Chapter 128
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 128
“It doesn’t seem to be an illusion.”
“…Pardon?”
“It’s not an illusion.”
“Your Excellency?”
Oscar, who had been staring up at the piercing sun with bloodshot eyes, demanded, “How long until we reach the hotel?”
“About fifty minutes.”
“…Get ready. We leave immediately.”
For the first time in days, Simon’s expression brightened.
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
Meanwhile, Seo-ah, who had just managed to sit up, froze when she saw Oscar return. He parted the screen and stepped inside, his advance halting for a moment as he stared at her. Then, as if to make up for that brief hesitation, he strode to her side.
“Lie down.”
“Ah, no, Your Excellency. I’m fine now…”
“Fine? You’ve been unconscious for nearly two weeks.”
Seo-ah flinched, less at his sharp tone than at the revelation itself.
“…Two weeks?”
She asked again in surprise, but he didn’t answer.
He only stared at her, his focus so intense it felt as though the spots his gaze touched might burn. She wanted to look away, but she was like a tree on a cliff, unable to escape the scorching sun. She had no choice but to endure it.
The man, gazing at her as if to melt her into nothing, slowly parted his lips.
“…Han Seo-ah.”
His low murmur stirred something deep in her chest.
“Han Seo-ah.”
“…”
“Seo-ah.”
He seemed to be demanding an answer.
Seo-ah blinked, barely managing to reply.
“…Yes.”
Only then did his gaze drift away. He raised his head slightly, staring blankly into the space above her. His Adam’s apple bobbed above the tightly buttoned collar of his shirt. It moved up and down several more times, as if words were caught in his throat.
She felt as though she had seen something she shouldn’t have.
The silence hanging in the air felt suffocatingly heavy. Then, Oscar spoke.
“I will be back by six at the latest. If you feel anything is wrong, tell my physician immediately.”
With those final words, he turned and left. His footsteps retreated, steady and without hesitation, as always. The door clicked open, and a gust of wind swept in, rustling the screen before the door shut again.
Left alone, Seo-ah blinked blankly and looked out the window.
She could see Oscar’s back as he walked away, the Wolves bowing as he passed. Seo-ah stood there, watching until his figure vanished from sight completely.
* * *
Abel was born in the back alleys of Pal Pien. In those smelly, narrow streets, a chaotic mix of immigrants and vagrants spoke a dozen different languages, each carrying their own tragic story.
For as long as he could remember, he had simply existed there. He had no parents, no adult to look after him. He didn’t even have a name. People just called him “Pretty Boy.”
It was a world where might made right.
People died every day over trivial fights. The corpses, they said, were burned on designated days at a morgue on the outskirts of the Capital. Back then, Abel figured he would end up dying like that, too.
Then came the day he was on the verge of dying exactly as he had envisioned.
The man who had been beating him mercilessly was killed with a single punch.
His savior seemed to belong to an entirely different species.
“You’re not half bad, taking a beating like that and not dying.”
Crouched on the filthy ground, Abel trembled in terror at the man looking down at him.
“Shaking this much is a bit of a problem, though. Well, if you can’t hack it, you’ll just drop out. What do you say? Will you follow me?”
Karl, the man who would later give him the name Abel Sting, asked.
“Then get up and walk on your own two feet.”
Abel got up. Limping, he followed him. Eventually, he became a Wolf.
He had never imagined a life that didn’t involve being a Wolf. If he hadn’t become one, he would have died that day, or perhaps a few years later.
On the day he finally survived to become a Wolf, he had wanted to apply for the Search Team where Karl was, but he lacked the meticulous, near-obsessive precision they required. He had also wanted to join the Combat Team, which moved only under Oscar’s direct orders, but he ended up in the Spy Team under the Intelligence Unit. Perhaps he was unconsciously drawn to it.
During his childhood wandering Pal Pien, nobles had sometimes thrown him coins.
One day, after living as a spy for over ten years, he realized that perhaps he had wanted to blend into their lives—lives filled with pleasant scents and lustrous clothes he had only ever dreamed of. And on that same day, Abel realized there was a hollow void in his chest.
Fine clothes, exquisite food, an elegant lifestyle, and even love—none of it could ever truly belong to Abel Sting. What he shared with his targets was never love. It was merely lust.
In the end, his was a life that belonged nowhere.
Ironically, by the time he was allowed to request a transfer, Abel realized he no longer possessed the desire for it that he had once harbored so deeply. There was nowhere he wanted to go.
