Chapter 92
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 92
Oscar’s eyes narrowed at her quiet, measured retort.
He had accidentally overheard her conversation with Abel, and in that exchange, Seo-ah had spoken her mind with surprising ease. Just like now. It was a stark contrast to the girl who had always been too terrified to even speak in his presence.
"Moreover, I have never treated anyone before. The wound looks quite severe. If you call for Lady Barbara, she can be here in less than five minutes."
So this is what she’s really like, he thought.
Oscar let out a dry chuckle and flicked his finger.
"Then just wrap the bandage."
"……."
The woman, who had been speaking so calmly just a moment ago, was now at a loss for words as he flicked his finger, sending a drop of blood arcing through the air.
Why on earth is he being so stubborn?
He could read the thoughts flitting across her face as if they were written there. Blood dripped from his finger, but he felt no pain, only a simple amusement. He had only ever seen her pale with fear. To watch her speak her mind now, to see the discontent so clearly on her face, was a novel sight.
But there was no way Seo-ah could break a stubbornness that even the Wolves who had raised him had failed to bend. Oscar was a man who got what he wanted, no matter the cost.
"I said, wrap the bandage."
"It’s not as if we lack medicine, nor do we lack someone who knows how to use it. I truly don't understand…"
"Then would you prefer to go to Traun?"
"……."
The man who got what he wanted by any means necessary knew exactly how to silence her.
Seo-ah, who had been pleading so earnestly, blinked and bit her lip. She looked utterly defeated, as if she’d never dared to argue in the first place. Oscar clicked his tongue inwardly at the sight. Turning his gaze away from her, he stared up at the ceiling and spoke again.
"So just wrap the bandage."
The woman, who had been chewing on her lip, finally gave a small nod. She brought a stool over and sat before the black box. When she opened it, an array of medicines and bandages were neatly arranged inside.
Oscar’s eyes, which had been fixed on the ceiling, drifted down toward her.
Her expression, which had been as serious as if she were facing a monumental task, softened with relief when she saw the descriptions written on each bottle.
"Ah… Fortunately, there are instructions."
She examined each bottle with wide, careful eyes before nodding, having apparently found what she needed.
"I think this will do."
Now that she had the medicine, only the patient remained. As her gaze shifted from the bottle to him, Oscar could tell that he himself was the greatest obstacle she faced.
And yet, she wants to stay by my side.
Oscar let out another dry laugh and glanced at his wounded hand. It wasn't an arterial injury, nor was it infected. Showing his wounds to others was never pleasant, and sitting still to be treated grated on his temperament. Besides, he healed quickly by nature. The wound had only gotten this bad because he kept tearing it open as it scabbed over; left alone, it would have healed in a few days without any treatment at all.
Even so, he sat up. Leaning forward, he rested his elbow on his knee and held out his injured hand.
Seo-ah had to pull her stool even closer, close enough to bridge the distance between his extended hand and his body.
She pulled the medicine and a towel within reach, adjusted her posture, and turned her gaze to his hand.
The wound was quite large under the bright light. But Oscar’s gaze was not on his injury, but on Seo-ah’s face.
Under the warm, yellow light, the stray hairs framing her face shimmered like gold. So did the thick eyelashes that curtained her focused eyes. Each delicate lash, as if drawn with a finely sharpened colored pencil, formed a golden canopy.
As her eyelashes fluttered, their shadows trembled on her smooth cheeks. Her round eyes, too, shook ever so slightly.
"How on earth…"
Her small, startled voice echoed deep inside him, like a shadow stretched long and thin by a sharp-angled light.
Blinking in embarrassment, she quickly picked up a wet towel. She was about to wipe away the blood but hesitated, looking at his hand hovering in midair with a troubled expression. The uncooperative patient was simply staring at her, resting his cheek on his uninjured left palm.
It would have been much easier if he rested his hand on the table or the arm of the sofa, but Oscar seemed to have no intention of doing so.
In the end, she gently cupped the back of his hand with her own.
The soft sensation of her palm wrapping around his swept through him, electrifying every nerve.
Her gentle touch, filled with a worry that she might reopen the wound or cause him pain, began to clean the blood from his palm. She wiped over and over at the stains that a single firm rub would have cleared away instantly.
