Free Web NovelMatt walked through the west wing of the castle with a furrowed brow.
The hallways were quieter than the main area — fewer maids, fewer guards, fewer people bowing their heads and calling him princess.
That last part was the only upside.
The tall windows let in the daylight, though the dark glass made everything look dimmed.
Matt kept moving without stopping. The queen had said Eleonora was usually in the private training halls or on the upper terrace.
Matt checked the halls first. Empty. Finding no one there, he kept climbing.
Staircase after staircase, hallway after hallway — despite walking for quite a while, his companion was nowhere to be found.
'This is the queen's fault.'
Everything could be summed up perfectly in that sentence.
At last, Matt reached the upper terrace. The outside air hit him in the face the moment he pushed the door open.
It wasn't cold.
It was fresh.
Too clean for a place like this.
The sky was clear, and the sun was already nearly at its peak.
Matt squinted.
It was strange to see so much light over the castle.
The black stone of the towers shimmered faintly, the red banners swayed slowly, and beyond the walls stretched the dark forests surrounding the vampire city.
And there she was. Standing near the edge of the terrace.
A girl with long black hair, half-pulled up in a purple bun. She wore a simple black dress with few ornaments, shifting gently in the wind.
Her posture was calm.
Too calm.
Like she'd been staring at the sky for hours and hadn't tired of it.
Matt stopped for a few seconds.
Not out of nostalgia.
Not exactly.
More from the uncomfortable feeling of seeing something from the past standing still in front of him, waiting as though it had never moved from that spot.
Matt let out a sigh.
"Eleonora."
The girl didn't respond right away. Her hair moved softly with the wind. Then, slowly, she turned her head.
First sideways. Then her whole body, until she was facing him.
Her purple eyes met Matt's, and Eleonora went still.
Completely still.
Matt said nothing.
Neither did she.
For several seconds, she simply looked at him.
Her gaze dropped to his black clothes.
Then rose to his face.
Then stopped on his white hair.
And finally on his red eyes.
Matt already knew that look.
Confusion.
Eleonora barely furrowed her brow.
Red eyes and pure white hair were clear symbols of vampire royalty.
Everyone in the castle knew that.
But Matt could see the question forming on her face.
A man?
A man with royal features?
A man walking onto the terrace as if he had every right to be there?
Matt felt his patience shortening.
'Don't you start too.'
Eleonora opened her mouth slightly. Then her purple eyes slowly narrowed.
"Matt?"
Matt raised an eyebrow.
"Yes."
Eleonora looked at him for a few more seconds.
She didn't smile.
She didn't run toward him.
She didn't get emotional.
She didn't look happy.
She just watched him with an expression that was hard to read.
"I thought you'd gone off to have fun out there in the outside world."
Matt looked at her in silence. Then he let out a dry laugh.
"Have fun."
The words sounded horrible in his mouth.
Matt remembered the café.
The uniform.
The lace.
The cat ears.
Customers calling him adorable.
Clara asking about the roleplay.
Matt ran a hand over his face.
"The last thing I did out there was have fun."
Eleonora watched him. Her expression softened — just barely. Just enough for Matt to notice she was upset in a different kind of way.
"Then…" she said, lowering her voice slightly. "Why did you leave?"
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Matt didn't answer right away.
Eleonora pressed her lips together.
"Why did you leave me here alone?"
The wind passed between them.
Matt felt that question was annoying.
Not because it was hard.
But because he couldn't answer it with sarcasm without sounding like an idiot.
So he answered with exhaustion instead.
"I couldn't take you to the outside world."
Eleonora frowned.
"Why not?"
"Because you're an ego weapon bound to the castle, to vampire blood, and to a whole lot of things I couldn't explain if someone saw you."
"You could have hidden me."
"Where? In a backpack?"
Eleonora didn't answer.
Matt pointed at her.
"Besides, I didn't leave you alone."
Eleonora's eyes opened slightly wider.
Matt continued:
"Technically, Iris was your teacher."
Eleonora went quiet. Then she lowered her head and her shoulders began to shake.
Matt narrowed his eyes.
At first he thought she was crying.
Then he heard the sound.
A low laugh.
Eleonora covered her mouth with one hand and started laughing.
