The fresh air seeping through the slightly open window and the pleasantly shining sunlight.

The chirping of birds and the fluttering curtains in the breeze. Everything was peaceful and drowsy. Except for one person.

The owner of this room, Clayton.

He rose from the sofa where he had been sleeping, as if having a seizure.

His sweat-soaked hair and crumpled shirt showed that he had been writhing in pain until just now.

“Haa, haa…”

Clayton panted like someone who had held their breath for a long time. His breathing was rough, like someone who had barely swum out after sinking endlessly into the deep sea.

‘Damn it.’

As he looked around as if trying to assess the situation, he soon realized the reality and spat out a curse.

He roughly loosened his tie that was pulled up to his neck and got up from his seat.

He had sweated so much while sleeping that his whole body was soaked as if he had taken a shower.

He had that dream again.

That dream that had tormented him terribly for over a decade.

The woman’s scream, tearing at her throat, and the baby’s cry, ringing out so loudly as if to strike his ears, were so vivid that he could almost mistake them for reality.

Along with that, the bright red blood gushing out as if to soak the floor.

The blood that threatened to overwhelm him, not content with dyeing the entire room red, wouldn’t erase from his mind.

Clayton, trying to calm his trembling hands without realizing it, approached the desk and picked up a cigar. Then he naturally put it in his mouth and lit it.

Only after taking a deep drag of the cigar did the trembling in his body subside a little.

“I’m hungry.”

And then the hunger that came as if it had been waiting. But what could satisfy this hunger wasn’t food or anything like that.

It was that damn blood that he found terrifying and disgusting. And that…

For a moment, Dalia’s face flashed through his mind.

‘Damn it.’

He bit his lip. Since the first time he smelled Dalia’s blood, there hadn’t been a moment when he didn’t feel thirsty.

No matter how much water he drank or how strong a cigar he smoked, his throat kept feeling dry. Drinking other people’s blood seemed to alleviate it a little, but only for a very short while.

His body was desperately craving Dalia’s blood. If this continued…

Clayton self-deprecatingly imagined the terrible thought that suddenly occurred to him.

“You monster.”

What else could this be if not a monster? Craving his wife’s blood, and these terrible creatures that have to drink their mother’s blood from the moment they’re born.

‘From now on, call me mother.’

Eight years old.

The woman who entered with his father was a young woman who had just turned twenty.

‘So you’re Clayton. I look forward to getting along with you.’

The scent of a mother’s flesh.

The warmth of a mother’s embrace.

Because he had never felt any of these things, he was simply glad for the woman who said she would become his mother.

At least until he saw her die giving birth to his younger sibling.

He furrowed his brow again as he recalled something he didn’t want to remember.

This unpleasant feeling and the returning hunger made him sensitive.

He took a deep breath with the cigar in his mouth and exhaled. Then the white smoke dispersed hazily in the air.

Only after the strong scent filled the room did the smell of Dalia’s blood lingering in his nose seem to fade a little.

Clayton, who had been staring blankly at the white smoke floating in the room, moved towards the terrace.

Then the forest where he used to play as a child came into view.

While realizing that he once lived like a normal person when he saw the forest holding memories of that time, the moment he first became a monster clung to him.

He wanted to forget but couldn’t, wanted to escape but couldn’t.

Just like how this forest naturally came into view when he stepped out onto the terrace.

It was while he was quietly gazing at the forest making sounds as the grass struck against the wind, as always.

A familiar figure caught his eye, emerging from the forest while looking around cautiously.

It was Dalia.

The surprise at Dalia’s unexpected appearance was momentary. His gaze, which had been on her face, moved downward.

She wasn’t alone. In Dalia’s arms, entangled with leaves here and there, was a kitten.

Dalia seemed unaware that someone was watching her from above, whispering something to the kitten.

Although the distance was quite far and Dalia’s voice couldn’t be heard, it was obvious what she was saying while holding the motherless kitten in her arms.

And that was enough to make Clayton recall an unpleasant past.

‘Why of all times…’

The timing wasn’t good.

It was as disconcerting and uncomfortable as the nightmare that had come without warning.

Moreover, Dalia’s scent, carried on the wind, tickled his nose.

Tsk.

