Atonement, About it’s Cruelty - Chapter 23

But it seemed he hadn’t forgotten after all. If he had, then the desperate emotions he felt back then must have been imprinted on him. What is learned by heart may fade, but what is ingrained in the body remains until death.

As the woman bit her tongue and drew blood, Oscar felt a tightening sensation in his chest, as if something deep inside was surging up.

“It won’t do.”

Oscar muttered fiercely and pushed his finger between the woman’s tightly closed lips. His finger, digging into her red lips, forced its way through the gap where her teeth were chewing her tongue. The smooth, warm surface of her tongue wrapped around the tip of his finger.

“Relax.”

“Huhk….”

It was a sharp voice that would make the wolves succumb to the cold, but the drugged woman did not respond. She only tried desperately to push Oscar away, using all her strength to bite her tongue and regain her senses.

Her slender hand gripped his thick wrist. Tears streamed from her watery eyes as she struggled to push away the long fingers invading her mouth with her tongue, using every ounce of her strength. She tried to push away and keep biting her tongue.

That wouldn’t work.

“Who’s in charge here?”

Oscar tightened his grip on the woman, who was trying to twist her head away. He forcefully twisted her slender neck with one hand to make her look at him. The intense heat and misery in her eyes made more tears flow.

“Ugh…”

Her pleading face seemed to ask him to just leave her alone.

A sardonic smile formed on Oscar’s lips.

Give up.

Oscar pressed his finger firmly against her tongue, which was trying to lick his fingers, then let her bite down on his white fingers. He watched with a languid expression as the woman bit his fingers.

The white teeth visible between her red lips. The warm breath rising from her narrow throat flowed over his sinewy hand. The shallow breath, grazing his hand, brushed past his nostrils.

“……”

Oscar’s eyes narrowed. It felt like a strange scent had passed by.

However, the thoughts couldn’t continue. He felt the force that seemed to be biting him dissipate at his fingertips. At the same time, the hand gripping his wrist slowly relaxed, and the brown eyes that had been pleading began to close gradually.

“……”

With the squirming movements gone, silence settled in the moonlit bedroom. As the sound disappeared, it felt like time had stopped.

Oscar’s blue gaze slid over to the red lips that had bitten his finger. His eyes, half-lidded, stared without a hint of movement at the wet, sparkling lips and the long finger that had entered her mouth.

After a moment, Oscar slowly withdrew his finger from her mouth. As he pulled his finger out from between her tightly closed lips, he experienced the illusion that her small lips were still licking his finger.

His acute hearing caught a sound that couldn’t possibly be heard from inside her mouth. It seemed as though the sound of wet membranes making tiny friction could be heard at his fingertips.

The finger, wet with clear saliva, showed no marks from being bitten.

A light chuckle escaped him as he tried to rise, but his brow suddenly furrowed.

An unblemished chill appeared in Oscar’s eyes, which had already calmed down. He looked down at himself with a look of disbelief, then lifted his head before looking down again. The gaze he cast upon himself was colder than when he had looked at the fools of Felpe.

“Damn…”

He exhaled the irritated words along with a weary sigh and picked up the towel from the nightstand. He wiped the saliva from his hands and laughed softly.

Yes. She really is the kind of woman who would desperately cling to avoid being taken from a brothel.

Then, his laughter evaporated like a lie. The mirth vanished entirely, leaving him with a stark, intense coldness, like a scorched castle that had just been ravaged by a fire, still seething with heat.

Oscar tossed the towel aside and looked down at the completely unconscious woman before turning away. He summoned Simon once more.

“Did you call, sir?”

Having washed his hands, Oscar leaned back on the sofa. Resting his head against the backrest, he gazed at the gleaming key and spoke.

“What do you think, how did this key end up in that woman’s hand?”

“…The woman appears to be around 20 years old. I received a report from Felpe Bank; it states that her nationality is Dan Country.”

“Dan Country?”

“Yes. It’s a kingdom located on the Eastern Continent, adjacent to the Riohe Empire.”

Oscar, who had been deep in thought for a moment, spoke again.

“She looks mixed-race.”

“I believe so as well… I’m sorry. We have no more than a rough guess about how the key ended up in her possession…”

“Then what about Peter?”

“……”

“Is that bastard still at the bottom of the sea? And is it only this key that has surfaced?”

Oscar, who had been leaning back with his head resting, finally spoke up.

“Report number 2021.”

Report number 2021.

A report from about three years ago, detailing that Peter had been lost along with the key. The author of the report was an intelligence agent of the late Marquis who was highly regarded for his unmatched skills in espionage.

“Have we still not heard from Theresia Wittgenstein?”

“Not yet. We’ve only received a message that they will investigate further.”

“Summon her.”

The key, which was believed to be lost, had now returned in such an unexpected manner. It wasn’t something that could be dismissed with just a statement of circumstances; if the key had returned, it was only right to call it back.

A cruel smile, which Simon also found unsettling, briefly appeared and vanished at the corner of Oscar’s mouth.

It was a night where the long-standing grudge that was thought to have been lost at sea had returned with a very pretty face.

* * *

In Dan Country, the largest port is Yongcheon.

Every day, merchant ships came and went in the clear blue waters of Yongcheon. Most of the ships were from neighboring countries that had diplomatic relations with Dan Country, but occasionally, ships from across the great sea would also arrive.

The merchants from across the sea were notably tall, with high noses and fair skin. Although they came from different countries, the people of Yongcheon simply referred to them as ‘Westerners.’