157: Eve Has Grown Into a Young Lady

Angela and Eve were assigned a large bedroom on the third floor.

At first, they half-expected to find eerie coffins waiting for them—after all, vampires were supposed to sleep in coffins.

But to their surprise, the room was furnished with a plush, comfortable bed, the kind that invited exhaustion to melt away the moment one lay down.

The decor was elegant and refined, a perfect balance of sophistication and warmth. Everything was pleasant to the eye.

If there was anything unsettling about the room… it was the strong-smelling garlic hanging from the windows and doorframe.

Eve wrinkled her nose. "Why the garlic? I thought vampires hated it?"

"Hate it? Absolutely." Nolan's voice sounded unusually nasal—he was currently stuffing tissues into his nostrils to block out the scent. "Pureblood vampires just don't like the smell. It makes my head spin, but it's not fatal. Wizards have their own aversions too, you know—like dragons. Ever been near one? The stench is bad enough to knock out any wizard unless they use a Bubble-Head Charm. Anyway, the garlic is here to ward off certain… unwanted presences in the house."

Angela tensed immediately. "Unwanted presences?"

Nolan had always found it amusing that, between the two, Angela was the one who acted more like a timid young girl. Sensitive, easily startled, and prone to overreacting.

Eve, on the other hand, had grown much stronger since last year. She had shed the delicate, pampered princess demeanor she once carried as a first-year at Hogwarts.

"I'm not talking about ghosts," Nolan clarified. "Sistine Manor doesn't keep ghosts. We hate them, and they don't like us either."

He sighed and added, "But sometimes, annoying bats fly in and out of the estate. Some of them aren't actually bats, though. Certain… mischievous children in the family like to shapeshift into bats and sneak around playing pranks. I don't want them disturbing you two ladies."

Eve shrugged. "Well, thanks, I guess—though that means I'll have to endure the smell of garlic."

Once Nolan left, Angela let out an excited squeal and leaped onto the bed, hugging a pillow as she rolled around in sheer delight. "I haven't slept on such a soft bed in ages!

Eve sat down as well… only for her small frame to bounce right back up because the mattress was too soft.

Angela giggled. "Eve, you're so lucky to go to Hogwarts. Why couldn't I have had magic?!" She pouted, batting her large eyes dramatically.

Eve rolled her own. "You? Mom, please. You'd never survive Hogwarts. You're terrified of everything! You'd pass out the first time the Bloody Baron floated past you!"

She shuddered at the memory. "He has a permanent scowl and sometimes just drifts through your body like a bucket of ice water."

Angela's face twisted. "…Okay, I definitely don't want to go to Hogwarts anymore."

Then, just as quickly, her expression brightened. "Oh! Tell me about Felicia Von Draugr! She's my boss, and I've never met her! I heard she's a legendary woman."

Eve raised an eyebrow. "A legendary female vampire? Maybe…? I mean, aren't all vampires kind of legendary?"

Then, sighing, she added, "But first, Mom, let's unpack. We'll be spending the whole summer here, after all."

Angela threw herself back onto the bed with a grin. "You unpack!"

Eve groaned but got to work, dragging their large suitcase to the center of the room and meticulously organizing their belongings.

Angela, predictably, didn't lift a finger.

Not that Eve expected her to.

Ever since Angela's divorce, she had become incredibly lazy—no longer needing to care for a husband, and with a daughter who was too responsible for her own good.

All Angela really had to do was sit there, smile, and be a pretty mom.

Eve, used to it by now, handed her mother a bath towel and a set of sleepwear. "Here. These are yours."

Angela took them but then glanced at Eve slyly. "And where will you be sleeping tonight?"

Eve stiffened. "I…" She quickly hid her own nightwear behind her back. "I'll be in my own room, of course."

Angela leaned closer, eyes twinkling mischievously. "Oh? I thought you wanted to stay with Nolan?"

Eve's cheeks turned red, and she immediately looked away.

Angela smirked in triumph. "My little Eve is growing up, huh?"

"Ugh! Not talking about this!" Eve shoved her mother playfully before busying herself with her toiletries.

As a Muggle-born witch, she had quite the collection of beauty products.

For a while, Angela was quiet. Just as Eve thought her mother had finally let the subject drop, Angela suddenly spoke again.

"Just be safe, okay?"

Eve blinked, turning back in confusion. "What?"

Angela met her gaze with an almost too innocent expression. "Even for a witch, I doubt it's easy to study magic while heavily pregnant."

"Mom! You do realize I'm a witch, right?!" Eve huffed, glaring at Angela in frustration. "I know how to use spells to protect myself!"

She couldn't believe how much her mother was meddling in her personal life. "Besides, Nolan is a vampire! He told me himself—his kind rarely even have offspring!"

Angela, however, was too caught up in her own worries to listen. Her lips pursed in a pout, her eyebrows drooping as she sighed dramatically.

"A vampire… My future son-in-law is actually a vampire..." She sounded almost pitiful, as if this was a tragedy no mother should have to endure. "I can't believe this. Just picture it—one day, when I'm old and wrinkled, my hair completely white, Nolan will still look like a young man. Maybe even you'll still look just as young. And then, when we stand together… I'll look like I'm your grandmother!"

Eve's chest tightened at the thought.

"Mom…" She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Angela in a firm hug. "If I ever decide to take Nolan's blood and become a vampire… I'll make sure he gives you some too. I won't just sit by and watch you grow old all by yourself."

Angela's eyes widened in surprise, but before she could respond, Eve pulled away and grabbed her bathrobe. "Now stop worrying and go to sleep!"

…

After her bath, Eve Stock stood outside Nolan's door, her heart pounding wildly against her ribs.

She was nervous. Way more nervous than she should be.

His room was different from the elegant guest chambers. Compared to the luxurious decor elsewhere in the manor, Nolan's quarters were… strangely simple.

The most striking feature was the large, ominous black coffin in the center of the room—serious, somber, unmistakably vampiric.

The rest of the space was cluttered with magical experiment materials, loose parchment, and old potion ingredients scattered across the floor. It was a mess, lacking any sense of romance or warmth.

And yet, despite that, Eve felt her cheeks flush.

She didn't understand why.

This was probably the least attractive setting imaginable for any normal girl… but to her, it felt mysterious. Reserved, yet deeply alluring—just like him.

When she stepped inside, Nolan was sitting at his desk, tinkering with something in his hands. It was a silver pocket watch.

Eve recognized it immediately.

It was the gift she had given him during her first year at Hogwarts, for Christmas.

"I've learned a lot about magic lately," Nolan said without looking up. "The Philosopher's Stone was… enlightening. And my trip to Ireland taught me even more—especially about magic related to time."

He paused, turning the watch over between his fingers. "I want to enchant this into a magical artifact. But it's proving… difficult."

Eve, standing near the doorway, took a slow breath. Then, in a voice barely above a whisper, she said,

"Nolan… Look at me."

He finally glanced up.

His gaze landed on Eve's figure—wrapped in nothing but a bath towel.

For a moment, there was silence.

Nolan had always been composed, detached, utterly indifferent to things that typically fascinated other men.

But now…

His usually icy pupils flickered.

Eve's skin was pale, smooth, still damp from the bath, carrying the faint fragrance of vanilla-scented body wash.

She was still young—her frame was slender, her body not yet fully developed. But at that moment, none of that mattered.

Because for the first time in his life, Nolan Von Draugr, a vampire who had never felt the pull of desire, found himself unable to look away.