Ikemen Vampire – Comte de Saint-Germain

I chose Saint-Germain as the second character to pursue in Ikemen Vampire because he was most closely connected with Leonardo in his route. Saint-Germain is also a pureblood vampire, master of the manor and noble of high society in Paris. At first glance he’s pretty much the daddy figure in the story and I guess with my age, I have a thing going for more mature men? But I really hope he won’t be so wishy washy like Leonardo.

The story starts at the point when MC has passed a month in the manor, made friends with all the residents and is finally ready to head back to her time zone. However the night of her departure, the hourglass suddenly exploded. Saint-Germain sends MC off to the door that would lead her back to her time period but there was no pathway to be seen. Sensing imminent danger, Saint G quickly closes the door and apologised to MC. It would take more time for him to figure out what had gone wrong. In the meantime, he is more than happy to have MC stay as long as required. Though MC was happy that she could spend more time with the residents, a part of her crumbled thinking that she may never go home again. Saint G comforts her in a soft embrace.

The next day MC goes back to her daily schedule of helping Sebastien take care of the household chores. All the residents were happy to have her back as well which helped to distract MC from her troubles. Later MC helps Saint G open piles of invitations to various parties, balls and gatherings. MC asked him why he loved to attend these meetings. He tells her that he attends mainly to gather information on the happenings in the Parisian society but it’s mostly because he enjoys forming emotional connections with people. Later, Saint G asked MC to take on the role as his date at all these gatherings. MC agrees if it can help Saint G.

Saint G tailors a beautiful dress for MC and she soon attends her first debutant ball. Mozart and Sebastien gave her pointers on how to conduct herself as behind the glitter and glamour of the Parisian society lies hidden agendas and politicking and that her actions would affect Saint G’s reputation as well. MC suddenly felt the pressure of all eyes on her since Saint G is the star of the ball. She asked if Saint G should be with someone like her. To which he chides her for such negative thoughts and encouraged her to be confident. MC musters up her courage and tells Saint G that she will train up to be someone who can stand next to him.

It’s been 3 months and MC is still staying in the manor and accompanying Saint G on his regular meet ups. He continues to lavish MC with new dresses for every party which is making MC guilty for all the money he’s spending on her. Saint G tells her not to worry and it is his pleasure to dress her up since she is so beautiful. Meanwhile Isaac had requested Saint G to let him study the door so that he can help find a solution but the former told him that it was best to keep the secret to the door to a few people as it would be too dangerous if the portal fell into the wrong hands.

As MC attends more of these gatherings with Saint G, she starts to make friends with others her age. Saint G is happy to see her expand her social circle and remarked that soon there will be suitable gentlemen asking to dance with her. Is Saint G looking to farm her out to someone else? Saint G explains that he feels responsible for her being trapped in this time zone but he doesn’t want her to waste her life indefinitely either while finding a solution with the door. Thus he decided to have her debut in the society so that she can expand her social circle and broaden her horizon. MC is touched by his kindness yet at the same time she finds that being with him makes her most happy. She tells Saint G that she will continue to grow to be someone who can stand by his side.

On another occasion, Saint G brings MC  to watch a play by Shakespeare, the first vampire that Saint G brought to life but have since left the mansion due to some past transgression. Saint G congratulates Shakespeare for another heart-rending tragedy but expressed concern that Shakespeare might be experimenting with unorthodox methods to find inspiration for more tragedies to write about. He told William that he will always be able to find home at the mansion.

That night Shakespeare visits with Vlad, another pureblood vampire who has a vendetta against Saint G and was apparently the one who helped Shakespeare revive the enemies of the residents in the mansion previously (Season 1?). However that experiment failed so Vlad is now looking for other ways to take revenge on Saint G. He warns William that if he doesn’t quickly find a way to write his best tragedy, Vlad would take things into his own hands to cause rift among the residents and have them destroy themselves.

Meanwhile at yet another ball, MC and Saint G discussed recent attacks on nobles. It made those watching them comment about how close they are which has given rise to rumours about them being lovers. MC is inwardly happy but Saint G is quick to play it off. Claudine, MC’s friend, said that someone had seen Saint G at some function which happened more than 100 years ago. This gave rise to rumours that he might actually be immortal. Saint G laughs it off by adding his own version of the rumour thus creating the air of mystery around him. (Read up a bit about the real Saint G and ironically, such a rumour about him living for 500 years is actually true!)

