Chapter 84
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 84
If she didn’t know what she was doing, she should have just stayed put. Why on earth did she have to get involved?!
It never should have come to this. At worst, he would have taken a few slaps to the face. Even if things had gotten ugly, it would have been resolved on his end. No, he would have resolved it himself, one way or another.
As Abel took a step forward with a murderous look on his face, a backup agent moved to block him. The agent, who had slipped into the exhibition hall unnoticed, whispered in a low voice only Abel could hear.
“He says to wait.”
But Abel Sting wasn’t looking at him. His gaze was fixed past the agent’s shoulder, locked on the woman speaking quietly to a crowd of nobles that had gathered around her.
She should have just screamed, he thought. Hasn’t she learned by now that trying to reason with them is useless?
Drawn by the scent of drama, even more nobles began to converge on the woman, who was already trapped and unable to move between four people. To them, she was far more entertaining than any artwork in the exhibition.
Abel spat a low mutter at the agent blocking his path. “So I just have to get her out of there without causing a scene.”
“And you really think that’s possible right now?!”
“Then what the fuck do you want me to do? Just stand here and watch this forever?”
The backup agent blinked, staring at Abel. The face he saw was entirely unfamiliar. Abel’s habitual smirk was gone, replaced by a raw, anxious expression.
“What’s gotten into you?”
“What about me?”
“Think carefully, Abel Sting. Our only job is to ensure that woman’s life isn’t in danger.”
“……”
“As long as she’s alive, nothing else matters. You know exactly what I mean, don’t you?”
The agent decided to leave it at that. Abel was a veteran; there was no way he didn’t understand the implications. This place had too many eyes. For the Backup Team, and especially for Abel, whose job was to operate under a disguise and approach targets, getting caught up in unnecessary trouble would be disastrous for their careers.
Slipping quietly out of the exhibition hall, the agent glanced back at Seo-ah, surrounded by nobles. “She’s quiet, but she has a strange knack for finding trouble,” he muttered.
Why did she have to step in? Why couldn’t she just stay still?
Just as he clicked his tongue and turned away, Abel Sting began striding toward the target.
“…Hey!”
He was ordered to stand by unless her life was in danger!
The backup agent jumped in panic, but Abel didn’t stop.
“That crazy bastard!”
In the aristocratic world, reputation was everything. Oscar’s order to wait was based on the judgment that, at the very least, Seo-ah’s life was not in immediate peril. Sabine, the host, would never allow her exhibition to be ruined by a death.
Once Sabine’s interest in Seo-ah waned, they could slip out, and it would be just another day. The Backup Team would cover their tracks on the way back to the manor, as they always did.
“Grab him,” the Backup Team leader ordered, pointing at Abel, who looked seconds away from starting a brawl with the nobles. Agents who had discreetly blended into the crowd seized Abel in an instant.
“I told you to wait!”
Abel bared his teeth. “I can get her out of here without making a scene!”
“How? Look at all the eyes on her!”
“……”
“Every single one of those noble bastards has their eyes glued to her. How the hell are you going to get her out without causing a scene, huh? If you draw attention and we get followed, are you going to take responsibility for that?”
Held fast by his teammates, Abel exhaled slowly. Even so, his gaze remained fixed on Seo-ah.
“She brought this on herself.”
“……”
“We’ll explain the situation to His Excellency later. For now, just wait.”
“……”
When Abel still didn’t answer, the agent issued a final warning. “If you act on your own again, it will be treated as insubordination.”
Only when Abel, who had been straining to lunge forward, finally stood perfectly still did the Backup Team ease their grip. To prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, they didn’t withdraw but moved back to their positions, their eyes once again on the target surrounded by nobles.
Around that time, Sabine, who had been busy flitting between guests, finally began walking toward Seo-ah.
“Seo-ah! Have you been waiting long?”
The Wolves’ eyes grew cold as they watched Sabine approach.
“Even Senior Barbara probably didn’t expect the target to get tangled up like this. Of all the places in this vast city of Vies.”
They had doubled their personnel, so they could easily prevent any covert threats. But even if they quadrupled their numbers, they couldn’t stop Sabine von Jerome from approaching her.
