"Vampire apprentice?!" Eschell repeated incredulously.

It was clear that the very idea of such a drastic racial transformation was hard for her to fathom.

"Yes, that's right, you heard correctly. From now on, you'll possess otherworldly beauty, formidable strength, and unmatched magical talents in certain areas. Pretty exciting, right?" Murphy taunted, a cheeky grin on his face. "The price? Just a few life-long 'debuffs.'"

"How could this happen..." Eschell muttered in despair. "I am human! I was human! How can I face my parents, my grandfather, like this?"

"Yeah, what are you going to do?" Murphy fanned the flames, "Imagine their darling looked for high and low, now icy to the touch, with blood-red pupils, and salivating uncontrollably over loved ones. Will they still accept you? Will they still see you as the sweet, innocent Eschell?"

Head bowed in silent conceding, Eschell had no answers for Murphy's probing. Her family had risen to prominence battling demonic beings; now, having become one, she might be disowned and shunned by all.

Tears streamed down the girl's cheeks as she turned to Murphy with a gaze full of dejection and reproach, yet devoid of hatred. Her life, after all, had been saved by him. If not for the inscrutable mage before her, she would likely be nothing more than a corpse now.

Seeing that he had stirred the right emotions, Murphy chose his moment to speak, "But what if there was a way for you to return to your old life, at least on the surface?"

A flicker of hope shone in Eschell's dim eyes. "Is there really a way, Mr. Murphy?"

"If I say there is, then there is. But now you must consider what you're willing to pay," Murphy smiled, playing the part of the magnanimous sorcerer. "After all, I am the great (self-proclaimed) Archmage Murphy."

Eschell's heart was in turmoil. There was a way out, but what could she offer in exchange?

"Do you... need money?" Eschell ventured, aware that most mages of his stature had little use for material wealth, though exceptions always existed. "Or maybe magical reagents, both consumable and non-consumable?"

"I don't need those," Murphy dismissed, clearly unimpressed by such mundane offers.

Murphy's face then turned cold, like an auctioneer waiting for a better bid.

"I'm sorry, but that's all I can offer..." Eschell spoke softly, her head down. She was starting to blame herself, "I'm just the duke's granddaughter, and the title will never pass to me. My access to resources is limited and closely watched by my family. That's the highest bid I can make..."

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Sobbing again, she looked up, "If that's not enough, then so be it. I will find a way to repay you for saving me. And as for these changes I'm undergoing, I will deal with them on my own; no further troubles for you."

"There’s no need to rush, Miss Eschell," Murphy replied casually, "You’ve forgotten one last thing you could offer."

"The last thing? I really don't have anything more," Eschell was genuinely puzzled.

"Isn't there you?” Murphy said with a knowing tone.

Eschell instinctively stepped back, crossing her arms defensively, "Mr. Murphy, please. Even though you do look rather distinguished, and you're not bad on the eyes, but..."

"Miss Eschell, perhaps you've misunderstood," Murphy's face fell flat. This girl reads too many novels, he thought. Whoever penned those words that so corrupted the mind of a girl from another world will get a stern critique from me one day.

"I mean that you can earn my aid by working for me."

"Work for you? But I’m not particularly skillful; academics is all I'm good at."

"No matter, I'll inform you when your service is needed. If you're in agreement, let's sign this contract now," Murphy smiled as he smoothly produced a magical scroll.

Eschell read the scroll carefully and, even with her limited intuition, she noticed something amiss.

"Mr. Murphy, why doesn't the scroll specify exactly how much service I must provide?"

"Because you will do as much as I ask you to do~”

"And why doesn't the scroll detail the type of service I’ll provide?"

"That would be because you must do whatever I ask of you~"

"Mr. Murphy, why does the scroll only list a start date for the contract and no expiration?"

"Because, my dear, this is a perpetual contract~”

At this, Murphy glanced at Eschell, who looked rather dazed. "Considering the lengthy lifespan of a vampire, it's a rare opportunity for me to gain a little leverage in the contract, don’t you think?" he raised his eyebrows, "After all, the decision to sign or not lies with you."

"Gulp." Eschell could hear her own swallow. To sign and become the magician's bound servant in vampire form, obeying his unlimited range of orders just to reclaim the semblance of a normal life? Or to refrain, forsake the tranquility of her past, and become the monster everyone fears?

Torn, Eschell was mired in internal conflict. Then a voice whisper: "Sign it. Return to the familiar life, be with your parents. And for this momentous falsehood, atone with everything you've got—be it your life or your eternity..."

"Mr. Murphy, before I sign, may I ask a few more questions?" Eschell's eyes were resolute.

"Ask away," Murphy said nonchalantly, readying the quill and ink as if he knew the questions beforehand.

"Can the contract include a clause that you won't issue any order that causes harm to humankind?" Eschell took a deep breath, asking sincerely.

"You’re quite the joker," Murphy laughed mockingly, looking sideways at Eschell. "May I be so bold to ask, are you unaware of what your father and grandfather, not to mention your entire Western domain, are doing in the far north? Surely they're not simply sightseeing, right?"

----------

Known intelligence (with all apparent sincerity):

Throughout the centuries of established religious faith, priests emerged as a promising new profession among humans. Soon they, alongside warriors and mages, formed the cornerstone of the vocational trinity.

The church had always shown a penchant for adopting orphans, nurturing and educating them intensively such that they had a much higher chance of entering the priesthood than those distracted by the allure of worldly pleasures.

A tiny fraction of these young prodigies retained the ability to awaken magical prowess before the age of twenty, even after joining the priesthood.

These exceptional talents were then covertly fostered by the church, ultimately evolving into elite beings capable of harnessing both holy and arcane power—the Luminary Clerics (a secondary profession).