Chapter 104
Melony found the whole situation absurd.
Cain’s coldly turned back, and his words—you’re nothing more than a provider of blood—still rang vividly in her ears.
How could I ever forget?
It felt a little unfair that, out of the time they’d spent together, she was the only one who had grown attached.
What she’d thought was the gradual budding of mutual feelings had been nothing more than her own misunderstanding.
That was why she’d decided never to see Cain again. And yet…
What on earth is this situation now?
They’d met again simply because their destination happened to be the same, and she’d ended up revealing part of the truth—something she’d never planned to do.
None of this had been part of her plan.
Well, if she really thought about it, everything had gone wrong ever since she met Lilith in her dreams.
“Why do you keep glancing at Mel like that?”
Cain’s voice, walking almost pressed up against her, snapped her out of her thoughts. When she turned her head, Abel was looking at Melony as if he had something to say.
She frowned at the sight of Cain acting like a faithful guard dog protecting her.
“And what are you supposed to be?”
Melony pressed a finger against Cain’s face and forcibly turned his head away.
“I hired you as a guide dog at first.”
“Hired? You kidnapped me.”
She glared at him irritably, then moved closer to Abel. When Cain tried to follow, she held him back with her umbrella, keeping her distance.
“I told you that thing wouldn’t work.”
“Cain.”
This wouldn’t do. Abel could wait—this came first.
She twisted around to face Cain directly.
“You keep acting like this, so I’m going to ask you again.”
“Ask what?”
Melony had captured Cain—who she believed to be one of the four bishops cherished by the Vampire King—solely to find that king.
She’d put a dog collar on him and forced him to lead her to the king.
Back then, she’d known nothing. She hadn’t known that the very Vampire King she’d been searching for was Cain himself.
And Cain had regarded Sabina as nothing but an enemy.
After learning that Melony was Sabina’s reincarnation, he’d deliberately let himself be captured.
He’d planned to keep his object of revenge close, then betray her one day and drive her into despair.
They’d both been each other’s targets of revenge. The only difference was that she hadn’t known Cain was her enemy—while Cain had known his perfectly well.
Yes. That was the difference.
Melony let out a long, heavy sigh, as if the ground might cave in beneath her.
“Cain, when you hid the truth even though you knew I was searching for the Vampire King… what were you thinking?”
“……”
“You were planning to kill me, so why didn’t you do it right away…?”
“……”
“And why did you save me by forming a companion mark with me while I was dying?”
Once again, the air froze.
Luxuria and Abel exchanged glances, then quietly stepped back, reading the mood.
Ignoring them, Melony spoke to Cain again.
“Do you still see me as nothing more than someone who provides you with blood?”
Cain’s lips parted, then closed again. Watching that stubbornly sealed mouth made irritation surge up inside her.
Ever since they’d reunited two weeks ago, Cain had been treating her as if nothing had changed.
That’s just infuriating.
After coldly cutting her off as nothing more than a blood supply, he now acted as if it was perfectly fine to go back to how things were.
The absurdity of it all.
“You can’t answer, can you?”
She felt she’d given him more than enough time. And still, Cain couldn’t respond.
A scoff escaped her lips.
“Until you answer my question, don’t come anywhere near me.”
She tightened her grip on the umbrella she held up like a warning.
“If you do, I really will shoot. Don’t think the companion mark means I won’t.”
Because when she decided to do something, she did it.
After adding coldly, Melony lowered the umbrella and turned away. Expecting anything from a Cain who still couldn’t answer felt pointless.
She walked a little farther, then stopped beside Abel.
“So? What did you want to say to me so badly you were acting like a dog that needs to pee?”
Her words were sharp—Cain had pushed her to the brink. Abel, understanding her mood, simply smiled good-naturedly.
“Haha… well, actually.”
He glanced briefly at Cain, then lowered his head.
“I have a proposal.”
“A proposal? What is it?”
“Lady Melony, perhaps…”
He paused, still hesitant, then spoke again with a careful expression.
