[AFYC] Chapter 30

A faint chuckle escaped him, but the self-deprecating laugh quickly dried up, leaving only a cold, calculating gaze in its place. 

His eyes slowly traced over the woman’s face. 

Her features were foreign, delicate. The brown hair fanned out across the bed, making her pale face seem even whiter. Every line that defined her seemed fragile as if it could break at any moment. 

She had a thin jawline, a slender neck, shoulders that seemed barely two hand spans wide, fingers that kept pushing at the sheets, wrists, small feet, and delicate ankles peeking from beneath her rumpled skirt. 

The woman was like... 

A sketch drawn with a pencil, faint and almost ethereal, with no part of the line pressed hard. 

His gaze followed the faint lines up to her eyes. 

The man, who had slaughtered many tonight, leaned over the woman as if offering himself up to her. 

Her eyes flickered in and out of focus and seemed to lose their clarity altogether. Yet they were not the eyes of the dead, whose lifeless gaze often disturbed him. Instead, her eyes were clear, almost transparent, as if he could see straight through to the bottom. 

Contrary to how she had tried to hide her face earlier, she now looked directly at him—or rather, her unfocused gaze allowed him to look through her. 

As the moonlight casting shadows on Oscar’s face shifted to her, the scene became one of contrast, as if the sketch had been coloured in. 

The texture of her brown irises was like that of fine strokes, layered carefully, and the delicate lines of her eyelashes were just as finely drawn. 

“...” 

The man who had taken many lives that night found himself staring at the woman, oblivious to how long he had been doing so. 

Her brown eyes, as finely detailed as if drawn with dozens of lines, began to glisten with tears. The conflicting emotions of intense heat and helplessness were evident in those tear-filled eyes when suddenly, she let out a soft, pained sound. 

“Haah, ngh…” 

Her once-wide eyes narrowed, and the tears that had welled up slipped down her cheeks. Her head turned to the side, revealing the vulnerable expanse of her pale neck. It seemed so fragile that one hand could easily break it, and beneath the delicate skin, her pulse throbbed faintly. 

Oscar’s own eyes, which had momentarily softened, suddenly sharpened. 

“Ha,” he breathed a sharp laugh, running a hand through his hair. 

Drugs were a strange thing. Just a drop or two could completely alter a person’s state. 

He straightened, pushing aside his earlier thoughts as he turned to leave. There was no point in lingering over a woman out of her mind. As cold thoughts filled his mind, he stepped away, but a sound he hadn’t expected made him stop. 

There was a soft crunch, the sound of flesh being bitten. 

Instinctively, Oscar spun around and quickly approached the woman. He knelt on the bed, supporting her head with one hand as he saw the pained expression on her face, her mouth tightly clamped down on her tongue. 

The scent of blood filled the air. 

Even in her unconscious state, it seemed she was trying to bite down on her tongue to fight off the effects of the drug. 

With his other hand, Oscar grasped her jaw, pressing his thumb and middle finger into the hinge of her jaw to force it open, but she stubbornly refused to unclench her teeth. 

Oscar’s brow furrowed. 

This key, which he had once been desperate to find, which he had sought so frantically that he would have done anything to obtain it, was something he had, at some point, resigned himself to never possessing. He had once yearned for it so deeply that he despaired when he couldn’t find it, only to grow indifferent and almost forget about it. The situation had changed, but perhaps he had forced himself to forget so he could move forward. 

But it seemed he hadn’t truly forgotten. Either that or the emotions he had felt back then had become ingrained in his very being. They say what you learn by heart might fade, but what’s etched into your body stays with you until death. 

As the woman bit down on her tongue, causing blood to flow, a tightness seized his chest, and something deep within him stirred. 

“You can’t do that.” 

Oscar’s voice was harsh as he growled, inserting his fingers into her mouth and prying apart her clamped teeth. His fingers pressed against the soft, warm flesh of her tongue, which had been bitten hard. 

“Relax.” 

“Ngh…” 

His voice was sharp enough to make even the Wolves flinch, but the drugged woman didn’t respond. 

She only struggled harder, trying to bite down on her tongue as if that were her last hope of regaining control, using all her strength to push him away. 

Her small hands pushed against his thick wrist as tears streamed down her cheeks. She used all her might to push his invading fingers out of her mouth and bite down on her tongue again. 

But he wasn’t going to let that happen.