Having successfully stolen the Wind Reaper, Ryner’s small group headed back to the Avalon by using his black aerial vehicle. The two thrusters at the end pointed downwards and one thruster on each of its two wings were revealed. They were glowing bright red as the plane rose vertically. From its belly, four flames spewed out as well to help lift it into the air. Then, the thrusters at the end pointed backward and the plane flew off at high speed.

Once they reached the giant battleship that was above the clouds, Ryner plotted a course for the next Heaven’s Blade. Thanks to the ship’s speed, they would reach the location in four hours or so. During that time, he decided to wait in the captain’s cabin. Sitting at the desk, he kept track of the ship’s status that was constantly being updated as repairs continued. Next to him was the golden globe that showed his current position and that of the three other Heaven’s Blades. In four hours, they would reach the nearest one.

By his feet, Mi had returned with a colorful red ball in her mouth. She dropped it next to his foot and looked up at him while wagging her tail. Ryner picked it up and threw it, causing the puppy to happily chase after it. This peaceful scene repeated for an hour before Evelyn entered the room.

“Ryner, it’s noon. I’ve brought you your meal.” [Evelyn]

The blonde vampire was carrying a tray with food and drinks in one hand and a bowl in the other. She placed it on his desk with a smile on her face before squatting down and placing the bowl in front of Mi. The little pup left the ball alone and attacked her meal with appetite.

“Oh, thanks.” [Ryner]

Ryner thanked Evelyn and stretched himself with a groan.

“I hate deskwork!” [Ryner]

He also added a complaint to which Evelyn warmly gazed at him.

“Yes. You often told me that before. Yet, you always did your work properly.” [Evelyn]

“Because I’d have more work pushed to me by Daniel if I didn’t do it. Speaking of which, I wonder how he’s doing. Did he grow bald from work stress yet?” [Ryner]

Ryner said as he ate a spoonful of the beef stew. The vampire stood to the side and watched him eat while smiling.

“This… This isn’t from the food dispenser. Did you make this?” [Ryner]

When he asked, Evelyn smile’s was beaming.

“Yes! I didn’t use that machine that makes food by itself. How did you know?” [Evelyn]

“You cooked for me before. I remember the taste.” [Ryner]

“That’s true.” [Evelyn]

She nodded to his simple explanation which brought her joy. Back in her world, Evelyn would personally make Ryner’s meals every day after learning how to cook. It troubled the servants who were in charge of that at first, but they gave up and accepted it later on. For a while, she joyfully watched him eat the food she made. That was the usual scene between them in her home world.

“By the way, Ryner, I would actually like to ask you something.” [Evelyn]

“Mhh?” [Ryner]

Just as Ryner was drinking from his glass of water, Evelyn pulled out of nowhere a magazine.

“Is it true that the proper attire when cooking is something called the ‘naked apron’?” [Evelyn]

Ryner nearly choked on his water and stared at the magazine that she was holding.

“Where did you get that? Or rather, I thought I told you not to touch that sort of stuff?” [Ryner]

“I found it by chance while looking through the collection of books from before.” [Evelyn]

“Again… Maybe I should clean that place up…” [Ryner]

“So, is it true?” [Evelyn]

“Don’t ask me! It’s for married couple! I never experienced it!” [Ryner]

“I, I see… Married couple and you never… I see.” [Evelyn]

Seemingly happy after confirming something, Evelyn took out her cellphone, opened the magazine and brazenly started taking pictures of the pages.

“… The hell are you doing?” [Ryner]

“I am curious about the practices of another world that this book describes.” [Evelyn]

“Just freaking put it away. No, I’ll do it, so pass it to me. I’ll put it in that guy’s room.” [Ryner]

Hearing Ryner’s mutter, Evelyn stopped taking pictures and looked at him quizzically.

“That guy? Who do you mean?” [Evelyn]

When she asked, he stared at her for a second with his half-closed eyes, but then they opened slightly more than usual and his expression turned serious. The sudden change in his atmosphere baffled her.

“Back in the day, he was a regular soldier. He didn’t excel in anything and didn’t have incredible looks either. In short, he didn’t stand out and was a guy you could find anywhere. But! On the Avalon, on this huge ship, women feared him while men revered him. They respectfully called him… ‘God’!” [Ryner]

 “… God? Could it be he was someone incredibly amazing?” [Evelyn]

“No, like I said, he was a regular man, but he earned that title thanks to his collection.” [Ryner]

“Collection?” [Evelyn]

“That’s right.” [Ryner]

For some reason, Ryner was talking with fervor as if he was a storyteller that was trying to charm the audience.

