Chapter 71
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 71
“No. Go back.”
“…Why?”
Using her rank, she shut down the Gold Digger’s fierce protest. He demanded to know why she was interfering, but Barbara wasn’t entirely sure herself why she’d done it.
The old, experienced wolf guarding the mansion spent the day pacing the main building with slow, deliberate steps.
And then, the master of the estate returned.
Standing at the entrance to greet him, she noticed his gaze through the carriage window was fixed on a single spot—a rare departure from his usual habit. Oscar typically read documents in the carriage or simply stared into space, lost in thought. Yet now, his eyes were tenaciously locked on one place.
He seemed to be looking at the room where the Outsider was staying.
That suspicion became certainty the moment Oscar stopped for the woman who had been hiding near the corner of the wall, waiting for him.
“A word with you.”
Barbara pushed the Outsider, who was trembling with anxiety, into the Marquis’s quarters and closed the door.
That door did not open again. The sun, shrouded in clouds, sank below the horizon, and the moon rose to take its place, yet the door remained shut.
Barbara dismissed all the Wolves from the main building. During this time, Abel Sting—who, contrary to his flashy appearance, possessed a surprisingly strong work ethic—came looking for the Outsider again.
“She’s still not awake? Did you kill her or something?”
“…”
“If not, I really don’t get why you’re doing this. If I go in at a time like this, she’ll fall head over heels for me, I’m telling you!”
“Quiet. Obey your orders.”
Of course, Barbara pulled rank. Abel threw a fit, but in the end, he was unable to see the Outsider.
The rain continued through the night, only stopping after the day had fully broken.
Barbara waited for someone—either the Outsider or her master—to call for her, but neither did. After spending the entire night in her office, waiting for the summoning bell to ring, Barbara finally stepped out after the sun was high in the sky.
She was about to head straight up the stairs but hesitated. After a moment’s thought, she retrieved a contraceptive pill.
The Marquis’s quarters, emptied by her command, were unnervingly quiet. Barbara, who had habitually started toward the central hall, quickly turned around. She crossed the corridor and opened the door leading to the study.
Her steps led her straight to the Outsider’s room.
Knock, knock.
When her quiet knock went unanswered, Barbara opened the door without hesitation.
“…”
This was the second time.
The old, experienced wolf, who prided herself on being unflappable, found herself utterly speechless for the second day in a row.
The Marquis’s duvet was in this room again. It lay on the bed, clearly having been brought over in a hurry. Conversely, the blanket that belonged on this bed was missing.
Barbara walked over to the bathroom and opened the door, but the Outsider was not there.
As she turned back from the empty bathroom, the bedroom door opened.
“…”
“Ah… Lady Barbara…”
Once again, Barbara was at a loss for words.
The woman’s hair was a tangled mess. She was clearly wearing nothing underneath the outer coat she clutched around herself. Her pale face looked so fragile it might shatter at a touch.
“What…”
Barbara instinctively started to ask, “What happened?” but her voice trailed off.
The woman’s eyes, set in that shatter-prone face, were brimming with tears.
“Uh, well… That is…”
Even if Barbara asked, it was highly unlikely she would get a coherent answer. The woman didn't seem to be in any state to give one.
Composing her expression, which had briefly slipped, Barbara straightened her posture. Instead of asking what had happened, she pulled the pill from her pocket.
“…Would you like to take this?”
The Outsider, who had been standing frozen, looked down at the pill in Barbara’s outstretched hand. A reddish flush began to spread across her pale, fragile face.
She looked as if she would bolt if she could.
But there was nowhere to run, and she seemed to realize that agonizing over it was futile. With her face flushed bright red, she stumbled forward and tentatively reached out.
Barbara silently poured a glass of water. Handing it to her, she said, “This is not a pill to be chewed; you must swallow it with water. Take a sip of water first.”
“Ah…”
Letting out a soft sigh, as if the thought had only just occurred to her, she took a sip as instructed. Barbara then placed the small white pill in her hand. It was perhaps her first time taking a pill, as she had to take several more sips of water before she finally managed to swallow it.
Once Barbara confirmed that the contraceptive had been taken, she turned to leave. She started toward the bed to tidy the Marquis’s duvet, but the Outsider called out to her.
“Um, Lady Barbara.”
Barbara turned back. Having just swallowed the pill, the Outsider seemed to be struggling to choose her words.
“What is it?” Barbara prompted, seeing no reason to wait.
