When A Ghoul Falls In Love

Eli’s forehead glistens with sweat. He swallows hard, but his mouth is dry as sandpaper. Magical poisoning? Why didn’t it occur to him? He’s supposed to be a doctor.

As usual, Nell is unaffected. She c.o.c.ks her head to her left, eyeing Amachi with disinterest in her eyes. She looks like it doesn’t have to do with her. Are they not talking about her? Then, it occurs to him that she might be aware of it.

Did Devil tell her?

It’s plausible if that cat tells her. After all, Devil is born from Nell’s soul. There are constraints on Devil too. Despite what people think about Devil and Nell, he knows that Devil isn’t Nell’s familiar. That cat is from Nell’s soul, her magic, and her pain. In one way, it’s not wrong to say that Devil is Nell’s child. Devil can’t hide it from Nell for long.

What if they are hiding something from him?

Nell’s apathy toward Amachi’s words is frightening. She doesn’t show any fear or anxiety. It reminds him of the day she woke up after her wrist surgery.

Living for him But her eyes don’t have life. But it’s better than seeing her slitted wrist.

“Lady, you don’t show any fear.” Amachi presses his two fingers on her wrist. “The lady is brave.”

“If I wasn’t brave, I wouldn’t be here to marry a ghoul,” Nell replies coldly.

“Fear isn’t bad though,” Amachi tells her while listening to her magic. “Fear, anxiety, or other negative emotions are a sign that you care about your life. If you show your weakness to someone you care about, that person might be relieved.”

She pulls back her wrist. “I think that you are done.”

“I am not.” Amachi grabs her other wrist and tells her solemnly, “If I don’t do a thorough inspection, this guy will never leave me alone.”

***

Nell glances at Eli. He isn’t looking at her. What is he thinking about? She hopes that this stupid healer doesn’t say anything unnecessary. A few things in the world are inevitable. Isn’t she still fine after Baek Joon-Woo’s and her parents’ deaths? Then, Eli should be fine too. The more she thinks, the more she feels that Eli would be fine. She isn’t an immortal. Her lifespan won’t be long like Eli.

‘You will never be happy without me and Baek Joon-Woo,’ Maisie’s words echo in her head again. It repeats until she becomes numb. Ever since Maisie and Baek Joon-Woo died, she has been living in a haze. It can’t be called a life. What about this ghoul then?

She realizes that she might have made a mistake. If she had struggled more, she wouldn’t be making that promise to this ghoul. He might have left her. Then, she wouldn’t be seeing the pained look in his eyes. It’s unfair to this ghoul who had wronged no one. Maybe she’s someone who brings death and suffering to the people around her.

Can she ever deny that Baek Joon-Woo, Maisie, Oliver, Nick, and everyone else died because of her?

It is one of the reasons why she doesn’t want to see her memories. They died because of her. The more she learns about this world, the surer she is. Even if Devil remains silent, she knows that they died because of her.

One day, she woke up with holes in her memories and found out that her friends and her boyfriend died. There will be another day when she will wake up with reasons why they died. And she admits that she’s been running for too long. The reason why they died Eli might be harmed for the same reason. She needs to know now.

Since breaking a promise is nothing compared to the pain that she suffered for nearly a decade.

‘Remember, my beloved.’ The voice is arrogant and dark, sending chills in her bones. She becomes still as her vision turns dark. His hands are cold as the bottom of the frozen river; however, his smile is colder. The boy who claimed that he loved her leans closer to her. He whispers in her ear, ‘We died because of you. That’s why’

A pair of arms coil around her neck. Maisie presses her body on her back, placing her chin on her shoulder. She lets out a low laugh. ‘Without me, you can’t ever be happy. You don’t deserve it, Nell. Why do you try so hard to live? Does it matter who grieves for you after you are gone?’

‘She says that she can’t be happy without you either.’ Sitting beside me, Oliver takes my hand. His skin is too pale. Blood seeps out of his eyes. ‘You should come with us.’

These are her hallucinations. Whether there’s magic or not, these ghosts will forever haunt her.

‘Aren’t you betraying me?’ Baek Joon-Woo grips her jaw, forcing her to meet his sunken eyes. ‘I died because of you, but you are seeking a future with someone else. Was our love a lie?’

Nell flinches in pain.

“Hmm?” Amachi finds something strange. The woman is looking at him with haunted eyes. She seems to be in physical pain. But he can’t find anything wrong with her. “Milady, are you feeling uncomfortable?”

She closes her eyes and clenches her jaw. Eli takes a step forward and takes her hand away from Amachi. He calls her name, “Nell?”

Nell bites her lower lip, furrowing her brows. Eli notices faint finger marks on her jaw. He turns his head toward his friend. “What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything.” Amachi has also noticed the marks on her pale skin. “Looks like something is triggered.”

Eli frowns hard. Nell’s hands are fisted. Her teeth sink into her lower lip. Blood trails down on her jaw.Seeing that, Eli shakes her shoulders. “Get out of it, Nell.”

“What kind of torture is this?” Amachi studies Nell’s neck. It looks like someone or something is scratching her skin, making her bleed. Even he can’t detect any magic. It’s strange because they are in a dark world. Any foreign magic should be easily detected.

“Damn it!” Eli yells at Amachi. “Heal her!”

“Would it help though?” Amachi touches Nell’s neck and sends his healing energy to the wounds.

Instead of healing, the cuts on her neck turn deeper. Nell closes her eyes as her body becomes limp. Eli holds her by her shoulders. “Nell, wake up! What happened to you? You were fine just a”

Is it because he brought Amachi? Is it because she’s in this world? He’s the reason for sure.

“Lay her down.” Amachi gets up. “She will be fine.”

“How can you be so sure?” Eli snaps at Amachi. “She was fine a while ago.”

“No, she was not fine.” Amachi shrugs when Eli gives him a puzzled look. “Clean and bandage her wounds. Healing won’t work on her in this state.”

After saying that, Amachi walks outside the room and waits for Eli. What kind of magic was that? Is it a curse? But a curse usually has a strong presence and a method to break it. This magic has no presence.

Before coming to this place, Eli had told him a few things about this woman. So, this woman is somewhat connected to the Fae. Then, this magic belongs to a fae without a doubt. But it’s dark and nasty. Does it belong to the dark courts? But why does it have no presence? It rejects healing energy too.

Then, there’s a subtle scent of a fae on her. Eli told him that she didn’t have this scent earlier. His father could smell it but Eli couldn’t do it. Eli is more powerful than his father, but Duke Sanguine is more experienced in some areas. If she truly didn’t have any scent of Fae in the past, then it’s growing stronger as the seal is unravelling. Eli might not have noticed it because he’s always with her. Someone like Duke Sanguine noticed it because he met her for the first time in a world where her magic is the weakest.

The other possibility is that the scent has always been there, but something has been hiding it from Eli and others. That thing can’t hide the scent in this world. Then

“He mentioned that she had the protection of some goddess.” Amachi has a peculiar smile on his face. Did that protection hide the scent of the fae?

This case is interesting.