Chapter 58
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 58
“Ahem!”
When the middle-aged woman in the yard cleared her throat, the woman who had been staring at Peter through the door whipped her head around. As she turned, her long, braided black hair swung into view, along with the red ribbon tied at its end.
* * *
A red ribbon.
It was called a daenggi, a traditional hair ribbon.
“A woman wearing a daenggi is by Reinhardt’s side…”
Tap, tap, tap.
Peter, who had been drumming his fingertips on the desk, folded the paper with the drawing, tucked it into his breast pocket, and rose to his feet. He left the dim, secret room and climbed the stairs back to the surface. After crossing a pitch-black garden where not a single ray of light fell, he slipped through a door no one else used, removed his cloak, and put it away neatly. He smoothed down his clothes before opening the door on the opposite side.
Unlike the inky darkness he had just left, the world beyond was splendid and beautiful.
Clack, clack, clack.
The precise, rhythmic clicking of his heels echoed off the walls of the magnificent Luxen Royal Palace. Servants passing in the hallway bowed politely, and he moved past them with practiced ease.
Finally entering his own room, he pulled a large box from a wardrobe and opened it without hesitation.
Peter stared into the box for a long time.
Inside were the ashes of that man—brought back by his subordinates in place of the key they had failed to find.
“You were the one who drove me to the brink of death, so I can’t say I bear you no ill will. But would you believe me if I said I never wanted it to go this far?”
A weary sigh escaped him.
“If you had just settled things amicably and returned what was mine, wouldn’t that have been better? Would you have ended up in pieces like this?”
If so, he wouldn’t have been reduced to mere leverage.
Things were chaotic right now, but his plan was to send someone to the man’s family next year and use the ashes to negotiate.
Bring the key, and I will return the ashes. If you want them back, bring the key.
That was the plan.
Peter pulled the paper from his pocket. He stared for a long while at the drawing of the woman with the braided hair, only her back visible.
What were the odds of a woman wearing a daenggi staying in Luxen—and in the Reinhardt Marquisate Residence, of all places?
“What on earth… is this?”
The dead man in the box offered no answer.
Wishing for a cigarette—a habit he had quit long ago—Peter tossed the paper into the urn as if discarding trash.
“Well, I suppose I’ll find out in time.”
As he closed the lid, his heartless eyes flashed coldly in the darkness.
*
It was a dim, misty dawn, before even the birds had begun to stir.
Barbara climbed the central staircase of the Main Building with hurried steps. A few servants changing lamps or tending to the heating, along with some Wolves on the dawn shift, watched her with curiosity, but Barbara paid them no mind. Reaching the central hall in an instant, she dismissed the servant tending to the fire and carefully opened the door to the Marquis’s room.
A frigid draft hit her the moment she stepped inside. In the entire manor, the only place colder than the Marquis’s quarters was the underground cellar, as his rooms were never heated, even in the dead of winter. But right now, his room felt even colder than the cellar.
Barbara quietly closed the door and bowed toward the pitch-black darkness.
“You called, Your Excellency?”
After a moment of movement from the dressing room, a lamp was lit. Oscar was silently changing his clothes. A cold, damp moisture hung in the air, as if he had just bathed at this early hour.
Although Oscar slept very little, it was rare for him to be up and moving this early. He usually didn't fall asleep until just before dawn. Even when he did wake up, he rarely went out of his way to summon her.
The unusual summons sent a creeping tension down her spine.
Had something happened?
Ever since Oscar’s return to the manor, a lingering, inexplicable unease had taken root in her mind, but she couldn't quite grasp its source. Where should she even begin to look? Where on earth…
“Bring me the pill.”
Her train of thought shattered.
“If there are none, go find some.”
Barbara straightened her back and raised her head. She looked at her master, who was just beginning to button his shirt, and asked, “Do you mean a daily pill or the morning-after?”
Oscar replied indifferently, without a single glance in her direction.
“Morning-after.”
Barbara stopped thinking, her mind shifting to the task at hand.
“We have some in the manor. How many should I bring?”
“One is enough.”
“Yes, Your Excellency. Please wait a moment. I will bring—”
“Make the target take it.”
His next words froze her, making even a mechanical response impossible.
