After... properly calming the two maids, Vergil finally dressed. A dark shirt, tightly fitting his body, and snug trousers, with an elegant exhaustion still visible in the way he descended the main staircase.
In the hall, illuminated by the soft morning light filtering through the stained-glass windows, he spotted Novah... impeccable as always, moving gracefully back and forth, serving the table with movents that almost seed choreographed.
At the long, refined table, Raphaeline and Stella occupied one side, wrapped in a soft conversation, probably discussing sothing trivial.
On the other side, Katharina, Ada, and Roxanne sat, each with her own brand of elegance. Katharina with her noble posture, Ada with that challenging air of soone ready for a fight or a flirt, and Roxanne, always with her subtle, distracted charm.
At the center of the table, sitting cross-legged with an expression that mixed royalty and boredom, was Sapphire. Her gaze t his even before he pulled out the chair. She raised an eyebrow, as if already evaluating everything — about him.
Vergil sat down at the opposite end of the table, directly across from her.
"Buahh..." He yawned lazily, stretching his arms with a soft purr. "It's been a while since I've slept this much."
At that mont, Novah glided beside him with flawless precision, placing before him a plate worthy of an Arican king — scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, stacked pancakes with syrup slowly dripping down, accompanied by hot coffee and fresh orange juice.
"Served, Master," she said with a faint smile before disappearing like a well-trained shadow.
Vergil grabbed the silverware, twirled the fork between his fingers, and comnted with a crooked grin on his lips:
"If every ti I wake up like this I get a banquet... maybe I'll sleep more often."
Stella chuckled softly.
"I highly doubt the girls will let you sleep that much, darling."
Sapphire's gaze never wavered. She drank her coffee slowly, savoring not just the liquid but each reaction around her.
"Mmmm..." The weak, dragged-out murmur ca from the sofa to the left of the room. Like a dissonant note cutting through the comfortable silence of the hall, it imdiately drew everyone's attention.
The clinking of silverware stopped, conversations died in their throats, and all eyes turned to the source of the sound.
There, lying with her body half-wrapped in a poorly positioned blanket, was a new figure for the won... Well, not so much for Sapphire and Vergil... Sapphire was wearing a smile from corner to corner at seeing her prey waking up.
The woman? Kaguya.
Her disheveled white hair fell over her shoulders, and her eyes, still heavy and unfocused, slowly opened as if the world around her was being revealed through a mist.
The dress she wore seed hastily put on, barely covering what was necessary. The straps were crooked, one of them nearly falling off her shoulder, and underneath... nothing.
No bra, just poorly wrapped bandages around her abdon and ribs, betraying recent injuries. Her breasts rose and fell slowly with each heavy breath, her pale skin still marked with bruises.
She blinked several tis, her eyes trying to adjust to the light of the place... and then she saw.
The table. Those people. The faces, the gazes.
Vergil. Sapphire. Raphaeline. Katharina. Ada. Roxanne. Stella. Even Iridia and Zex, descending the stairs... All watching her. A refined hall. A comfortable environnt. An unknown place.
Her heart skipped a beat.
"Where... am I...?" she murmured, her voice hoarse and fragile, as though each word scraped her throat.
Vergil brought a fork to his mouth, chewing slowly, swallowing calmly before setting the utensils down on the plate. He leaned slightly in his chair, resting an arm on the backrest with the natural authority of soone who didn't need to raise their voice to control the situation.
"Kaguya," he said with the calm of soone dictating the rhythm of everything. "Co. Sit. We need to talk."
She hesitated for a mont, her eyes scanning each person there. No familiar faces, no known places except for Vergil and Sapphire. But there was sothing in Vergil... not security, but certainty. A silent force that pulled her like a magnet. Sothing that said: you'd better obey.
Half-stumbling, she stood up. The dress slid further down, and Kaguya fumbled to pull it back up, instinctively covering herself. Even injured, there was dignity in her. She passed through the hall like a cornered beast, but still proud.
She reached the table and stood beside Vergil, hesitating. He pulled the chair out with his foot, a simple yet clear gesture.
"Sit."
She sat slowly. Looked at him. Then at Sapphire, who drank her coffee as if it were just another ordinary morning.
"Now then," Vergil said, with a calm, almost gentle smile — a striking contrast to the palpable tension in the air.
"Novah," he called, not taking his eyes off Kaguya, "bring a glass."
The golden-haired maid bowed slightly and left silently, returning seconds later with an intricately crafted crystal glass, fine and refined, worthy of a royal banquet. She handed it to Vergil with the sa delicacy one would offer a sacred relic.
He held it lightly, swirling it between his fingers for a mont as if contemplating sothing... then brought his left wrist to the edge of the glass.
