Alucard let out a quiet sigh before closing his eye and leaning further back into his chair. For a brief moment, his focus drifted away from the balcony entirely as he extended his senses through the mansion around them.
Almost immediately, he located the handmaidens moving through the halls below.
Four of them were currently climbing the stairs while carefully carrying trays covered with silver lids, their quiet footsteps echoing softly through the mansion. Judging by their pace, they would arrive within a minute or two.
Which meant Alucard still had time.
And if Seishan thought she would be the only one allowed to tease the other tonight, then she was sorely mistaken.
A slow, devilish smile spread across his face.
"Oh, Sei," he said casually, as though he had just remembered something important. "I almost forgot to mention..."
His crimson eye slowly wandered across her figure.
"That dress looks absolutely gorgeous on you."
Seishan raised an eyebrow immediately, though the faint amusement on her face showed she was already suspicious.
"It really suits you," Alucard continued smoothly. "Though I do have one small problem with it."
Seishan studied him carefully for several seconds before finally sighing in resignation.
"Alright," she said cautiously. "I'll bite."
Her red eyes narrowed slightly.
"What exactly is wrong with my dress, Al?"
The smirk on Alucard's face immediately widened. He leaned farther back in his chair and lazily tilted his head upward like some arrogant devil lounging upon a throne.
"The fact that you're still wearing it, of course."
Silence.
Seishan visibly froze.
Then, slowly, the color of her skin darkened by several shades as embarrassment immediately overtook her composure. Without saying a word, she quickly grabbed her glass and finished the entire shot of alcohol before finally managing to respond.
"You are unbelievably lucky that it's you saying things like this," she muttered while glaring at him. "If anyone else spoke to me that way, I would've had them executed the moment we returned to the real world."
A brief pause followed.
"Actually..."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"I'm still considering it."
Alucard simply hummed in satisfaction, clearly proud of himself.
"Ah, but of course I'm lucky, Sei."
He casually lifted his bottle toward her in a mock toast.
"I'm currently eating dinner with the most beautiful woman in not one world—but two."
His grin softened slightly.
"If that isn't luck, then I genuinely don't know what is."
Seishan immediately buried her face into her hands to hide her expression.
"Gods..." she muttered weakly. "You're really laying it on thick tonight, aren't you?"
Unfortunately for her, Alucard wasn't even close to finished.
In one smooth motion, he suddenly leaned across the table and gently grabbed her face, cupping her chin in his palm while his thumb slowly brushed against her cheek.
The movement caught Seishan completely off guard.
"Oh, come on, Sei," he said softly. "You know it's cruel to hide a face like that from me."
His crimson eye gleamed faintly beneath the candlelight.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were actually flustered."
His thumb lightly traced her cheek again.
"But the proud and untouchable Seishan I know would never get flustered over a man..."
A dangerous smile spread across his lips.
"Or am I the exception?"
Seishan's entire body felt like it was burning at this point.
Almost immediately, she pulled herself backward in her chair to escape his grasp, though the damage had already been done.
"Oh please," she replied breathlessly. "You'd have to do far more than that to fluster me even half as much as you always get around me."
Her shaky voice completely ruined the confidence of the statement.
And Alucard noticed instantly.
A wicked idea immediately formed in his head.
Without another word, he slowly stood up from his chair and walked around the table until he stood directly behind her.
Seishan quickly turned her head to follow his movements, suddenly far more alert now.
"What are you doing?" she asked suspiciously.
Then she felt his hands settle gently against the crook of her neck and shoulders as he carefully pushed her hair aside.
"Hey," she said quickly, "get off me already or else—"
Alucard merely smiled down at her.
"Oh?"
His fingers slowly pressed into the tense muscles of her shoulders, expertly easing the stress from her body almost instantly.
"You know..." he murmured lazily, "whenever you threaten me like that, it only makes me want to see you try."
His hands moved slowly along her shoulders, working away the tension she hadn't even realized she'd been carrying.
"So go ahead, Seishan."
He leaned slightly closer.
"Try to fight me."
His voice dropped lower.
"And when you end up pinned against a wall unable to tell which direction is up or down..."
A soft chuckle escaped him.
"Then we can talk."
Seishan immediately felt her breath hitch.
To make matters worse, his hands were far too good at what they were doing. The aching stiffness in her shoulders and back melted away beneath his touch while warmth spread throughout her body. Between the embarrassment, the alcohol, and the teasing, her mind was beginning to feel dangerously lightheaded.