“He gathered a large amount of valuables and brought them with him on board. They are all neatly stacked and organized inside his room. Despite his superiors’ orders, he stubbornly refused to throw them away and managed to hold onto them no matter what. The men who have seen his room call it ‘The World That Only God Knows’. It is a real treasure trove.” [Ryner]

“Treasure trove… Wait a minute.” [Evelyn]

Suddenly realizing something, Evelyn looked at the magazine she was holding in one hand and at the pictures she took on her cellphone in the other. Seeing that, Ryner’s serious expression turned lax in an instant.

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“By the way, the women call him ‘Pervert’, ‘Damn pervert’ or ‘Die Pervert!’ and his room is known as ‘The Perverts’ Den’ to them.” [Ryner]

He said in a laidback voice that was completely different from before. The vampire realized that whoever that man was, he had a lot of materials like the magazine she was holding hidden away in his room. It was enough that he became well-known among the crew of the Avalon.

“So with that said, it probably belongs to him. I’ll put it in his room later. Just give it to-.” [Ryner]

“It’s fine. I’ll do it.” [Evelyn]

“… Huh?” [Ryner]

“I’ll do it. Please take your time and eat.” [Evelyn]

Strangely, Evelyn seemed motivated.

“No. Weren’t you listening? It’s a pervert’s room. A proud and godly pervert’s room!” [Ryner]

“Don’t worry. I’m just going to put this back. I’ll be leaving then.” [Evelyn]

“Oi, wait, Evie!” [Ryner]

Ignoring Ryner’s voice that called to her, Evelyn swiftly turned around, determined to go through everything the room contained.

“(A treasure trove of knowledge on what men like! A large quantity of ways to please Ryner!)” [Evelyn]

In her excitement, she almost didn’t notice Mi who, at some point, went back to playing with her ball. It rolled in front of her and Evelyn stepped on it, but she easily stopped herself from falling.

"Woof woof!" [Mi]

However, the puppy followed up by jumping and biting at the magazine like a fish hanging on a fishing rod’s hook. Her tail was wagging about, showing that she wanted to play.

“Ah! The knowledge! Let go!” [Evelyn]

The vampire quickly put her phone on the table and grabbed the scruff of Mi’s neck with her free hand. While she worked on getting the red pup to release the precious material without tearing it, Ryner reached out for her phone.

“Can’t believe you took pictures of it…” [Ryner]

He muttered as he accessed her pictures, thinking of deleting them before getting her to give the magazine to him. Although she was curious since she was small and took in information like a sponge, he didn’t want her to learn about this side of the world. That was how he stumbled upon “those”.

“… Oi, Evie.” [Ryner]

When Evelyn heard his voice that was a pitch lower than usual, she accidentally let go of Mi and the magazine. Then, she slowly turned around as cold sweat drenched her back.

“… What is this?” [Ryner]

Ryner asked as he held out the phone and showed her the video that was being played on it. It was the night that Evelyn and Maya got him drunk that she recorded. Pictures and videos of that time were saved and she would watch them again when she slept alone. Cellphones didn’t exist in this world, so no one knew how to use it. Moreover, it had a password that only she knew.

After having it all this time, she had grown lax in her guard. There was one person who knew the password and how to use it. After all, Ryner was the one who gave it to her and he was the one person she should have been the most wary of. Her face turned pale. It was too late to regret the fact that she didn’t change the password. It was too late to beat herself up because she stupidly left it on his desk.

“Well?” [Ryner]

While Evelyn was at a loss for words, Ryner pressed her for an answer. The silent pressure he exerted and the expressionless face made her shiver.

“Answer me.” [Ryner]

“Th, that’s…” [Evelyn]

She was about to utter some random excuse, but stopped herself. The guilt that recently appeared after she succeeded with her scheme was attacking her again. Maya had warned her that this day would come. Furthermore, somewhere deep inside her, she herself was aware of this possibility as well.

“… It is as you see.” [Evelyn]

Instead of lying, she decided to tell the truth.

“We did it while you were drunk. That night was something I planned out.” [Evelyn]

“…” [Ryner]

Ryner didn’t say anything and continued to expressionlessly stare at her.

“Although Maya participated, I came up with the plan and prepared everything. That… That is how I feel about you… I, I see you not as a father figure, but as someone of the opposite sex.” [Evelyn]

Even if it was no good and it was in the worst possible circumstances, Evelyn threw everything at him.

