She shrugged her shoulders as if it was not a big deal. Her short hair swayed on her shoulders.

Michael looked blankly at her hair. The same bobbed hair as when they first met. For some reason, he swallowed his breath quietly. His memories were pulled back to several years ago in an instant.

Damn it. How did I get out of there?

As Michael clenched his teeth, Marianne gently licked her lips.

“You know, I graduated from law school. Working at the police station is not a strange thing.”

“Yeah, Marianne Clozé working at the police station isn’t strange. But Mrs. Schneider working at the police station is strange. Isn’t it, Marianne?”

Michael sharply hit the mark.

Marianne looked at him with unfamiliar eyes. Perhaps he thought he might have gotten the position of a prosecutor with the name Hindenburg.

But that seemed not to be the case. He was different from his overbearing college days. He seemed to have changed, like a different person. He was not swayed by momentary emotions and knew how to endure deeply.

If Christoph had the scent of a perfect adult man from the first moment they met, Michael seemed like a boisterous young boy who had finally grown into an adult man.

Marianne gave a faint smile. Michael slightly furrowed his brows at her look.

“Why are you laughing?”

“We never had a proper conversation in school because we were always fighting. It’s fascinating that we’re doing this now.”

“Back then, I…”

Michael unwittingly closed his mouth and pursed his lips. A short silence followed, and after a while, he finally opened his mouth.

“I was immature.”

At his words, Marianne smiled again. The end of her smile tinged with bitterness.

“I was the same. I didn’t know how to endure. If you were rude to me, I was rude to you. So how about we consider the past as if it never happened?”

Michael stared at her instead of answering. Suddenly, his forehead wrinkled. He wanted to ask why she was smiling like that. Why she was smiling as if she was about to break.

The moment he was about to lick his lips.

“What are the two of you doing here?”

A cold and sharp voice like an ice pick penetrated between them. Marianne slowly turned her head. She saw Christoph standing a few steps ahead.

He was staring at Michael with his eyes narrowed in displeasure. The dissatisfied look seemed to indicate that he didn’t like the situation. His eyes fiercely sparkled, like those of a jealous man.

No, that can’t be.
Marianne let out a faint smile and shook her head. She was not a jealous man. Nor did she envy others enough to be jealous.

Only then did she recall the relationship between two people who had not been on good terms since school.

Ah.

Seemingly realizing why Christoph was upset, Marianne nodded inwardly.

“Christoph Schneider.”

Michael slowly rose from the bench. The gazes of the two men of similar height collided in midair. They just looked at each other for a while.

The air seemed tightly pulled. Or, it seemed heated.

Christoph, with a faint frown, unexpectedly opened his mouth first. His gaze was still on Michael, but the words that came from his lips were directed at Marianne.

“I came on my way to express my intention to take on Paul’s case. I met his mother.”

“Ah.”

Marianne finally realized why Christoph had been absent since morning. He had kept his promise with her. The corners of Marianne’s mouth faintly lifted.

“But the prosecutor in charge is Michael Hindenburg. Yes, now that I think about it, I remember hearing that you got a job as a district prosecutor a few years ago. It was in Blaubergh.”

“You will take on Paul’s case?”

With suspicious eyes on Christoph, Michael suddenly tightened his lips. That meant he and Christoph were going headtohead.

Michael ha, let out a giggle and brushed back his hair. A mocking voice trickled from between his teeth.

“Paul must have been an asset I didn’t know about. Judging by Christoph Schneider’s movement, he wasn’t just any big shot.”

Michael recalled the contents of the case report he had skimmed through in the morning. A smile of victory flickered at the edge of his thin lips.

“But no matter how great Christoph Schneider is, it will be hard to prove Paul’s innocence. It’s a clear fact that he killed his sister, and he even tried to conceal his crime, so it will be difficult to convince the judge. Even his mother can’t side with him. Maybe if she were a witness for our side.”

“Did you forget?”

Christoph, pausing briefly, slowly lifted the corners of his mouth. A spark flashed in his dark eyes.

“I have never failed, Michael.”

At his arrogant words, Michael made a nervous face and tightened his lips. The man who always fanned his inferiority complex, Christoph.

Michael hated Christoph intensely. Even more so because he knew that his arrogance came from his skill. He probably could never like him in his lifetime.

Michael clenched his fist and forced a smile. There was a faint hint of mockery in his tone.

“Then you will taste failure for the first time, Christoph. To be the one to give you that first experience is truly an honor.”

“We’ll see.”

Christoph stared at Michael with emotionless eyes. But even that felt like he was looking down on Michael.

“But.”