CHAPTER 44: TRAITOR!

"Ow! Ow! Let me go!"

The pink-haired vampire struggled, heels scraping against the dirt road, but Seamus dragged her along like she weighed nothing.

"You’ll regret this! Don’t go inside that mansion!"

He sighed, barely listening. "Yeah, yeah..." His eyes stayed locked on the looming hill and the dark mansion above it.

The slum market buzzed around them, vendors yelling prices, prostitutes looming around trying to sell themselves, and drunks laughing. Nobody cared that he was hauling a vampire girl by her hoodie.

That was the thing about this place, people didn’t stick their noses where they didn’t belong. He kind of liked that.

"What’s your name again?" he asked, finally glancing down at her. "Feels weird calling you ’hey’ or ’pink vampire.’"

"...It’s Lulu," she muttered, clearly out of breath. "And why the hell are you so strong? You’re just a human!"

"Can’t humans be strong?" he replied, voice flat. "You ever met a vampire hunter?"

She paused, frowning. "...Yeah. But you don’t look like one."

"Lucky me."

By the time they reached the iron gates, her hoodie was half-slipped off her shoulders. He yanked it tighter around her and shoved her gently but firmly against the bars. She flinched.

"You know this place," Seamus said, staring her down. "Take me to Viviane, quietly. Do that, and I’ll let you go."

Lulu hesitated. Something flickered in her eyes, it might be fear or even guilt. But she nodded slowly.

He didn’t question it. He didn’t have time. He had a mission, and that mission was Viviane.

Getting her back. Pulling her away from whatever twisted path she was on. And that wasn’t easy, not with how damn stubborn she could be.

They walked side by side through the gate and up the long stone path. Maids trimmed hedges, carried linens, polished brass railings, and completely ignored him.

He figured Lulu’s presence explained it. To them, he looked like just another guest she was escorting.

Lulu was quiet now. Too quiet.

At the entrance, Seamus froze. His sharpened senses picked up the muffled voices inside. His pulse jumped when he recognized Viviane’s. She sounded irritated, arguing with someone.

"If you ask for too much," she snapped, "you’ll never get a drop of his blood!"

Seamus stiffened. ’Blood?’

He leaned closer, straining to catch more, but the door swung open.

Lulu shoved it wide.

The room went silent. All eyes turned toward him. Viviane’s gaze landed on him last, sharp and unreadable.

Seamus’s chest tightened. He snapped his head toward Lulu, realization dawning.

"You fucking traitor."

Her face crumpled. "I told you, you’d regret it! I warned you!" Panic lit her features, like she hadn’t wanted to do this at all.

And then poof. She was gone.

"Shit."

Seamus’ eyes darted around the room, trying to take in every figure while the system in his head suddenly blared a warning.

[You are surrounded by hostile vampires. They will be marked as ’enemies’ by the system.]

[To assist you, I will begin scanning...]

[Scan complete: four unknown vampires detected, along with one harem member.]

[Three of the unknowns are already at fourth-tier evolution, meaning they possess blood styles. One remains at the third tier.]

[Your chance of defeating them all: 40%. Your chance of escaping: 80%.]

’Wait—eighty percent? That high?’ His eyes widened in disbelief.

Across the room, Viviane’s expression darkened. Her anger was not directed at him but at the other vampires, her glare falling sharply on Lulu, who was sitting and trying her best to be small as if ashamed of what she had done or scared to be blamed.

The only man in the gathering smirked, his face twisting with dark amusement as Seamus cautiously began to step back.

Too late. The man was faster. He swung an arm around Seamus’ shoulders as though they were friends, dragging him forward.

Seamus could barely focus on the system’s notifications, catching only one message:

[Without their Blood Style, you are the strongest in this room.]

"Oh, so this is the ’lamb’ we’ve been talking about," the man drawled, pulling Seamus into the center of the chamber and presenting him before Viviane, whose expression had become unreadable.

"Why don’t we ask his opinion about what percentage we get from his blood?" the man continued. His long hair fell into Seamus’ face, irritating him further.

The woman with burning orange hair looked amused, her mocking smile showing just how entertained she was.

Beside her, a childlike figure dressed in porcelain-white lolita fashion watched him silently, her doll-like face blank of all emotion.

"Don’t be ridiculous, Alastair. He shouldn’t be here in the first place," Viviane snapped. "You’ve broken our treaty!"

"And what will you do then?" the orange woman stood, circling closer to Seamus with a predator’s grin.

"Do you plan to save your little prince, Viviane? You against four of us? You don’t stand a chance."

"Shut your mouth, Eve. You filthy bitch," Viviane hissed. "You must be the one who lured him into this mess!"

Eve laughed. "Me? Oh, please. I didn’t do a thing. Lulu just telepathed me about him wandering around our territory. She’s the one who brought him here."

Viviane’s gaze snapped back to Seamus, as if demanding an explanation.

"She’s right," he said calmly. "I came to see you and to stop you from doing anything reckless."

"Ow, that’s almost sweet." Alastair’s face pressed close, his tone dripping with mockery.

"But do you really think you’re her equal, little lamb? You’re just human. Food. Whatever Viviane does for you is nothing more than what a farmer does for his cattle."

Then, with absolute confidence, he declared, "Because it’s me she truly loves."

Seamus stared at him for a moment, then laughed. Alastair’s delusion was so staggering he didn’t even notice the sheer disgust twisting Viviane’s face. What a joke.

"Viviane loves you?" Seamus’ tone turned taunting. "You talk too much for a man with hair constantly falling into my face. Move it, you asshole."

He tilted his head and smirked. "Better yet, next time you should try punching before talking, because I won’t wait."

Without another word, Seamus’ fist slammed into Alastair’s face. The vampire’s elegant features shattered under the blow, his body hurled through the wall and sent flying far beyond the mansion grounds