“I already know Anette well. At least better than a husband who might as well be a stranger. So if you’re thinking of spewing such nonsense and sowing discord between us, drop it.”
“Us.”
Heiner, who had muttered the word coldly, moved slowly. In just three steps, the distance between the two closed completely.
Ansgar was by no means a small man, but standing next to the massive Heiner, he looked like a hyena beside a lion.
“You’ve only met her a few times in three years—do you think that makes you something?”
Heiner spoke in a low voice, his head tilted down slightly.
“Even if Anette agreed, so what?”
A faint killing intent seeped through his completely subdued voice. A chill ran down Ansgar’s nape.
“You can never beat me, Ansgar Stetter.”
Ansgar tried to step back involuntarily, but his feet wouldn’t lift. He felt a crushing pressure, as if a massive boulder were pressing down on his body. Heiner slowly continued.
“That woman is….”
The edge of his voice came out slightly trembling. The momentum that had been crushing Ansgar dissipated in an instant.
Heiner muttered as if to himself.
“That woman cannot leave me.”
It sounded like self-brainwashing. Ansgar tried to use the slight falter in Heiner’s spirit to strike back.
“You….”
In the end, you’ll kill Anette. No matter how great you are, you cannot control death. One way or another, she will leave you.
But Ansgar couldn’t say any of those words. Only a dazed voice escaped him.
“You… Anette….”
“Right now.”
At that moment, Heiner hissed grimly.
“Get out of here this instant.”
With that, he brushed past Ansgar. Heavy footfalls echoed down the corridor.
Ansgar turned around with a blank face. The back of Heiner Waldemar—cold and massive like a stone statue—gradually grew distant.
The reason Ansgar couldn’t say anything wasn’t because he feared Heiner. His atmosphere had certainly been ominous, but there had been a somehow weak corner to it.
The dry voice of Heiner Waldemar that he had heard a few days ago seemed to linger in his ears.
“If she goes to Franche with you….”
Why hadn’t he realized?
“I wondered if she would be happier.”
What that face, like a defeated soldier’s, had meant.
***
Anette waited for sleep, curled up in bed. Outside it was still early evening, but the room was pitch-black thanks to the blackout curtains.
Even with her eyes closed, various thoughts chaotically devoured her mind.
“Come to Franche with me.”
“No, Anette. Even without such things… I still want you.”
Lies.
Anette murmured under her breath.
Ansgar had not affirmed when asked if he wanted to marry. In that brief moment, Anette had been able to read his intentions.
Franche was a country with relatively liberal sexual morals. In a society where even married people keeping mistresses was overlooked, it was not even a blemish for an unmarried man to have a hidden lover.
So Ansgar—simply wanted to keep her as a lover. Perhaps even after he remarried.
It wasn’t difficult to understand. There was nothing to be gained by legally binding himself to a woman who had nothing.
A woman with nowhere to lean on, whose only possession was her youth.
‘Suitable for being toyed with.’
Anette thought blandly. She didn’t particularly resent or grieve it. Even the position of Ansgar’s lover was more than she deserved in her current state.
She curled her body up even tighter. Though she was under the covers in a warm room, her hands and feet were cold.
As she waited for sleep that would not come, the door quietly opened. Anette still kept her eyes closed. The caregiver who had risen from her seat exchanged a few words with the visitor.
Soon, he walked heavily toward the bed.
“Anette.”
“….”
“Let’s take a short walk in the garden. It’s not good to stay only inside the room.”
“….”
“Come now.”
Anette rose obediently without saying much. She put on the coat he gave her and wore socks. Heiner wrapped a large scarf around her neck.
Her eyes met Heiner’s at close range as he tied the knot. For a moment, his hand faltered. He spoke as if making an excuse.
“It’s cold outside.”
Anette only blinked without answering. The hand that had been fussing near her neck withdrew. Heiner placed his hand on her waist with an extremely awkward gesture and led her outside.
The outdoor air she encountered after a long time was extremely cold. It carried the winter scent that had clung to Heiner and Ansgar. Faint breath escaped between her lips.
They walked through the garden in silence. The main building’s front garden, tended steadily by the groundskeeper’s hand, was not desolate despite being winter. Rather, it felt calmly beautiful.
The wind swept across the ground with a dry sound. Anette’s shoulders hunched slightly. Heiner, who had been watching her countenance constantly, immediately asked.
