My Stepmom Is A Vampire & Her Entire Bloodline Wants To Breed Me

Chapter 186: Velstarth In The North

Within two days, Leah and Diane arrived in the North.

Leah came burdened with crates, cases, and carefully packed tools meant for brewing and experimentation, far more luggage than anyone else combined.

Diane, by contrast, brought only two large suitcases. The difference said more than words ever could.

The young vampire expression was sour, distant, while her aunt looked almost delighted by the journey.

"Ahhh, finally," Leah exclaimed as she stretched her arms wide. "Warmth."

Bianca was already waiting with staff, directing them to carry the luggage toward their assigned quarters.

"Bianca," Leah greeted warmly, pulling her into a hug. "It has been too long."

Bianca returned it without hesitation. "I am glad you are here, Miss Leah."

"Oh please," Leah laughed. "Just Leah is fine."

She leaned closer conspiratorially. "And I hope my room is far away from the children. You know how curious they can be."

"Of course," Bianca replied. "Your laboratory will be in a separate building."

Leah’s eyes lit up. "Perfect." She gestured over her shoulder. "And this is my niece, Diane. She is... going through a teenage broken heart, so forgive her if she seems a little sensitive."

Diane stood nearby, staring blankly at a mounted antler on the wall. Not out of interest, but because her mind was somewhere else entirely.

Her plan had been simple. Help Seamus through Madeline. She wanted to find another Emblem from Nycteris. Reach out to an old friend.

Instead, she ended up here.

Madeline had assured her it was fine, that helping in the North was still meaningful, but that did not change the reality. Seamus was here too. And Diane was not ready to face him.

"Diane."

She startled at the voice behind her and turned to see a beautiful woman offering a gentle smile.

"I am Bianca," she said. "Your mother asked me to take care of you while you are here. If you need anything at all, please let me know."

"Oh." Diane nodded reflexively. "Yes. Thank you."

Bianca showed her to her room. It was modest, clean, and comfortable enough. Leah’s room was next door, though Diane hardly noticed.

She lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling, until laughter drifted in from outside.

Frowning, she stood and moved to the window.

Below, Seamus was laughing, throwing snowballs at the children and Maria. Snow flew everywhere, bright against the white ground.

They looked... happy.

Her chest tightened.

’They seem so close.’

She remembered how openly hostile Maria once was toward him. And yet now, they acted as if nothing had ever been wrong.

"That is not fair," Diane whispered.

Seamus had not spoken to her since she made a big mistake.

She wondered if the jealousy gnawing at her chest would ever fade. In her life, she had always been second. Never become a choice, never matter.

Viviane hated Isolde because of control, because of suffocating expectations. Diane’s situation was different.

She had worked tirelessly for her mother’s approval, always reaching, never quite enough. Her mother never even looked at her the same way she saw her sister.

And it was her mother who destroyed her relationship with Seamus.

The one person who might not have put her first, but who might have loved her anyway.

"And stupidly," Diane murmured, "I thought I could replace my sister in his eyes."

Her shoulders slumped. She turned away from the window, returned to the bed, and curled into herself, the laughter outside fading into something distant and unreachable..

***

Seamus noticed Diane standing at one of the third floor windows, watching them quietly before she turned away. She disappeared not long after.

’They finally arrived,’ he thought.

Honestly, he did not know what to do about her. Forgiving her so easily felt wrong. Too simple.

’She needs to prove herself first."

Crash!

A massive snowball slammed into his head, knocking him flat onto the ground as it burst apart on impact.

"Hah! Eat that, Seamus!"

Dylan emerged from behind a tree, hands planted proudly on his waist, chest puffed out as if he had just won a glorious battle.

The children gasped in unison before erupting into protests.

"You cheated!"

"You are not even part of the game!"

"That is not fair!"

"Seamus is not defeated yet!"

Unfortunately for Seamus, it was a team game, and he was against Maria’s team. Her side erupted in cheers, while his team immediately turned on Dylan, who looked entirely unbothered by their outrage.

"I don’t care," Dylan declared smugly. "Seamus lost. I am your new captain now!"

"What captain?" one of the kids shouted. "You cheated!"

