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Description
It was sunset, meaning Dr. Tepes should be in the building by now. She went over to his office to confront him, or at the very least ask him questions to alleviate her concerns.

She stood before the doctor's office, taking a deep breath to calm herself, before looking forward with resolve. She then knocked on the door.

"Dr. Tepes?" No answer. She knocked again. "Dr. Tepes, it's Dr. Harker. I'd like to speak with you, sir." No answer.

Mina opened the door to see an empty office, no sign of the doctor anywhere. 'But he's in the building. He never leaves his office unlocked when he's at his home. This is going to be incredibly rude of me,' she thought as she entered the office, closing the door behind her.

Mina looked around. She had been in this office many times. She came to the doctor for advice many times. He called her in to give her talk of the hospital's future when she became CAO. In the recent days... she came just to have a pleasant conversation with him, feeling the stress of work fade away after having a riveting conversation with the brilliant man. She always felt so... safe and comfortable around him.

Now, she was nervous. Almost scared.

The signs were there. Despite being Romanian, Dr. Tepes was also so pale, and the night shift was no excuse. His eyes were a deep shade of red, and such eyes are impossibly rare. And despite how stressful being a doctor is, he seemed to almost never tire.

But there were counterarguments as well. She has seen him walk in the sunlight. There were times when he had to rush to a patient in a sun kissed room without any trouble. She has seen him near a cross without any form of discomfort and has witnessed him shake the hands of a priest. Due to health reasons, much of the food's menus include garlic, and she has seen him eat the vegetable. He has also handled pure, clean, distilled water plenty of times.

None of the usual weaknesses of vampires ever seem to affect him, so why was he addressed as Count Dracula himself?

Then, Mina got curious. She began to search for anything that might link the doctor to the infamous vampire lord. Of course, his desk was locked, and there was nothing obviously linking him to the former Dark Lord.

However, she opened a cabinet and found a refrigerator. She opened it to see glasses of red wine.

'It's true, Dr. Harker,' Mina remembered Nurse Mina saying. 'I caught the doctor drinking red wine during work. I understand that this job is stressful, but one mustn't drink while on duty.'

Mina took out one of the bottles. She analyzed it, realizing it looked more like dark red wine than normal red wine.

Still, she uncorked the bottle and sniffed it, her eyes widening when she caught the strong sent of iron. Then, she gently tilted the bottle until the liquid reached the edge of the mouth. She then carefully dipped her finger in the liquid, her eyes widening even more when she felt the texture. She rubbed it between her fingers, recognizing the feel and color.

"T-This is... blood."

"Indeed."

Mina jumped, miraculously not spilling a drop from the bottle, before turning to see... Dr. Tepes himself standing in the doorway.

"Did you find what you were looking for, my dear?"

Description
It was sunset, meaning Dr. Tepes should be in the building by now. She went over to his office to confront him, or at the very least ask him questions to alleviate her concerns.

She stood before the doctor's office, taking a deep breath to calm herself, before looking forward with resolve. She then knocked on the door.

"Dr. Tepes?" No answer. She knocked again. "Dr. Tepes, it's Dr. Harker. I'd like to speak with you, sir." No answer.

Mina opened the door to see an empty office, no sign of the doctor anywhere. 'But he's in the building. He never leaves his office unlocked when he's at his home. This is going to be incredibly rude of me,' she thought as she entered the office, closing the door behind her.

Mina looked around. She had been in this office many times. She came to the doctor for advice many times. He called her in to give her talk of the hospital's future when she became CAO. In the recent days... she came just to have a pleasant conversation with him, feeling the stress of work fade away after having a riveting conversation with the brilliant man. She always felt so... safe and comfortable around him.

Now, she was nervous. Almost scared.

The signs were there. Despite being Romanian, Dr. Tepes was also so pale, and the night shift was no excuse. His eyes were a deep shade of red, and such eyes are impossibly rare. And despite how stressful being a doctor is, he seemed to almost never tire.

But there were counterarguments as well. She has seen him walk in the sunlight. There were times when he had to rush to a patient in a sun kissed room without any trouble. She has seen him near a cross without any form of discomfort and has witnessed him shake the hands of a priest. Due to health reasons, much of the food's menus include garlic, and she has seen him eat the vegetable. He has also handled pure, clean, distilled water plenty of times.

None of the usual weaknesses of vampires ever seem to affect him, so why was he addressed as Count Dracula himself?

Then, Mina got curious. She began to search for anything that might link the doctor to the infamous vampire lord. Of course, his desk was locked, and there was nothing obviously linking him to the former Dark Lord.

However, she opened a cabinet and found a refrigerator. She opened it to see glasses of red wine.

'It's true, Dr. Harker,' Mina remembered Nurse Mina saying. 'I caught the doctor drinking red wine during work. I understand that this job is stressful, but one mustn't drink while on duty.'

Mina took out one of the bottles. She analyzed it, realizing it looked more like dark red wine than normal red wine.

Still, she uncorked the bottle and sniffed it, her eyes widening when she caught the strong sent of iron. Then, she gently tilted the bottle until the liquid reached the edge of the mouth. She then carefully dipped her finger in the liquid, her eyes widening even more when she felt the texture. She rubbed it between her fingers, recognizing the feel and color.

"T-This is... blood."

"Indeed."

Mina jumped, miraculously not spilling a drop from the bottle, before turning to see... Dr. Tepes himself standing in the doorway.

"Did you find what you were looking for, my dear?"