“Alice, what a nostalgic name. I never thought I would hear that name again.”
As she heard the relaxed voice, Jin Ye-seul quietly got up.
The sound of heels clacking was unusually clear.
Jin Ye-seul looked at the other person carefully and realized that she was not the Alice Blessbuck that she knew.
Wine-colored hair.
A strange smell and aura of magic.
A beautiful appearance that was not human.
And, fangs that vibrated with the smell of blood.
“…”
She was not Alice Blessbuck.
Then, was she a relative?
Or just someone who looked alike?
She remembered someone who resembled her from the memories she had obtained by rummaging through the minds of the Big Watch members, but the woman in the memories always wore a mask-like thing and hid her face.
This was the first time she saw her bare face.
“Who are you?”
“Oh, no matter how I look at it, that seems like a question I should ask first.”
The woman chuckled as if she didn’t care and spread the hem of her dress.
“Well, does it matter? Then I’ll introduce myself, so listen carefully and remember.”
She bent her knees slightly and nodded her head.
“My name is Natalia Milted. The Alice Blessbuck you mentioned… the mother of that half-wit Alice Milted.”
Jin Ye-seul spat out as if she had noticed Natalia’s actions.
“I’m Jin Ye-seul.”
“Oh, you’re so polite.”
Natalia laughed and started to look around.
“But did you make this place like this?”
“What do you mean?”
Jin Ye-seul already knew that the Big Watch and the Milted children were in a cooperative relationship, and that the Natalia in front of her was one of the Milted children.
She also knew that she was a vampire.
And that she used a creepy ability.
Hmm, this might be a dangerous situation.
That’s what Jin Ye-seul thought.
“Hmm… you seem pretty strong.”
Natalia put her finger on her chin and showed off her finely manicured nails as she examined Jin Ye-seul.
“Your face is to my taste, and so is your body. Especially your legs, they’re long and pretty. Your black hair like the night sky, your purple eyes like amethysts, they look so soft… hmm.”
She showed a blissful expression.
“Especially the bonus point for being young. If I age you a bit, you’ll give me delicious blood. If I take good care of you, I can keep you by my side for a long time and use you.”
“…”
“Oh, and your personality is so sharp… it’ll be rewarding to teach you.”
She didn’t move even though she noticed the dagger that flew at her eye.
As she saw the dagger that pierced through her body that turned into mist and stuck to the wall, Jin Ye-seul licked her tongue slightly.
“It’s a good thing I needed a servant to serve me. Come on, baby. Come here.”
As she gestured slowly, Jin Ye-seul’s body started to tremble as if she was electrocuted.
She dropped her arms with a thud and looked at her with blank eyes, her pupils dilated.
“Good, come here.”
Natalia licked her lips with anticipation as she watched Jin Ye-seul approach with a staggering gait.
It had been a long time since I tasted such a strong and pure blood.
She opened her mouth wide and her sharp fangs glittered in the light.
“I like you more up close.”
She smiled softly as she watched Jin Ye-seul come closer.
She tapped the floor with her shoe and said.
“Now, kneel down. And show your loyalty to the master you will serve from now on.”
“…Yes.”
Jin Ye-seul answered blankly and slowly knelt down.
Natalia smiled with satisfaction and lifted her foot to Jin Ye-seul.
Jin Ye-seul knelt down and took off her shoes with both hands in a mechanical motion. Natalia sighed as if she was bored.
“Hmm, what should I say to those guys? This ruins my plan… Isaac is over too… Huh?!”
Suddenly, she screamed and fell back as she felt a terrible pain in her ankle.
“Huh, ah. Aaah…!!!”
Her ankle was cut off by Jin Ye-seul.
She quickly turned her body into mist to ease the pain and tried to reassemble her body, but the cut-off ankle did not come back.
“What is this, how…!”
“…”
Natalia bit her lip so hard that blood dripped from it. What she saw in her eyes was Jin Ye-seul slowly getting up.
Her hand was covered with a flickering black shadow that looked like a beast’s claw, and in her other hand she held the severed ankle.
“Ah, I got scolded for putting up with this annoying thing.”
Jin Ye-seul muttered as if she was really annoyed, dusting off the dirt on her stockings.
