Chapter 19 Chapter Nineteen

Just as Pissarro's landscape paintings were torn apart abruptly, the growing noise behind us also destroyed the rare tranquility between us. Major Portman and I turned around at the same time, and saw a group of soldiers with live ammunition coming towards us. The lights in front of their motorcycles were dazzling even in the faint morning light. The major's face became very serious, and he waved his hand to me, indicating that I don't need to come forward, and let him solve the problem. An older captain got out of the car and made a gesture, and the soldiers behind rushed towards the path behind the warehouse with their guns in hand.He himself came up to us and asked to check our papers.After discovering that the major was a rank higher than himself, he saluted solemnly.

"What happened, Captain?" The major withdrew his papers, raising his arm casually. "Yes, sir. We have been ordered to hunt down the three British paratroopers who have absconded." "Oh? Here?" "Yes, the intelligence from Paris says they will sneak in here." The captain glanced around and said hesitantly, "Sir, can I...can I ask you a few questions?" The major raised an eyebrow: "Of course." "Why are you here? This gentleman is..." "Ah," the major explained with a smile, "this is Count Chartres de Nodois, my friend. We were going to Etratate, but because we wanted to take the opportunity to enjoy the sunrise by the sea, So stop here for a while."

"That's right." The captain apparently believed it. "I'm sorry to bother you. Can you tell me if you saw any suspicious people around?" "No." The major replied very simply, "It was not yet dawn when we came, and there was no one there. I waited for two hours to see you." The captain nodded, as if he didn't intend to ask any more questions, but the major showed more interest at this moment.He stopped the non-commissioned officer who was about to leave, and asked him about the pursuit in detail. "Perhaps you were not notified because you were going on vacation with friends, sir. Actually the order was urgently sent from Paris, and it was forwarded to us by the SS. They also sent two second lieutenants and a lieutenant The sergeant is responsible for three mobile teams to search along the way, one is heading towards Melun, the other will come to pick us up soon, and the other is heading towards Rouen, where some French people are said to be disguised as theater troupes to cover the British."

My heart constricted and I felt my stomach convulse. "I see..." Major Portman glanced at me quickly, "It looks like my vacation is going to be wasted." He motioned the captain to go about his business, started the car and drove me out of the dock. When the gray-brown figures behind gradually became blurred, I grabbed his arm desperately: "Take me to Rouen, now!" The major frowned: "I knew you would ask for this! But think about it carefully, what's the point of you rushing now, maybe they have already been arrested." "That's not the point!"

"And there's a good chance someone's out there waiting to catch you slipping through the cracks." "I must know what happened there!" The major freed a hand to gently cover mine: "Yes, I can understand. But it's too—" "Isn't there still you? I don't believe that Sergeant Belken can ignore your existence!" The blond man suddenly turned his head to look at me, moved his lips oddly, but said nothing, returning his attention to the front of the windshield. "Major..." "Okay." He nodded. "If the sergeant is still around, maybe I can question him about the crime of overstepping his authority."

The car turned back along the path it had traveled the night before. It was already bright, and I could see the scenery on both sides clearly, but I also couldn't invite the people around me to appreciate it; my mind was full of random thoughts, and my head was very dizzy. Maybe it was really gonorrhea from the winter rain, and after another cold night, I felt that I couldn't use my hands and feet, my breathing became extremely hot, and the veins on the forehead throbbed and hurt.But at this time, I don't want the major to see my weakness. In any case, I have to personally determine what happened to François and the others?

At about eleven o'clock the car drove through the city of Rouen and finally stopped about fifteen yards from a luxurious building.This is Mr. Darnard's house, and I saw the bus parked on the street at a glance—it was the one that the performance group took. The car is still there, but there is no one on it, and there is a German soldier standing next to him with a gun. "You stay here," the major said to me. "I'll go and see and I'll be back." I followed his advice and watched as he straightened his hat and walked towards the soldier without haste.After a brief conversation, he returned to the car and told me with a solemn face that François and several main actors had been taken away by Sergeant Belken, but the others were temporarily restricted to stay here, perhaps I was escorted back to Paris this afternoon.

"God..." My face must be extremely ugly, "What will he do?" "Investigate! It's a public arrest anyway, and it involves a cultural figure like you, it won't be settled with a 'kangaroo court'! He'll take the suspects back to the branch, try to find evidence, and execute them .” "We're going back to Paris now!" The major didn't answer right away, but frowned as he watched my face.I could feel my cheeks getting very hot, my skin must have been flushed abnormally, and my vision was a little blurry.He must have seen something wrong with me.