Without ceremony, his fingers closed slowly, and demonic claws replaced his nails. With a quick, clean movent, he cut his own skin. Blood gushed.
Crimson and dense, his essence fell in soft threads into the glass. Each drop resonated with power — warm, pulsating, alive. The tallic scent filled the air, but mixed with sothing more... sothing ancient and addictive, causing Kaguya's eyes to widen slowly, her instincts responding before her mind did.
Vergil filled the glass halfway and then — with a slight tremor of energy — activated his demonic power. Black flas, like liquid shadows, ran up his arms, and in the blink of an eye, the wound was healed, as if it had never existed.
He extended the glass to her.
"Here," he said, his voice low and firm, eyes locked on hers. "Take it. You're a vampire... you know you can't live off human food."
Kaguya hesitated, her gaze fixed on the glass that seed to emanate warmth, desire, and... salvation. The thirst burned in her throat like glowing embers. Her trembling fingers wrapped around the edge of the glass as she took it from his hands.
Vergil leaned back in the chair with a slight smile.
"Eat first," he said. "Then... we'll talk."
Kaguya brought the glass to her lips.
The mont the liquid touched her mouth, her entire body shuddered. It was like swallowing liquid power, like sinking her teeth into sin itself and feeding on the essence of a being far beyond human comprehension.
And Vergil just watched her... as if feeding a beast. As if returning sothing that had been lost — but not without charging for it later.
"Good girl..." Vergil murmured with a soft smile, running his hand through Kaguya's ssy hair, as if petting a beast about to awaken. His touch was surprisingly gentle... almost affectionate.
But then he dropped the bomb.
"Now, she's all yours, Sapphire."
Kaguya froze.
Her eyes widened, and she whipped her face toward him, utterly confused. "W-what do you an...?"
Vergil, impassive, simply went back to eating, as if he had passed the baton to another predator — and the fate of the young vampire was already sealed.
Sapphire laughed. A lodic, almost innocent laugh... but there was sothing cruel, sothing sharp in that sound.
"Oh, it's nothing much, relax," she said, leaning back in her chair with a playful air. "We just want to... confirm one little thing."
Kaguya swallowed hard, her instincts screaming to run, even though she had no strength left. But then Sapphire locked eyes with her.
"How did it feel to be betrayed?" The smile grew. "Just like we told you."
The words hit her like knives.
And then… the flashes ca.
The war.
The confusion.
The blood.
That bastard running.
Fleeing.
His look when he left her behind... as if she was worth nothing.
As if she were... disposable.
Kaguya's eyes burned with pure fury, her muscles tense like strings about to snap. She clenched her fists.
CRASH.
The glass shattered between her fingers with a sharp, dry snap. Shards embedded in her hand, mixing her blood with Vergil's — a bright red that dripped down her arms, staining the light dress like a warning.
Silence fell for a mont. Tense. Heavy.
Vergil looked at her... and smiled.A calm, calculated smile... as if everything was going exactly as expected.
"Relax," he said, raising his hand and gently pulling the shards embedded in her fingers, as one would carefully remove poisonous flowers. The blood was still flowing.
And then, without ceremony, he raised his own arm, exposing the thick, pulsing vein in his forearm. His gaze t hers — fierce, devastated, but hungry.
"You're too weak to heal on your own. Drink."
Kaguya hesitated. Not out of pride... but because of what accepting ant.
Drinking his blood. From the devil himself, disguised as a man. The predator who saved her... and marked her.
She bit her lip, her breath trembling... and moved closer.
As she sucked his blood... Katharina, Ada, and Roxanne sighed together and murmured... "He's done it again..."
Sapphire cast a glance at Vergil. A look loaded with malice, almost silently whispering: "She fell right into our trap."
The plan, you ask?
Simple... brilliantly cruel.
They never wanted Alucard. He was just noise. An old king, thirsty for glory, thinking he could resist a world that was passing him by. No. They would never waste their strength facing the sword of an enemy in his first hand. That would be suicide.
So... ca Plan B. More subtle. More effective.
Take her.
The secretary. The shadow who saw and heard everything. The woman who was by the throne — but never on it. The one who was used... and discarded.
Now, they had exactly what they needed.
A living source of confidential information. A woman with mories too precious to be lost. And, above all...
Soone broken. Soone angry. Soone hungry for revenge.
Because desperation... ah, desperation creates wonderful tools.
And a betrayed woman... Deprived of love, honor, and country...
She doesn't think. She doesn't hesitate. She destroys.
And they knew this.
From the first look. From the first word. From the mont they picked her off the ground. From when... he set his gaze on her... Her fate was sealed.
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