——Commissioner Schneider, request for approval...
——Commissioner, I’d like to file a desertion report...
Julius frowned as he looked down at his phone. He had been explicitly told to take a break, yet ever since assuming the position of Commissioner and effectively taking over Sabine’s post, informal reports continued to flood in regardless.
It did not stop.
Not even for a mont.
At last, Julius drew the line.
[Announcent: Commissioner Julius Sebastian Schneider will be taking a one-year leave.]
The notice went out without delay.
Newly appointed as a Directorate Commissioner, Julius was officially stepping away.
After a year spent on an assignnt that had dictated the course of nations, he had earned at least that much. The speed with which the Director approved his request only confird it.
"Are you sure this is alright?" Julius replied. "What about Anneliese?"
"Hehe." Isolde chuckled. "I asked Mister Dieterich if he could watch her for a few days."
"I see."
She adjusted her coat, her expression lighter than it had been in a long ti.
"Shall we go, Mister Schneider?"
"I think we’re past those formalities, aren’t we?" Julius said. "When are you going to call Julius?"
"Don’t wanna. That’s exactly what I called you back in Colors, wasn’t it? It feels immoral sohow."
"Ah. Right." Julius paused. "I forgot you used to work there."
For a mont, he fell silent. Whoever the Second Painter was, it had to be one of those children from Colors. One of the kids who used to follow him. He was certain of it now.
They got into the car.
Isolde settled into the passenger seat as Julius moved behind the wheel.
"Do you still rember those kids from back then, Doctor?"
She glanced at him sideways.
"You ask to call you by your first na..." Isolde said, pouting. "Yet you still call Doctor..."
"Ah... Isolde."
"That sounds better." She nodded once. "And yes. I do rember them."
She began listing nas, one after another. Alice. Gilbert. David. Lydia. Helena. Jakob. Mikhail.
She kept going, but one na stood out more than rest, causing Julius to freeze.
"What did you just say?"
"Hm?" Isolde tilted her head. "Paula?"
"No. No." Julius shook his head. "Did you just say Jakob?"
"Yes. Jakob," she replied. "That chubby kid who used to follow you around. He was your biggest fan, I think. Along with Mikhail."
"...."
Julius had only begun to suspect it recently. That the Second Painter might have been one of the children from Colors.
And now here was Isolde. Soone who had interned there. Soone who actually rembered.
If anyone knew the truth about Colors, it would be her.
After all, for reasons he still could not explain, Julius himself could barely rember anything about that place at all.
More importantly, Jakob was a na he had been chasing for quite a while now.
At this point, it was practically confird.
"Tell more about Jakob and Mikhail," Julius said. "Spare no details."
"Oh?" Isolde glanced at him with mild surprise. "Feeling nostalgic all of a sudden?"
"Sothing like that," he replied. "Maybe I want to et them. See if it jogs my mory."
"It really is strange that you barely rember that part of your childhood. Back then, you were such a bubbly kid, you know?"
Julius said nothing.
But his eyes had already darkened, as if the answer he was searching for had finally begun to take shape.
"Anyway," Isolde continued, "I wasn’t really close to the kids. Not in the way you’re probably imagining. My work mostly involved data analysis, psychological profiling, and behavioral trend reports."
She paused, choosing her words.
"Colors wasn’t just an orphanage. You know that, right? It was a research environnt. The children were observed constantly since they were all... special in their own way."
"Mhm."
She probably ant they were all autistic. But out of respect, she chose her words carefully. After all, Julius himself had once been there.
"It wasn’t frad as exploitation," Isolde continued. "At least, not on paper. The institution marketed itself as early intervention. So form of guidance for children who didn’t fit conventional systems."
"Mhm."
"I rember you, Julius," she said after a quick pause. "But even then, you were special. Data about you was restricted. Most of the staff couldn’t access it. Only the higher-ups."
Julius kept his eyes on the road.
"I’m fairly certain your identity was never disclosed either," Isolde went on. "Probably your family’s intervention. So no one would recognize you as a Schneider. Perhaps so the staff wouldn’t treat you differently."
"...."
"Or perhaps," she said quietly, "so the public would never find out the youngest Schneider was—"
"Defective," Julius finished for her.
"Not defective," Isolde corrected at once. "Just special. And in any case, you grew out of it."
She smiled.
"You’re an exceptional man now. You know that, right?"
Julius returned her smile, a sorrowful one of his own.
"...I’m not as great as you think I am."
He turned his attention back to the road.
Sowhere ahead, the mories of the USSR flashed through his mind like shadows he could not shake.
* * *
"Gabriel is stupid."
"Huh?"
"Ugly, too."
"Where did you learn all those words, Anneliese?"
Anneliese turned away with a pout, crossing her arms.
"Hmph. I want to see Mister."
Gabriel was at a loss.
He had no idea what to do. Anneliese had been sulking the entire ti. He couldn’t say they were close, but he believed there was so kind of bond between them. At least, he had thought so.
It turned out that bond was superficial. A delusion, even.
Gabriel had no experience babysitting a child. But from what he had observed so far, he had not expected Anneliese to be this difficult.
....Weren’t they at least friends? What happened to all that ti spent in Japan together?!
"Now, now, Anneliese," Gabriel said carefully. "Didn’t Mister already take you to the carnival yesterday?"
"That wasn’t enough," Anneliese protested, swinging her arms in small motions. "Mister was gone for a really long ti. He has to spend ti with for just as long!"
She turned her face away, stubborn but not throwing a tantrum.
"That’s only fair..."
Her complaints were understandable. Julius had disappeared without a word and had even missed her graduation.
Anneliese was already in her first year of junior high school. It had only been the other day that Julius picked her up and took her for an outing.
It was obvious she had missed him. More than that, she was deeply attached to him.
But at a ti like this, Gabriel had no idea what he was supposed to do.
"Anneliese."
"What, ugly Gabriel?"
Gabriel chose to ignore that.
"Do you want to ride a Gundam?"
For a brief second, Anneliese’s eyes sparkled. Then the light vanished just as quickly, replaced by a frown.
"I already tried that with Mister," she said. "He said it’s not safe for children. But I know it’s because Mom scolded him when he offered once."
Gabriel sighed. "Well, I’m not Julius. And I’m not your mom either."
Anneliese glanced at him from the corner of her eye, then looked away again. She didn’t say anything.
Gabriel raised his hand and jingled the keys. "I’ve got the keys right here."
"...Handso Gabriel."
"That’s more like it."
He turned toward the door, already heading out.
"Let’s not tell your mother."
Anneliese made a zipping gesture across her lips, nodding solemnly.
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