[AFYC] Chapter 37

“Gu...”

Her voice cracked as it escaped her lips, barely more than a whisper. She took a deep breath, trying to steady the frantic beating of her heart. 

She had to express her gratitude, thank him for saving her, and offer anything she could in return. But most of all, she had to beg for his mercy, to ask if he could simply let her go. 

With another deep breath, Seo Ah raised her head. 

“Thank you for saving me...” 

Her words trailed off as her gaze fell upon the emblem pinned to his black suit, a polished gold insignia resembling a star with a snarling beast etched in its centre. 

“The Wolf will come.” 

She could almost hear her master’s voice, a forewarning that seemed to echo in her mind. Above her, the man’s voice carried a hint of amusement. 

“Do you know what this is?” 

Seo Ah blinked in confusion, then shook her head. 

“No...” 

He leaned in closer, his voice lowering to a whisper. 

“Let’s have a little chat, shall we?” 

♔♔♔ 

Throughout the early morning, Oscar received real-time updates from the Wolves embedded within Felphe Bank. The identification papers the woman had presented were suspected to have been issued by a small Eastern nation called Dankook, a country with which only the Herod Kingdom had diplomatic relations in the Norfolk continent. Felphe’s king had ordered the documents to be sent to Herod’s capital, Herolington, for verification. 

From Felphe to Herod, then back to Felphe after the verification process—such a process could easily take three months. 

“So it’ll take at least three months,” Oscar mused, and Simon nodded in agreement. 

Even if the verification process went smoothly, there were still more procedures to follow: investigating how she obtained the key and announcements in major national newspapers before the vault could finally be opened. 

“If we follow all the procedures, it could take six months to two years to open the vault,” Simon explained. 

“Two years is too long. How can we minimise that time?” Oscar asked, his gaze sharp. 

“There is a way to reduce the time without violating Felphe’s banking laws,” Simon replied quickly, meeting Oscar’s intense gaze. 

“If we marry the woman to someone with a clear status, it could shorten the process. The timeline stretches from six months to two years because, in the worst-case scenario, Felphe Bank might need to send the identification papers back to Dankook for verification. The only way to eliminate this risk is to marry her to a local man, thereby clarifying her status.” 

“...” 

“Even with this, it would be difficult to significantly reduce the minimum time of six months, but it would ensure that the maximum time would not exceed a year. Furthermore, if she were married, the husband would inherit the key, allowing us to open the vault even if she were no longer present.” 

“The risks?” 

“The woman herself is the primary risk. We know nothing about her temperament or background, so it’s impossible to predict how she’ll react to a marriage or how much coercion she’ll tolerate. If she were to mention during the bank’s face-to-face interview that the marriage was forced, it could cause complications.” 

“So it’s a choice between six months to two years or six months to one year.” 

“Yes.” 

Oscar glanced down at the key in his hand. Human nature was strange—the shorter time frame seemed far more appealing when given options. However, with the key in his possession, there was no need to rush. After all, who could have predicted that the key would fall into his hands today? 

He moved to the window, watching as the faint light of dawn began to mix with the dark sky. The outlines of the world were slowly emerging as the night gave way to morning. 

Some people called this time the dawn of light when the world bathed in the ethereal glow of the blue hour. For those who could appreciate such moments, it was a blessing. 

To Oscar, however, this was the hour of the wolf and the dog, when it was unclear whether what approached was friend or foe. 

But was this time any different from the rest? Was he not, himself, walking the line between wolf and dog? 

Even now, the same question lingered: What should he do with the woman? 

Should he frighten her into willingly handing over the key, or should he coax her and use her for as long as possible? 

Oscar decided to leave the matter for later. As Simon had suggested, he could decide once he knew more about her.