Chapter 131
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 131
“I’ll keep smuggling them out whenever I can.”
“Watch your back.”
He shrugged as if to tell her not to worry, then swaggered out of the room.
While Barbara was placing the documents she had just received into a safe, another one of the Wolves entered to deliver a different report.
“The Marchioness is currently meeting with Margaret Rose von Franz.”
“The Dowager Marchioness?”
“Yes. She went to the manor quite some time ago and hasn’t come out. They’ve moved to a room where surveillance is difficult, and we’ve confirmed that unidentified documents are being brought in.”
“Isn’t Abigail von Franz at the Dowager Marchioness’s manor?”
“Yes, she is confirmed to be at Franz Manor. However, there was no indication that the Marchioness met with her.”
Barbara’s brow furrowed.
The Marchioness’s seal and insignia, which were always in Charlotte’s possession, weighed on her mind. On days like this, when she found herself worrying that Charlotte’s very existence might bring harm to Oscar, she was always reminded of that day.
The day the late Marquis had summoned her and ordered her to protect Oscar.
What had the Marquis been burning? The papers melting in the flames were undoubtedly letters from a noblewoman. Judging by the sheer number of them, he must have been burning a collection he had amassed over a long period.
Who would write such heartfelt letters to the Marquis of Reinhardt while he was away at war?
Could they have been from Charlotte, his wife? It was true that messengers from the capital’s manor had been frequent back then.
On that day, Ernst had burned what she presumed were Charlotte’s letters and ordered her not to trust his wife, but to protect his son.
Ernst had not been ignorant of his wife’s betrayal. Even if he hadn’t known before, he must have realized it by then. That was surely why he had given such an order.
He died a few years later, which meant he’d had plenty of time to cast Charlotte out of the family. If so, why hadn’t he?
And why was there not a single shred of evidence left of Charlotte’s betrayal? It was as if someone had deliberately erased it all.
Barbara strained to recall the memory.
What had Ernst’s expression been like when he gave her that order? With what face, in what voice, had he commanded her?
Deep blue eyes beneath a black military cap, a mouth pressed into a firm line, a tense jaw.
“……”
Ernst’s expression, which she had been unable to read back then, was something she could only now begin to decipher, having raised his son.
Barbara slowly let out a long breath.
He had been in pain.
* * *
The mountain cabin, which Oscar had temporarily left, was now swarmed not only by the Wolves who had accompanied him but also by the combat wolves assembled on his orders. The command to disband had not yet been given.
Although Reinhardt was not currently at war, the combat wolves were always roaming some battlefield. Reinhardt’s business was not confined to Luxen, which meant they had to move swiftly in response to the political situations of other nations.
They were exceptionally rough and fierce. They had to be to survive. They were a world apart from the other wolves, and even among their own, those who had been away from the field for even a short while felt different.
“You guys look tired after just a few days of camping.”
“Hard to trust these bastards in a fight now. Shouldn’t we demote ’em to backup?”
“Look at those dark circles. Total lapdogs. Hey, bark for us! Woof, woof!”
“I’ll fucking kill you!”
When one of the Wolves passing under the trees could no longer contain his anger and exploded, the combat wolves perched above snickered in unison.
“Woof, woof!”
“…Fucking lunatics.”
Combat Teams 3 and 4, who had been living at the manor for the past few months, had lost the will to even fight back against the barrage of mockery.
Every one of the combat wolves was lying on a thick tree branch, looking as comfortable as if they were resting on a top-tier mattress. As if impervious to the cold, they wore only a single layer of thin clothing, none of them budging from their respective trees, determined not to waste a single ounce of energy on useless movements.
Unmoving, they did nothing but run their mouths. Since fighting was their very identity, it seemed they had to pick fights with their words just to feel satisfied.
“You Team 2 bastards. We’re gonna pay you back for the shit you pulled during the Tasha civil war, you hear me?”
“Pay us back for what? You just tagged along like a little princess. If you can’t handle that, you should’ve just dropped dead.”
“Shut up before I rip your guts out and stuff ’em down your throat. What batch is that motherfucker from?”
“Oh my, is that you, senior? Fuck, I’ve been having indigestion lately anyway. Would you mind ripping my guts out for me?”
