To My Beloved Oppressor

Chapter 6

Annette entered a room at the far end of the first floor of the government residence. She turned on several incandescent lights hanging on the walls, and the inside was revealed.

In the middle of the room was something large covered with a white cloth. She grabbed the piece of cloth and hesitated for a moment before slowly removing it.

A smooth black surface appeared. It was the piano she had used since her maiden days. She had moved from the Rosenberg residence to the Valdemar residence when she got married, and then to the official residence when Heiner became commander-in-chief.

Annette sat down on a chair and opened the lid of the piano. The keys were clean and not faded. However, it had not been tuned for a while, so it was difficult to expect a beautiful sound.

She stared at the keys. She could still be sure what sound she would hear if she pressed the right spot on the keyboard.

'It's all useless now, though.'

After her father's death, of course, she could not enter competitions. Everything Annette had accomplished in her career crumbled. She was labeled as something achieved by using her power, connections, and money.

It was then that she could no longer play the piano. She couldn't even press the keys, let alone play.

At first she made many efforts to try to play it again, but they all ended in failure. After that, she gave up on the piano altogether.

She forgot about it and lived with it. She tried hard to do so.

'I thought it would get better with time........'

The keys reflected in the not-so-illuminated incandescent lights turned the surface pale. When she touched them, her fingertips froze and seemed to shatter into pieces.

Dawn was breaking. Annette, who had been sitting in front of the piano for some time, suddenly realized.

There was really nothing left for her.

***

"The main armament was a .30-caliber bolt-action rifle with a five-round magazine. It certainly appears to have a higher degree of closure and less chance of being inoperable."

"This is about as close as you can get without using a semi-automatic gun machine. And here, the heat of the gun falls off the barrel and to the maximum extent possible."

"I see."

Nodding, Heiner wrapped the gun model in a cloth again. In the case of the Chief Sniper, he was the one to review and approve the model himself.

"It's past work time. Let's call it a day. Good work."

"Yes!"

Brigadier General Fritz and Major Eugen raised their hands in salute, and left the commander in chief's offices.

Heiner examined the documents concerning the purchase of fighter planes, stamped his seal, then looked at France's diplomatic situation report.

"Breakdown of Weapons Purchases........"

Heiner's brow narrowed as he checked France's munitions form.

Rutland had long ago become independent from France, but there were still many French people living on the land. They were the pro-France who wanted to merge with France again. The motive for war was sufficient.

Rutland's internal politics were in disarray due to frequent military coups. If this civil war spread to a diplomatic issue between the major powers, a major war could break out.