The wound, which should have been hot and painful, merely tickled. When he unconsciously flexed his fingers, Seo-ah flinched and looked up at him. The moment their eyes met, she lowered her head again and spoke quickly.
"I'm sorry. I'll be careful."
She must have thought it hurt.
Her touch grew even more delicate. As it became as gentle as a feather’s tickle or the brush of soft lips, the darkness in his eyes deepened.
And as that darkness deepened, he recalled the woman who had stood so precariously on the railing, along with the red ribbon that had looked as if it would fall at any moment.
"Why did you go to the exhibition?"
Seo-ah, who was focused on the treatment, froze at the sudden question.
"Was it fun?"
"……."
"Then again, you didn't look like you were having fun."
The words he muttered with a dry laugh weighed heavily on her. As the memory of her own miserable state resurfaced, she wanted to squeeze her eyes shut.
"Did you commit some crime against that bastard?"
"…Pardon?"
When she asked back a beat too late, Oscar spat.
"I asked if you did something wrong to that idiot."
The red wound in her vision blurred.
She knew instantly which idiot Oscar was referring to. She also knew he was talking about the scene on the stairs.
"That… he tried to grab my hair ribbon…"
"Hair ribbon?"
Seo-ah pointed toward the back of her head.
"The ribbon in my hair. He tried to pull it, so I stopped him. I shook his hand off, too…"
"Ha."
Oscar let out a sharp, scoffing laugh.
"Is that considered a crime where you come from?"
"……."
"Raise your head."
But a habit hardened into instinct over years of repetition could not be corrected with a single command.
To the arrogant Marquis, who had never once bowed his head in his life, her behavior was nothing short of frustrating. Oscar frowned and began to speak.
"Is it really that hard to raise your head? I don’t know what the culture was like where you lived, but here, at least, it doesn't matter if you raise your head and look me in the eye."
"……."
"Bowing your head does you no favors. You don't look polite or humble, and it doesn't even come across as a cultural difference. Instead, you just look timid, pathetic, and cowed."
The Marquis was an arrogant man who never bothered with metaphors or pleasantries. His blunt words stabbed into the woman who was so carefully treating his hand.
"Eric von Richard, the fact that a worthless bastard like that tried to grab your hair so boldly…"
Oscar, who had been spitting out words bordering on verbal abuse without batting an eye, trailed off as he watched her head sink lower with every word he spoke. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, ultimately just clicking his tongue in his head.
He wanted to ask her why on earth she always walked around with her head bowed, but he knew he wouldn't get a proper answer from a woman who looked ready to bury her face in his palm at any moment.
Left with nothing else to say, Oscar swept back his fallen hair and was about to urge her to just get on with the treatment when he froze. Seo-ah was slowly beginning to raise her bowed head.
Her face was gradually revealed under the light. But when she stopped, her gaze still fixed somewhere on the floor, Oscar muttered bitterly.
"You call that raising it?"
Seo-ah’s jaw clenched. Gritting her teeth, she forced her head a little higher.
A sigh escaped him at her awkward posture.
"What's the point of raising your head if your eyes are still on the floor?"
It’s not like I’m teaching a child how to walk, Oscar thought, dumbfounded.
"……."
Seo-ah, who had been holding her head up so awkwardly, let out a deep sigh. She closed her eyes tightly, her eyebrows trembling.
As Oscar remained silent, utterly unable to understand why she struggled so much just to raise her head, Seo-ah suddenly straightened her back.
The tension seemed to drain from her body. Her naturally straight back straightened once more. Dropping her shoulders and tucking her chin slightly, she gradually lifted her eyes. Oscar found himself captivated by the round eyes that finally stared back at him.
"……."
"……."
Seo-ah looked at Oscar with all her might. If anyone were to ask why simply looking at someone was so difficult, she would have told them it was the hardest thing in the world.
Just looking at him for that brief moment left her feeling breathless.
This should be enough. I can look back at the wound now.
As if fleeing, Seo-ah lowered her eyes. Immediately, a low voice fell over her head.
"Raise your head."
The command was cold. A memory, just as cold, surfaced alongside it.
Raise your head, child.
It had been so long since she’d heard those words. The echo of the past in this man's voice made her throat tighten.
A hand cupped her cheek. The large, warm hand tilted her face upward, forcing her gaze from the floor, forward, and finally, to him. He had made her look at him after all.