After Seras received her engagement ring, her mood was so joyful that she simply couldn't hide it. The most important thing for her was that she had received such a significant item in the very place filled with many shared memories with Alex. Standing at the top of Big Ben, Seras continued to hug Alex with a silly, radiant smile on her face, not wanting to let him go at all.
Ever since the day she became a Nosferatu, Seras had subconsciously understood that she could no longer have a normal life, and her entire surroundings — consisting of Alucard and Integra — constantly reminded her of that. But even in such a situation, she still tried to at least pretend to remain an ordinary girl.
And from the day she became a Nosferatu, a whole series of events had occurred in her life that changed her existence so much that she not only stopped being an ordinary Nosferatu but became something far greater. But most importantly — she had found someone who accepted her exactly as she truly was.
Experiencing one of the best evenings of her life, Seras couldn't stop hugging Alex and kept rubbing her cheek against his, literally hanging on him. Seras's rainbow eyes, which she had gained after becoming the Apostle of Destruction, glowed with a bright red light due to the overwhelming emotions inside her.
The only thing holding Seras back from jumping on Alex with more obvious desire was that all her thoughts were occupied by the engagement ring now adorning her finger. Hanging on Alex like a koala on a tree, Seras kissed his cheek once more and shifted her gaze to the engagement ring.
She couldn't stop admiring it, repeatedly raising her hand toward the starry sky and squinting her eyes with a satisfied smile. Looking at the ring, Seras let out a silly, happy giggle, completely unrestrained in her joyful mood.
"Seras, we've been standing like this for half an hour already. Maybe we should head back to the mansion?" Alex asked once again after hearing her silly giggle.
"Just a little longer… I'm just so happy to have this ring. Hehehe… It's so beautiful," Seras said, letting out another silly giggle and rubbing her cheek against Alex's.
Hearing yet another giggle, Alex could only sigh, realizing this would take a bit more time than he had expected. But the way Seras was genuinely and childishly rejoicing over the ring made him feel warm joy and relief as well. Reaching for a cigarette, Alex realized it would even be inconvenient to light one, considering how tightly Seras was wrapped around him with all her limbs.
At that moment, he couldn't help but compare her to an octopus. Chuckling at his own silly joke, Alex stroked Seras's back, causing her to make a contented sound and rub her nose against his neck. Raising his gaze to the night sky, Alex looked at the moon hanging high above the city. He liked this kind of moon much more than the huge pale moon he had seen in Yharnam.
"The moon is very beautiful tonight," Alex said with a light sigh, stroking Seras's back.
"Yes… It's the most beautiful moon of my life," Seras agreed with a bright smile, pulling back slightly but still continuing to hang on Alex.
"I get the feeling that everything will be the most beautiful for you today," Alex chuckled, gently pinching Seras's cheek.
"Hehehe. That's true. After all, this is the best day of my life," Seras said, squeezing Alex's waist with her legs and rubbing his cheeks with her palms.
"You've already said that. Many times in the last half hour," Alex said with a smile, rolling his eyes.
"And I'll say it many more times, because this is the best day of my life," Seras said cheerfully, rocking from side to side.
Watching the cheerful smile on Seras's face, Alex couldn't resist and started tickling her. Feeling the tickling, Seras began laughing loudly, trying to escape Alex's grasp. But all her attempts were in vain. So Seras decided to attack him herself, grabbing his cheeks and stretching them from side to side.
Alex and Seras started fooling around at the top of Big Ben, forgetting everything around them. Only after some time did they burst out laughing while looking into each other's eyes. Stopping stretching Alex's cheeks, Seras leaned toward his ear and repeated the words that were in her heart once again.
"I love you so much," Seras said, pressing her forehead against his.
"I love you too, Seras," Alex said, gently stroking her cheek with his finger.
Hearing Alex's declaration of love, Seras leaned closer and kissed him on the lips. At that very moment, it was the only way for her to show her feelings and what she felt for him. After finishing the kiss, Seras still didn't want to let Alex go and only pressed against him even harder, lightly biting his neck. Feeling Seras's fangs on his neck, Alex decided it was time to return to the mansion. He voiced his thoughts, asking for Seras's opinion, and she immediately agreed without hesitation.
Hugging Seras around the waist, Alex took a step forward. A moment later, they appeared in the basement, in Seras's room. As soon as they materialized, Seras immediately pushed Alex onto the couch, not letting him move. Sitting on top of him, Seras pinned his hands to the couch with one single thought — she wasn't going to let him go anytime soon.
