking, Camilla chewed up a chocolate with loud crunching. Even an enemy’s liver would probably be chewed more gently than that.

“Right. I think so too. Your shirt got torn at your first meeting? That can happen.

The woman you met for the first time today was so attracted to your upper body that she smeared her lipstick-covered lips all over it? And you say you just stood there while she bumped into you on her own?

Right. That’s something that could happen to anyone.”

“It sounds crazy, but it’s all true.”

I feel a bit wronged. I lament that I’ve apparently been such an untrustworthy person.

Camilla shook her head in disgust.

“Johan. Let me ask you one thing.”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s say it was really an accident like you said. Then why did you wipe off the lipstick marks?”

“Well, of course…”

Yeah. Why did I do that?

Camilla rested her arms on the table and propped her chin.

“Well. Finish your sentence. Why did you wipe them off?”

…I’ll just answer honestly, as it comes to mind.

“Because I thought you wouldn’t like it.”

“Hm? What did you say?”

She’s pretending not to have heard. Is she drunk from the whiskey bonbons? She doesn’t seem that weak to alcohol.

“I said I thought you wouldn’t like it.”

“…So you were at least somewhat conscious of me?”

Her eyes are cold, but the corners of her mouth are slowly rising.

“Of course I was. How could I not be? I was really worried about you. I just didn’t contact you because I didn’t know what the situation was. I even brought this for you, thinking of you.”

“You’re all talk.”

Camilla dipped her finger in the cream and smeared it on my nose.

In response to her childish prank, I tried to smear some cake on her face. It was quite a large piece with a strawberry on top.

“Kyahah!”

Camilla laughed and tilted her head back. She flicked my finger.

“Oh.”

The cream and strawberry slid down Camilla’s neck and landed right between her ample breasts.

Just as it was about to slide into her cleavage, Camilla wrapped her arms under her breasts, pushing them together.

The strawberry on top of the cream rose buoyantly as if riding a wave.

One breast was almost bursting out over the V-neck.

“…Johan.”

Camilla looked up at me.

“Uh, yes?”

“What would you like to eat first?”

Not understanding what she meant, I stared blankly. I didn’t know where to look. Camilla urged me on.

“The strawberry? The cream? Or…”

A small, pointed tongue peeked out between her lips, then quickly disappeared.