MC realises that despite living under the same roof as him she doesn’t know his motivations for his actions – why he had revived these brilliant men and why he would create the portal knowing how dangerous it would be if these brilliant men accidentally wandered into the portal.

At breakfast the next morning, MC together with Arthur and Jean discuss about Saint G and described him as the father of the mansion, which would make MC the mother. MC blushed at the thought as it coincides with the growing affection she has for Saint G. Arthur mused that Saint G had only selected men who have made their mark in the world to give them a second chance but is still unable to figure out his motivations for doing so.

Later when helping Leonardo with tidying his room, Leonardo teased her about her increasing interest in Saint G and whether she had fallen in love with him. When MC reacted awkwardly, Leonardo cautioned her about prying too much into Saint G’s life as he is a more dangerous man than he lets on. He also told her as a pureblood, he will live forever so the gulf between them is insurmountable. He tells her that it’s better to let it go of such emotions otherwise she will find it difficult to return home. (Again with your words of wisdom Leo).

MC is distracted by Leonardo’s words so Sebastien sends her out on an errand to clear her mind. She bumps into Vlad disguised as a florist. She picks a flower for Saint G and unconsciously starts sharing how great a man he is. Vlad digs out more information about MC’s feelings for Saint G. Then sends her off with cryptic words that it feels like he’s living with his beloved pets until they die. When she leaves, Vlad laments that Saint G loves humans too much and with his powers he could do more for the future than letting these humans play around aimlessly.

MC and Saint G goes for another ball. While in the carriage, Saint G asked if MC knew why Jean suddenly exclaimed that he would never call Saint G father. MC shares what transpired over the breakfast table. He hopes that Jean would someday acknowledge him because unlike the other, Saint G had given him a second lease in life against his wishes. 

MC asked Saint G point blank why he wanted to give these important men a second chance in life. Saint G replied that an old friend had once shared that doing so could bring the world a lot of benefit. However Saint G lamented that maybe he was just too lonely and needed company. In that moment, MC caught a look of loneliness in Saint G’s eyes. She had never seen this look before and it triggered an emotion in her.

At the ball while Saint G is busy entertaining some of the socialites, Shakespeare greets MC. He was hoping to talk to Saint G but seeing him so busy, William decided that he would talk to him another time. As he left the ballroom he made up his mind to help Vlad destroy the residents living in the mansion but to do so without getting MC involved.

One evening Saint G’s pet ferret called Time went missing so both MC and Saint G searched the whole manor looking for Time. Is this supposed to be some kind of pun. During the search, MC found an old pocket watch that belonged to Saint G. It had stopped working so she wound it up to check if it is broken. Since it was still working, she returned it to Saint G. When she asked him why he had stop winding up the pocket watch, he alluded to it being a pointless activity. MC didn’t want Saint G to live so pointlessly, so she offered to wind his pocket watch everyday. Even though time is eternal for him, she still wanted him to live in the present and create memories with her.

Ever since then, Saint G started looking forward to spending time with MC even if it’s just to wind up his watch. However, when he sees the scratch on the watch, he is reminded of a love he had lost so many centuries ago which surfaced hurts of goodbyes that he doesn’t want to remember.

One evening MC and Saint G were at yet another party. A nobleman approaches MC for a dance. MC doesn’t want to dance with anyone else other than Saint G so she hesitates to accept. Saint G thought that it was due to his presence so he excused himself so that she wouldn’t feel awkward, afterall they were only partners in name. MC runs after Saint G. He is puzzled that she didn’t accept the dance. MC musters her courage and asked him to dance with her instead. She tells him that she wants to more than just partners in name.

After MC confesses her feelings, he tells her to forget these emotions as he is unable to accept them. The difference between vampire and human is too great and he doesn’t want to experience the hurt of loving a human again. He leaves her on the balcony to cool down and returns to the ballroom… this is too cruel.

