For a long while, the stylish girls were left awed by the effortless display of suaveness by a young man who looked like he was preparing to take the lead role in a movie. Bella noticed this out of the corner of her eye, as she was always stealing glances at her man, but this only served to further solidify her goal to murder all the bitches who even so much as looked his way.

Yet, there was also a part of her that was slightly astounded by the speed his hands flashed through the bookstore aisles.

‘Has Cass already begun nearing the C-Rank in terms of speed?? But it has only been, at most, four weeks since his seal started to weaken…! If he keeps progressing at this rate, then even I might encounter some trouble when he turns 18!!’

Bella was seriously debating whether she should abandon the original plan and take him away by force right here and now. However, that was when she remembered that run-down father of hers.

‘My old man may be a pushover among the high nobility of Nightingale, but he is still a Duke-level vampire. As long as my hubby doesn't exceed the limits of this world by the time he turns 18, I can just have that old codger help me take him away by force!’

As if she had figured it all out, Bella snorted proudly and placed an especially ostentatious book on the top shelf of one of the many shelves in the large bookstore. After sorting through a few more, she shot a glance toward where Cassius just was, only to find that his cart was empty, with him now pushing it and a few other carts back to the front desk.

Knowing that those carts were the last of the major workload for the day made Bella’s expression sour ever so slightly.

Even though she knew it was inevitable that they had to part ways for now, it still greatly annoyed her to know that her hubby had become a delectable slab of steak to all of the blood-bag whores of this world. She wanted to kill everything again… but she found herself achieving higher and higher levels of restraint.

Bella was not usually one who knew when to take a step back, but for the sake of her happily-ever-after, she was willing to hold herself back. The last thing she wanted was her hubby’s ire and hate, which would naturally materialize if she killed all the bitches before they could be bonded by a blood contract. Yet none of that would matter after the blood contract, because a deep connection would be formed between both relevant parties.

And once her hubby saw her immense love for him, he would certainly overlook the murder sprees she would dish out!

Although Bella was expectant of the future, she still wore a barely visible expression of extreme sadness when she saw Cassius clock out for the day. That was when she remembered her having the same hours as he did.

Not willing to waste even a single second of her potential time with him, she pulled upon a gust of wind from a nearby window.

“Woah!”

“What’s up with the wind in here!?”

“I can't see my goddess!”

“Where did that handsome actor go!?”

The intentional gust of wind temporarily obscured the vision of everyone in the bookstore, and in the same instant that the store doorbell rang with Cassius’s departure, Bella flashed from her spot. She moved so fast that not even a full afterimage could be produced in her wake.

When she finally settled down, her elegant profile was already on the first floor, with the rest of her designated books somehow miraculously put in their correct places on the second floor.

Bella’s tremendous speed far surpassed that of even A-Rank Hunters, yet not a single person was able to determine that she moved at all.

When her devout fans saw their goddess briefly passing on the baton to the ones taking the next shift, they widened their eyes in bewilderment. They were put in even more of a stun lock when they saw that very same goddess race out the front door and catch up to the handsome bastard from before.

For once, both the girls and the guys felt the same about this matter, as they seethed in frustration, envy, and jealousy…

—---------

Meanwhile, a few dozen steps outside Bookworm’s Haven.

“Hmm?” Cassius’s senses perked up, prompting him to turn his head behind him, only to see the stunning profile of his coworker. “What are you doing out here?”

“What? Am I not allowed to leave my shift as well?” Bella coldly sniffed, then adjusted her pace to his, with them both walking side by side.

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They received many stares due to their unnatural beauty, but neither paid any heed to the attention. Rather, they were too caught up in mulling over what the other was thinking to care about things like the ogling gawks of passersby.

Answering her, Cassius shook his head. “You know that’s not what I meant… I am just puzzled as to why you are following me.”

“Following you??” Bella snorted in displeasure. “You must really believe yourself to be quite the hotshot. Why would I purposefully follow you home? We are simply going in the same direction, as I have some business to attend to in C-block.”

Cassius nearly believed what she was saying, at least until she mentioned the name of his neighborhood. “How did you know that I lived in C-block?”

He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, finding something especially off about the starry-eyed beauty.

Bella’s eyelids nervously twitched, but she concealed it with an apathetic harrumph. “I just happened to see your address on your application paper when you came in at the same time as me for your interview…! Do you honestly think that I would have any reason to follow someone like you??”

“Someone like me…” Cassius’s keen gleam quickly dimmed, instead replaced with a bit of glumness. “I guess someone like me would indeed not receive such treatment.”

