Chapter 164
The backlog of documents that had been tormenting Isaac for the past week was finally beginning to show an end. All this time, Isaac had become one with his desk the moment he arrived at work, devoting himself to processing the mountain of tasks piled before him.
Before he knew it, lunchtime had long since passed, but Isaac did not even glance at the clock as he picked up the remaining file and opened it. Promotion recommendations, disciplinary reports, transfer orders… Important documents he could not delegate to his adjutant were urging him on.
Reviewing them mechanically, Isaac checked the documents related to officers’ dues and frowned. The damned officers’ club. Everything else was one thing, but this had not even been Isaac’s responsibility in the first place. As for why documents that had never originally fallen under Isaac’s jurisdiction had made their way onto his desk—yes. Strictly speaking, this too was General Churston’s fault.
Even before Isaac had applied for his long-term leave, the general had begun calling in his own people one by one to the 4th Infantry Regiment—this place notorious for being nothing but dead-end posts. After a noisy round of personnel transfers, he had ultimately overturned everything, but when the general himself fell from power, the people who had been dragged in against their will began submitting transfer requests one after another. Transfers were the better case. There were even those attempting early retirement as if they had committed some crime.
As a result, only a few senior officers, including Isaac, who had barely survived the personnel storm remained, forced to take on the work of those who had left. The moment Isaac faced this reality upon returning after being summoned, he muttered, “I should have delayed my return a little longer,” only to shut his mouth under the sharp glare of Major Wells beside him.
Knock, knock. At the sound, Isaac raised his head.
“Come in.”
The one who opened the door and entered was his adjutant, Felix. While Isaac had been away, Felix had been tormented by all manner of deployment charts, reports, invoices, and the like that Isaac had delegated to him, and he had lost so much weight that he looked gaunter than before. When the returned Isaac saw the mountain of documents and muttered curses under his breath, Felix had looked at him with an expression containing not only liberation but also a gloomy sense of satisfaction.
“You skipped lunch again today.”
“If I’m going to finish all of this today, I have no choice.”
Isaac spat the words out, and Felix looked at the desk in surprise.
“Oh, you’re right. Still, why don’t you take a short breather?”
“What is it?”
If you don’t have business, get lost. At that tone, Felix replied with an unruffled face.
“A visitor has requested to see you, Captain.”
Who could it be when he was already this busy? There were quite a few people who came to mind. Isaac automatically thought first of Caroline, who had a history of frequently visiting and bothering him in the past.
And after Caroline, the next person who came to mind was…
“Your wife is here.”
For a moment, Isaac stared blankly with his mouth open.
“The reception room at headquarters has hardly been empty lately, has it? It seems that’s the case today as well, so I believe she is probably on her way here.”
“……”
“If you’re truly busy, I could receive the item madam came to bring on your behalf and escort her back…”
Felix’s next words did not even reach Isaac’s ears. He clenched his fist so hard he nearly snapped his pen, then swiftly turned his gaze, scanning every corner of the office.
Of course, his office was, as always, filled with all manner of odds and ends. There had been a time when Sasha had been coming in and out frequently, and he had attempted to clean up while engaging in self-justification bordering on brainwashing, but his filthy office had quickly returned to its original state. No, perhaps it had become even dirtier. He could not even remember when he had last dusted.
Felix stared at Isaac, who no longer seemed to be listening to him at all. Isaac had half-risen awkwardly from his seat and, glaring at Felix, spoke quickly.
“Stall her. As long as possible.”
Felix answered, “Yes, sir,” and closed the door behind him. Isaac immediately sprang from his seat and began clearing away the bizarrely shaped trophies nearby. Damn those bastards. This was not an exhibition hall, so why on earth had they brought this sort of thing here?
When he had first been transferred here, Isaac had had no interest whatsoever in his predecessors, let alone the things they had left behind, but now he was glaring sharply over the names engraved on the trophies as if seeking revenge. Isaac shoved a hound-shaped trophy under the sofa, then quickly headed to the window and looked down.
It was Sasha. He could see Adjutant Felix going out and talking to her about something. Felix was gesturing soullessly as he pointed at the sky. He was probably carrying out Isaac’s order by bringing up some pointless small talk like, “Isn’t the weather truly lovely today?”
Isaac quickly tore his gaze away from his adjutant’s labors and resumed clearing things away. However, the belongings that had accumulated over so much time showed no sign of ending no matter how much he tidied. In the end, Isaac admitted defeat and was prioritizing the grotesque sculptures and dirty clothing he absolutely did not want Sasha to see.
Knock, knock.
There came a knock.
“…Come in.”
Just as Isaac reluctantly groaned out an answer, he discovered a stack of lewd magazines lying beneath a cushion.
‘No, fuck. What the hell is this now?’
Click. The door opened, and Sasha entered with Felix. Sasha spotted Isaac standing on the sofa in an awkward, strange posture, and then, as a matter of course, her gaze shifted to what he was holding. Isaac was in the middle of agonizing over whether to shove the stack of magazines back under the cushion, fling them straight out the window, or simply pretend they were documents and set them on the desk for the time being.
