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

Chapter 258: The Palace

They continued their journey once Andrew and Matthew’s internal clocks finally decided it was time to wake up.

Truthfully, Ulrich could no longer tell whether it was morning or they were still walking through the night.

The sky had remained exactly the same from the moment they stepped onto the mountain, frozen in an endless twilight that never brightened and never darkened.

Andrew carried the torch they had made the night before, its flames dancing weakly against the relentless wind.

Ulrich did not believe they actually needed it. X’s protection was more than enough to keep ordinary threats away, but he also understood that humans often relied on simple rituals to reassure themselves. A small circle of light was sometimes more comforting than overwhelming power.

“Ugh… don’t you think these frozen bodies are starting to get creepy?” Matthew said as he rubbed his arms. “It feels like they aren’t staring into the distance anymore. They’re looking at us.”

He was right. The statues had changed.

Some had originally been kneeling toward the mountain while others stood motionless with empty expressions, but now their poses were different.

A few had turned their heads to the side, while others seemed to have twisted their entire bodies just enough for their frozen eyes to follow the group as they climbed.

It was not a recent discovery. Both Andrew and Ulrich had noticed it long ago and silently agreed not to mention it. There was little point in frightening Matthew when neither of them understood what they were dealing with.

Many vampires possessed abilities that allowed them to manipulate animals or even humans. If that was the case, these frozen people could simply be puppets controlled by either the Concubine or the King.

“That’s a good observation, Matthew,” Ulrich replied.

Matthew glanced at another frozen villager before asking, “What do you think is making them move like this, Lord Ulrich? I mean… People here should have known that fire protected them. My mother always told me never to let the fireplace go out. I always thought it was because we’d freeze to death if we did.”

“There are three possibilities,” Ulrich answered calmly.

“First, the Concubine herself is responsible and is deliberately moving them. Second, the mountain has become unstable, allowing whatever remains inside to affect the surroundings. Third, Bjorne and Latros are involved, although I consider that the least likely explanation.”

“The Concubine, huh?” Andrew frowned.

“From everything we’ve learned, she wasn’t particularly powerful. She was a Pharos, but she was still human. If someone was going to lose control, it would make more sense for the King to be the one behind this.”

Ulrich turned toward him. “What do you think of the King after reading his history, Andrew? Do you truly believe he is capable of this?”

“He isn’t a person anymore,” Andrew answered without hesitation.

“And why not? Most vampires I’ve met have the patience and emotional intelligence of a walnut. People say you lose your humanity when you become a monster. I’d say that’s pretty accurate, don’t you think?”

There was obvious sarcasm in his voice, but Ulrich did not take offense. Knowing Andrew’s past, he understood where that prejudice came from.

“To understand the King’s character,” Ulrich said, “we first need to understand the history of Iscaron. He became the first vampire, the progenitor, out of desperation and love for his family and his people.”

“Even until the end of his reign, the Morum Kingdom remained prosperous. There is no record describing him as a tyrant. If that is true, why would he punish innocent villagers?”

“I don’t think they’re completely innocent either,” Andrew replied.

“No offense, Matthew, but your parents’ hands were stained with blood just like those soldiers’. They kept digging into this mountain for decades. Maybe whatever rests here simply reached its limit.”

Matthew lowered his head but remained silent.

Andrew continued, “If someone turned my grave into a mining site because they found something valuable beneath it, and that greed eventually brought an entire country to start war and to exploit it, I’d be angry too. Plenty of villains start out as good people.”

“That is certainly one possibility,” Ulrich admitted with a faint smile. “Fortunately, theories exist to be tested rather than believed.”

His steps came to a halt. The others instinctively stopped beside him.

A palace stood before them. It looked untouched by time, its walls pristine and its towers rising proudly above the snow as though centuries had never passed.

Yet something about it felt profoundly wrong. Every few moments its outline flickered, becoming transparent before returning to normal again, like an image struggling to remain in existence.

Ulrich knew for certain that this place was the gate to their deaths. The real question was what kind of power could kill all three of them.

The Concubine clearly had no intention of doing so. If anything, she had tried to warn him. That only left King Morum as the most likely answer.

Perhaps Andrew’s theory was correct, although Ulrich was convinced they were still missing something important.

Without saying anything, Ulrich took the first step forward. His pace remained calm while thin strands of black smoke quietly spread through every corner of the palace, searching for hidden enemies or traps.

There was nothing or rather, there was nothing his smoke could perceive except countless fragments of memories lingering inside the building.

The moment the three of them crossed the entrance, the world around them changed.

The endless winter disappeared and was replaced by a pleasant warmth. The silent mountain became a lively kingdom filled with merchants, children, and ordinary people going about their daily lives.

Conversations echoed from every direction, carts rolled across the streets, and laughter filled the air as though centuries had never passed.

A little girl suddenly bumped into Ulrich and fell onto the ground. He instinctively reached out to help her, only to pause when his hand touched hers. She felt real.

The child slowly raised her head and looked straight into his eyes.

“You are not supposed to be here.”

Her voice sounded distorted, like a broken recording repeating itself. The moment she finished speaking, every conversation in the marketplace came to an abrupt stop.

Merchants lowered their goods, children stopped running, and every single person turned toward the three outsiders with the same expressionless face.

“Let’s go. Head straight for the palace,” Ulrich said quietly.

The three of them immediately ran forward, pushing through the crowd. The people did not attack, but they reached toward them from every direction, grabbing their sleeves, pulling at their clothes, and trying to stop them from taking another step.

“Shit! What are these things?!” Matthew shouted.

He immediately reached into his pocket and pulled out his gun.

Ulrich’s expression changed. He did not know why, but every instinct he possessed screamed that attacking these people would bring disaster.

“Don’t do it, Matthew!”

Ulrich lunged forward and reached for the young man’s arm, but he was already too late.

The gunshot echoed throughout the marketplace. The bullet pierced a man’s as silence fell over the city.

Every hand released them at once. Every citizen became completely motionless before slowly raising an arm and pointing toward the three of them.

Then the screaming began. Thousands of voices cried out at the same time, filling the entire kingdom with endless wails that seemed to come from every direction.

“Lord Ulrich…”

Matthew’s voice trembled. Ulrich turned just in time to see the young man clutching his neck as blood poured through the gaps between his fingers.

Matthew collapsed onto the ground, and almost immediately Andrew did the same, his hand pressed against a wound that had appeared without warning.

Ulrich instinctively stepped backward. Cold sweat rolled down his temple as a sharp pain spread across his own neck. His vision tilted, the world spinning sideways before his eyes.

Then he saw his own body still standing where he was. A moment later, his head struck the ground and rolled across the stone street.

They were dead.