"Chart, listen to me—" "No, thank you." I interrupted him, "I know you are doing it for my own good, Major. But you should also understand what is more important at this time, and besides, I am a very stubborn person." The blond man looked at me with soft eyes, and finally smiled: "Yes, you are a stubborn person, I have known it for a long time." He didn't reject me.But on the way back to Paris, my mind was getting more and more confused. The mission I entrusted to Luwangso before I left yesterday obviously failed, so Sergeant Belken had the opportunity to give me a blow.I don't know when he found out about our plan, but one thing is for sure, he has been paying attention to me for a long time.It was my negligence. I focused my attention on the major and completely ignored the dangerous satellite next to this dazzling planet.When I realized that he was threatening me, it seemed to be too late...

But I don't understand why the major keeps his mouth shut every time the subject of this burgundy-haired man is involved.He seems to know something, but it is difficult to say.How weird!What reason does a major have to be so ambiguous about his personal adjutant?Or is there a secret hidden in their relationship that I don't know... Suddenly, a intermittent voice echoed in my head: "...Chart, am I a person who bravely admits love?" "Then what is my sister? Have you forgotten the promise you made to me?" "Kill him quickly! You said that if you can't do it, I can... kill you!"

... God, why did it all come together in two days! I pressed my forehead with my hands, the heat in my body, the dry pain in my throat, and the pain radiating from my skull all made me want to go crazy. "Shalt, what's wrong with you..." Someone beside me was asking me, and I answered vaguely, and then I saw the landscape that seemed to be connected by an oil paintbrush gradually turned black, and then my head drooped, and my body hit the driving platform. Because I passed out so quickly, I didn't have time to experience the pain caused by the collision. ... I know I'm having nightmares: I dreamed of Marisa, her beautiful body wrapped in a white shroud, rotting little by little before my eyes.I was in tears but couldn't touch her because a pair of strong arms hugged me firmly from behind, and the brilliant blond hair and hot breath brushing my neck made me tremble. I saw the hateful eyes of Joseph, still holding the gun, crawling out of Marisa's bones and walking towards me.I didn't breathe, I could only watch the familiar boy's head grow like long wine-red vines, climbing up my body like a snake. His gun was slightly off, aiming at the man behind me.The muzzle of the black hole was like the mouth of hell, it opened wider and wider, and then sparks burst out with a loud noise. Cold sweat flowed all over my body. I knew I was dreaming, but my limbs were as immobile as if they had been filled with lead.It wasn't until someone patted my cheek with a rough and warm hand and called my name softly that I gradually woke up and got rid of the endless fear. Major Portman's face was magnified before my eyes, and his blond hair was hanging down. His handsome outline seemed to be softened a lot in the yellow light, and it could even be said to be gentle.Seeing me wake up, he showed a surprised expression. I looked away and saw a dull white ceiling overhead and a dusty electric light. "...Where is this..." I remembered that I passed out and didn't know anything about what happened next. "A farmer's house on the outskirts of Rouen," the major said, brushing the hair off my forehead for me. "You are sick, very sick, with a high fever and almost pneumonia. So I must stop here." Find a doctor for you." "What time is it now?" My throat was dry and sore, and I felt weak. "Six in the afternoon. You slept for five hours." God!I tried desperately to get up, and the major caught me hastily and let me lean against him. "Don't move!" he ordered sternly, "do you still have the strength to do anything now?" "We have to go back to Paris!" He wrapped me tightly in a blanket and gently refused my request: "You can't go anywhere. Let's talk about it after dawn." "... after Sergeant Belken killed my friend?" I coughed, "No... no... I don't have time to rest..." "Shalt!" I noticed that he was calling me by my name more and more, and so naturally, that I could now even imagine his worried expression in this brief call. I sigh and let myself be in his arms - he won't help me leave, I'm almost sure.Francois and their life and death have no meaning to this man, he only cares about the people he cares about.I wisely gave up trying to persuade him again, knowing that I had to muster more energy to look better. Major Portman felt my body relax and raised the pillow for me so that I sat on the head of the bed.At this time, a stout middle-aged woman came in, holding a glass of milk.She looked at the major warily, and then secretly glanced at me with curiosity and disdain.I knew that a German who suddenly asked her for a room with his comatose companion in his arms must have terrified her, but explaining it to her now would be useless. The major thanked her, then gave her some bills, and told her I was much better and would probably be gone to-morrow.She said a few words of courtesy, closed the door for us, and left. The major handed me the milk and told me to take my medicine. "Thank you." I held the warm cup in my hands and breathed a sigh of relief, "You know, I had