The layout of Severo’s office was similar to that of his home office, only slightly larger.
There was a small suite inside, and the room was decorated and furnished in darker tones, in Severo’s style.
It was fully furnished, clean and tidy.
There was also a small bar with a cabinet full of famous wines, even a juicer, a coffee machine … and some simple utensils to prepare drinks were available.
Allyce opened the fridge and found it full of pure water and drinks, as well as some fruit and small snacks that the girls loved and needed to refrigerate.
It struck him that this place in Severo simply felt like another home.
Taking another look at the contents of the fridge and observing the drinks, Allyce guessed that they were not Severo’s orders, as neither she nor Severo were drinkers.
It would be something that Dita had had prepared and it looked like it was all for her, Mrs. Betances.
Severo’s stomach is not in the mood for coffee or tea and he doesn’t like to drink either, so Allyce takes out a piece of fruit and prepares to squeeze some juice to take with her.
By the time he has squeezed the juice and taken it out, Xabat and Dita are sitting opposite Severo, the atmosphere is a little tense, Severo’s face is slightly frowning and neither of them is speaking.
“I squeezed the juice.” Allyce walked over with the juice and brought a glass to Severo first, before turning to Dita: “Dita, do you want juice?
Dita was flattered and stood up suddenly. She was going to refuse, but when she saw Severo glance at her, she hurried to take the juice in both hands: “Thank you, madam.
Alone, he drank the juice, not daring to sit down or drink it.
Allyce was too busy handing another glass to Xabat to notice Dita’s discomfort, so she took a seat next to Severo and asked, “How does it taste?
He had just tasted it inside. with the freshness of the fruit, but he was still afraid it wouldn’t taste good, after all, Dita was one of Severo’s best men, and he wanted to keep his distance, but he was also afraid it wouldn’t taste good.
Severo looked at Dita, who was still standing on the other side of the table, and took a sip, saying, “Not bad”.
At Severo’s glance, Dita sat down and took a sip: “Madame’s cooking is very good.
Allyce, on the other hand, felt a little embarrassed by the compliment.
“You go ahead, I’ll go in first.” He had to go in to clear the bar.
Severo looked at Dita as he watched Allyce disappear through the door of the inner suite, “Don’t be so formal, my wife is an easy going person, she has no friends here, so if you are free, ask her out more often.”
Dita couldn’t help but silently remember how long it had been since she had a holiday.
Severo seemed to see what was going on in Dita’s head and said slowly, “When this is over, I’ll give you both a long holiday”.
…
Allyce finished cleaning the bar and took a seat in a single armchair in front of the window, with a book on the small table next to it.
He picked it up casually and looked at it; it was an original fiction book in English.
The novel was entitled A Decade of Exhaustion, and was about a tumultuous but poignant decade in which a continent was saturated by war.
The novel is famous, as it was printed and revised many times, and all printed editions were quickly snapped up.
The dust jacket of the novel appears clean, but it has clearly been turned over many times, and has clearly been well cared for and treasured by its owner.
The edition he held in his hands happened to be the most complete, having been released more than a decade ago.
Allyce could not resist reading it with great interest.
He lost track of time and didn’t even know that Severo had entered.
He didn’t even know Severo had entered until a warm breath hit his ear. “The protagonist of this version ends up back in Adri’s small town and dies alone.”
“Ah!” shrieked Allyce when she heard Severo’s voice behind her.
He put the book down and looked back at Severo, snorting, “Who told you to tell me the ending in advance!”.
She had heard earlier that this version did not end well, but that was only what she had heard, so to preserve the mystery, she restrained herself from going straight to the end, intending to read the whole thing from the beginning.
Only for Severo to reveal the end.
“Isn’t that why you’re reading the ending?” Severo had seen the Chinese version of Ten Years of Exhaustion in Allyce’s small flat when he first lived with her and knew she had read the book.
“I want to see the end myself, before you tell me about it.” Allyce grumbled inwardly.
A smile shone under Severo’s eyes and he continued to reveal the plot with much mischief: “Then I’ll tell you again, Gore didn’t lose his legs.
Gore is the second protagonist of this novel, a very bloodthirsty man, violent to a fault, but he is the hero of the age because he has contributed so much to this decade-long war.
At the same time, Gore is a very controversial character.
And it is Gore that Allyce likes the most in the whole book.
Allyce’s eyes lit up: ‘Really?
Severo smiled, with the smug look of a fish on his face, “That’s true, except that he died one night before the end of the war, bitten by a poisonous snake”.
Allyce couldn’t help but curse: “You don’t give a shit!
Severo rested his hands on each arm of the only chair Allyce was sitting in and grimaced: “You say that again?
Allyce didn’t dare repeat it when she saw the coldness of his expression.
He bristled: “I don’t think Gore was bitten by a snake the night before the war ended, it doesn’t make sense”.
In the version he read, Gore lost his legs and returned to his homeland with the protagonist to live out his old age in peace and prosperity.
A soldier who did not die in battle should return to his homeland, and she did not believe that Gore had died for any other reason.
Severo saw the persistence in her eyes and changed the subject: “It’s time to eat, Xabat and Dita are still waiting outside, let’s go”.
Allyce wanted to continue talking to him about the end of the Gore, but it was clear that Severo had no desire to talk to her.
Throughout lunch, Allyce remained a little sullen and unhappy about what Severo had said about the end of Gore.
All three had business to attend to, so they returned to LK HQ after lunch, while Allyce was driven back to Solares Castle.
Just as he got out of the car, his phone rang.
Allyce pulled out her phone, saw the familiar number and froze for a moment.