09.

Erable made direct eye contact with Dezeb.

‘…Huh.’

She fumbled a little in her thoughts.

‘Why is he… uh, why is he here?’

It seemed like he had returned from his trip. It had only been a few days…, well, she hadn’t forgotten about it at all.

Exactly nine days had passed.

Nine days since he had left, and now… Why was he here? His residence wasn’t even in this direction. As her mind scrambled with confusion, she heard him call her name.

“Erable.”

Suppressing the urge to run, Erable cautiously approached her superior.

She just hoped she didn’t look like a cow being led to the slaughter. Even though, deep down, that’s exactly how she felt…

“I’ll see you when I get back.”

Dezeb’s words from the warehouse, when he had smiled faintly, overlapped in her mind with the present image of him.

Her back stiffened even more.

Was that really a murder warning? But why, I didn’t do anything wrong…

Then again, it’s not like the people who died at his hands had done anything wrong either.

“Good evening, Commander.”

Erable greeted him politely, trying to keep her voice steady.

“You’re a bit late, aren’t you?”

Dezeb checked his wristwatch, showing her a smile.

“I had a quick errand at the market.”

“Is that so?”

It couldn’t have been more awkward. Feeling pressured to keep the conversation going, Erable opened her mouth again.

“Did you just return?”

“Mm, just now.”

Dezeb responded leisurely.

Her attempt to continue the conversation was shut down in two words.

The suffocating silence made her quickly search for something else to say.

“Is there something I need to do…?”

“Every time you see me, it’s always about work, huh? I’m just here to see you, Lieutenant.”

‘Why me?!’

She almost collapsed on the spot, but Erable managed to hold her stance with all the strength she could muster. If she gathered just a bit more strength, she felt like she could even shoot an energy blast and leave this world entirely.

“If you summoned me and I missed the call, I’ll—”

“No, Lieutenant.”

He let out a low chuckle. The sound sent chills down her spine.

“I didn’t summon you. I came here for personal reasons. Though I guess it’s not entirely personal since I need to draw blood.”

“…Draw blood?”

Why blood all of a sudden? His words only confused her more.

“It won’t take long. Would you mind inviting me into your home, Lieutenant?”

“Yes, please, come in.”

Before he had even finished speaking, Erable was already bowing. It was an automatic response. Despite her heart feeling like it might stop any second and cold sweat pouring down her back, her body moved on its own.

Why? Why am I taking him to my house right now…?

Is today my last day? Will I be hanged or overdosed with sleeping pills and killed?

Then the military police would conclude that I had died from depression-induced suicide, right? Yes, this is how it ends.

“If I had to choose, I’d prefer the sleeping pills over being hanged…”

“Calm down, Erable. I’m not interested in such trivial targets.”

That made no sense.

Did he even have targets that weren’t “trivial” to him? Nonetheless, his calm tone somehow managed to bring her back to her senses.

It was a sad realization. She felt like someone waking up from anesthesia in the middle of surgery.

And before she knew it, he was already standing in her living room.

At 188 cm tall, Dezeb filled the space with an overwhelming presence just by standing there. The room felt like it might burst from the pressure.

“Shall we do the blood draw first?”

He smiled as he rolled up his shirt sleeves.

It was a somewhat familiar sight—just like the times he’d inserted the identification tag into the back of her neck every three months.

Thanks to that, she was able to calm down a little.

“From the arm?”

“Yes, it’s simple.”

After telling him to wait a moment, Erable went to fetch a towel.

She laid the towel on the dining table, then sat down and buried her face in it, offering her arm immediately after.

“…This will be over quickly.”

Dezeb quietly drew a small amount of blood while watching Erable, who didn’t ask any further questions.

With her face still buried in the towel, she held her breath, her back stiff with tension.

“All done.”

It didn’t even feel like two seconds had passed… Erable slowly lifted her head to check on him.

He was pressing an alcohol swab to her arm where the needle had pierced her skin.

She felt a bit embarrassed. As their eyes met, Dezeb smiled slightly, pulling the corner of his mouth up.

It made her feel even more awkward. Trying to ease the tension, she gingerly pulled her arm back.

But instead of letting her arm go, Dezeb continued pressing down on the crook of her arm, slowly massaging the area.

Erable flinched. For some reason, it felt strange. The cold sensation of the alcohol made it even more unsettling.