a nightmare just now?" "Anyone with a high fever has nightmares." "I have you in my dream." He sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at me with some surprise: "What an honor. What did I do? Did I torture you, or did you kill me?" I shook my head: "No, you didn't do that, and I wasn't the one who killed you." "Oh? I'm curious." "It's your adjutant, Sergeant Heinrich Belken." The originally casual smile on his face froze in an instant, and his body became stiff all of a sudden.I stared into his eyes, not missing any changes.His blue eyes told me he seemed to realize something. The major turned his head, slowly took out a cigarette, lit it, and exhaled light blue smoke. "Forget it, I should tell you everything." He seemed to be thinking about choosing a starting point for his narrative, and was silent for a while, "You already know, Shalt, I am the son of General Portman of the Army Staff, Is his only heir. But you may not know, I...is actually his illegitimate son." His sudden confession caught me off guard—it seemed he didn't know that I was secretly investigating him. "This old aristocrat dated my mother who was an opera singer for a year, but when he knew that my mother insisted on giving birth to me, he ended the relationship very simply, and that unlucky woman became him. A jilted mistress. Unfortunately, my mother soon regretted it, resenting her own stubbornness and my existence. She was actually quite beautiful, but scandal and alcohol spoiled her and aged her very quickly." "I don't know how she raised me. Anyway, I grew up fighting with the children around me because they always called me a 'bastard'. It's okay if my mother doesn't drink when I get home. Saying 'deserves it', while giving me another slap, if I didn't look too much like that handsome and tall man, maybe my face would be slapped by her. Sometimes the children who were beaten and cried by me would drag their fathers to find him. If I come to collect debts, I will be beaten three times in one day. I feel that I have lived a worthless life until I was fifteen." His tone was so calm that he was talking about other people's affairs, and I suddenly felt very sad. "But one day later, my mother was suddenly very happy. Because the man's son died, which meant that I might be recognized by him, so she devoted all her energy to let me learn various things, Latin, music, horsemanship ...Anyway, I have to learn things that can please the nobles. I was reluctant at first, but then I figured it out. There is nothing wrong with being able to justifiably take away things that belonged to that man. I accepted their arrangement and pretended to be a high society young master." I now finally understand how his "good" upbringing came about. "However, the irony is that after my eighteenth birthday, the man finally only recognized me, but refused to recognize my mother. So...she was crazy." The major drew heavily on his cigarette, closed his eyes, and I could hardly resist taking his hand. "This is the face and mouth of those noble people, all the same, I have encountered more animals than people. So, Chartres, you know what, the first time I saw you protecting your fiancée, I was thinking, this hypocrisy Who is the little boy playing for?" That's probably why he was targeting me, and I didn't know it at first. The major smiled at me: "Don't open your eyes so wide, you don't need to be angry if I say it now." "I didn't know I was acting like a show at the time." "Oh, it was me who thought you were a hypocrite in the first place. But I soon found out that I was wrong. You are braver and kinder than I thought. But I don't believe that your love can be like that. You acted so firmly that I said to myself: Maybe you can test him by making a little trouble for him. And maybe it would make the old man in Berlin know that his heir has got a man in Paris. His myocardial infarction was premature. I was so stupid, wasn't I? Because in the end I found out that the love between you two is real! Especially you, you are really... really noble..." His last words surprised me, and the color of his face made me even more unbelievable—is he blushing? "Why do you say that?" "I don't know." The major stared at me, "I just think you make me feel ashamed: you have a complete and happy family, you have a fiancée who loves you deeply, and you have devoted all your affection to them, in order to protect them, gentle music Everyone can shake their fists at me, the fully armed occupying army. Whether I sneer or threaten to hurt you, you always stick to your responsibility and nobility, which really confuses me! I wonder why there are still people like you Noble? Why are there people like you? So in the end, I was completely obsessed with you..." "Major..." "Yes, infatuation, that's all I can say! I'm madly jealous of your fiancée! How can she get such a constant love? No one has ever loved me, ever! I hate to see her talk about you I don't deny that I thought about killing her..." A burst of anger made me almost jump up, and the man immediately stretched out his big hand and pushed me back to the head of the bed. "Don't get excited." He seemed to have expected my reaction, "I said I didn't do this, because I knew you would hate me for the rest of your life. But in the end...the girl died..." His voice became very low, and my body began to shake: "Who did it?" "You know him, Sergeant Heinrich Belken, my red-haired lieutenant and... my only brother."