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

Chapter 224: A Measure Of Worth

Dylan looked just as shocked as everyone else. His eyes were wide as he stood there, sword still in hand, barely reacting to the noise around him. The crowd was shouting and cheering, but it felt like none of it reached him at all.

"How can that guy move like that? Wasn’t he a total loser before?"

"Yeah, he lost to Matthew so many times and got humiliated too!"

"Is he cheating?!"

Bianca turned sharply toward the staff, and they understood immediately. They began guiding the children out of the training hall, their voices filled with protests and disappointment.

Eventually, the hall emptied out, leaving only the doctors, Seamus, Madeline, and both of the fighter—Bianca and Dylan—inside.

"That’s good," Seamus said as he stood from the bench and walked closer. "So Dylan really is changing."

"Yeah, before joining Black Lotus, this kid was terrible with swords and most weapons. Guns were the only thing he was decent at." Bianca replied.

She handed the sword to one of the doctors, who carefully placed it into a basket designated only for weapons.

"We don’t have proper data from before," one of the doctors said. "It makes comparison difficult, but his blood or spinal fluid should be enough for analysis."

"Wait," Seamus cut in.

"Let Madeline observe him first. Or Maria, once she’s fully healed."

In truth, Seamus no longer trusted any of the doctors connected to Caduceus. Latros had clearly been working with too many of them to create something like Progenitor Residuum, or the golden liquid that gave humans vampire like power without turning them.

Bianca seemed to understand. She ordered the staff to leave, until only them remained in the hall, with Dylan still standing there as if he was somewhere else entirely.

"What’s wrong with you?"

Seamus said, raising a brow as he shoved Dylan lightly. "You look like you’re lost."

Dylan jolted. "What? What’s wrong? Did I really change that much?"

Bianca sighed. "Madeline will observe you."

"Oh. Okay."

Madeline, who had been standing beside Seamus with her arms crossed, motioned for Dylan to come closer.

She took his hand and turned his palm upward. With one sharp nail, she drew blood. The drop spread instantly, forming a snake shaped tattoo that slid into the wound itself.

Dylan yanked his hand back with a sharp breath. "What the hell are you doing? What was that?! I’m not turning into a vampire, right?"

Seamus glanced at Madeline. "Calm down. You’re not, right?"

She nodded once. "I’m only checking what’s inside you."

"See?" Seamus said, then frowned. "And why are you so obsessed with not becoming a vampire anyway?"

Dylan rubbed his wrist, making sure the wound was gone.

"You live with them," he replied quietly. "So you should already know why."

"Alright. He’s fine," Madeline said after a moment. She rubbed her chin, eyes half focused on Dylan.

"He’s still human. But his DNA has changed. Or more accurately, evolved. He can wield vampire-like power without becoming one."

Seamus sighed, they at least confirmed that Dylan somehow injected by the same golden liquid as Mark.

He already knew the answer, but he asked anyway. "Do you know how they did that?"

Madeline shook her head lightly. "I don’t. But it might have something to do with your kind."

She turned to him with that single sentence and disappeared just as suddenly, leaving Seamus blinking in place.

"What?" He stared at the empty space where she had been. "What does that even mean?"

She did not answer. She was gone.

Bianca looked at him, confused. "Your kind? What is she talking about?"

Seamus exhaled slowly. "I don’t know how it connects exactly, but Mark Latros told me something before he died."

He hesitated, then continued. "He said my ancestor was one of the king’s children."

The words settled heavily in the room. Seamus explained everything Mark had said, every detail he could remember.

By the time he finished, no one spoke. The silence felt wrong. Once again, it felt like Mark had left them another clue, another push forward, even in death.

Eventually, they dispersed. Bianca needed to bring this information to Isolde. Dylan still had to be monitored. There was nothing more to do in the hall.

Seamus walked beside Dylan through the snow, neither of them speaking as flakes drifted down quietly. After a while, Dylan broke the silence.

"You know... that power," he said slowly. "You got it suddenly, right?"

Seamus stopped in his tracks. "Huh? You don’t know that?"

"It was a guess," Dylan replied.

"Someone like you wouldn’t just stay weak all through school, then suddenly fight us with power way beyond normal humans."

Seamus turned to look at him properly. Dylan had always noticed more than he let on.

"So what?" Seamus asked flatly. "You want to fight me now? Think you can win?"

His tone sharpened. "If that’ll shut you up, we can do it."

He was tired of Dylan constantly moaning about Seamus being a bad person while real dangers were still out there.

"No." Dylan shook his head. "Not now."

He then looked at his hand, where the wound had already vanished. "Do you ever feel disappointed with power that’s just... given to you?"

Seamus frowned. "Why would I?"

"I don’t know," Dylan admitted. "It feels like this isn’t my power. I didn’t earn it. How am I supposed to feel proud of something handed to me so easily?"

Seamus didn’t answer immediately. He had never really thought about it. Maybe he never had time to.

Or maybe the enemies in front of him were too dangerous for pride to matter. Still, he understood what Dylan was trying to say.

He reached out and tapped Dylan’s shoulder.

"As long as it keeps you alive and lets you protect people, that’s enough. You don’t have to question your worth. You are choosen, don’t you?" He said.

"For now, train. Hone what you have while there’s still time."

Something in Seamus’s expression must have changed, because Dylan fell silent but the weight on his heart suddenly lifted. He understood it then. What felt strong today might be nothing tomorrow.

"There’s no real limit to how strong vampires can get," Dylan murmured. "Especially after the final evolution."

He turned back toward the training hall, clearly intending to continue practicing. Seamus watched him go, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.

"That’s good for him," he thought.

When he turned around, he noticed Diane sitting on the orphanage porch, waiting quietly. And just as he reached her, she spoke.

"Can we talk for a bit?"