Chapter 38: The Capricious One

Ricardo looked up, his deep purple eyes fixed on the girl sitting on the floor. He was slightly surprised—he had almost lost control earlier.

After all, he had already fed in the afternoon. Blood was no longer a necessity for him at this point. Yet, when he saw the crimson trickle from the small wound on her fair calf, an inexplicable thirst surged within him.

He wanted to taste it, to see if her blood was as sweet as its scent…

In that moment, his body acted on its own, driven by instinct. Ricardo's earlier actions had been entirely unconscious.

It wasn't until Anran pushed him away that he realized he had been ensnared by her blood. He was the one who was supposed to be in control, the predator. But why did it feel as though the roles had reversed whenever he was near her?

That was why Ricardo couldn't help but laugh when Anran accused him of being "possessed."

Anran, the girl who had transferred from another place, so different from anyone he'd met before—what other surprises would she bring him? At the thought, a flicker of intrigue passed through Ricardo's eyes.

Though she couldn't tell what he was thinking, Anran felt an unsettling gaze on her. For some reason, a sense of fear crept into her heart, as if the man before her was even more dangerous than those strange assailants.

Her instincts were unexpectedly sharp. Ricardo quickly masked the emotions in his eyes and spoke in a detached tone. "You should leave this place now."

"Huh? But… what about these people?" Anran replied.

She breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed he had finally returned to normal. The way he had looked at her earlier had been suffocating.

But then, Ricardo's voice turned icy. "That's not your concern."

What? His attitude had changed so quickly, so unpredictably. If she hadn't been tricked into coming to this awful place, she wouldn't have been involved in this mess in the first place.

Anran felt annoyed. He thought she was in the way? Fine! She'd gladly step back and let him handle it.

"Then I'll leave," Anran said, standing up in a huff.

Unexpectedly, Ricardo turned his back to her, facing the setting sun outside the window. "Go ahead. I'll find out what's going on here," he said, his voice still cold, as if he were holding something back.

Anran sensed his aloofness and couldn't help but think how moody he was. Her calf still ached, and the spot where the wooden floor had cut into her was now bruised and discolored.

Seeing that he wasn't going to bid her farewell, Anran suppressed a flicker of resentment and headed for the door. As she stepped out, she couldn't help but glance back at his tall, solitary figure.

Outside, the sunlight was fading, and his silhouette seemed to dissolve into the encroaching darkness.

"Hey… thanks for earlier. Really," Anran said sincerely.

Ricardo didn't move, only letting out a soft, noncommittal hum in response. When he had seen the blood on her sleeve earlier, he was reminded of that sweet scent again, and it had taken all his willpower not to succumb to his desires once more.

It wasn't until Anran had descended the stairs that Ricardo finally turned around. His body relaxed, the tension in his muscles easing.

The room was now completely dark. In the shadows, his eyes glowed with a faint red light. He narrowed them, a sly smile spreading across his lips—a smile brimming with infinite danger…