Chapter 123 : Swallowing the Pain of Being Different
The mont she heard those words, Eve’s hostility vanished instantly. The tension in her brow eased, her lips parted slightly, and she returned to that sowhat absent-minded expression.
“You… know about ?”
Before Selina could answer, Annabella suddenly draped an arm over Eve’s shoulder and cut in with a playful grin.
“Let tell you—my teacher is nothing like those filthy creatures. She once set a record for going half a year without drinking blood!”
How long? Half a year? And she was still alive?
Eve raised an eyebrow. No wonder she looked a little frail.
“Although that achievent was incredible, it did leave behind so side effects,” Annabella continued. “Her physical strength is now comparable to that of an adult ant…”
“Ahem!”
Selina interrupted her with a cough. She did not look angry—after all, it was the truth. Being an old veteran, her tolerance was quite strong.
She waved her hand dismissively.
“Since you are already here, go help your teacher organize the experint records.”
“? Really?!” Annabella exclaid.
“Yes. Go on.”
The mont the words fell, Annabella bolted off with excitent like a hero in a novel who had just accepted a mission to catch soone cheating. Before leaving, she even patted Eve’s shoulder.
Watching her disappear into the distance, both Vampires shook their heads at the sa ti. They were accustod to her behavior, yet disappointnt still lingered.
Once again, their gazes t.
It was worth noting that Selina also belonged to the tall, imposing type. If she were not slightly hunched over, she might even be half a head taller than Eve.
“Do not be nervous,” Selina said first. Her voice was calm, carrying a tired hoarseness. “I an no harm. As you can see, I am rely a dical researcher who stays inside the laboratory.”
She paused, then tugged at the corner of her mouth in self-mockery.
“As for the matter of going half a year without blood… at that ti I was in good condition. In truth, half a year was a conservative estimate.”
“Impressive,” Eve replied calmly.
“Impressive, yes—but the side effects are real,” Selina sighed, squeezing her own arm. “Since then, my tolerance for blood has beco extrely low. Even slightly concentrated blood overwhelms . I can only survive on artificial blood.”
Eve nodded but did not continue the topic. Sothing else was occupying her thoughts.
Returning to the earlier subject that had been interrupted, she asked,
“What did you an when you said I have royal blood? And what is a progeny?”
“You do not know your own situation?” Selina frowned slightly. “Then how did you survive the Embrace period?”
“I do not know. I—”
Eve suddenly stopped speaking.
From Selina’s eyes, she sensed that the other woman already understood everything.
And indeed, she was correct.
Selina stroked her chin and circled around Eve several tis, examining her from head to toe. Then she leaned closer and sniffed carefully.
With a snap of her fingers, she said,
“The blood flowing inside you reminds of an important figure.”
Eve raised her eyes to look at her.
“A certain Vampire Duke. I once served as his advisor… about ninety years ago? Or perhaps a hundred. I cannot rember clearly. In any case, he has been dead for many years.”
There was little nostalgia in her tone. Then she abruptly changed direction.
“I originally thought you were a pureblood Vampire. That would have been interesting. But it turns out you were transford later, correct?”
Eve nodded.
“I see… that explains it.”
“And the progeny?” Eve asked again.
“Although that Duke is long gone, you carry royal blood. I should still fulfill a bit of my responsibility,” Selina said vaguely. “Co with .”
After saying that, she walked toward a row of filing cabinets.
Eve followed, still sowhat confused, watching Selina pull out a dark red leather-bound book. Its corners were worn, and the golden lettering on the cover had almost completely faded.
Selina blew the dust off the cover and handed the book to Eve.
Eve opened it to the middle and glanced through it. The pages were filled with countless nas connected by lines.
“This records the bloodlines of Vampires throughout the ages,” Selina explained. “From the Progenitor down to the present.”
She pointed casually at several broken lines.
“So of these were erased by the Church. You do not need to worry about them.”
“So… what exactly are you trying to tell ?” Eve asked.
“Turn to the end. Section ninety-one, page seventy-eight.”
Eve followed the instructions.
Besides the connected nas, there were scattered branches descending downward in a hierarchical structure.
“Look there,” Selina said, pointing at the ranking chart. “This hierarchy is determined by bloodline concentration.”
“At the very top is the Progenitor. Below that is the Royal Bloodline. Beneath them are the Nobles, then ordinary purebloods, and finally, at the very bottom, the mixed-bloods.”
She paused, tapping the level marked Royal Bloodline.
“Only Vampires of this level or higher possess the ability to transform humans into half-Vampires. Of course, ordinary Vampires can also do it—but those who are transford beco what we call progeny.”
She withdrew her hand and looked aningfully at Eve.
“A progeny shares the abilities of its original host. The bloodline continues to dilute with each generation. The further down the line, the weaker the power becos.”
“So I…”
“So you are rather fortunate,” Selina said. “I cannot determine the exact source, but judging from the concentration of blood in your body, I would guess…”
“You might be a second-generation progeny.”
“Second generation?”
“That ans aside from the one who transford you, you would be the next in line,” Selina explained, spreading her hands.
Inwardly, she thought it astonishing that she could still witness a second-generation progeny in her lifeti.
Which ancient monster had done such a thing—transforming soone and then abandoning their progeny? That kind of negligence could easily lead to disaster.
“Of course, it is only my speculation,” Selina added.
“I can see the concentration of your blood, but not its source. If the one who transford you is still alive yet has not co to find you, then perhaps they have their own reasons… or perhaps they have already…”
She did not finish the sentence. Instead, she gestured across her throat with her hand.
Eve understood imdiately.
Silence spread between them.
“But it is also clear,” Selina said after a mont, adopting a lighter tone, “that although you were once human, you have grown accustod to this new body, have you not?”
Eve raised her head and closed the heavy book.
“Whether I am used to it or not does not matter. I still have to live.”
“Yes… one must live,” Selina said softly. “Perhaps now I should say—welco to the family?”
Ordinarily, Eve’s attitude toward other Vampires had always been simple: kill them on sight.
She despised this brutal race.
Including herself.
Yet when facing this frail Vampire who had once endured six months without drinking blood, she found that feeling absent.
Perhaps… she only hated those who could not control themselves.
Eve looked at the slender hand extended toward her—equally pale and cold.
After hesitating for a mont, she finally reached out and shook it.
Selina suddenly laughed, though the laugh was weak and forced, causing her to cough a few tis.
“I know what you are thinking,” she said.
“After all… the disgust in your eyes cannot be hidden.”
“I feel the sa.”
“But what can we do?”
“We are Vampires as well.”
User Comments
0 comments from readers