The manor Wolves passing below glanced up with disgusted faces at their comrades hurling insults at each other. Still, even they showed a modicum of respect to fellow members of the Combat Teams. They didn't even consider wolves outside the Combat Teams to be real wolves.
“Hey, fetch some water.”
The Backup Team, who had tagged along to protect Seo-ah, was having a miserable time. Strictly speaking, the Backup Team was also under the Combat Teams, which only made the contempt sting more.
Whenever the Backup Team passed by, those fiends would inevitably toss down canteens and order them to do chores. Saying “Do it yourself” was out of the question; even the Backup Team leader couldn’t talk back. If he did, he might actually get beaten to death.
For these wolves, who reeked of the wild, only one logic mattered.
Might.
Thus, the only person who could control them was Oscar.
“But what’s that?”
Gritting his teeth as he picked up a canteen from the ground, the Backup Team leader straightened up at the voice from above. The combat wolves, who had been mocking him just a moment ago, were now staring intently at a single spot.
The Backup Team leader turned his head. The cabin was barely visible through the dense layers of deciduous trees. These beastly bastards had sharp eyes, even though they weren't part of the Search Team. But knowing who they were referring to, the Backup Team leader replied nonchalantly.
“That’s His Excellency’s target.”
At that moment, a massive man landed on the ground before him. The wind he kicked up was strong enough to flutter their clothes, yet his landing was so light that not a single vibration was felt.
“Do you think I’m asking because I don’t know that?”
The gruff voice resonated deeply, matching his thick build.
The man with closely cropped hair and a giant’s physique was none other than Thebes, the leader of Combat Team 1. Thebes held the highest rank within the Combat Teams, to the point where his orders were practically absolute in Oscar’s absence.
Even the other combat wolves, who tore into each other without any regard for hierarchy, didn't dare run their mouths at him. He, in turn, showed a modicum of respect only to Barbara and Karl.
His relationship with Simon, however, went far beyond merely being bad. Thebes called him a “lapdog,” while Simon called him a “fighting dog.”
Thebes, the leader of Combat Team 1, felt a gaze directed precisely at him through the thicket.
He always prioritized Oscar’s orders above all else. He had searched the Rock Forest on his master’s command and was now guarding the perimeter of the cabin like an iron fortress because he had been told to.
What Oscar was doing holed up in that cabin was of little importance. To Thebes, Oscar was not someone to be understood, but a master deserving of unconditional obedience and reverence. If the order to disband had been given after a few days, Thebes wouldn't have paid the slightest attention to the target. After all, “targets” were as common as the air they breathed.
Thebes’s interest in the target hadn’t been piqued when Oscar banned smoking, nor when rumors spread that he was casting everything aside to stay by her side.
It began today, the very moment she stepped out of the cabin.
Someone who had been bedridden for nearly two weeks shouldn’t be able to walk properly. There was a good reason the attending physician was hovering around her so anxiously. Yet, though the woman—the target—was emaciated, her physical balance was not disrupted in the slightest. One could tell just by the way she walked.
But if it had been only that, Thebes’s interest would have ended there.
At first, he thought she was just looking around the cabin out of curiosity. But it didn't take long for him to realize she wasn't merely taking in the scenery.
“Senior, I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but that woman…”
“Looks like she’s watching us.”
“…Yes.”
The woman was observing the Wolves hidden among the leaves. Was that even possible? They all seemed to be lazing on the trees, exchanging trivial jokes, but if they kept their mouths shut, even the Search Team would usually pass by without noticing them.
Thebes glanced back for no particular reason, then pulled a cigarette from his breast pocket. At this, not only the Backup Team leader but all the combat wolves watched him. As he lit the cigarette, the nearby Backup Team leader looked back anxiously.
“Will this be alright? His Excellency…”
“The exact order I received was to ‘guard the perimeter like an iron fortress.’ Do you see a single rat sneaking around?”
“……”
“He’s not here. And the target is awake. Besides, do you really think His Excellency quit smoking for good?”
As Thebes smoked, the sound of matches striking rained down from the trees. While the excited wolves lit their own cigarettes, Thebes took a step forward.
At that, the target looked at him with clear eyes. She must have known the moment he climbed down from the tree.
“Did you say we made it out of the Rock Forest’s underground tunnel alive thanks to that woman?”