Sincerely, Vanessa [EN]: Chapter 112

To the Teacher, From Vanessa 112

Despite these efforts, there didn’t seem to be any immediate problem with the space. The only magic present was that engraved on the glass windows: an enhancement spell cast to allow the large panes to be processed without breaking.

Vanessa scratched her cheek for a moment, then met Gideon’s eyes and gave an awkward smile. He subtly creased his eyes as if acknowledging her, then refocused on the situation.

Finally, a clumsy voice blurted out,

“Th-there, there was someone who advised me to contribute gold to the temple… I, I really didn’t have bad intentions! The kind of thing you mentioned in the joint meeting… that kind of thing…”

In a pressured situation, one’s mind tends to freeze. Lying was even more difficult than hiding part of the truth. So, all of Zenjata’s words contained genuine resentment.

“I just… I was just feeling sorry for the failing businesses and thought I’d try to create some connections! Black monsters? I wasn’t interested in that kind of thing in the first place!”

Zenjata stammered out the words within him. He needed to buy time… anything that might interest the people in front of him would do.

“The name of the person who advised you?”

At the low voice, Zenjata’s face contorted. Sweat, constantly seeping out despite his efforts to wipe it away, glistened on his face.

“I, I, I…”

Gideon narrowed his eyes at the continued stammering. He could see Zenjata’s facial muscles were unusually stiff. The way they were overly rigid, even twitching slightly, was too much to be just from tension.

Even as members of the same joint council, there wasn’t much personal acquaintance. Zenjata had called for the commander of the Special Forces, not Duke Valder.

If he had already decided to reveal his circumstances, why was he hesitating so much?

Something was wrong.

At that moment, Vanessa was moving past the bookshelf and approaching the desk. The messy desk made her lose the will to even look for something.

She couldn’t just move other people’s things, so she was roughly scanning over them with her eyes when she felt something strange.

She retraced her gaze back the way it had come. Vanessa desperately tried to grasp the end of that sensation.

What is it? What’s strange?

Her eyes spun.

Why is the arrangement of those books so familiar? The papers underneath? The faint lines on the overlapping surfaces?

“Count Zenjata, this is truly your last chance. You should be certain by now which side you need to be on.”

As Baras urged an answer, Gideon rose to his feet. He didn’t take his hand off the ‘sword’ fastened to his collar.

Ignoring Count Zenjata’s surprised expression, he scanned the room once. The Special Forces members guarding the exterior showed no signals, and the three Special Forces members inside the room were each standing in different places.

He nodded slightly at Anna and Janz’s signals that there was nothing wrong. However, he noticed Vanessa absorbed in something in one corner and moved towards her.

“Lieutenant.”

“Ah… Commander.”

Vanessa, startled, looked up with a slightly dazed expression. He suppressed the rising worry and whispered quietly,

“What is it?”

“On that desk, the books… no, well, it’s natural for there to be books, but…”

Gideon turned his gaze to the desk.

“There are overlapping lines under those papers-”

Gideon grabbed Vanessa’s hand as she reached out in a certain direction.

There was no time to shout. He pulled Vanessa into his arms and simultaneously manifested a powerful barrier that separated the desk from the rest of the space.

One side of the room exploded and collapsed. Shards of broken glass flew like rays of light.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

The explosion made it hard to hear. Vanessa gasped in surprise. The pounding that spread over her body made her wonder if it was hers or Gideon’s.

Vanessa raised her trembling gaze. Gideon’s eyes were already scanning her.

A pale gaze frantically searched Vanessa. Her round forehead, the ends of her dark eyebrows, her pale cheeks, and trembling lips.

He could see the man’s jaw stiffen. Vanessa tried to lift the corners of her mouth to reassure him. Only then did his gaze calm down a little.

A sporadically trembling hand cupped her cheek and then fell away. The surface of the black leather glove, touching and then moving away, felt cold today.

The powerful barrier safely protected the people inside the room, but the scene beyond was devastating.

Since the books, presumed to be the cause of the explosion, were by the window, the floor hadn’t collapsed. However, the wall where the window had been was completely destroyed, and wind rushed in through the gap. Broken glass glittered in the dim light.

Amidst the fluttering, half-burned bookshelves, Gideon was strangely expressionless.

“Commander! Are you alright?”

Captain Garou rushed over to check on the two of them.

Captain Anna had already grabbed Zenjata’s wrist and bound it behind his back, and Baras was just standing there with his mouth open. He had an expression that said he couldn’t believe this was happening.

“What on earth is this… are you not thinking of the consequences!”

Baras clicked his tongue.

At that voice, Gideon, who had been madly staring only at Vanessa, suddenly snapped awake. Gideon removed the arm that had been protecting Vanessa and slowly took a step forward.

One step, then another. Zenjata screamed as he watched him slowly approach.

“There was no choice, cough!”

He reached out and grabbed Zenjata by the collar. The large hand instantly strangled his breath.

“Cough, cough…!”

“You said your daughter is in talks to marry Marquis Rossini’s cousin.”

Zenjata’s pale eyes, deprived of breath, were bloodshot.

“Where is your daughter?”

“I, I… I…”

There was no need to hear the answer. Gideon released his hand as if throwing him away, and Count Zenjata collapsed onto the sofa. At his gesture, Captain Anna bound Count Zenjata with rope.