“Ah, it came off. Really…”
Natalia looked at her with an incredulous expression, as if she couldn’t believe how fine she looked.
“How did you break my charm spell, you mere human?”
“What are you talking about. You’re a blood-sucking mosquito.”
Jin Ye-seul sneered and took out a long bandage-like thing from her pocket, and started to wrap Natalia’s cut-off ankle with it.
A piece of cloth with a sealing symbol on it.
Thanks to that, Natalia realized that she had lost her ankle to Jin Ye-seul, and her eyes gradually sharpened.
“I was never affected by it in the first place. Did you really think you could control my mind with such a pathetic spell? If so, I can’t even imagine how weak your intelligence is.”
Jin Ye-seul shook her ankle proudly, thinking that she would have been caught right away if Yu Ji-hyuk had done it.
At that sight, Natalia’s mouth opened and a sharp noise like a siren burst out.
“You, you insolent thing…! I was going to graciously bestow my favor on you and keep you by my side and adore you…!”
“Wow, that’s really flattering.”
“Cut off your limbs and throw them into a pigsty!”
“Hmm, shouldn’t you worry more about your ankle that’s already cut off than my limbs?”
Jin Ye-seul chuckled as she put the biggest trophy she got from this incident into Henir’s shadow.
Contrary to her trembling appearance, her mind was constantly calculating without rest.
She was able to deal with the Big Watch’s executives and key personnel, and she also obtained conclusive evidence and important information that they were allied with the Children of Militia.
More importantly, she almost permanently damaged the ankle of Natalia, the executive of the Children of Militia that she would have to face in the future, and even got a part of her body.
She thought that if she asked Jin Ye-jung to investigate, she might find out more.
‘Then the problem is from now on.’
Jin Ye-seul was wondering what to do.
“That’s… Henir’s shadow?”
“Oh, you know this?”
Jin Ye-seul looked at her in surprise.
Natalia bared her teeth and raised her sharp nails threateningly.
“I know…! How can I forget that, you dared to hurt my body…!”
Jin Ye-seul’s eyes widened slightly at her hateful words.
Shadow Walker.
Surprisingly, she had met and fought with the Shadow Walker before.
At that fact, Jin Ye-seul felt that the balance between fighting and escaping, which had been wavering, was completely tilted to one side.
“How dare you, how dare you hurt my body again…! Cutting off your limbs is not enough, I’ll gouge out your eyes and peel off your skin! And I’ll make you my slave and make you miserable for the rest of your life…!”
“Wow, that’s scary.”
Jin Ye-seul said that and sank into the shadow as if melting.
She chose to escape.
Having fought with the Shadow Walker meant that she knew some of her attack methods.
On the other hand, Jin Ye-seul knew almost nothing about her.
She was not foolish enough to fight a disadvantageous battle.
“What? Stop there!”
Jin Ye-seul waved her hand casually as if saying goodbye, as she saw her reaching out to her hastily.
And only after she entered the shadow completely, she let out a small sigh.
“I have to go back quickly. Ji-hyuk will surely be happy…?!”
Suddenly, she felt a nauseating energy rising from within and vomited without knowing.
“Ugh…!”
Black, dead blood poured out.
As soon as she spat out a mouthful of blood, she started to feel a strong dizziness.
Jin Ye-seul recalled in her hazy mind how her body had turned into something like mist earlier.
‘She was up to something.’
If she had been careless, she might have ended up in a horrible state as she had shouted.
She wiped her blood-stained mouth and muttered quietly.
“I have to go back quickly.”
She had to pluck out any sprouts that might threaten Yu Ji-hyuk from the start.
She might even get praised by him if she did well.
“…Ah.”
Yu Ji-hyuk.
As she thought of him, she also remembered the unpleasant things that happened today.
The subtle nerve war with Han Su-yeong, Yu Ji-hyuk’s appearance that was clearly conscious of her.
And the reason why he had a strange reaction.
“…”
She silently wiped the blood on her lips.
Then she took out a compact and carefully checked her appearance for any blood stains or splashes.
She was worried that Yu Ji-hyuk might see them and worry, and maybe his health might be affected by her blood.
