Seeing Le Fay and Kuroka frozen, the group wondered what to do.
Alexandre smiled lightly, stirring his drink with a straw and glancing at Millarca with a smile.
"So, you plan to leave Valerie Tepes and Gasper Vladi with Lady Alexandra Yeva?"
The silver-haired vampire asked, her red eyes fixed on the golden eyes of the human man.
"Well, they're both Dhampirs; I think the best person to teach them would be Yeva."
"She has no interest in that; I doubt she'll teach them anything," Millarca scoffed as she brought her spoon to her mouth and ate her parfait.
"I can be persuasive when I want to," Alexandre said with a smile on his face.
"Pervert…" Millarca muttered.
"Don't be like that; do you think I didn't notice your glances at my neck?" Alex asked, smiling.
The vampire's pale face turned red as Alexandre grinned.
"If you want to suck my blood, I don't mind, but I'll want something in return," Alex said, smiling.
"So that's why you invited me…"
"Don't be like that; you coming so dressed up only shows you were expecting something. Besides, last time, you were the one who said my blood tasted like an extremely rare and delicious drink, better than the finest wines."
The silver-haired woman blushed furiously as she recalled that time, how she let herself be so easily seduced by this human and his delicious taste.
"Why do you want to leave the Dhampirs with us?" Millarca asked, trying to change the subject.
"I have evidence that Marius was negotiating with dangerous people about the use of the Holy Grail, and they won't rest until they get their hands on Valerie. They didn't take long to locate me and connect me to the incident, so it's better if we take turns looking after them."
The silver-haired woman nodded slightly, her eyes drifting to the exposed neck of the man.
"You're doing it again…"
"Idiot."
The vampire grumbled as Alexandre continued to smile cheerfully.
"Don't be like that," Alex smiled. "So, is that chocolate parfait good?"
"Mhm. Want some?"
Alexandre Ikuse was on a date with a vampire.
Alexandre Ikuse was on a date with a vampire.
Alexandre Ikuse was on a date with a vampire.
Alexandre Ikuse was on a date with a vampire. Alexandre Ikuse was on a date with a vampire. Alexandre Ikuse was on a date with a vampire. Alexandre Ikuse was on a date with a vampire. Alexandre Ikuse was on a date with a vampire. Alexandre Ikuse was on a date with a vampire. Alexandre Ikuse was on a date with a vampire. Alexandre Ikuse was on a date with a vampire. Alexandre Ikuse was on a date with a vampire. Alexandre Ikuse was on a date with a vampire—
Gabriel took three deep breaths.
She didn't know what a "date" entailed. But the Seraph only watched as the vampire's spoon fed Alex some of her chocolate dessert. Her mouth was on the spoon, and now Alex's mouth was on the spoon too.
By the transitive property of congruence, Gabriel logically concluded that they had shared an indirect kiss.
Hooooo, boy. She stored the image of the vampire in her memory for… future reference.
"Griselda," Gabriel said gently, beckoning to the exorcist. Griselda Quarta stepped forward at the angel's call: "I'm going to describe something to you. Can you tell me what it is?"
"Of course," the woman said.
"It's an emotion I'm feeling," the Seraph described. "It's like a wave that starts in the pit of my stomach. It surges with a whirlwind of strong emotions, building up inside my entire body."
Griselda Quarta swallowed hard. Gabriel was one of the most innocent and pure beings the exorcist had ever met in her life. The Seraph held nothing but love and kindness for others. It surprised her immensely that the angel was capable of feeling any kind of negative emotion, especially this one.
"It's jealousy, milady," Griselda informed the angel.
Gabriel blinked. She processed the information and labeled the emotion she was feeling: jealousy.
Without a doubt, she was jealous of the vampire being on a date with Alexandre Ikuse. The strength and negativity of the emotion suddenly made sense to her. It was a lesser form of envy, a deadly sin.
"Is it unpleasant?" the exorcist asked cautiously.
The Seraph thought for a short time. She meticulously examined her own thoughts, determining her beliefs on the matter.
This careful and deliberate process was vital to ensure her feelings and emotions were as pure and true to herself as possible.
If her thoughts held anything less than pure intentions, Gabriel could fall.
"No," Gabriel said finally. "It's quite pleasant. Now I've learned something important."
Griselda raised an eyebrow. "What did you learn?"
"Jealousy seems negative. I won't deny that, but in its entirety, the purpose jealousy serves is positive: it only reminds us that we're in love," Gabriel concluded. "For any other purpose, the emotion isn't jealousy—it's envy."
The other woman nodded at the Seraph's wisdom before suddenly realizing something important in her words.
"Wait, in love? Did you say that? You're in love, milady?"
"Of course I am," Gabriel smiled enigmatically. "I love all of humanity."
But now Gabriel could differentiate between platonic love and romantic love. She loved many things platonically; she loved Michael, Uriel, and the other angels in heaven, she loved the people on earth, and through her love, Gabriel was kind. But romantic love, on the other hand, was reserved for only one person: Alexandre Ikuse.
Gabriel could distinguish romantic love from platonic love by the simple fact that romantic love hurt.
It brought her relentless emotions she had never felt before, but instead of being frightened by it, Gabriel fully embraced every sensation she felt.
All these new experiences made her grow as an angel… but a small part of Gabriel wanted more.
A small piece of Gabriel wanted Alex's attention to be solely on her. Entirely on her, and on no one else.
To remain a pure angel, Gabriel knew she had to keep that part of herself under control.
She recalled the words Alex said to her when they met: thank you… thank you… thank you…
"No," Gabriel thought. "Thank you, Alex."
"You've become so precious to me."