Chapter 24

Marianne took her time to look around the cafe, while thinking that there was no way Kristoff would have ever come here.

As the place was located on the side of the beach, the cafe, which was decorated in white and blue chroma, gave off a clean and cool atmosphere. However, something caught her attention more than anything else.

“Oh…!”

A low exclamation slipped through her teeth. The blue sea spread out on the other side of the window. The ocean is so vast that she couldn’t even tell where it starts nor ends.

Then, Marianne realized that she had never seen the sea before, even though it has been several days since she came to Blauberg. She felt like didn’t have the time to look at the sea.

The deep blue sea, deep enough that it looked black at first glance, seemed impossible for her to guess its depth. The atmosphere was quite different from the beach resort where people usually enjoy their summer vacation.

She saw a tall red lighthouse in the distance. Large ships were gathering in the harbor one after another. The boat horn resounded from afar. Each time the sound was heard, Marianne’s petite shoulders flinched in surprise.

This was not a place for rest, but an ocean where fierce life unfolded. She thought the sea here was more beautiful than any vacation spot.

At the faraway dockside, men with rolled up sleeves moved the luggage, and the stray cat sought a chance to steal the fish from them.

Kristoff whispered in a low voice as she stared in a daze out of the window.

“I knew you’d like it, Marianne.”

Coffee and dessert were placed in front of them as they sat by the large window. Marianne finally dropped her gaze to the table. Nevertheless, she didn’t know how to accept this situation.

She lifted her gaze and glanced at him. Kristoff was taking the cup to his mouth, his back leaning against the chair leisurely. She was captivated by his impeccable appearance.

Kristoff put down his cup and lifted his gaze, and when their eyes met, Marianne looked away out of embarrassment. She looked at the sea, meanwhile he was looking at Marianne.

“Kristoff.”

Marianne, who turned her gaze back to him after a while, spoke up first. She couldn’t stand the tickling silence. She somehow wanted to break the silence between them.

“Speak, Marianne.”

“About Paul.”

“Paul?”

Kristoff repeated her words, folding his eyebrows faintly at the strange name that was mentioned out of the blue. There was no face of someone who immediately came to his mind.

Who’s that? He asked back in a confused voice.

“Your police colleague?”

Marianne let out a long sigh with drooping shoulders. Kristoff shrunk back and looked at her. With a sulky look like a dog that disappointed its owner.

“The boy who was arrested for murder yesterday. Paul Keller.”

“Oh.”

Kristoff nodded as though he’d just remembered them. And casted a curious glance. As if asking why she was suddenly bringing up the boy.

Marianne dropped her eyes with a brooding look. She looked down at her dress for a while. She was hesitant whether to say it or not.

She knew that Kristoff would do this job perfectly. At the same time, she also didn’t want to be indebted to him. That was the reason she couldn’t speak hastily.

“……”

The boy’s big doe eyes stared at her.

His bitter cry while calling out for his mother with a look of terror on his face.

Marianne eventually spoke up after heaving out a long sigh. She would probably have a long day if she ignored Paul.

You’re going to regret it. She listened to her conscience.

“Can you be Paul’s lawyer?”

“……”

It must have been an unexpected remark. Seeing that the expression slowly disappeared from Kristoff’s face, whose eyes still remained at her.

His dark eyebrows twitched.

“Lawyer?”

The incomprehensible voice was directed at Marianne. She straightened her back and faced him confidently. Marianne nodded her head.

Most people don’t even stand a chance to defend themselves unless they are nobles or wealthy people. Not just because they don’t have enough money to hire a lawyer, but they also don’t have the knowledge to do it.

The poor had no choice but to rely on the judge’s leniency. The existence of a criminal was determined by the judge’s personal judgment, not according to the evidence and truth.

Marianne continued in a composed voice as though she had been thinking about it for a long time.

“Inspector Nicholas said the sentence granted upon him would be at least seven years in prison. According to Paul’s mother, it was an accident, an unfortunate one that could occur at any time.”

“There’s no doubt at the part that he moved the body and tried to deceive the police. Why would the boy do such a thing if he didn’t have a conscience about it? Maybe the boy’s mother is working together.”

Kristoff has already returned to his usual stiff form. Crossing his legs and folding his arms, he fired back in a professional tone.

Marianne suddenly frowned. His despairing cry rang in her ears. The desperate appearance of his mother, who was crying while holding onto Maxim’s legs and saying that she had done it, not her son, Paul.

“She did it because she was scared. She lost her daughter in a horrible accident, and she also had to lose her son because of the accident. What kind of mother will wait and watch?”

“Human’s foolishness brings misfortune upon themselves, Marianne. Someone should bear the responsibility for what they did. That is the grand rule of law.”

Kristoff flinched after he answered firmly. He spotted the disappointment in Marianne’s eyes. He clicked his tongue quietly and realized his mistake.

He was not Kristoff Schneider, the best lawyer in the capital at that moment. He was just a fool who frayed his nerves on Marianne’s every move. He forgot that fact for a moment.

