Ikemen Vampire – Leonardo da Vinci
Synopsis
Here you are in modern Paris to take in all the sights and of course a visit to the Louvre is a must for the itinerary. As you explore the various artworks in the museum, you stumbled into another wing of the museum that wasn’t on the map. By the time you got out of the hall, you realised that you’ve travelled back in time to 19th century Paris in a mansion which houses the greatest intellectual minds of Renaissance Europe, except that they are all vampires which explain how they are still alive in this time. You are not able to return to modern day Paris for another month so you’ve been enlisted to help out in the mansion until then, while trying to stay away from becoming food to the its occupants.
Leonardo da Vinci Route
Leonardo if we ever did know the real guy, is a master of all trade. He is artist, musician, scientist, engineer, philosopher all rolled into one. In the story, he is the go-to guy for everyone in the mansion and in town to fix all their problems which he appears to delight in doing. When MC entered his life, he decided to help by bringing her out of her doldrums and despair so that she will at least enjoy the month that she is stuck with them.
He started teasing her, carrying her around and pulling her along for all his escapades, which apparently is his roundabout kind-hearted way of helping her cope with the current situation. Le Comte suggested that MC pretends to be Leonardo’s lover so as to get suitors off his back and to protect MC from the other vampires. As part of the deal, MC can ask Leonardo one question every day, to pick the brain of one of the most brilliant minds of all time. Instead of asking scientific questions, she always ended up asking about Leonardo’s thoughts and feelings.
Leonardo begins to feel the tremors of early attraction to MC but he realises that it’s a love that cannot be, not just because they are from different time period but also because he’s a vampire. Comte advises him to cut off his connection to MC if he ever feels like he’s falling in love. Leonardo confesses his affection for MC but quickly brushes it off as an act, which got the MC all ruffled up and confused.
Both Leonardo and MC are obviously in love with one another. While MC grapples with confessing and facing the fear of the unbridgeable gap between them, Leonardo continues to play it off as part of the act making this unrequited love even more painful for the MC.
At a ball, Shakespeare reveals that unlike the other vampires at the mansion, Leonardo is a pureblood so he is essentially immortal and has lived for more than 500 years. (Explains why he is so darn good at everything!) The gulf between him and MC has widened even further. It can’t be a case that he has never fallen in love in all those years??
MC finally confesses her love for Leonardo and in her heated verbatim she even said that she didn’t mind becoming a vampire so that she can be with Leonardo forever. When Leonardo subsequently threatens to turn her by forcing himself on her, MC looks positively scared and ready to cry. Leonardo tells MC to never ask him to turn her because he wants to protect her happiness. It is when MC realises that she has hurt him deeply with her selfish request.
Le Comte tells MC about Leonardo’s family background and how he is estranged from them. He also offers to change her into a vampire if she chooses to be with Leo forever. MC and Leonardo attends the funeral of Jean-Paul the watch maker and both of them contemplate mortality together. She wonders how many people Leo must have said goodbye to in his long life which explains the wistful look he has from time to time.
As the time comes closer for MC to return to her time zone, she is in deep dilemma about whether to stay or leave. MC is kidnapped while out buying groceries. Leonardo senses something awry especially when he learns that MC and Sebastien have not returned to the mansion. After hearing about the rumours of rampant kidnapping in Paris, he and Le Comte rushes out to find them. Leonardo tells Comte that MC is the first and only woman he has ever loved.
Turns out the kidnapper is some deranged playwright who had been degraded by Shakespeare. In a bid to prove that he can create the perfect play, he resorted to using alchemy to create perfect actors, resulting in the deaths of many. Leonardo is outraged by this man’s attempt to create immortal beings and subdues him. He reveals his immortality in the process.
After Leonardo recovers from the multiple bullet wounds and large loss of blood, MC speaks with him again and learnt that he had once dabbled with alchemy himself because he was so lonely he wanted to create a companion who will be with him forever. But he realised it was such a selfish desire which he was so ashamed of. He also shared that he loved humans because they live short lives so every moment is lived with gusto and purpose. I guess for an immortal like him time has no meaning and thus life stops being meaningful.
MC tells Leonardo that she’s determined to stay with him and give this love they have a chance. She didn’t need to become an immortal but with whatever time she had, she wanted to be right next to Leonardo who completed her. With her passionate confession, they consummated their love. That night Leonardo snuck out to speak to Le Comte. He intends to follow MC back to her time so she doesn’t need to give up on her life in the present. (Would really make for quite an interesting AU Story to have these characters in our present world). Le Comte warns him of the dangers – he might end up in a different time zone or worse be trapped in the void for all eternity. MC stumbles upon the conversation and is determined not to let Leonardo sacrifice further.
Dramatic Ending
The day arrived when the door back to MC’s time opened. MC bids everyone in the manor goodbye and waits for Leonardo to finally appear. He apologises for being late. MC gives him a cold farewell and proceeds to open the door. But instead of walking through it, she shuts it again. Leonardo is dumbfounded by her actions. MC proceeds to scold Leonardo for even thinking about going after her and endangering his own life. She tells him she has every intention to spend the rest of her life in this timeline with him. She reassures him that loving him doesn’t always mean that she has to sacrifice then chides him for his shallow thinking. Loving him has given her so much more – experiences she never had, feelings she never felt before and hope for a future she cannot get anywhere else. Leonardo finally accepts her love and asks MC to promise that she will spend all the remaining years of her life with him. While alchemy cannot make mortals immortal, love is able to seal one’s memories forever.
~ Fin
Review
Leonardo’s route explores the theme of immortality. The benefit of living forever has gifted him with multiple talents and experiences, but yet at the same time bereft him of any purpose in life. He envies the short lives human live and craves the companionship of another who would be with him forever. Because of this perspective in life, he is unable to accept a love relationship with MC as he doesn’t want to bear the pain of losing her when she finally dies, and yet he is not so selfish to change her into a vampire and curse her with an unending nightmare.
Maybe it’s because immortality is something I cannot appreciate as a human, I find it hard to empathise with Leonardo’s struggle and the whole back and forth philosophy of this love that cannot be. I find it also incredulous that Leo had not found love in the whole 500 years of his life and suddenly he falls in love with MC after seeing her cry and smile in a span of a week or so. It feels like I’m dating someone too mature for my taste and his wavering between his desire and doing what’s right in his perspective becomes excessively tiresome. I believe that a healthy relationship stems from the unconditional giving and taking from both parties. Taking too much is selfish but giving too much is also selfish because it robs the other party the opportunity to love and care for their partner.
Leonardo would be a really fun person to hang out with as a mentor, but I think he won’t really suit me as a romantic partner.