Still, somehow, she managed to gather enough composure to respond.
"Oh?" she asked quietly. "And by pinning me against a wall and making me forget myself... what exactly do you mean by that?"
Alucard leaned down slightly, one hand lightly sliding upward until it rested gently against the side of her neck.
"Oh..."
His voice became smooth as velvet.
"I think that's entirely up to you to decide..."
Then he whispered directly beside her ear.
"~Lady Seishan~"
That completely destroyed whatever composure she had left.
Her face darkened even further while she practically stopped functioning for several long seconds.
Finally, after a painful amount of effort, she managed to mutter quietly:
"...Fine."
A pause followed.
"You win."
Alucard immediately moved around her chair again until he stood in front of her, gently grabbing her chin and tilting her face upward so she was forced to look at him.
The smug grin on his face was unbearable.
Unfortunately for Seishan, he still wasn't done tormenting her yet.
"Oh?" he said innocently. "What was that?"
He leaned slightly closer.
"I didn't quite catch it."
Then his grin widened maliciously.
"Oh—and you should probably say it quickly."
He tilted his head toward the mansion entrance behind them.
"Your handmaidens are about to walk through that door."
His crimson eye gleamed with amusement.
"You wouldn't want them seeing their proud lady melting in the hands of some filthy commoner..."
A pause followed.
"Or maybe you would?"
At that point, Seishan finally gave up completely.
Closing her eyes, she weakly gestured toward the empty chair across from her.
"Enough," she muttered. "Please."
A defeated sigh escaped her lips.
"I give up. You got your revenge."
Then she rubbed her forehead helplessly.
"For the sake of my sanity, sit down already."
Alucard finally relented.
Mostly.
Before returning to his seat, he leaned down beside her one final time and whispered softly into her ear:
"As you wish..."
A faint chuckle escaped him.
"~Lady Seishan~"
Seishan immediately buried her face into her hands again while internally questioning every life decision that had led her to this moment.
A few seconds later, the handmaidens finally arrived carrying tray after tray of food before carefully setting everything across the table. None of them dared comment on their lady's unusually darkened complexion.
And honestly? The meal looked incredible.
There were thick cuts of roasted crimson serpent meat glazed with sweet amber honey harvested from Dream Realm insects, alongside giant shellfish gathered from the shores near the Dark Sea and seasoned with glowing blue sea-salt crystals. There were also skewers of grilled nightmare bird coated in spicy herbs, steaming bowls of mushroom stew harvested from the underground caverns beneath the city, fresh flatbread brushed with garlic oil, and sweet citrus fruits with shimmering golden flesh that only grew near curropted Trees.
Alucard immediately began rating every single dish with complete seriousness.
"The serpent meat?" he announced after one bite. "Easy 9/10. Excellent texture but slightly too sweet."
Another bite followed.
"The mushroom stew? 8/10. Very comforting."
Then he pointed dramatically toward the nightmare bird skewers.
"These are phenomenal. 10/10."
Gluttony loudly agreed inside his head.
"Yes. More bird."
Seishan watched the entire process while struggling not to laugh at how absurdly serious he looked while judging every meal like some legendary food critic.
Eventually, however, the final dish arrived.
A large plate of raw crimson meat specifically prepared for him.
The moment Alucard took the first bite, his entire posture froze.
Then his visible eye widened slightly.
"Oh."
Another bite.
"Oh this is good."
A third bite followed immediately.
"Actually no—this is an 11/10."
Gluttony practically moaned in satisfaction inside his head.
"YES. THIS. MORE OF THIS."
By the time dinner finally ended, both of them felt far more relaxed than before.
Alucard eventually stood from his chair before casually offering Seishan his hand.
She looked at it briefly before accepting it without hesitation.
"What are you planning now?" she asked while standing up.
Alucard smiled softly before pointing toward the distant city walls overlooking the Dark Sea.
"What better way is there to end the night than with a peaceful walk beside the sea?"
Moonlight reflected faintly in his crimson eye.
"Think of it as a romantic walk along the beach."
Seishan sighed, though the smile tugging at her lips betrayed her amusement.
"Fine."
Then she immediately lifted one of her heels slightly.
"But you're carrying these."
Alucard nodded without hesitation.
"Deal."