In the darkness where neither words nor glances were exchanged, we stayed like that for a while until the warmth of our overlapping hands became the same.

Then I thought we shouldn’t delay any longer.

“Shouldn’t we leave now?”

“But we don’t know when another golem might appear.”

That meant we had to wander in the darkness until we completely escaped the lair.

“It’s okay.”

Shahar helped me to my feet as I staggered.

I followed him as he led the way.

Walking in the pitch-black, silent darkness, relying solely on someone else’s hand, was unsettling and frightening.

“Don’t let go.”

“I won’t.”

He held my cold, sweaty hand even tighter.

In an instant, my anxiety dissipated. I felt certain he would never abandon me under any circumstances.

As my anxiety vanished, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

“It’s strange.”

“What is?”

“It feels like I’ve walked holding your hand like this before.”

I said, looking at where I guessed his face would be.

“Just like now, I would talk about trivial things, and Shahar would quietly listen…”

Strangely, the more I talked, the more vivid it felt, as if it had really happened.

It seemed my brain was distorting memories, desperately wanting it to be real.

“But that can’t be. Maybe I dreamed it, haha… A completely absurd and nonsensical dream.”

“Yes, it was all a dream.”

He gently lifted my chin with his other hand, raising my gaze higher.

Only then did I realize I had been talking while looking in the wrong direction and felt embarrassed again.

“But I also had the same dream as you, so how can it be absurd?”

Hearing his usual cheesy words felt strangely romantic in this moment, making me realize I was indeed shallow, only caring about appearances.

And I learned something new this time: I was weak not just to visual stimuli but also to tactile ones.

Just as I had done earlier, Shahar kept caressing my cheek and brushing my hair back.

As a result, my face felt like it was about to burst from the heat.

Shahar must have known this, yet he showed no intention of stopping his touches.

“Are you… getting revenge?”

“Revenge?”

“Because I kept rubbing you when you were a stone…”

I protested softly, and he laughed in a low voice. My heightened senses made it feel like even the vibrations from his laughter were transmitted directly to me.

Just as I couldn’t hold back the ticklish feeling and tried to step back,

the ground thudded beneath us.

Another golem had appeared.

Shahar quickly moved me behind him.

The hand that had been holding mine was suddenly far away, and the battle resumed.

After defeating several more golems, we finally reached the door leading outside.

I hesitated for a moment in front of the door.

Once we stepped out, he would turn back into coal.

But Shahar, seemingly unaware of my feelings, opened the door without hesitation.

The night sky, filled with stars, and the landscape of Mount Acheron came into view.

I thought a lot of time had passed, but it seemed it was still a long way until dawn.

“You returned earlier than expected.”

Michalis, leaning against a tree, looked at us with a somewhat surprised expression.

Ignoring him, I looked at where Shahar had been.

Shahar had already turned back into coal and was quietly nestled in my hand. It felt as if walking hand in hand with him just moments ago had all been a lie.

But Michalis didn’t give me any time to savor the lingering emotions.

“Did you find the item properly?”

‘What an oblivious guy.’

When I showed him the jewelry box I was holding tightly, his red eyes sparkled with some emotion for the first time.

“Thank you.”

I dodged his hand that reached out immediately and shook my head.

I enjoyed spending time alone with Shahar, but encountering the golem was a separate matter.

“You knew there was a golem there, didn’t you? You knew it was dangerous and pushed me in instead, right?”

“I expected there would be a defense system, but I didn’t know it was a golem. But I also knew you would return safely.”

His nonchalant reply was infuriating.

I briefly considered running away with the jewelry box.

If my future wasn’t held in his grasp, I would have done so.

“If you want the item, release Janet first.”

“Of course.”

“Master!”

Janet, now completely free, ran to me.

After she had fully come to my side, I threw the jewelry box toward Michalis.

He swiftly caught it and held it dearly.

“What is that jewelry box that you went to such lengths to find it?”

I didn’t bother to mention that I had already opened it.

“It’s a keepsake of a relative.”

Michalis answered calmly.

But there was a subtle emotion in his voice that he couldn’t completely hide.

It seemed he had a special connection with the owner of that jewelry box.

