Translator: Nox

Chapter 21

As he muttered indifferently, she bit her lip.

“That…”

She tried to speak, but her voice cracked, and she let out a small cough. She took a breath and bowed her head even deeper, her entire face flushed crimson when she looked up again.

“I have seen pens that you dip in ink before.”

“Those are relics.”

“…….”

“Open the cap.”

Even that seemed like a difficult command. Her eyes flickered rapidly before she carefully tried to twist the cap where it joined the pen.

Of course, it just spun in place.

“You have to pull it.”

She was remarkably obedient. She immediately gripped it with both hands and applied force. The problem was that while the bones on the back of her hands protruded with the effort, the pen didn’t budge.

“…Can you not open it?”

When he asked, dumbfounded, her flushed face turned a deep shade of red.

“It’s not that, it’s just… I was afraid I might break it….”

Is there even a point in having her sign a contract? The thought made Oscar let out a laugh.

“At five hundred million Kerete a week, you can afford to throw that away after one use. Just pull it off.”

He wondered if opening a pen—one designed to be handled with a single hand—really required such a struggle, but Seo-ah eventually succeeded in opening it with both hands. With her face still beet-red, she lowered her head even further and brought the tip of the pen to the signature line.

“Should I write my name here?”

He noticed even the backs of her hands were red now. Oscar glanced at them and gave a light nod.

“Use the same name as the identification you presented to Pelfe Bank.”

She gripped the pen firmly with her reddened hand and wrote her name down in neat, vertical strokes. Oscar watched the elegant, picture-like script and tilted his head.

“Is that ‘Seo-ah’?”

“Yes.”

“But there are three characters.”

She hesitated for a moment, then pointed the tip of the pen at the top character.

“Han Seo-ah. My name is Seo-ah, and my family name is ‘Han.’”

Oscar let the name roll around in his mind for a moment.

Han Seo-ah.

Once she finished signing, she tried to recap the pen and return it, but Oscar only gathered the contract.

“Keep it.”

He stood up before Seo-ah could say a word. He actually had matters to attend to. He could sense Simon fidgeting like a restless dog outside the door. Truthfully, drawing up a contract was a task he could have easily delegated to the Wolves.

After placing the contract on the desk, he turned to see the woman standing there in a poised manner.

A woman who was pale, small, easy to read, and prone to turning red.

Was it because she was strangely captivating to watch, or had his habit of hunting for that damned key simply become ingrained in him? He had lingered longer than intended.

Oscar fastened the buttons of his jacket while staring fixedly at Seo-ah. Then, he began to walk away with long, brisk strides—a sharp contrast to his previous leisurely attitude. By the time he reached the door, it swung open from the outside as if on cue. Oscar didn’t pause for a second, as if he had expected it. Just as he was about to cross the threshold in one fluid motion—

“Excuse me…!”

A voice suddenly caught him. He turned back to see the woman standing there, looking utterly flustered, her flush reaching all the way to her hairline. Oscar blinked once, then twice; he had no intention of giving her any more of his time.

He saw no reason to even ask why she had called him and was about to continue on his way.

“When will you return?”

A very small, trembling voice drifted into his ear.

Oscar took a step, then looked back at her again.

“…….”

It was only for a fleeting second. He crossed the threshold without offering a single word of response. And the moment he stepped outside, the mask of gentle kindness instantly evaporated.

While the waiting Wolves bowed their heads respectfully, Simon immediately fell into step beside him and whispered.

“You are thirty minutes late for your private audience with the King of Pelfe.”

Oscar swept back his stray hair and countered cynically.

“Whether it’s thirty minutes or three hundred, I was busy with something more important. He can wait.”

“I suspect he’s calling you because of the incident with the Baden Grand Duke.”

“I was gentlemanly enough. Why?”

Simon fell silent as he saw the cruel twist of Oscar’s lips.

The King of Pelfe, who had supposedly been waiting for thirty minutes, was clearly not a priority; Oscar didn’t mention him again in the following conversation.

