Chapter 73: Confidential Agreement

George looked at her and said, "What can I do? Of course, I go to perform the tasks assigned by my superiors."

"Yes, tasks, and they're all classified. We've been married for six years, and you're still keeping secrets from me. Even when you receive a phone call, you run to the balcony."

George knew that he couldn't escape today, so he sighed and spoke.

"My job involves not only surveying records, but also finding tombs based on orders from my superiors. If signs of tomb raiding are discovered during the mission, I have to track the tomb raiding gang and assess the condition of the tomb to determine if it has been damaged. I may also need to protectively excavate or leave it untouched for now, and there are other miscellaneous tasks related to tombs and cultural relics that I may be assigned."

"And remember, in our third year of marriage, I didn't come back for over half a year?”, George continued on.

“I was trapped in a tomb after getting injured, and I spent over a month in the hospital with a cast on. I was afraid you would worry and didn't know how to explain it to you, so I didn't dare to come back. I dedicated three years to that place, working for the protection and preservation of cultural relics, far away from you who was waiting at home."

Ellie's heart skipped a beat, but within two seconds, she choked and said, "Yes, you couldn't stay home for more than a few days in a year. Who else is like you? What were you doing all this time?"

"I have been doing the job assigned to me by my superiors," George replied.

George finished speaking and rolled up the leg of his pants, pointing to the five or six centimeter scar on his calf that still had noticeable stitches.

Ellie had stopped crying and stared at the scar, unsure of how to react.

She remembered the time he didn't come back for over six months and she had gotten angry with him.

He apologized and explained that he accidentally twisted his foot and slid down the mountain, cutting himself on the rocks.

He had rolled up his pants to show her. At the time, she had been worried and didn't have the heart to be angry with him anymore.

She scolded him for being so careless, but she never expected it to be so serious.

Her lips trembled as she finally found her voice after a moment. "You, the Bureau of Cultural Relics, have been doing so much..."

"I only belong to the Bureau of Cultural Relics on the surface. In reality, I belong to the Department of Homeland Security."

"Homeland Security??" Ellie was a little confused.

George sighed and didn't say anything more, walking towards the room from the sofa.

"Where are you going?"

"Just wait for me."

Watching George disappear into the room, Ellie took out two tissue papers to wipe her nose and wondered if George was trying to trick her with a new concept. George then came out of the room.

He held a piece of paper and a pen in his hand and handed them to her. "Sign it, sign it, and I'll explain it to you slowly."

Sign it?

Ellie looked at the A4 paper in confusion. The first four words caught her eye and her heartbeat skipped a beat.

Confidential agreement?!

Seeing her pause as she looked at the agreement, George said, "Even if you don't want to know now, it's useless. I just told you, so...sign it. As long as it doesn't involve higher-level secrets, I can tell you whatever you want to know."

Ellie remained silent.

Half an hour later, Ellie roughly understood the nature of his actual job. The Department of Homeland Security was just a general term, and there were several departments beneath it, all belonging to secret organizations. At the Homeland Security, where he worked, was related to the surveying and protection of archaeological sites, but they dealt with more secretive and dangerous issues.

Because of this, they received some special treatment and privileges.

For example, they had to cooperate with the police to carry out tasks, and their lives were specially taken care of.

They were even given the opportunity to move into a villa when changing positions...

However, changing positions only sounded nice; in reality, it meant avoiding, running away, escaping danger, and risking their lives...

The thought of him working so hard and in danger to protect archaeological sites made her feel guilty for always complaining about his frequent business trips. She was also worried that something might happen to him because of what her cousins had said...she couldn't help but feel remorseful.

She held her left hand with her right hand and looked at him cautiously. "Why didn't you tell me earlier..."

"The more you know, the more dangerous it becomes. And if you keep too many secrets in your heart, it becomes exhausting."

She couldn't argue with that. She looked at the clear profile of his face and felt a tingling sensation in her nose again. "Um, I will help you persuade my father."

"Thank you for understanding me."

Ellie's lips trembled again, as she tried and accepted the true nature of her husband’s job.