Chapter 54
Seo-ah gripped her bag tight, its clasp broken and its mouth hanging open. Her breath came in shallow gasps, as if her lungs had shriveled. Her steps were as short and stilted as her breathing.
In contrast, he had a long stride. One of his steps was longer than two of hers. To keep from losing him, Seo-ah had no choice but to walk at a near-run.
The streets, though the festival had ended, were still crowded with people heading home. She couldn’t afford to lose him here and cause another scene, so she hurried along, her eyes fixed solely on Oscar’s back.
A pitch-black suit, and hair just as dark.
As her gaze fell on that black hair, which seemed to blend into the night sky, her heart and fingertips felt as though they were shrinking.
What do I do?
She tightened her grip on the bag.
She wished the unfamiliar scent that had filled her lungs and the warm, firm sensation beneath her palm had all been an illusion—like the fireworks that had embroidered the night sky so brilliantly before vanishing without a trace.
Once they passed the crowded streets, a wind that felt colder and heavier began to blow.
The wind, having traveled across the river, brushed past Oscar. In that breeze was the scent of acrid cigarette smoke. A cigarette hung from his fingertips as his hand dropped heavily to his side.
The ghost that had been wandering the cemetery was now haunting the narrow alleyway where the fireworks had exploded.
What had she been thinking, throwing her arms around the head of a man several spans taller than her? Had she not heard him tell her to mind her own business?
Oscar, who had let out a laugh as if in disbelief earlier, had now sunk into a silence colder and deeper than the river breeze.
He seemed angry.
And why wouldn’t he be?
There was a limit to acting foolish, but she had mistaken fireworks—which even children weren’t afraid of—for explosives. Not only that, she had even grabbed his head and pinned it down. Because she had forced herself so close to him… Seo-ah shook her head, trying to catch her thoughts before they spiraled further into the depths of despair. It would have been an unpardonable rudeness even back in her hometown. Oscar had likely never experienced such disrespect in his life.
What am I going to do?
“Um…”
“…….”
“Excuse me… Your Excellency…”
Her voice, pathetically cracked and trembling, was buried by the wind. Oscar continued walking as if he hadn’t heard her call. Seo-ah gathered every last drop of courage and quickened her pace. She drew as close as she could to his long-striding side and called out to him again.
“Your Excellency, I…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Oscar brushed past her. His coldness, showing not even a hint of hesitation, felt as chilling as the color of his eyes.
Her mouth felt parched, and a chill ran through her. The more it did, the more the blood drained from the hand gripping her bag. Following behind him again, Seo-ah opened her dry lips.
I’m sorry.
She opened her mouth to say those words, but they felt impossibly light.
“…I am sorry.”
So she didn’t dare shout it. The apology withered in the wind, as if evaporating from the tips of her lips. The man walking ahead likely didn’t hear it.
She decided she would offer a proper apology once his anger seemed to have softened.
She would tell him she was sorry for getting them trapped in the crowd and for grabbing his head.
Then, suddenly, he stopped. Seo-ah stopped behind him. At the same time, Oscar turned around.
It was a dark road without even a gas lamp.
The only light on this path was the glow of the cigarette burning at his fingertips. Yet, beyond that ember, the gaze fixed on her was terrifyingly vivid. It wasn’t that they were making eye contact; as always, her gaze was fixed near the ground. She could simply feel it intensely.
“…I am sorry.”
“…….”
A cold silence flowed between them. Then, something—whether a sigh or smoke—drifted over her bowed head and brushed against the back of her neck. A shiver ran down her spine, and she felt her body curling inward.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know what it was, and I thought it was danger—”
“Your Excellency!”
As she barely managed to continue her excuse, a loud commotion approached from behind.
Oscar’s gaze, which had been piercing Seo-ah like a needle, shifted behind her. Seo-ah turned around as well.
It was Abel.
He reached Seo-ah and Oscar’s side in an instant. His usual smirk was nowhere to be found; he was as tense and sharp as a new recruit. Clicking his heels together, Abel Sting bowed deeply to his master, who looked as though his nerves were on edge.
“My deepest apologies.”
Oscar, who had taken off his jacket at some point and was holding it in one hand, used the other to take the cigarette from his mouth. He let out a long breath mixed with smoke before dropping the cigarette to the ground.
