"No, no, I didn't mean to shoot."
Seeing that the old vampire and the driver were both terrified, Shade quickly explained, and the old man became even more panicked:
"You really do have a gun on you!"
As he was talking, a third person walked in from outside. He was wearing brown leather boots, a straight suit, and a bowler hat with gold wire decorations on it. This was a very upper-class gentleman. He frowned as he appeared from the doorway and looked around the warehouse corridor:
"Thief? What are you stealing here?"
Then he saw Shade, who was wearing a mask and was obviously not a normal person, so he immediately drew a black pistol from his waist:
"Don't move!"
The muzzle of the shiny pistol was pointed at Xia De. The other party was standing in the autumn morning sun, so Xia De, whose eyes had not yet adapted to the light, was unable to see his appearance clearly at first.
"Oh, you are so brave! This is the royal vineyard. Do you know whose property you are stealing?"
The middle-aged man in a black coat, dressed very respectably, scolded:
"Surrender now, or..."
Xia De's eyes gradually adjusted to the light outside the door, so he saw who the gunman was. He was stunned. He didn't expect that he actually knew someone here:
"Mr. Bernhardt?"
"Do you know who I am? Well, raise your hands and hand over your weapons, sir, be respectful! We don't want a conflict."
"I am... ... "
As Shad said this, he raised his hand and wanted to take off his mask, but Armand Bernhardt misunderstood this action and immediately said:
"Don't move! You have the right to defend everything you have done, but everything you say..."
"I am... ... "
"You are so bold that you dare to covet the royal family's property. Put up your hands immediately... To be honest, there is actually nothing here. What are you here to steal?"
Seeing that he ignored his explanation, Shade, who had prepared the spell materials in advance, took a step forward lightly. Then the three vampires in the corridor were surprised to find that Shade was gone.
"It's me, Mr. Bernhardt."
Shad's helpless voice came from the corridor door. Mr. Bernhardt turned his head and found a stranger standing in the sun against the door.
Xia De took off the mask on his face. Although he had applied witch's eye shadow, familiar people were not affected by this eye shadow:
"It's me."
The gentleman with the bat logo floating above his head squinted his eyes and saw Shade's face clearly in the sunlight. He opened his mouth in surprise, then immediately lowered the muzzle of his gun and put it into the leather holster at his waist:
"Mr. Hamilton... Mr. Watson? It's been a long time since we last met. You seem to have become even more handsome!"
The surprised expression turned into a smile. He waved his hand to signal his companions not to be cautious, then walked forward and gave Shade a warm hug:
"Before I left Midhill Castle, I left you a letter at the auction house, inviting you to visit me. I didn't expect that we would meet in less than half a month! Why are you here? Oh, no need to explain to me, you must have something else to deal with."
The Viscount, who had been saved by Shade more than once, was very excited.
The White River Valley Vineyards did belong to the royal family of Carsenrick, that is, the Anjou family. However, the royal family had many properties in the United Kingdom, and it was impossible for them to manage every property personally. The Bernhardt family was a distant relative of the royal family. Mr. Bernhardt, who had a family vineyard business in Huntington, also looked after the vineyards for the royal family.
The old man who just walked out of the warehouse was the caretaker sent by Mr. Bernhardt, and the driver was Mr. Bernhardt's own driver. There was a small clan of vampires surrounding the Bernhardt family, and these people were Mr. Bernhardt's confidants.
The Royal House of Anjou entrusted the vineyard to Mr. Bernhard, paying him an annual fee, and the output of the vineyard was shipped directly to the royal capital, Willendel.
As a relative of the royal family, Mr. Bernhardt certainly would not take all the grapes and red wine produced here for himself, but he could still take some small advantage. And what Shade just saw was that Mr. Bernhardt wanted to store the fresh meat from his estate for the winter in the warehouse of the vineyard.
In order to prevent Xia De from not believing it, he specially invited Xia De to take a look at the warehouse. It turned out to be fresh dead cows and sheep:
"It's not that I'm taking advantage, but there's no other use for the empty warehouse, right? Besides, it's troublesome to take blood at home, and no one will suspect anything in the royal vineyard."
Mr. Bernhardt tried his best to explain that he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of his friends. For a respectable man like him, this was more difficult to accept than having a gun pointed at him.