The next day Saint G behaves as per normal as if the confession never took place. MC tries her best to put up the same act of resuming normalcy but everything she sees Saint G she feels a pang in her heart. One day while strolling alone, MC meets Vlad again. He asked what happened to her as she looks very sad. MC tells him all about how Saint G rejected her and wonders if she should continue to pursue her feelings or just let them go. Vlad convinces her to fight for what she wants. Shakespeare witnessed their exchange and tried to warn MC to stay away from him.

After hanging out with Claudine for the day, they were kidnapped (again?!) by anti-aristocrats. When Saint G learnt that MC had not returned, he was beside himself with worry. He manages to rescue her and embraces her with a certain fervence upon the reunion. He muttered that he couldn’t afford to lose anyone anymore. MC hugged Saint G back wondering what had happened in the past to make him so flustered.

Later the kidnappers were arrested but Saint G wrote a recommendation to provide them jobs once they are released. He felt that it was a noble’s duty to take care of the commoners especially since they had to turn to a life of crime due to mismanagement by their own lord.

MC invites Saint G to tea to thank him for saving her and confessed her feelings for Saint G again. She told him that it was her love and desire not to be separated from him that gave her the strength to keep going when she was kidnapped. She added that she don’t know what the future holds but for now she doesn’t want to deny her feelings and just live to the fullest in the present. Saint G repeats that it was a pointless endeavor since they won’t be together forever and when the time comes to part, it will be painful for both of them. Nonetheless he agrees for them to continue going for parties together as partner.

Later that night Saint G and Leonardo had a heart to heart talk. Leonardo hinted that Saint G was letting his emotions get the better of him and the sooner he let it go the better it would be for the both of them. Saint G and MC resumes their outings together but MC realises that Saint G is purposely keeping physical distance from her. She asked Arthur and Theo what this could mean. Theo said it is either he is not interested or annoyed while Arthur muttered that a man could he drawing away too so that he wouldn’t lose control.

During another dinner gathering, as MC was being accosted by a noble’s son who wanted her company, Saint G came to her rescue by leaving the dinner engagement prematurely. MC was puzzled by Saint G’s actions. He told her that the boy was notorious when it came to women and he wasn’t about to lose his woman to a punk like him. MC was flustered by his declaration. She told Saint G that she was going to have the wrong ideas if he kept talking like this.

A few days later while MC is out in the village she meets Vlad again. She updates Vlad on all that had happened. How she didn’t give up on her feelings and how Saint G had somewhat accepted them. Vlad is happy for her and offers her a rose of deep crimson red. He tells her that the rose only grows on a special hill. When Saint G sees the rose, he knew that MC had met with Vlad. Saint G meets with Vlad on that hilltop.

Vlad reminisces the days when they were good friends discussing how they could make the world a better place. He told Saint G that his own portal to the future had experienced the same time warp. He believes this is a harbinger of something bad happening in the future (not wrong since World War 1 and 2 are about to happen!). He tells Saint G that he is very concerned about how wicked the world will become in the future but they could change the course of it by using the residents in his mansion. Saint G refuses as he believes they are his family and not tools for use. Well I get where Saint G is coming from but I think if these men knew what was going to happen to the world, they would have certainly wanted to help too!

By the time Saint G returned to the mansion it was late at night. Seeing Saint G’s pained expression, she joins him for a drink. He tells MC about the history between Vlad and himself and how their views became divergent. MC recalled the times she had spent with Vlad and couldn’t bring herself to think that Vlad is anything but kind. At that moment, Saint G pulled MC towards him and bared his fangs. He told MC menacingly that because the residents have been docile around her, she might have forgotten that humans are in the end prey to vampires.

Meanwhile Shakespeare decides that he won’t be helping Vlad anymore as he doesn’t want to hurt Saint G. Vlad uses his special skill to control Shakespeare to bring MC to him. Vlad uses his special skill to help MC understand Saint G’s feelings for humans and why it was painful for him to lose them to death.

Saint G and Vlad had known each other since they were ‘young’ if such references made any sense to immortals. When they reunited after not meeting for hundreds of years, they quickly formulated an idea on creating a rose that will never wilt, i.e. humans who will never die. However before that plan could come to fruition, war broke out. It changed Saint G’s perspective about human life – that the presence of death gave living a purposeful life meaning. Vlad on the other hand realised that left to their own devices, humans would destroy the world so instead of living alongside them, it made more sense to control their entire ideology. Saint G was horrified to hear of Vlad’s change in mindset. In the end they parted ways over the irreconcilable differences.

