The Blind Little Bird
Does a heart that strays ever truly know love?
Evangeline didn't think so.
But she knew one thing for certain: when a host decides to wither, the clinging vine demands her price in blood.
Except she was never just a clinging vine.
She was a clinging vine. A parasite wrapped in silk. The moment her host's heart wandered, she carved it out — and watched him bleed.
A wet, sickening slide of metal echoed through the dim room as the blade tore through the man's chest.
“Eva—”
“Don't say my name. It makes me sick.”
Her voice was a soft whisper.
She pulled the dagger free.
Hot blood sprayed across her flawless, pale face. She didn't even blink. Her expression stayed perfectly cold. The dark red droplets on her porcelain skin looked like winter berries scattered over fresh snow.
Ruthless.
And breathtakingly beautiful.
“Did you really think I wouldn't notice you falling for someone else?”
Eva stepped back.
The delicate, heartbreakingly fragile face that usually made every man want to protect her was now completely empty.
Even without her innocent disguise, the bleeding man on the floor couldn't bring himself to hate her.
It was the ice in her eyes that truly tore his soul apart.
He never imagined she could be this lethal.
“Eva, I was wrong. Please don't leave me. I beg you, don't leave me. I never meant to actually be with her. Please, without you, I'm nothing. I'll die. I swear I will.”
The man who once held an empire in his palm was now groveling on the floor, dragging his bleeding body toward her, crawling through the dirt just to reach her hem.
“Too late. I only accept flawless, absolute love. You're already tainted. You'll die without me? Then go ahead and die.”
Eva didn't waste another second. She disconnected from that world immediately.
The man looked up. The space in front of him was empty. His last strength vanished.
Regret consumed him like wildfire. Why did he let his eyes wander? Why did he think he could play games and keep two women at once?
He knew Eva tolerated no flaws in her world. Yet he'd stupidly gambled on her devotion, believing she would endure anything just to love him.
Only the bloody knife remained on the floor.
He picked it up and ended his own life without hesitation.
But Eva would never shed a tear for him.
A man who cheats once is fundamentally broken. If he could fall for a mistress, he'd eventually fall for a third. Love that can be shaken is cheap, useless trash.
Staying extra days in that world after completing the mission had been a total waste of her time. That man was never meant to be her perfect host.
“System.”
[I'm here.]
System 010's voice was completely cold and mechanical. It rarely spoke unless absolutely necessary. It had received strict warnings to keep its distance from this legendary tasker — a woman whose code name and true nature were both “clinging vine.”
The last system, 023, was a cautionary tale.
Every single system assigned to her ended up falling desperately in love with her, trying to save her, trying to free her from working for the Core. And every single time, they failed and were forced into a factory reset.
She looked weak, but the truth was terrifying. It was always her hosts who became utterly dependent on her, losing their minds the moment she walked away.
Evangeline was a beautiful danger.
010 kept its digital walls high, but the girl didn't seem to notice its deliberate coldness. The ruthless executioner who had just plunged a knife into a man's chest had vanished like a ghost.
When she spoke to the system, her tone was sweet, light, and utterly affectionate, as if it were the only thing that mattered to her in the universe.
“Your designation is 010, right? I lost a bet with Ash, so I have to be sickly and weak in every world from now on. Make sure you pick targets for me that fit that condition, okay?”
[Understood, tasker.]
010 kept its response as brief as possible, terrified of lingering in her presence.
“I also want…”
[Go ahead, host.]
“I want a perfect match. Someone with the most obsessive, burning, absolute love. The kind that lasts until death. Can you find worlds like that for me? I heard it might bend the rules a little, so if it's too difficult, never mind.”
[I can arrange it.]
With that quiet promise, a soft, breathless smile bloomed on Eva's exquisite face. But what made the system shudder were her eyes.
Those clear, luminous eyes were filled with such intense, fragile dependence, as if the system were her entire world. Anyone who looked into those eyes would give up everything just to keep her smiling.
010 snapped back to reality and instantly severed the connection.
[New mission initiated.]
A cold, synthesized voice announced the transition.
Eva opened her eyes to total, heavy darkness.
It seemed her physical vulnerability in this world was complete blindness.
Stranded in an unfamiliar place, she could barely move. Her fingers brushed against a rough, cold brick wall.
She didn't know where she was yet, but it was dead silent. The heavy scent of flowers drifted past her nose.
She was in a garden somewhere.
[The male lead of this world is Julian Sterling. You're the childhood friend who loves him, a disposable pawn. You went blind saving his life. But to secure a business project, he tricked you into marrying someone else. You ran away from the wedding. The Sterlings are looking for you.]
Her phone kept ringing. Eva closed her eyes, absorbing the flood of memories, while her fingers found the device and answered.
On the other end came the sound of pounding on a door and an anxious middle-aged woman's voice.
“Eva, you're still in the lounge, aren't you? This is all my fault. Who knew you'd misunderstand and think you were getting engaged to Julian? Didn't I tell you from the start it was a marriage of convenience?”
“You agreed so nicely before. Why did you lock the door?”
“This project is everything to Julian's future. What's a little sacrifice on your part? Open this door right now and let me talk to you.”
Eva kept her voice perfectly calm.
“I already gave up my eyes for Julian Sterling. Now you want me to trade my marriage for his project? Victoria, when my parents died and left me in your care, is this how you honor their memory? Tell me, who holds the Vance estate right now?”
The older woman went silent, stung by the accusation. Unable to answer the question about the stolen company, she immediately shifted the blame.
“Eva, the Hawthorne family is the top power in this kingdom. Marrying into their house is an honor you don't even deserve.”
Her voice trembled with guilt, which quickly turned into bitter resentment. She was getting furious.
Oh, what a disaster.
This marriage was just a cruel lesson orchestrated by old Mr. Hawthorne to discipline Alistair — forcing the proud heir to marry a blind girl from a lesser house.
The Hawthornes weren't even complaining about her disability, yet this little orphan was throwing a tantrum.
Eva always had this ridiculous princess attitude.
It was exactly because she kept causing scenes that Julian hadn't been able to officially marry the proper noble lady Victoria had chosen for him.
If this wedding fell through today, she'd lock the blind girl away in the small countryside villa, keep her hidden like a broken toy. She'd never see the light of day again.
After all, she was just a blind, helpless thing who could only survive by clinging to others. She couldn't possibly run away.
While Victoria was indulging these dark thoughts, Eva's next words hit her like ice water.
“Since I lost my sight, I can't paint anymore, let alone manage my family legacy. You all see me as a pathetic vine that can only survive by choking the life out of Julian, don't you? Julian cried by my hospital bed and swore he would cherish me for the rest of his life. Is this his version of devotion?”
“Wait, Eva, this whole arrangement was my idea alone. Julian knows absolutely nothing about this.”
The woman cut her off in a panicked rush. But despite the frantic denial, Eva already knew the truth from the world data.
Julian didn't just know about it. He was the one who planned it.
He was already arranging a marriage with someone else. His first love from years ago.
Julian's love was nothing but cheap foam, easily drifting away with the tide.
