Try Begging - Chapter 154.1
The faint, low sound was the horn of a train. The sharp tone was undoubtedly the whistle signaling the train’s departure.
The woman was at a public telephone booth in the train station.
As soon as he finished taking notes, Leon threw the baseball towards the door of the adjutant’s office.
Bang.
A spiderweb-like crack appeared on the thin door. The ball hit the floor, and precisely three seconds later, a private person cautiously opened the door and peeked through.
Leon lifted the notebook to make it visible.
The private nodded and closed the door. He would now coordinate with the police as per the script they had prepared.
[ …What was that sound? ]
Hearing the noise of the door breaking, the woman paused and asked.
“Oh, something just slipped from my hand.”
[ Control your temper. ]
She seemed to think he had punched the desk in anger.
“Ah, is that why you ran away? Scared I might get angry with my darling? I won’t be mad. Come back, okay?”
There were two stations in Bilford. Either way, his goal now was to stall until the police arrived and found the woman.
His mouth was already starting to feel dry.
[ So you’re saying my role as bait is over, and I should return to the trap? Think about it. Would you willingly go back to a man who has humiliated you like that? You’re just a b*stard who used me for your desires, so why would I return? ]
“It wasn’t just my desires that made me use you. It was to break your brainwashing. You never believed the truth, no matter how much I told you. I had no choice but to make you experience and see for yourself. I know it was a radical and illogical method, but if it weren’t for my child, you would have gone back under that devil who commanded you to use your beauty and been used just the same.”
[ Great. Whether that’s a defense or an excuse. Try being a lawyer once you’re out of the military. ]
“Whatever, my method ultimately worked, didn’t it? Even you can’t deny that. Thanks to me, you were finally able to see the truth.”
[ Oh, thanks. I’m touched by your gratitude. All for just bearing your child and spending a lifetime tied to you. You’re making a really bad deal. Oh dear, Your Excellency! At this rate, the County will go bankrupt. ]
The woman mocked him sharply before her voice took on a serious tone.
[ I get my revenge, and you gain your title. Our deal ends here. ]
“You’re mistaken. Your revenge isn’t over yet, that’s why you’re still wandering around the country with that belly. You don’t need to struggle. Just a flick of your finger, and I’ll annihilate them all for you. Come back.”
[ Can’t you say anything other than ‘come back’? It’s getting boring. I’m hanging up. ]
As the woman made to end the call, Leon hurriedly shifted the conversation.
“You should know it’s not just me you need to worry about.”
[ What don’t I know about? ]
“Did I specifically mention the rebels?”
The woman paused at his unexpected hint.
“The royalists are after you, too.”
[ Why would the royalists be after me? ]
“You remember the inspector who came looking for you at the annex? That was orchestrated by the king and the Grand Duke. They discovered your existence while trying to pressure me with the Sinclair affair.”
[ …And you kept me captive instead of letting me go? ]
The woman muttered something about him being crazy.
“The royal family and the Grand Duchy are also after you. Now that my power has grown, they need a lever against me more than ever.”
The woman was silent.
It was as Leon had expected. In truth, the involvement of the royal family and the Grand Duchy was still his speculation. Of course, she didn’t need to know that.
“Even your biological father is desperate to find you. He knows that secret could destroy him in a flash.”
As he felt her disturbance through the phone, Leon drove his point home.
“You know better that there’s no one else who can protect you. If you want to live, you need to come back.”
The woman sighed and murmured.
[ So if I return, you will use the excuse that they’re after me to confine me. ]
“Confine? You already know my plan.”