Translator: Nox

Chapter 33

Inside the mansion, they had reduced the variables by assigning her the safest room and the easiest one to monitor. To minimize variables outside the mansion, it was better to have a clear destination.

“There are about five or six more,” Barbara said.

If Abel Sting and the backup team had heard this, they would have been foaming at the mouth, but that was of no concern to Barbara.

“If you wish to go, just say the word. I will inform Abel.”

“Thank you, Madam.”

Barbara left with the dishes, telling her to rest well, and Seo-ah watched the door close quietly.

Click, clack.

The sound of light, short footsteps, slightly favoring the right side, faded away until the outer door finally shut.

“Haa….”

A long breath escaped her.

Her legs ached from walking around all day, but that didn’t matter.

Seo-ah took out the notebook she had bought today. Then, she pulled out the fountain pen Oscar had given her and opened to the first page.

Oscar, who had gone off somewhere alone. He seemed to have arrived safely at the Reinhardt Mansion, yet she couldn’t let go of her suspicion. She had spent the entire day watching Abel’s every move and listening intently to the sounds around her.

After a full day of observing her surroundings, Seo-ah was able to reach a very cautious conclusion.

She wrote two words on the first page of the notebook.

Luxen, Vies.

If Pelfe Bank was the first destination, then Vies in Luxen was the second. Furthermore, while she was being monitored, she also had freedom of movement.

Her Teacher had said the probability of failure before reaching this point was over fifty percent. So, she had been lucky.

Seo-ah pulled her braided hair over her shoulder. Lowering her eyes, she saw the ends of her light brown hair and the red danggi. A deep red danggi embroidered with a single small butterfly.

Fingering the end of the ribbon, Seo-ah looked back out the window. As she stood close to the glass, she saw the mansion submerged in darkness. Beyond this estate, a strange city stretched out like a black sea.

She had been told that to catch a fish in the vast ocean, one must either cast a wide net or throw a line with bait. And then, wait patiently until the fish bites.

However, she couldn’t cast a wide net. She had neither the power nor the capability.

But she could at least fashion a crude fishing rod.

Seo-ah whispered toward the dark sea.

I met the Wolves while carrying the key you searched for so desperately. I placed the key in the Wolf’s hand and wore the danggi you would recognize.

So now, it is your turn to find me.

In case you don’t realize I’ve come, I intend to do my best to show this unusual face of mine to the public.

In case you can’t find me, I intend to do my best to frequent crowded places.

Even if my heart races and I feel so out of breath that I want to run away every moment, I will endure and wait.

“See you soon.”

The small whisper clung to the window like a white mist before vanishing without a sound.

---

Abel described his profession as “dog work,” but in terms of self-efficacy, he was exceptional. In other words, he was confident that he could function highly effectively in the specific achievement situation of seduction.

The ignorant fools who only knew how to use swords looked down on his work as mere “honey-trapping,” but in truth, it was incredibly dangerous and delicate work.

Unlike search or combat teams that were deployed in units, Abel always moved alone. Even if it was in the middle of enemy territory, he had no choice. If he were caught under suspicion, the probability of dying before a rescue team arrived was high, and in most cases, he wouldn’t even be allowed a quick death.

Even assuming he wasn’t caught, securing a target was no easy feat.

It went without saying when the target was a married woman, and some were even members of the clergy.

It was a complex job that required examining every detail: their temperament, their current situation, their upbringing, their sexual preferences, and so on.

Therefore, the task of seducing a foreigner with the exotic name Seo-ah felt like it wasn’t even worth being called “work.”

The bastards watching and snickering from the sidelines were annoying, but how could this compare to enemy territory where he had to put his life on the line? Was there a husband with eyes like fire? Was there anyone nearby to hinder the meeting? On top of that, she was naive and had a pretty face.

And yet.

“Haa….”

A sweet, sickly taste rose in his mouth.

Was that all?

The hem of his high-end suit, which cost tens of millions of Kerete per set, smelled like fish, and his stomach was sour from the several cups of coffee he had downed in succession.

The worst target he had dealt with until now was a woman who prayed all day, but no matter how much he thought about it, that woman seemed better.

“At least she was attracted to my face.”

Huh?

The moment the words he spoke reached his own ears, an inexplicable chill ran down his spine.

Abel, realizing anew that the professional efficacy he was so proud of stemmed from his natural-born face, saw an afterimage of the woman who had kept her face buried in a coffee cup the whole time.

At the time, he hadn’t felt it because his irritation at the bustle of the market had reached its peak, but looking back now, the target seemed to have no interest in his appearance—or in the human being named Abel Sting himself.

“…….”

After the chill came a lingering sense of unease accompanied by a feeling of crisis.

Abel, who had intended to drink himself into a stupor immediately, stood up. Since the night naturally evoked strange sentiments, he thought he should make his presence known to the target one more time.

But even that was not easy.

“Why are the lights out?”

“It seems she is sleeping.”

“What do you mean? It’s not even ten o’clock.”

“They went out thirty minutes ago.”

It wasn’t like she was a growing child; did it make sense for a full-grown adult to go to bed before ten?

Wait.

If she goes to sleep this early, what time does she plan to wake up tomorrow? Don’t tell me she wants to go to a place like the market again tomorrow….

Feeling a sense of dread, Abel called over a Wolf.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“If she asks if there are more markets in Vies, tell her there are none besides the Central Market. Tell everyone in the mansion to say the same.”

However, that didn’t go his way either.

“I’m sorry, but Senior Barbara told me to relay that you should prepare to go to the market again tomorrow.”

“…….”

This target was a foreigner who loved markets and had absolutely no interest in his face.

Returning to his room with a very troubled and uncomfortable expression, Abel sat down and opened his report. He stared at the printed form for a long time before picking up his pen.

Around 08:20, moved to Central Market. Looking around. Looking around. Looking around….

List of purchased items: 1 sausage, 1 notebook, 1 candy, and 1 sausage bread. Coffee… 6.

18:05, returned home. Around 21:30, went to bed.

A report to be submitted to Oscar couldn’t possibly be more pathetic than this. He racked his brain to see what else he could add to make it look plausible, but the more he wrote, the more pathetic it became.

What he feared was the ominous feeling that this kind of report would be the same tomorrow, and the day after that.

Abel rubbed his face.

“Succeed brilliantly and put everyone’s nose out of joint.”

Whether it was Barbara or the Combat Team, he had to show those other bastards, but he had an ominous feeling that his own nose was the one that was going to be put out of joint.

And that feeling began to manifest as reality starting from the next day—no, it was blatantly obvious.

---

A secret room where there was neither night nor day. The iron door of the secret room, where everything from the floor to the ceiling was made of steel, opened with a loud clang.

“Ugh, the smell is so revolting I can’t even stand to go in.”

A man with a snake tattoo where his hair should have been entered with a look of disgust. He then struck the back of the head of the man who had opened the iron door and barked in anger.

“I told you to clean up the flesh and blood as you go! Clean it as you go! The stench of rot is everywhere!”

“I’m sorry!”

The subordinate immediately bowed deeply in apology, and the man with the snake tattoo frowned as he passed him. The man’s gaze turned toward those being tortured.

“Stubborn, so stubborn.”

There were two beings tied to chairs.

“Looking at things like this, humans really are just animals. How does this look like a person from any angle, right?”

He spoke jokingly with a chuckle, but considering the state of those tied to the chairs, it was no joke.