Clayton roughly stubbed out his cigar and grabbed the jacket he had left on the chair before leaving the room.

He couldn’t stay here any longer, in the same space as Dalia.

* * *

Meanwhile, Dalia, who had returned to the mansion with the kitten in her arms, ordered a maid to bring food suitable for the cat.

“Could you bring something the cat can eat?”

“Yes, my lady.”

And as soon as the maid left, Jason appeared with a surprised face and asked.

“My lady. This cat…”

“Oh, I found it crying while taking a walk. Seeing it limping, it seems to have been abandoned by its mother. It was obvious it would die if left alone, so I brought it. Since this is also fate, would it be alright if I raised it?”

“Ah, about that…”

Contrary to her expectation that he would readily agree, Jason avoided her gaze as if troubled.

“My lady. I’m sorry, but you can’t raise a cat in the mansion.”

“What? Why not?”

Dalia, who had been stroking the cat, looked up at Jason’s words.

“The Duke doesn’t like cats. Or rather, he hates them. So please give me the cat. I’ll take care of it.”

Seeing Jason trying to take the cat away, Dalia quickly turned her body.

“Take care of it? You don’t mean you’re going to abandon it outside or something like that, do you?”

She couldn’t understand what was so difficult about raising one small cat in such a large mansion. And as far as she remembered, the male lead didn’t have any cat allergies or anything like that.

So, thinking lightly that even if the male lead disliked it, she could just raise it out of his sight, Dalia replied.

“Then can’t we just raise it carefully so that it doesn’t catch the Duke’s eye…”

“No.”

Jason and Dalia turned their heads at the familiar voice coming from above.

Clayton was standing on the stairs, staring at the two of them.

Clayton, who looked at Dalia once and then at the cat in her arms once more, came down the stairs with a cold expression.

“Jason, throw that out.”

“…Yes, I understand.”

At Clayton’s order, he took the cat from Dalia’s arms and handed it to a nearby servant with a nod.

Dalia, who had the cat suddenly taken from her arms, tried to grab Clayton as he passed by her. Or rather, she tried to.

“W-wait a moment! Duke! I’ll make sure it’s not seen, at least until we find an owner…”

Slap.

Dalia’s hand, flung away by Clayton, lost its way in the air.

Moreover, because he had struck her hand so hard, Dalia’s hand began to redden.

“Duke…?”

A shocked Dalia looked at Clayton with trembling eyes while cradling her reddening hand.

He too seemed shaken, as if it wasn’t his intention. But soon, biting his lip, he turned around and left the mansion.

“…”

Dalia, who had been quietly staring at Clayton’s retreating back, let out a short breath when he disappeared after getting into a carriage.

‘No, why is he acting like that?’

It was bewildering. Even if he disliked cats, was it necessary to react so seriously?

Of course, she wasn’t blameless either for bringing a kitten into the mansion without knowing Clayton disliked them so much, but the cat was originally from the mansion’s forest.

If it couldn’t be raised in the mansion, she thought it wouldn’t be too difficult to at least take care of it until a good owner could be found.

Dalia, somewhat hurt by Clayton’s behavior just now, pouted her lips.

Jason, who had been fidgeting, approached her.

“My lady. The Duke has unpleasant memories of cats from his childhood. Since then, it has been taboo to privately raise small animals, including cats, in the mansion. Please understand.”

“Unpleasant memories?”

Dalia tilted her head at those words.

‘He has unpleasant memories related to cats? That’s strange. I don’t remember seeing any such episode in the original work.’

If he disliked them to that extent, it must have been an incident traumatic enough to remember. But she couldn’t recall anything.

Because she couldn’t even guess what it might be, Dalia just asked directly.

“What happened?”

“That’s…”

But Jason avoided her gaze as if it was difficult to answer.

“I’m sorry. It’s not something I can dare to speak about. But you will come to know someday, my lady.”

He added that she shouldn’t feel too hurt and should wait.

When he put it like that, she couldn’t keep pressing the issue. All Dalia could do was nod her head.

So Dalia decided to deal with what she could do right now.

“I understand. Then give me the cat. I’ll ask someone I trust.”

As she received the cat, Dalia thought of someone’s face.