Whizzing past the rapidly changing scenery, I almost lost my focus but then remembered my purpose and called out loudly for Violet.

“Violet, are you there?”

But in this vast castle, I doubted my voice would reach her(?).

As expected, despite calling her name several times, the only response was an echo.

Just as I was about to ask Shahar if we should give up and go back, he suddenly changed direction while running madly.

He grabbed me just in time to prevent me from falling to the ground, but the speed was so fast that I felt completely disoriented.

A moment later, Shahar stopped in front of a certain room.

I awkwardly stood up from where I had sprawled. In front of me was a large, sturdy-looking wooden door.

“Where are we?”

“This is where Violet is.”

As if responding to Shahar’s words, there was an immediate clattering sound from inside.

When the door opened, instead of the luxurious spaces we had seen so far, a simple yet cozy bedroom was revealed.

The bedroom was so well-organized that it looked like someone had lived there until just yesterday.

The bedding on the bed was clean, and a fire was blazing in the fireplace.

But there was nothing that could be presumed to be Violet anywhere.

‘That’s strange…’

“Violet?”

As soon as I called the name, there was a reaction.

The vibration, which started as a small tremor, gradually grew stronger until the entire room was shaking.

“It seems there is another space connected to the bedroom. Probably the right wall.”

There was a huge bookshelf where Shahar pointed.

Groaning, I pushed the bookshelf aside, revealing a very suspicious-looking door behind it.

“What is this? A secret passage?”

I tried turning the doorknob, but the door was firmly locked.

“Shahar, axe.”

At my word, Shahar immediately transformed into an axe.

As I ruthlessly hacked at the door, the heavy door soon fell apart.

With a loud cloud of dust, a staircase leading to the basement appeared.

I immediately ran down the stairs.

“Violet…?”

Clatter.

The sound was definitely clearer than before.

But there was nothing particularly special to look at here either… or so I thought.

“Hmm?”

Clatter, clatter.

I suspiciously asked the small jewelry box on the dusty desk.

“Are you perhaps Violet…?”

Clatter, clatter, clatter, clatter.

“Okay, I get it. Your owner is desperately looking for you.”

I carefully lifted Violet. Since it was a name that sounded like a person’s, I was hesitant to handle it roughly. In the meantime, I couldn’t contain my curiosity.

‘What’s inside?’

What could this be that a dragon would steal it from a vampire lord, and the vampire lord would go so far as to beg a mere human to retrieve it?

Unable to suppress my curiosity, I slightly opened the jewelry box.

Contrary to my expectations of something grand inside, it was empty.

No, to be precise, it wasn’t completely empty.

There was a bit of ash at the bottom of the jewelry box, as if something had been burned.

“What is this? Some kind of special magical ingredient?”

“It’s best not to touch that.”

Shahar warned in an unusually stern tone.

Feeling as if I had been caught doing something wrong, I felt embarrassed.

“Yes… Since we found it, should we go now?”

Thanks to Shahar’s crazy flight, we finished our business sooner than expected and had plenty of time to return.

Just as we were about to leave the basement.

Boom!

There was a loud noise that came from somewhere.

Turning my head towards the sound, I was so shocked that I forgot to breathe.

A man with golden-red hair like the setting sun and skin the color of honey was standing at the top of the stairs, looking at us.

“Enril…?”

I rubbed my eyes, thinking I might have seen wrong, but it was definitely him.

“What is that guy doing here? Didn’t he go to Korea?”

“That’s not Enril. It’s a golem guarding the lair.”

“Ah, it looks so much like him that I was surprised… Hello, Golem Enril? I don’t know if your previous owner told you, but I’m your new owner from now on.”

The golem completely ignored my friendly greeting.

“Are you shy too? Alright, we’ll build our relationship slowly. For now, could you step aside?”

The golem obediently stepped back.

Just as I nodded in satisfaction, a sudden strong wind blew. The dust was so thick that it was hard to keep my eyes open.

Shahar pushed me aside and charged at the golem.

“Step back!”

Startled by his stern command, I immediately hugged the jewelry box and squeezed myself into Shahar’s shield.

The wind was like blades, tearing everything in the basement apart.

Seeing the furniture split into pieces perfect for firewood sent chills down my spine.

If I hadn’t avoided it, I would have ended up the same way.

The golem, having retreated from Shahar, attacked again.

Although the shield perfectly blocked all attacks, it seemed like there would be no end to this.

As the tedious battle dragged on, more golems appeared.

There were five of them.

‘Six Enril look-alikes…!’

Their dazzling beauty brought back nightmarish memories.

But the real problem was elsewhere.

Unable to completely subdue even one golem, the situation rapidly deteriorated as they appeared in groups.

The wind generated by each golem shook not only the basement but the entire castle. I began to understand why Shahar had been reluctant to bring me here.

Realizing that this couldn’t go on, Shahar abandoned the attack and personally became a barrier to protect me.

Inside the solid, impenetrable wall that didn’t let a single breeze through, I was drenched in cold sweat.

Shahar soon noticed my condition.

“Mate, are you alright?”

“Of course, I’m fine. It’s cozy and n-n-nice.”

“Just close your eyes and wait for a moment. I’ll finish this quickly.”

I didn’t know what he planned to do, but I buried my head between my knees and closed my eyes tightly as he instructed.

In the darkness, I heard the sound of something tearing and breaking.

The battle didn’t last long.

As the noise subsided, I judged that it was over and opened my eyes before Shahar gave permission.

“Huh?”

It was pitch black. Shocked by the darkness even with my eyes open, I momentarily forgot to breathe.

“Sha-Shahar…”

Terrified, I called Shahar, and something heavy crashed beside me.

Just as I was about to faint, someone shook me violently.

“Mate!”

“Shahar…?”

I clung to the arm holding my shoulder. Then, realizing something, I screamed.

“Aaah!”

It wasn’t Shahar’s characteristic smooth, cold, non-organic feel.

I quickly backed away, squealing like a piglet. I wanted to run, but my legs gave out and I couldn’t stand.

“Calm down.”

“Wh-who are you?”

“It is I, your mate, Shahar. As a stone, I couldn’t handle the golem, so I had no choice.”

Despite his explanation, I couldn’t easily relax.

“If you are really Shahar, tell me what I ate for breakfast yesterday.”

“You skipped breakfast, saying you had no appetite, which worried me greatly.”

“…Are you really Shahar?”

Even hearing his voice, I couldn’t believe it, so I cautiously reached out to touch him.

What I presumed to be his shoulder was indeed cold, but it wasn’t as hard as a statue, it was soft.

When I pressed my finger into his skin, I felt natural muscles and bones beneath.

It was a completely different sensation from the unsettling feeling I had experienced before.

Gathering my courage, I moved my hand higher, touching his prominent Adam’s apple, jaw, and soft lips in turn.

As I brushed against his slightly parted lips, he flinched and shuddered. But he didn’t push my hand away. Instead, he leaned into my hand, as if wanting more contact.

Cool, smooth hair brushed against my palm.

I had thought, like most long-lived transcendent beings, he would have very long hair, but his hair was short, barely covering his nape.

Before I knew it, I had forgotten my fear and boldly explored his face.

His naturally blinking eyelashes tickled my fingers. I could vividly sense his gaze on me even in the darkness.

Only then did I realize I was too absorbed in touching him.

Feeling embarrassed, I lowered my hand, but he caught it and placed it back on his face.

His large, cool hand overlapped with mine, which was cupping his face.

‘This hand…’

I felt it before.

Before I met him, it was the very hand that had guided me in my dreams.