Chapter 71
71
As Scarlett reached for her robe, she heard Viktor speak from behind.
"Then you'll be disappointed."
Scarlett turned and met Viktor's complex expression.
She quickly turned her head again, trying to shake off the tension. "Want to have breakfast before you go? Is that alright?"
"Yes."
After Viktor answered, he rang the bell to have the servants prepare a meal.
Scarlett tried to get up, but her thighs were trembling, so she sat back down on the bed. Viktor walked over and offered her his hand. Scarlett placed her hand in his, and Viktor lifted her into his arms. He walked over, held her with one arm, pulled out a chair with the other, and sat Scarlett down.
Viktor sat across from her, and the meal began. Scarlett picked up a pie with her bare hands and started eating.
Thanks to the morning sunlight, she began to regain her senses, and as Viktor returned to his usual gentlemanly demeanor, Scarlett also had the space to reflect on the situation. As soon as that space returned, Scarlett was reminded of her awkward seduction of Viktor the night before.
At that moment, embarrassment made her neck hot.
She must have been out of her mind last night. Lying next to a man with a sultry gaze and a body sculpted by the god of beauty himself at night made her body heat up.
She tried to erase the memories that surfaced throughout the meal.
The meal ended in silence, and Scarlett finished preparing to leave. Viktor said, "I'm going to the official residence anyway, so let's go together."
Scarlett looked at Viktor for a moment and then nodded.
"Okay."
Viktor chuckled at her unusually willing answer and offered his hand in front of the carriage. Scarlett placed her hand in his, stepped on the stairs in front of the carriage, and climbed in.
After the carriage departed, Scarlett unconsciously wrapped her hands around her neck, where Viktor had placed his fingers earlier.
'Strange.'
The pressure felt greater when he lightly pressed her neck like this than when he grabbed her to look at him last night.
He seemed persuadable at night, but not in the morning. She felt a chill, as if escaping the situation was not up to her will, but entirely in Viktor's hands.
'That can't be. He's not that kind of person.'
Scarlett repeatedly thought in her head. The tension and slight fear she was feeling now must be felt by anyone facing that beast-like man.
She pushed away the strange pressure with such thoughts.
*
After dropping Scarlett off and returning to the official residence, Viktor entered his office. He reached for the decanter to pour himself a drink, as usual, but then withdrew his hand. He stared down at his hand.
He remembered Scarlett pulling his arm and embracing him last night.
"……."
He vaguely knew, or rather, was almost certain, that Scarlett might not have really lost her memory last night.
Scarlett was not good at lying. It was another moment that revealed his foolishness in being certain that Scarlett was lying when she said she had no memory after being interrogated.
She was like the nomads in the Edelrod scriptures, the state religion of Salantie. Like them, who settled on this land following a small star, Scarlett's gaze was always fixed on one place. That was probably Isaac Crimson before the marriage, and himself after the marriage. And now it was the clock.
He was already a past love for her.
After they slept together, she turned her back and fell asleep, making Viktor think that all Scarlett wanted from him was his body. It was absurd, but at the same time, he didn't have much to lose. He had been playing along, knowing it, and she wanted it too, so he thought it was fine.
Whether she was pretending to have lost her memory or had actually lost it, Viktor knew that Scarlett could not blame his actions overnight. So, during the long night, he revealed his desires to the point of bruising Scarlett's body.
Nevertheless, Scarlett carefully got up at dawn, pulled his arm, and tried to lie in his arms. It would have been nice if she had just fallen asleep like that, but she soon turned her back to him again.
He pushed away thoughts about Scarlett's incomprehensible actions. It was easy to push them away in the early days of their marriage, but it became increasingly difficult as time went on. It gradually took more time.
He didn't take out the alcohol but headed to the wall where the map was hung.
As he was looking at the map, Evan and Palin entered the office.
The three men looked at the map and entered a long meeting.
The Salanti Navy's fleet was divided based on First-class ships, and the captain of the First-class ship served as the fleet commander.
If Bestina were to suddenly declare war, Viktor would have to depart for the south immediately. He would lead the fleet, led by the First-class ship Rubid Ship, which was docked near the air force base, and immediately land in southern Bestina. That was Salantie's best method of attack and defense without an Anti-air system.
Therefore, this operation had to be precise. The southern part of Bestina would be guarded by the best troops selected by Bestina. Information on how many soldiers they had deployed there had not yet been obtained.
Salantie had the geographical advantage and had not had a war for the past hundred years, so the only soldiers with combat experience were the Rubid Ship's navy, who had been at war with pirates for years.
As the meeting was about to end, Palin hesitated for a long time before opening his mouth.
"Admiral, we need to get more of that drug and give it to Scarlett."
"No."
"Scarlett wants it. She wants to recall more memories."
"Who knows what side effects there might be."
"But if Scarlett is willing to risk the side effects, it will be a great help to the Salanti Navy."
All the data in the laboratory left by the late Count and Countess Crimson was encrypted.
Scarlett wanted to look into her memories in detail once again, and Palin knew that there was a drug that might make it possible.
Palin, who had followed her a few times as a guard while Scarlett was moving to the College of Engineering, knew how great Scarlett's desire for technology was. But Viktor was just looking down at the map without answering, and Palin persuaded him again.
"Admiral, we need to get that drug again."
"I said no. She's already forgotten about the divorce because of the side effects of that drug. Who knows what might happen if she takes more."
Palin knew that if Scarlett knew about the existence of this drug, she would drink it without any hesitation. Scarlett had always been that kind of person, from what he had seen. Before the divorce, and now. She always chose the side that was warm to others. She was the opposite of Viktor. Perhaps it was natural that they divorced.
The more time Palin spent with Scarlett, the more he learned about her and became favorable to her. Viktor's inside, with whom he had spent much longer time, was still dark, but Scarlett's inside was so transparent that he could see everything.
Because he knew her, he was now arguing and repeatedly persuading Viktor, who had said no once. But Viktor didn't seem to have any intention of accepting Palin's words.
After the meeting, Viktor dismissed his subordinates and headed to the interrogation room. Even though they were catching them so meticulously, spies were being caught non-stop.
As Viktor entered the interrogation room, a young, even childish, man sitting in a chair said, "Admiral, the Bestina military knows a lot about Scarlett Crimson."
Viktor calmly pulled up a chair, sat down, and opened his mouth.
"What do they know?"
"She inherited the Crimson family's technology."
"……."
"Bestina is very interested in Scarlett Crimson's technology. If Scarlett Crimson comes to Bestina, she will remain a hero in history. Conversely, if she does not go to Bestina now, the Bestina military will find Scarlett Crimson the moment the war begins. The treatment at that time will not be the same as the current proposal. Eventually, one way or another, Scarlett Crimson will cooperate with Bestina."
"Get up."
At Viktor's words, the spy got up.
Viktor gestured for him to be dragged away and soon headed to the reception room where the guest was.
The flustered spy found Vasily, a Bestina soldier and a childhood friend of Viktor Dampfelt, waiting in the reception room, and his face lit up with relief.
Vasily waved to the spy he had come to pick up and greeted Viktor happily.
"Viktor. Long time no see."
Viktor smiled and headed to the table, and after a while, the door closed.
