Chapter 62
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 62
“……”
Then, like a tidal wave bursting through a broken dam, the events of last night came rushing back.
The scenery beyond the window blurred as her focus drifted to the water droplets clinging to the glass. The world seemed to shrink to the size of those tiny drops, a space so cramped it couldn't even contain her own body. Seo-ah held her breath.
A world shaking violently. A pain she could never get used to.
And those deep blue eyes, piercingly vivid even in the darkness.
For some reason, whenever their eyes met, a single thought had echoed through her mind.
You, too, have been consumed by the disaster that is me.
The disaster of my existence has swallowed you whole.
Where had it all gone so wrong?
The question always led back to the very beginning of her life. And that train of thought, as it always did, grazed the edge of the one truth she wanted to bury most.
Just then, another sound cut through the white noise of the rain.
Her blurred vision snapped into focus. Seo-ah turned her gaze toward the mansion’s garden, where the rain was pouring down relentlessly.
A black carriage emerged from the mist-shrouded forest.
Her heart plummeted, only to begin hammering against her ribs.
Frozen in place, Seo-ah bit her dry lip and flinched at the sharp, stinging pain. She traced the spot with her fingertips. It felt cool and swollen—the aftermath of biting down to endure a piercing agony the night before.
At that moment, men in black suits began to line up at the entrance of the main building. Unbothered by the torrential downpour, they bowed deeply as the carriage climbed the ramp and pulled to a stop.
The door opened, and a black umbrella was raised to shield it. A moment later, a figure stepped out.
Unlike the men in their formal suits, he wore only a shirt.
Instinctively, Seo-ah shrank back behind the curtain, her hand dropping from her lip to her side.
From the fog-shrouded depths of her chest, a quiet, suppressed voice whispered:
I want to run away.
Seo-ah asked herself in return:
Where to?
The voice fell silent. The part of her that had spoken was now just a hollow, empty space.
She felt like a night devoid of substance. A sudden, desperate thought struck her: she wished someone—anyone—would hold her so tightly that her bones felt like they were breaking. If she were shattered into pieces, perhaps this unbearable emptiness would finally disappear.
Stepping out from behind the curtain, Seo-ah closed the window and forced her heavy feet to move.
Oscar's command for her to go to Traun clung to her mind like mud. After a night of doing nothing but enduring him, she still had no idea if she would be allowed to stay.
She quickly threw on a coat and left her room. As she opened the door to the hallway, she heard heavy, firm footsteps drawing closer. Walking toward that ominous sound felt like an impossible task.
Seo-ah steeled herself, forcing her feet forward even as every instinct screamed at her to retreat. But the moment she reached the central staircase and saw him rounding the landing, she instinctively shrank back against the wall.
The frantic pounding of her heart drowned out the sound of the rain, ringing loudly in her ears.
She held her ragged breath, but he drew closer. His heavy footsteps seemed to trample over her hammering heart and her stifled breathing alike.
She couldn't hide forever. Scraping together what little courage she had left, just as she had the night before, Seo-ah pulled herself from the wall to face Oscar as he ascended the stairs. In that exact moment, a shadow as massive as a mountain range swept past her.
There wasn't even time to offer a greeting.
He either didn't notice her standing like a ghost in the shadows or was deliberately ignoring her. Lady Barbara and the men trailing behind him did the same.
He was like the Grim Reaper, leading a procession of towering, stone-faced men. They seemed to belong to an entirely different world.
She didn't dare call out. The courage she had just gathered crumbled and scattered like dry sand. As her resolve dissolved, her gaze fell to the floor, staring at the dust of her own shattered bravery. Suddenly, the heavy footsteps stopped. In a chain reaction, the entire procession halted, and the sound of the rain outside rushed back into her ears.
Ssssshhhhh.
The sound of millions of raindrops battering the earth felt as if it were crashing down directly upon her.
Seo-ah slowly raised her eyes.
The roaring rain faded into the background the moment he turned to look at her.
