Try Begging Novel - Chapter 81

Click. Click.

Each time the rhythmic sound echoed through the Domestic Intelligence Office, the junior officers, seated at their desks arranged in two rows, held their breath, scrutinizing their superior’s expression. The Captain had been tapping the same document with his fountain pen for an hour, its cap still sealed.

Thump.

Only when raindrops drummed against the windowpane behind him did the suffocating noise cease.

Leon lifted his gaze from his desk and turned. The nervous early summer sunlight that had sharpened through the blinds was gone. Outside, everything was cloaked in gray.

A color as unsettling as the Western Command Headquarters had become of late.

A sweeping audit had begun even before the new Commander’s official inauguration. Officers were routinely summoned to Internal Affairs for various matters. Campbell, who had quietly disappeared upon arrival and hadn’t returned for an hour, was clearly undergoing that same rite of passage.

Click. Click.

The office once again succumbed to the suffocating sound.

Work refused to settle in his hands.

Campbell’s summons was likely for nothing significant. The dust of the Domestic Intelligence Office wasn’t swept under the carpet; it was discarded. There would be no dust to shake loose.

Therefore, the reason work wouldn’t settle in his hands wasn’t the audit.

Turquoise.

Since meeting Commander Davenport last night, Leon’s mind had been entirely consumed by turquoise.

Even when Campbell, who had left quietly, returned just as silently, Leon remained lost in the same thought.

“Captain.”

Just as he was about to call out, Campbell approached first, discreetly requesting a private word. The fact that he had turned up the radio on the document cabinet beforehand was unusual, so Leon set aside his own business and listened intently.

“A woman?”

Leon, who had moved to the window, furrowed his brows at the unexpected report. Internal Affairs wasn’t shaking down the Domestic Intelligence Office for dust; they were shaking down Leon, the individual.

“They’re investigating a rumor that a female rebel is being held in the interrogation room without being reported to the military. It seems they have no idea of her identity.”

“That’s fortunate.”

Internal Affairs wouldn’t know that the woman confined in Leon’s interrogation room was, in fact, a spy who had infiltrated his ranks.

“I, of course, denied it as baseless slander.”

“Well done.”

Campbell subtly curved his lips upward then downward, as if it were nothing. Denying it had been quite easy, thanks to the Captain’s eccentricities. Captain Winston had never interrogated a woman, nor was he known for any female liaisons.

The denial was easy, but shaking off the unsettling feeling was not. Campbell recalled the face of the inspector, who sat at the end of the long table, exuding an overbearing aura.

“The problem is the inspector handling this case…”

Even though no one could hear their conversation over the loud trumpet music, Campbell whispered.

The Royal Family?

The inspector assigned to Leon’s case was not from the Western Command’s Internal Affairs but directly from the Royal Inspection Department.

Leon twisted his lips into a smile.

Summoning Campbell, his closest aide, would typically only happen when enough evidence had been gathered to transition from an internal investigation to an official inquiry. Yet, the inspector knew almost nothing.

In other words, they had summoned Campbell hoping this matter would reach Leon’s ears.

“His Excellency seems quite impatient.”

The King had exerted pressure. The purpose was clearly the Sinclair investigation. It was a command to submit an investigation report tailored to his liking.

It hadn’t even been a week since he received that unsettling order, and already they were applying pressure. The stench had grown even fouler.

At Leon’s single remark, Campbell’s face paled as he understood the purpose of the investigation.

“Campbell.”

“Yes.”

“Where do you think it leaked from?”

The rumor that Captain Leon Winston had a female rebel imprisoned in his mansion’s basement was not baseless slander at all.

Leon considered those who might have sent a complaint to Internal Affairs or the Inspection Department.

“You recently replaced the assigned guard.”

Was it a problem that he had replaced personnel, swayed by the woman’s provocations?

“I will investigate thoroughly and discreetly. By the way, if I may be so bold…”

As Campbell lowered his voice even further, Leon gazed steadily at him, urging him to continue.

“Wouldn’t it be dangerous to keep the ghost in the interrogation room as she is?”

Campbell, emboldened, finally spoke the advice he had held back for months. Captain Winston had never made a wrong decision, so there had been no need for advice. But the matter of that woman was different.

He didn’t know if it was wrong, but it was certainly dangerous. It was enough to worry if the Captain, who made irrational judgments especially when the ‘ghost of the interrogation room’ was involved, could handle the repercussions.

“How about we fabricate a story, even now, that she was arrested elsewhere and report it to headquarters? Then, there would be no room for them to find fault, and this could be buried and passed over.”

“What if she testifies that she worked as a maid in the Winston mansion?”

“There’s a way to hand her over in a state where she can’t testify…”

Campbell immediately regretted his words and fell silent. Captain Winston was staring at him with the same eyes he used when he tied a rope around a prisoner’s neck.

“I misspoke. I apologize, Captain.”

The Captain’s eyes curved into a smile. The gaze within his narrowed eyes remained unchanged.

“Campbell.”

A hand, as large as his imposing physique, gripped Campbell’s shoulder. A nervous Campbell bowed his head further, and the Captain tilted his head obliquely towards him, asking in a sinister voice,

“Surely you don’t believe I’m hiding a spy who was under my command because I’m afraid of ending up like the former Commander?”

“…No.”

“Good, because you’re smart.”

Smart, so why utter such foolishness? The Captain patted Campbell’s shoulder encouragingly, adding,

“You’re right. I’m holding that woman for personal reasons.”

A small, fresh nail mark on the inside of his wrist, resting on the windowsill, corroborated his words.

“So, stop your meddling and make it clear whether your loyalty lies with the military or the Winston family.”

“Of course, the Winston family.”

Campbell answered as soon as the Captain’s threat ceased. He had been sent by the Campbell family specifically to assist Captain Winston.

“I never meant to suggest loyalty to the military. I was merely concerned about the impact of the Inspection Department’s investigation on the Winston family. I apologize.”

“Thank you, but cease your worries.”

The Captain muttered, tilting the blinds downward to look outside.

“Soon, I’ll find a dog to chase away the inspector.”

The Captain’s gaze followed a luxurious sedan slowly entering the headquarters driveway. It was the new Commander’s car.

“Campbell, you have a task.”

“Yes, just leave it to me.”

“Hurry more than with the Sinclair matter.”

A task more urgent than the King’s command was utterly unexpected.

Commander Davenport?

Campbell, having received his orders, returned to his seat. The music from the radio stopped, and the office became bustling with the sounds of officers attending to their duties.

Footsteps approached Leon’s desk. A lieutenant, who needed his approval by morning, was waiting, but Leon did not take his eyes off the gloomy window.

The car door opened, and an elderly man stepped out, shielded by an aide’s umbrella. The Commander’s hair, visible beneath his peaked cap, was sparsely frosted but distinctly auburn.

Leon narrowed his eyes. The sunlight was piercing.

On a dazzling summer day, a girl smelling of fresh oranges pouted, her glossy auburn hair swaying.

My lovely Daisy.

“I want blonde hair too. Everyone in my family is blonde, but I’m the only one with brown hair.”

Ah, my poor Daisy.

You need to define ‘family’ correctly.