1.1

The woman stared intently at her prey. As memories she had forgotten resurfaced due to the fragment in his hand, she ceased drinking blood and faintly smiled.

‘[In the beginning, the Goddess created the world and humankind, selecting among them those who would follow her to become apostles. They cared for humanity at the Goddess’s request.] Do you remember this verse from the scriptures, Isaac?’

At the woman’s question, the young boy’s eyes lit up as he answered.

‘Of course! It’s the very first verse. After creating life, the Goddess exhausted her strength and returned to the realm of the gods. That’s why only five apostles were left on this land.’

‘No. There were six apostles in total. You’ll learn about it later, but one of the apostles harbored impure feelings for the Goddess and was stripped of their title by the others. That apostle committed an unforgivable act.’

Recalling the Holy Order’s scriptures that dismissed love as impure feelings rather than reverence, the woman frowned. The boy, sensitive to the changes in her expression, trembled slightly, his green eyes quivering.

‘What did they do?’

‘That apostle sought immortality to wait for the possible return of the Goddess. In the end, they sold their soul to a demon and gained the means to live forever. That was the origin of vampires.’

‘Ah! So that’s why the Holy Order despises vampires!’

The boy’s voice rose, as if pleased to understand her words.

‘That’s right. Will you feel the same way, Isaac?’

‘I will become a priest who follows the will of the Goddess. But…’

“……”

Lost in thought during her meal, Helena snapped back to reality and sank her teeth once more into the prey’s neck. It was all because of that fragment of the Goddess’s wing.

A heresy in the world created by the Goddess. Neither human nor demon—a monster, a vampire.

She, too, was a vampire who sustained her life by taking the lives of others.

She heard the sound of someone approaching from afar but paid no heed as she continued drinking the blood.

“Hello, Lena.”

At the sound of her name, Helena raised her head and gazed into the darkness. At the same time, the arm of the man who had been her prey fell limp. Her meal, which had been in full swing, was inevitably interrupted by his arrival.

“What’s this? He’s still alive. Lena, are you still feeding while engaging in intercourse?”

The owner of the voice, which had been drawing closer, finally revealed himself under the moonlight. Helena pushed aside her prey, who had been rendered unconscious by her pheromones, and stepped down from the bed, her bare body exposed.

“Dennis.”

He was a vampire she had known for a long time and one of her partners for pheromone amplification. For vampires, “pheromones” were a hunting ability. The nature of their pheromones varied among vampires, but they mostly induced enchantment, hallucinations, or memory loss. When vampires engaged in intercourse with each other, their pheromone abilities were enhanced, making hunting easier. Thus, such “interactions” were essential among their kind.

‘Has it already reached the time for pheromone amplification…?’

The range of ability enhancement varied depending on the partner she engaged with. When it was Dennis, her abilities only improved marginally. That said, it wasn’t as though there were better vampires available. On the other hand, Dennis often sought her out, claiming that his abilities improved the most when he was with her. For that reason, Helena assumed that he had come to see her for the same purpose today.

“If you’re not planning to excite me, would you mind covering yourself?”

“You’re here for pheromone amplification. Let’s finish this quickly and get it over with.”

Dennis swallowed dryly as he gazed at Helena’s pale, translucent bare body illuminated by the moonlight. The pheromones she had released for hunting were so potent that even he felt as though he might succumb to them. Unfortunately, Dennis had a different purpose for visiting her today, so he shook his head, resisting her sweet temptation.

“I’ve found the whereabouts of ‘Uncle.’”

“…Where?”

As a flicker of light momentarily passed through Helena’s unfocused eyes, Dennis got straight to the point.

“Before I tell you, Lena, promise me that you’ll only form a pheromone amplification bond with me.”

Helena frowned at Dennis’s condition. Among vampires, forming a pheromone amplification bond with just one partner was akin to marriage among humans. She didn’t dislike him, but that didn’t mean she wanted to spend eternity with him.

“I believe I’ve already declined that proposal.”

“That’s why I brought you information on ‘Uncle’s’ whereabouts.”

“No thanks. I’ll find out on my own.”

Although this ‘Uncle’s’ whereabouts were important, they weren’t significant enough for her to agree to spend eternity with Dennis. Moreover, Helena’s ultimate goal was to put an end to the eternity of vampires, making such a promise meaningless.

Vampires did not age and could live forever. However, Helena had grown weary of that eternal life. Dennis had no idea of the true reason Helena was searching for this ‘Uncle.’

‘I want to die as a human.’

Helena, accused of being a heretic due to her lack of faith, had been killed at the hands of fanatics. No, just before she drew her last breath, this ‘Uncle,’ a vampire, had appeared and asked her if she didn’t feel wronged. Then, he turned her into a being like himself. Yet, she had never been grateful for that act. And after spending several years teaching her how to live as a vampire, this ‘Uncle’ had suddenly disappeared without a word, claiming he would find a way to become human again.

Since then, Helena had endured 300 long years alone. Occasionally, she received letters from this ‘Uncle’, but even those had stopped long ago, leaving her clueless about his whereabouts. At the very least, she hadn’t heard any news of him being killed by the Holy Order, so he must still be alive. The Holy Order, established in the name of the Goddess, not only despised vampires but were also the only ones capable of killing them.

“Lena, how about we make a wager?”

“A wager?”

Helena’s previously bored expression lit up momentarily at the mention of a “wager.” After living as a vampire for so long, everything had become dull to her. Even the act of drinking blood, which had felt so repugnant at first, had become something she could manage over the long years.

However, she had no choice but to drink blood while engaging with her prey. Only then could she overcome her aversion to blood and, immersed in sensuality, drink the thickened blood brimming with the prey’s lust. Unlike other vampires, she didn’t drain her prey to death, which was a stroke of luck for them. Both she and the prey fulfilled each other’s desires—what could be better than that?

‘A wager, huh? This might make things a little less boring….’

For someone whose life had grown monotonous, the word “wager” was a rare spark of interest. Dennis, too, knew this well and had made the proposal, knowing she couldn’t refuse if her uncle’s whereabouts were at stake.

“If you lose the wager, I’ll tell you where ‘Uncle’ is. But if I win, you have to marry me.”

“…What’s the wager?”

“Do you remember that priest you once found adorable? He has grown into a proper clergyman.”

“Ah.”

Helena let out a short sigh. There was only one priest she had ever found adorable. 

Isaac. Coincidentally, he was the boy she had thought of earlier when she saw the Goddess’s wings.

As the image of a boy with curly brown hair and eyes the color of unripe rye came to mind, Helena unknowingly smiled. At the same time, Dennis’s face twisted with displeasure.

“Drink that fool’s love. Make him your prey, Lena.”

Drink his love? 

Dennis had phrased it so elegantly, suggesting she seduce the priest and drink his blood. Helena sneered at his poetic expression, which didn’t suit a vampire at all. However, the content of the wager was to her liking. The blood of someone who had fallen in love was sweeter than any other.

“Two months. That’s enough time, right?”

“More than enough.”

Two months was plenty of time to seduce an innocent priest. She curled her lips into a crimson smile.