The dream ends and MC is back to present. Without realising it she was crying as she witnessed what Saint G had gone through and how foolish her views were about enjoying the present with Saint G. Vlad asked MC if she could appreciate his point of view. MC asked Vlad what he would do with people who couldn’t accept his ideology, to which he replied coldly that he would simply root them out since they will have no place in his version of ‘utopia’. MC told Vlad that she couldn’t agree with him as freedom of choice is what makes living meaningful and Vlad cannot assume that there would only be one version of the future.

Vlad realised it was futile to continue convincing MC of his perspective. He pulls her towards the time travel portal and told MC that perhaps only with her personally witnessing the future for herself would she understand his vision. As he attempts to jump into the portal with her, he is stopped by Saint G. However this didn’t stop him from pushing MC into the warped portal. Saint G jumps in after her and embraces her tightly as they tumble through the space time continuum. Scenes of the past, present and future worlds flashed before their eyes and it felt like they were going to be trapped perpetually in this void.

But the couple was saved when MC wished fervently in her heart to be back at the mansion. Suddenly they were thrown out of the portal and landed right back at the mansion. After this episode, MC reaffirms her love for Saint G despite knowing about his past and the vast divide between the two of them. Saint G doesn’t resist any further and accepts MC’s love with vigorous passion, just managing to stop himself from turning her into a vampire. I guess he’s really been holding back all this time. What a wishy-washy man.

A few days later Saint G meets with Vlad on the hilltop with the roses again. Vlad apologises for his treatment of MC however he justified his actions with the need for them to see for themselves how wicked humans would become in the future. Saint G tells Vlad that he saw no such thing, and further warns him to stay away from the residents of the mansion and that he would no longer be tolerant of Vlad’s actions. Back at the mansion, Saint G finally reveals the truth about Vlad, his original plan, and the reason he had revived all of them. Leonardo together with all the residents then reprimanded Saint G for shouldering this burden all by himself all these years.

That night as MC watches the night lights of 19^th century Paris, she mused over how much has changed over the last few months. How she had been adamant about returning to her own time zone to finding the love of her life – a pureblood vampire who would live forever. Saint G joins her on the balcony, declaring his love for her and promising to get lost with her in this present life until she is assured of spending eternity with him.

~Fin

Review

While Leonardo and Saint G are both pureblooded vampires, their plot is rather different. Even though the narrative about being unable to overcome the vast divide between human and vampires is similar, Saint G’s story was more focused on the conflict between him and Vlad and the differences in their ideologies. In addition, Leonardo was attracted to MC right from the start and did not deny his feelings for her. On the other hand, Saint G’s feelings for MC took time to develop. He was a father to the people in the mansion and his devotion was to his family and keeping them safe. As such it didn’t seem like he had romantic affections for MC until much later… and probably because she kept finding opportunities to be with him. When Saint G finally reciprocated MC’s love, it turned out he is a much more passionate man than Leo, willing to even change her into a vampire when she is finally ready to live with him forever.

As a man, Saint G is a kind, compassionate and possibly very idealistic nobleman. He has a picture perfect vision of the society he wants to build and that motivated him to create these vampires so that they could have a second chance in making the world a better place, while preventing them from falling into Vlad’s hands. It will not be difficult to fall in love with a man like Saint G as he is very charismatic too. But as the story shows, Saint G is a man who doesn’t belong to anyone in particular, he is to be loved by all and loves all. For a person who needs a more selfish version of love, she will never be fully satisfied by Saint G.

Saint G’s kindness can also be his undoing as evident from how he forgave Shakespeare despite his attempts to wreak havoc on the mansion, how he had helped the disgruntled workers who kidnapped MC and how he decided to keep the truth about Vlad from the vampires. If he had a bit more ambition and less reservation about ‘using’ people, he could have achieved something more substantial with the men he had given a second life to instead of letting them waste their days away with meaningless pursuits.