“I fell for you since I was but a child. Every day, my yearning grew stronger as I stayed by your side, as you tutored me, took care of me. I tried to get as close to you as possible, but I had to hold myself back. Because to others, we were the daughter of the Ivyblood house and her guardian. We looked like a father and his daughter. How I enjoyed and resented that label. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake it off. Certainly, I could sleep with you, hug you and act spoil with you, but I could never be… More… More than just a little girl to you.” [Evelyn]

She let out all her thoughts and feelings. The frustration, anger and sadness at being so close to the man she loved, yet to be never seen as a woman by him. She tried to convey them into words.

“Can you understand? To spend five hundred years next to the person you love, only for him to never truly look at you. No matter what I do, how hard I study or how hard I train, it’s all useless. No matter how much effort I put into refining myself to become a woman worthy of you, you will never see pass the little girl you raised like a daughter. Back then, I thought that the age difference between us wouldn’t matter. It was only about a measly two decades, nothing for us vampires. But, that wasn’t so for you… It was frustrating. It was driving me mad.” [Evelyn]

Everything that she kept bottled up for over a thousand years, she revealed it all. She wanted to tell him how happy she was spending time with him and how it made her impatience grow every time. Those moments were all special to her. However, they weren’t to him.

“Whenever I appeared in my underwear before you to sleep together, you didn’t bat an eyelid and only told me to dress myself before I caught a cold. You had zero interest in me. I felt so ashamed and pitiful. The only saving grace was that you never seemed interested in other women either. So, I settled for the current situation. If I couldn’t be your lover, then I would be your family, your daughter whom you could trust the most out of everyone in the world. As your daughter, I could be the woman closest to you. I was satisfied with that, or at least, I thought I was.” [Evelyn]

Evelyn looked down, away from Ryner’s expressionless face. Words continued to freely flow from her mouth.

“But, when you died, when I, when I killed you, I realized that… That wasn’t what I wanted at all. I shouldn’t have compromised before trying. I should have confessed to you, let you know of my feelings even if there was no hope. Yet, I lost the chance to even convey them to you. And when you died by my hands, something in me broke and it deteriorated as the years passed. I clung onto the ridiculous hope that you were still alive somewhere in some faraway world, and even planned on forcing myself on you once I found you.” [Evelyn]

Her hands clung onto the front of her skirt. The proud and noble woman was gone as the vampire turned meek and anxious. A self-deprecating smile hung on her lips.

“For over a thousand years, I only ever thought about you. All of the other men disgusted me. My admirers, my suitors, they never once caught my fancy. You’re the only one I’d allowed to touch me. I probably lost my mind a long time ago. I’m intoxicated by you. I’m obsessed with you! You’re all I ever want to think about! I couldn’t take it anymore and that’s why I did it! The worst can happen at any time and without warning! I learned that the hard way! So, before you disappeared again, before I lost my chance a second time, I wanted to give my first to you no matter what!” [Evelyn]

Her voice grew louder as she tried to express the reasons behind her actions. Her thoughts were jumbled up. There was so much she wanted to say, but she couldn’t say them fast enough with just one mouth. She felt that words were too inefficient right now and wished for a magic that would allow her to directly share her feelings with him. However, there was one thing that she absolutely needed to tell him. She had to strongly and clearly declare it. That was why she put on a determined expression and raised her head.

“Ryner! I lov…!” [Evelyn]

However, the moment she saw his face, the words were caught in her throat. Her eyes went wide open and her mouth was agape. Her determination died out. Surprise and shock described her expression. Then, it turned into rejection, fear and regret which were followed by utter sorrow.

“… Sorry…” [Evelyn]

She slowly shook her head as if she didn’t want to accept what she saw. But, it was too late. The damage was already done and she couldn’t take it back. Right now, she was facing the consequences that she didn’t consider. It was then that she knew she fatally messed up. It was her fatal mistake.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” [Evelyn]

Her red eyes turned moist and tears soon rolled down her cheeks as her voice became weak. It was a sharp contrast to her usual strong, composed and dignified behavior.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” [Evelyn]

She covered her mouth with her hands and her shoulders were shaking.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” [Evelyn]

Over and over again, Evelyn kept apologizing in a sobbing voice while crying.

“… Get out.” [Ryner]

After a while, Ryner coldly chased her out and the vampire obediently left as tears endlessly rolled down her cheeks. Now that the room was quiet once again, Ryner stayed seated and didn’t move or utter a word. On the side, Mi, who was tilting her head, stared at him quizzically, wondering what was wrong with him. She didn’t understand what just happened. All she knew was that the man who smelled just like the wolf she liked wasn’t feeling well.

He wasn’t feeling well at all.