Answering God's Call - Chapter 18

Because of the severe gender imbalance caused by the Balder War, an unmarried young man would attract unnecessary suspicion and doubt, while for a woman, the existence of an official husband served as a shield to keep her from getting entangled in trouble. It wasn’t a losing deal for either side.

He should know that too.

Of course, a woman who had wandered across the continent without a fixed residence suddenly saying she would enter a consulate and settle nearby would seem strange. She knew that. There was no way she wouldn’t.

Still, it wasn’t something to be that surprised about.

Exchanging glances with Ruslan, who still looked like he had plenty he wanted to ask and hear, Tatyana shook her head. That man really doesn’t get tired, does he? Is he really injured? Folding her arms inside the fairly thick blanket, she asked, “Father, are you bored? Why do you have so many questions?”

“…I wonder. Am I bored?”

With a calm counterquestion, Ruslan tilted his head. As if he hadn’t realized it himself until hearing Tatyana say it, but now that he thought about it, maybe he was.

“Maybe I’ve been cooped up in the church for over a year and I’m getting restless.”

“….”

So it’s a grudge.

Used to his lingering grudges after just a day, Tatyana let out a small laugh. His eyes widened slightly at that light laugh, but only for a moment. Ruslan then followed her lead and smiled quite broadly.

What is he so happy about, smiling like that with his body wrapped in bandages? He had been giving small, faint smiles all along, and then suddenly showed that kind of smile, which left her momentarily speechless.

Facing that cool smile in silence, the corners of Tatyana’s lips slowly fell. She still had no intention of apologizing, and Ruslan had said he didn’t want an apology either… but. Hesitating, her lips parted before she tossed out a short remark.

“Thank you.”

“…For the grudge?”

As if that’s what I’d be thankful for. At Tatyana’s sudden thanks, Ruslan’s eyes widened again slightly. Glancing at that face, Tatyana busied her fingers with the quilted pattern of the blanket for no reason.

“…When I saw Branch Chief Hawkins, it looked like you didn’t tell him everything that happened back then. Or about me. And back at the apartment, when you jumped down with me. Of course, I could’ve escaped on my own, but still. That’s all.”

Should I have at least apologized out of courtesy? Why is it so awkward just to say thank you? Ignoring the unfamiliar awkwardness, Tatyana continued slowly, “My record and all, I’m probably not that trustworthy, but let’s handle this well. That way, you can get promoted back to the diplomatic mission.”

“And you, Sister, after this is over?”

“As for me, I’ll go wherever they send me once I receive a new assignment.”

“You said you wanted a consulate posting in Lubyanka.”

“At that time, there was a man beside me I could get engaged to in time for the consulate recruitment.”

“If you have a fiancé, are you willing to settle down?”

“…?”

Tatyana lifted her eyes and gave the ceiling a brief glance, then shook her head with a dull expression.

“No. I’m not.”

“Why?”

“Because making a fiancé just to settle down somewhere isn’t something I’m interested in right now. It’s a hassle.”

“Why?”

“Ah, why do you keep asking why, why, why!”

She tried to end the conversation peacefully, but he was no help at all. Sleepy to death and irritated because she couldn’t sleep, Tatyana finally snapped like a child throwing a fit.

“Fiancé or whatever, who has the energy for that? I have to meet that Cherkubo survivor…!”

Realizing her slip, Tatyana clamped her mouth shut and shot Ruslan an irritated glare. He met that sharp gaze without avoiding it and slowly opened his mouth.

“Why the Cherkubo survivor?”

“….”

“Meeting that survivor isn’t part of this mission, is it. Is there a personal reason?”

He really seemed like a man whose brain was filled with question marks. Tatyana’s mouth fell open in a daze as her strength drained away. The anger that had surged up at Ruslan’s genuinely curious expression cooled just as quickly.

“…Wow, you’re really persistent. What are you so curious about?”

“Just, everything.”

“Unbelievable. Then let me ask you something.”

“Go ahead.”

His easy acceptance drained her energy again, but Tatyana still tossed out the question she had been curious about.

“Aren’t you uneasy working with me?”

“Why, because you might stab me in the back?”

“Well, yes. Considering what I’ve done.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

“…?”

She didn’t want to echo his ‘why,’ so she only narrowed her eyes, and he straightened his posture comfortably and smiled.

“Because I can seduce you and stab you in the back too, Sister.”

“….”

