When A Ghoul Falls In Love

She's asleep.

Eli places the food tray on the table. Should he wake her up? Sleeping on an empty stomach isn't good for her.

He closes his eyes. Why did he ask that question? She started crying because of his stupid question. 

When he turns around, he sees Devil l.i.c.k.i.n.g her hand. He walks closer to the bed. The back of her hand has deep scratch marks. Did she do it to herself? He grabs her hands. There are blood and flesh under the nails of her right hand. 

"Why…" He can't understand it. Though she said that she would try her best not to hurt herself, what caused her to do this to herself? Was it his question? He shouldn't have said those things to her.

"Don't blame yourself for something that is not your fault," The cat says to him.

"Isn't she also blaming herself for something that's not her fault?" Eli grimaces at the cat. 

"Baek Joon-Woo and others wouldn't have died if they hadn't met her." Devil looks at him, wide-eyed. "Eli Sanguine, you can't save her."

The cat's cold words stab him in his heart. "Can't save her?"

"I made my bets on you." Devil shrugs. "But your love isn't enough."

"Did she…" His throat is dry. Eli's hands tremble. 

"She won't marry you." Devil gives him a sidelong glance. "If she doesn't want to love you before the return of her memories, what are the chances that she would ever love you after she remembers everything?"

Eli grabs Devil by his neck and flounces out of the room. He tosses the cat on the floor. "What are you talking about?"

Devil stands up proudly. "Listen, Little Marshmallow. There are a few things in the world that can't be helped. Nell made her choices. I will always follow her will. She won't love you. Then, I have no reason to help you anymore."

What's up with this creature's attitude? Eli grits his teeth. He doesn't need Devil's help. "When is the seal going to break?"

The cat rolls his eyes. "You are so dumb."

"Speak!" Eli commands him. 

"And if I don't?" Devil c.o.c.ks his head. "Are you going to hurt me? Me? Who is a part of Nell?"

Eli takes a deep breath. This cat is challenging his patience. "Devil, I can protect her."

"It doesn't matter whether you can or not." Devil licks his paw. He's starving. "She won't kill herself. Don't worry about that anymore."

That's good to know… but why did she hurt her hands like that? Eli feels that something is wrong. This Devil knows it for sure. Eli decides to use a different tactic. He folds his fingers as he sits down on his knees and bends his head like a servant. "Devil, my child, won't you tell your father why your mother is like that?"

"..," Devil narrows his eyes suspiciously. Who is this ghoul trying to fool? "You grabbed me by my neck and tossed me on the floor. Isn't that child abuse?"

"That's hard love." Eli nods his head with a huge smile on his face. "Didn't you see my relationship with my father? That's how fathers treat their children in this world."

"Then, I should act like you." Devil smirks at him.

Damn this…! Eli holds himself back. Patience. He needs a lot of patience. He can do it. "Do you want to see your parents separate?"

"Which child would want that?" Devil scratches the back of his ear. "But I can't defy Mother."

Nell must have said something to Devil. This cat can't reveal it to him. Eli scratches his chin. Nell doesn't want to marry him. But he will marry her for sure. He doesn't like forcing her either. And he is running out of the reasons to blackmail her into marrying him. 

"Father, I destroyed Carmine Highmore's mansion earlier."

Eli gapes at the cat. "What?"

"They think that it's an assassin." Devil's eyes dart from left to right uneasily. "But the assassin is me. Mother might get blamed."

What is wrong with this cat? "Why would you do that?"

"I don't like her." Devil mutters, "She's ugly and she blocked your wedding in the human world. Because of her, we had to come here. Now, you can't get married to Mother anymore."

Why can't he get married to Nell? This cat won't speak clearly. Eli ponders quietly. These might be clues about Nell's thoughts. "The seal… is it breaking soon?"

Devil doesn't answer. He flicks his tail while looking at the door. 

"Is it breaking today?"

Devil flicks his ears. 

"Is it breaking tomorrow?"

The cat flicks his tail again. 

It's breaking tomorrow then. "Is it happening tomorrow morning?"

The cat closes his eyes. His ears move.

"Is it happening in the afternoon?"

Devil flicks his ears again.

"Then, it's in the night," Eli mumbles to himself. There's not enough time. Should he get married in the afternoon? Maybe he should do it tomorrow morning. 

Why doesn't he take her to the temple right away?

What should he do? He's not prepared. What will happen after an old seal is broken? Where should he take her? He doesn't want her to remember.

"Will she hate me after she remembers everything?" Eli questions the cat.

"There's no reason…" The cat ponders, "It might hurt her to look at your face."

"Should I get plastic surgery?" Eli holds his head in dismay. Why does he look like her ex-boyfriend? "Why was that human born with my face? I am the older one here."

"There are coincidences and…" Devil hesitates before uttering the next words, "Have you heard about the law of balance?"

"I know it." Eli wonders why this cat is talking about that law. "There are multiple interpretations of that law."

"Fate is also born from that law." Devil continues with a heavy voice, "I wonder if it's fate that you met Nell or Nell met Baek Joon-Woo. Was it their fate to die that day? Does Nell need you to fulfil her destiny?"

"That's not important." Eli waves his hand. "Whether Nell needs me or not, I will be with her."

"Even if she starts hating you?" Devil eyes him.

"Yes." Eli bows to the cat. "Please help me, Devil."

"Geez!" Devil clicks his tongue. "So much for thinking of me as your kid."

"Why can't a father request his child?" Eli chuckles. 

"Alright." Devil yawns. "It can't be helped. You are Little Marshmallow. Of course, I will help you."

"Tell me about the time when the seal will be broken," Eli asks him right away. 

"She won't die," Devil assures him. "I thought about what she had said. The fae wanted to torment her. Why would he want her to die? I think that he wanted to take her to the fae realm before her seal was broken. After all, it would give him great p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to see her writhing in pain."

Eli bites his lower lip in fury. That fae… he will torment him with interest. 10 years of interest. 

"Since you already know that seal will be broken tomorrow night, I do not need to hide it anymore." Devil lets out a low laugh. "Nell is so naive."

The ghoul doesn't know what to say. This cat has been manipulating both him and Nell. But it's also true that Devil wants to help Nell. 

Nothing evil can come out of Nell's soul.

"I want revenge." Devil bares his teeth. "It's one of her deepest d.e.s.i.r.es. She will realize it after her memories come back. I want to start with a person. I need your help. Nell will approve of it in the future."

Eli frowns. Devil is acting strangely now. Can he be trusted? "Who is that person?"

"Nell's father." Devil grinds his teeth. "That person deserves hell."

'Do you know where Zachary Krauss is?" 

"Yes." Devil lowers his head. His eyes glaze with hatred. "That person can't be killed. He must watch it all."

Eli inhales sharply. In the past, Devil had denied knowing Zachary Krauss' whereabouts. How does he know? Unless Zachary Krauss is in this world… It explains that Devil would act strangely. Baek Joon-Woo got entangled with the fae because he was looking for Zachary Krauss. Another fae brought that debt.

Was someone interested in Nell from the start or was it because Zachary Krauss was involved?

Things that happened to Nell… "Is the fae king connected to Zachary Krauss?"

The cat flicks his tail again.