"Captains have to be fair and strong and brave like Seamus!"

"You lost all the time!"

"We do not want a weak captain like you!"

Dylan’s expression crumbled as Seamus, now standing again, brushed the snow off his coat and grinned faintly. He watched with interest as Dylan tried to defend himself.

"T-that is not true!" Dylan protested. "I am not weak! I can beat him one day!"

The children only grew louder.

"Ha! Loser!"

"You cannot even beat Matthew, let alone Seamus!"

Dylan quickly became the target of merciless mockery. Seamus and Maria exchanged a look and shook their heads.

"Yikes," Seamus muttered. "Children can be brutal."

"They really are," Maria agreed.

"You are not stopping them?"

She shrugged. "Dylan needs it sometimes. He can be... difficult."

The estate doors suddenly opened. Ulrich stepped outside, leaning on his cane, a large gift bag hanging from his other hand.

"Children," he called cheerfully, "who wants candy and chocolate?"

The effect was immediate. Cheers rang out as the children rushed toward him, abandoning Dylan entirely.

Relief washed over the boy’s face as Ulrich distributed sweets carefully, making sure everyone received an equal share.

"I believe Miss Lan said your break is over," Ulrich added gently. "Time to return to class."

Groans followed, but the children obeyed, shuffling back inside with sweets in hand.

"Well," Ulrich said, turning to them, "since you are all here, why do we go inside and discuss the ongoing investigation?"

Maria nodded. "Yes. The rest of Velstrath has already arrived. We should talk about that."

"That?" Seamus repeated.

"Hah, you seriously don’t know?" Dylan started, only to yelp when Maria stomped on his foot.

"Ouch!"

"Let us talk inside," Ulrich said calmly.

The three of them nodded and followed him, the laughter outside fading as more serious matters waited within.

***

The meeting was held late at night, mostly because Leah had declared earlier, very dramatically, "I am far too tired to think or process anything important."

They considered starting without her, but everyone knew how that would end. Leah would simply refuse to involve herself later, citing disrespect and exhaustion in equal measure.

If they wanted her cooperation, they had to drag her in properly.

Even before the discussion officially began, Leah had already claimed the most comfortable sofa in the room, a glass filled with deep red liquid resting lazily in her hand.

When the others finally gathered, she groaned loudly. "Ugh. Is the situation really that serious? I wanted to rest more."

"Miss Leah," Bianca said flatly, patiently thinning, "with respect, vampires don’t need lots of rest and none of us have proper rest in the first place."

"Eh? Still," Leah sighed, sinking deeper into the cushions. "I want to sleep."

"Alright," Ulrich said calmly, taking his seat at the head of the table, posture straight and authoritative.

"Let us get straight to the point, since Miss Leah is already exhausted."

Seamus sat beside Maria and Dylan, while Andrew took the opposite side with Bianca and Diane.

Leah remained tucked into the far corner, physically and emotionally distant, clearly uninterested in leadership or responsibility.

"I will start," Andrew said. "Bianca was unable to find anything beyond the Latros House symbol. However, based on the condition of the remains and records we recovered, we managed to identify one of the victims."

He placed a photograph on the table.

Seamus and Diane leaned forward instinctively. The others showed little reaction, as if they had already processed this information.

"Her name was Cara," Andrew continued. "I spoke with her parents yesterday. She disappeared five months ago. The last place she was seen was one of the largest clubs in Lilium."

Seamus nodded. "Have you investigated the club yet?"

Andrew shook his head. "Not yet. That is why we need to divide our forces. One team remains in the conflict zone. Another will investigate the club. The third stays here as a communication hub."

"Bianca will remain here," he added, "as our connector."

"Wait," Seamus interjected, finally understanding Maria’s earlier comment. "You already located the Crest?"

"We have a lead," Ulrich replied. "Not the exact location, but close enough to move forward."

The room fell quiet.

For the first time that night, everyone understood the same thing. This was no longer a discussion. It was the beginning of action and a serious one too.

"Can you tell me more details of what X said? Isolde didn’t inform me yet."

"Okay Seamus, he just talked to us about three hours ago and honestly it’s kinda confusing, maybe Madeline could help us."

Andrew said as he started.