Read Atonement, For Your Cruelty English Novel Translation

[AFYC] Chapter 87

original: Han Boyeon, translation: Ru

Romance, Drama, Mystery, Fantasy, Mature, Smut

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“Oh, that was to ward off bad luck…”

“Bad luck?”

“Yes.”

“Did Abel buy flowers too?”

“No, he helped me put them back.”

“So, how does that relate to bad luck?”

“…”

Right, how would helping to return flowers relate to bad luck? The problem wasn’t with Abel helping but with the act of returning the flowers itself.

The journey to return the flowers to the dead had been long and arduous, made even more difficult by the presence of a furious wolf. When they finally arrived at the cemetery, it was as gloomy and damp as one might expect. The graves were so tightly packed together that they seemed almost impossible to be buried so closely.

She had bought more flowers to replace the missing ones, carefully placing them on each grave. In the meantime, she even managed to sweep away some of the fallen leaves quickly. Just when she thought she had finished, Abel approached, grabbed a bunch of flowers, and flung them carelessly over the gravestones.

It was his next action that was most concerning.

“Did he throw the flowers onto the gravestones?” Oscar asked, his impatience clear as he posed the question before Seo Ah could respond.

Seo Ah widened her eyes, trying to figure out how best to phrase it without making it sound worse.

“Or did he throw them and then stomp on them?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

“He, well, he used his feet to… sweep the leaves off the gravestones…”

“So what’s the issue?”

What’s the issue?

“If I were a ghost, wouldn’t I follow him around…”

A low laugh wrapped around her hesitant words.

Seo Ah struggled to keep her gaze down as she heard the quiet, mocking laughter. The warm light of the study flickered, and Oscar’s low laughter seemed to fill the empty spaces in her mind and body. She clenched her hands a little tighter as he unfolded his arms and ran a hand through his hair. The winter wind seemed to carry his cold, dry laugh away.

“So, what does that have to do with the salt?”

“They say salt purifies spirits.”

“Doesn’t seem like it worked.”

She wanted to disappear.

“In my hometown, we would scatter a handful of salt from a jar. I wasn’t familiar with the grinder, so it was a bit awkward, but still, salt is salt…”

Oscar chuckled again, and Seo Ah found herself unable to finish her sentence.

Yes, it must have seemed strange. But enduring his laughter was better than hearing scolding words.

As soon as the laughter subsided, she would return to her room. She stood there, bracing herself against the invisible winds that swirled around her when suddenly, he moved. Though it was just a few steps closer, it felt like an unseen wave was pushing against her.

“But you asked how much 50 million Kertes a week is worth, and yet you’ve only spent a few thousand, a few tens of thousands. Is that all?”

“…”

“Did you buy that too?”

“…What?”

When she belatedly responded, Oscar replied with a leisurely tone.

“Your clothes—they’re new.”

“…”

New clothes?

Her gaze instinctively dropped to examine her outfit.

Time seemed to stretch and then snap like a piece of taffy.

Her long brown hair, tied loosely at her waist, her thin white nightgown, and the slippers on her bare feet.

Time snapped back into place.

“I, um, well, it’s just that…”

She felt heat rising like flames under her skin, causing her words to tangle.

Her thoughts were knotted up like tangled threads, and she couldn’t remember saying, “I’m sorry, excuse me, goodnight,” in the Luxen dialect.

Sweat broke out across her skin, and she felt as if the ground beneath her feet had vanished.

What do I do?

She had already embarrassed herself in front of the household staff, and now she was wandering around the mansion at night, dressed like this, in the space he used.

Would he ask her to leave? Maybe he’d suggest she find somewhere else to stay, somewhere out of sight.

The thought that Oscar might laugh if he knew the extent of her anxiety only made her fear grow.

And Oscar simply stood there, watching her.

His blue eyes, sharp as ever, focused intently on her reddening face.

Seeing her so flustered brought back memories of that day, and he wondered why she was so easily rattled.

You’re acting like this over something so minor.

The first time I saw you, I saw something far worse.

What kind of face would you make if I told you that? The thought crossed his mind briefly before her frozen expression began to bore him.

Oscar gestured toward the door behind her with a nod.

“Go on.”