Seeing the look in Seras's eyes, Alex understood where this was going. And as confirmation of his thoughts, Seras immediately kissed him on the lips. Before everything happened, Alex managed to set up a temporary time barrier because he knew perfectly well that this would last a very long time. Only after many long hours was Alex able to leave Seras's room. As he left, he looked once more at the sleeping Seras.
Even in her sleep, she was smiling sillily, rubbing her cheek against the hand that now wore the engagement ring. Smiling, Alex quietly closed the door behind him so as not to wake her. He tried to count how much time they had spent inside the time barrier, but he knew for sure that it had been quite long. Taking out the pocket watch he had taken from Yharnam, Alex checked the time and saw that it was almost three in the morning.
Closing his eyes, Alex began spreading his mana throughout the mansion to find out where everyone was. He sensed that Maria was in her room and already asleep. Alessa and Doll were in Doll's room and also sleeping. The only one still awake was Integra, who was in her office. Taking a step, Alex appeared in Integra's office and sat down on the sofa where he had spent his first days at Hellsing.
Integra, who was working with documents, didn't pay attention to Alex's sudden appearance and continued her work. Setting aside another stack of documents, she lit a thin cigar and took a sip of whiskey. After Alex's departure, Integra planned to return to her usual work rhythm once the person who constantly distracted her was gone.
Taking another sip of whiskey, Integra shifted her gaze to Alex, who was sitting on the sofa and busy reading the latest news. Standing up from her desk, Integra clenched a thin cigar between her teeth and picked up the bottle of whiskey from the table. Holding the whiskey bottle and two glasses, she approached the sofa.
"Move over, husband," Integra said, nudging Alex with her foot.
"Decided to take a break from work?" Alex asked, shifting slightly to make room for Integra.
"I've already finished most of the documents. I can afford to spend some time with my husband before he leaves," Integra said, placing the whiskey and glasses on the table in front of the sofa.
"You know…" Alex said, pouring whiskey into the glasses and handing one to Integra.
"What?" Integra asked, taking the glass of whiskey from Alex's hand and crossing her legs.
"Sometimes you can be way too cute," Alex said with a smile, taking a sip of whiskey and looking at Integra.
"Only you can call a woman like me cute. I didn't even plan to get married in my life. And I didn't see any point in it," Integra said, taking a sip of whiskey and leaning her shoulder against Alex's.
"And now you have a super handsome and super strong husband. Isn't that wonderful?" Alex said in an exaggerated tone, chuckling slightly.
Chuckling, Alex lightly bumped Integra with his shoulder and winked at her. Integra looked at her husband, who was once again acting like an idiot. Shaking her head slightly, Integra blew cigar smoke into his face to make him stop acting like a child.
"It's just that my husband is way too narcissistic. And it's hard to say he has his head on straight. And sometimes he acts like a child who doesn't want to do anything," Integra said calmly with a slight smile on her face.
"Ouch, that hurt," Alex said, clutching his heart.
"But… I still chose you as my husband. And I will stay with you until the end, even if it takes an entire eternity," Integra said, resting her head on Alex's shoulder.
"I know. After all, there are still many things ahead that we all have to go through. And even an entire eternity won't be enough to enjoy it all," Alex said, resting his cheek on Integra's head.
Integra said nothing in response to Alex's words. But her silence only served as confirmation of her thoughts — that she agreed. Bringing the cigar to her lips, Integra moved a little closer to Alex and shifted her gaze to the window. The time was approaching four in the morning, and the sun was gradually beginning to rise over the horizon. Alex and Integra sat in silence, continuing to drink whiskey and enjoy each other's company.
Integra saw no reason to talk in such a calm moment. And she didn't need to. She didn't know how to express her feelings in words and always showed them in her own way. Alex sat next to Integra and watched as the sun slowly rose over the horizon.
Once again, the thought crossed his mind of what he still had to do. Realizing that he didn't have many plans besides visiting the Oldest House, and since the flight was scheduled for the night, Alex thought about another walk around London to buy souvenirs for everyone. After sitting for another couple of hours, Integra pulled away from Alex and stood up from the sofa.
"It's time for breakfast," Integra said, stretching slightly and turning her head toward Alex.
"I wouldn't say no to a cup of coffee. Drinking whiskey all night is quite the activity," Alex said, stretching slightly and rubbing his neck.
"No one forced you to drink. You could have just refused," Integra said, walking toward the door to leave the office.
"And leave my wife drinking alone? Nope, that's not how it works," Alex said with a smile, leaving the office together with Integra.
Integra looked at Alex with a blank gaze and simply shook her head. Arriving at the kitchen, Alex snapped his fingers to summon a newspaper for Integra, which she could read while he prepared breakfast. Alex didn't even try to ask Integra why she preferred reading a newspaper when he had given her a phone with which she could read news from all over the world.
