TWELVE Ch 17

“I am telling you! I was simply walking down this street by chance when that man suddenly pounced on me!”

Since Romeo’s fault appeared undeniable, the man referred to Romeo as “that man” and shouted in a booming voice. Gallienus, watching Romeo gasp for air, asked with a mix of worry and suspicion.

“Do you know this person, Captain?”

Romeo unclenched his fists and adjusted his tilted hat, pulling it down straight. He could not answer Gallienus’s question; he merely trembled and swallowed hard. Having put on more layers of clothing than yesterday, his chest expanded with his heavy breathing, causing the bruised ribcage to press against the fabric and flare with pain.

Timoteo did not wait for Romeo’s ragged breathing to subside before speaking.

“You will have to be questioned. Both of you, come with me.”

“Do you know that man?”

“…”

“Why did you inflict harm upon him?”

“…”

The wooden chair in the interrogation room was so old it creaked and tilted at the slightest movement. The legs were exceptionally low, making it difficult to sit without bending one’s knees considerably.

Romeo remained steadfastly silent, his gaze fixed on the table. Gallienus, standing about five paces behind him, kept a close watch on Romeo’s back; documents required for the investigation lay upon the wooden table.

“Do you know that man, or do you not?”

It was a case of an officer punching an innocent citizen in the middle of a street. Once the deposition was completed and handed over to the Military Judicial Committee, disciplinary action would be decided based on the severity of the incident. The man Romeo had slapped had stated in his prior statement that he was not an acquaintance of Romeo and had seen him for the first time today. He explained his circumstances as being a formerly anonymous writer who had to quit his profession after a fire in his studio a few years ago melted the skin on his right hand, and was now barely making ends meet as a peddler.

If Romeo’s story did not match, additional investigation would be necessary, but for some reason, Romeo had not uttered a single word since sitting down. His agitation seemed to have subsided, but his expression was frozen cold. It looked less like he had found his composure and more like he was suppressing his reactions and emotions regarding the situation.

“Perhaps you mistook him for someone else?”

“…”

With his hat off, Romeo’s face was more visible than usual. Though his head was facing forward, his eyes were out of focus. Considering his blindness, they had allowed Gallienus to enter the interrogation room with him, yet Romeo was not even giving proper answers to the questions.

“Captain. Please answer me. If you do not speak, the completion of this deposition will inevitably be delayed.”

Timoteo, leaning back in his chair, tapped the table while staring intently at Romeo’s face. Since Romeo’s blue pupils were as motionless as glass beads, Timoteo tilted his head slightly to the side; the eyes did not follow, remaining fixed on a single spot.

So it wasn’t a lie about him being blind. He muttered to himself as he put down his pen, and just then, Romeo opened his mouth.

“…He is a stranger.”

A soft, beautiful voice echoed through the narrow interrogation room like the sound of a musical instrument. Romeo’s voice, which sometimes sounded a bit like a boy’s, was sweet enough for even Timoteo, a fellow man, to notice. That was the reason the hand tapping the table slowed down.

Exhaling a long breath, Timoteo observed Romeo’s face for a moment. It was quite jarring that a man who was an officer possessed the kind of doll-like appearance one might see on a general store display shelf. He looked beyond noble—almost fragile—to the point that if he were wearing an ordinary robe like other youths instead of a military uniform, it was certain no one would take him for a soldier. A thought occurred to him that while this country had no nobility, if it did, they would have a face like that man’s. Had he not been born a man, he would have been a significant beauty courted by many young men.

“If he is a stranger, why did you do it?”

Timoteo rummaged through the deposition on the table, but no answer came. As Romeo lowered his gaze to the table, his upright posture faltered, and his shoulders slumped forward.

“I mistook the person…”

Romeo, who had tilted his head and cast his eyes down, only continued his sentence after a long silence.

“…It was because I saw the person incorrectly.”

Timoteo moved his hand to record Romeo’s words in the deposition.

“You are not acquainted with him?”

“That is correct.”

“You are saying you saw him for the first time today.”

Timoteo’s hand continued to move. The sound of the pen scratching against the paper echoed in the interrogation room.

“Do you admit to the fact that you inflicted harm?”

There was no verbal answer, but Timoteo recorded the response after seeing Romeo’s expression. After completing the deposition with a few more questions, he put down his pen and organized the papers. Because Romeo showed no attitude of protest, the investigation ended relatively quickly.

“The results of the deposition will be transferred to the Military Judicial Committee within a few days. Matters regarding a trial will be delivered to your unit as soon as the results are out from the Committee. That is all. We are finished here, so you may go.”

Romeo reached out his hand to grab his hat, but his hand missed. After fumbling through the air and catching the edge of the brim, he pulled it toward him, put it on his head, and stood up.

As Romeo’s arm was raised, Timoteo noticed a button on the right sleeve of his uniform was dangling. Perhaps because of the punching, the edge of the sleeve was also crooked. However, Romeo turned around without knowing that fact. With every step he took, the sleeve button swayed.

“Watch your step.”

As Gallienus, who had been waiting by the door, opened it, Romeo gripped the doorway with his hand and walked out.

“What on earth happened? Nothing like this has ever occurred before. A street brawl… it’s so unlike you.”

Marco, leaning against the desk, and Valeria, standing before the table, had worried eyes. Gallienus stood behind the two of them, his expression equally concerned.

Considering Romeo’s temperament, it was an absurd and nonsensical incident. It was hard to even imagine him grabbing a stranger by the collar and throwing punches.

“Are you truly alright?”

“…Yes, I am fine.”

“You look so pale. Are you really okay?”

Whatever he was thinking, Romeo did not explain the reason he hit the stranger on the street and only repeated that he was fine. Over the past few days, his words had decreased and the dark circles under his eyes were prominent, as if he had been losing sleep, making them worry about what his unspoken circumstances might be.

“…It happened because I mistook the person.”

“You mean you threw punches because you thought it was someone you knew?”

“…Yes.”

When Marco turned to Valeria with an incredulous look, she asked.

“Who did you mistake him for to do such a thing? If you went as far as pinning him to the ground and slapping him, there must have been a reason.”

Valeria stared at Romeo’s face as if trying to figure out what had happened to him. Since such a thing had never happened before, it was all the more worrying.

“Is it true that you grabbed a man walking down the street by the collar and knocked him down first? Did you really do that?”

When Marco asked again for confirmation, Romeo dropped his gaze to his own folded hands.

“Did you see it too?”

“Yes, I saw it. Sergeant Uccio, who was in charge of the investigation, as well as the two Public Security Bureau officials who were there, witnessed the scene.”

Gallienus shifted his eyes to Romeo’s uniform sleeve. Throughout the entire carriage ride back, the sleeve button had swayed as if it were about to fall off. The button was attached to the center of the sleeve, fully visible from a sitting position, yet Romeo showed no sign of fixing it.

“Good grief.”

Marco let out a heavy sigh and stood up from the desk. While the office fell silent for a moment, Valeria, who had been observing Romeo’s complexion, spoke.

“The Lieutenant Colonel is away and hasn’t returned yet. Since it’s late, why don’t you head home for a bit?”

Romeo started to say he was fine, but Valeria shook her head.

“Just go. And stop saying not to worry.”