Kristoff straightened his crossed legs and his back. A glint of conspicuousness suddenly flashed through his eyes.

“Marianne, do you know how much it costs me to work on a case?”

“……”

“It doesn’t look like they can afford me. Don’t tell me you want me to do free volunteer work?”

Marianne looked down blankly. She knew better than anyone else that her request was shameless.

Kristoff’s voice became sweet as though coaxing a mere child.

“And what if I lose? What if my career got ruined even when we do it with good intentions? No matter how high my reputation is, it only takes a moment to fall, Marianne. This is clearly a battle where the prosecutor takes the upper hand. I’ll be a laughing stock to them.”

“……I’m sorry. Just pretend you didn’t hear it.”

“So what are you going to do for me?”

“!”

Marianne slowly raised her head at his sudden remark. Kristoff was looking at her with a deep gaze. As if a beast hunting its prey.

“If I take that risk and defend Pauk, what are you going to do for me, Marianne?”

Oh!

There was a glimmer of hope on Marianne’s face. But it did not remain long before it turned into disappointment.

She was obstinately quiet. Kristoff didn’t say anything either. Heavy silence dawned upon them.

It wasn’t long before Marianne finally moved her lips first. The winner of this silent battle was Kristoff. His lips formed a smirk.

“As long as you don’t demand that I come back again.”

“……”

“So, I can do anything for you except coming back.”

“All right.”

Kristoff nodded readily. Marianne surprisingly seemed pleased enough with the agreement. She finally came to a realization that she had fallen into Kristoff’s trap.

He slowly cornered Marianne as though hunting a fox. Leaving only one place to escape. Marianne walked gracefully into the trap he had dug. He didn’t mean to tell Marianne to come back. He coveted something else.

Revealing that he caught her in his ulterior motives through his expression, Kristoff drew a subtle smirk by pulling up the corners of his mouth. Perhaps, if Marianne was a little composed, she would never have been caught in his trap. After all, she was smart and wise.

Scheme and compassion.

Marianne, encroached by her humane emotions, didn’t know what he was up to and seemed quite pleased. Kristoff looked at his deep subdued eyes and whispered softly.

“Spare me your day.”

“……”

Marianne couldn’t answer hastily. That day. As though she was quite fearing what would unfold on the day he requested for and what he would earn from her.

Kristoff knew why she was having a hard time. He added furthermore, acting as a lawyer making his final defense.

“I don’t know if it will help you to come to a decision, but let me tell you, it’s never a losing trade with me. I’m a much more competent lawyer than you think, Marianne.”

At that moment.

“……”

Marianne burst into laughter at his confident attitude.

Her eyes widened, and her lips curled up gently. A low laugh came out like a wave and broke out in his ears.

“!”

At the same time, Kristoff’s face was bare of any expression. He looked at her smile with a strange gaze as if seeing something unusual.

Was Marianne the person who laughed that way? She looked so ethereal to the point where the surrounding scenery immediately escaped out of his sight.

Kristoff, who was used to seeing her quiet smile, realized at that moment what he had taken away from her.

Marianne Kloze.

He had taken that side of her from herself.

Back in college, Marianne was a woman who easily burst into laughter. She got angry and shed tears as easily as turning over her palm. She was always present at the scene of an accident where people gathered in a circle.

However, at some point, he didn’t see her showing her feelings anymore. He got used to her masking her expression just like Kristoff.

D*mn it.

Strong enough to stick out the bones. Kristoff clenched his lower jaw as though enduring the rising emotion. His face stiffened. He slowly clenched his hands.

Marianne, who realized that she just laughed, bit her lips in blank dismay after seeing Kristoff’s expression.

He managed to smack his lips. A very small voice slipped out through his lips, which was unlike him at all.

“Yes, maybe this is the time we need.”

Faint whispers could barely be caught by Marianne’s ear. She cast a questioning glance to him, but Kristoff took the cup of coffee to his mouth instead of answering.

The bitter smile on his lips went down through his throat along with the bitter coffee.

“You’ve always been wiser than me. You’re right again this time, Marianne.”

It was when Marianne seemed more curious of him than ever before.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, sir and madam.”

The manager approached them with an embarrassed look on his face. Kristoff’s gaze shifted very slowly in an agonizing way toward him. As if he expressed his visibly unpleasant feeling upon the man’s interruption between their time.

Every time he did so, Marianne thought of a predator. A predator who cornered its prey slowly, not a mere small animal that runs away quickly. He was someone at the top of the food chain.

The manager, who flinched at the sight, spoke up while trying hard to mutter his most polite speech.

“I sincerely apologize, but our staff seems to have guided you to the reserved seats. We won’t charge you for the coffee, so I’d appreciate it if you could leave the seats.”

Though his attitude was nothing short of politeness, it was a clear spurn. Marianne swept her eyes around the place. The hall was only about half full. There were vacant seats everywhere.