“……”

Ethan said nothing for a moment as if feeling guilty. Sarah’s face, smiling softly with her eyes bent, seemed as if she knew everything. Ethan was shaken helplessly as he watched the beautiful figure right in front of him.

“I heard that every time you deal with Ambrosia’s power, you vomit blood. The last time you vomited blood at the Imperial Palace was not the first time either.”

His low voice, telling what he had heard from May, contained a heavy tremor. He was terrified of what Sarah would think when she found out that despite this, he had no intention of letting her go until the end. Now that she knew it, would she ask him to let her go, or would she say that he was a monster bastard that couldn’t be helped, or that it was unsightly to be born with a cursed power? No matter what Sarah thought, nothing changed, so he had to do his best.

“Vomiting blood puts a lot of strain on the body. Unless it’s a normal disease, there’s no way it can happen.”

Ethan carefully wrapped his large hand around Sarah’s wrist. His eyebrows narrowed subtly, perhaps because of her slender wrist, which was not even a handful.

“So even if you decide to leave Ambrosia, I am well aware that I can’t hold you back.”

“……Duke!”

Sarah, who was agonizing over how to resolve the misunderstanding at Ethan’s words, opened her eyes wide and raised her head. Because it sounded like he was going to let her go. It was when Sarah, who had no intention of doing so, hastily tried to open her mouth.

“But you are too merciful.”

Ethan said so and gently stroked the back of her hand over her wrist. Sarah trembled as their hands rubbed against each other and it felt so hot. Then he slowly intertwined each of his fingers in Sarah’s hands and pulled them towards him.

“I just rely on your mercy.”

He bowed slightly and put Sarah’s hand close to his lips as if asking for permission. Sarah unknowingly stiffened out of subtle tension. It felt like his lips were about to land on the back of her hand at any moment. His faint breath seemed like soft feathers caressing her hands.

“……!”

At that moment, Ethan raised his gaze. When faced with such deep blue eyes, Sarah swallowed her breath without realizing it.

“I can’t even ask you to stay by my side because of me and my situation.”

Ethan’s bitter voice made her feel desperate. It was because he seemed to say that it was okay for her not to be with Duke Ambrosia’s family because he was sorry.

“I’ll be here. I will!”

Ethan opened his eyes wide for a moment in response to Sarah’s urgent reply and soon smiled with his eyes bent. Ethan’s lips fell on the back of Sarah’s hand. Starting from where his lips touched, it seemed that her body slowly had a hot fever. And it made Sarah’s heart race like crazy.

“Thank you, Sarah.”

Sarah stared blankly at Ethan, who was smiling with his lips parted and his bent back straightened, with a blushing face. That moment seemed to be remembered for a long time.

“I am well aware that I am very greedy. Because you have been infinitely kind to me and Claude all this time.”

“What do you mean greed? It’s not greed. It’s not like that either. I’m just doing what I want.”

At Sarah’s answer, Ethan’s lips parted bitterly.

“Because you have been infinitely kind to me and Claude all this time. This is greed.”

If he saw Sarah lose her strength little by little because of Ambrosia’s power, Ethan might be able to let go of this greed. However, Ethan was willing to spare no effort to satisfy his thirst as much as possible.

“Either way, I will protect you from me somehow.”

Sarah did not respond to his words. It was just a slight nod as Ethan wanted. He smiled as if Sarah’s small act was enough. Sarah left his office without thinking enough about how to resolve this misunderstanding.

“Countess Millen, did you have a good conversation?”

Veron looked at Sarah’s vacant face and approached her with a worried look, but Sarah couldn’t answer. He looked at Ronda and exchanged glances, then shook his head slightly.

“I’ll take you to your room.”

“It’s okay, Ronda. I can go alone.”

Sarah waved her hand to Ronda who was approaching her and moved forward. Their worried gazes followed her back. Sarah, who returned to her room and sat down on the bed, muttered without realizing it.

“I’m completely possessed.”

She couldn’t even say a word to Ethan properly to the extent that she couldn’t understand herself for not being able to explain even the slightest bit. For some reason, she couldn’t shake off her suspicion that he was only spitting out what he wanted.

“There was nothing I could say, however……”

She couldn’t deny everything he said. Vomiting blood was really hard on the body, but it was also true that Park Hyeyeon was pouring out her life force to calm Ambrosia’s power. However, the fact that Ethan did not know about Park Hyeyeon’s existence and that she could not tell him about Park Hyeyeon’s existence caused such a great misunderstanding. She couldn’t break her oath with her disciples. Even if it was violated, now was not the time.

“I was hiding it because I thought this would happen.”

Sarah’s resentment naturally turned to May, who easily confessed all this to Ethan. She didn’t know what kind of calculation May had made in her head or what judgment she had made and confessed to Ethan. But Sarah decided to remember this today. She would never, never forget.

* * *

The First Prince, Cazer de Crombell, clutched the artifact that Oliven had given to him. Then, a faint black smoke swirled in his hand and disappeared.

“It’s still unstable, yeah.”

There was no room for a nervous murmuring voice. He suffered from an obsession that he had to hurry and swallow this power, making it his own. In Cazer’s head, he was constantly hearing the words Oliven had said over and over again.

‘Let go of what you have, what you wear, and what you enjoy, and pretend to be naked. So what do you think humans need the most?’

Cazer was not given the opportunity to answer the question.

‘It’s power.’

Oliven had been squeezing his breath as sweet and secretive as the whispers of the devil.

‘You’ve been beaten by him because you don’t have the power. Position? What does that matter? It’s useless to do that in front of your life. That’s what nature is like.’

There was no warmth in his voice that had no sense of mercy.

‘My summoner, who is like a flower that has grown nicely, may not have known about it, but fortunately, you have met me, so you will be able to do well now. I think I can give you some of the power you want.’

In addition, there was a subtle sarcasm in the sweet proposal he was giving.

‘Of course, there is a price to pay. Whatever it is, it must be very expensive and precious. What do you think? Will you make a deal?’

The hand that was finally extended to him was without hesitation as if he knew no refusal. Cazer muttered as he remembered Oliven from that day.

“……Devil-like bastard.”

Then, he looked at Oliven, crouching down with two knees gathered in the distance. He suddenly came to him a few days ago and had been sitting like that without saying a word since then. He didn’t answer when he talked to him and moved only when Cazer went out hunting for monsters. Oliven, who silently disposed of and recovered the corpses of the monsters, and then was buried somewhere else in Alton Castle, was now beginning to get on his nerves.

“What’s wrong with that bastard? So annoying.”