Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: The Wolf's Bride
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Lara's eyes widened as she stared at the man.
"My... bride."
Lara silently repeated the words the man had just spoken.
For some inexplicable reason, in that moment, it felt like her entire world had shifted completely.
"...My lord, were you looking for this child?"
The Laden Director, who had been watching nervously, quickly interjected. She was racking her brains at full speed right now.
"Oh dear, what are we to do, my lord? This child already has an owner..."
"An owner?"
Even though the man merely echoed her words in a low voice, the director felt a strange chill crawl up her spine.
The man's presence, unaccompanied by even a single attendant, was far from that of an ordinary noble.
"Y-yes. Unfortunately, just moments ago, another lord appeared claiming he would take her away."
"What's all this racket?"
A piggish voice belonging to the Old Noble came from inside the reception room.
He staggered toward the director and Lara.
The man's expression twisted at the overpowering stench of alcohol and filth wafting from the stumbling Old Noble.
The director hurriedly pulled Lara toward her.
"Ah...!"
Lara nearly stumbled but managed to regain her balance. The director's serpentine lips curled slyly.
"But my lord, if this is the child you're seeking, I can help you. Just a few procedures, and you can take her as you wish. Just a few procedures."
"What? Hey, Laden. I already made the deal to take this wench first. What nonsense are you spouting?"
The Old Noble slammed his cane down repeatedly as he spoke. Startled by the noise, Lara froze in place. The man roughly grabbed her awkwardly positioned arm and shook it.
"Come on, say it yourself. I've already paid a fortune in donations here to take you as a maid in my household. You know whose orders to follow, don't you?!"
Lara clamped her mouth shut, utterly terrified by the Old Noble's unreasonable shouting.
And as he watched the entire scene unfold, the stranger's face gradually grew colder.
From the moment he had set foot in this place, it reeked of filth everywhere.
The musty odor unique to a poorly managed facility, the grimy floors, and the distant murmur of noise.
On top of that, the frail-looking human girl and the foolish human dragging along a child several times smaller than her. Every single one of them...
"Disgusting."
The man muttered coldly. His senses, far more acute than any human's, were constantly assaulted, fraying his nerves.
"My lord, please calm down and hear me out. I've taken special care of this child. She's cost me several times more effort than the others. Just the money spent on those eyes of hers... We have to make a living too, don't we? So, my lord... No matter how I think about it, the amount you offered earlier just..."
"What? You need more donations? Laden, you're so greedy! Have you no sense of decency?!"
"That's not what I—"
Sensing the odd tension, the Old Noble now turned to yell at the director. She didn't back down either, launching into her final haggling over Lara.
The man watched the ridiculous farce before unbuckling the clasp on his black leather glove, then slowly fastening it again.
It was the bare minimum way to keep his damned affliction in check before it surfaced.
Then, his eyes met those of the child staring up at him.
A scrawny, unremarkable girl.
A human girl with ashen hair falling to her waist.
"This is my bride."
The "Bride of the Wolf" his grandfather had been so desperate to find seemed utterly pathetic and plain.
Was this really the Bride of the Wolf?
Her arms and legs peeking from the tattered linen dress were covered in bruises everywhere. Old scars and fresh wounds too. It was obvious how she'd been treated.
And they called that "special care"?
Even a stray dog would scoff.
The child trembled violently in the Old Noble's grasp.
"......"
In truth, Lara hadn't heard a word of what the director and old man were saying.
Her legs shook, her heart pounded. She was terrified of being hit again.
Lara looked up at the man before her.
He had definitely called her his "bride."
He might not be much different from the old man, but somehow, those eyes so similar to hers didn't seem like they'd handle her roughly.
"This might be my last chance."
A beautiful, massive, pitch-black stranger. A man as chilling as a winter blizzard.
In this moment, to Lara, he was the only light.
Their gazes met.
Lara's lips moved.
"Please take me away."
She had never wished for anything before.
"Please..."
Not as desperately as she did now.
"Please take me away."
"......"
The man clearly read her lip movements.
He gazed quietly at the pale, rigid child.
"What are you staring at? These rats think they don't have to listen to me?!"
The Old Noble belatedly noticed the man's gaze on the girl.
Glancing between the man and the girl, he lacked the courage to confront the man directly and instead spewed curses at Lara, raising his free hand.
Lara squeezed her eyes shut.
"......!"
But once again, no blow came.
Instead, the Old Noble's grip on her wrist vanished.
"My lord!"
The director and the Old Noble's squire cried out simultaneously.
"Argh, aaahhh!"
