There are things monsters learn early.

Hunger can be controlled. Desire can be trained. But shame… shame always comes from the heart.

As Leon tilted her lip upward, Myra kept her gaze lowered.

The world did not fear half-sanguines because the world did not know they existed. But if it ever saw them, it would call them unnatural.

Something that did not belong among humans.

Lady Veronica had told her once, with a tired expression, that some truths were better left unseen.

Myra had believed that. She was not ashamed of what she was, but she understood the consequences of revealing it.

If Leon looked at her differently after this, then that would simply be reality.

Her position beside him was a privilege, not a right. If it ended here, she would accept it.

Leon's thumb pushed lightly, revealing the sharp white fangs at her lip.

She did not pull back.

Leon looked directly at them, and the first word he spoke landed so gently that it felt unreal to her ears.

"Exquisite."

Myra blinked once.

"…Eh?"

The sound slipped out before she could stop it. Her thoughts tripped over the single word that had left his mouth.

Exquisite?

That was not the something she had prepared herself for.

She had been ready for disgust. For the way people look at something they cannot understand. But this… this was entirely different.

Leon's face was close enough for her to see the reflection of her own eyes in his. There was no judgment in them.

Only curiosity.

And something that almost looked like fascination.

His gaze traced the shape of her fangs as if studying a rare flower blooming where one should not exist. His thumb remained at her lip. He was not admiring the sharpness, but the beauty of it.

The warmth in her chest rose so quickly she almost lost her breath.

"Mas..ter…?" Her voice came out small, as if she had forgotten how to speak.

Leon did not answer immediately.

He lifted his fingers away just a little, and she saw a faint sheen of threaded moisture on them.

His eyes lowered to his hand, then back to her.

"It suits you." He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. As if there was nothing frightening about it. As if there was nothing strange about her at all.

The room felt warmer all of a sudden.

Myra felt her heart beat once. It was so loud that it almost hurt.

She had thought she was ready for anything. But she had not prepared for acceptance.

She lowered her eyes, because the moment was too much to look at directly.

"…Why?" she whispered.

"Did you not drink?" he asked.

Myra blinked. She loosened her lips unconsciously, and her fangs slipped back partway.

"Yes. I did. Earlier this morning," she answered. Her voice was still soft and full of confusion. "I do not understand why this happened."

Leon crossed his arms and studied her with quiet attention. His gaze did not shift away from her face.

"It is a good thing I saw you before any of the maids did," he said. "You would not have been able to hide this if someone else had noticed."

Myra remained still, her hands lightly clenched near her skirt.

The confusion in her eyes did not fade.

Leon observed her for a moment longer.

"From the looks of it, you did not know why this happened," he said.

Myra opened her lips for a second, then closed them again. She slowly shook her head.

"No. I felt nothing until now."

Leon hummed quietly. His mind traced the last few hours, then the last few days, searching for any catalyst.

'This was not emotional strain. It was too controlled for that. Which means… there was an external trigger.'

He recalled Myra carrying him through the forest. He recalled the moments in Lumina's house. He recalled the steady nature of her breathing every morning since.

None of those had caused her transformation before?

Something today…?

Leon's gaze shifted downward.

'Unstable mana? An external trigger? Ah!'

His eyes moved toward the sword leaning against his waist.

Moonblade.

Myra had carried it this morning because he had handed it to her after breakfast.

He remembered the faint tremor in her fingers at that time. He had thought it was simply fatigue from travel.

But it was not.

'So that is the cause.'

Moonblade was left drained for centuries. At that time inside Lumina's stone house, he had dropped it on the ground, and Myra carried it all the way to the blood tower.

'It must have fed on her mana starting that day when she first held it…'

Leon exhaled quietly.

"Haaah…"

'That's just great.'

He was the reason she had entered this state.

Still, he was surprised to see that Moodblade could be used this way.

An unstable draw or surge of mana could break any spell formula.

"Master… you are not surprised."

Leon rested his hand at his side and looked at her calmly.

"Actually, I already knew."

Myra froze.

"You knew…?" she asked quietly.

Leon nodded once. "I just did not say anything."

Her fingers tightened over her skirt. "But why? I thought… you would be disgusted."

Leon let out a short breath, almost a sigh.

"Myra. If I were the type to be frightened by what a person is, you would have never been assigned to me in the first place."

Myra blinked, trying to understand his reasoning, but the words were too steady and too simple for her to grasp.

She tried again.

"But Lady Veronica. She told me not to reveal it. She said you might react poorly. She was worried that—"

Leon cut her off.

"Afraid not. I am certain she knows that I already figured it out."

Myra's eyes widened.

"She does? When? Did she tell you already?"

Leon shook his head once. "No. I did not speak to her once about you."

Myra's breath stilled.

Leon continued, his tone even.

"For me it was easy to guess. You left too many traces."

"Traces?" she asked quietly.

Leon's expression remained composed. There was no ridicule in his tone.

"You will understand it eventually," he said.

Myra lowered her gaze.

"…I see."

Myra stood in silence.

Her hair was still blonde, but the ends carried a faint, washed out white that shimmered softly under the light. Her eyes were as red as it should be, and the red glow lingered like embers. The fangs remained visible even though she tried to tuck them away.

Leon watched her for a moment, studying the changes with clear fascination.

"…You really look like a sanguine right now," he said quietly.

Myra lowered her head, unsure how to respond.

He stepped closer again.

"You are not affected by sunlight?"

She nodded. "No. Half-sanguines retain some human qualities. Sunlight does not harm me."

Leon's eyes narrowed with interest..

"And you need blood to maintain your power and form."

Myra hesitated, then answered truthfully.

"Yes."

Leon looked at her again. His expression changed from curiosity to something like understanding.

"Do you have any blood with you now?"

Myra shook her head. "I do not, Master. But do not worry. If I use my sanguine traits, I can reach Lady Veronica's room without anyone noticing."

Leon considered it. But the knights in this place were trained to sense irregular movement. He knew the risks immediately.

"That is a bad idea. If you move wrong, then they will notice."

Myra nodded a little, knowing he was right.

"I am an assassin, Master," she said, but her voice lacked its usual steadiness. "I know how to hide myself."

Leon exhaled slowly, then lifted his hand.

"Drink mine."

Myra froze.

"…Excuse me?"

Leon extended his wrist toward her. The skin there was bare, pale under the daylight.

Myra stared at the offered wrist, then at his face.

"Master, I appreciate the offer, but I have to decline."

"Hm? Why?"

If she drank from him now, she would never be able to let go.

Myra swallowed. She forced herself to speak with restraint.

"Lady Veronica would not allow it."

Leon raised an eyebrow. "It is fine. We just will not let her find out."

He extended his hand a little closer.

"Here."

The scent of his body filled her senses. Her entire body reacted before she could stop it. Her breathing grew shallow. Her teeth ached. And the hunger that she had always kept under control worsened inside her chest.

She reached out. Her fingers hovered just above his wrist.

But then Veronica's face flashed in her mind.

She stopped.

Her hand trembled for a moment.

Then she moved her arm back. She clasped her own wrist with her other hand to restrain it.

"…I am sorry."

Leon watched her.

Then Myra turned. Her body moved in a whisper of motion. And in the next second, she disappeared from his sight.

She left like mist fading.

Leon remained in place, his hand still slightly raised.

"…Huh."

Leon lowered his hand slowly. He remembered the way she held herself back, for his sake.

"So that is what it does to them."

He paused, then commented.

"What a stubborn girl."

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