Oscar’s demeanor, however, was perfectly normal. His expression, his attitude, his tone—none of it differed from his usual self. Fastening his cuffs, he looked back at the silent Barbara.
“I said, make the target take it.”
Only then did Barbara square her shoulders like a disciplined soldier and reply crisply, “Understood, Your Excellency.”
Oscar turned back to the mirror and fastened his other cuff.
“Change all the sofa covers, bedsheets, and blankets as well.”
“Yes.”
Barbara bowed politely, excused herself, and stepped outside. Closing the door quietly, she crossed the hall with her usual steady stride. She retrieved a highly potent morning-after pill from the medicine cabinet in the first-floor office and headed back up to the second floor. After dismissing the Wolves guarding the corridor to another post, she entered the study.
The study, draped in heavy curtains, was enveloped in a dark silence.
Barbara crossed the quiet room and stood before the door connecting to Oscar's bedroom. Without a moment's hesitation, she opened it. No matter what sight lay beyond, it wouldn't make the seasoned wolf bat an eye.
But the room was empty. There was no one in sight, nor were there any objects strewn about. The blankets and sheets, however, were missing from the bed.
“Change all the sofa covers, bedsheets, and blankets.”
There were four sofas in Oscar's bedroom: two long couches and two single-seaters. Did he mean to change all four? Her confusion was brief; she immediately saw which sofa’s cover needed replacing.
Barbara turned quietly and headed straight for the target's room. Unlike before, when she had always knocked, this time she opened the door immediately.
But that room was also empty.
On the bed, which showed no signs of having been slept in, lay a set of neatly folded clothes. The red ribbon resting on top was exceptionally vivid, catching her eye for a moment before the sound of running water reached her.
The Outsider was in the bathroom.
Barbara closed the door and walked toward it. She knocked.
Knock, knock.
“…”
Knock, knock, knock.
“…”
When there was no response after the second knock, Barbara opened the bathroom door without hesitation.
And the seasoned wolf, who wouldn’t have batted an eye at any sight, was left momentarily speechless.
“…What are you doing?”
At Barbara's question, the Outsider, who had been squatting and washing a blanket, scrambled to her feet.
“Ah, Lady Barbara…”
She was a mess. Her shirt was buttoned unevenly and soaked through, her hair disheveled from the water she’d splashed everywhere.
An involuntary sigh escaped Barbara. “Please come out.”
“…”
“I will take care of the blanket. Don’t worry about it and come out.”
Despite her words, the girl couldn't bring herself to leave the bathroom. It was obvious she had never washed a blanket in her life. With clumsy hands that had never done laundry, she clung to the heavy fabric, desperately trying to erase whatever trace was left on it.
In the end, Barbara stepped into the water-logged bathroom. Skillfully taking hold of the Marquis's heavy, water-soaked blanket, she spoke.
“Blood is notoriously difficult to wash out. It requires chemical treatment. Rubbing it like that won’t do any good.”
“Ah…”
“And even if you do manage to wash it, where do you plan on drying it?”
“…”
“Leave it and come out.”
Barbara didn't wait for a reply and stepped out of the bathroom. A moment later, Seo-ah followed, her shirt and skirt completely drenched. Barbara poured a cup of water from the nightstand and held it out along with the pill.
“Take this. It's a morning-after pill.”
“…A morning-after pill?”
“A medication to prevent pregnancy after intimacy.”
“…”
“Take it.”
Unlike her hesitation with the blanket, she took the pill without a word and began to chew it. Barbara was taken aback—she hadn't expected her to chew a tablet—but the girl thoroughly chewed and swallowed every last bit without so much as a frown.
“…I will bring a cart for the blanket. Since I’m washing the bedding, I’ll have your clothes laundered as well. Please change into something else.”
“Yes.”
Barbara quickly left the room. Just before the door clicked shut, a small voice drifted from behind her.
“Thank you.”
She closed the door without replying. She crossed the study and was walking down the hallway when she paused. A tray with coffee was being brought up from the first floor. Barbara took it and went straight into Oscar's room.
He was in his office.
Leaning casually against the window frame, he was smoking a cigarette, looking no different than usual. He knew she had entered but didn't look her way. Not that Barbara expected such a courtesy.
Placing the tray on a side table, she poured coffee into a cup and spoke in a flat tone.
“She has taken one morning-after pill.”
“…”