“No, no, I didn’t mean to shoot.”
Seeing the old Vampire and the coachman-dressed Vampire both look panicked, Xia De quickly explained, which made the old man even more panicked:
“You really do have a gun on you!”
As he spoke, a third person walked in from outside. He wore brown leather boots, a neat formal suit, and a top hat with gold wire decorations. This was a very high-class gentleman, who appeared at the doorway with a frown, surveying the situation in the warehouse corridor:
“A thief? What are you stealing here?”
Then he saw Xia De, who was wearing a mask and clearly not a normal person, and immediately drew a black pistol from his waist:
“Don’t move!”
The gleaming muzzle of the pistol was aimed at Xia De. The other person stood in the morning sunlight of autumn, making it impossible for Xia De, whose eyes had not yet adjusted to the light, to see his face clearly at first.
“Oh, you are truly bold! This is the Royal Family’s vineyard, do you know whose property you are stealing?”
The middle-aged man in a black coat, dressed very decently, reprimanded:
“Surrender quickly, or else...”
Xia De’s eyes gradually adjusted to the light outside the door, and he also saw who the person holding the gun was. He was stunned, not expecting to actually have an acquaintance here:
“Mr. Bernhardt?”
“You know who I am? Then, quickly raise your hands and hand over your weapon, sir, be decent! Neither of us wants a conflict.”
“I am...”
As he spoke, Xia De wanted to raise his hand to take off his mask, but Armand Bernhardt misunderstood the action and immediately said:
“Don’t move! You now have the right to defend everything you have done, but everything you say...”
“I am...”
“You dare to covet the Royal Family’s property, you are truly bold. Now, raise your hands immediately and honestly, there’s actually nothing here, what exactly are you here to steal?”
Seeing that he ignored his explanation, Xia De, who had prepared his spellcasting materials in advance, took a small step forward, and then the three Vampires in the corridor were simultaneously surprised to find that Xia De had disappeared.
“It’s me, Mr. Bernhardt.”
Xia De’s helpless voice came from the corridor entrance. Mr. Bernhardt turned his head and found the stranger leaning against the door, standing in the sunlight.
Xia De took off the mask from his face. Although he had applied the witch’s eyeshadow, familiar people were not affected by it:
“It’s me.”
The high-class gentleman, with a small bat symbol floating above his head, squinted his eyes and also saw Xia De’s face clearly in the sunlight. He opened his mouth in surprise, then immediately lowered the gun and put it into the leather holster at his waist:
“Mr. Watson? Long time no see, you seem to have become even more handsome!”
The surprised expression turned into a smile. He waved his hand, signaling his companions not to be cautious, then stepped forward and gave Xia De a warm hug:
“Before I left Middelburg, I left a letter for you at that auction house, inviting you to visit me here. I didn’t expect us to meet in just over half a month! How did you appear here? Oh, you don’t need to explain to me, there must be something else you need to handle.”
The Viscount, who had been saved by Xia De more than once, was very excited.
The White River Valley Vineyard indeed belongs to the Royal Family of Carson Rick, which is the Anjou Family. However, the Royal Family has numerous properties within the United Kingdom, and it is impossible for them to personally manage every single one. The Bernhardt Family, being distant relatives of the Royal Family, and Mr. Bernhardt, who owns a family vineyard business in Huntington City, also oversees the Royal Family’s vineyard.
The old man who walked out of the warehouse just now was the caretaker sent by Mr. Bernhardt, and the coachman was Mr. Bernhardt’s own coachman. There is a small Vampire clan around the Bernhardt Family, and these people are all Mr. Bernhardt’s confidants.
The Anjou Royal Family entrusts the vineyard to Mr. Bernhardt, giving him a fee each year, while the vineyard’s output is directly transported to the Royal Capital of Weilandale.
As a relative of the Royal Family, Mr. Bernhardt would, of course, not appropriate the grapes and wine produced here for himself, but taking some small advantages was acceptable. What Xia De just stumbled upon was Mr. Bernhardt wanting to store fresh meat for his estate’s winter in the vineyard’s warehouse.
To prevent Xia De from disbelieving him, he even specially invited Xia De to take a look in the warehouse, and sure enough, there were fresh dead cows and dead sheep:
“This isn’t me taking advantage, but the warehouse is empty and has no other use, right? Besides, drawing blood at home is troublesome, and in the Royal Family’s vineyard, no one would ever suspect anything.”
Mr. Bernhardt tried his best to explain, not wanting to lose face in front of his friend. For a decent person like him, this was even more unacceptable than being pointed at with a gun.
Xia De and Mr. Bernhardt’s acquaintance began this autumn. Although this gentleman brought the divine descent medium prepared for the God of Vampires to Middelburg, he himself did not know too many details.