Gideon took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling to calm his anger.

“Eloise Zenjata, was it?”

“Yes, it is.”

“M-my daughter. Please, save my daughter.”

Count Zenjata suddenly shook his body like a madman and shouted.

“My daughter! Those guys threatened me. D-Duke. To kill you… This method, no, no one would know, I had no choice! What, what should this foolish father do… The, the last chance is as good as over…”

The groan-mixed voice gradually became panting sobs. Count Zenjata forgot his noble dignity and writhed and wailed. The vest, slightly loose from weight loss, was a mess.

Vanessa felt a faint sympathy. The motive of protecting his family leading to the result of condoning harm to someone was despicable, but he seemed more foolish than evil.

However, Gideon’s gaze was still cold.

“Zenjata, I’ll give you one last chance.”

The tear-stained, plump cheeks twitched. Zenjata trembled and lifted his face. Eyes as bright as the sun were coldly staring at him. But unlike his eyes, the corners of his mouth formed an arc.

“It seems I’ve been underestimated too much. Rossini is frightening, but Valder isn’t, I see.”

“It’s not, not that.”

“I don’t even want to say how angry this foolish act has made me. If someone had been hurt here.”

The slowly falling voice was so soft that it was rather chilling.

“I would have made dying more painful than anything, betting everything I have.”

The count’s face, already pale, now had a bluish tinge from those few words.

“But fortunately, no one was hurt, and I can show a little bit of leniency.”

“Du, Duke…”

“Do you have the courage to testify?”

Zenjata blinked blankly and weakly lowered his head. Gideon continued without mercy.

“I’m asking if you have the courage to testify that Marquis Rossini, who detained and threatened your daughter, is the culprit.”

Their eyes met. After a moment of silence, Count Zenjata’s head shook weakly up and down.

Gideon spat out indifferently.

“Alright, then I’ll have your daughter brought back.”

Zenjata’s head snapped up. Saliva splattered from his gaping mouth.

“Wh-what…? What did you say?”

“Baras, you’ve been watching Eloise Zenjata’s whereabouts.”

“Yes, the Intelligence Agency has been tracking her. If I call the person in charge, we can easily identify her location. Even if the traces of the tracking magic have been cut off, we should be able to find the Rossini family’s hidden safe house nearby.”

I thought it was worthless information, but it was quite valuable. Zenjata’s eyes widened at Baras’s shrug.

“Re, really.”

“You may be able to hear that your daughter is healthy, but it will be difficult to see her right away. For quite a while.”

As the cold voice fell, Captain Garou stuffed a wad of cloth into Count Zenjata’s mouth. Only muffled sounds could barely be heard.

Captain Garou asked with sparkling eyes.

“Commander, are you going yourself? We’ll go with you. It might be dangerous, so-”

“No, your team members should return.”

“Yes?”

The two captains immediately protested.

“How can you say that! We wanted to try infiltrating too!”

“That’s right! In the shadows, like this and that!”

Of course, their directions were slightly different. Of course, their commander didn’t bat an eye and crushed their desires.

“It’s a highly illegal matter. It’s somewhat acceptable for the Special Forces to arrest Count Zenjata, but to storm in together to save the count’s daughter? That’s definitely out of the question.”

“But then wouldn’t that mean it’s not okay for the Commander either!”

“Your team members should return, light up the Special Forces building, and report that I was injured and went to Valder Castle.”

Vanessa quietly blinked.

“Are you going to claim you weren’t at the scene of saving Eloise Zenjata?”

“Yes.”

Gideon firmly secured the gloves on his hands and released the barrier. He returned to the desk, picked up a few books, and handed them to Captain Garou.

“Submit these as evidence of Zenjata’s arrest.”

The mansion’s servants, who had rushed over at the loud noise, quickly brought and presented a sword at his continued command.

Gideon firmly secured the longsword to the black leather belt around his waist and even took Anna and Janz’s daggers and put them in his arms.

Vanessa, who had been blankly watching the scene, could finally fully understand Gideon’s feelings when he had sent her on her mission.

Even knowing that he was stronger than anyone here, she was so worried and anxious, how worried must he have been when sending her, who was far less capable?

Besides, he was alone. Even if someone from the Intelligence Agency and the Criminal Management Bureau came later, it would be woefully inadequate.

Her mouth was dry, but she couldn’t openly worry about him. He was the commander, and she was just a member of the team.

She suddenly felt wronged. Under Baras’s gaze, she had to be careful even to look at him.

She had never thought that not revealing her relationship with him was a bad choice. But today, she regretted it.

Baras scraped together the traces of magic left on the desk and said,

“I’ll send an informant to Valder Castle within twenty minutes.”

Gideon nodded and quickly left the mansion without looking back.

Ignoring Captain Garou, who was stomping his feet because he couldn’t go with him, Captain Anna turned over the half-burned book and clicked her tongue.

“They hid magic stones and emblems here. Did they arrange this like a magic circle?”

“It seems so. I didn’t even know this was possible.”

“No one would have thought that Zenjata would agree to such a plan, not caring about his own life.”

The team members acted calmly, as if death was in contact with everyday life. Vanessa silently nodded.