A week before Sunny came crawling back to Nephis, Alucard had already reached his limit.
He had just survived a soul-crushing meeting—one of those long, agonizing gatherings filled with numbers, supply chains, political arguments, and people who somehow managed to speak for an hour without actually saying anything meaningful. By the time it ended, his mind felt like it had been wrung dry.
Now he was sprawled on the floor like a fallen corpse, staring blankly at the ceiling, utterly defeated by logistics.
Minutes passed.
No one was entirely sure whether he was simply resting or genuinely dead. It was honestly a fifty-fifty chance.
That uncertainty lasted until Nephis finally spoke.
"We should all leave," she said calmly.
The moment the words left her mouth, Alucard vanished from the floor.
In the blink of an eye, he was upright, already halfway to the door, his body reacting faster than his exhausted mind. Freedom called to him. Escape. Air. Silence. Anything but another meeting.
He almost made it.
Almost.
Nephis grabbed his shoulder firmly and stopped him.
Alucard froze, then slowly turned his head to face her, giving her a glare so venomous it could have melted steel.
"Nephis," he muttered darkly, "why did you stop me?"
Her expression didn't change in the slightest.
"I need you to stay a little longer," she said. "There's something important."
Around them, the others began to file out of the room. One by one, they patted his shoulder as they passed, offering fake sympathy and barely concealed relief.
They all knew what this meant.
To an outsider, it might have looked like something indecent. A private conversation. A secret request. Something romantic, even.
But Alucard wasn't an idiot.
He knew exactly what awaited him.
More negotiations. More logistics. More endless discussions.
Except this time, he'd be alone.
Even Gluttony—his so-called partner in suffering—had muted himself, cowardly retreating from shared responsibility. The betrayal stung more than Alucard would ever admit.
He shot the departing group a desperate, pleading look.
Surely one of them would stay.
Surely one of them would save him.
Their response was immediate.
They shut the door in his face.
"Traitors," Alucard muttered bitterly.
He dragged himself back to his chair and collapsed into it, staring at Nephis with the hollow eyes of a man awaiting execution.
He waited.
And waited.
And waited some more.
The silence stretched on long enough to become uncomfortable.
Finally, the door opened.
A handmaiden stepped inside.
She was disguised as a poor Sleeper from the outskirts—ragged clothes, lowered posture, the subtle mannerisms of someone used to being overlooked. But Alucard still recognized the faint taste of Seishan's taste in her veins.
Do not question why he knew what Seishan tasted like.
The handmaiden bowed gracefully toward Nephis.
"Lady Changing Star," she said, voice polite and smooth, "my name is Juno. I'm here to discuss my lady's agreement with you."
Nephis studied her carefully, then briefly glanced at Alucard, gauging his reaction before responding.
"Wasn't Seishan supposed to be here in person?"
Juno offered an apologetic tilt of her head.
"Unfortunately, my lady encountered certain… circumstances that made her appearance impossible. She has sent me to negotiate on her behalf."
Alucard rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair.
He didn't care who showed up. He just wanted this to be over.
That wasn't entirely true.
He would have preferred Seishan to be here.
But he refused to let the disappointment show.
Nephis and Juno both noticed his sour mood, though neither commented on it.
Instead, Nephis went straight to the point.
"So," she said coolly, "what are your conditions for betraying Gunlaug?"
Juno sat down with elegant composure, crossing her legs and smiling faintly.
"My lady has several requests," she said.
"For starters, she would like a detailed explanation of your plan."
Nephis nodded slightly.
"Secondly," Juno continued, "we will refrain from assisting in the initial battle against Gunlaug unless it becomes absolutely necessary."
Alucard frowned faintly but didn't interrupt.
"And finally," Juno added, eyes flicking briefly toward him, "my lady would like Alucard to remain at her side at all times following Gunlaug's defeat."
Nephis turned and shot Alucard an accusing glance.
He, meanwhile, was nodding along absentmindedly, clearly more interested in finishing this meeting than in the implications of the deal.
"Sounds fine," he muttered lazily.
Nephis kicked his leg under the table.
"Hey—what was that—?"
She stepped hard on his foot, silencing him instantly.
He winced, then slumped back, finally taking the hint.
From that point on, he half-dozed through the negotiations, drifting in and out of awareness while Nephis and Juno hammered out the final terms.
When it was finally over, Nephis summarized the outcome for him.
"You'll be joining Seishan from the moment our battle with Gunlaug concludes," she explained. "You'll remain with her until the final battle in the Crimson Spire."
She paused.
"And you'll supply her with your blood every night."
Alucard nodded slowly.
He was only half listening. His mind drifted somewhere else—far away from meetings, alliances, and cursed responsibilities.
Then Nephis spoke the words he'd been waiting for.
"You can go—"
Before she could finish the sentence, Alucard had already vanished.
A second later, the window was open, curtains fluttering wildly as he hurled himself outside in a desperate leap toward freedom.