How was there a female guard in a prison full of men?
Eren frowned.
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than her icy rebuke landed.
"Eren Kai."
Her voice scraped like iron against stone. "How was solitary confinement?"
Her face was hard, but beneath it she felt a tiny tremor —
this young man, sentenced to die, showed no crumbling, no fear. Nothing.
---
— The Poison-Eater —
When she flipped the lights on, faint black mist still hung in the air.
The vapors writhed like living things, crawling across Eren's exposed forearms and sinking into his skin.
His body drank them in.
Aveline's pupils shrank. The words slipped out before she could bite them back:
"That black mist — it's getting into you!"
Eren looked up, calm to the point of detachment.
"I can absorb it."
"Absorb?" Aveline's brow knotted. "That stuff —"
Eren exhaled, quiet as a breath. With a subtle rise and fall of his chest, the last wisp of mist dissipated.
"Poison to others," he said. "For me... it's nourishment."
Aveline's pulse quickened, every nerve tightening as if bracing for impact.
She met Eren's gaze—deep wells, flat and still. No mania, only a disturbingly precise order.
---
— The Ugly Stain —
Eren offered nothing more, his eyes lifting to the guard's face. A bluish-brown stain crawled from her forehead to her cheekbone, a living map that seemed to breathe in the prison's sterile light.
Yet, beyond the stain, her features held a quiet loveliness, a softness that hinted at beauty—she could have been unforgettable, had it not been for that mark.
Aveline caught his stare and tensed. She was used to pity or disgust, but this was different —
Eren's look was calm, almost... pitying. It strangled the anger in her throat.
"What are you looking at? One more glance and I'll put your eyes out."
She thrust a finger toward him in a warning gesture.
A barely perceptible smile tugged at Eren's mouth. His voice was low and steady.
"You're sick."
"What?"
"That mark on your face... it's not a birthmark."
"It's condensed morbid energy. I can cure it."
The world froze.
Shock rolled through Aveline like cold water.
She stared, voice shaking. "You... you can really cure it?"
She had been mocked since childhood, sought famous doctors, tried medicines, lasers, even exorcisms — nothing worked.
She said she didn't care, but at night she dreamed of a smooth, unmarked face.
Eren met her frantic eyes and nodded once. "I can cure it. Remove it completely. No side effects."
---
— The Deal · Covenant of Salvation —
He paused. That faint smile slipped away. "But — why should I help you?"
Aveline threw her coat of cold back over herself.
"What do you want? Don't expect me to help you break out."
Eren's smile sharpened like a hidden blade. "Break out? You're not the one qualified for that. I want my name cleared. I want to walk out in the light."
She blinked — the gaze belonged to someone on the edge of rebirth, not a condemned prisoner.
"...What do you want?" she asked softly.
"My case files," he said.
Aveline considered a heartbeat, then nodded. "Fine. Cure my face, and I'll get you access to the files."
Eren's surprise was small but real — she'd agreed so readily. Did she have leverage he didn't know about?
He smiled faintly.
"Deal."
---
— Healing · Refining the Morbid Energy —
She led him into the guard office.
Two guards looked up; their gazes skated between the pair.
Aveline's voice was cold. "Out."
They exchanged a knowing look and left without another word — though their expressions betrayed the kind of rumors your average prison can invent in an hour.
Aveline locked the door and faced him. "How will you do it? Do I need to do anything?"
Eren glanced at the door and let out a short chuckle. "Why lock it? If someone outside hears a noise, they'll assume we're doing something indecent."
Heat rose in Aveline's cheeks; fury flared. "Stop joking. Can you do it or not?"
Eren eased into a chair, as casual as if he were at tea. "Of course. But — I'm hungry. Even an emperor won't fight hungry soldiers. Asking me to work on an empty stomach is unfair."
"You —!" Aveline snapped, half-livid, half-amused. A prisoner acting like a lord in her office was absurd.
Then she thought of the mark on her face. She took a breath, tamped down the anger, and said, "Wait."
Minutes later she returned with a plain duty meal and slammed it down in front of him. "Eat. And let me warn you — lie to me, and you'll regret it."
Eren didn't bother with manners — he ate.
The meal wasn't luxurious, but it had meat, vegetables, even soup — infinitely better than the gray paste he'd been fed for weeks.