The acquaintance between Shade and Mr. Bernhardt began this autumn. Although this gentleman went to Midhill Castle with the divine possession prepared for the blood-sucking god, he himself did not know much.
On the night of the Battle of Middleburg, he followed the high-level vampires to break into the Cassandra Auction House and was captured alive. If it weren't for Shade's unexpected visit that night, I'm afraid the witch's apprentice Miss Swift would not have let him live until dawn.
Mr. Bernhardt no longer remembered what questions Shade had asked him that night, but he still remembered that Shade had saved him in the Crime Mansion and the auction house. The gentleman was extremely happy to meet him again here unexpectedly:
"I won't have the chance to repay you in Middlesbrough, Mr. Watson. Please let me treat you to a meal right now. But not here, it's too undignified. Let's go into the city now, to Huntington City. I know a very good club, and you will definitely like the scenery of Carson Creek."
He did not ask why Xia De was here, but extended an invitation very enthusiastically.
Xia De was not familiar with this city, but he felt relieved when he heard "Huntington City":
"Mr. Bernhardt, are you familiar with this place?"
The two of them left together through the dilapidated warehouse corridor. The old man in charge of guarding the manor locked the door of the warehouse, and the coachman went to prepare the carriage.
After leaving the corridor and entering the early winter of Carsenrick, Shade saw a small manor that looked dilapidated behind him, and the corridor was just below the front of the manor. To enter the manor, one had to go through the stairs on the left and right sides.
"Of course I am familiar with this place. I spend eight months a year in this city and only return to Willendel in midsummer. After all, the summer in Huntington is too hot."
Mr. Bernhard introduced enthusiastically, and seeing Xia De observing the surroundings, he said:
"Although the White River Valley Vineyard belongs to the royal family, it has long been in decline due to poor management by the previous manager. The annual output is only... I won't say crowns, but if converted into gold pounds, it's almost 500 pounds, but the cost of hiring workers and maintaining the manor is more than 400 pounds. Add in other expenses, and 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 a lot of assets, and they don't care about this kind of deficit at all."
“So is it likely that I’ll buy this place?”
Shade asked, looking around in the sunshine. The weather here was very good. The small manor had dilapidated houses and abandoned flower fields. Behind the houses were towering hills, and outside the manor were large tracts of vineyards. The sky was blue, with large clouds like cotton candy, and the sun was dazzling, but it was undoubtedly good weather.
"I can ask for you, but it's difficult without Carson Rick's identity."
Mr. Bernhardt pointed to the carriage outside as he spoke:
"This way, please."
"It doesn't matter if I can't buy it. I just want to find out."
Following Mr. Bernhardt on the uneven dirt ground of the estate, Shad passed through the estate and stood in front of the shabby wooden gate, only to discover that the White River Valley Vineyard itself was on a higher hill.
He looked out to the blue sky, the boundless plains, and the city on the horizon. This was a scene that a foreigner had never seen before. In the world of the steam age, such a primitive yet natural scene was something he could never have imagined.
Xia De smiled unconsciously, and his mood was as bright as the sun above his head:
"The most important thing today is that I want to ask you something about the city."
"No problem, let's talk about it once we get to the city. I have some influence in the local area."
Unlike the mountainous Midhill Castle, Huntington is located on the Great Plains in the middle of the Old World, rich in food and various cash crops, especially grapes. Riding in Mr. Bernhardt's carriage towards the city, Shade could see the endless grape plantations from the window, the women in headscarves working next to the beehives under the blue sky, and the merchants carrying boxes walking on the country roads.
Although they are all cities in the Old World, the city of Huntington in the south has a completely different late autumn scenery from Coldwater Harbor, Tobesk and Fort Midhill.
The girls around Xia De always envy the vineyards in Carsenrick in the south. Even Dr. Schneider, who came to Carsenrick for an academic conference, praised the scenery here. Although it is not the best season for scenery in midsummer, the scenery in late autumn has made outsiders understand why people always praise the vineyards in the south.
The White River Valley Vineyard where Shade appeared is located in the east of Huntington, only a 20-minute drive from the city. If you ride alone on horseback, the time to get to the city can be shortened.
In the carriage, Mr. Bernhardt enthusiastically introduced the city to Shad. As they gradually approached the city of Huntington from the countryside, the vast wilderness of vineyards disappeared, the dazzling sunlight faded, and was replaced by the scenery of a big city in the steam age that Shad was very familiar with.