When A Ghoul Falls In Love

“Which movie should we see next?” Lying beside the Devil Cat, Belinda asks him. It’s the first time she has pulled an all-nighter for something fun.

“Pride and Prejudice,” Devil mutters, “or we could try watching Dark on Netflix.”

“What is Netflix?” Belinda chirps. “Is it a secret human organization?”

“…” Devil wonders if Little Marshmallow’s siblings keep their brains in their knees. Hasn’t he explained already? She didn’t even know what Google was. What did Little Marshmallow do in his entire life? He could have taught his siblings about humans, especially when he is interested in humans too. “It’s an online platform where we can see exclusive series like Dark.”

“Is it good?” Belinda types ‘Netflix’ in Google search engine. “I like books, but I think that I like watching movies and series more.”

“Books are better,” Devil comments, wondering if it is a good idea to show the way of the internet to this girl. “How old are you again?”

“I am three hundred and thirteen years old,” Belinda replies with her eyes fixed on her phone screen. “When Fourth Brother went to the war, I was only twenty.”

Devil stares hard at Belinda. She looks sixteen at most. Maybe ghouls mature slowly. What does it mean for Nell? Nevermind! Nell doesn’t exactly care about the age difference. She’s probably way older than Eli when it comes to mental age.

“If a ghoul and a human have a baby, what happens?” Devil inquires curiously.

“A baby” Belinda puts down the phone in her lap, furrowing her brows. “That’s not a good idea.”

“Why?”

“The baby will end up eating the mother.” Belinda peers at Devil, expecting to see fear and worries in Devil’s eyes. But there’s none. Devil is calmer than she is. This cat spirit has her curious. She adds, “I heard that it’s hard to have children between two races, especially if it’s the dark species and humans.”

“Really?” The corners of Devil’s green eyes narrow down suspiciously.

“Marriage between different species isn’t rare.” Belinda explains to him, “Father married different species too. First Mother is a pure demoness. Second Mother is a wendigo. Third Mother is a low-rank ghoul. As for my mother, she’s” She sighs before adding, “She’s also a ghoul, but she doesn’t have a source. That’s why Ninth Brother and I are born without any innate magic. However, Eleventh Brother has a weak innate source.”

Magical ability depends a lot on parents. Devil contemplates, “So, you can’t do magic at all.”

“It’s not completely impossible.” Belinda leans back against the head of the bed. “I can absorb magic from the surrounding and cast some spells, but I don’t have specific magic like Fourth Brother. And Fourth Brother has dual sources. He has a god-level control on [Shadows]. But his other ability is a cause of concern.”

Devil’s ear perks up.

“Even in our world, it’s rare to see a person who has dual sources. It’s hard to control a single powerful ability. Having two means that you are constantly on your guard.” Belinda continues, “Fourth Brother has [Darkness] source. [Darkness] and [Shadow] are different. When it comes to sources, there are grades. A powerful source means you can pull a greater amount of energy from the source and your conversion ability is stronger too. But [Darkness] has its own consciousness.”

“Is it like dark energy?” Devil knows a thing or two about the world of magic. Even Nell knows, but the seal won’t let her recall at the moment.

“Most dark creatures can pull dark energy through the source and convert it into the ability that they have.” Belinda hides her astonishment. But most spirits would know about basic things. “A [Shadow] source can convert dark energy into shadow. But having [Darkness] means having a direct connection with true darkness itself. Like devils and demonic gods are directly linked to [Darkness]. But even they don’t dare to use that source unless they have no choice left.”

“Dark energy is a toned-down version of [Darkness],” Devil concludes. Little Marshmallow hasn’t said anything about it to Nell.

Nell doesn’t show much interest in Eli’s past either.

He is a little concerned. It won’t be long now. Maybe it’s better if they remain ignorant and enjoy these fleeting moments of happiness.

“So, why can’t humans and ghouls have kids together?” Devil questions Belinda. He wants to know because their future children are his rivals. If there are more people, Little Marshmallow will pay less attention to him.

