Chapter 123
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 123
“Seo-ah.”
Only after pronouncing her name properly did Oscar realize he had even coveted the way Abel shaped the syllables of her name.
He had blamed her for everything, raged at her, taken her in a fury, insulted her, and then watched for her reaction. Because he did not dare look into his own heart, he had sought the cause of his turmoil in her alone.
A dark, viscous emotion that disgusted even himself rose in his throat.
How had he not known? This sickening desire—this refusal to share even her gaze with another man, let alone her name.
The wall he had believed so solid was nothing more than a sandcastle before this woman, ready to crumble at the slightest touch. This blind obsession, which made him lose sight of both his life and his duties, was terrifying.
Oscar squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them and checked her pulse again.
Thump… thump.
The few seconds between each beat felt as vast and distant as eternity.
He had no choice but to admit it. The fear and anxiety he had long forgotten were now held hostage in this tiny woman's hands.
The wall had already collapsed, and Oscar could not let go of the woman buried beneath its ruins. Enduring the helplessness that weighed down on him, he stared at Seo-ah’s face as she breathed faintly.
And just as a foolish boy prays every night, he prayed over her.
Since you hold my fear and anxiety, I can overlook almost anything.
Even if you demand something I own, I can pretend not to notice and give it all to you.
Whatever you ask of me, I will look the other way and grant it.
Even if you deceived me, I will see your deception as the price for saving my life.
So…
“Just don’t die.”
Oscar exhaled a dry breath and whispered incessantly.
“Just don’t die.”
As long as you live, I will fix whatever is broken in your body.
If it cannot be fixed, I will spend the rest of my life compensating you in any way you wish.
“Seo-ah.”
So, just wake up.
The burden on your shoulders—if there is such a thing, whatever it may be—I will carry it all for you.
*
The small mountain cabin on the border of Pelfe was a place the Wolves occasionally used as a temporary shelter. Although Oscar was the actual owner, it was legally registered to a merchant from Pelfe.
Such places were scattered across the entire continent.
Because they were used as shelters for the Wolves and sometimes as staging points, they were always stocked with the bare essentials. But even by generous standards, it was not a comfortable place to stay.
Yet, Oscar did not budge a single step from it.
In the meantime, several other physicians were dragged to the cabin in the dead of night, just like the first one, and suffered a similar fate. The physicians who emerged after examining the patient hidden inside looked as if they had barely crawled out of a demon's den. Shivering violently, they all muttered similar complaints.
“I mean… he won’t even let us touch her, so what does he expect us to do?”
“I-I almost died just for trying to get a look at her face.”
Then, one day, one of the Wolves muttered, “Isn’t she already dead?”
In truth, such a remark was nothing among the Wolves. It barely even qualified as a dark joke.
But Oscar, who hadn’t been seen at all, opened the door and stepped out. He put a cigarette between his lips for the first time in a long while and, without hesitation, singled out the Wolf who had spoken. He gestured for the man to come light it, and the Wolf immediately rushed over with a flame.
The instant he did, Oscar’s hand clamped around his throat.
Oscar held him by the scruff of his neck, refusing to let go until the cigarette had burned down completely. Then, he whispered with a smile:
“Your voice is exceptionally grating.”
The Black Wolf’s temper grew fouler by the day. Everyone felt their blood run a little drier with each passing hour. Eventually, they all found themselves desperately praying for Seo-ah’s recovery.
About a week after Oscar had secluded himself with Seo-ah, the Wolf and physician sent by Barbara finally arrived at the cabin. It had taken them longer than expected, as they were forced to detour around the closed Rock Forest.
The arriving Wolf felt a chill run down his spine at the strange atmosphere hanging over his comrades.
Those who were usually talkative were as silent as if they had sworn an oath, and most unnervingly, Abel Sting—who normally shadowed the target day in and day out—was sitting off by himself.
“What’s wrong with everyone?”
He rolled his eyes and spoke before his comrades could get a word in.
“Don’t tell me the target is already dead.”
The Wolves, who had been walking on eggshells around their master for days, let out quiet groans.
Well, you’re dead meat.
They gave a warning to the bewildered physician who had rushed all the way from the capital. The physician, at least, had to survive.
“Do not touch the patient carelessly.”
“If I can’t touch her, how am I supposed to examine her?”
“Well, uh… we wouldn’t know about that…”
Slam.
