Engulfed by endless revelations, Grace became numb again.

“I sent her to the hospital because her reliance on alcohol was getting worse by the day.”

“What? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was afraid you’d be too disappointed. You always see her as a hero and want to see only the best in her. And Mother, feeling ashamed to face you, asked me not to say anything.”

“No matter what…”

Grace choked back her rising emotions and asked,

“So, how did she… pass away?”

Joe closed his mouth. His mouth drooped, and his eyes gradually moistened.

“…By herself?”

As he faintly nodded, Grace buried her face in her trembling hands. Her mother had been her life’s goal. Her words were law, a bible to her. Yet, she had been exploited in the most miserable ways and met a tragic end.

“I decided then.”

Joe, picking up the dropped diary and dusting it off, continued,

“We needed to leave. Before the pressure that crushed Mother could reach me and Martha.”

“So, that was it. I thought you had fallen in love and betrayed our cause and comrades…”

Mistaking her brother’s surrender to harsh reality for disappointment, Grace found herself at a loss for words.

“Yes, that’s why I couldn’t take you with me. Do you still remember?”

“…Yes.”

Grace vividly recalled the day he said he would leave with his lover, Martha, and how emotionally she had lashed out at him. As she realized her own stupidity, a multitude of feelings surged. Now, not just her limbs but her entire body trembled.

“I thought about telling you the truth, but then I figured it was best to wait until you started doubting on your own.”

“All because my fiancé was Jimmy.”

Joe nodded in agreement.

“I was afraid if you knew, you’d tell everything to Jimmy. Then, you would have lost the inheritance mother left you to Blanchard’s group, living in captivity for life, or worse, eliminated.”

Grace lifted her head, looking at Joe with a puzzled gaze.

“And even if you had the inheritance, you’d probably give it away to Jimmy as military funds yourself.”

“Inheritance?”

Joe rummaged through the inner pocket of his worn coat and handed her something. It was the letter envelope that he had brought along with the diary earlier.

“After Father, no, that devil, Jonathan Riddle, died, mother found the wealth he had hidden away and took it away for us. She intended to leave it to us.”

Grace hurriedly opened the letter. Her hands, unfolding the neatly folded letter, began to tremble more as time passed.

“Grace…”

Watching his sister with wide eyes and biting her lip, Joe approached and placed a hand on her shoulder. His touch conveyed both consolation and regret.

“I’m, I’m okay.”

To claim she was okay with such a shaky voice was the least convincing statement possible.

“How could you be? I felt like the world was crumbling under my feet when I found out, and it must be even worse for you. Especially since…”

Joe’s gaze fell on Grace’s stomach. He sighed deeply, cursing under his breath about how he should have just told her everything then.

“Grace.”

He asked her, who was continuing to read the letter.

“You’re leaving Jimmy, right?”

There was a desperate hope in his question.

When Grace nodded, he let out a sigh of relief. In truth, it wasn’t about leaving; she had already been abandoned, but she couldn’t bring herself to say that. Still, she knew she couldn’t keep it hidden forever.

“What are you planning to do about the baby?”

“This child isn’t Jimmy’s.”

Grace, having finished reading the letter, hastily folded it back into the envelope and stuffed it into her coat pocket. Deciding to reveal the truth to him, she looked up to find Joe looking down at her with confused eyes.

“Then whose…”

As a sense of ominous foreboding crept in, Joe asked with a trembling voice. His intuition was likely accurate.

Grace didn’t hold back, summarizing the events that had occurred—from being sent to infiltrate the mansion of a military officer to the honeytrap set up by Jimmy and the leaders once the officer showed personal interest in her, Fred’s betrayal, and the events of today.

She didn’t mention what happened while she was locked up in the mansion, nor did Joe know about her past with the officer. However, that was enough for an answer. Joe’s face became more and more contorted.

His knuckles turned white, and his fists trembled.

Bang.

His fist slammed down on the table, causing the lamp to flicker wildly.

“That d*mn b*stard should rot in hell!”

The curse was directed at Jimmy, whom Joe once cherished as his own brother.

“Do you know what that d*mned man promised?”

Then, he revealed it.

Before leaving the revolutionaries, he had extracted a promise from Jimmy. He swore not to use Grace in the vile plans of the adults or ever involve her in a honeytrap. When the subject of a honeytrap was brought up, Jimmy had scoffed, annoyed at the baseless worry.

“Why would I put the woman I love, the future mother of my children, through such an ordeal? I hate the idea more than anyone, so don’t worry.”

In that way, he secured a promise to protect Grace. Easily. Far too easily.

“I believed him and left you behind…”

Joe covered his face, repeating in agony.

I’ll kill him. That b*stard, I’ll tear him to pieces.

However, Grace, who had already lost all expectations from Jimmy, felt neither surprise nor sorrow.

“I’m sorry. I was foolish. Really, I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. There’s no need to apologize.”

She, instead, offered comfort and buttoned her coat tightly.

“I wish I could stay longer, but I have to go. It’s regrettable not seeing the kids and Martha, but please, live happily. I’ve always been grateful.”

Her words sounded like a final farewell, making Joe pale. He grabbed his sister, attempting to leave the barn.

“Where are you going? It’s almost Christmas. Martha will be overjoyed to know you’re here. Don’t go anywhere and stay with us, okay? Once the surveillance dies down, we’re heading to the New World. You should come with us then. So please, don’t go.”

His hazel eyes trembled anxiously.

…He imagined all too well what she might be planning. He believed she was heading towards her death.

Seeing his desperate expression was both heart-wrenching and warming. At least she had a family who cared for her wellbeing.

‘Yes, I too want to leave with you… But not yet.’

Grace steadied her wavering heart and removed her brother’s hand.

“Joe, if I stay here, I’ll be captured again. And I’m not going to die. I still have things to do.”

Leaving her tearful brother behind, she stepped out into the darkness and then suddenly turned around.

“Within a month, Captain Leon Winston of the Western Command’s Intelligence Department will come looking for you.”

At the mention of that notorious name, Joe turned pale.

“Tell him honestly that I had been here. There’s no need to lie to him and get yourself in trouble. He probably knows everything anyway.”

Because he knew more than anyone.

“Once everything is over, I’ll meet you across the sea.”

Grace forced a smile as she bid her farewell.

º º º

To Grace,

Grace, I’m not a hero saving the world; I’m just a cowardly fool.

__