6.1

The chirping of birds reached Helena’s ears, causing her to blink her eyelids a couple of times. As her vision cleared, the familiar scenery of her home came into view. She remembered exploring each other until dawn, returning home together, and finally engaging in one last intense union in her own bed. However, she couldn’t recall when she had fallen asleep. Noticing that he was nowhere to be seen in the bedroom, she threw on the chemise lying on the floor and stepped into the living room, calling out for Isaac.

“Isaac?”

‘Did he return to the chapel?’

Sensing no presence, Helena glanced absentmindedly at the table and was startled.

“Dennis…?”

“Hello, Lena. Your golden eyes are absolutely stunning.”

As expected. After drinking such sweet blood, it was impossible for her eye color not to change. Yet, she disliked the fact that they were now the same golden color as Dennis’s. However, she quickly realized that she had won the bet with him and broke into a bright smile.

“I won.”

“Yes, you won, Lena.”

Helena tilted her head to the side, observing Dennis, who surprisingly admitted defeat without any resistance despite his usual meddling. He only wore a faint smile, making it impossible to discern his intentions.

“Now, tell me. Where is ‘Uncle’ right now?”

“Rimbazu Consiover. It’s a small village, so if you mention his name, they’ll know right away.”

“You’d better not be lying.”

Still eyeing Dennis suspiciously, Helena accepted the rosary he handed her. Made of opal and jujube wood, it was unmistakably those of ‘Uncle’. She vividly remembered mocking him, saying, 

‘What use does a vampire have for a rosary?’

“He said he made it to evade the Holy Order’s eyes, but it seems he doesn’t need it anymore.”

Helena kept fiddling with the rosary she had taken into her hands. She wanted to rush to her uncle immediately and ask for answers. But she hesitated, unsure of how to explain her departure to Isaac, who would remain here.

‘I need to act before Dennis catches on. As if I have no attachments to this place.’

“I need to see it with my own eyes.”

Speaking calmly, she placed the rosary inside her bag and hastily tied her hair up. Dennis, noticing the bite marks on her pale, exposed neckline, erased his faint smile.

“When are you leaving, Lena?”

“I’ll leave as soon as I can wrap things up. Why? Are you planning to come along?”

“…I’ll follow later.”

The enigmatic smile he gave her sent an eerie chill down her arms. Dennis, who always teased her with his playful demeanor, suddenly saying he wouldn’t follow her, felt both a relief and a cause for suspicion. Still, she knew it was pointless to ask someone like him, who never revealed his thoughts first. Yet, there was one thing she wanted to know.

“By the way… why Isaac?”

“Why are you curious about that now?”

“I just… suddenly wanted to know.”

She spoke as indifferently as possible, ensuring her emotions didn’t seep through. Even so, Dennis narrowed his eyes.

“Lena. He was the first and only child you ever cherished. I hated that. So, I wanted you to grow tired of his faith. Even if you drank his blood, you would eventually abandon him. Just like all the prey who’ve loved you until now. In the end, I’d be the only one left by your side, Lena.”

For once, Dennis, who had been unusually forthcoming about his intentions, curled his lips into a smile.

“Dennis, that’s not love; it’s possessiveness. As I always say, I’m not your possession.”

“…That’s exactly why.”

After leaving those words behind, Dennis disappeared in an instant, leaving Helena feeling uneasy. She decided to start packing immediately. A sense of foreboding urged her to hurry. Her belongings were minimal, and with just a few farewells, she could leave as early as the next morning. There wasn’t much preparation needed for parting with the villagers. After all, she planned to return before long.

Isaac… would wait for her until she returned. If she went to him now, Dennis might notice, so all she could do was hope that Isaac would trust her.

* * *

“Priest Isaac?”

Isaac, who had been cleaning the chapel early in the morning, raised his head at the sound of an unfamiliar voice calling him. However, upon seeing the face accompanying the voice, he realized it was the man he had seen kissing Helena. Without realizing it, he retorted sharply.

“…Yes. What is it?”

The man’s golden eyes gleamed like those of a beast, sending a chill down Isaac’s spine. Yet, despite the fear that weighed on him, Isaac stood his ground, prompting Dennis to smirk crookedly.

“Busy erasing yesterday’s traces, are you?”

“That…!”

The pointed remark made Isaac flush with embarrassment and confusion. He couldn’t understand how this man knew about it. He felt ashamed of his carelessness, thinking no one would come at such a late hour.

“But—this isn’t the time for cleaning, is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“My Lena is leaving this place tomorrow.”

