"No no, I didn't intend to shoot."
Seeing that the old vampires and the vampires dressed up by the coachman were all panic-stricken, Xia De quickly explained, so the old man became even more panicked:
"You really have a gun on you!"
While talking, a third person came in from the outside. He wore brown leather boots, a neat formal suit on his body, and a bowler hat on his head with gold silk decorations on the hat. This is for a very high-class gentleman, he frowned and appeared from the door, looking at the situation in the warehouse corridor:
"Thief? What are you here to steal?"
Then he saw Xia De wearing a mask, and he knew that he was not a normal person at a glance, so he immediately pulled out a black pistol from his waist:
"Don't move!"
The glaring muzzle of the pistol was pointed at Xia De, who was standing in the autumn morning sun, so that Xia De, whose eyes had not yet adapted to the light, could not see his appearance clearly at the first time.
"Oh, you are so brave! This is the royal family's vineyard, do you know whose property you are stealing?"
The well-dressed middle-aged man in a black coat scolded:
"Surrender quickly, or..."
Xia De's eyes gradually adapted to the light outside the door, so he also saw who was holding the gun. He was taken aback for a moment, he didn't expect that he actually had an acquaintance here:
"Mr. Bernhardt?"
"You know who I am? Then, put up your hand and hand over your weapon, sir, be decent! We don't want a conflict."
"I am......"
Saying that, Shad wanted to raise his hand to take off his mask, but Armand Bernhardt misunderstood this action, and immediately said:
"Hold on! You now have the power to defend everything you do, but everything you say..."
"I am......"
"You dare to covet the royal family's property. You are so bold. Immediately raise your hand... To be honest, there is nothing here. What are you here to steal?"
Seeing that he ignored his justification, Xia De, who had prepared the casting materials in advance, took a light step forward, followed by the three vampires in the corridor, and was surprised to find that Xia De had disappeared.
"It's me, Herr Bernhardt."
Shad's helpless voice came from the corridor door, Mr. Bernhardt turned his head, and found the stranger standing against the door in the sunlight.
Xia De took off the mask on his face. Although he was wearing witch's eye shadow, familiar people are not affected by this eye shadow:
"it's me."
The upper-class gentleman with the little bat logo floating above his head squinted his eyes, and saw Xia De's face clearly in the sun, opened his mouth in surprise, then immediately lowered the muzzle of his gun and stuffed it into the leather holster around his waist :
"Hami...Mr. Watson? Long time no see, you seem to have become more handsome!"
The surprised expression turned into a smile. He waved his hand to signal to his companions not to be cautious, and then stepped forward to give Xia De 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 did you appear here? Oh, no need Explain to me, there must be something else to deal with."
The Viscount, who had been rescued by Xia De more than once, was very excited.
The White River Valley vineyards do belong to the royal family of Carson Rico, that is, the Anjou family. However, the royal family has many properties in the United Kingdom, and it is impossible to manage each property in person. The Bernhardt family is a distant relative of the royal family. Mr. Bernhardt, who owns the family vineyard business in Huntington, also takes care of the vineyard for the royal family.
The old man who came out of the warehouse just now was the caretaker sent by Mr. Bernhardt, and the driver who drove the carriage was Mr. Bernhardt's own driver. Surrounding the Bernhardt family, there is a small vampire clan, and these people are Mr. Bernhardt's confidantes.
The royal family of Anjou entrusted the vineyard to Mr. Bernhardt and paid him a fee every year, while the output of the vineyard was directly shipped to Willendale, the capital of the kingdom.
In order to prevent Xia De from being unconvinced, he specially invited Xia De to take a look at the warehouse, and 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 an empty warehouse, isn't it? Besides, it's very troublesome to take blood in your own home. In the royal vineyard, you will definitely not be suspected."
Mr. Bernhardt tried his best to explain that he didn't want to lose face in front of his friends. For a decent person like him, this is even more unacceptable than pointing a gun at him.
Shad's acquaintance with Mr. Bernhardt will start this autumn. Although this gentleman went to Fort Midhill with the divine descendant possession prepared for the vampire god, he himself didn't know much about it.
On the night of the Battle of Mibao, he followed the vampires from Gaohuan to force the Cassandra Auction House, and was captured alive. If it wasn't for Xia De's unexpected visit that night, I'm afraid the witch's apprentice, Miss Swift, wouldn't let him live until dawn.
