“Rosend Bernarde—the serial killer. Because of you, House Bernarde will close its doors after a long history. Its name will be erased from the noble genealogies… and your father and brother will not escape death either.”

Daniel smiled thinly.

Only then did the blood drain from Rosend’s face.

Rosend crawled across the floor and clung to Daniel’s leg.

“Y-Your Grace! I can explain everything! This—this isn’t what you think, I swear!”

“……”

“I-if you’ll just spare my life—”

“The ones who died because of you should be here to see this,” Daniel said quietly.

In that instant, Rosend understood.

Daniel was ready to k*ll him.

Rosend began to tremble uncontrollably.

A dense darkness settled in on all sides. Who would have imagined a place like this existed within Le Pah?

With each step Daniel took, it felt as though a beast were advancing.

Fabric tore—rip—as Daniel’s clothes split apart.

As Daniel’s frame expanded, growing larger and larger, Rosend burst into tears. Utter terror crushed down on him. His whole body shook violently.

Death was walking toward him.

Jet-black fur.
Eyes flashing with a beast’s gleam.
Fangs sharp enough to k*ll him in a single bite.
And claws honed to razors.

Rosend stared at the towering beast with horror-stricken eyes.

“Ah……”

His heart clenched.

With lips he could barely force apart, Rosend screamed,

“A—AAAAAAAGH!!!”

Rosend’s scream echoed through the darkness.
It would be a wretched death—one no one would ever mourn.

***

Selenia returned to her place.

Back to Daniel’s side.

After Selenia finished her meal and bathed, Daniel entered the room as well. He smiled at her.

“Selenia.”

“……Daniel.”

Daniel brushed her cheek tenderly. It was a gentleness unbecoming of someone whose claws and fangs had only moments ago been stained with blood.

When he pulled Selenia into his arms, all of Daniel’s pain faded away.

He breathed in deeply, savoring Selenia’s natural scent.

“…What happened to Rosend?”

Selenia asked softly, her voice still damp with emotion. Her release meant, conversely, that Rosend had been apprehended—everything had fallen back into place.

“He threw himself into the sea,” Daniel replied evenly.

His tone was calm, as though he were speaking the simple truth.

Selenia stiffened.

For so long, Rosend had been the embodiment of countless people’s nightmares. She had never once imagined that he could die.

That demon—

“That’s… that’s impossible.”

“People like that can’t endure their own misery,” Daniel said quietly. “He escaped during questioning and threw himself into the sea.”

Daniel stroked her back.

“He crossed a path from which there’s no return. I hear Count Bernarde and Count Marco have been apprehended as well.”

“……”

Selenia’s lips parted slightly. It felt as though the shadow that had loomed over her entire life was finally lifting.

She was truly… free.

Daniel pressed a kiss to Selenia’s forehead.
As if worshipping a goddess, he kissed her lips, then her nape.

“Selenia. They’ll never come looking for you again.”

Daniel nuzzled his face against her. Selenia stared at him blankly.

Slowly, Daniel tugged at her skirt.

“Selenia.”

It was a gentle call, pulling her back into reality.

Selenia blinked. She felt shy, as if it were the first time.

Daniel laid her down on the bed.

Her legs coiled around his waist like a serpent’s. By now, all of this should have felt familiar—yet it always felt new.

And it was always different.

Daniel stripped Selenia of her clothes and settled between her legs as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He spread her open and rubbed there; a slick, squelching sound echoed. Selenia shuddered.

“Nothing will ever take you away from me again.”

The imperial family would no longer probe into Rosend Bernarde’s death. If anything, they would bury it. Rosend—torn apart by Daniel’s fingers when he transformed into a beast despite it not being the full moon. The imperial family was desperate to conceal the ugly truth and hide the curse. They would consign even Bernarde itself to the darkness of history—for Daniel’s sake, and for their own survival.

And so Rosend’s death would be forgotten.

His body sank into the dark depths of the sea.

Daniel dragged his tongue slowly up Selenia’s nape. He rubbed himself against her, already soaked. With a sharp tug, he tore away her skirt. The dress ripped apart with a dull sound and fell uselessly to the floor, unreal in its stillness. Selenia swallowed a soft m*an.

“Hngh!”

Daniel pressed the head of his s*x up against her. No matter how much he had her, he never tired of it. Purring like a cat, Selenia wrapped her arms around his neck. Daniel growled low in his throat and gripped her hips, pulling her closer until her heat clung wetly to his palm.

The slick sound echoed again.

Daniel parted Selenia’s full lips and pushed his thick tongue inside, drawing her tongue out to—

…he sucked on it, drawing it up. The thick sensation felt as though it were pulling Selenia down beneath the surface.

Daniel seized Selenia’s br*asts and bit down on her n*pples, grinding them between his teeth. He was aroused as if it were the first time. The first life he had taken—and the beast’s instincts—surged through him.

Daniel let out a low breath.

“Hah…”

Selenia released a stifled m*an. Daniel stripped off his own clothes; garments torn away by his strength scattered across the floor. He turned Selenia over. Her pale, bared hips captured his gaze.

Daniel brushed the back of his hand over her hips. There wasn’t a single place that wasn’t beautiful. He bent and licked her there with his tongue. Selenia whimpered, tears spilling.

For some reason, it itched inside, her toes curling again and again. Now she was waiting for Daniel to take her—impatient for it.

Her mouth went dry, and Selenia urged him on.