Dracula made his way back to Diana's ward.
As he pushed the door open, he found the room empty. Only the basket remained on the bed.
"Where did she go?" he wondered, stepping inside.
A chill suddenly crawled down the back of his neck.
He turned instantly toward the doorway.
No one.
He exhaled slowly.
"Who are you?" Diana's voice came from behind him.
A blood dagger hovered against his back.
"What do you mean?" Dracula asked calmly.
"Everything you do contradicts the person you're supposed to be." Her grip tightened. "Why are you so kind? Are you playing with me?"
"There are things people choose never to tell another person," Dracula replied quietly. "Unfortunately… this is one of them."
He slowly turned to face her.
"Be careful," Diana warned. "Or do you want me to stab you?"
"You won't."
"Oh? And why not?"
"I can feel everything."
He looked directly into her eyes.
"Your anger… your sadness… your guilt… your fear… your shame… your confusion."
A pause.
"But I don't feel even the slightest intention to kill me."
Diana hesitated.
The blood dagger dissolved back into her skin.
"I'm so pathetic…" she whispered.
Dracula picked up the basket.
"Aren't we still going?"
She blinked before nodding.
"Yeah… but there's somewhere I want to stop first."
"As you wish."
They walked through the hallway until Diana suddenly stopped.
"This is it!" she said excitedly, peeking through an open doorway.
She turned to him.
"Help me take the wine out of the basket."
Dracula silently handed it to her.
She hurried inside.
He followed—
—but froze.
His eyes landed on the patient lying inside.
"It's that boy from the alley…"
Without another word, he turned away and sat quietly in the waiting area.
"I've overstayed my welcome," he murmured.
A crimson magic circle bloomed across his palm.
Varin's holographic figure appeared.
"Sup."
"Go to the black market. Get everything we need."
"So soon?!" Varin groaned. "Man… I was just starting to enjoy the lack of bloodshed."
"Stop whining."
"I will… but why the sudden rush? Already tired of your little phase?"
He smirked.
"…Or are you afraid this isn't a phase anymore?"
The magic circle vanished instantly.
Back in the hotel, Varin stared at the empty space where Dracula had disappeared.
"…Did he just hang up on me?"
A beat.
"I was only joking."
He scratched his cheek.
"Bastard."
"Mr. Roland?"
Dracula looked up.
A doctor stood before him.
"There you are. I was afraid you'd already left." The doctor smiled awkwardly. "Where's your fiancée?"
Dracula simply stared at him.
The doctor swallowed.
"She wasn't kidding… he really doesn't talk much."
"So… we ran a few additional tests."
Dracula remained silent.
"We found an unusually high concentration of a poison-like substance inside her body."
His expression didn't change.
"Her vampire healing is constantly fighting against it. Right now they're at a stalemate… but that balance could change in the future."
The doctor hesitated.
"…And because of the damage it has caused…"
"…She's currently unable to have children."
Dracula's thoughts drifted.
"Didn't she mention something like this before?"
"Thank you, Doctor."
"I'll remember that."
The doctor smiled.
"You're welcome."
"And… congratulations on your future together."
He walked away.
Sanguinastra — Entrance of the Citadel
Tharion strode toward the Citadel with something wrapped across his back.
From the shadows, Seraphine's voice echoed.
"Where have you been?"
Tharion smiled.
"I've missed you too, Lady Seraphine."
She ignored the remark.
"Tell me."
"Did your test subject work?"
"It worked."
A pause.
"Too well."
She narrowed her eyes.
"Where did you get those creatures?"
Tharion's smile widened.
"Nobody."
"Don't fuck with me."
"But I'm telling the truth."
He chuckled.
"When all this is over… I'll introduce every one of you to them."
Seraphine remained unconvinced.
"And as for where I've been…"
He tapped the object wrapped behind his back.
"I was searching for this bad girl."
"What is it?"
"The key to our success."
His grin stretched wider.
"As the Hand of God…"
"…I'll strike down anyone foolish enough to sit upon His throne."
He burst into manic laughter.
Seraphine watched him in silence.
"Why am I surrounded by lunatics?"
Dracula's eyes drifted across the hallway, searching.
A moment later, Diana stepped out of the room and spotted him.
"He looks… uneasy."
She walked over with a faint smile.
"Did you miss me?" she asked playfully.
Dracula said nothing.
He simply stared at her.
She blinked.
"…Do I have something on my face?"
Still no response.
"This is a nasty one…" Dracula thought.
"The doctor was mistaken."
His gaze lingered on her.
"The only reason Diana is still alive… is because the poison is dormant."
"Uh… Dracula…" Diana laughed nervously. "People are starting to stare."
"How much pain do you endure behind closed doors?"
The warmth in her expression faded.
"…Is it that obvious?"
Dracula was silent for a moment.
"No."
"You hide it remarkably well."
"I simply have good eyes."
"…Oh."
An awkward silence settled between them.
Finally, Dracula turned toward the exit.
"Let's leave."
"Why?"
"Their stares are beginning to irritate me."
She smiled faintly.
"Where are we going?"
"Your choice."
"If she lives long enough…" Dracula thought.
"I'll have Lilith deal with the poison."
"Hopefully."
Outside, they wandered through the lively streets.
Diana's eyes wandered from shop to shop, sparkling with excitement.
"I should buy something for Rebecca… and for the children at the orphanage."
She looked over at Dracula.
"Is that alright?"
"You may do whatever you wish."
Her face immediately brightened.
"Really?!"
Without waiting for another answer, she grabbed his sleeve and pulled him along.
Dracula offered no resistance.
After a while, Diana spoke again.
"That boy…"
She smiled sadly.
"He reminded me of my little brother."
She looked ahead.
"Though… this one has a bit more meat on his bones."
Dracula listened in silence.
"It broke my heart…"
She took a slow breath.
"Imagining him dying because the people who were supposed to protect him failed him."
"I wanted to adopt him."
A small, bitter laugh escaped her.
"But Sanguinastra is an even worse place."
"What did you tell him?"
"Nothing special."
She shrugged.
"I told him he was already a leader."
She smiled to herself.
"As a leader… the younger ones will always follow you."
"So don't let your anger become your weapon."
"And even if you fall…"
"…become a bridge the next generation can stand on."
She lowered her head.
"I also told him…"
"…that none of what happened was his fault."
Dracula glanced at her.
"Is that what you wished you could have told your brother?"
Diana nodded.
"That…"
"…and so much more."
Silence accompanied them for several steps.
Then Dracula finally spoke.
"Diana…"
"If there truly is a God watching over us…"
"…I don't believe He hates you."
She slowly looked toward him.
"And if He despises you simply because of your race…"
Dracula's eyes remained fixed on the road ahead.
"…then that isn't a God."
"It's merely a fool intoxicated by power."