On the night of the Mi Fort battle, he, along with high-ranking Vampires, forced their way into the Cassandra Auction House and was then captured alive. If Xia De had not unexpectedly visited that night, Miss Swift, the witch’s apprentice, probably would not have let him live until dawn.
Mr. Bernhardt no longer remembered what questions Xia De had asked him that night, but he still remembered Xia De saving him at Sin Mansion and the auction house. Now, unexpectedly reuniting here, this gentleman was exceptionally happy:
“I didn’t have a chance to repay you in Mi Fort, Mr. Watson, please allow me to treat you to a meal, right now. But not here, this place is too undignified. Let’s go into the City now, to Huntington City, I know a very nice club, you will definitely like the scenery of Carson Rick.”
He did not ask the reason for Xia De’s appearance here but extended a very warm invitation.
Xia De was not familiar with this City, but hearing “Huntington City” put him at ease:
“Mr. Bernhardt, are you very familiar with this place?”
The two walked together from the dilapidated warehouse corridor. The old man in charge of guarding the estate locked the warehouse door, and the coachman went to prepare the carriage.
After leaving the corridor and officially stepping into Carson Rick in early winter, Xia De saw that behind him was a small, seemingly decaying manor, and the corridor he had just left was located below the front of the manor. To enter the manor, one had to use the stairs on either side.
“Of course, I’m familiar with this place. For eight months of the year, I spend it in this City, only returning to Weilandale in the height of summer, as Huntington’s summers are simply too hot.”
Mr. Bernhardt enthusiastically introduced, and seeing Xia De observing his surroundings, he added:
“Although the White River Valley Vineyard belongs to the Royal Family, due to the previous manager’s poor operation, this vineyard has long since declined. The annual output is only… I won’t mention crowns, converted into pounds, it’s about 500 pounds, but the cost of hiring workers and maintaining the manor is over 400 pounds, plus other expenses, it’s actually losing money every year. But since the Anjou Family is willing to pay me to look after this place, I have no reason to refuse.”
He shrugged:
“The Royal Family has many properties, and they don’t care about such losses at all.”
“So, is there a high possibility of me buying this place?”
Xia De asked, surveying his surroundings against the sunlight. The weather here was excellent. The small manor had old houses, abandoned flower fields, a small hill behind the houses, and large vineyards outside the manor. The sky was azure, large clouds like cotton candy, and the sunlight was dazzling, but it was undoubtedly a good day.
“I can help you inquire, but it will be difficult without a Carson Rick identity.”
Mr. Bernhardt said, pointing to the carriage outside:
“This way, please.”
“It’s okay if I can’t buy it; I just wanted to ask about it.”
Xia De followed Mr. Bernhardt, treading on the uneven dirt ground of the manor, passing through the estate, and standing before the humble wooden gate, only then realizing that the White River Valley Vineyard itself was located on a relatively high small hill.
Gazing far out, he looked at the azure sky, the endless plains, and the City situated on the distant horizon. This was a sight the Outsider had never seen before; in the Steam Age world, such primitive yet natural scenery was something he could never have imagined.
Xia De unconsciously smiled, his mood as bright as the sun above his head:
“The most important thing today is that I want to ask you about the situation in this City.”
“No problem, we’ll talk when we get to the City. I still have some influence locally.”
Unlike the mountainous Middelburg, Huntington City is located on the vast plains of the Old Continent, producing abundant grains and various cash crops, especially grapes. As they traveled towards the City in Mr. Bernhardt’s carriage, Xia De could see endless vineyards from the carriage window, women in headscarves working by beehives under the azure sky, and merchants carrying cargo boxes walking on country roads.
Although both were Cities on the Old Continent, Huntington City, located in the south, was distinctly different from the late autumn scenery of Coldwater Port, Tobesk, and Middelburg.
The girls around Xia De always envied the vineyards of southern Carson Rick, and even Doctor Schneider, who had visited Carson Rick for an academic conference, greatly admired the scenery here. Although it was not the best time for summer scenery, the late autumn scenery already made the Outsider understand why people always praised the southern vineyards so much.
The White River Valley Vineyard where Xia De appeared was in the eastern part of Huntington City, only a twenty-minute carriage ride from the City. If he rode a horse alone, the time to enter the City could be shortened even further.
In the carriage, Mr. Bernhardt enthusiastically introduced the City to Xia De. As they gradually approached the urban area of Huntington City from the countryside, the vast expanse of open vineyard scenery disappeared, and the dazzling sunlight softened, replaced by the familiar scenery of a Steam Age metropolis that Xia De knew well.
