"Why are you following us, Lucas?" Ezra asked when he saw Lucas also getting off the train at the same station as him and Grace.
Lucas didn't answer, instead walking ahead of them, making Grace and Ezra, who were following him, feel as if he was mocking them.
Grace, who knew why they were returning together, remained silent, unwilling to tell Ezra about Lucas's move to the Tulip Apartment because she was sure Ezra would get angry as usual.
"You're really following us, Lucas," Ezra growled, feeling ignored.
"Isn't this a public road?" Lucas finally replied.
Ezra remained silent, keeping his frustration bottled up inside, even though they were in the same elevator, pressing the same floor button. Ezra was too fed up to ask Lucas anything.
When they arrived on the fifth floor, Lucas took out the keys to his apartment and entered unit number 234, the former rental of a man who had died after his blood was sucked by a vampire, causing Ezra to gape and stare at Grace questioningly.
"Did you know Lucas lived here, Grace?" he asked Grace.
Grace shook her head slowly. "I thought he was visiting his friend's apartment."
"Damn it, he doesn't have any friends."
"I really didn't know we were neighbors now." Grace lied to avoid making Ezra angry, as she was too tired from hearing his outbursts.
Out of frustration, Ezra immediately entered his apartment, leaving Grace standing there. There was a feeling that Lucas was deliberately following Ezra wherever he went with Grace.
However, Ezra couldn't figure out whether Lucas was trying to find a way to bring Grace to Duke or to protect her. After all, it was clear that Ezra already had enough strength to fight a vampire.
"Excuse me..." Suddenly, someone appeared behind Grace.
"Oh, yes?" Grace was startled and almost lost her balance.
"I'm Victor. The new resident of unit 235. Nice to meet you," he said suddenly, extending his hand.
Grace studied the man who claimed to be Victor for a moment. His appearance looked very old-fashioned, though his face appeared young. And the smile Victor gave was truly odd.
Additionally, there were several scars on the back of Victor's hand. They looked like claw marks.
"Hello?" Victor waved his hand to snap Grace out of her trance.
"Ah, sorry. I was a bit startled. I'm Grace, a resident of unit 233. Nice to meet you," she replied, shaking Victor's hand.
"Thank goodness I have a friend. You're beautiful," Victor complimented her.
"Thank you." Grace released his hand, feeling awkward because Victor's strange smile made her a bit uncomfortable.
At that moment, the door to Lucas's apartment unit opened. Grace and Victor turned simultaneously to look at Lucas. Lucas also stared at Grace for a moment before shifting his gaze to Victor—his pupils dilating as he locked eyes with Victor.
Grace also looked at Victor, who didn't wipe off his creepy smile as he made eye contact with Lucas. They seemed to already know each other and have a bad relationship.
"Grace, aren't you going home?" Lucas asked suddenly, sounding concerned.
" I-I was just about to go inside," Grace replied. "But since Victor is the new tenant, we wanted to introduce ourselves first," she added.
"Victor?" Lucas looked puzzled.
"Yes. You should also get to know him, Lucas. He'll be your neighbor, too."
A slight smirk appeared on Lucas's lips. "Oh… so now it's Victor," he muttered.
Clearly, what Lucas saw was Duke. Not another face. Lucas was sure that Duke was using his powers effectively to get close to Grace and find a good opportunity to take her with him.
That was why Lucas didn't want to let his guard down and allow Grace to be taken by Duke. Even if Grace's blood must be taken for the sake of the vampires, Lucas himself must bring Grace.
Not another vampire.
"You blend in with people so easily, Grace," Lucas commented.
"There's nothing wrong with that, is there? Besides, we're neighbors, so we'll help each other out." Grace replied innocently, unaware of anything.
"Don't you think he's weird?" Lucas pointed directly at Victor.
Grace's eyes widened as if warning Lucas not to say anything strange about someone in front of them, but Lucas didn't care.
He stepped out of his apartment and faced Victor directly.
"He's so old-fashioned, he has lots of scars on his hands, and his smile is... scary. Don't you think he's weird?"
Even though Lucas was being blunt as usual, it still felt strange to hear him blurt out so many words at once, especially with an expression on his face as if he were teaching Grace how to be careful around strangers.
Meanwhile, Grace just closed her lips tightly, not daring to comment on Lucas' honesty, which could hurt someone's feelings.
"You've only seen me once, why do you look like you hate me?" asked Victor.
"Um... Lucas, isn't it bad to talk like that?" Grace asked carefully.
"Did you hear that? That's how you greet a new friend," Victor retorted.
Victor raised his hand and touched Grace's hair, playing with it between his fingers, earning a sharp glare from Lucas, who was ready to attack.
"Take your dirty hands off her!"