Try Begging - Chapter 176.2

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She glanced over her shoulder. The hallway to the left of the stairs was blocked by an ornate door. Beyond that door was the elevator leading to the first-class section. Grace briefly observed the crew member guarding the entrance, then approached him with the most pitiful expression she could muster.

“Excuse me…”

“Yes, Madam.”

The crew member politely tipped his hat.

“I’d like to take the elevator to the S deck…”

As the crew member was about to point toward the end of the opposite hallway, where the elevator for second-class passengers was located, he paused at the sight of Grace’s troubled expression.

“It’s just that the baby is so heavy, and, haa, I really can’t manage to get that far.”

After a moment of thought, the crew member kindly opened the door and whispered.

“Please don’t go anywhere else; just take the elevator.”

“Yes, thank you so much.”

Grace stepped inside and paused in front of the elevator, just a few steps away. The first-class area was already dazzling to the point of being hard to look at. She suppressed her curiosity to explore and turned her attention to the elevator.

A clattering noise came from below. Distracted by the scone, Ellie poked her head out from under the blanket, recognized the elevator’s lattice doors and started to babble.

It sounded like she was questioning why they were brought here again.

“Sorry. Just this once.”

As the elevator began to rise, Grace thought how nice it would be if there were more room for them. She was trying to comfort the increasingly fussy child when she felt an odd sense of déjà vu from the man standing in the middle of the elevator.

His face was mostly obscured by the wide brim of his fedora and the dark sunglasses, making it hard to see from her angle. Her instincts flared up, but she forced a small, awkward smile, letting her guard down for just a moment.

Then the man lifted his head, and their eyes met across the lattice doors.

In that instant, Grace’s heart sank.

“…D*mn it.”

The man recognized her as well. With a sharp clang, his hand gripped the lattice door.

The moment Grace snapped back to her senses, she forced her frozen feet into action. Clutching the child tightly in her arms, she sprinted toward the door leading to the second-class area, just as the sound of the elevator door being forced open echoed behind her…

“Grace!”

Winston called out to her, but Grace didn’t stop. She pushed the door open and rushed into the second-class area, nearly shoving aside a bewildered crew member.

Just as she was about to sprint forward, she paused.

The man in the gray suit, who had just ascended the stairs, was scanning the corridor as if searching for something.

“D*mn it…”

She should have trusted her instincts. Grace, intending to head down the hallway, suddenly turned toward the stairs instead.

“What the hell have you been doing, not sticking close?!”

Leon shouted at his bewildered subordinate, who was still struggling to understand the situation. Tossing aside his annoying sunglasses and fedora, he raced down the stairs after Grace, all while barking orders at Campbell.

“Tell them to seal off all exits leading to the docks, right now!”

At those words, Grace started jumping down two steps at a time.

D*mn it. Why was she being so foolish? As she quickly searched for an escape route, she endlessly berated herself.

Yeah, it wouldn’t be easy. Yeah, he wouldn’t give up on her.

A hollow laugh escaped her lips.

Lately, she hadn’t had any close encounters with her pursuers. Perhaps the esteemed Count had grown too comfortable with his privileged life and had given up on the chase.

It was a foolish thought.

Clutching the banister tightly with one hand and holding the child with the other, she hurriedly rounded the landing as Winston’s voice echoed from the stairs above.

“Why do you have to run away from me?”

“Should I have to explain that to you, you b*stard?”

“I won’t do that anymore!”

“Haha!”

Grace laughed loudly as if to make sure he could hear her. Yet her feet didn’t falter as she continued to race down the stairs.

“Looks like you’ve developed a sense of humor while I wasn’t watching! Why don’t you try being a comedian after you’re discharged from the military?”

The sound of their hurried footsteps echoed through the carpeted stairwell, muffling all other noise. The heavy thuds of footsteps grew closer to Grace. That familiar voice, now clear even without shouting, resonated in her ears.