Their Names

"Shit." I silently muttered as I stepped on a thorn from the wild vines creeping through the forest floor. Grabbing the ends of my tattered white dress with my left hand while holding my fans with my right, I continued to run through the thorny path as it was my only time to escape.

I could feel my legs throbbing in pain while my left shoulder was profusely bleeding. Still, I shouldn't stop.

"Search for her! She couldn't have reached that far for now!" I heard a man's voice echo across the forest and if I'm not wrong, that was the same man who the angel descendant talked to the other day. His voice sounded deeper and more commanding, so I hastened my steps while trying to be as quiet as possible since I knew that once I got caught, I could never escape their grasp.

Damn it, how did I end up like this again?

Ah, right. It was because of my own stupidity.

As I ran through the thick forest, a portion of my mind wandered back to what happened a few hours ago.

"Ugh." I groaned as I opened my eyes again and that's when I realized that I actually fell asleep after eavesdropping on the conversation of that angel descendant and his subordinate. I looked around and it was already dark, probably around 10 in the evening.

Now that I look at it again, the room I was in was quite simple, in terms of the furniture inside. The walls were painted white with gold details that I care not to describe anymore. There was a door on the far right of the bed, and another right across the bed. The one at the far right must be the door leading to the hallway, while the other must be... a bathroom, I guess?

There was also a vanity table facing here on the far left corner with a wardrobe beside it, though I'm pretty sure there's nothing inside there. On its left was also a window, probably a sliding one, since it would lead to a terrace outside. There were golden drapes hanging, but half of it was opened to one side, so I could get a glimpse of how it looked outside. On my side, the right has a tiny wooden bedside table with a lamp above it, while on my left was another bedside table, though there was nothing placed above it. There was also a chair in front of it, which I guess came from the vanity table.

I tried to move my body and I had to stop myself from squealing in happiness when the pain was not as painful as before, and though there I could still feel some of it, it was not as bothersome as before.

And though I've been physically feeling better, I sighed when my mana was nowhere near half of its original capacity.

Not that I have a choice.

If I want to recharge it faster, I have to take the life force of living beings, which means that I have to kill them.

But I don't want to do that.

Although I did kill people before, it's not like it's because of a petty reason. It was part of my job and at the same time, those people were beyond redemption.

I'm no god, but I also can't let them roam like crazy around, bringing more havoc.

I shook my head in an attempt to erase these thoughts and focused on moving.

Slowly crawling through the white sheets, I made my way down the soft bed, letting my feet step on the carpeted floor. It was made of fur, so it was really soft to the skin.

Dang, I also wanted something like this in my life.

Oh well, I don't have time to wallow about it here.

I looked around and released a breath when there was no one around. Taking small and slow steps, I was about to go to the terrace when I felt a presence coming. It made the hair at the back of my neck rise, so I immediately knew who it was.

However, instead of panicking, I stayed standing near the front of the sliding window and looked at the door, waiting for it to open. In just a few seconds, the door quickly opened, revealing the silver-haired man who stopped in place for a while upon seeing me standing across from him. His amber eyes didn't look surprised to see me awake as he continued to calmly stare at me.

"I see that you're awake." I don't know if it's the silence of the night or the whole atmosphere of the room, but even if it was serious, his voice sounded softer and more mellow, as if he was near whispering straight into my ears.

Now that I think about it, his normal speaking voice sounded mellifluous, smooth and pleasant to hear. It wasn't as low as a baritone voice, but his voice sounds light and the way he says the words are clear and would really resonate to your ears.

Really like a personified angel.

It took me quite a while to realize that I might have seemed mesmerized with his voice, so I simply nodded at him while looking straight at his amber eyes.

"Do you still feel any pain?" He asked once again and I shook my head. It's not like there's no pain anymore, but it's already in a bearable state.

I don't know if it's because I just recovered, but it took me a while before I realized that there was a scent of ink and paper approaching the room. I was right since in just a second or two, a man's figure emerged from outside the doorway.

My eyes subconsciously blinked twice upon seeing the new man enter the room. He has downturned, enchanting green-grey eyes that shone like a still lake in a forest against the moonlight. His thick auburn hair was in a mess, though I think that it's his usual get-up. He's tall, a bit taller than the angel descendant in front of me, and with his fitted white polo and black slacks, I could see that he has a really good build.

Also, the scar in his left jaw did not escape my sight, but I didn't examine it further.

