When A Ghoul Falls In Love

“You have a clean record for more than two years. You have been working as a doctor. You didn’t break any law. You even saved many human lives.” Riya Saryu peeks at the Devil cat in the corner. Her weakness is a cat-type spirit. If she knew that there’s a cat-type spirit here, she would have never come here. “Mr Sanguine, are you ready for the consequences of marrying a human? You are a ghoul. For the rest of your life, you will be fighting your urges.”

“I have good control over it.” Eli replies with a calm voice, “I am working as a surgeon. I have had friendly relations with humans. There’s no way that I would ever harm my life. She is my precious person. I would rather die than hurt her.”

“That is quite impressive.” Saryu glances at the Devil cat again. “How long have you known about her magic?”

Eli sighs. He knew from the first moment they met. But he didn’t know that her magic was strong enough to create a spirit. He couldn’t even see the Devil until yesterday. Earlier, he saw how the spirit is affected by her emotions. The Devil cat even got the ability to hurt someone. Even if it’s something minor, it might become something big in the future.

“I knew it since the moment I met her. I could see that she had some magic inside her. Some humans do have little magic. So, I didn’t find it out of the ordinary. However, I had no idea about the spirit until yesterday.”

Saryu pens down the details in her notebook. “Mr Sanguine, I can sense that you are telling the truth. Your intentions are clear. It’s rare to see a ghoul in love with a human, but I believe that it’s not impossible. I saw the ring on her finger. The leprechaun’s treasure could have amplified your abilities, but you gave it to her. However, a leprechaun’s treasure is bad for someone with a spirit.”

Eli blinks his eyes. It’s the leprechaun’s treasure. That’s amplifying her abilities. He gave it to her because he was worried about her physical strength. He didn’t know about the spirit back then. “She’s compatible with it.”

“I noticed.” Riya Saryu can’t understand why though. “How old was the leprechaun? If he was someone young, then the treasure won’t have many powers. Her soul won’t reject it.”

Eli has no idea. He needs to give a call to Benny later. Leprechaun’s age is an important factor. Before that, he’s been wondering whether he should tell the council or not. Whether he likes them or not, Nell’s safety is a priority. “There’s something that you need to know.”

Crash!

“What’s that sound?” Eli glances at the Devil cat and realizes that it’s gone. Then, he smells the blood in the air. Nell is hurt? He sprints out of the door.

***

Valentin Krauss could never imagine that he would be attacked like this. When he grabs her forearm, the frame falls on the floor and the glass shatters into pieces. Still, the woman didn’t stop. She doesn’t flinch once when she steps over the shards. He can’t even do magic on her to stop her. He senses her familiar approaching. The Devil cat lunges at him. Valentin lets out a curse when he feels the cat’s teeth sinking into his leg. Before he could get a grip, the woman knees him in the balls. He gasps in pain. “Are you insane?”

“You realized it now?” Nell fists her hand and punches his nose. “I hate people like you. There’s nothing but crap inside your head. I should hunt down people like you and bury you alive.”

“You” Valentin is too much in pain to say more. The cat climbs up on his leg and bites his thigh. He tries to shake it off. Even in this state, he knows that he can’t hurt the Solomon girl or her familiar. Nell lifts her fist to punch him again. She looks back when she feels Eli’s fingers curling around her wrist.

“You are hurt.” Eli scoops her up in his arms and lays her down on the couch. When she tries to move, he chastises her with anger in his eyes, “Don’t move. The shards of glass have pierced your foot.”

She huffs and glares at Valentin Krauss. “If my husband didn’t come, I would not let you leave this house alive today.”

Why did she become so agitated? Eli narrows his eyes on Valentin Krauss. This man must have done something. He shakes his head and exhales. First of all, he needs to take care of her wounds. He sees Riya Saryu standing near the door and watching the scene with a blank face. The girl is better than this man. He scurries the bathroom to get the first aid kit.

“Blegh!” The Devil cat throws up on Valentin Krauss’ shoes. “I can’t digest this man’s rotten blood.”

“…” Valentin Krauss clenches his jaw. His jewels are hurting. His leg is bleeding. He takes out a handkerchief from his pocket and clears the blood on his nose. The girl didn’t hold back when she punched him.