“Compatibility is a major issue.” Belinda scratches her head. “I am not sure. Twelfth Sister would know better. Even demons and humans can have kids, but it gets complicated when it comes to ghouls. But imagine if the human gets pregnant with a ghoul baby. Wouldn’t the baby starts eating the human’s internal organs as it grows?”

“It won’t even have teeth.” Devil relaxes his shoulders. “How would ghoul babies eat humans then?”

“I didn’t think like that.” She nods thoughtfully. “But if Fourth Brother and Sister-in-law have a baby together, the baby will be really beautiful. I want the baby to have Sister-in-law’s hair and my brother’s eyes.”

“Hmph!” Devil leaps off the bed. His eyes are green and he has multicoloured fur. He doesn’t look like their child at all. “I am leaving. Open the door for me.”

“Where are you going?” Belinda goes to the door and pulls it open. “We are going to have breakfast soon. You should also come.”

“I don’t crave human flesh.” Devil heads toward Eli’s bedroom. He hasn’t seen Little Marshmallow for more than twelve hours. They are probably done by now.

What will change after the seal breaks?

He’s born out of Nell’s soul. Though he’s growing under the blessing of the goddess of the night and the moon, Nell is still the same. Her soul isn’t complete. The emptiness that has taken a root in her comes from that incompletion. And they can’t become one ever again. Nell has to live like this for the rest of her life.

“Am I supposed to feel bad?” Devil asks himself and sighs. “Both of us will die if death arrives.”

His priority will always be Nell, but he likes Little Marshmallow more. Hopefully, he doesn’t have to choose between them.

He doesn’t want to go through what children of divorced parents go through.

“You are here.”

A familiar voice welcomes him when he enters the corridor that leads to Eli’s room. Little Marshmallow picks him up. Devil nuzzles his nose against Little Marshmallow’s chin.

“Where were you?” Eli pats the cat’s back. This cat has grown on him. Besides, Devil is a part of Nell’s soul. How could he not care for him? After living with Nell and this cat, he has noticed the subtle similarities between them.

“Only you worry about me.” Devil puts his head on Eli’s shoulder. Nell doesn’t worry at all. Then again, they are connected. So, she knows where he is.

“Nell also worries about you.” He wonders why Devil is feeling down. “She told me that you got eating habits from me.”

Devil looks into Eli’s golden eyes. “I wish I had your eyes and her fur.”

“Huh?” Eli blinks his eyes. What is this cat saying? “But your green eyes are beautiful and I like how you look like. You have moon white and black in your fur. Isn’t it similar to my hair and Nell’s hair? You also have some brown in you. Let’s say that’s your own colour.”

Devil releases a sigh. Though Little Marshmallow is trying to cheer him up, he can’t feel happy. Nell isn’t happy. Her mood has gotten worse.

“Have you eaten something?” Eli senses Devil’s bad mood. “You can tell me what’s bothering you while we have breakfast.”

“Are you going to cook?” Devil shows some interest in his eyes.

“Yes.” Eli takes the cat into his room. Nell is having a shower. He should prepare something good for Devil and his wife. “Tell me what you want.”

“Warm milk.” Devil lies down on the bed. After a pause, he whispers, “Don’t bring tacos for Nell.”

How did this cat guess it? Is it that obvious? Eli frowns at Devil. “Why?”

“Tacos will remind her of him.” Devil advises, “Don’t forget that you look like him. It will be painful for her if you also start acting like him. She doesn’t want Baek Joon-Woo’s copy. Nobody can be like that boy. Nobody can ever replace him in her heart.”

Eli purses his lips together. Devil’s words stab him hard. He doesn’t respond to the cat and flounces out of his room. No, he doesn’t look like Baek Joon-Woo. He was born before Baek Joon-Woo. He found his Nell a little late.

If only he had found Nell before

Fine, he won’t try replacing that boy in her heart. He will make his own place.