cnatrainingtips Chapter 246: Sweet Lulu
Chapter 246: Sweet Lulu
Seamus understood his current position clearly.
He had reached the third evolution stage, and the system showed that the fourth stage would come after three more levels. Once he crossed that threshold, he would stand on the same tier as Isolde and Ulrich.
That alone was already a terrifying leap in power for someone who had only begun walking this path recently.
Still, he could not let himself be satisfied with that.
What he truly needed was to reach the same level as Robert and the Matriarch of Bjorne. If his enemy’s plan worked and everything collapsed into a final confrontation, he needed enough strength to stand in front of them without being crushed.
"But with all the research they’ve done... I doubt it will be that simple," he murmured quietly while walking down the hallway.
Children’s voices drifted in from the yard outside the orphanage. They laughed and chased each other between the trees, completely unaware that the world beyond the walls was slowly preparing to tear itself apart.
Seamus paused for a moment and glanced out the window.
"Where the hell are Andrew and X?" he muttered.
Even though he always told everyone he did not worry about his father, the truth was beginning to press against the edges of his thoughts. It was a small uneasiness, but it refused to disappear.
When he turned down the corridor, someone suddenly collided with him.
"Ah!"
A small body bounced off his chest.
"Sorry!" the girl said quickly.
Seamus looked down and immediately recognized the bright pink hair.
It was Lulu. Her hair was so striking that even the children who had been walking nearby stopped to stare for a moment before whispering and pointing at her as they passed.
"It’s fine," Seamus said. "Where are you rushing to?"
"Dylan asked me to train with him," Lulu replied. "My skill can help him practice."
Then she tilted her head slightly while studying his face. "What about you, Seamus? You look anxious."
His eyes widened just a little. "You can tell?"
She nodded earnestly. "Yes. Recently you don’t smile much. Your eyebrows keep knitting together like that, and you sigh a lot. I don’t know exactly what you’re thinking about, but... you can tell me if you want."
Then she gave him a bright smile.
That was something Seamus liked about Lulu. She often acted timid and easily startled, but she paid attention to details others ignored.
Even if she could be a little slow to understand complicated matters, she noticed changes in people quickly.
"Alright," he said suddenly. "Come with me. Forget Dylan. He can deal with his own training."
Before she could react, he grabbed her hand and started pulling her down the corridor.
Lulu’s face immediately turned red.
At the training hall, Dylan sneezed loudly.
"Huh?" He looked around the empty room in confusion.
"Did someone just talk behind my back?" he muttered while rubbing his chin.
After a moment he shrugged. "Whatever. Let’s focus."
He picked up a wooden sword and took his stance, swinging it through the air again and again. Still, after a few minutes he paused and glanced toward the door.
"But where is Lulu?" he muttered with a sigh. "What’s taking her so long?"
With no answer coming, Dylan simply resumed training on his own.
***
Seamus could feel Lulu’s nervousness even before he turned around. It lingered behind him like a quiet presence while he poured wine into two glasses.
The warmth of the drink was not really for himself. He only hoped it would calm her down and ease the tension between them. They were inside his room after all, and the atmosphere needed to soften a little.
He turned back and handed one of the glasses to her. The wine was something he had taken from Leah earlier, of course he drank a normal one.
Lulu accepted it with trembling fingers and immediately drank the entire glass in one gulp.
Seamus could not help laughing. Watching her like this was strangely entertaining. Teasing her was easier than he expected.
He sat down beside her on the bed.
The room was small and simple. There was only a bed, a pair of small tables with chairs, and a closet against the wall.
The bed itself was meant for one person, so sitting together meant their shoulders were almost pressed together. Every time their arms brushed, Lulu shifted slightly as if trying to create space that simply did not exist.
"Don’t be so nervous," Seamus said while taking a slow sip from his own glass. Then he looked at her and added, "Don’t you want to evolve, Lulu?"
Lulu jolted when his hand rested on her waist. She lowered her head before answering quietly.
"I... I was never an ambitious vampire. I’m just happy that I won’t die easily anymore."
Her answer surprised him.
"You’re fine with living forever?" he asked.
She nodded. "What’s wrong with that?"
Seamus stared at her for a moment. It really was unusual. Most of the vampires he had met so far carried some resentment toward their endless existence.
Viviane and Isolde both hated it. They cursed the long years they had lived, yet they refused to end their lives because the False God considered suicide a form of weakness. Death meant failure.
"No," he said slowly. "Everyone I’ve met hated it."
Lulu looked down at her hands and started playing with her fingers.
"Maybe they never experienced what it’s like to live in constant hunger," she said quietly. "Or to watch people die over small things."
She paused before continuing. "As a vampire, I won’t starve. I won’t freeze in the cold. Even if my body is torn apart, it will heal again."
Her voice lowered even further. "I’m afraid of death. I always hated how easily humans die."
Seamus listened without interrupting. He did not know every detail about Lulu’s past, but he knew she had grown up in a frozen land constantly threatened by conflict and scarcity. In those places, food disappeared quickly, and survival depended on harsh choices.
Humans could starve. Vampires did not have to as they could drink blood from any of that frail human.
He placed his empty glass on the table beside the bed and gently took her hands in his.
"Then you should evolve," he said. "Not just to stay alive, but to help me as well. Will you help me, Lulu?"
Her eyes widened slightly before she nodded. "Of course. I would do anything for you, Seamus."
She hesitated before speaking again. "But... I’ve never done something like this before. And I like you."
Her voice became softer as she admitted it. "When you touched me earlier, it felt like my heart started beating again."
Seamus blinked before laughing quietly. He had not expected such an honest confession from her.
"It’s alright," he said gently. "I understand. I’ll be careful."
He gave her a reassuring smile. "This is your first time, and it wouldn’t be fair if I only thought about power. So let me say it differently."
He cleared his throat lightly. "Lulu, let’s spend the night together. I’ll be gentle, and you can think of it as... my way of caring for you."
His grin returned at the end of the sentence.
Even though he knew his feelings were not truly love, Lulu seemed satisfied with that explanation. Her face turned bright red, almost like a boiled crab, yet she nodded quickly.
"Ye-yes!" she stammered. "I’ll do my best."