The only thing that came to his mind was that it was connected to her habit of reading the morning paper. While Alex was cooking breakfast, the girls gradually came to the kitchen. The first to arrive was Doll, who was holding Alessa in her arms with a gentle smile on her face. Approaching the table, Doll helped Alessa sit down and then sat next to her. Maria entered the kitchen next.
And Alex couldn't help but notice that Maria had changed her hairstyle, tying her hair into a small bun on top of her head. Seras was the last to enter the kitchen, literally bouncing with every step. Seras jumped over to Alex, hugged him from behind, and gave him a firm kiss on the cheek before sitting down at the table. After finishing cooking breakfast, Alex placed the plates on the table and sat down between Seras and Doll.
"Doll, are you ready to go to another country today?" Alex asked, turning his head toward Doll.
"Of course, dear Hunter. I want to see more wonderful things," Doll said with a gentle smile on her face, not taking her eyes off her breakfast.
"And you, Alessa, will you stay at Hellsing or return to the Bunker? Your moms said they don't mind if you stay at Hellsing," Alex said, shifting his gaze to his daughter.
"I'll go back with you, Father. You don't mind, do you, Mom Integra?" Alessa said, looking up at Integra.
"Go ahead. As your father says, you need to enjoy your childhood… But you'll have to come back several times a week to continue your studies. Do you remember that?" Integra said in a calm tone, placing her cutlery on the table.
"I remember, Mom Integra," Alessa said with a slight smile, nodding.
Integra said nothing more and returned to her breakfast. Alex blinked in surprise, thinking that Integra had been joking when she said she wanted to raise Alessa as the Hellsing heir. Shifting his gaze to his daughter, Alex realized that Alessa herself didn't mind. And since his daughter had no objections, Alex had none either. As a father, he could only support his daughter's desire.
And so that Alessa wouldn't have to do it alone, Alex sent a message to the family chat suggesting that Anya, Nyaruko, Jinx, and Tina also join these lessons. The girls in the family chat reacted very quickly to the message. They almost unanimously agreed with Alex's suggestion, and Alcina expressed her desire to visit Hellsing to talk with Integra about educating their children.
Alex looked up at Integra and pointed to his phone. Noticing Alex's gesture, Integra calmly took her phone out of her pocket, saw the personal message from Alcina, and replied with one short word: "Good." After replying, Integra put her phone aside and continued eating breakfast without being distracted by anything else.
After finishing breakfast, Alex quickly cleaned the dirty dishes with magic and suggested that the girls go for another walk around London. Maria and Doll didn't mind enjoying another walk around London that day. Especially Maria, who wanted to spend one more day in Alex's company before he left.
She understood that she could visit him anytime, but that didn't stop her from spending more time with him. After finishing all their preparations, Alex and the girls left the mansion. As they left, Alex held his phone in his hands, planning their walk route so they could buy the necessary souvenirs for everyone along the way. Getting into the car, Alex told them about the places they would visit, and none of the girls objected.
Once again, Alex and the girls walked around London until dinner. During the walk, they visited even more places they hadn't managed to see the day before. Throughout the walk, Maria held Alex's arm the entire time. Seras and Doll had no objections, and Alex certainly couldn't refuse Maria's wish.
During the walk, Alex even suggested that Maria come with him and Doll to America. But Maria only shook her head, saying she didn't mind staying at Hellsing and helping if needed. During the walk, Alex also received a message from Anderson saying he wouldn't be returning to Britain anytime soon.
Asking what was going on, Alex learned that Anderson was currently in Central Europe, tracking down all the escaped members of the Volturi. Hearing these words, Alex didn't immediately understand how the Volturi had crossed Anderson's path.
But he never got an answer because Anderson stopped replying to messages. So Alex couldn't help but write to Alice about what was happening with the Volturi. Alice replied that she didn't care what happened to the Volturi.
In the end, the walk around London turned out to be too eventful, causing Alex a slight headache that he would have to deal with. Returning to the mansion for dinner, Alex's first action was to go down to the basement to check on Alucard.
Descending into the basement, Alex saw that Alucard still hadn't woken up. For added precaution, Alex cast a protective spell to hide all traces of Alucard's awakening. After finishing his business in the basement, Alex headed to the kitchen to prepare the last dinner before departure.
By the time he arrived at the kitchen, the girls were already there. Starting to prepare a simple dinner, Alex quickly cooked everything and set the table. During dinner, Alex hummed a light melody, shaking his head from side to side, thinking about what he would get after returning to America.