“I’m hearing that a lot lately.”
Cold sweat ran down Abel’s back.
Excuses were pathetic and meaningless.
Oscar gave a languid smile and turned away. Abel moved to follow him immediately, but then looked back at Seo-ah, who was standing there like a white ghost. Abel’s eyes sharpened.
She looked completely different from when he had last seen her. Her hair was disheveled and her face was pale, but most noticeable were her hands, which were visibly trembling. He wondered why her hands were shaking so much, then noticed her clothes looked far too thin.
Abel stole a glance at Oscar and quickly shrugged off his own jacket. He draped it over the shoulders of Seo-ah, who was about to follow Oscar. As she paused and looked back at Abel, Oscar also turned around.
Oscar stared at the two of them in silence. Then he lowered his gaze, letting it rest for a moment on the jacket in his own hand. With a face that betrayed nothing of his thoughts, as if he were reviewing something, he finally spoke when Simon approached.
“Traun is empty, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
Oscar smiled at Seo-ah, who was looking at him before casting her eyes down. Then, with a face so calm it was as if he had never been angry, he asked her a question.
“Do you know Traun?”
Seo-ah hesitated, and Oscar continued.
“The air is good, and the water is clear. It’s much better than the crowded, dangerous capital.”
His gentle tone pierced her chest more coldly than the river breeze.
While the stranger, unable to grasp the intent behind his sudden words, could only blink, Oscar shifted his eyes to Abel and gave a low command.
“Take her to Traun tomorrow, Abel.”
At Oscar’s command, Abel bowed his head deeply. Oscar turned away before Abel could even straighten up, and Seo-ah stared blankly at his receding back.
As Abel stepped forward to follow Oscar, he gestured to Seo-ah, who stood frozen like stagnant sediment. When she still didn’t move, Abel approached with a frown and grabbed her arm.
“Hurry.”
Seo-ah walked powerlessly, pulled by the force on her arm. Oscar’s back, now a good distance away, repeated a cycle of appearing and disappearing under the streetlights. Staring dazed at the flickering image of Oscar, Seo-ah finally managed to speak.
“Where is Traun?”
“Huh?”
“Is it very far from here?”
“It’s far.”
“…Do we go by train? Or carriage?”
“There’s no station there. You have to go in by carriage. It’s a villa in the middle of the mountains.”
“Then… is there a department store?”
Abel frowned as if he couldn’t believe what she was asking.
“I told you there isn’t even a station, so why would there be a department store? There’s nothing there but mountains and a lake.”
The stranger said nothing more. Since she remained silent with her head bowed, he couldn’t even begin to guess what she was thinking.
***
A short while later, the Reinhardt Mansion opened its great maw for its master, who was walking toward it from the distance. And starting with the master in his white shirt, it swallowed up the wolves who were watching his mood, followed by the bowing stranger.
Barbara could tell just by the atmosphere that the master approaching from afar was in a dark mood. Not a trace of anger was visible on his face, but Barbara, having raised him, could feel it.
The backup team leader approached her from behind.
“Forgive us, ma’am. We lost sight of the target for a moment.”
“I suppose eating and sleeping in a warm mansion has made your edges dull.”
“…….”
“I’ll have to sharpen them a bit.”
While the entire backup team took thin, shallow breaths at her low words, she descended the stairs to greet the approaching master, her eyes fixed on the target. The stranger walking behind Abel looked a mess, but she wasn’t dead. That was a relief for now.
“Don’t hover about and provoke him further. Fall back.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Oscar stepped onto the stairs leading to the front of the Main Building. Barbara stood as straight as the statues guarding the mansion, waiting for her master, and bowed respectfully as he reached her.
Oscar strode past the bowing wolves without a word.
Barbara straightened her back in time with Oscar’s steps. Simon, who was following the master, paused briefly to show his respect to his senior. He only resumed his pace after Barbara had turned to follow Oscar and taken a step herself.
The procession of wolves—Oscar, Barbara, and Simon—led into the dark mansion. The elite agents following Simon split off to the sides at the mansion’s entrance like water parting. Some went to the exterior, while others followed the master inside. Abel Sting was among the latter.
