Pretence : Darling Enemy

"Tomorrow... I will execute the Queen in front of the palace... for being their spy," said Helios in front of everyone, shocking the entire room.

Moon Ryeong stared at him with disbelief in her eyes. She was stunned by his words—did he really intend to murder her in this manner?

"Do you mean you will use the Queen to make them show themselves?" asked Minister Choi, the Queen’s father.

Helios didn’t say anything and just gave a cynical smile with a cold gaze. His behavior made everyone believe that he wouldn’t just use the Queen as bait but that he would really kill her. Moon Ryeong froze at his silent answer.

She started to think that maybe this was finally her time to be killed by Helios after witnessing how he had killed so many humans before. But she didn’t know—no one was aware—that Helios was actually just pretending to be cold and cruel toward her. He wouldn’t kill her so easily. Rather than kill her, he wanted her to accompany him for hundreds of years. No... for thousands of years.

He would never kill the woman standing beside him now. He just didn’t want to show his true feelings in front of the weak humans, especially in front of her. He knew how cold she was toward his feelings, and he wouldn’t show her his weakness.

The next night, when the execution day finally arrived, Helios and Moon Ryeong walked together to the front gate. Moon Ryeong followed Helios’s lead silently, staying a step behind.

"You don’t need to worry," said Helios when he noticed how quiet Moon Ryeong was.

"Do you think he will come if you do this?" asked Moon Ryeong with a cold expression.

"Wasn’t it you who told me to consider human feelings?" Helios shot back.

He was trying to use the King’s love for the Queen to lure him out.

"What will you do with him?" Moon Ryeong asked again.

"Well, what do you think? It wouldn’t be fun if I told you," said Helios with a dry laugh.

He was laughing at the woman who was so concerned about her husband. Why did she love him that much?

"In the end, giving your heart to someone only makes you weak," Helios added.

That was right—love made people weak.

They couldn’t hurt those they loved. They had no strength to lose them. They couldn’t even breathe properly when they were gone. That was all love did—it made people weak. He knew because he was the same. Because of that weakness, he couldn’t bring himself to kill the woman who had betrayed him and tried to kill him. He just couldn’t lose her. Because without her, he was weak.

"Just bite me now and stop talking about love, since you find it contemptible," said Moon Ryeong without looking at Helios’s face.

"Why are you in such a rush? Are you really that tired of being with me?" Helios fought to control his anger.

She always pushed him away, as if she didn’t realize how much effort he put into protecting her. Did she really not understand how much restraint it took for him not to bite her? He had done so much to keep her safe, so why did she want to die by his hand?

"Can’t you just forget about human feelings—something you’ll never have?" Moon Ryeong asked, as if she could read his mind.

"Kill me and live alone in a quiet place. In the end, human lives end on their own—you don’t need to do anything," she added, fixing her gaze on his eyes.

Helios sighed heavily. He couldn’t believe what she had just said. Did she really hate him that much? How could she tell him to live alone again? He had already done that for hundreds of years, and the loneliness had nearly destroyed him. Did he really mean nothing to her? If her heart belonged only to her husband, was there really no space left for him at all?

"You’re still trying to protect him, even though you know you’ll die?" Helios asked.

"It’s not just because of him. After meeting Kim Sung Gi, I... I understand your feelings," said Moon Ryeong.

Yes, she truly understood—how lonely he was, how pitiful his existence had been. But she wouldn’t let him keep making the same mistakes. She wanted him to live peacefully, free from the envy that poisoned his heart. She didn’t want his long life to be any more tragic than it already was.

"You think you understand how I feel?" Helios asked coldly.

"Aren’t you envious of the love humans share—the love you can never have? So please, just—"

"Stop it!" Helios cut her off. "You’ve known me for barely ten years out of centuries. Who are you to lecture me? I’ll decide what to do with your husband myself." With that, he grabbed Moon Ryeong’s wrist and dragged her forward.

When they reached the front gate, King Lee Yoon—Moon Ryeong’s husband—was kneeling on the ground. Helios smirked at the sight, then stepped aside, forcing the King and Queen to face each other.

"My Queen..." said the King softly.

"Your Majesty, why are you here?" Moon Ryeong’s voice was filled with concern.

"Ah... how touching," Helios interrupted, unable to stand the way the Queen looked at her husband. The devotion in her eyes that would never be his

He laughed—at the King, who was foolish enough to try to save the woman who had betrayed him, and at himself, for wanting a woman who loved someone else.

The King ignored Helios’s mockery, insisting that everything the Queen had done was out of love. Hearing that, Helios lost control. He lunged at the King, fangs bared—

The Queen, who had been observing them the entire time, could no longer stand idle. She drew her hidden knife and sighed deeply. This had to end. She refused to witness more victims fall to his cruelty. Most of all, she couldn't bear to watch him slaughter people with such sadistic monstrosity. Steeling her resolve, she approached the two men. Without hesitation, she plunged the knife into Helios's back with such force that the blade snapped.

A sharp sting of pain shot through his back. Reacting instinctively, his hand lashed out - his razor-sharp nails slicing across Moon Ryeong's neck before he could stop himself. Within seconds, Moon Ryeong's body collapsed to the ground as Helios clutched at his wounded back.

"My Queen!" cried the King, staring in horror at his wife's fallen form.

Helios whirled around at the sound, his eyes widening as he saw what he'd done to the Queen. Blood soaked her neck in a crimson tide while her lips faded to ghostly white. In an instant, Helios moved with vampiric speed - first slamming the King with such force that he crashed into the wall and crumpled unconscious, then dropping to his knees beside Moon Ryeong. Cradling her limp body, he gently supported her head with his left hand.

"Moon Ryeong-ah..." Helios murmured, his voice rough with emotion. Her eyelids fluttered weakly as she struggled to focus on him.

"Please...stop now..." Moon Ryeong whispered, each word a struggle.

"Don't say anything..." said Helios with teary eyes. He then took a knife from his back and didn't care anymore about the pain. He cut his palm and tried to treat her deep scar with his blood.

"Please..." whispered Helios, keeping his focus on her neck.

He knew the scar couldn't recover fast and she didn't have much time. Without thinking anymore, he pulled her body closer and bit her neck. Moon Ryeong's eyes widened when she felt his teeth on her neck, but then her eyes closed completely. Helios never intended to s*ck her blood so deeply; he just wanted to keep her alive, but her scent couldn't be ignored. Her blood was so addictive, he then kept sucking more and more.

The King, who was finally waking from his collapse, could see that Helios was biting his Queen. He quickly grabbed the pistol near him and shot Helios's back. Helios paused and released Moon Ryeong from his embrace.

"You!" shouted Helios in a