When A Ghoul Falls In Love

“Don’t overreact.”

Her voice is low and calm.

How could he not overreact? Since he has lived among humans for a long time, he knows that people who are in non-medical fields wince at the sight of blood and human organs. Even a human doctor won’t sit still if they are served a heart for dinner.

To everyone’s surprise, she picks up a silver knife and fork.

“Is she really going to eat that?” Victoria, the fourth wife of Duke Balthier Sanguine, asks Belinda.

“Uh” Belinda doesn’t know how to answer. Cannibalism is frowned upon in this world. She doesn’t know if it’s fine in the human world or not.

Nell Solomon slices the heart gracefully and eats a small piece slowly while ignoring everyone in the hall.

“Do you know that, ” She peers at the Duke and says, “the human heart is not the most nutritious part of a human body? Humans store fat in thighs, calves, and arms. Kidney and liver have the lowest calories. And this heart is rather small for an a.d.u.l.t human. Does it belong to a child?”

“…” Duke Balthier Sanguine is speechless.

“I guess I passed your first test,” She mumbles before putting the last of the human child’s heart in her mouth. Then, she wipes her mouth with the napkin. “My stomach is full. Don’t mind me. I feel sleepy.”

She gets up and walks away.

“What did you bring to this house?” Balthier Sanguine questions his son.

Ignoring his father, Eli runs after her. “Nell, wait for me.”

She doesn’t stop for him. Nell gets out of the hall and closes the door behind her. Leaning against the wall, she clutches her stomach tightly.

“Are you in pain?” Eli places his hand on her lower back. The back of her shirt is drenched. “You idiot! You didn’t have to eat it.”

“I am dizzy.” She squeezes her eyes shut. Nausea fills her. “It’s been a long time since I ate meat. I will probably get indigestion.”

“You!” Eli’s eyes well up. He carries her to their room and lays her down on the bed. “Stay there. I will bring some medicine for you.”

“Wait.” She holds his hand and pulls him closer.

As he loses his balance, he puts his knee on the edge of the bed as he lays down on top of her.

“Clean this taste in my mouth, ” She stares into his eyes and tells him, “with your tongue.”

His cheeks inflame as his heart thumps maddeningly fast. “I”

She opens her mouth, waiting for him.

Eli inhales her scent as he bends down his head while his fingers entangle tightly around hers. He plummets his tongue inside her warm mouth, sweeping every nook and cranny to take away the last of the taste.

The kiss isn’t e.r.o.t.i.c. It’s bittersweet, stabbing him where it hurts. He probes his tongue but she doesn’t respond. It seems that she only wants him to ‘clean’.

She amazes him, but she also hurts him. But he finds that she is only making him love her more. Closing his eyes, Eli slips his hand inside her shirt, cupping her right mound. He fondles it aggressively, barely able to control his strength. Her body tenses under him but she doesn’t push him away. Instead, she runs her palm on his back.

When his warm tears drop on her cheek, she opens her eyes and grabs his jaw, pushing him away.

Eli looks at her. “Nell, I am sorry. You had to go through that because of me.”

The corner of her lips tilts up into a half-smile. She gazes at him warmly. “Thank you, Eli Sanguine.”

Blinking his tears away, he scrutinizes her face, trying to understand why she’s thanking him.

“Thank you for being honest with me that day.” She touches his hair gently. “It must have been hard for you to tell me the truth. I was able to prepare myself for this. If you hadn’t told me, I would have never forgiven you.”

“You should be angry at me.” Eli puts his face on her chest. Didn’t he want to lie to her forever? He’s too ashamed to look at her now. “Because of me, you had to”

“It wasn’t that bad.” Nell closes her eyes and sighs. “When I was a child, my mother was too poor to buy meat. So, she lied to me. She said that eating meat would make me shorter and ugly. I believed her. When I was a little older, I found out the truth. I didn’t question her though. My stepfather brought meat later, but my mother and I stayed vegetarian. There is no religious or dietary reason. So, don’t beat yourself up for it.”

“Nell –” Eli raises his head and opens his mouth.

She places her finger on his lips. “It’s not that I can’t eat meat. I choose not to. Enough chatting. Bring me medicine for indigestion and some water.”

Eating meat isn’t the same as eating a human heart. He takes a deep breath. “Don’t leave the room.”

“I won’t go anywhere.” She rolls on her stomach. “You should eat something too. You didn’t eat anything back there.”

He has lost his appetite. How is he going to tell her that he also doesn’t like eating humans anymore? “I will be back in a few minutes.”

“Mhm.” She sounds a little sleepy. Eli walks out of the room and heads straight to the storage where various herbs and potions are kept. Some medicines are too strong for Nell. She’s still weak after the wrist surgery. Did he bring her too soon?

When he returns, he finds her asleep on the bed. He lies down beside her and starts stroking her hair gently.

She won’t hesitate to commit cannibalism but she won’t say that she loves him. It doesn’t feel like there’s only two of them in their relationship. The ghost of Baek Joon-Woo is holding her back.

“Don’t dream about him, ” He whispers, knowing that she’s too far away to hear him.

***

Zachary Krauss stares hard at the moon, thinking about the past.

There’s been a time when he was a notorious sorcerer. He committed sins. Other people paid the price for it. Back then, he wanted more power. Magic made him feel euphoric. He always craved more.

He followed the moon and the moon watched him. The moon gave him the power and made him seek more. He had seen the dark side of the moon and he grew up with it. After he left his family, he went nearly mad. When he found clarity, he found himself knee-deep in blood.

When he ran away, he found Isabelle.

The moon sorcerer sighs. That woman No, she was a girl back then. Isabelle never asked him where he got the blood on his clothes.

Isabelle saved him. And then, she embraced him. He was never embraced with such gentleness before. The girl took all of him and washed the blood away with her love. She was so warm. Nobody else could ever replace her in his heart. That’s why he feared that she would get hurt. He had to leave her behind.

Standing only three feet away from him, Gua takes out a piece of paper from his sleeve. “Master, a source confirmed that the Krauss family lineage bowl reacted to Nell Solomon’s hair. The wrath of the moon originated from the reaction.”

He doesn’t take the paper. Zachary Krauss holds his head. Nell Solomon is his daughter. The age, appearance, and everything else matches. Isabelle must have been pregnant when he left.

“Valentin Krauss is cursed.” Gua informs him, “A fire dryad saw the cat spirit curse your younger brother.”

Zachary can’t care less about what happens to Valentin. His younger brother probably deserves it. “Where is Nell?”

Nell. The name rolls off his tongue awkwardly. That’s his daughter’s name. The meaning of this name is ‘bright, shining one’. He looks up at the moon again. A bright, shining daughter who is a stranger to him.

“About that, Master,” Gua hesitates.

“Say it.” He closes his eyes, trying to prepare himself.

“She went to one of the lower worlds with that ghoul.” Gua takes a step back when Zachary gives him a scornful look. “Master, don’t be angry. She was already gone before I could reach her. They had the Council’s permission too.”

Zachary Krauss frowns at him. “She went willingly?”

“So, it seems.” Gua bends down his head.

He clenches his teeth. Ghoul? She might have been tricked into going with that vile creature.

“Find out which lower world it is.”