Eli is back with the first aid kit. He sits on the couch and puts her feet on her lap. Thanks to the life treasure, she has stopped bleeding. But the wounds are slow to heal. The shards to glass must be removed first. Why would she hit someone with their marriage certificate?

“Ugh!” She squeezes her eyes. “Eli, it hurts.”

“Then, you shouldn’t have walked on the glass.” He scowls at her. “Look how much blood you have lost.”

“That guy pissed me off,” She snaps at him. “I wish I could break his skull open.”

“You shameless girl!” Valentin has heard enough. He’s more hurt than she is. He did say some stuff to make her angry, but he only spoke the truth. This little girl can’t even control her temper. “Do you think that I will let this go?”

“Go ahead and sue me for assault.” Nell looks daggers at Valentin Krauss, “I would do it again if I get the chance.”

Valentin takes a step toward her in rage. A strong oppressive aura slams against him. He staggers backwards. The Devil cat hits the wound on his calf with his paw, making the man lose his balance. Valentin falls on the ground and winces in pain.

Eli stares at him quietly. “Mr Krauss, are you threatening my wife?”

“She’s not your wife,” Valentin roars at Eli. “Paper marriage is meaningless.”

“If I see her as my wife, she’s my wife,” Eli tells him calmly. “My wife got hurt in the presence of a council’s official. It seems that I can’t trust the council after all.”

“This woman went insane.” Valentin glowers at the girl lying on the couch with a smug look. “She started attacking me suddenly. She’s out of her mind for sure.”

This is going out of the hand. Riya Saryu rushes to Valentin’s side. She grabs his head and forces him to bow his head to Eli and Nell along with her. When Valentin struggles, she whispers to him, “Do what I say, Junior. You are at fault here.”

Valentin trembles furiously. He peers at Nell. She is watching him with a mocking smile. Riya Saryu ignores him and smiles at Eli. “We apologize for what happened to your wife. Actually, it was the first time for my junior. He’s not used to working in the field like this.”

The Devil cat clicks his tongue and opens his mouth to provoke Krauss. He keeps silence when Eli gives him a look. When everyone becomes silent, Eli tells Krauss and Saryu to leave. “You already know that I am not keeping her here against her wishes. I will send our marriage application soon. I hope that the Council can arrange a better person to take our interviews.”

“I will take care of it.” Saryu grasps Krauss’ arm. “We will take our leave now, Mr Sanguine. I apologize again for the things that you and Miss Solomon have to go through today because of us.”

“Meh!” The cat brings her tongue out. “Fake apology.”

Krauss meet the cat’s eyes. “Rogue master, rogue servant.”

“If believing that helps you sleep at night, then continue believing that.” The cat sneers at him.

“Let’s go.” Saryu drags Krauss away before he could retaliate to the cat’s words. She closes the door behind them and takes a deep breath. What a mess! They don’t speak in the corridor. When they are out of the building, Riya Saryu crosses her arms and turns around.

“What were you thinking, Krauss?” She grimaces at him. “This is not how you are supposed to handle this.”

“I did nothing wrong.” Valentin Krauss lets out another curse. When he takes a step, it hurts. “She lost her mind all of a sudden.”

“You want me to believe that?” Riya Saryu frowns. “You already know that she has unstable magic. Her moods would be affected anyway. Did you forget how you used to be? If you want to rise up in ranks, you need to handle that temper of yours. In most cases like this, you would meet people who are blindly in love like her. These matters should be handled carefully. Thanks to you, we might lose this case to someone else.”

Valentin Krauss doesn’t want to work in this department. He doesn’t belong to it. He’s from the Krauss family. Due to internal politics, he was transferred in this civil investigation unit. In reality, today is his first day at this department. He’s truly unlucky to meet that crazy girl on his first case. “Screw it! I don’t care.”

“You didn’t read the information, did you?” Riya Saryu shakes her head at him when he doesn’t reply. “You didn’t even take a glance.”

