Chapter 78
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 78
Seo-ah only lifted her head after the sound of carriage wheels faded into the distance and she noticed the others straightening up from their bows. The carriage bearing Oscar was already rolling down the path at the edge of the garden, heading toward the Annex.
Thump, thump.
The wild pounding of her heart, which had begun the moment she faced him, still thundered in her ears. She took a quiet, deep breath, terrified someone might hear how ragged it was.
“I was confused last time, but was that supposed to be your farewell then, too? On the train?”
Abel’s voice suddenly cut through the silence.
“Your greetings are all wrong.”
He gestured for the waiting coachman to bring their carriage around, then turned his attention back to Seo-ah.
“Asking ‘When will you return?’ isn’t a proper farewell. You should say ‘Have a safe trip,’ ‘Take care,’ or ‘Goodbye.’”
“…”
“The words can change, but the point is to wish them a safe journey. And when they get back, you say, ‘Welcome back.’”
Abel, who had been patiently lecturing the naive Outsider, suddenly paused.
“Wait a minute. You actually get that part right, don’t you?”
He tilted his head, turning to look at her properly. Finding herself suddenly under scrutiny, Seo-ah gave a quick nod.
“I have committed it to memory.”
“…”
That response was just as bizarre.
Abel’s eyes narrowed. How does a girl who doesn’t even know how to say ‘Have a safe trip’ know a formal phrase like ‘committed to memory’? He wondered who on earth had taught her to speak, but before he could dwell on it, their carriage pulled up in front of them.
Despite looking unwell, Seo-ah had insisted on going out. Since she wasn’t sick enough to be confined to her bed, Abel preferred it this way; he doubted she would have let him into her room anyway. Fortunately, she had agreed to his suggestion of a trip to the department store.
Abel opened the carriage door himself, his gaze passing over Seo-ah’s head to meet Lady Barbara’s. The two wolves exchanged a silent look over the Outsider.
Don’t lose sight of her today.
Of course. I only have one life.
Just then, Seo-ah turned toward Lady Barbara.
“I will be back.”
Lady Barbara’s gaze shifted from Abel to Seo-ah.
The girl was dressed so neatly that her disheveled state from that morning felt like a distant dream. Yet, exhaustion was etched onto her pale face, a stark contrast to Oscar, who looked perfectly fine despite having stayed up for two consecutive nights. Where does she think she’s going in that state? Barbara clicked her tongue inwardly.
“Have a safe trip.”
After exchanging farewells, Seo-ah turned back to the carriage. Abel offered his hand again.
“I’m fine—”
“Are you shy about holding hands, darling?”
“…”
Seo-ah decided not to rise to the bait. Getting angry would only work against her. Ignoring his outstretched hand, she grabbed the handle on the carriage door and hoisted herself inside.
Abel flashed a wolfish grin at the smirking young wolves behind him before hopping into the carriage. Only Barbara remained unsmiling. Seo-ah gave her a slight bow through the window, and the carriage began to move, following the same path Oscar’s had taken moments before.
The carriage vibrated as its wheels rattled over the gravel drive. Once they passed the Main Building and reached the smoother path bordering the garden, Abel, sitting opposite her, handed her a thick blanket.
“Anyway, don’t make that mistake again. Did you see Simon von Bernheim staring at you with those blood-red eyes earlier?”
Creepy.
“If you get on his bad side, things get incredibly exhausting.”
“…Yes, thank you.” Seo-ah nodded, draping the blanket over her lap.
But it wasn’t Simon’s red eyes that occupied her thoughts. In truth, she hadn’t even noticed him looking at her until Abel mentioned it.
Oscar.
The man who had carved a space deep inside her flooded her mind at the most unexpected moments. Just like now.
Those deep blue eyes, half-lidded, burning hot yet freezing cold all at once.
If Abel hadn’t been by her side, she might have hidden on the landing until Oscar was long gone.
When everyone had bowed in unison and he had looked back at her—the only one who had missed her cue—Seo-ah felt the world around her blur. The smoke curling from his lips had partially obscured his face, but it couldn’t hide him from her.
The strange sensation that the world had melted away, leaving only the two of them, stirred the unfamiliar desires and indescribable feelings he had awakened within her.
How terrifyingly deep he had pierced her… The memory of the low groans that had occasionally escaped him.
