When A Ghoul Falls In Love

All of a sudden, the wings disappear. Eli releases Eoin and takes several steps backwards, fixing his hair and clothes. His eyes return to normalcy before Eoin can gather his wits. 

"You!!!" Eoin croaks hoarsely before he starts coughing.

Nell appears in the corridor then. Eli ignores red-faced, out of breath, and sweaty Eoin and turns his head toward her. "Nell, why are you out of your room? You should be resting."

She stops around two feet away from him and looks at him suspiciously. The distance between Eli and Eoin is larger than the distance between the crown prince and Eoin. She glances at Eoin and then, she looks at the oblivious Crown Prince.

What just happened here?

"The cat told me to come here if I wanted to see some drama," She utters hesitantly. It seems that she has missed some drama.

Eli smiles at her warmly. He will deal with that good for nothing cat later. "Sweetness, you shouldn't wander around like this. Your body is still weak. If you don't regain your stamina, we can't make love like we used to."

"Why do you always say perverted things?" She frowns at him. "When did we make love?"

"You don't remember." He shrugs. "Should we go to the bedroom and make new memories?"

"No." She takes a peek at the strange man who is smiling at him oddly. The other man is glaring at her. They don't like her for sure. "Have fun with your friends."

Nell leaves the spot right away, wondering if she should ask her father for food and an escape from this place. 

"She thinks we are friends." Eoin chuckles. "That's strange."

"She is acting differently." Crown Prince Ri An eyes Eli. "Does she not recognize me? What was that about not remembering?"

"She has a temporary memory loss." Eli doesn't hide it. He looks at Eoin. "Next time, I won't let your neck go unbroken if you talk like that about her."

Eoin laughs. "Is it just me? The entire kingdom is talking about how the son of a duke married a woman like that."

"Eli, I know that you are s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e about this." The Crown Prince says in a mellow tone, "But it's true that you didn't do the right thing. You should have taken her as a concubine or…"

He pauses for a moment when Eli glares at him. The Crown Prince lowers his voice, looking away from him. "What's done is done. I have no choice but to accept this. I guess, our union is not possible. I cannot be a second husband." 

Eli narrows his eyes. 

"My elder sister is marrying Eoin." He gestures toward Eoin who seems confused by the change in his stance. Does he not know about Ophelia's ambition or Eoin's two faces? Even Duke Sanguine doesn't favour him. A powerful family like the Sanguines must be destroyed. "The marriage will be held after next week."

"Is that all?" Eli crosses his arms. "I will discuss with his majesty about matters related to my husband, Nell Solomon. The Crown Prince should focus on acting as a crown prince who deserves respect."

"My dear, I can throw you in prison for being disrespectful to me," Crown Prince Ri An tells him lightly. "But I understand that you are s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e right now. I will accept your choices, Eli."

Eli frowns, still suspicious of the Crown Prince's intentions. 

"I hope that you don't miss your brother's wedding." Crown Prince Ri An clasps his hands behind his back, observing every chance in Eli's expression. He doesn't have to chase Eli anymore. Eli will come to him on his own. The new pawn is none other than that human who has the ability to turn the Sanguine family upside down. He will not only wipe out the Sanguine family, but also the eyesore of the royal family, Ophelia, who doesn't know what her limits are. "I have a lot to do, Eli. Visit the palace to discuss the matter about that human."

Crown Prince Ri An takes long light strides away from Eli. Eoin sneers at Eli before trailing after Crown Prince Ri An.

"I didn't expect them to be this easy." Eli puts his hands inside his pockets, tilting his head while keeping his eyes on their backs until they disappear from his sight. "Does he not know about Nick's disappearance?"

Did they think that a fae's messenger just left on his own? 

Eli lets out a sigh. It's better if he pretends that he doesn't know anything. Amachi will keep Nick safe. 

***

"There was no drama." Nell says to the cat as she approaches it, "But they seemed like they were fighting."

"Little Marshmallow must have beaten them up." Devil replies nonchalantly, "What did you see when you were there?"

"His brother looked like he was going to die." She squats down on the floor. "You told me that I would see something interesting."

"You are dumb." Devil pauses for a moment, eyeing the door to the laboratory where Zachary Krauss and Amachi are working on a potion. "And slow. What should I do with you? But you acted wisely when you trusted Little Marshmallow."

Nell doesn't like the cat, but she doesn't exactly hate it. She sits beside the cat, looking at the same door curiously. "Isn't this like… my soul is in the future? If I wake up in the past again, I will be able to change everything." Maybe she can save them all. Is there a way to wake up in the past?

"Wishful thinking." Devil sighs. "If you do that, I won't exist. I am sorry but, I care about myself a lot."

She blinks her eyes. "So, there is a way to change the past?"

"Of course, not." Devil looks sideways. "Time shouldn't be disturbed. Even if you change the past, things will only change for you. Our time won't change. You will only create another timeline and make a happy ending for another Nell who wouldn't go through the things that you have gone through. What about you then? You will not be able to return here and then, you will be stuck in that world. Sorry to say, but it will ruin many lives -- and it's impossible too."

Why does this cat talk in a circle? Nell cracks her knuckles. "You told me that I would remember if I prayed to the moon."

"The moon doesn't want you to remember," The Devil tells her grudgingly. "I think that the goddess is the one who is blocking your memories instead of you. You should have remembered the moment I revealed everything to you -- or when Nick told you the truth."

The more she listens to this cat, the harder her reality becomes. Nell inhales sharply. What's up with everyone? Why do both Killian and the goddess want to hide her memories from her? What is it that she can't find it? 

"Unfortunately, there are holes in my memories too." Devil murmurs softly, "I do not remember every detail about the night in the hospital. The last conversation between you and Baek Joon Woo is also hidden from me. But I was born at that moment. The intense feeling that I remember from that moment is… the desperate feeling to protect someone. It was the deepest cry from your soul. I guess you wanted to protect him."

"How did Baek Joon Woo die?" Nell asks him with a trembling voice. "Was he killed by Killian?"

"As much as I know, he killed himself," Devil answers her in a straightforward tone. "But he wrote a letter to you. In the letter, he blamed himself for what happened to you and others."

Nell covers her face, trying hard not to cry. 

"But Evie said that he was killed," Devil adds solemnly. "What do you think?"

"I don't know." Her body is shaking. "I can't believe this."

"Yeah, you have been like this for ten years." Devil looks up at the ceiling hopelessly. "The moon watched over you, but you never heard her voice."

"I don't give a damn about the moon." She yells at him, "If she was so strong, why didn't she save them all? Why did it happen?"

"She couldn't directly intervene back then." Devil stares at her. "Do you want to escape this place?"