Chapter 11: Negotiations
"So." Seris regarded him from across the room, arms folded, head tilted by a fraction. "You’ve heard my proposal. Tell me what you want."
Alden met her eyes without hesitation.
"Before I answer, I’d like to know exactly what you expect from me."
One brow rose. "You already rejected my first offer. And you’re still negotiating."
"I don’t sign contracts without reading them first."
"...Prudent." She turned toward the window and looked out at the academy grounds below. Moonlight sat soft against her pale skin. "At the moment? Nothing."
Alden blinked. "Nothing?"
"Not yet." She turned back toward him. "When the time comes, I’ll contact you. Until then, continue living your life." She crossed back toward him with the same unhurried steps she did everything. "But."
"But?" he said, watching her.
She raised one slender finger and pointed. not at his face. At the side of his neck.
"There is one thing."
Alden’s hand went to his neck before he decided to. His fingertips found two small puncture marks just below the jaw line.
He stared at her. "When did you—"
"When you were unconscious." She looked at him with an expression of complete serenity. "It would’ve been rude to wake you."
"You bit me while I was passed out."
"I merely had a taste." Her crimson eyes held a quiet warmth that somehow made the whole thing more unsettling. "And I rather enjoyed it."
She leaned forward slightly.
"So. Become my personal blood donor." There was a trace of desperation in her voice now, like someone determined to win the argument. "In return, I’ll grant reasonable requests whenever I can. What do you say?"
Alden was quiet for a moment.
’Of all the ways this could have gone.’
"I have conditions," he said.
Her expression shifted into something satisfied.
"I expected nothing less. Go on."
He leaned back in the chair. "If you’re taking my blood, every single time you do, I get one favor in return. No exceptions."
She went still. Then she walked slowly behind his chair, fingertips resting lightly against the back of it.
"Every single time?" Her voice came from behind him, unhurried. "Don’t you think that’s asking for quite a lot?" She came back around to face him. "What if you ask for something impossible? A kingdom? My life?"
"I’m not interested in things that aren’t possible." Alden looked up at her. "I only want something of equal value. You take something from me, I get something back. That’s just how an exchange works."
She studied him.
There was no greed in his face. There was no fear either. He simply looked like a man who had already decided exactly what he wanted.
"...You’re unexpectedly difficult to negotiate with." She extended one hand toward him. "Fine. We have the beginning of an agreement." Her crimson eyes met his directly.
"But if you betray me, I’ll make sure you regret it."
Alden looked at her outstretched hand.
"And if you betray me," he said, "I’ll stop supplying your favorite snack."
Seris looked at him for one long second.
Then she laughed. A genuine one, the kind that comes when something actually exceeds what you expected.
"You’re really a fascinating creature, Alden."
She withdrew her hand and folded her arms again, looking down at him with the composed authority.
"So. What will your first request be?"
Alden went quiet.
’I never planned on getting close to someone like Seris.’ He kept his expression even while his thoughts ran underneath it. ’In the original story, everyone who stayed near her long enough eventually paid for it. No exceptions.’
’But she has something I need. Resources, access, connections outside academy territory.’ He exhaled slowly. ’Once I’ve taken everything useful from this arrangement I cut ties with her. Simple.’
He looked at her.
"I’ve heard something about the mountain ranges along the border of the Vampire Dominion." He kept his voice level. "The ones under the Ravenveil family’s jurisdiction. They are filled with endless, dark forests and powerful beasts. The territory is strictly forbidden to outsiders."
Seris gave a small nod.
"Everything you said is accurate." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "But why?"
"I want permission to hunt there."
She didn’t respond immediately. She just watched him.
Then a translucent screen appeared before her eyes, and gone in a few seconds, but Alden caught the direction of her gaze.
She was reading his status.
________________
Opponent Status
________________
Name: Alden
Level: 3
Rank: F
Class: Undefined
_____________
He already knew what was on that screen. He’d looked at it enough times himself.
The screen disappeared. Her expression had shifted into something that was paying more attention than before.
"So that’s your objective." She looked at him directly. "The academy’s forest has already become too limiting. You want stronger monsters. You want to accelerate your growth. And—" her head tilted once, reading something in his face— "you want to be ready before the final examinations."
"Exactly."
"One thing, though." Her gaze went back to where the screen had been. "Undefined." She said it like she was turning the word over to examine it from different angles. "I’ve never seen that classification before. What exactly are you?"
Alden tilted his head.
"That’s a separate story." He folded his arms. "If you want that answer, it counts as one of today’s favors."
She stared at him.
Then she laughed again, the sound of someone who didn’t expect to be outmaneuvered a second time in the same conversation and found it more interesting than annoying.
"Still negotiating." She waved one hand. "Keep your secrets. They’ll show themselves eventually." She turned toward the large doors at the far end of the room.
"As for your request." She reached for the door handle and stopped, looking back over her shoulder. "I approve. The Ravenveil hunting grounds belong to my family. If I say you may enter—" the door opened— "no one will dare stop you."
She looked at him with absolute certainty. She was a person who never had to repeat herself.
"Come. I’ll take you there myself."