"Well," Shalltear began in her usual teasing tone, brushing back a strand of silver hair. "It truly warms my heart to see our Lord home again. You know, Lady Albedo, you missed out on so much."
Albedo's golden eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Is that so?" she said, her voice smooth but brittle, the tone of someone forcing calm through clenched teeth.
"Mmhmm~," Shalltear hummed, clasping her hands behind her back as she began to circle slowly. "Why, did you know? My lord even cooked while we were there. Oh, not just anything, mind you. A roast bison. Perfectly seasoned and slow-roasted over an open flame, the scent filling the entire clearing. Mmm…" She exhaled with a dreamy sigh, eyes closing as if reliving the memory. "It was divine. Truly heavenly. I almost thought I was tasting mana itself."
A vein pulsed on Albedo's forehead. Her composure cracked just slightly as her wings flared out behind her. "My… Lord… cooked?" she repeated, her tone dangerously quiet.
"Indeed," Shalltear said, feigning innocence. "With his own hands. So gentle… so focused… I could barely look away."
"You let our Lord—the Supreme One himself—perform menial labor?" Albedo hissed, her control slipping as a spark of outrage colored her tone. "How dare you make him cook like a common servant!"
Shalltear giggled, a sweet, infuriating sound. "Oh, don't be so jealous~. I didn't make him do anything. He offered. Said he wanted to share something 'human' with me." She smiled, her fangs catching the chandelier light. "And I must say… he did it with such passion. Perhaps it's something you wouldn't understand, dear Overseer."
The word "jealous" practically hung unspoken in the air, and Albedo's eye twitched. "You… little… parasite."
"Ah~ there it is!" Shalltear teased, tapping her lips with a finger. "Jealous, are we?"
"Jealous?" Albedo hissed, stepping forward, her golden eyes flaring. "Why would I—"
Shalltear's teasing smile slowly faded, her crimson eyes softening as she looked past Albedo and toward the empty hallway where Alastor had gone. Her voice, when she spoke next, carried a rare solemnity.
"…But when I was with my Lord," she began quietly, "I sensed something… different."
Albedo blinked, momentarily taken aback by the shift in tone.
Shalltear's hand lowered from her lips. "He laughed, smiled, and even spoke fondly of the past… Yet there was a weight behind his words. A kind of loneliness I've never seen before." She frowned slightly, recalling the campfire light flickering across Alastor's calm but distant face. "Even when surrounded by power, worlds, and us… he seemed so far away. Like he's walking a path none of us can follow."
Albedo's wings twitched again—but not in anger this time. Her expression softened, just barely. "…Lonely?"
"Yes," Shalltear said, her tone gentle. "He hides it well, but I could feel it. It's as if every victory he gains costs him something invisible… something no one else can see."
Silence hung heavy between the two guardians. The faint hum of Nazarick's wards was the only sound filling the space.
Finally, Albedo folded her wings close, her gaze lowering to the marble floor. "If that's true… then it's our fault, isn't it? We let him shoulder everything alone."
Shalltear tilted her head slightly, her voice regaining a trace of her usual teasing lilt. "Maybe. But that's why we're here, aren't we?"
Albedo looked up, the golden glow in her eyes returning—this time softer, resolute. "Then I'll make sure he never feels that loneliness again."
Shalltear smiled faintly. "You're not the only one who thinks so."
"Oh, and there's one more thing," she said sweetly. "My Lord has even shared his bed—with a human girl."
The world stopped.
For several heartbeats, there was only silence. Albedo froze mid-breath, her mind struggling to register the statement. Her wings stiffened, feathers trembling violently, and the dark aura around her intensified until the very marble beneath her feet began to crack.
"…A… human girl?" she said slowly, each word shaking with restrained fury.
Shalltear smiled wider, watching with open amusement. "Mmm. I didn't ask too much, of course. But she was… special to him, it seems. Tender memories, you might say. He even smiled when he spoke of her."
A sound escaped Albedo's throat—a low, guttural growl, more beast than woman. "A human—?" she spat, the word dripping venom. "He shared his warmth with a filthy, mortal creature?"
Shalltear tilted her head, pretending to think. "Well, I don't recall him calling her filthy. Quite the opposite, actually."
That was it.
A roar of raw, divine fury erupted from Albedo as her wings flared to their fullest, black feathers scattering through the hall like knives. Her halo shimmered into existence, glowing faintly above her head as her body trembled with barely controlled rage. "I will destroy her! Whoever that mortal is—wherever she exists—I will erase her name from all creation!"
Shalltear only laughed, the sound like silver bells. "Oh, Albedo~ you're adorable when you're unhinged."
"UNHINGED?!"
"Of course," Shalltear cooed, smiling dangerously. "But don't worry. You won't have to search for her. My Lord's heart already left her behind...." she paused, her expression softening just slightly, "I think, or maybe not. Who knows? It was my lord's decision to make; who are we to control him?"
For once, even Albedo fell silent—her fury momentarily dampened by the faint melancholy behind Shalltear's smirk.
The vampire then turned away, her dress flowing behind her like a dark wave. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go ensure our Lord's chambers are prepared. He deserves comfort after such a journey… wouldn't you agree?"
~~~