He finished everything cleanly and leaned back with a faint, satisfied sigh.
Aveline tapped her boot, barely containing her impatience. "Satisfied? Can we start now?"
Eren set down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and crooked a finger at her, a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"Come here."
She stepped closer without hesitation. "What do I need to do? Just tell me."
Seeing her eagerness, Eren almost smiled.
"Take off your jacket."
"What? My jacket?"
He blinked. "Just the jacket."
She stepped back automatically — then froze.
He was just a prisoner. If he tried anything, she could drop him in seconds.
Maybe... the treatment required physical contact?
Grinding her teeth, she unbuttoned her guard jacket. After a moment's hesitation, she peeled off the inner shirt too, leaving only her undergarments.
"L–like this?" she whispered, face flushed crimson.
Eren's lips twitched. He'd only meant the outer jacket.
He hadn't expected her to take him that literally.
He drew in a breath, forcing his focus back. "That's enough. Don't move."
He lifted his right hand and gently pressed his palm to her abdomen, just above the navel.
At that instant, the air in the office seemed to hold its breath.
Eren closed his eyes. Within his mind, the Obsidian Sigil shimmered faintly — like a boundary stirring in deep water.
He began circulating his inner energy.
The hidden corruption within Aveline's body stirred in response... and flowed into him.
Aveline's body stiffened — she nearly lashed out —
but then a rush of warmth bloomed in her core.
It spread through her limbs, dissolving fatigue, melting the weight that had long pressed on her chest.
Her muscles loosened; a soft sound escaped her lips, half sigh, half moan.
Outside the office.
The two duty guards, having crept back down the corridor, froze as muffled sounds reached them.
"Holy crap... The Ice Queen's really doing it?""In broad daylight? Damn—she's full of surprises."
Inside, Eren drew back his hand and exhaled softly.
"All done."
He opened his eyes. The morbid energy in her had been completely refined — transformed into pure energy now circulating within him.
Aveline stared at him blankly for a few seconds, eyes wide. "That's... it? That fast?"
Eren nodded. "Mm. Go wash your face. Look in the mirror."
---
— Rebirth·A Sprout of Trust —
She practically ran to the washroom. Water splashed.
She wiped away the fog on the mirror — and froze.
The bluish-brown mark that had cursed her for twenty-five years... was gone.
Her skin was smooth, pale, flawless.
For a moment, she couldn't breathe. Then tears welled up, spilling before she could stop them.
Years of shame and bitterness shattered in an instant. She burst out of the washroom and threw her arms around Eren.
"Eren... thank you. My name's Aveline. From now on, as long as I'm here, no one in this prison will dare lay a finger on you."
Eren's mouth curved faintly. The warmth of her body pressed against him.
"Well," he murmured, "suddenly, being locked up doesn't seem that bad."
"You—jerk!"Aveline's face turned scarlet. She punched his chest, light but firm.
Eren chuckled, waving a hand. "Don't get too excited. The mark's gone, but to keep it from returning, you'll need two more sessions."
Of course, that wasn't entirely true.
Better to keep one card hidden — just in case she changed her mind later.
Aveline didn't notice, nodding eagerly. "Fine. I'll get you those files as soon as I can."
"Good." Eren stood and straightened his prison uniform. "Time for me to head back."
"I'll escort you."
Eren shuffled ahead, chains clinking, wrists and ankles weighed down by iron.
Aveline followed in silence, her usual coldness softened by something faintly human.
Halfway down the corridor, Eren looked back.
"Aveline, can I ask you something?"
She met his gaze warily. "What?"
"You're a woman. Why choose to work in a men's prison?"
Her eyes narrowed. "Why do you ask? Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong."Then, her tone sharpened again. "More importantly — you. Why did you rape and murder over thirty people from the Veyne family?"
Eren didn't flinch. He met her stare calmly. "If I told you I was framed, would you believe me?"
Aveline's steps slowed. For a moment, she just looked at him—really looked.
Then she whispered, almost to herself, "I believe you."
And she meant it.
Nothing about Eren Kai fit the image of a monster.
With power like his, he could have any woman he wanted—why waste it on blood and cruelty?
No.
He wasn't a killer.
He was something else entirely—something the world wasn't ready for.