Restrained by his colleagues, Abel’s eyes continued to track Seo-ah through the crowd.
Her firm voice and the detached expression she had worn earlier seemed to have been an illusion. Now, she was faltering, a small boat tossed about in a sea of uniformly arrogant nobles.
Sabine was treating Seo-ah like a soulless doll, linking and unlinking their arms at whim, dragging her here and there.
Perhaps, by now, Seo-ah was regretting it, too. I should have just stayed still. Why did I bother blocking Abel Sting?
In that moment, she had probably only thought that getting slapped in front of someone he needed to impress would make him lose face.
But what were a few slaps to him? Nothing. If necessary, he would have groveled on the floor.
Abel’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white.
*
Thick tobacco smoke drifted toward the ceiling mural, its depiction of the world’s creation obscured by the haze. Royal servants bustled between the nobles, emptying full ashtrays and refilling water glasses while the King was temporarily absent from the lengthy meeting.
The nobles, seated at tables piled high with documents, were a study in contrasts. Some engaged in heated debates over the agenda, while others with no interest in state affairs took advantage of the King’s absence to chat amongst themselves. They discussed corporate investments and factories—the latest trends among the aristocracy—or spoke of their children’s marriages and inheritances. And some…
“Marquis Reinhardt. He seems to grow more dashing every time I see him.”
As one of the nobles spoke, his gaze distant, the men on either side of him nodded and turned their eyes toward Oscar. Although everyone sat in identical chairs below the throne, a strict hierarchy existed here. The Marquis of Reinhardt’s seat was directly below the King’s, and no one disputed his position. Holding immense power, wealth, and honor, the young Marquis conversed with a relaxed expression among those discussing the agenda.
The way he would occasionally laugh during a lighthearted exchange was striking, even to other men.
“I was hoping to arrange a match with my daughter.”
“Isn’t your daughter only fourteen?”
“Fifteen.”
“It’s the same thing. She’s far too young.”
“Ahem, well, that may be true, but…”
His voice trailed off as the nobles conversing with Oscar suddenly burst into loud laughter at something the Marquis had said.
“Bwahaha! Oh, Marquis!”
“How can you say something like that and—pfft—remain so nonchalant?”
The eyes of the room were drawn to Oscar, but he paid the deluge of stares no mind.
“What did I say to make everyone react like this?” the young Marquis asked, a sly smile playing on his lips as he brought a cigarette to his mouth.
“That’s exactly it, isn’t it? That’s why I like him.”
It was a comment they wouldn’t have dared utter had the King been present, but in his absence, the elders openly praised Oscar. In response, the young Marquis merely curled the corner of his lip around his cigarette.
“Are you all just going to let my lack of manners slide?”
“What? You, you…!”
Had any other young noble said such a thing, the elders would have flown into a rage, but Oscar was always the exception. He possessed the power to back up his insolence, of course, but even without it, he carried a distinct aura that made such trifles seem utterly inconsequential.
Oscar swept his hair back with a lazy smile.
Just then, the King reentered the room. Everyone, including Oscar, rose to their feet.
Returning to his throne, Leopold habitually glanced at Oscar. Amidst the haze of tobacco smoke, Oscar looked as relaxed as ever.
That bastard was definitely displeased earlier, Leopold thought.
When Oscar had received a report from Bernheim near the start of the meeting, he had clearly looked irritated. But it had only lasted a moment. As if what Leopold had seen was a mere illusion, Oscar now seemed perfectly fine. No, more than fine—he looked even more at ease than usual.
Leopold tore his gaze away from Oscar, whose very existence grated on his nerves.
Let’s see how long you can keep that relaxed expression.
The meeting resumed.
Oscar habitually took a few drags from his cigarette before holding it between his fingertips. It exhaled hollow smoke and tasted of nothing. He thought that if he kept burning through them, he would eventually taste that acrid flavor again, but it never came.
Oscar let out a dry chuckle and crushed the cigarette into the ashtray. A servant hovering behind him immediately stepped forward, carefully removing the full ashtray and replacing it with a fresh one. The servant glanced at the untouched water glass before moving on to the next noble.