Whatever the woman wanted to say, it caused her already flushed face to turn completely crimson.
“My lady?”
After being prompted a second time, she finally opened her mouth.
“…How is the efficacy of the medicine determined?”
“Efficacy?”
Barbara’s confusion quickly turned to bewilderment.
“I mean… is the dosage based on time, or…”
“…”
“On… on the number of times…”
“…”
“…”
For the umpteenth time, Barbara was left speechless. The Outsider’s voice trailed off, her face looking ready to burst. Finally, tears spilled from her eyes.
“C-could I please have just one more pill…?”
It seemed this peculiar Outsider had a real knack for driving the old, experienced wolf out of her mind.
*
Meanwhile, around that same time, Abel Sting was walking toward the main building. Having been up since dawn meticulously grooming himself, he strode through the rain-soaked garden, the heavy scent of damp earth rising around him. As he carefully avoided splashing mud on his trousers, one of the Combat Team Wolves slunk over.
“What’s this? Dressing down today?”
Abel ignored him, not deeming the comment worthy of a reply. What did “dressing down” even mean to these bastards?
“Giving up?”
“If you don’t know anything, just shut your mouth.”
“No, seriously. Why no pomade? Where’s your jacket? You’re just in a shirt.”
“I said, if you don’t know, shut the hell up.”
“So you are giving up.”
Forget it. No matter how many times he explained that the key to grooming was dressing appropriately for the time and place, these muscle-brained idiots would never understand.
“Looks like Abel Sting gave up.”
“The Backup Team kids said he already blew it yesterday.”
Abel ignored the bastards snickering among themselves.
Seriously, those damn Combat Team pricks. Arrogant fools who were convinced they were the very essence of the Reinhardt wolves.
Abel gnashed his teeth as he stepped onto the stone stairs leading to the main building. Passing the wolf statues, he reached the main entrance and checked his reflection in the glass before entering.
Reflected back at him was a man who looked ‘utterly sexy despite having just woken up.’
This is it.
Perfect.
Abel intentionally let a few strands of his natural golden hair—free of pomade—fall across his forehead, then strode into the main building.
The annoying Combat Team bastards weren’t the only ones around.
There was also Barbara Wald.
While he couldn’t compare to her in rank and experience, they were in different departments. Their duties were separate, and the order he’d received this time had come directly from Oscar. He couldn’t just ignore Barbara or disobey a direct order from her, but there was no reason for him to stand by and let her interfere with his work.
The target seemed to have fallen ill.
And no wonder. She had run around every market in the city since dawn yesterday. And not just the markets—she’d gone to the cemetery and then to a department store.
Unless Barbara had killed her, she had to be sick, which meant this was the perfect opportunity.
He could nurse her with the utmost devotion, touch her forehead while pretending to check her temperature, let his hand slip to caress her cheek, hold her hand for just a moment… and if their eyes met at the right time…
It would be a done deal.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. To think he had missed such a precious opportunity…
“…”
“…”
As the saying goes, enemies always meet on a narrow bridge.
Abel, stomping up the stairs in a rage, ran right into Barbara on the landing.
Behind her, several of her direct subordinates were coming down the stairs, carrying armfuls of something wrapped in black cloth. It looked exactly like a duvet. Abel’s gaze, which had briefly drifted to them, snapped back to Barbara.
Not a single hair was out of place, her clothes perfectly pressed without a wrinkle. She was a living legend who had risen from a low-ranking grunt to an executive in just two years. The only person who could offer advice to the Oscar.
Her silver hair, tinged with gray, and her dark navy eyes, almost black, shone piercingly even in the early morning light.
If she was like this now, how fierce must she have been in her youth? No wonder veteran executives like Karl, the Search Team leader, and even noble-born wolves like Simon deferred to her.
But Abel, far from showing respect, furrowed his brow, making no effort to hide his discontent. The expressions of Barbara’s subordinates instantly turned hostile, but that only made Abel’s own expression grow fiercer.
Fuck, so what if you glare at me? It’s not like you’re going to do my job for me. Do your worst.
“Don’t get in my way today, Senior.”
Even to his own ears, his sharp tone sounded provocative.
Immediately, the Wolves behind Barbara bared their teeth like dogs. But Abel, still furious over his lost opportunity, didn’t care. He looked as if he was daring them to try something. In fact, a good fight was starting to sound like a fine idea.