[AFYC] Chapter 85

“...”

Beyond the door leading to the study, a quiet contemplation took hold. Oscar had inherited a habit from Barbara—keeping things he couldn’t afford to lose in plain sight. It was an unconscious quirk born from observing her for so long. 

As he stood there, gazing at the door shrouded in darkness, his fingers slipped into the pockets of his loosely draped gown. He began to walk toward it, each step unhurried. There was no sound, no sign of life behind the door. The woman who had turned Abel’s once vibrant reports into worthless trash was likely holed up in her room, hiding away. 

From the central market to Pal Phien and then to a cemetery. 

Now seated on the edge of his bed, Oscar let out something between a sigh and a laugh. The thought of that ridiculous salt grinder, followed by the tearful eyes of the woman who had looked up at him, brought back a strange question lodged in his mind like a thorn. 

“...Are you coming?” 

It had been a peculiar question, tinged with suspicion and anxiety. Yet, there was something about how she had asked it repeatedly with those forlorn eyes that lingered with him. 

Her reaction had been surprisingly offbeat for someone who had asked so earnestly. The way her face had drained of colour as she dropped her gaze had been almost tangible. 

The smile that had been playing on Oscar’s lips vanished. 

He was baffled by his own inclination to dwell on it. With a sharp tongue click, he pushed the useless thoughts out of his mind. 

It had been a long night, the culmination of an arduous task. This line of thinking needed to end here. He threw back the covers, ready to slip into bed. 

But just as he was about to settle in, his gaze drifted back to the door, enveloped in stillness. 

♔♔♔ 

Seo Ah wasn’t sure how she had made it back to her room. 

It wasn’t just that she had returned; she had somehow managed to wash up, change into her nightclothes, draw the curtains, and sit at the table with her notebook and pen, all as if moving through a dream. Her mind felt hollow, as though emptied of all thought. 

“...” 

She sat there, staring blankly ahead, before blinking hard to snap herself back to reality. 

There wasn’t time for this. She needed to record the day. 

She opened her notebook and picked up the weighty pen. She tried to rewind the day from the beginning, but her thoughts once again drifted into a void. 

Once held rigid, her back slumped as a weary groan escaped her lips. 

“Ah…” 

It had been a foolish day from start to finish. 

A day without purpose, one that had burdened others rather than being of any help. If she could turn back time and return to that morning, she would have avoided Pal Phien Market altogether. Abel had been right; she shouldn’t have gone there. 

Her eyes felt dry and scratchy. 

Tears that had begun earlier in the day had refused to stop, leaving her rubbing her eyes constantly. 

A deep sense of self-loathing crept over her, hunching her shoulders and bowing her head. As she buried her face in her hands, breathing out warm breaths, she thought she heard a low, cold laugh. 

A laugh that seemed to echo in the cool air. 

She tried to follow the sound, only to shake her head quickly. Gripping the pen tighter, she forced herself back to the present. 

“Get a grip.” 

But within seconds, she had collapsed onto the table again, sighing heavily. 

“Ah…” 

She couldn’t even remember the details of the day. 

Why did she buy the flowers when she had felt something was off? 

As she recalled cradling the bouquet in her arms, time seemed to fold in on itself. Her memory leapt to the entrance of the mansion, the only clear moment in an otherwise hazy day. 

Perhaps it was because that was the one moment that stood out in stark relief. 

The cold wind had whipped around her, and she had shuddered with a revulsion directed at herself. Then, just as she sank into despair, a rough laugh cut through the air, and her heart thudded heavily. She had turned her head, dazed. 

The entrance to the mansion resembled a shrine to death. 

There he was, leaning against the massive doorframe, laughing. Flanked by men who stood like sentinels, he had laughed for what seemed like ages. She had wanted to greet him, but her mind and body had both felt empty as if drained of all thought. And yet, in that moment, she had felt an inexplicable sense of relief. 

Why? Was it because it was the first time she had seen him since arriving in Luxen? Or perhaps it was the overwhelming presence that seemed to erase the memory of her foolish day? She didn’t know. But as their eyes met, it felt as though her racing heart had suddenly stopped. 

Ah, he really is here. 

This really is his home. 

The ember of his cigarette glowed red, and when he brushed back his tousled hair, she could see his eyes, which appeared almost blue in the dark. 

“Have you been well?”