CHAPTER 61: I WANT TO STUDY YOU!

Rin stood frozen by the doorway, his half-eaten sandwich still hanging in his mouth. He stared at Ezra in disbelief. The last time he saw the man, there had been a demonic problem in the mansion. It was also the day that he found out Rin’s little secret. He tried to forget the fact that someone knew his secret but what he couldn’t forget was Ezra’s piercing, disgusted stare that made his skin crawl. And now?

They were living together as housemates.

Ezra dropped his single, neatly packed suitcase to the floor, then turned with his usual holier-than-thou gaze. His hair caught the morning light through the stained-glass windows, giving him an angelic halo. Rin, still standing with his loose shirt and cotton pyjama pants, was aware of how utterly unholy he looked in comparison.

"You’re awfully quiet for someone who’s been given a babysitter," Ezra said, glancing around the foyer like he was inspecting a crime scene.

Rin chewed and swallowed at last.

"I never asked for a babysitter. If you are uncomfortable with the fact that you’re stuck with me for one or two days, you could leave,"

Ezra scoffed.

"I wish I could leave. But, I can’t. I made a promise to the Duke to keep you locked up,"

"I see. I’m wondering if the Duke’s trying to ruin my life on purpose, or if it’s a happy accident."

Ezra lifted an eyebrow but didn’t reply. Instead, he moved past Rin and found his way into the main lounge like he’d lived there all his life. He sat down stiffly on the velvet sofa, back straight, posture painfully perfect. Rin stayed by the doorway for a second before finally sighing and dragging his feet in.

"Do you want breakfast or something?" Rin asked, trying to sound neutral.

Ezra didn’t answer immediately. He tilted his head till it made a cracking sound. Then, he looked back at Rin.

"No need. I don’t eat food made by demons."

Rin blinked, glanced down at his hand, then back at Ezra.

"I’m not a demon."

Ezra’s glow pulsed.

"You’re still tainted. I don’t care if you’re a hybrid or half-demon, you’re just filthy,"

Rin’s fingers twitched. He wished he really had the dark power to put Ezra in his place and make him apologise. He could summon Asmodeus to do that for him, but it would look like he’s accepting Asmodeus to be his heat partner.

He took a deep breath, forcing a smile.

"Great. So you’ll starve while you’re here. Even better."

Ezra said nothing. His eyes were focused on a thick, leather-bound book he’d pulled from his small bag. Something religious, of course. Rin didn’t bother asking. He could see the holy insignia on the book cover.

Instead, he turned back to the kitchen, finished his sandwich in silence, then made his way upstairs to avoid the holy tension crawling over his skin.

As soon as he went upstairs, Ezra’s eyes followed him till he was out of sight. He sighed deeply and slammed the book closed. He wouldn’t have come here if the Duke hadn’t visited the temple to talk him into staying with Rin, in the name of protecting him from both assassins and demons.

He knew the Duke was suspecting something about Rin. Maybe, about him being the half-demon that he is, but his facial expression denied knowing anything about Rin’s secret.

Ezra refused to comply with the Duke’s request, using the temple service as an excuse, but the older priests there ordered him to go, asking him to leave the service to them. They dared not be on a bad page with the Vortellions... And that’s why he’s here, with Rin.

He didn’t care much about Rin with his secret. He didn’t want anything to do with the Beta that had something to do with both father and son. He remembered seeing Rin at the temple, the first time they met. He was suspicious about his identity and then, the Vortellion young master came to ’protect’ him. And now, it’s the Vortellion Head.

"Tsk! I guess some Betas are just as filthy as some Omegas,"

.

With nothing else to do and no freedom to leave the mansion, Rin eventually wandered into the estate’s massive library. It was the only way to spend his time before his heat came. The demonology texts he took yesterday had been taken away. He strolled past a shelf and saw the books lined up there... Just boring family records, noble law, war strategy, and overly glorified royal propaganda.

Still, anything was better than watching Ezra meditate like a stone sculpture in the living room.

Rin climbed a ladder and pulled out a book titled ’The Sanctified History of the Kingdom of Elarion’.

"I guess I’ll read this for now, since I’m also a citizen here,"

.

The Kingdom of Elarion

Once known as the Holy Empire, the kingdom was built on what was called ThePurge. Thousands of years ago, it was said that the gods walked the lands of men. Among them, two kinds existed: the Blessed and the Broken.

The Blessed, born of light and order, created the temples, the systems of power, and gave humans magic cores to defend themselves. The Broken, born of chaos and shadow, were the demons.