“What about Abel?”

“He’s expected to arrive by evening.”

Oscar gave a light nod. Then, the faint question he hadn’t deemed worthy of an answer surfaced in his mind.

It was a strange question, out of context. What did it matter to her what time he returned?

Oscar’s eyes narrowed. However, he had too much to do to dwell on the stranger’s awkward phrasing.

“Assign some men to her when she goes to Pelfe Bank. If she wants to go somewhere, don’t stop her; let her do as she pleases. And call someone to the hotel so she can buy whatever she needs.”

“Understood, Your Excellency.”

Simon stopped immediately upon receiving the order, but Oscar walked away without looking back.

Oscar von Reinhardt.

A wind rose in his wake.

Where the wind passed, a faint scent remained. It was a scent reminiscent of the ash and smoke left behind after a fire has consumed everything.

---

Seo-ah blinked blankly and looked down at her hand.

The pen barrel was as black and polished as obsidian. Both ends were adorned with what appeared to be gold, and when opened, the nib also gleamed with a golden light.

With this, she had written her name on something called a contract.

A contract.

Seo-ah turned her head toward the desk. The contract, with their names written side by side, lay carelessly on the desk as if it were of no great consequence.

Given that he had specifically told her to use the name on the identification she presented to Pelfe Bank, it seemed he was preparing for any potential disputes with the bank.

“As you’ll find out when you visit Pelfe Bank later, it will take at least six months to open the vault. If you entrust yourself to me during that time, and in return receive protection and the price of a mansion… isn’t that a fair deal? It will be quite a sum if you include the money inside the vault.”

It sounded pleasant, but in the end, it meant her freedom would be restricted until the day the vault was opened.

The clauses regarding her entrustment were clear.

For her protection, she was to reside in an area approved by the Marquis of Reinhardt. When leaving the approved area, she was to be accompanied at all times by those authorized by the Marquis. In case of an emergency, she was to follow the orders of the Marquis or his authorized personnel.

However, nowhere in the contract was ‘protection’ defined. Therefore, even if that protection was limited to merely keeping her alive—in other words, even if her body was no longer whole—he would not be in breach of the contract.

“…….”

For now, it was done.

She let out the breath she had been holding. The heat of the air escaping her throat felt as if it were parching her lips. Her heart felt like it would burst, and her back was already drenched in a cold sweat.

Even so,

For now, it was enough.

---

Beneath a massive tapestry embroidered with a pair of scales sat a throne made of steel. King Henry IV of Pelfe sat upon the steel throne, which symbolized the iron vaults of Pelfe Bank. His brow was deeply furrowed, and his eyes were closed.

“Look at this, Your Majesty! That insufferable dog of Luxen is completely disregarding Pelfe and Your Majesty! To dare be late when the King of Pelfe summons him!”

The Baden Grand Duke’s thunderous shouting grated on the King’s nerves. Then again, the shouting wasn’t the only thing about the Baden Grand Duke that was irritating.

A century ago, a wind of religious reform emphasizing a clean life centered on the law had swept through West Nopuk. This wave of reform also influenced the customs of aristocratic society, making the eradication of open infidelity a top priority.

Of course, that didn’t mean infidelity disappeared entirely. However, at the very least, flaunting affairs or officially recognizing illegitimate children became strictly forbidden by social standards.

Unfortunately, the reform that started in West Nopuk never reached East Nopuk. Perhaps because of that, infidelity and illegitimate children were still common among the East Nopuk nobility, and some madmen even went as far as to dress it up as culture and art. The prime example was the previous King.

During his lifetime, the previous King had committed infidelity openly, showing no regard for public opinion. Even with the Queen still alive, he handed over full authority of the Royal Palace to his mistress and declared her illegitimate child as his own, personally bestowing the title of Grand Duke upon him.

“Your Majesty, please send a letter of protest to King Leopold of Luxen!”

That was Karl von Baden, this bastard.

The King irritably removed his glasses and opened his eyes.