At the horrific scream that followed, Lara cracked her eyes open slightly, only to have something draped over her head.
The scent of a winter forest hit her. It seemed to be the man's coat.
Through a small gap, she could only see the man before her.
"...You'll see the carriage once you're outside."
He spoke to her in the same tone as before.
"......"
"Go straight out and get in. Close the door tight. Don't think about anything—just count slowly."
One, two, three... up to ten.
"Don't look back, no matter what. ...Can you do that?"
Lara looked into the man's eyes meeting hers.
Those crimson irises weren't terrifying or creepy.
Even though they were the same color as hers, reflected in a bucket of water.
Staring blankly at him, Lara finally nodded slightly.
"Yes."
Hearing her reply, the man smirked.
"Then go."
Lara turned around.
The Laden Orphanage, where she could navigate blind even with the broken tiles, had never felt so alien as it did now.
"Lara!"
The director shouted urgently.
"Lara, what do you think you're doing? Where are you going? I'm talking to you. Stop right there!"
The director commanded. It was the voice that always choked the breath from Lara.
For a moment, Lara hesitated. Her body froze against her will. She recalled the man's words.
"Go straight out and get in. Close the door tight."
Don't think about anything, don't think about anything.
Count slowly...
One, two... up to ten.
Repeating his words inwardly, Lara forced her frozen feet to move.
One step, then another forward.
As she opened the orphanage door, a hazy blizzard blinded her with white.
She couldn't see a thing.
The world was nothing but a realm of snow.
"Lara! Take one more step, and see what happens."
The terrifying voice signaled the director's final warning.
"Last chance. Lara, come back right now!"
Should she turn back? If she begged forgiveness now, would the director spare her?
Would everything go back to how it was?
"No."
She didn't want that.
She couldn't bear the director's daily tirades and beatings anymore. She had submitted until the end, but she refused to be handed off like baggage to that old, brutish noble.
Who the man was or why he sought her—it didn't matter to Lara.
Right now, she just wanted to escape her.
She wanted to leave the Laden Orphanage.
She wanted salvation.
"...I won't look back."
Lara whispered softly to herself.
Her footsteps sank instantly into the snow.
All noise vanished in an instant.
Even the director's sharp voice faded away.
Despite the blizzard so fierce she couldn't see ahead, Lara pressed forward, murmuring the man's instructions.
Glancing up, snow poured down from the sky.
"Ah..."
Reaching out her hand, a large snowflake landed on her reddened palm.
It lingered briefly before melting away.
Lara took a deep breath. Her heart raced.
It was a pure, pristine white night.
"Lara, Lara!"
The director kept calling Lara's name in disbelief that she had defied her and stepped outside.
Beside her, the noble lay on the floor, foaming at the mouth, while his squire knelt shaking his master desperately.
Finally snapping out of it, the director turned to the man.
Whatever he had done, she couldn't let Lara be taken like this. She hadn't profited from him at all yet!
"M-my lord! What is the meaning of this?!"
"Quiet. My head's ringing."
The man adjusted his leather gloves while regarding the writhing old man like some filthy object.
His cold gaze shifted to the director. To him, the old man on the floor and the director were one and the same—dirty, unclean humans. Worthless trash not even worth dealing with.
"Ah, we haven't even decided to send that child to you yet. If you leave like this, I'll sue you for kidnapping!"
The man let out a light, incredulous chuckle at the director's outburst.
She flinched and shut her mouth at his laugh.
But words once spoken couldn't be taken back.
"Fine. Try it."
"......"
"Ah, must've been tough raising her. She turned out so pretty thanks to the director's special care."
The man tossed a small pouch at the director's feet.
She eyed it suspiciously before hurriedly opening it.
"!"
Seeing it brimming with gleaming gold—nothing like the tarnished ring from the Old Noble—she stumbled back and fell.
"M-my lord...!"
"Keep that child's name out of your mouth from now on. It makes me sick."
"Y-yes, of course, my lord! Never, ever...!"
The man turned away without listening to her babble further.
"......"
His eyes met those of a girl peeking from the stairs leading up, but he ignored her and left.
Helen, turning away, bit her nails and muttered.
"...Lara left the orphanage? For real?"
The thrill she'd felt moments ago was now utterly ruined.
Unlike her mother, who was overjoyed at the pouch, Helen felt no joy at the windfall.
The man had looked right at her yet treated her like she didn't exist before leaving.
How could he? How could anyone want Lara?
"...Annoying, annoying, annoying!"
Unable to contain her frustration, Helen screamed.
She pictured the tall, handsome man with night-black hair over and over in her mind. She would never forget his face. Never.