Before long, two soldiers were on either side of them, weapons pointed straight at their chest. The first thing Lionel did was raise his hands and look at Sascha, trying to get him to do the same. There was the sinking feeling that they wouldn’t be able to get out of this situation peacefully… unless they played all their cards correctly.

Before Lionel could advise Sascha on what to say, he spoke up.

“What is all of this about?”

His voice was low and he almost sounded confused, even though both of them knew exactly what he did that led up to this.

The man that was in front of him was about to speak when they heard the voice of another. A voice that was far gentler and had a hint of disapproval, like how a mother would sound when talking to a toddler that just made a mistake.

“I think you know exactly why we’re here.”

The woman who spoke then showed herself as she stood next to the soldier in front of them. As they saw her, a feeling of serenity washed over them. She wasn’t a threat at all. How could she be? Her skin was pale to the point that she looked ill or even frightened. There was frailty about her that was even further shown by her reliance on a cane to walk despite her youthful appearance. There was a calm smile on her face and they couldn’t help but think that she was more likely to take the role of the friendly neighbor that talked about life while sharing some freshly made snacks and tea.

Lionel didn’t protest or even have a sense that there could be something going on that they didn’t know of. He had a sense of safety even though he was in a situation that would be otherwise threatening. He let Sascha do all the talking. After all, his knowledge of the situation and what Sascha initially intended to do were somewhat limited.

“W-well… yes, I do.” Sascha started to stutter as he was unsure of what to do. He started to feel shame.

”Then why don’t we talk about it? I’m sure that it’s just a misunderstanding after all. Work accidents do happen, don’t they?”

”Yeah of course.” He started to calm down. The woman seemed to believe what he was about to use as an excuse. That was a good thing, right?