“…I’m sorry.”
“Please, stop saying that!”
Once everything that had confused him settled, what remained was the memory of her eyes, as clear as a riverbed. Eyes bathed in sunlight, her characteristic look of incomprehension, and the soft, self-deprecating laugh that would occasionally escape her.
“Abel.”
Yet within that calm voice and those clear eyes lay a steadfast core. Abel only realized how clear and transparent the eyes of someone who didn’t readily judge others could be when he looked into Seo-ah’s. To her, he was neither an object of lust nor a tool to extract something from.
He was just Abel.
He only realized this after she had lost consciousness.
“Hey. Which squad are you going to join?”
“Come to the Combat Team. We all know you’ve got the skills, so no one’s going to object.”
The Wolves approached Abel, who was sitting blankly, staring at the mountain cabin.
Abel Sting, who had always worn a playful smirk, seemed like a completely different person. The hair falling over his forehead and his expressionless face gave him a decadent air. This was the face he had always hidden beneath his aristocratic veneer.
His eyes, visible through his blonde hair, remained fixed on the cabin.
“Are you even eating or sleeping?”
Too much useless chatter.
Just then, the physician who had gone into the cabin stepped outside. But he was not alone.
The moment the woman who had been unconscious for nearly two weeks emerged, the attention of every Wolf focused on her.
Abel was no exception.
She had always been thin, but now she looked even more fragile. The physician fussed over her, anxiously wrapping a blanket around her shoulders. Even from a distance, her exceptionally bright eyes were visible.
Abel, who had been propped against a tree trunk for days, stood up. He took one step, then another, and tried to smooth his hair with his hand. Only then did he realize how filthy his hands were. In the end, Abel stopped after taking only a few steps toward her.
He was about to turn back, thinking he should wash up before facing her, when—
“Abel.”
Her calm voice caught him. His heart leaped into his throat, his blood rushing through his veins. It felt exactly like the day he had received his very first order—the day purpose was first given to his filthy, wretched life.
Abel reacted to her call as if he had been waiting for it. He turned and walked toward Seo-ah. His true self, which he had never shown any of his targets, was laid completely bare, yet she merely met his gaze with her usual, unchanging eyes.
He stopped a few paces in front of her.
Seo-ah looked at him quietly and murmured, “I’m glad you aren’t hurt.”
Abel, who had been holding his breath, grinned for the first time since arriving. Then, in his usual tone, he spoke.
“I’ve been waiting so long I thought my eyes would fall out. What took you so long to wake up?”
And looking into those transparent eyes, he finally decided where he belonged.
* * *
Though it was called a hotel, the establishment was little more than a decent inn, and its owner was currently worried sick over the sudden arrival of an overly distinguished guest.
The noble figure who had graced his humble place was none other than the Tekan Ambassador. The man constantly boasted about being the cousin of the Tekan Prime Minister and bragged about his immense wealth, summoning the chef and the owner at every meal to pour out an endless stream of complaints.
When on earth will this guest leave? The owner had started wondering this less than half a day after his arrival.
But now, an even more overwhelming guest had crossed the hotel’s threshold.
At his appearance, the staff in the lobby stared in stunned silence. Striding through the lobby with both hands in his pockets, he was a man who clearly did not belong in a place like this. The aura radiating from him and his striking features defied description. No one could even recall the color of his eyes in their shock.
The hotel owner only snapped out of his daze when the handsome, red-eyed man who had brought the Tekan Ambassador earlier gave him a sharp gesture. The owner scrambled to guide them to the hotel’s second-best parlor.
As the terrifyingly handsome man passed by, he commanded, “Bring him.”
The hotel owner bowed his head instinctively. One of the men following the terrifying figure turned back the way they came. Some disappeared into the parlor behind him, while others took up positions outside the door. Faced with such flawless, military-like discipline, the hotel owner didn’t dare interfere and quickly fled.
Meanwhile, Simon felt relieved to see that Oscar was perfectly fine, despite having covered a fifty-minute journey in just thirty. He looked completely unfazed.
A few minutes later, the Wolf who had gone to inform the Tekan Ambassador of Oscar’s arrival returned with a troubled expression.
“He says he is dining and asks you to wait.”
Simon ground his teeth, picturing the ambassador’s plump, fleshy face.
“It’s laughable, how desperate he is to gain the upper hand, Your Excellency.”