Overall, I think I'm taking it back when I said that he might be a secretary.

I mean, he's too well-built to be a secretary.

If you were to ask me, he's more of that gentle-faced knight in the battlefield who could definitely kill an entire platoon in less than 10 minutes.

"Oh, you're awake!" Even if it was cheerful, his voice sounded a little husky, which gave him an overall aura of a gentle but overprotective person.

I wonder if that's true though?

He slowly approached me, passing through the angel descendant, and I was able to take note of how silent his steps are.

He's definitely not an ordinary person.

To my surprise, he bent down with his hands on his knees to make sure that he's in the same level as my eyes, then he offered me a gentle smile.

"Hi, are you feeling better right now?" It took me a while to process his question, but I ended up nodding twice. I almost flinched when he held out his hand, but he seemed to notice it and he ended up backing up a little.

"Sorry, you must have been scared. I promise we won't hurt you! Rather, aren't you quite hungry? We have food prepared for you." With that, I realized that I did not eat anything for more than two days and now, I could feel the hunger due to that. Without further ado, I nodded and took his hand, then he gently guided me out the room.

That's when I realized that the angel descendant was nowhere to be found. I looked around but I saw no trace of him.

"Are you looking for Sir Zerachiel?" I froze in place upon hearing that name. Some memories resurfaced at the back of my mind upon hearing it.

Ah, right.

That was his name.

I just remembered him as an annoying angel descendant who wanted to kill me every time I transformed into my demon form.

Noticing my silence, he cleared his throat and kept the same smile on his face.

"If you are, then I can only say that he might be back at his office by now." He answered my unsaid question and I simply nodded in response.

[Zerachiel. Please don't ever forget the name of that precious child. Even if it's just in our behalf...]

Zerachiel.

A name, huh.

Now that I think about it, what's this man's name?

I looked up at the man who was gently holding my hand as he guided me down the shiny hallway adorned with crystals and gold all throughout. There were no other people around since it was already late at night, but I could sense that there were some who were still awake in their rooms, probably the staff.

He must have noticed the way I looked at him since he chuckled and stopped in his tracks, causing me to stop and face him. His smile remained as he removed his right hand that was holding mine then placing his right fist on his chest then bowed at me.

"I am Leal Ettore and I was entrusted by Duke Zerachiel Deandra to look after you until you fully recuperate here. I'll be in your care until then, my lady." His prim introduction took me aback, but at the same time, another memory resurfaced at the back of my mind.

[Constantine! Hurry up!]

[Young master, it's Leal! How many times do I have to tell you to not call me that!]

[Not until you'll call me by my name!]

"My lady, are you okay?" He raised his head to look at me and I shook my head. I'd rather not have him prying at what I was thinking, so I immediately bowed my head and looked at the shiny floor.

"Key, please call me that, not 'my lady'." I told him and then silence ensued. When I tried to take a peek, he seemed surprised with what I did, then he carefully moved to grab my shoulders and positioned me to stand back straight.

"I got it, Miss Key." He smiled again then led me to the dining room.

After that, he didn't try to talk to me, nor did I try to talk to him. I ate the scrumptious dinner they provided and after I finished my meal, we went back to my room. He tried to call for maids to help me change, but I insisted on doing it on my own and he yielded after a few arguments. He gave me a white nightgown to change into, then let me enter the bathroom alone.

I did everything silently, while thinking of ways to escape. After I finished bathing and changing, I went out of the bathroom and saw Mister Leal waiting beside the door. It took me by surprise, causing him to apologize, and when I was about to retire for the night, I sensed a murderous intent directed to me.

At first, I thought it was from Mister Leal but I also realized that the murderous aura was also intended to him. Out of an adrenaline rush, I bit my finger to wound it and immediately summoned the wind to blow away the figure who was quickly approaching me. When I turned to Mister Leal, I noticed that there were two assassins coming straight to him, one from the back and the other on the front.

Without thinking, I shouted his name in panic.

"Constantine!" His green-grey eyes widened with surprise and confusion, but he was immediately able to slash the assassin coming to him from the front with a dagger, while I blew the other assassin from his back using the wind once again.

When I saw how his grip on the dagger tightened and his gentle eyes turned sharp as I met his gaze, I immediately knew that I messed up. I could also sense another dangerous but familiar presence approaching here, so with the help of the wind to boost my speed, I headed to the direction of the terrace.

Damn it!

They already found out that I was the demon they were searching for.

And it's all because of their names!