"Why are you in such a good mood?" Maria asked, looking up at Alex.
"He's happy that he'll get an entire anomalous building as payment for his help," Integra said calmly without raising her head.
"An anomalous building? What is that?" Maria asked, hearing a new unfamiliar term.
"To put it simply, it's something like the Hunter's Dream. It's also controlled by an entity from another dimension. But unlike the Moon Presence, The Board aren't complete idiots. They actually help people. Although they're still strange and talk strangely," Alex said, tapping his finger on the table.
"And how exactly are you going to help them? Why would they give you their anomalous building for that?" Maria asked with a light sigh, calmly changing the subject.
"I have a small plan. And a rather workable one. I just need to get to them, and the rest will take five minutes," Alex said, shrugging to show that it wasn't difficult for him.
Maria simply nodded and didn't ask any more questions to continue the topic. Alex continued eating dinner calmly before starting to prepare for departure. After finishing dinner, Alex brewed tea for everyone. Sipping his tea, Alex talked with Seras, who, although she didn't want him to leave, still smiled.
Very soon, it was time to depart. Alex left the mansion together with Doll, who was carrying a small leather suitcase in her hands, and Alessa, who was holding her creepy rabbit Robbie. Taking the Impala out of his inventory, Alex looked at Integra, Seras, and Maria, who had come out to see him, Doll, and Alessa off.
"See you later, Integra," Alex said, opening his arms to hug her.
"What kind of pathetic farewell is this? You're just flying to another country. You're acting like we won't see each other for several years. Stop being so dramatic and go to the airport," Integra said in a cold tone, rolling her eyes and swatting Alex's hand away.
"Alright, you saw through me. I just wanted to have a little fun. I saw something like this in movies and wanted to try it," Alex said, hugging Integra.
Integra hugged Alex back and after a couple of seconds calmly pushed him away, playing along with his little act. After hugging Maria and Seras goodbye, Alex was about to get into the Impala when he felt a gaze on him. Looking up, Alex saw Alucard sitting on the roof of the mansion, her red eyes glowing with a strange starry gleam.
Looking at Alex, Alucard smiled tenderly and blew him a kiss. Watching Alucard, Alex couldn't hold back a smile, seeing how she had decided to say goodbye. While Alex was looking at Alucard, Seras was hugging Alessa tightly, not wanting to let her go. Seras had become very attached to Alessa during the time they had spent together. Alessa, being pressed against her chest, tried to stop herself from rolling her eyes.
"Mom Seras, your chest is suffocating me. It's hard to breathe," Alessa said, trying to escape from her mother's very tight embrace.
"I don't want you to leave, Alessa. Who am I going to spend evenings with then? We had so much fun together," Seras said, not releasing Alessa from her arms.
"Seras, you forgot that Alessa will be coming back several times a week for lessons. We'll see her again," Maria reminded her, standing behind Seras.
At that moment, Seras froze, giving Alessa a chance to break free from her mother's very tight embrace. Escaping from Seras's arms, Alessa hid behind Doll. Peeking out from behind Doll's legs, Alessa looked at her stunned Mom Seras. Alessa loved her mothers, but sometimes their love was too suffocating — literally.
Seras, realizing she had made a drama out of nothing, slapped herself on the forehead. Looking apologetically at Alessa, Seras approached her daughter, squatted down, gently stroked her hair, and gave her one last tender hug. Maria also approached Alessa and gently hugged her goodbye, even though the separation wouldn't be long.
After finally saying their goodbyes, Alex got into the car and started the engine. Waving goodbye, he left the Hellsing mansion grounds. As he drove away, Alex couldn't deny that he had really enjoyed his stay at the Hellsing mansion. And this month-long adventure had brought him many joyful things.
Alucard, sitting on the roof of the mansion, watched as the black Impala drove farther away. But a slight smile played on her face. Integra, Seras, and Maria, standing at the entrance to the mansion, watched the car until it drove far enough away. Only then did they go back inside.
Reaching the airport, Alex parked nearby and got out of the Impala. When Doll and Alessa got out of the car, Alex stored the Impala in his inventory. Taking Doll by the hand, Alex headed into the airport. He was glad that Integra had arranged a private jet to New York, so they wouldn't have to fly with anyone else.
Entering the airport, Doll looked around. Even though it was already close to midnight, there were still many people in the airport. After passing through the VIP terminal and a very quick security check, Alex, Doll, and Alessa were sitting in the private jet just half an hour later. Alex sat next to Doll and had already taken out his tablet to pass the time during the flight.
"And how long will this flight last, dear Hunter?" Doll asked, watching Alex.