“A-As long as you’re aware! Hmph!” Bella struggled to retort, finding it even harder to avert her eyes from him. ‘It wasn't like I wanted to say something so mean, but if his confidence grows more than it needs to before our marriage, the bitches will be swarming him in droves!’

‘Under no circumstances can I allow that to happen! Even if my hubby thinks less of me now, he will certainly understand why I did what I did in due time! S-Surely…’

She couldn't help but feel hesitant about the way she was doing things, but this was not the time to be getting cold feet. As long as she could hold out for another few months without caving in due to her own behavior, then her lifelong dreams would come to fruition! Just a while longer!

Bella and Cassius were quiet most of the way back, but somewhere in the middle of the trip, he recalled that thing he had to do.

Turning to the ethereal woman beside him, his pupils registered something that astonished him. Yet, as if it were all just an optical illusion, the crazed expression and aura he just witnessed vanished without a trace.

Bella tilted her head in confusion, seemingly wondering why he was looking at her as if he had just seen a ghost.

“Why are you staring at me? Are you perhaps… enamored by my beauty—”

“No, it isn't anything like that,” replied Cassius. “I just thought I saw something there. But it must have been my imagination.”

“I see…” Bella’s eyes flickered a little out of focus; she was doing her utmost not to show how frustrated she was over his response. That was when she noticed the uncertain look in his gaze. “Is there somewhere you need to be? We aren't in C-block yet…”

Bella was hoping to spend more time with Cassius, but if he had to go, then it would only make her seem weird if she stopped him. And much to her dismay, he responded with a nod.

“Yes, there is somewhere I have to go before returning home. I am sure that I have already kept you here for long enough, and my presence is likely making you very uncomfortable… I know that you only trailed beside me because you thought it would hurt my feelings, and I appreciate it, but you don't need to do something like that again. I can handle things like that, just the same as always.”

Seeing that warm smile had Bella’s heart beating like crazy. Yet she also felt a painful stinging sensation upon repeating his dispirited words inside her head.

‘I know that he is only this way because of what I did to him, but I still feel like such a monster… Love really is so very agonizing…’

She forced a perfect smile on her face, then said, “I have no idea what you are talking about, but if you have somewhere you need to go, then be on your way. I won't hold up your womanizing adventures any longer!”

Bella spoke such things with a playfully disappointed expression, so it was no surprise that the weaker Cassius was unable to discern the truth of her feelings. He simply nodded before turning around.

“You are wrong,” he said while waving behind him. “Someone like me can only wonder what it would be like to call a woman my own. Someone pretty and nice like you, perhaps…?”

“Haah… What am I even saying anymore?”

Cassius awkwardly scratched his head before turning around a corner. However, before completely vanishing from view, he spun on his heel and looked at the indiscernible expression of the black-haired goddess standing a few dozen feet away.

“Would you like me to take you home first? I have something I need to do, but I can make time if it’s for you.”

Still utterly shell-shocked by what she had just heard come out of his mouth, Bella was left even more at a loss for words by the nonchalant sweetness oozing from his pink lips. She stood there, trembling in place. But with her sanity on the line and that irresistible man making his way back to her, she had to think fast.

Covering her face with her hair, Bella waved her hands ahead. “T-There is no need for that! I am a C-Rank Awakener—don’t you remember…?? Why would I need you to walk me home? Plus, it’s not even past 4 p.m. yet! What are you—my dad??”

Cassius stopped in his tracks, finding everything she said to make perfect sense. “I understand. Then have a nice rest of your day, Bella.”

“Y-Yes, I will. You as well…” Bella mumbled the last part, but he could still clearly hear it.

‘Although she is harsh with her words some of the time, she is too nice for her own good,’ thought Cassius. ‘I have no idea what that uneasy feeling was all about earlier, but it was probably nothing…’

With that, he retraced his steps and once again turned around that corner, this time disappearing for good.

Bella, on the other hand, was left in the middle of a desolate neighborhood street, with only the whistling wind and her thoughts to keep her company. There was also a black and orange cat prancing atop a brick wall, but it quickly recoiled and got the hell out of there as soon as it saw the deranged woman creepily mumbling to herself.

None could understand what exactly she was saying, but it was most certainly a curse of some sort.

*Achoo!*

Cassius rubbed his nose after releasing a violent sneeze, wondering just who could be talking behind his back. Yet, after a second or two, he shook his head to disperse such distracting thoughts, instead putting all his focus on the matter he had been waiting for all day.

“This will be my first regular Gate Experience, but I’m not really sure how I should actually go about it,” he said thoughtfully, with the wooden sword by his side resonating for blood.

“...What??” Question marks rose above his head. “You’re more than just a Training Sword…?”