He didn’t know how much time had passed.
Sang groggily opened his eyes, and the dazzling yet warm glow of the setting sun filled his vision, stinging his eyes slightly. He raised a hand to shield them. Perhaps because he’d slept so soundly, his mind was still foggy. As he lifted his gaze, he froze. The True Ancestor lay there with her eyes gently closed, one hand resting on her abdomen and the other hanging naturally at her side. Her long hair on one side flowed in the same direction as that arm, dancing in the breeze.
It was serene. Beautiful.
Oh… right. He’d fallen asleep on the True Ancestor’s lap.
He hadn’t expected her to be asleep too… Though he vaguely remembered her mentioning that she did take little naps during the day.
Awake, she was capricious and cruel, a merciless killer. Asleep, she was extraordinarily lovely.
Truth be told, in that moment, what baffled the youth more than the True Ancestor letting him sleep on her lap—or even her falling asleep herself—was the fact that he’d actually dozed off on her lap so deeply.
His emotions were a tangled mess.
Ah, whatever. No point dwelling on what had already happened.
With that, the youth slipped off the True Ancestor’s lap and sat gingerly on the edge, peering downward. His pupils contracted instinctively, his face lighting up with awe. This was the first time he’d overlooked the Central Hub from above at sunset. Though he knew darkness lurked within it, its grandeur was still genuinely breathtaking.
A grand city from another world!
The air of freedom!
“So this is the view the True Ancestor sees every day…”
As he spoke, Sang turned back for another look at the black-haired silhouette leaning against the pillar behind him. This was the second time he’d seen the True Ancestor napping, and perhaps it was the sunset’s romantic filter, but she seemed perfectly in harmony with her surroundings—like the moon reflected in water or a flower in a mirror.
However.
In that instant, a terrifying thought crept into the youth’s mind: Could I kill the True Ancestor right now?
Well, Sang considered himself someone true to his original intent.
With that in mind, he leaned forward over the balcony railing and quietly drew closer to the True Ancestor. His hands slowly extended toward the black-haired girl’s neck, inching nearer bit by bit.
But then.
The next moment, the True Ancestor—who had seemed deep in slumber—suddenly opened her eyes. They weren’t her usual pure black, but blood eyes. For a member of the Blood Race, revealing blood eyes most often signaled murderous intent.
Sang jolted in fright. Sprawled over the edge as he was, he nearly lost his balance with a shudder—but one hand flailed and grabbed onto something soft, steadying him.
He’d just exhaled in relief the second before. The next, his gaze shifted, and he realized his hand was clutching the True Ancestor’s breast. He stared in shock. It was purely accidental—he’d been startled, lost his footing, and grabbed for any support.
With only a thin cloth draped over her, glowing in the light, it was no different from her being fully bare.
“I’m done for…” Sang thought, meeting the True Ancestor’s blood eyes.
She first locked her emotionless blood eyes onto his. Then she lowered her gaze to the breast he held in his grasp. After a long moment, those blood eyes dimmed, reverting to their usual pure black, far calmer now. In a low, ethereal voice, she said, “I just heard you complain this afternoon about how hard it is to look but not touch. And now, while I’m asleep, you go right for it. Such nerve.”
“Uh…”
Sang blinked in surprise at her words. What a perfect misunderstanding. It wasn’t lust—he’d only meant to ambush her. And yet, thinking that, he felt a strange twinge of guilt.
That said… the feel of it was incredible… His hands lingered, reluctant to let go.
He quickly pulled away and said, “Sorry… It wasn’t on purpose… Uh… or rather, I couldn’t help myself?”
After racking his brain, Sang came up with those words: I couldn’t help myself.
The True Ancestor seemed caught off guard by the phrase, a flicker of surprise crossing her face before she turned away, hiding her expression. “Fine… I never expected you to behave anyway…”
As she spoke, she rose from her leaning spot against the wall, stretching lazily with elegant poise. She glanced back over her shoulder at a forty-five-degree angle, her expression seductively alluring as she teased, “Watching you eye my body so hungrily yet unable to have it… that doesn’t seem half bad.”
The sunset bathed her form, tinting her Blood Race pallor with hues of gold.
What a narcissist…
I just wanted to kill you, and you’re still misunderstanding…
Sang found himself in a conflicted mood. He didn’t want to linger on the topic, so after a moment’s thought, he changed the subject. “For someone as perfect and great as you, there must have been countless suitors over the years. Even lovers of both kinds, right?”
“Hmph~ If I said yes, would you be driven mad with jealousy?”
“Yes…”
Even if the True Ancestor had likely seen through his fake affection—that she was just toying with him—Sang had to stick to his role and answer affirmatively.
It was just for the persona. Just a lie.
The True Ancestor gave a playful smile at his firm reply before answering, “Sadly, I’ve never had a single partner, male or female…”
For some reason, when Sang heard that, he naturally let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.
The relief had barely passed when he caught himself. Wait, why did I relax?
Whether the True Ancestor had partners or not was none of his business!
“My very existence is history itself. The affairs of mortals hold no interest for me. Over endless years and months, so much has happened…”
In Sang’s eyes, the True Ancestor was a great villain… Yet now and then, she revealed a faint sorrow, like frost in June—usually imperceptible, but chilling to the bone once it settled on the skin.
The next moment.
The True Ancestor sat on the edge, her small, delicate feet dangling there, swinging back and forth. She gazed at the scene below and suddenly asked, “What do you think of the view from here?”
“It’s amazing. It feels like total freedom.”
“Is this the pettiness and narrowness of the mundane world? How enviable… Little Bug, I know what you think. You see staying here as a prison, craving the outside… But even if you left, you’d still just be in a prison…”
At that moment, Sang took the True Ancestor’s envy as sarcasm. Only much later would he realize it was her true heart’s voice.
“I don’t get what you’re saying. Sure, I want to go out sometimes, but I want to stay by your side even more,” Sang lied.
He really didn’t understand what she meant. Once he got out of here someday, he’d be free—how could it still be a prison?!
Always spouting such cryptic nonsense.
I’m not falling for your tricks!
The True Ancestor didn’t turn back at his words. She merely let out an ambiguous hum and kept gazing into the distance. Unnoticed, night had fallen, yet she remained in the same pose—eternally nonchalant, impossible to read.