“All done.”

It wasn’t until a while later that he finally let go of her arm.

Erable cautiously inspected the injection site. It was so minimal that she wouldn’t even need a healing ointment. She flexed her hand a couple of times and then stood up abruptly.

She felt a little embarrassed about having buried her face in the towel. She hadn’t expected it to end so quickly. Clearing her throat, she took the towel to the laundry basket by the bathroom.

When she returned to the living room, she found Dezeb had taken off his jacket and draped it over a chair by the dining table, as if he planned to stay longer.

“Your place feels a bit empty, doesn’t it?”

“R-Really?”

Dezeb, now comfortably dressed in just his shirt, glanced around the sparse room, which contained only the necessary furniture, before asking again.

“How long have you lived here?”

“Two years.”

“Quite a while then. Have we known each other that long already?”

He spoke with an odd sense of familiarity, casually strolling through the living room.

“……”

Erable just stood there, frozen, her eyes glued to his back.

“Is the TV connected to cable?”

“Yes, it’s connected.”

After hearing her reply, Dezeb naturally picked up the remote. He sat on the sofa, crossing his legs as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

Erable suddenly felt like her mind short-circuited.

Am I dreaming right now during overtime?

Maybe this is all a dream, and I’m actually passed out in the storage room.

But that’s not good. What if my face freezes like this? Worried, she pressed her arm, feeling the sting from where the needle had pierced her skin.

“Is it alright if I watch a movie?”

“Of course.”

Erable answered without thinking. She was practically on autopilot.

It hurts. No, wait, is this really happening? Is that man actually sitting on my sofa, holding the remote? Why? Why is this happening?

Before she could voice the question stuck in her throat, Erable headed straight for the fridge.

She needed a drink.

This was an episode that had never been in the original novel.

There was no scene where Dezeb Avganis visited someone’s house—especially not a modest 17-pyeong apartment with an open-plan kitchen—sat on the sofa with a remote in hand. This was definitely not in the book.

If this is some kind of new death flag, I need that drink. Might as well die drunk. The only thing left to hope for was that his comment about “uninteresting targets” wasn’t a complete lie.

“Do you have a favorite movie? I’m not too familiar with films, not that I care much.”

Then why are you even watching one…? Erable thought, but his next comment caught her off guard.

“I heard people usually watch movies and eat together.”

Was that code for something?

She couldn’t make sense of his words at all.

“Then again, those guys aren’t very creative outside of… certain activities. Mind if I have a beer too?”

“…Excuse me?”

“Beer. Pick the movie yourself.”

Dezeb placed the remote on the wooden table as he spoke.

Did he just say something about… certain activities? Erable wasn’t sure what to make of that. His face, however, was perfectly calm, as if he hadn’t said anything strange at all.

Maybe I misheard.

Being the protagonist of a BL novel and now offering a cheap can of beer from the fridge to the Empire’s most notorious noble felt surreal.

When he took the can and shifted to sit further to the side, Erable had no choice but to sit next to him. She couldn’t just pretend not to notice and sit on the floor, could she?

‘…He said he came for personal reasons.’

What on earth could those personal reasons be?

‘Blood draw? But he said that wasn’t really a personal matter.’

Erable’s mind raced in circles.

But all that came to her was murder, death, shattered limbs… bloody scenarios, nothing else.

Plus, the sofa was too small for the two of them. Sitting this close to him made her anxiety spike even more.

Like a stiff plank of wood, Erable sat beside him, trembling slightly as her hands shook.

“Aren’t you going to pick a movie?”

The sharp sound of the beer can popping startled her, and she shouted reflexively.

“I-I’m picking now!”

“Lieutenant, do you think I’m going to eat you?”

His lips touched the opening of the can. His soft, light-red lips, paired with the way he glanced at her—it was mesmerizing, to be sure. Dezeb was undeniably beautiful.

But Erable had read about too many of his crimes. She didn’t even need to think about the novel’s contents. What she’d seen during her service was more than enough.

When your life is on the line, sex appeal is irrelevant.

With shaky hands, Erable grabbed the remote and extended her arm.

Click, click, click—she navigated through the menu by instinct, deliberately avoiding looking at him and focusing on the TV screen.

And naturally, she selected a horror movie.

It was the only genre she could possibly watch with him sitting next to her.