Try Begging Novel - Chapter 28

Campbell sat at his desk, occasionally glancing at his superior by the window. It had been a week now. Captain Winston was working from the Western Command’s Domestic Intelligence Office instead of his private residence.

While it was normal to work from the office rather than a private residence, for Captain Winston, it was abnormal. The higher-ups had, until now, overlooked his work habits, which bordered on security breaches, due to his status and achievements.

But why was he suddenly working at the office these days? Could it possibly be related to the maid at the annex leaving soon?

Campbell chuckled self-deprecatingly at his absurd speculation. A man so fearless he openly defied regulations wouldn’t possibly be afraid of a maid half his size.

“Campbell.”

Campbell, who had been snickering again, flinched.

“Yes, Captain.”

He straightened his back and looked at the Captain, who merely lifted his gaze from the documents on his desk. His eyes were sharply honed. A shiver ran down Campbell’s spine, a bad feeling.

The Captain raised his index finger and crooked it, and Campbell sprang from his seat as if he had springs in his backside, rushing over.

“What is it, sir?”

On the desk lay the stack of reports he had submitted that morning. It was the result of his investigation into the personnel of the Domestic Intelligence Department and Winston’s private residence.

He had thought it would be dismissed as unfounded suspicion, as there was nothing noteworthy, but the Captain had singled out three files and pressed down on them with his index finger.

“These three, they need to be interrogated.”

He immediately lowered his voice and added.

“Secretly, without the Command knowing.”

This mission would be over after today.

“Come back safely.”

Sally pushed the vacuum cleaner across the annex hallway floor, recalling Jimmy’s voice from a few days ago, and smiled.

He had seemed disappointed when she told him the mission had failed, but he hadn’t uttered a single word of reproach. He had even added that he wanted to see her soon. At that moment, her feelings of resentment melted away.

Tomorrow, I’ll see Jimmy after a long time.

It had been over a year. She hadn’t returned home since infiltrating Winston’s mansion.

Sally, pushing the vacuum cleaner towards the annex entrance, sighed. The tip of a black shoe entered the periphery of her vision as she looked down at the floor. She had just finished cleaning the carpet, and it was about to get dirty again from shoe prints.

“Excuse me. Please go back out and…”

Sally, about to scold him to wipe his feet on the mat by the stairs, stiffened her face the moment she looked up. Winston was walking in, accompanied by Campbell and several soldiers assigned to the annex.

“Hello.”

Sally pressed herself against the hallway wall to make way, merely nodding her head. Winston stopped in front of Sally, and those following him also stopped.

Her eyes met Fred’s. He offered Sally a faint smile. His drooping eyebrows clearly showed his disappointment.

Fred had been so regretful when she told him she was withdrawing.

“I don’t know who to rely on now.”

“You have Peter and Nancy. You’ll do well.”

Fred pouted, kicking the garden grass with the toe of his shoe, then asked.

“When you go back, will you marry the Commander-in-Chief?”

He was referring to Jimmy. Sally shrugged, offering an ambiguous smile.

“I don’t know. It doesn’t feel like the right time yet.”

“If it weren’t for that filthy royal pig, you could have worked here with me for a long time.”

The rumor that Winston had tried to assault the maid had already spread widely among the soldiers assigned to the annex. Fred, who gritted his teeth upon hearing the rumor, didn’t know. That Sally’s near-assault was also partly due to Jimmy’s orders.

“I’ll definitely get revenge for you.”

Sally placed her hand on his fist, which was clenched so tightly that veins bulged, and dissuaded him.

“Don’t do such a thing. Just do the mission you’re given. Don’t attract Winston’s attention. Though I failed splendidly.”

A bitter smile spread across Sally’s face.

“And someday, for a wedding gift, it would be nice if you could bring Winston down.”

Recalling the conversation from a few days ago, Sally shifted her gaze from Fred to Winston. He was still standing in the middle of the hallway, gesturing to his subordinates behind him.

“Go to the office first.”

As soon as the order was given, the soldiers passed the two of them and went up the stairs. Only Fred kept looking back at Sally with worried eyes.

“What is it?”

She asked Winston in a cold tone. He didn’t reply, merely removing his black cap. He ran a hand through his cool-toned blonde hair, then winced.

“Sally, I’ll never forget you. You’re the first woman who almost crushed my head. Isn’t that romantic?”

He had intentionally touched her wound to make her feel guilty. Sally mimicked the twisted smile on his lips and asked.

“Shall I crush the right side too?”

Winston chuckled to himself, finding something amusing, then put his cap back on and crossed his arms tightly.

“No need to be so sharp-tongued. I just have something for a maid to do.”

“What is it?”

“The torture chamber. It seems it will be needed, so forget the cleaning and prepare that first.”

“Yes.”

Sally answered promptly, swallowing hard. Who had been caught this time? To have a new ‘guest’ just one day before her withdrawal. She worried if Fred would handle things well enough for her.

Winston immediately turned his back and headed for the stairs. She sighed, unplugging the vacuum cleaner, when he, halfway up the stairs, suddenly turned back.

“It’s a shame. Honestly, among my subordinates, there’s no one who carries out orders as satisfactorily as you.”

“Indeed. How did it come to this?”

She retorted with an exaggerated, sarcastic tone, and Winston’s lips curved into a slight, crooked smile. It was a bitter smile, unlike a vile man. Sally glared at Winston, who turned his back without another word and headed for his office, then descended to the basement.