Not an elegant laugh.
No.
It was the laugh of someone who had just heard the most ridiculous thing of the day.
"Iris?" she asked between laughs. "My teacher?"
Matt sighed.
"That's what I said."
Eleonora raised her head. Her purple eyes shone with amusement and exasperation at the same time.
"That girl is terrible at handling me."
Matt raised an eyebrow.
"At the beginning, when I was using Iris's body, I was bad at handling you too."
Eleonora stopped laughing and looked at Matt with sudden seriousness.
"No."
Matt blinked.
Eleonora took another step toward him.
"You don't compare to her."
Matt watched her in silence.
Eleonora raised a hand, as if counting invisible things.
"You had vision, you had drive, and above all…"
Eleonora looked at Matt directly.
"You took improving seriously."
Matt went still.
Eleonora turned her gaze to the sky, but her voice stayed firm.
"That girl, on the other hand, is lazy."
Matt felt a small part of him — a very small, very petty part — enjoy hearing that.
Eleonora went on:
"She puts in the bare minimum. Doesn't take advice. Gets bored when a technique requires repetition. And her fighting style is awful."
Matt crossed his arms.
"Have you lost your mind?"
Eleonora looked at him.
Matt gestured vaguely toward the castle.
"You're talking about someone from the royal family."
Eleonora lifted her chin.
"Ego weapons have the right to criticize their masters."
Matt looked at her for a few seconds. Then he smiled just slightly.
"So you're accepting Iris as your master."
Eleonora froze.
Her expression shifted.
First surprise.
Then annoyance.
Then pure irritation.
"You're just as insufferable as always."
Matt found that oddly familiar.
"And you still fall for it way too easily."
Eleonora clicked her tongue and looked away.
Matt watched her for a moment.
There was something strange about seeing her like this — she looked like just a girl, staring at the sky like someone who'd been left behind.
Matt hated that it made him feel something close to guilt.
So he decided to ruin the moment.
"Besides," he said, "you weren't exactly easy to deal with either."
Eleonora looked back at Matt.
"You pestered me every single day about completing the contract to bind our souls."
Eleonora crossed her arms.
"Because it's necessary."
"You said it while I was trying to sleep."
"Because you were stubborn."
"You said it while I was eating."
"Because you needed to understand."
"You're insane."
Eleonora didn't seem offended.
If anything, she seemed proud.
"The only way for an ego weapon of my level to release its full potential is to bond completely with its master."
Matt looked away.
"I know that already."
"No, you don't." Eleonora stepped toward him. "Because if you did, you wouldn't have done all those stupid things."
Matt raised an eyebrow.
"Like what?"
Eleonora opened her arms.
"Fighting against masters who had completed their bond with their ego weapons, putting your life at risk."
Matt didn't answer.
"Going into duels without enough preparation."
Matt glanced to the side.
"That's enough reminiscing."
Eleonora didn't look away.
Matt lowered his voice.
"I need you."
Eleonora went silent.
For a moment, her expression didn't change. Then she let out a small laugh.
Not like before.
This one held no amusement.
"Of course."
Matt frowned.
Eleonora smiled faintly.
"So you came back to find me because it turns out you need me."
Matt looked at her, confused.
"Yes."
"And then?"
Matt didn't answer.
Eleonora tilted her head slightly.
"Then you leave again?"
Matt clenched his jaw.
He didn't want to lie.
Not about that.
"I'm not planning to stay here."
Eleonora's smile disappeared.
"Then yes."
Matt held her gaze.
"When whatever the queen wants is done, I'm leaving."
Eleonora looked down.
The purple bun in her hair shifted lightly with the wind.
For a few seconds, she said nothing.
Then she spoke with a calm that sounded worse than any shout.
"Then no."
Matt blinked.
"What?"
Eleonora raised her gaze. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Her purple eyes were cold.
"If you're going to leave again, I won't agree."
Matt went still. Then he let out a dry laugh.
"You're joking."
"No."
"Eleonora."
"No."
Matt stepped toward her.
"I need you."
Eleonora held his gaze.
"And I need a master who won't abandon me."
Matt felt something tighten in his chest.
"I was kidnapped, turned into a woman so they could try to use me as a vessel for that idiot. I had to escape to hold onto whatever was left of my life."