‘No wonder the name sounded like a person’s.’

“Since you granted my request, I will grant you one wish as a reward.”

“No thanks. I have a bright future ahead of me, what could I possibly want from a living corpse like you?”

Michalis laughed heartily.

“Are you sure you don’t need anything?”

“Well… If you insist, please take good care of your underlings from now on. Oh, and don’t forget to take me home.”

“That’s not difficult. Now, shall we return before your parents wake up?”

Just like when we arrived, Michalis enveloped us in black mist.

When I opened my eyes, he was gone, and only I, the coal, and Janet were standing in front of the mansion.

Suppressing my rising irritation, I snapped at Janet.

“You acted all competent, and what is this? Kidnapping? Kiidnapping? I almost went bald because of you!”

“There was no other choice. Being part of the vampire clan, I couldn’t avoid the Lord. Ahem, by the way, I didn’t know the Lord was so desperate to find that item.”

Janet awkwardly changed the subject. Seeing that my irritation wasn’t subsiding, she cautiously brought up another topic.

“Aren’t you curious about who owned that keepsake?”

I knew I shouldn’t get drawn in, but my curiosity wouldn’t let go.

“Who was it?”

“Long ago, even before I was born, the Lord fell in love with a human.”

It was surprising enough that the vampire lord, who seemed devoid of emotions, longed for a deceased lover, but it was even more shocking that the lover was human.

“But as you saw earlier, that woman died a long time ago.”

“Why didn’t he turn her into a vampire? Was he reluctant to spend an eternity together?”

“He did try, but Violet rejected the vampire life. According to the elder vampires, she threw herself into the sunlight and turned to ashes right after becoming a vampire. It’s a decision I can’t understand. If you become the Lord’s child, even if you were originally human, you’d gain abilities comparable to the highest-ranking elders.”

“…”

“Anyway, because of that trauma, Michalis doesn’t bite humans. So, all human-born vampires are children of other elders.”

‘So that black stuff…’

It was the ashes of that woman named Violet.

In other words, it wasn’t a keepsake, but remains.

I felt a chill run down my spine.

“Why did Enril take that… keepsake?”

“How could a mere vampire understand the will of the great dragon? Maybe it went mad from being sealed for too long.”

For the first time, Janet and I agreed on something.

“Though it’s harsh to say, he did do a lot of inexplicable things. It was surprising enough that the seal was broken in the first place.”

“What kind of inexplicable things?”

“He barged into the Lord’s castle and stole the keepsake, captured human-born vampires left and right… It wasn’t just us, it hunted down human-born transcendent beings as well.”

Recalling the past, Janet shuddered and shook her head.

“There were even rumors that humans broke Enril’s seal and in return, he granted them eternal life. Otherwise, his actions were incomprehensible. Anyway, he must have found what he was looking for since he disappeared after causing such a ruckus.”

‘So, Enril stole Violet to extend Lina’s life…?’

The absurd love story that no human could understand left me dazed.

Both the one who turned a lover into a demonic being without permission and kept her ashes for hundreds of years, and the one who stole those ashes for his lover, were clearly out of their minds.

“Even though I’m a demonic being, I really don’t get it. What’s so special about humans…”

“Exactly. So, Janet, have you ever loved a human?”

“Of course. No one knows better than I do, as a human-born, how foolish it is to give your heart to a human. Though my loyalty to you is genuine, Master.”

Janet gave a servile smile.

“Ugh, I don’t need it.”

“By the way, Master. Where are my earrings? If you return them, I promise to keep them safe and never let anyone take them again.”

“Always talking… Hmm?”

As I rummaged through my pocket, I paused.

I definitely put the earrings in my outer pocket, but it was empty, like I had lost them along the way.

Seeing my troubled face, Janet sighed softly.

“Surely, losing the token won’t make me go bald, right?”

“The contract remains valid for a while even if the token is lost. But it’s best to create a new token quickly.”

Fortunately, there was another pair of earrings left in the jewelry box.

Seeing the blood of two different species mix on the jewelry made me feel sentimental for no reason.

‘If a lover’s lifespan is different, the one who’s left behind must be very lonely.’