That single sentence was enough to stir Isaac’s carefully maintained composure. ‘My Lena,’ ‘leaving.’ Just yesterday, he thought they had confirmed their love for each other. He was certain she loved him, so why would she leave? However, since he couldn’t trust Dennis, Isaac resolved to hear it directly from her.

Letting the broom fall from his hands, he strode out of the chapel. The abandoned broom lay on the chapel floor, forgotten. Dennis forced a tight-lipped smile to stretch across his face.

‘Surely, Lena, you’re not wavering because of a pet. If you are, then I….’

“Isaac! It’s almost time for prayer; where are you going?”

Johann called out as he saw Isaac hurriedly leaving the chapel, but Isaac neither turned back nor slowed down as he quickly descended the hill. Watching Dennis follow after Isaac, Johann frowned.

“Sir, what did you say to him?”

“Oh, don’t look at me with such a frightening face. I merely told him that Lena would be leaving tomorrow.”

“Dr. Helena? That’s earlier than the schedule she mentioned to the Village Chief….”

As Johann murmured with a serious expression, Dennis looked down at him and suddenly asked a question that had piqued his curiosity.

“Priest, I wonder…”

“Yes?”

“What happens if a servant of the Goddess commits a wrongful act?”

Realizing the underlying intent of Dennis’s words, Johann frowned as he answered. From the first time they had met, he had found this man disagreeable, and that feeling hadn’t changed.

“Isaac… is planning to leave the priesthood, and he’s not someone who would commit a wrongful act.”

“Oh?”

Dennis, his eyes sparkling as though he had just heard an intriguing story, nodded slightly at Johann before beginning his descent down the hill. Johann glared at Dennis’s back, muttering curses under his breath, before praying to the Goddess for forgiveness.

* * *

When Isaac arrived at Helena’s house, he pounded on the wooden door as if he intended to break it down.

“Helena? Helena? Are you inside?”

‘Surely… she hasn’t already left, has she?’

During her time in the village, she had only ever gone back and forth between the clinic and her home. Occasionally, she was invited out for dinner, but it wasn’t evening now, and he couldn’t think of anywhere she might have gone at this hour.

“Isaac…?”

Hearing Helena’s voice from behind him, rather than from inside the house, Isaac turned around and strode toward her, pulling her into a tight embrace. Helena, who had just returned from visiting the Village Chief to inform him of her brief departure, stood frozen in surprise, letting herself be held.

“Did something happen at the chapel?”

Isaac said nothing, only tightened his arms around her. Helena hesitated for a moment, then gently raised her hand to stroke his brown hair. She had felt a pang of disappointment when she woke up that morning to find him gone, but seeing him rush to her like this made her inexplicably happy. It had been a long time since she last felt the warmth of love, and the sensation was truly welcome.

“I heard you’re leaving.”

“Oh, that’s….”

Helena almost confessed the truth without thinking but then spotted Dennis watching them from halfway up the chapel hill. Fearful that Isaac might be in danger, she pushed him away and placed her slender fingers lightly on his palm. This subtle gesture would be enough to keep Dennis from noticing. She had been troubled by the thought of leaving without saying goodbye to Isaac, but now, perhaps, this was for the best.

“Yes. I had planned to stay only briefly from the beginning.”

[I’ll come back.]

Her cold words belied the message she wrote in his palm. Without even turning around, Isaac could sense there was something—or someone—behind him. And he understood that whatever it was, it was the reason for Helena’s cold demeanor.

“Isaac.”

[From now on,]

“Was it enjoyable for you?”

[This is a lie.]

“What are you saying…?”

“I found it amusing. Playing with a priest.”

Helena smirked, raising one corner of her mouth in a mocking smile. Even in that moment, she was so breathtakingly beautiful that Isaac nearly found himself staring at her in a daze—if not for the cold hand still resting in his, unmoving.

[I love you.]

“The game is over now.”

Releasing his hand, she turned away and retreated into her house. Left alone in front of her door, Isaac clenched his outstretched hand into a fist so tightly that the veins on his wrist bulged. His face flushed a deep crimson.

Inside, Helena slammed the door shut and abandoned the idea of saying goodbye to the villagers. Instead, she began packing the rest of her belongings. When she had first arrived in the village, she had brought very little with her, but now her possessions had grown considerably. From light dresses to forks, everything was imbued with the villagers’ care and goodwill. Yet Helena chose not to pack any of those items, instead taking only the things she had brought with her from the start.