Yesterday, they received an anonymous intel that a ghoul is keeping a human female against her wishes. She was going to become the ghoul’s meal later. That’s all he heard today at work before he came here with his senior. “I know the basics. She’s a human and he’s a ghoul. It’s an abomination if we let them get married. I don’t know how she can even touch that creature.”

Riya Saryu has been in this field for a long time. She has seen many couples like this. So, she’s not surprised. It’s clear that the intel was wrong. Surprisingly, the intel came from Eli’s world. She wonders if she should have told Eli Sanguine. “Krauss, Keep your opinions to yourself. You will see many abominations from now on. In time, you will get used to it.”

He turns his head to the right and shrugs. He wonders what kind of parent would allow their daughter to get married to a ghoul. Is she an orphan or something? He is going to look into this matter. She has magic. Most magic comes through lineage. He needs to find her guardian or parent. In any case, he’s going to stop this wedding ceremony.

“Senior.” He approaches Riya Saryu. The woman might look like she’s in her teens, but she is hundreds of years older than him.

Saryu turns back and looks at him. “What do you want?”

“Senior, I need to look into that girl’s background.” He bows to her slightly, “Allow me to check the archives.”

To have access to the Council’s archive, permission is needed from a senior member like her. The Council might have information on her lineage.

She could guess what’s on his mind. A slight smile appears on her lips. If vanishes before Krauss could get a glimpse. She puts her hand inside her blazer and brings out the pen drive. “Her background information is in here. You should have checked before you came. Anyway, I am heading home. Write the report and hand it over tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Senior.” He takes the pen drive from her palm and then, he watches her leave in her car. He walks to his car and gets the laptop from the backseat. If he can find out who her parents are, he would meet them today.

The screen of the laptop illuminates, making his face looks paler than it already is. He inserts the pen drive. His eyes widen when he reads the information.

“She’s that girl?” Though he wasn’t in the city at that time, the satyrs incident shook the hidden world back then. It was the first time when the council acted aggressively toward the Fae. He was the leader of a search and hunt party who went to the Fae realm. Back then, he never met the child who was barely clinging to life. But he prayed that she would survive.

“You have grown into a beautiful woman.” His eyes become warm. When his leg throbs with pain, his face becomes sullen. “But why would you even think of getting married to a ghoul after what happened to you? Are all the humans dead?”

Now, he has even more reasons to stop this child. She has already been tortured enough. It’s crazy to let her get married to a ghoul who could eat her anytime. Her magic is strong too. In her profile, there’s no mention of blood lineage or the fact that she has any magic. The Council might not have known about her magic back then. “Who are your parents?”

When he reads the names, he frowns a bit. “Her mother’s name is Isabelle Solomon and her father’s name is George Willis. Why did she carry her mother’s surname?”

He looks into the special remarks. So, she’s not George Willis’ daughter. Her father’s name is not known. Both Isabelle Solomon and George Willis died in a terrorist attack.

“Isabelle?” He furrows his brows. That name sounds familiar. Then, he looks at the photographs. There are pictures of the site and the hospital where Nell was taken to. His heart throbs in pain when he sees the pictures of Nell when she was lying pale and unconscious on the bed. “After what happened to you, why would you be with a ghoul? Did you forget about the pain that you suffered?”

In the next picture, he sees a woman sitting next to a young girl lying on the bed. He zooms the picture to look at the woman’s face — hazel eyes, dark hair, and proud features.

He knows her.

Valentin Krauss becomes pale when he realizes something. “No, that’s impossible.”

But the facts are clear in front of him. Nell’s spirit is a moon-type spirit and she has the blessings of the goddess of night.

“Damn!” He covers his face with his palms. Why did he never check upon Isabelle back then? He was young and foolish. He was rebelling against his family. When he was with her, he knew that his family would never accept a girl like her. He wanted to escape all the expectations and crap that his family forced upon him.

“She went through this.” His hand trembles when he touches the screen. “I wasn’t there”

If he knew about her, she would have never gone through that. He wouldn’t have let Isabelle raise her alone. He would have acknowledged his child.

“My daughter.” She’s with a ghoul right now. Krauss gets out of the car and takes long strides toward the apartment building. He won’t let his daughter stay beside a ghoul.