Mr. Bernhardt no longer remembered what question Shade asked him that night, but he still remembered that Shade had saved him in the sin mansion and the auction house. At this time, they unexpectedly reunited here, and this gentleman was extremely happy:
"There is no chance to repay you in Middlesbrough, Mr. Watson, please let me treat you to dinner, just now. But not here, it is too disrespectful, we are going to the city now, to Huntington City, I know very good people Club, you'll love the view of Carson Riek."
He didn't ask Xia De the reason for appearing here, but extended an invitation very warmly.
Xia De is not familiar with this city, but he is relieved to hear "Huntington City":
"Mr. Bernhardt, are you familiar with this place?"
The two left together from the dilapidated warehouse corridor, the old man in charge of guarding the manor locked the warehouse door, and the coachman went to prepare the carriage.
After leaving the corridor and formally walking into the early winter of Carson Rick, Xia De saw behind him a small manor that seemed to have decayed, and the corridor just now was directly below the manor. If you want to enter the manor, you have to pass the stairs on the left and right sides.
"Of course I am familiar with this place. I spend eight months in this city in a year, and I only return to Willendale in midsummer. After all, the summer in Huntington is too hot."
Mr. Bernhardt enthusiastically introduced, seeing Shad observing the surroundings, he said:
"Although the White River Valley Vineyard belongs to the royal family, due to the poor management of the previous manager, the vineyard has long since declined, and the annual output is only... I won't talk about kroner, but convert it into gold pounds. It’s almost more than 500 pounds, but the cost of hiring workers and maintaining the manor is more than 400 pounds. In addition to other expenses, it is actually losing money every year. But since the Anjou family is willing to give me money to take care of this place, I have no reason to refuse .”
He shrugged:
"The royal family has a lot of property, and they don't care about this deficit at all."
"So is it possible for me to buy this place?"
Xia De asked, looking around against the sun. The weather here is very good. There are dilapidated houses and deserted flower fields in the small manor. There are towering hills behind the houses, and there are large tracts of vineyards outside the manor. The sky was blue, the clouds looked like cotton candy, and the sun was blinding, but it was undeniably a good day.
"I can inquire for you, but it's difficult without Kasenrick's identity."
Mr. Bernhardt said while pointing to the carriage outside:
"this way please."
"It doesn't matter if you can't buy it, I just want to inquire."
Shade followed Mr. Bernhardt on the uneven soil of the manor, walked through the manor and stood in front of the shabby wooden gate, only to find that the White River Valley vineyard itself is on a higher hill.
Looking out, you can see the blue sky, the boundless plains, and the city on the horizon in the distance. This is a scenery that outsiders have never seen before. In the world of the steam age, such a primitive but natural scenery is beyond his imagination.
Xia De smiled unconsciously, and his mood was as bright as the sun above his head:
"The most important thing today is ~www.mtlnovel.com~ I want to ask you something about this city."
"No problem, let's talk about it when we get to the city. I'm in the local area, and I still have some influence."
Unlike the mountainous Fort Midhill, Huntington is located on the Great Plains in the middle of the Old World, where it is rich in food and various cash crops, especially grapes. When he set off towards the city in Mr. Bernhardt's carriage, Shad could see the endless grape plantations from the car window, and the women in headscarves working beside the beehives under the blue sky, and even more so. The merchants carrying the cargo boxes were walking on the country roads.
They are all cities in the Old World, but Huntington, located in the south, is completely different from the late autumn scenery of Coldwater Harbor, Tobesk, and Fort Midhill.
The girls around Xia De are always envious of the vineyards in Carson Rik in the south. Even Dr. Schneider, who came to Carson Rik for an academic conference, admired the scenery here. Although it is not the best season for midsummer scenery, the scenery in late autumn has already made foreigners understand why people always praise the vineyards in the south so much.
The White River Valley Vineyard where the Shade emerged is in the east of Huntington, only a 20-minute drive from the city. And if you are riding alone, the time to enter the city can be shortened.
On the carriage, Mr. Bernhardt enthusiastically introduced the city to Shad, and as he gradually approached the urban area of Huntington from the countryside, the vast expanse of wilderness and vineyard scenery disappeared, and the glare of the sun slowed down. Instead, It is the scenery of the big city in the steam era that Shad is very familiar with.