Having stopped at the entrance to the hall, Oscar had turned his head. Following their master's lead, the towering men behind him turned to face her as well.
Her mind went blank, but her mouth moved on instinct.
“I heard you arrive…”
“……”
“Welcome back.”
She half-expected him to mock her. How very polite of you.
She thought he might offer a dismissive, passing reply like, “I see,” and vanish without a backward glance. Instead, he simply stared, his thoughts unreadable. Then, without a word, he turned away.
“……”
He had no intention of accepting her greeting. Staring at his retreating back, Seo-ah felt a wave of helplessness. But just as she thought he would walk away without another glance, Oscar turned back to her once more.
Looking at her frozen figure, he spoke in a low voice.
“Come see me for a moment.”
“……”
Having delivered his command, he resumed his indifferent stride as if nothing had happened.
The entourage, however, did not move. Lady Barbara, standing directly behind Oscar, had remained in place.
As Oscar disappeared into the hall, she turned to Seo-ah. Feeling the silent pressure to follow, Seo-ah moved forward as if possessed. At her approach, the towering men behind Lady Barbara stepped aside, parting to make a path. Only Lady Barbara and Simon, who stood beside her, remained still.
Clasping her pale hands together, Seo-ah walked toward them. She held her breath as she passed through the corridor of imposing men. Just as she moved past Simon, whose gaze was fixed intently on her, Lady Barbara turned toward the hall. She led Seo-ah to the Marquis's door—the very door she had been warned never to enter without permission.
The massive door, easily twice the height of an average person, swung open without a sound.
“Please, enter.”
A familiar chill seeped from beyond the ornate door. A desolate fear swirled in her chest, but that was no reason to turn back.
Seo-ah stepped through the doorway.
Her shoulders tensed at the bone-chilling cold, but that wasn't the only reason she shivered. It was impossible not to recall the events of last night.
Even a cursory glance revealed the room's breathtaking beauty, but none of it registered. Exhaling a shallow breath, Seo-ah looked around for Oscar. The room seemed empty, but she sensed his presence behind a set of heavy drapes.
The instant her gaze fell upon them, the drapes parted, and Oscar stepped out. He was roughly drying his face with a towel, as if he had just washed up. Tossing the towel onto a sofa, he walked to his desk, leaned against the edge, and stared at her.
“Are you just going to stand there?”
“……”
Frozen in place, Seo-ah moved forward reflexively at his words. The sound of the rain had long since faded, and even the frantic pounding of her heart seemed to fall silent. Every nerve in her body was painfully taut, hyper-aware of the man who seemed to dominate the very air around them.
She stopped, wondering if she had come close enough.
“How was your day?” he asked.
“It was fine, Your Excellency.”
At her automatic reply, he let out a soft, amused chuckle. “You don’t look it,” he murmured lazily.
“Oh… No, I…”
“Hardly.”
He was far too difficult for her to handle.
“Why didn’t you leave?”
His probing questions and his intense, penetrating gaze—which felt as if it could lay bare her innermost thoughts—were suffocating. As she struggled to form an answer, he spoke again.
“Don’t tell me you still want to stay here.”
His low, dry voice, stripped of all amusement, felt like a cold blade sinking into her chest.
It was a loaded question. In the entire world, only two people could comprehend its true meaning.
That chaotic night.
The night unspeakable emotions had tangled together and poured over them.
The night she had barely managed to endure.
Oscar was referring to that very night.
The gazes of the two who shared that memory locked in midair.
“Han Seo-ah.”
Oscar pinned her with those piercing, deep blue eyes.
“Are you aware that without you, I cannot open the vault either?”
“……”
“Are you also aware that there was absolutely no reason for you to be called a whore?”
“……”
Her inability to answer, her lips merely parting in silence, seemed to provoke his anger.
Staring at her, Oscar let out a thin laugh and stood up, running a hand through his damp hair. He began to walk toward her, closing the distance between them.
She had stood so far away, and her pale face was turning even whiter the closer he came. Why on earth was she holding out like this?
A cruel curiosity scraped at his throat.
Just one step.