"About eight hours, Mom Doll. And since this is your first flight, I suggest you occupy yourself with something. Or sleep," Alessa said, wrapping herself in a black blanket and pulling a black sleep mask over her eyes.
"Our little princess is right, Doll. So here," Alex said, handing Doll a pair of headphones.
"What is this?" Doll asked, taking the headphones from Alex's hands and examining them from all sides.
"They're headphones so we don't disturb Alessa while she sleeps. And at the same time, I'll introduce you to what they call movies," Alex said with a smile, putting the headphones on her head.
Seeing what Alex did, Doll copied him and put on the headphones the same way. Alex turned on one of his favorite movies so they could watch it together with Doll. When Alex started the movie, Doll slightly tilted her head to the side, not understanding how she should react.
But after some time, Doll leaned against Alex, hugging his arm and watching the movie with him. Alex himself had become so used to flying on planes that he began to enjoy every flight. The eight hours flew by very quickly with movies and hugs. Not only Alex enjoyed the flight, but also Doll, who occasionally looked out the window, watching the clouds.
And only toward the end of the flight did the sun become visible. When the plane began to descend, Alex took out his pocket watch, which had automatically adjusted to the new time zone, and saw that it was almost four in the morning in New York. Seeing the time, Alex mentally cursed things like time zones.
"We'll have to wait somewhere until morning comes," Alex said, lifting the black cocoon made of blanket that was Alessa.
"Why? Is there some problem, dear Hunter?" Doll asked, picking up her leather suitcase.
"It's just four in the morning right now. And I don't want to arrive at the FBC so early. Jessie is still sleeping at this time," Alex said, leaving the plane together with Doll.
Doll simply nodded and followed Alex. Carrying the sleeping Alessa in his arms, Alex headed to a café in the airport where they could drink coffee and pass the time. By the time they reached the café, Alessa, whom Alex was carrying, had already woken up. And only upon arriving at the café did Alessa stop pretending to be a black cocoon and calmly climb down from Alex's arms. Ordering coffee and pastries, Alex returned to the table with Doll and Alessa.
"Looks like we'll have to spend another three hours just waiting. And I said we should have flown in the morning," Alex said, taking a sip of coffee.
"Should I call Mom Integra and tell her you're complaining?" Alessa asked, looking up at Alex.
"You wouldn't do that, little princess," Alex said, poking Alessa on the nose with his finger.
"You're right, Father. I won't. No one likes snitches," Alessa said in a calm tone, smiling slightly at Alex's words.
Alex smiled and ran his palm over his daughter's hair. Quickly finishing his coffee, Alex went to the bathroom to change into his formal suit right away instead of doing it on the way.
A couple of minutes later, Alex came out of the bathroom already wearing a strict black suit with a black shirt and a red tie. Adjusting his tie, Alex returned to the table, lightly fixing his hair. They still had to spend a couple more hours in this café before heading to the Bureau.
Ordering himself another coffee and some pastries, Alex took out his phone to pass the time. Alex calmly read the news and drank coffee while Alessa and Doll read books. The nicest thing was that at this time the café was relatively empty, except for a couple of other customers. Time passed unnoticed, and Alex saw that it was already seven in the morning.
"Ugh, finally. I was starting to think I'd grow old before morning came," Alex said, putting his phone in his pocket.
"I liked this way of spending time. This place is very cozy and quiet," Doll said, closing the book she was reading and looking up at Alex.
"It only seems that way to you. Usually, cafés in airports are crowded with people. And then it gets very noisy here," Alex said, shaking his head and extending his hand toward Doll.
"Is that really true?" Doll asked, taking Alex's hand and standing up from her seat.
"Exactly, Mom Doll. People just love to make noise and talk loudly. Weren't they taught how to behave in public places and that they shouldn't be noisy?" Alessa said, putting her book away in her bag.
Doll simply nodded, once again realizing that she still had a lot to learn to better understand the world. Holding Doll with one hand and Alessa with the other, Alex led them out of the airport.
Leaving the airport, Alex went to the parking area and took the Impala out of his inventory. Getting into the car and starting the engine, Alex immediately headed toward the Bureau to finally finish The Board's request and talk with Jessie before returning to the Bunker.
To be continued...
(So, it's back to America. Next up, we have a short visit to the Bureau, a quick chat with Jesse, and a visit with Amara. And after all this, it's back to the Bunker. As I mentioned, Alex will be taking a short vacation with Samantha and her friends. And since the chapter is written, I'm going to eat. Peace, love, and don't go where you shouldn't go.)
Early access to chapters on my patreon: p*treon.com/GreedHunter