400 Middle of the path
Vincent stepped in front of the rack the clerk had pointed him at earlier. Right next to it were the records for the town of Brokengroves, which he was interested in. But as the town was poor, like a few other towns along with Crowbury, not all records were maintained because of the poor administration by the magistrates who were in charge in the past and until now.
He murmured, “This shouldn’t take too much time. I will be able to find it soon.”
He picked up the top files and started reading the pages. He had come here to find the person who owned the house in which Eve had lived with her mother. He doubted the Council owned all the properties belonging to Brokengroves. After all, a few families still continued to reside there.
Once he found the page of information he was looking for, his eyes fell on the name written on the page. William Parson. Many properties of lands and houses from Brokengroves belonged to him, but not anymore, as he had died a year ago. As the deed ended a year ago.
“I don’t remember Parson having any children,” Vincent murmured and he said, “There should be another file record on who the ownership has transferred to. He went through some more records before he finally found it.
‘Noah Sullivan’
The transaction had taken place a year ago.
“How odd. That it is none other than you, who has those lands and houses in your name now,” Vincent muttered in a low voice. Even the ownership of the house that Eve once used to live in, he thought.
Vincent’s eyes narrowed. It was because he remembered Eve telling him that Mr. Hart had mentioned William Parson being one of the men her mother had worked for.
Vincent wondered what made Noah decide to buy these lands, and he doubted that the Duke had acquired them easily. He left the library along with the file in his hand and went to the Duke’s office room in the main Council building.
In front of the Duke’s office, one of the councilmen asked, “Mr. Moriarty, how can I–“
“Where is Duke Noah?” Vincent asked the councilman, who was one of the Duke’s subordinates.
“Duke Noah has left Darthmore. He has some work in the East,” the councilman replied. “Is there any message you would like me to pass him once he returns?”
Vincent turned away and said, “I will do that myself.”
The pureblooded vampire left the place, away from people’s eyes before he spread his wings and shot up in the air. After catching sight of the Duke’s carriage, he descended on the ground and stood in the middle of the road. The Duke’s coachman abruptly halted the vehicle when he saw him.
Kieran, Noah’s coachman, wasn’t particularly fond of vampires. Especially not this one. Noah, who sat inside the carriage, asked,
“What’s the matter, Kieran? Why did you suddenly stop the carriage?”
“Mr. Moriarty is here,” Kieran answered.
Noah stepped down from the carriage, meeting Vincent’s eyes. He asked, “What are you doing here?”
“I had something to ask and free myself from thinking about it. I thought it would be best to clear it with you,” Vincent offered a friendly smile, while Noah stared at the pureblooded vampire.
Vincent made his way to where Noah stood, and he asked, “Will that be okay?”
“Go ahead,” Noah replied in a calm voice.
“Do you remember this file?” Vincent raised his hand upwards and said, “These are the documents, regarding your transfer of ownership to some of the properties in the town of Brokengroves. But these must be just copies, and you must have the actual ones, isn’t it?”
Noah’s black eyes continued to stare at Vincent before he asked, “Is that what you came here to confirm?”
“Of course, not,” Vincent chuckled, “I was wondering why you decided to take it under your name, when there was an adjacent town in ruins and it has better value. Any particular reason?”
Noah offered a calm smile, “It is because I knew Brokengroves would be vacant quicker than the other available towns that are turning vacant. Is there something else you want to ask me?”
“That depends if you are willing to tell me, doesn’t it, Duke Noah?” Vincent returned the werewolf’s question with another question. “Now that I remember, there was this family, who were cobblers. One day when I went there, they were living there and after a day or two, they weren’t. Did you have anything to do with it?” His eyes subtly narrowed, trying to find a mistake, while at the same time, Noah barely changed his expression. The Duke’s breathing was calm as if he was sleeping.
“I don’t think so. Though I will not deny that my men have tried to offer a better deal to those poor families, so that they can lead a better life,” Noah explained to Vincent. He raised his chin, and he stated, “It isn’t uncommon for people of a higher position to claim lands and reform it.”
Vincent clicked his tongue, “Not many do that. Not everyone is as kind and considerate as you, Duke Noah. Actually, I am here because there is this particular house which I took interest in and would like you to transfer it in my name. I am willing to give you as much as you want for it.”
Noah clenched his hands and the look in his eyes slightly hardened.
p、A,nd A-n、o、ve,1 With Eve and Vincent together now, Noah could only guess that Eve had mentioned her living there when she was small to the vampire, and Vincent wanted to buy the same house. Noah had bought the properties to protect that house. Eve’s house, to avoid it from being demolished. He asked,
“What do you plan to do with it?”
Vincent shrugged, “I haven’t thought about it yet. What plans did you have?” He tested the werewolf, wondering if Noah knew exactly which house he was talking about and if the werewolf did, that would only mean that Noah’s actions held a deeper meaning, one that the Duke hid.
“Demolish and reconstruct the old ones to a new town.” Noah was as smart as Vincent to avoid being caught. But the only difference was that the werewolf was emotional and lived to protect his family’s reputation, while the others didn’t care. He then said, “Tell me which one you are talking about when I return to Darthmore, and I will start the process of transfer. Now if you will excuse me.”
“I hope to see you at our wedding,” Vincent offered a bright smile to Noah. He stretched his right hand forward towards Noah. The Duke briefly stared at the vampire’s hand before taking it and shaking it. “Wish you a safe journey, Duke Noah.”
“Thank you,” Noah answered curtly.
Vincent watched Noah climb inside the carriage. The door was then closed by the coachman, who offered a slight bow before getting on the coachman’s seat and driving the carriage away from there. The pureblooded vampire remarked,
“No one’s heart is so pure and giving, unless they are an idiot, and I doubt you are one.”