“Are you cold?”
“I’m fine.”
“Your hands are red.”
Heiner hesitated for a moment, then took out a pair of leather gloves from his pocket.
“Use these at least….”
Anette didn’t particularly need them, but she simply accepted them. She didn’t want to wrangle with him over anything anymore.
The gloves, visibly much larger than her hands, were loose as expected. If she lowered her hands, they seemed like they would slip right off, so she had to hold them awkwardly.
“If they’re uncomfortable, you don’t have to wear them.”
“No, it’s fine.”
The conversation cut off again. Heiner, who had glanced sideways at her downcast profile several times, finally spoke with difficulty.
“Is there nowhere you want to go?”
“…Pardon?”
“A place you want to go.”
Anette shook her head without deep thought.
“No.”
“Didn’t you want to go to the sea?”
It was something from the past. She didn’t particularly want to go now. But Heiner laid out plans as if he had been thinking about them.
“When the weather warms a little, let’s go to the sea next spring. There are many places better than Glenford. If we go down a bit, there’s Sunset Cliff, famous for its beautiful sunsets.”
“….”
“Do you remember Santiago Beach from before? In Belmon County. You said you wanted to go back to see the seals there.”
“…Yes.”
Anette answered briefly after a slight pause. It was a somewhat delayed answer. Not because she had been thinking, but simply because she had thought he would continue speaking.
“Then how about taking a vacation to Belmon County soon? When spring comes, we could go to Sunset Cliff or other western regions.”
“….”
“Anette?”
Heiner stopped walking and called out to her. Anette stopped as well and looked up at him. On his face—sharp and delicate like a cold winter wind—a slight anxiety lingered.
“All right.”
Anette answered with a nod. Heiner’s expression brightened faintly. She gazed at that face for a moment, then began walking again.
Heiner matched his steps to hers from beside her. Feeling the chill wrapping around her face, Anette exhaled a slow breath. A faint white mist scattered into the air.
***
The next morning, the caregiver found a comb with its end sharpened to a point between Anette’s bed and the wall. It was an object that could have become a weapon with just a little more sharpening.
Heiner’s face hardened frighteningly as he received the comb along with the report. Instead of going to Anette’s room to question her immediately, he assigned her a professional counselor.
Anette did not refuse to receive counseling. She wasn’t cooperative, but she wasn’t uncooperative either. She simply received every visitor with an indifferent face.
Heiner visited her room three or four times a day, attempting to converse. Most of it was everyday, superficial talk.
He never even mentioned the discovery of the comb. Like someone afraid to utter the matter aloud.
Time passed slowly.
Aside from her noticeably reduced words, Anette appeared quite fine on the outside.
She no longer brought up divorce, nor complained of headaches or indigestion. She never argued or quarreled when Heiner said something.
Yet Heiner felt precarious every moment, as if standing on a thinly frozen lake.
Even in sleep, he would often wake drenched in cold sweat. Only after going to Anette’s room and confirming her breathing could he feel relieved.
Time passed slowly.
Ronchester was in high spirits with the year-end atmosphere. Every household decorated trees and exchanged year-end gifts.
Heiner bought women’s gloves and a purple marquise-cut gem brooch at a high-end boutique. It was a year-end gift for Anette, purchased for the first time in three years.
On the way back, the first snow fell. Heiner looked up at the sky where white flakes were coming down. Anette liked snow. She was a woman who loved all the romantic things in the world.
‘I should suggest a short walk.’
The moment he got out of the car, Heiner headed to her room holding the paper bag.
Anette liked gifts. She liked surprise gifts even more. Though her emotional expressions had noticeably diminished lately, somehow he felt she would like them. He simply had that conviction.
Heiner knocked on her door, but there was no answer from inside. Normally, the caregiver would always open the door.
A puzzled Heiner called out her name.
“Anette?”
“Ah, Commander.”
Heiner turned his head toward the voice. The caregiver was walking down the corridor holding a bowl of warm water.
The caregiver smiled a bit awkwardly and spoke to him.
“We’ve been short-staffed because of the year-end holidays lately, so I just thought I’d personally….”
Before the caregiver could even finish, Heiner grabbed the doorknob and turned it. Click. The knob refused to turn, stopping in place.
A coldness settled deep in his chest, as if he had been cut by a blade.