Demons once lived among humans, sharing knowledge, building homes, even raising children together. But when the first Blessed Emperor rose to power, he declared them abominations. One by one, villages that sheltered demons were burned. Mixed-bloods were enslaved or executed. They didn’t care if they were children, women or men. They were all caught and burned to death.

Thousands were killed in what became known as the "Holy Cleansing."

Those who survived fled underground and the world above forgot them.

However, there was one who refused to return to the underground. He wasn’t in support of the discrimination. Humans and demons had lived together for years, but why did they have to chase demons out of their home after listening to the word of the first Blessed Emperor?

He tried to cause a rebellion, but he got caught and was sealed underground...

...

Rin’s hands trembled as he slammed the book shut. He didn’t like where the story was going.

"You didn’t finish it."

Rin jumped, hearing someone’s voice.

Ezra stood a few feet away, arms crossed.

’How the hell can he be so tall and still move silently? Is it because he’s a priest?’

"Why are you sneaking up on people in libraries?" Rin snapped, pressing the book to his chest.

"Because you’re hiding in here," Ezra said.

"I’m not hiding. I’m..." Rin looked away, "reading."

Ezra walked closer, eyes flickering toward the book Rin held.

"You’re not supposed to read those."

"Why? People like me aren’t supposed to be educated?"

"If I say yes, would you drop the book?"

Silence stretched between them until Rin finally broke it.

"What do you want in return for not exposing me?"

Ezra looked surprised. He wasn’t expecting Rin to go straight to that question.

Rin kept going.

"You clearly hate me. You think I’m tainted, corrupted, filthy, disgusting. So, just say it. What do you want? Money? Silence? A favour?"

Ezra took another step forward, and Rin instinctively backed into the bookshelf. His body tensed.

Instead of creating a ball of holy magic, Ezra gently pressed a hand to Rin’s stomach.

Rin blinked.

"Can you use magic?" Ezra asked softly.

Rin shook his head, eyes fixed on the hand resting on him. He didn’t feel comfortable with another man’s hand rubbing his stomach.

"Nothing? Not even sensing mana?"

Rin shook his head again.

Ezra frowned, disappointed. But he didn’t move his hand. In fact, it lingered there for a moment.

Rin swallowed thickly.

"You’re touching a demon. Aren’t you supposed to burst into holy flames or something?"

Ezra ignored the sarcasm.

"In return for my silence," he said finally, "I want to use you."

Rin narrowed his eyes.

"Use me how?"

"As a subject. A test case."

Rin’s heart skipped.

"I’m not sure I like the sound of that."

"I want to know what you are, Rin."

Ezra’s eyes didn’t glow with cruelty, just unsettling curiosity, which made Rin even more comfortable. He didn’t want to end like those dead demons in Silas’s lab.

"Either you have a core hidden inside you... or a womb."

Rin froze.

"W...what?"

"If it’s a core," Ezra continued, "I want to remove it. And replace it with a womb. To see what happens. If it’s a womb... then I want to remove that and give you a core."

Rin felt a bile rise in his throat.

"You want to... cut me open?"

Ezra tilted his head with a grin on his face.

"Not cut. Study. I want to understand you. You’re not like the others. You’re... Different."

"Different?"

"Broken, maybe. Not in a bad way. Just... in the wrong way."

DING!

[System Alert - Host Status: Shocked.]

[System Alert - Internal magic still suppressed. Core or womb status: Unknown.]

Rin backed away, slapping Ezra’s hand away from his stomach.

"You’re insane. You’re fucking insane."

Ezra didn’t try to stop him as he fled the library.

"You don’t have to agree now," he called after him.

Rin kept walking. He didn’t turn his head to look at Ezra even once.

"But we both know you don’t have a choice."

.

Later that night, Rin sat curled up in his bed with Niblet tucked into his arms. His fingers brushed over his own stomach as if trying to feel something under the skin.

"What the hell is inside me? A core or a womb?"

The system dinged softly in response.

DING!

[System Alert: Core or womb status: Unknown.]

Rin stared at the glowing text for a long moment.

"Of course, you won’t tell me," he whispered. "I just want to be normal,"

The system didn’t reply.

Outside his room, Ezra stood by the hallway, watching the door in silence, hand still faintly tingling from where he’d touched Rin. He didn’t know why he allowed his hand to linger on a demon’s skin for so long. He hated the fact that he enjoyed it.

And somewhere far beneath the mansion, something stirred in the darkness.

Zepharion smiled in the dark, waiting.

’I can smell it coming, Rin. I can’t wait for you to summon me,’