Seo-ah tightly gripped her bag. The clasp was broken, leaving the mouth hanging open. Her breathing was shallow, as if her lungs had shrunk. Her steps were just as shallow.
In contrast, his strides were long. One of his steps covered the distance of two of hers. To avoid losing him, Seo-ah had no choice but to walk almost at a run.
The streets were still crowded after the festival. People were returning home in clusters.She couldn’t afford to lose him again here and cause trouble.
So, she hurried, her gaze fixed only on Oscar’s back.
A jet-black suit. Hair as black as the suit.
When her eyes fell on his hair, blending into the night sky, her fingertips tightened. So did her heart.
What should I do.
Her grip on the bag tightened.
She wished the unfamiliar scent that had filled her lungs, and the warm, rounded sensation beneath her palm, had all been illusions.
Like the fireworks that had flared brightly across the sky and vanished without a trace.
They pushed through the crowd. A colder, heavier wind blew through. The wind crossed the river first, then brushed past Oscar. The air that passed him carried the acrid smell of cigarette smoke. A cigarette hung from his fingers, the ash dropping heavily.
The specter that had wandered near graves now lingered in this narrow alley where fireworks had burst earlier.
What had possessed her to grab the head of a man several times her size? Hadn’t she been told to take care of herself first?
Oscar let out a short, disbelieving laugh. It sank colder and deeper than the river wind.
He seemed angry.
And why wouldn’t he be?
There were limits to foolishness.
Mistaking fireworks — something even children didn’t fear — for explosives.
Grabbing his head.
Getting that close without thinking.
Seo-ah shook her head, thoughts spiraling downward, burrowing into the ground. Even in her hometown, it would have been unforgivable.
Oscar had likely never experienced such rudeness in his life.
What will I do.
“Excuse me…”
“……”
“Excuse me, Your Excellency…”
Her voice cracked. It trembled and scattered in the wind.
Oscar kept walking as if he hadn’t heard. Seo-ah gathered what little courage she had and quickened her pace. She came up beside him, matching his stride.
“Your Excellency, I—”
Before she could finish, he brushed past her. No hesitation. No acknowledgment. The indifference felt as cold and sharp as the blue of his eyes.
Her mouth went dry. A chill crawled down her spine. The more it happened, the tighter she gripped the bag, the more the blood drained from her hand. She followed him again, lips parched.
I’m sorry.
When she tried to say it, the words felt too light.
“…I am sorry.”
She couldn’t raise her voice. The apology slipped from her lips and vanished into the wind. Therefore, she felt the man walking ahead wouldn't hear it.
When his anger cooled, she would apologize properly.
She would apologize for trapping him in the crowd. For grabbing his head.
Then his steps stopped. Seo-ah stopped too. At the same moment, Oscar turned.
The path was dark.No gas lamps.
The only light came from the cigarette burning at his fingertips. Beyond that faint glow, his gaze was unmistakable. They weren’t meeting eyes. As always, he looked slightly downward.
But she felt it clearly.
“…I am sorry.”
“……”
Cold silence stretched between them. Then, something — perhaps a sigh, perhaps smoke — drifted over his bowed head and brushed his neck. A prickling sensation ran across her skin. Her body felt as if it were curling inward.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know what it was, so it was dangerous—”
“Your Excellency!”
As she struggled to continue her excuse, a commotion from behind grew closer.
Oscar’s gaze, sharp as a needle on Seo-ah, shifted past her. She turned as well.
It was Abel.
He reached them quickly. His usual sly smile was gone. His face was alert, tight, like a new recruit under inspection. Abel Sting stopped with his heels together and bowed deeply before his master, whose nerves looked stretched thin.
“I apologize.”
Oscar, who had been holding his jacket in one hand, removed the cigarette from his mouth with the other. He exhaled a long breath mixed with smoke and dropped the cigarette to the ground.
“I hear that a lot.”
Cold sweat ran down Abel’s back.
Excuses were pathetic. Meaningless.
Oscar gave a languid smile and turned away. Abel moved to follow, then glanced back at Seo-ah. She stood there like a pale ghost. The intensity in Abel's eyes deepened.
She looked nothing like the last time he had seen her. Her hair was disheveled. Her face was drained. But what stood out most were her hands. They were trembling visibly. He didn’t know what she had done to make them shake that much. And her clothes were too thin.
Abel glanced at Oscar, then quickly removed his jacket and draped it over Seo-ah’s shoulders as she began to walk after Oscar. Seo-ah paused and looked back at him.
At that moment, Oscar turned.
He looked at the two of them. Then his gaze dropped, lingering briefly on the jacket in his hand. His face gave nothing away, as if he were silently assessing something.
When Simon approached, he spoke.
“Traun. It’s empty, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
Oscar smiled faintly at Seo-ah. She met his gaze, then lowered hers. With a calm expression, as though he had never been angry, he asked,
“Do you know Traun?”
Seo-ah faltered. Oscar continued.
“Good air. Good water. Much better than the crowded, dangerous capital.”
His gentle tone cut colder than the wind from the river.
Seo-ah blinked, unable to grasp the meaning of his sudden words. Oscar glanced at Abel and quietly commanded.
“Come to Traun with me tomorrow, Abel.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
Abel bowed deeply at the command. Before he could straighten, Oscar had already turned away. Seo-ah stared blankly at his retreating back.
Abel followed, then gestured at Seo-ah, who remained still like sediment. When she didn’t move, he frowned and grabbed her arm.
“Hurry.”
Pulled forward, she walked listlessly. Oscar’s distant figure flickered in and out of the light. She stared blankly at the flashing figure of Oscar, then finally spoke.
“Where is Traun?”
“Huh?”
“Is it far from here?”
“Not far.”
“…Do we go by train or carriage?”
“There’s no station. We go by carriage. It’s a villa in the middle of the mountain range.”
“Are there any department stores there?”
Abel frowned. As if wondering what she was talking about.
“There’s no station. What department stores? It’s just mountains and lakes.”
The foreign lady said no more. With no words and her head bowed, it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.
A moment later, Reinhardt Manor opened its vast gates to its approaching master. Led by the man in the white shirt, the watchful wolves and the bowed stranger were swallowed one after another.
—
Barbara could tell at a glance from his demeanor alone. Her master was troubled. There was no visible anger on his face. But Barbara, who had raised him, could sense it.
The backup team leader approached from behind.
“I apologize, Senior. I momentarily lost sight of the target.”
“It seems your edge has dulled from eating and sleeping in a warm mansion.”
“……”
“You need to sharpen it.”
At the low words, the entire backup team held their breath. Barbara descended the stairs to greet him, her eyes fixed on the target. The foreigner behind Abel looked miserable. But she was alive. For now, that was enough.
“Don’t linger and displease him. Step aside.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Oscar stepped onto the black stairs carpeted in red and headed toward the main hall.
Barbara stood straight like a statue guarding the mansion, waiting for her master, and bowed respectfully as he approached.
Oscar passed through the wolves without a word.
Barbara, who had been waiting, straightened up in time with Oscar's steps. Simon, following behind Oscar, paused briefly out of respect for her seniority, then followed after she moved.
Oscar led the procession of wolves. Barbara behind him. Simon after.
The wolves followed in formation toward the black mansion. At the entrance, the elite soldiers split aside like the Red Sea at the mansion's entrance.
Some remained outside.
Some followed their master in.
Abel Sting was among them.
—