The door swung open.
Feeling a cold draft from behind, the physician stiffened and turned around. Then, he gasped.
He was House Reinhardt’s attending physician and had been treating Oscar and the Wolves for many years. Though not a Wolf himself, he was treated like one by most.
Oscar was a man who, no matter how disheveled, never let his beard grow out. Yet now, a dark stubble covered the lower half of his face, making his eyes seem to burn even more intensely. He wiped a hand over his face, then beckoned with a finger.
“He hasn’t slept or had a proper meal in a week,” one of the Wolves whispered to the physician. “Do your best not to displease His Excellency.”
Reinhardt’s attending physician blinked, then hurried toward Oscar.
The man looked as if even the time to shave was a luxury he couldn’t afford. He was a picture of someone surviving on the barest necessities. Though this version of Oscar was incredibly foreign, the physician asked the most important question first.
“Is the patient upstairs?”
Oscar was heading toward the first floor living space. A patient couldn’t possibly be in a room occupied by someone who was barely sustaining himself. Nor should she be. What could a man who hadn’t even shaved do for a patient?
But Oscar, as if even speaking was too much trouble, disappeared behind a partition without a word. Left with no choice, the physician followed, only to freeze the moment he stepped past it.
Around the patient lying on a pristine bed, everything the previous physicians had advised was perfectly arranged.
A moderate amount of sunlight filtered into the room, which was kept at the perfect humidity and temperature. Oscar hadn’t even touched a cigarette in days, ever since being told the lingering smoke was bad for her.
Leaning against the window frame, his eyes fell upon the woman, who seemed to grow more frail with each passing day.
Even seeing it with his own eyes, the physician could hardly believe what the unshaven Oscar had been doing all this time.
“Now, what else do I need to do?”
“…Your Excellency.”
“Tell me what more I have to do to make this woman open her eyes.”
The attending physician was at a loss for words.
“…Your Excellency, first of all, you must get some sleep and eat a proper meal…”
“I believe you know I didn’t summon you to listen to such nonsense.”
It was chilling.
A terrifying aura emanated from the Marquis—the kind that made one believe that if he were told his own heart was the medicine she needed, he would slice open his chest without a moment’s hesitation.
Ultimately, the physician approached the patient with trembling steps.
A patient’s condition was always a reflection of their caretaker. In all his long years as a physician, he had rarely seen a patient so meticulously cared for.
She looked as though she had only just fallen asleep. That would have been impossible if someone hadn’t stayed by her side twenty-four hours a day, constantly tending to her.
Oscar watched as the physician examined Seo-ah.
Over the past week, numerous reports had reached him. There was always work to be done. They said they hadn’t found the rat in the Rock Forest. However, one of the combat Wolves who had traversed the underground tunnel had picked up an object in the dark. The insignia, engraved with a single eagle, was undoubtedly the Insignia of the Luxen King's Representative, passed down through generations of the Luxen Royal Family.
Yet Oscar had tossed even that insignia aside like trash. Nothing held any meaning to him anymore.
Every minute and every second ticked by with agonizing slowness, and the eyelids of the increasingly frail woman never once fluttered open. The embers smoldering in his chest had long ago consumed his body and, not satisfied with that, were now burning away his very soul.
Eating and sleeping were the furthest things from his mind.
The time spent doing nothing but waiting for Seo-ah to wake made every second feel like a hundred years, and the silence between each of her heartbeats felt like an eternity. To Oscar, a day was no longer just twenty-four hours.
When told that sunlight was good for her, he dragged her bed into the light. When told direct sunlight was bad, he hung a makeshift curtain. When told she needed to be fed thin soup at regular intervals, he carefully spooned it into her mouth, making sure not to jostle her. When told cigarette smoke was harmful, he quit smoking.
That was all he could do. There was only that much. The time he spent moving his body according to the physicians' advice amounted to barely a few hours over the entire week. The rest was nothing but endless, agonizing waiting.
That waiting was driving him mad.
It had reached the point where he wished someone would tell him that his own heart was her medicine. Doing that would be far better than sitting here, waiting in utter helplessness.
The attending physician examined Seo-ah thoroughly, but his conclusion was the same.
“For now, all we can do is wait for her to wake up.”
The Black Wolf, who neither ate nor slept, remained silent.
Without sparing the physician a single glance, he sat back down in his chair. And then, he simply stared at the woman.