CH:10
A surge of intense exhilaration flowed through Ivan’s body. It dawned on him—that was why he hadn’t tried to kill Amelia, even after running into her multiple times. And that realization led to yet another one.
“……”
In that moment, Ivan subtly nudged the wine bottle he had placed beside him. It tipped over, falling off the altar.
“Oh no.”
The sound of breaking glass was audible only to those inside the prayer room. But if someone came to clean and caught the scent of alcohol or saw the broken bottle, it would be problematic either way. Amelia hurriedly descended from the altar and crouched down, reaching toward the shards.
“I’ll do it.”
Ivan knelt beside her, pretending to help clean the mess. He picked up one of the shards and, while feigning clumsiness, casually scraped Amelia’s delicate finger.
“Ah!”
A sharp sting made Amelia cry out before she could stop herself. Ivan didn’t miss the opportunity.
“Are you okay?”
Without hesitation, he took her slender, bleeding finger and brought it to his mouth, licking the wound. The taste of iron and the warmth of her blood sank into him. The heat confirmed it—this was the blood of a living human.
“What… what are you doing?”
Startled, Amelia pulled her hand back in a rush. Ivan slowly lowered the corners of his lips, which had unknowingly curled up into a smile, then looked up at her.
“Ah, sorry. I didn’t even realize.”
He licked his lips as he replied nonchalantly. It had been an instinctive move—there was no way to explain it otherwise. Amelia, still clutching her stinging finger, blushed furiously.
“I’ll clean it up. Just leave it.”
Ivan stood and pulled a pouch from his robe, the one he’d used to carry the wine bottle. He swept the broken shards in with his foot. His earlier flustered demeanor was completely gone.
“Amelia.”
He thought to himself how glad he was that he hadn’t listened to Rodan. Then he called her name with a voice as sweet as honey—made sweeter because it was entirely fabricated.
“Yes?”
Amelia immediately answered, her eyes drawn to him like a moth to flame.
“Why are you afraid of dogs?”
Ivan asked.
“I was bitten once. It hurt a lot.”
Amelia rubbed her shoulder as she replied, stealing glances at Ivan as if worried about displeasing him again.
“Was there blood?”
“Of course. I’m human too. I nearly died.”
Despite her caution, she was determined to speak her mind. Her reply suggested she didn’t think of herself as special in the slightest.
“Right. That was a weird question…”
Ivan murmured with a faint smile. A mere human, she said. She had no idea how strange her answer sounded.
“Is there anything else you’d like to try next time?”
And so, Ivan decided to be even kinder to Amelia. The more disoriented she became, the better.
“Next time?”
“You said we’d meet again next week.”
At Ivan’s reminder, Amelia quickly nodded, as if afraid he might change his mind. It was a naïve reaction.
“Then…”
“Yeah?”
“There’s this food they sell on sticks… covered in sauce…”
Amelia awkwardly tried to describe the appearance with her hands.
“Chicken skewers? I’ll bring some next time.”
Ivan, hiding his true feelings beneath a smile, responded gently. Amelia beamed with joy.
“I’m glad I met you.”
She whispered that she was happy to have met Ivan—unaware that the most dangerous person in her life was licking his lips right in front of her. Ivan laughed inwardly at her foolishness.
“We should go now, just in case the smell of alcohol lingers. I’ll clean up—don’t worry about it.”
Amelia glanced around uncertainly.
“Alright.”
But she nodded. If she stayed away too long, someone might come looking for her. Around midnight, Louis always checked on her to make sure she hadn’t run off and was in her bedroom. If she wasn’t there—or even if she was but reeked of alcohol—it would raise suspicion.
“Next week, we’ll—”
But she didn’t want to part ways just yet.
“See you next week.”
Ivan cut her off before she could finish her sentence. He spoke the words she had meant to say.
“Mm.”
Amelia blinked in surprise at her words being stolen, then smiled like a child and softly answered before turning to leave.
“Goodbye, Ivan.”
Of course, she looked back once more to wave before completely exiting the prayer room.
“……”
The door connecting the prayer room to the main palace where Amelia stayed closed behind her. The kind smile on Ivan’s face vanished as if it had never been there.
“Well, let’s get going.”
Ivan picked up the pouch containing the shards and stepped forward. Then he opened a side door of the prayer room and slipped out. The building’s side was poorly guarded, with fewer escape routes and less security.
“When the hell is Eric coming?”
To make matters worse, the guards stationed at each entrance were distracted with shift changes. They only checked Ivan’s identification tag and let him pass.
The palace Amelia stayed in was in the northern part of the temple, separated by high walls. The annexed prayer room was implicitly off-limits. It wasn’t an official rule, but temple priests didn’t like coming near due to the hassle of constant inspections. Plus, no real threats had ever occurred—peace had made the guards complacent.
Still, accessing Amelia indoors was another matter. Her palace had a strange layout: minimal guards at the entrances but a large number of staff inside.
It was designed not only to block external intrusion but to trap the person within a tight mesh from the inside.
“……”
Was Amelia Escliff a helpless prisoner inside that palace?
“Nonsense.”
Ivan clicked his tongue. A woman pampered and cherished by the temple couldn’t possibly be a prisoner. Ridiculous.
Still, that strange structure allowed Ivan to easily pass through the entry to Amelia’s residence.
“Going out again?”
He flashed his ID to the guards stationed at the passage between her residence and the temple. They recognized the name “Ricky” and clicked their tongues in disapproval. No one even asked him to lower his hood.
“You’ll lose your trainee priest status if you get caught. Lately, the Holy Knights have been patrolling the streets looking for guys like you.”
Though they didn’t recognize Ricky’s face, his frequent visits to taverns were well known.
“If I get caught, so be it.”
“Ugh, just go.”
Despite Ivan’s cheeky response, the guards let him out. He exited the temple grounds without any restrictions. At the same time, the heavy bell tolled behind him. Midnight—signaling that no one should be outside anymore.
“And yet she said something about immortality.”
Ivan stopped in his tracks as if the sound had rooted him to the spot. Then, with a faintly amused voice, he muttered,
He had never believed in the temple, or the priestess. As far as he was concerned, it was impossible for a human not to age or die. But he couldn’t help but entertain the possibility.
What if Amelia really had lived for 200 years and was truly immortal? Then he’d be locked in an unwinnable fight forever. That remote possibility had made Ivan hesitate.
But now, he was certain of his hunch—Amelia was just an ordinary human. Her naïveté came from inexperience, and her attachment to Ivan stemmed from a life of isolation, forbidden from any contact with outsiders.
“Then how did that come to be?”
Ivan pictured Amelia’s innocent face. A girl like that couldn’t have come into existence by her own will.
“……”
He looked back. The beautifully adorned prison crouched beneath the pale moonlight—like a secret hiding within.
“Well, there’s no rush.”
He turned away from the palace gates. Strangely enough, he didn’t feel any urgent need to uncover the truth now. More precisely, he didn’t have to.
He’d find out eventually.
Amelia would follow him of her own free will. Once she was under his shadow—whether he used her or killed her—nothing would stand in his way.