Eleonora didn't move.
"I know."
"Then don't talk like I left for vacation."
"I didn't say that."
"It sounded like it."
"You left me behind."
Matt clenched his fists.
"Because I couldn't take you."
"You could have said goodbye."
Matt fell silent.
Eleonora looked at him.
Not with fury.
Not with contempt.
That would have been easier.
She looked at him with a restrained sadness that bothered him far more.
Matt looked away.
"I was in a hurry."
"You always have an excuse."
Matt looked back at her.
Eleonora lowered her arms.
"When you were here, you said I was unbearable."
"You were."
"That I talked too much."
"You talk too much."
"That you demanded impossible things of me."
"That's exactly what you did."
Eleonora took a slow breath.
"But even so, you were my master."
Matt said nothing.
The wind blew harder.
For a moment, only the sound of the banners and the distant echo of the city below the terrace could be heard.
Matt hated that silence.
He hated that he couldn't just insult her and walk away.
He hated that Eleonora was right about something.
Maybe not everything.
But something.
Matt ran a hand through his hair. Then remembered it was white and dropped his hand with irritation.
"Great," he muttered.
Eleonora frowned.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Matt took a slow breath.
"Look. I didn't come here to ask you to act like nothing happened."
Eleonora watched him.
"I came because I need to fight."
"You already said that."
"And because they'll probably put me up against people who do have bonded ego weapons."
Eleonora didn't answer.
Matt continued:
"Without you, I'm at a disadvantage."
"I know."
"And you're still going to say no?"
"Yes."
Matt looked at her in disbelief. Eleonora stepped toward him.
"If you just wanted a tool, you should have used a regular sword."
Matt gritted his teeth.
Eleonora raised a hand and extended it to one side.
The air around her vibrated.
*Hmmm!*
Black shadows and purple lines appeared around her fingers.
For an instant, the silhouette of a long sword took shape in the air.
Elegant.
Dark.
Alive.
Matt felt a familiar pressure in his chest.
Eleonora stared at him.
"I am not something you can pick up when you need me and toss aside when you're done."
The sword disappeared.
The air settled again.
Matt stayed still.
Not because he had no answer.
He had several.
All bad.
Eleonora lowered her hand.
"Leave, Matt."
Matt looked at her. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
"That's it?"
"Yes."
"You won't help me?"
"Not while your intention is to use me and then vanish."
Matt let out a low laugh.
"I can't believe my own ego weapon is this dramatic."
Eleonora looked at him coldly.
"And I can't believe my master is a coward."
Matt went still.
"What did you say?"
"You heard me."
Matt stepped toward her.
Eleonora didn't step back.
Her purple eyes blazed with defiance.
For a few seconds, both stood face to face.
Then Matt's stomach growled.
*Grrrrr!*
The sound was loud.
Very loud.
Too loud for the dramatic tension.
Eleonora looked down at his stomach.
Matt closed his eyes.
'No.'
Eleonora looked back up at him.
"You haven't eaten?"
Matt opened his eyes.
"That's irrelevant."
"Your stomach disagrees."
"I didn't ask it."
"You haven't changed at all."
Matt pointed at her.
"Don't change the subject."
"You're going to pass out before you convince me."
"I don't need to convince you."
"Then what are you doing here?"
Matt opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Eleonora raised an eyebrow.
Matt gritted his teeth.
"I'm trying not to die."
"Eating would help."
"So would my weapon not acting like a resentful ex."
Eleonora smiled.
But it wasn't a happy smile.
It was a dangerous one.
"Ex?"
Matt realized his mistake.
Too late.
Eleonora raised a hand.
The purple pressure reappeared in the air.
Matt took half a step back.
"No."
Eleonora advanced.
"Say it again."
"No."
"Come on."
"I take the comparison back."
"That was fast."
"I have survival instincts."
Eleonora slowly lowered her hand, though her eyes stayed cold.
Matt sighed.
This was going worse than expected.
Much worse.
He'd thought Eleonora would insult him.
Criticize him.
Demand that he complete the contract again.
Maybe try to hit him.
But he hadn't expected her to refuse.
That was new.
And annoying.
Very annoying.