She closed the compact quietly after looking at it for a long time.
Then she crushed it with one hand and muttered in a small voice.
“I can’t, I can’t doubt my friend.”
Maybe.
Just maybe.
“Would Yuna betray me?”
Jin Ye-seul smiled faintly.
The amethyst-like eyes that Natalia, the vampire she had just met, coveted were not smiling at all.
***
“I’m going crazy, really.”
Yu Ji-hyuk muttered as if he was wronged, lying on the bed.
He had every reason to feel wronged in his position.
As soon as he got permission to go for a walk with his guardians after a few days, he had to stay in the ward again because of the uninvited guests who suddenly came.
Next to him, Yuna smiled awkwardly as she peeled an apple, and Han Su-yeong, who was sitting next to her, patted his arm as if to cheer him up.
“We’ll come often instead.”
“You were going to come every day anyway, right?”
Han Su-yeong looked at Choi Hyun-woo with a smiling face at his words.
Then she brought her index finger to her lips and made a gesture to be quiet, and Choi Hyun-woo nodded quickly as if he understood.
“…I need to find out how things are going. It doesn’t seem like a normal thing.”
Ivan muttered, recalling their actions that were more hard-line than he expected, and even reckless in a way.
At his words, Yuna remembered what Lee Ye-eun had said casually when they met and talked.
She had said that she had some trouble because of the association.
Was that what she meant by that?
It was when she was absorbed in her thoughts, moving her hands quietly.
“Excuse me.”
The nurse who opened the door and came in with a knock said.
“Yu Ji-hyuk’s equipment has just been disinfected and purified. Can one of you come with me for the receipt and verification process?”
And she looked at Yu Ji-hyuk, who was trying to get up reflexively, and narrowed her eyes as if it was absurd.
“Yu Ji-hyuk, please stay in bed.”
“I’ll go.”
Yuna carefully tidied up the cutting board and got up from her seat.
Since she was technically Yu Ji-hyuk’s employee, no one questioned her getting up.
Even Han Su-yeong seemed to think it was natural, as she just brightened her eyes at the rabbit-shaped apple that Yuna had peeled.
“Then, will you follow me?”
Yuna nodded and followed her.
As they walked for a while, the nurse glanced at Yuna as if she was cute and opened her mouth.
“Are you two dating?”
“Huh?”
“No, I mean, usually people who are close to each other do this. Everyone seemed to think it was natural when you got up earlier.”
“Oh… No, that’s not it. Ji-hyuk and I are just friends.”
At Yuna’s denial, she smiled slightly as if she understood and nodded.
Then she calmly explained to her.
“Actually, it’s a formal thing, so you don’t have to worry or try to be meticulous. He’ll check it again later anyway, and we’ll check the ledger later.”
“Oh, okay.”
The room they entered was a place that felt desolate in a way.
On the large table were the things and clothes that Yu Ji-hyuk had when he fought with Minerva and was brought here.
“Can you check it once?”
At the nurse’s words at the door, Yuna nodded and walked forward.
And she started to check one by one if the items were correct according to the chart she handed over.
A broken sword.
A cloak that was scorched and torn.
An accessory that she couldn’t understand the meaning of…
She was captivated by a strange feeling, and she reached out reflexively to something that caught her eye.
“What is this…?”
It was a famous item that she knew too.
Lampton’s shirt.
It looked like a normal t-shirt, but it was known to be stronger than any mediocre armor.
She had heard that it wouldn’t break even if a minotaur charged at it with full force.
And on the chest of Lampton’s shirt, there was a huge hole that looked gruesome.
“…”
Yuna clenched the shirt in her hand.
She made a groaning sound without knowing it, seeing the faint bloodstains left on it.
“…Ah.”
When she came to her senses, she was already putting her magic into Lampton’s shirt.
She knew very well that it was possible to restore it with magic, and proving that, the large hole in Lampton’s shirt began to fill up slowly.
“…”
She was confident that she wouldn’t lose to anyone, even her friends… and Yu Ji-hyuk, in terms of the fine control of magic.
Yuna kept standing there and putting magic into Lampton’s shirt.
As if praying, she held Lampton’s shirt with both hands and concentrated like never before.
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