2.2

“c*ck-a-doodle-doo!”  

The crowing of a rooster startled Isaac awake. As his hazy mind gradually cleared, the vividness of the dream came rushing back to him. His face flushed as he recalled the events of the night. He hurriedly checked his clothes and bed, but there were no traces of the passionate encounter. 

…Fortunately, it had truly been a dream.  

‘Why on earth would I have such a dream…?’  

Isaac couldn’t lift his head for a while, overwhelmed with self-loathing and guilt toward Helena.  

Meanwhile, at her own home, Helena hummed a cheerful tune as she gazed into a faded mirror. Her emerald-green eyes sparkled unusually brightly in her reflection. It had been a long time since she had fed.  

‘That was the best blood I’ve ever tasted.’  

She had only taken a few sips of Isaac’s blood, but it had left her feeling completely satisfied, and strength coursed through her body. The surge of energy was evident even in her eyes. Normally, her eyes were a mix of green and brown, but after feeding sufficiently, they turned a vivid green, as they were now. To the untrained eye, it might simply seem like her eye color had lightened. On very rare occasions, when she drank blood filled with love’s sweetness, her eyes would turn golden.  

“There was no rule saying I couldn’t feed first, after all.”  

Helena had not intended to drink Isaac’s blood, but as he stood before her, exuding a sweet scent, he was undeniably an appetizing prey. She was no fool to refuse the feast laid out before her, and she decided to take the lead in their union, believing that Isaac, now familiar with a woman’s body, would be easier to tempt.  

‘For a first time, he did quite well.’  

For someone who had never embraced a woman before, his skills were surprisingly decent. As she recalled the night’s intimacy with Isaac, a dull warmth spread in her lower abdomen. The man who had held her in his arms and desired her for the first time seemed endearing. It was a different feeling from the prey she had encountered before. Perhaps it was because he was a man exploring a woman for the first time.  

‘He must think it was just a dream by now and feel relieved.’  

Thanks to her pheromones, Isaac mistook the experience for a dream, but it had been undeniably real. How convenient dreams were—no matter what happened, everything could return to normal as if nothing had occurred.  

It would have been even better if the blood she drank had won her the wager, but unfortunately, it wasn’t love. Despite its sweet scent, his blood was thick with sensuality, lacking any hint of sweetness. Though it had nothing to do with the wager, she couldn’t help but feel a tinge of regret.  

“Well then, shall I go and let it mature into sweetness?”  

Helena muttered to herself as she lightly packed her belongings and left her house.

Searching for Isaac at the chapel, she eventually found him in High Priest Francis’s small garden. He was crouched down, hugging a small animal, a sight that reminded her of the Isaac from his childhood. Helena greeted him brightly.  

“Hello, Isaac.”  

“Ah… Ah, h-hello….”  

At her smile, his face turned so red it looked like it might burst. The passionate man from the previous night was nowhere to be seen; only a shy, stammering man remained. Knowing the reason for his reaction, she bit her lip to stifle her laughter as she approached him. Truly, he was an adorable man.  

“Are you feeling unwell? Your face is so red.”  

“N-no, not at all…!”  

When she placed her hand on his forehead as if checking for a fever, Isaac leaped up like a fish out of water. At the sight, Helena finally burst into laughter. The man before her overlapped with the boy from long ago who used to overreact whenever she teased him.  

“You’re cute.”  

Her thoughts slipped out of her lips before she could stop them.  

“…What? Pardon?”  

As Isaac stammered like a broken clock, Helena pointed at the baby rabbit he was holding. Though it was just an excuse, the little creature, clad in soft white fur, was indeed as cute as she had said.  

“Ah… Ah…! Yes, it is… c-cute.”  

“That’s why you’re so popular with the village girls.”  

At her words, his previously downcast face turned red once again.  

‘How can he blush so easily?’  

Thinking this, she nearly reached out to ruffle his hair as she used to but instead lowered her hand and gently stroked the rabbit. Its soft fur tickled her palm, reminiscent of his silky hair.  

“I have devoted everything… ahem, to the Goddess as a Priest, so romantic feelings are a luxury for me.”  

“Hmm—Is that so?”  

Helena replied indifferently, knowing full well that she had already taken one of the things he had offered to the Goddess.  

“And… I only act this way… with you, Dr. Helena.”  

“Really? I saw you flustered among the women the other day.”  

“That was… because they all came at me at once. They’ve all been familiar faces since childhood, so they feel more like family than anything else.”  

Helena, understanding the hidden meaning behind his claim of “only acting like this with her,” asked playfully, 

“It’s not because I resemble your first love, is it?”  

“N-no, it’s not. At first, it was, but… now, I know it’s something else.”  

“What is it, then?”  

She was genuinely curious about what made her different from her past self and asked him earnestly.  

“Miss Ippolita… never… touched me… like that….”  

“Like that?”  

Helena, who had truly asked out of ignorance, suddenly recalled the time she had brushed her hand across his chest not long ago. Since then, she had occasionally let her hand graze him with subtle, suggestive intent. Yet, for him to react to something so trivial—he was an innocent man, pure to the point of naivety.  

“Oh, you mean the things I did to tempt you?”  

“…Yes.”  

At the word “tempt,” his face turned so red it looked as though it might burst. Helena couldn’t help but feel incredulous as she thought back to the things he had done the previous night. All of it had been instinctual, unlearned behavior. A man naturally adept at coupling, confined to priestly robes and locked away in a chapel—it suddenly made sense why the village women seemed to pity him. She even began to suspect that they had been throwing themselves at him, aware of his latent potential.  

“If you react so strongly to light teasing, you’ll be in trouble, Isaac.”  

At her words, which treated him like a child, Isaac grabbed her wrist with his large hand.  

“It may be teasing to you, Dr. Helena, but to me…”  

Her wrist, held in his hand, felt as hot as if it had been burned. His green eyes darkened and smoldered, as if recalling something. Helena found his reaction both intriguing and strange. Perhaps it was because she still remembered the image of the little boy she had once found so endearing.  

“And what if it’s not teasing? Will you let yourself be shaken?”  

“T-that’s…”  

She knew very well that if she pushed him now, he wouldn’t crumble but would instead flee.  

“It’s just teasing. I should head to the treatment room now. I heard there are patients today.”  

The volunteer work at the treatment room, which had initially been an excuse to see Isaac more often, had unintentionally become a genuine part of her life. She had thought that twenty years of living among the people here would be enough, but before she knew it, Helena had begun to see this place as her home.  

What had once been a faded memory of a lonely place had become a vibrant reality again, intertwined with the same kind-hearted people as before. It was only after reconnecting with them that Helena realized something. The one year she had spent here had been the only time in her long vampire life when she hadn’t felt lonely.  

As Helena took a step back with a slight smile, Isaac replied in a somewhat dejected voice, 

“…Alright.”  

As he watched Helena gently pull away from him, Isaac was overwhelmed by an unfamiliar emotion. Despite having only known her for a few days, her presence loomed large in his life, and he couldn’t bear the thought of losing her. It felt as though the young heart that had once mourned Ippolita’s departure still lingered within him.