“Were you cleaning? Shall I help?”
Sasha stared blankly at her husband, whose face had gone white, and asked just that. Isaac shoved the stack of magazines back under the cushion.
“No. I mean…”
Instead of telling her to come and sit, Isaac awkwardly pointed to the empty spot on the sofa. After Felix shut the door with a click and left, Sasha walked over carrying a small box.
There was a sweet smell of apple pie.
“I bought this on the way. Did you eat lunch?”
“I was just about to go down to the dining hall.”
“It was already closed. And I heard you’ve been skipping lunch and doing nothing but work lately.”
It seemed Felix had talked about all sorts of miscellaneous things besides the weather. Of course he had. He could not have dragged things out that long with talk of the weather alone.
Isaac was grateful in many ways that she was worrying about him, but he also felt a little embarrassed, so he merely rubbed the back of his neck. Sasha paid that no mind and handed him the box containing the pie before heading to the empty seat on the sofa.
Only now did Isaac realize the obvious fact that he should have cleaned the sofa she would sit on first. Sasha, who was familiar with his office in many ways, ignored Isaac’s stunned expression and sat down among the piles of clothing.
“Wait, I’ll clear that away.”
“It’s all right. It’s cozy.”
“Please, Sasha.”
This from the woman who, when she first came here, had asked for another seat as though she could not bear to sit down.
Despite her cheerful permission, Isaac approached pitifully, as if begging forgiveness, and hurriedly grabbed the piles of dirty clothes and threw them behind the sofa. Sasha was smiling as she watched Isaac’s face, which had bent close to her, with great interest.
“I also brought tea that goes well with the pie.”
“…This first.”
“All right. Then this first. I really don’t mind, though.”
When Sasha looked around as if to help, Isaac quickly stopped her.
“Stay still. Don’t use your arm.”
“This arm is fine.”
Despite Isaac’s words, which sounded almost like pleading, Sasha stubbornly did as she pleased and picked up one sock with her uninjured arm, tossing it off the sofa. The woman truly was stubborn. She had been like that when they first met, and she was like that now. Among the many things that had changed by now, it was one of the things about her that remained the same.
Isaac realized now that Sasha was completely teasing him. Based on his experience so far, if he showed any sign of being flustered or at a loss here, Sasha was certain to enjoy it even more. Instead of stopping Sasha, Isaac picked up the dirty military jacket she had been about to grab and flung it far away.
“…Is it urgent?”
“Can I only come to see you if it’s urgent?”
It was a question that felt rather belated by now. Sasha answered his question shamelessly.
“…You should be at home. You’re not fully recovered yet.”
When Isaac grumbled, Sasha lifted her bandaged arm. The sleeve of her thin summer dress could not fully hide the thick layers of bandages.
“It isn’t my leg that’s hurt. And I think I’ve rested more than enough. If I hadn’t heard that you were overworking yourself to the point of skipping meals, I wouldn’t have gone out of my way to come.”
At her calm, orderly explanation, Isaac drew his brows together. It was not difficult to guess who had passed this unnecessary information to her. It had to be Matilda. Sasha had been steadily exchanging letters with Matilda.
“If you’re really busy, I’ll go back.”
When Sasha tried to rise from her seat again, Isaac was the one who sat her back down this time.
“…No. I am busy, of course, but… I’m nearly finished.”
“Really? I was only planning to hand you the pie and leave. You can send me away. It’s all right.”
Sasha spoke with an apologetic expression, as though she truly had not meant to trouble him. Of course. She always thought of him. Even when she acted annoyingly as if teasing him, at the decisive moments she always looked after him.
Isaac soon shook his head, and only then did Sasha smile as if satisfied. “You look very tired,” she said, stroking his cheek.
“I’ll make the tea.”
It was the moment Isaac, having completely admitted defeat, rose to his feet. Sasha picked up a heap of clothes caught near her hip and stared blankly at the ghastly magazine that had come up with it, stuck stickily beneath the cloth. The magazine, which had probably been hiding there for years and had been sat on by countless people, was flattened all over.
Until Sasha examined it with composed eyes and made her guess, Isaac simply froze like a broken machine and stared at her.
While Isaac was too flustered to do anything, Sasha calmly separated the clothing from the magazine. In that instant, Isaac unconsciously shifted only his eyes toward the open window.
Instead of displaying the immaturity of recklessly choosing avoidance first, Isaac said in a rough voice like grinding sand, “…That isn’t mine.”
His wife’s green eyes, which appeared tranquil, stopped examining the magazine and looked straight at him.
“I know, Isaac.”
She smiled gently.
“That you’re not interested in this sort of thing.”
As if there were no need for him to explain, she giggled and threw the magazine behind her.
Isaac awkwardly laughed along with her, his face relieved, and then creaked his way toward the kettle.
And after a brief silence, an indescribably subtle feeling came over him, leaving him in a strange mood.