“Wouldn’t it be better to tell Cain everything and ask for his cooperation?”
“Everything?”
“From the past. All of it.”
In other words, starting with Lilith’s story.
Melony’s eyes widened.
“That…”
Was it really okay to tell him? Cain, who already knew that their connection began with Sabina.
Could she tell him about the bond that started when the land of Arcadia was first created?
“Or else, what if you returned the remaining clones and suggested working together?”
“Then he’d cooperate immediately.”
Rather than explaining things while he lacked his memories, returning the clones and extending a hand would naturally lead Cain to take it.
But then—who would be able to handle Cain?
She still didn’t know whether Baron’s blood had completely disappeared from within him. And there was no telling when Baron might strike again.
Not long ago, Cain hadn’t been able to kill Baron. And that surely wasn’t the end of it.
Cain could suddenly attack under Baron’s command.
Maybe that’s exactly what Baron is aiming for.
To manipulate a fully restored Cain and drive him to self-destruction.
Melony felt Luxuria’s pitiful gaze fixed on her.
“No.”
She shook her head.
Then, as a thought suddenly struck her, Melony lifted her head and scanned the surroundings.
“Cain.”
Tilting her ear toward the quiet mountains, she opened her umbrella.
Cain, who’d still been pondering her earlier question, looked up. Melony jerked her chin toward the space in front of her.
“Come here.”
“…Why should I?”
“Come while I’m asking nicely.”
Cain looked displeased, but he complied.
The moment he stood before her, Melony clenched the umbrella tightly. Without hesitation, she drew on her holy power, and a semicircular barrier formed around them.
“I knew something was off.”
Her gaze sharpened.
She slowly swept her eyes over their surroundings.
“After sending illusions, staying quiet like this made no sense.”
“Mel, what do you see? I can’t see anything with my vampire eyes.”
“…Ah.”
Melony answered a little late, smiling faintly.
If she’d been an ordinary human—just a saint—she might not have noticed.
But she wasn’t ordinary. She was the primordial saint, the first life on this land, and the only child who’d received the power of Vee, the goddess of light and life.
“Look over there.”
Nearly fifty vampires, accompanied by countless replicas, appeared.
“Vampires and replicas.”
“How can you tell?”
At Cain’s persistent question, Melony merely smiled while staring at the horde.
With that many enemies, there was no way Cain, a vampire, wouldn’t normally notice them.
There was only one reason he hadn’t.
They’re wearing Baron’s power like armor—a barrier.
It was a dark power that erased presence, similar to Cain’s own signature attack, the Veil of Darkness.
Only Melony reacted to the strange sensation—Melony, who possessed overwhelming holy power.
“Come out and offer your necks, hunters!”
One of the vampires shouted.
“Give us the blood of the Immortal!”
“Seize the blood of eternal life!”
It seemed their target wasn’t Cain, but Melony.
As they rushed forward, the moment they touched the barrier of light, they turned to ash and vanished. That was how strong the barrier Melony had summoned was.
Watching everything unfold from within, Cain bared his teeth.
“This is ridiculous.”
He rolled his neck, mocking them.
“How dare they swarm in here trying to steal what’s mine?”
“Since when am I yours?”
Melony pressed the tip of her umbrella firmly against the back of Cain’s head.
“Cain, don’t go out.”
“Why not? I can kill them all.”
The Immortal.
They’d thought that was Melony—but it was Cain.
Unlike Melony, who would die and be reborn into a new life, Cain had lived continuously from the time he’d been a black serpent to the present.
He merely slept for long periods; when he awakened, he was always the same as he’d been in the beginning.
They can’t find out that Cain is the Immortal.
Better that they targeted her than him.
Why was it?
She didn’t want Cain to get hurt.
He’d lived for countless ages. He must have suffered countless wounds in that time.
Now, Cain deserved to rest.
“No. Absolutely do not step in.”
Melony shoved Cain behind her, as if hiding him with her own body.