I’m the idiot for asking. Too drained to even sigh, Tatyana shut her mouth and let her shoulders slump. Ruslan’s smiling face was irritating.

“For an exorcist priest, you’ve got big dreams.”

“Do you think I became a priest because I wanted to?”

Even though he was spouting nonsense, he had been demoted because of her, so she could only let it slide, which felt a bit unfair. Then suddenly, she grew curious about how things had unfolded after that day.

In truth, it was because the scars on Ruslan’s body, still bare from treating his wounds, bothered her too much, so she had squeezed her brain for a distraction. But since she had been annoyed by his constant questions, it felt awkward to start asking him things one after another now.

After being irritated the whole time, what would that make me if I suddenly started asking questions? So she suppressed her curiosity and hugged her knees, but Ruslan, as if he knew everything, asked, “You’re curious, aren’t you?”

“About what?”

“How things went after that day?”

For a moment, she wondered if she had spoken her thoughts out loud. It felt as if he had read her mind exactly, and she flinched, but Tatyana denied it first.

“I’m not.”

“That’s a shame. I’m bored and feel like talking.”

“…If you want to talk that much, then talk. When have you ever asked for my permission to ask questions or chatter?”

It’s not like listening is hard. I can just fall asleep while listening. Even though she wasn’t curious, she muttered indifferently as if she was willing to listen if he talked. Ruslan looked over her face and let out a small laugh.

***

Ruslan, who failed to retrieve the list of Lubyanka’s illegal agents and front businesses that had infiltrated Lytton, slipped badly just as he was about to be promoted to branch chief in Belfast.

All he had to do was hand over the film inside the candy box to Lytton’s Military Intelligence Directorate… but what Ruslan brought back from Dochen was not the list of Lubyanka’s illegal agents, but a film containing the sordid private lives of a senior official from Lytton’s Military Intelligence and an employee of the Lubyanka embassy.

‘…What is that? That’s not the list.’

‘Isn’t that MacMillan? Donald MacMillan.’

‘Looks like McMillan…?’

‘No way, MacMillan is one of Lubyanka’s illegal agents—’

‘—as if.’

The moment the film placed in the slide projector was magnified onto the large screen at the gathering of branch chiefs and deputy directors of Military Intelligence, in front of everyone watching, instead of a list, an image appeared of a familiar man and an unfamiliar woman tangled together wildly on a bed….

The conference room filled with confused murmurs, the inexplicable silence that fell as all eyes turned to Ruslan, and the bead of cold sweat quietly running down his back as he grasped the situation. No, not just a bead… a line.

Everyone demanded to know where the list they told him to bring had gone and what the hell he had brought instead, but Ruslan could not tell the truth.

How could he possibly explain that the woman he’d dismissed as nothing more than a petty thief might actually have been a Lubyanka agent? That although she’d taken everything worth selling, from his cigarettes to his money, he’d assumed she’d left the candy box alone, only to discover much later that she’d swapped that as well.

How could he possibly spin that he had crossed the border carrying a film of private affairs he wouldn’t want to see even if paid, all because he had been cleanly tricked by a woman?

There was no way to describe it other than saying he was screwed.

‘Sleep well, Vicente.’

Just as he was about to lose consciousness, unable to overcome the effects of the sleeping pill, Ruslan recalled the woman who disappeared after leaving only a ticklish kiss on his cheek, and suddenly burst into a hollow laugh while standing before the branch chiefs.

It was ridiculous.

Had his reason been dulled for a moment because he was soaked in the rain? Or was it because the woman he had easily subdued right in front of him had dug into his weak point? Whatever the reason, the price of that momentary lapse was heavy and bitter.

‘An exorcist priest? Are you serious?’

‘What if I am? Do you think you’re in any position to joke with me right now?’

‘Why are you snapping? Can’t I even ask a question?’

‘Enough. Since your cover is that you’re a priest who wandered around after being discarded by the Vatican for lack of skill and only recently settled down, you don’t need to worry about priestly duties. I’ve already spoken with the head priest there, so no one will ask you to perform an exorcism.’

‘….’

With a needlessly detailed cover identity.

‘Why, do you believe in God?’

‘I don’t.’

‘Then what’s the problem? It’s only those who believe who would feel guilty.’

‘….’

‘Just go to confession every week and say your rosary, and God will forgive you with His boundless generosity, so don’t feel too guilty.’

‘….’

A warm consideration that even went as far as interpreting God’s generous mercy on his behalf and embracing someone who had not even received holy orders, let alone God’s grace….