The sudden, unbidden thought made her breath catch. She bit her lip, trying to snap herself out of it, and quickly bowed her head. It was only proper to greet him, and she desperately needed an excuse to look away.
Her mouth had moved on its own.
At first, she hadn’t realized her mistake. It was only when she lifted her head again that the words she’d spoken truly registered.
“When will you return?”
It wasn’t the first time she had said those words to him. And his reaction was always the same.
Oscar had boarded his carriage as if he hadn’t heard a thing.
In Pelfe, and on the train to Luxen, those words hadn’t been a farewell. They had been a desperate question born of anxiety, a fear that he might send her away at any moment.
But things were different now. His order to send her to Traun had been put on hold.
She should have said, “Have a safe trip.” Contrary to Abel’s assumption, she knew the proper phrase perfectly well.
Why did I make such a mistake?
Her question echoed in her mind, unanswered.
The carriage entered the shade of the forest surrounding the manor. Even with the windows closed, she could almost smell the damp earth and feel the distinct chill of the woods on her skin.
But only for a moment.
The carriage cleared the forest, and brilliant sunlight, a stark contrast to the previous night, pierced her eyes. The sun shone as if it had forgotten last night’s torrential downpour, but the past could not be so easily erased.
Unlike the dry heat she had grown accustomed to since arriving on the Norfolk Continent, today’s sunlight felt heavy with moisture.
A damp, humid warmth.
There was another place where the sun felt just like this.
The sea off Yongcheon. The sunlight there was always thick with humidity.
The sparkling sea, and her grandfather.
Only then did Seo-ah realize why she had spoken those words to Oscar.
“When will you return?”
That had always been her farewell.
She had said it to her grandfather. She had said it to her Master, who traveled infrequently but would disappear for months at a time without a word. In her entire life, they were the only two people she had ever had to see off.
Because she hated watching them walk away. Because the endless stretch of time she had to spend waiting for them, starting from the very moment they left, felt too daunting to bear.
Wishing them a safe trip felt too detached. She needed to know when they would be back. She needed to know how long she would have to wait.
“I will return in about ten days, so eat well, sleep well, and stay healthy.”
“It will take ninety days at most. Waiting won’t make me return any faster, so don’t bother.”
The two men who left her with those words had always returned within their promised time. Even if they were delayed, they always found a way to make it back on schedule. That was why, even as she grew older and realized it wasn’t a standard farewell, her parting words had remained unchanged.
“When will you return?”
It seemed it was finally time to correct the habit she hadn’t even realized she’d formed. After all, the only people who understood her strange farewell and would give her an answer were gone now.
Seo-ah offered a faint, sad smile to the humid sunlight.
She leaned closer to the window. Through the spotless glass, the landscape rushed past.
“May I open the window a bit?”
“Why are you even asking?”
Seo-ah unlatched the window and pushed it open slightly. A rush of fresh air flooded the carriage. As the cool, crisp breeze filled her lungs, the memories that had been plaguing her finally began to recede.
She saw stone streets darkened to a deep gray by the rain and puddles collected in their hollows. Adults carefully stepped around them while children deliberately splashed through. A few parents seemed to be gently scolding their playful children. Sunlight filtered through the canopy of leaves, casting a warm glow over the bustling streets.
Her faint smile lingered.
The carriage rolled on, and the scenery shifted again.
A river, its surface shimmering with beautiful ripples, flowed toward some distant destination—likely the vast sea. The sparkling water rushed past, the carriage keeping pace with its rapid current. A cool breeze blowing off the water ruffled her hair and brushed against her cheeks.
At some point, the carriage veered away from the river.
The square in front of the cathedral, which felt familiar from her single previous visit, appeared outside the window like a mirage. The moment the square came into view, the carriage ground to a halt.
Seo-ah, who had been watching the scenery with a soft smile, clutched her bag and turned her head. Out of habit, she kept her gaze lowered, so Abel only occupied the bottom half of her narrow field of vision. The carriage had stopped, yet he made no move to get up.
“…?”
Only then did she raise her eyes to look at him.
“…”
“…”
He was staring at her, his expression strangely tense.
“We’re here,” Seo-ah said, deliberately looking back out the window.
Only then did the unfamiliar tension leave Abel’s face as he finally began to move.