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PHYSIENTS WILL ALWAYS OFFER BEST NOVELS || LATEST MOVIES || LIVE STREAMING ALL TIME
ALLURE OF THE NIGHT
Chapter 361 Lonely Butterfly
Music Recommendation: Professor Stoddard- Ben Frost
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A small girl sat beside her mother, along with many other women, on the couch. It was a soiree held for the wealthy.
Young Rosetta looked outside the room, where girls her age were laughing and talking to each other, while her mother had made her sit next to her.
The guests were mostly vampires, who hailed from remarkable and reputed families. One of the women, sitting and having tea with the others, remarked, "Lady Aurora, has your family thought about moving to the West? I hear that the King has built new mansions and has decided to offer them to the Lords, Dukes, and the Marquees."
Lady Aurora looked younger than most of the women around her and being one of the women of the highest status in the room, her chin lifted higher than it normally did. She replied, "Walter and I are very grateful for the King's generous gesture, but this is where the family has lived for many generations. Rosetta will be growing up here."
"Of course, that sounds more right than moving to a new place," another vampiress agreed, and her eyes then fell on the Marchioness's daughter, who sat next to her mother with a stiff back. "Rosetta dear, you should relax your shoulders. It looks like you are giving a competition to the statues," she laughed. "It appears as if we are strangers and you are ready to flee from here."
Lady Aurora's red eyes shifted to look at her daughter, with a slight annoyance passing her eyes when her young daughter, who was no more than ten, shifted in her seat. She then remarked, "Rosetta hasn't been doing very well and her body is still recovering from it."
The small vampiress turned and looked at her mother, wondering why her mother was lying to the other women about her being ill when she was fine and healthy. At the same time, Rosetta noticed the little glare her mother sent, and she quickly tried to fix her expression as well as her posture.
"Rosetta seems to have had a weak body since she was born. My thoughts are with you about it, Lady Aurora. I know when Molly fell ill for a week, it got me very worried," the woman who had earlier spoken to Rosetta said to the Marchioness.
"Thank goodness that Molly is doing better," Lady Aurora said, "She's a very well-behaved child. I am sure Rosetta can learn a thing or two from her."
"You are embarrassing me, Marchioness. Rosetta is well-behaved and always complies with things, isn't that right, dear?
At the question, Rosetta only blinked. She didn't want to upset her mother by saying something. Rosetta's little mouth always got her in trouble before being punished.
"You are right," Lady Aurora smiled. Raising her hand, she placed it on her daughter's head to gently stroke it.
The other lady then encouraged Rosetta, "Why don't you go and find Molly and the others? I am sure you must be getting bored, sitting here and listening to us adults speak," she smiled.
The small vampiress turned to her mother for approval, and Lady Aurora smiled at her daughter, "You can go and spend some time with them, but stay away from trouble."
"Yes, mother," small Rosetta bowed and left the room.
Now that Rosetta was away from her mother and the adults, her feet quickly moved to find the other girls around her age. When she finally noticed them, she fondly walked towards them and said,
"What are you all doing?"
The other three young vampiresses turned to look at Rosetta, and one of them replied, "Catching a butterfly."
"What a silly thing to do," came from a young Rosetta, who didn't know how to filter her words even though her mother had tried to teach her to do it. "Don't you know that you shouldn't touch them."
"Why? It isn't like we are harming it, or you," said another girl from the three young girls.
"Catching it, you are weakening its wings. How would you feel if your arms were pulled?" Rosetta crossed her arms across her chest.
"Nobody asked for your thoughts, you weird girl," the first one said to Rosetta. "Go do your thing, and leave us alone."
"I came to spend time with Molly. We are friends," Rosetta stated, after all, her mother was friends with Molly's mother, which made her and Molly friends.
The girl named Molly didn't respond but only received looks from the other two young girls.
"Molly doesn't want to spend time with you, nor does she like you. Stop forcing yourself on people, and you are a Marquee and Marchioness's daughter, go find one like yourself to play with," said the first girl who had spoken and turned back to catch the butterfly in the open garden.
Molly hit the girl's hand and whispered, "You didn't have to say that, Wilma!"
"That's fine, she needs to know we aren't interested in being friends with her," shrugged the first girl.
Rosetta stared at the three girls and bit her lower lip. Though hurt for being isolated, she didn't cry but only glared at them. She said,
"But..." Molly had told her that she wanted to be her friend. Rosetta noticed how Molly didn't look at her and hid behind the other girl. "I don't need friends like you! None of you are worth being Rosetta's friend! You are stupid and don't have the knowledge like me!" She didn't wait for them to retort but ran away from there.
Rosetta didn't know why she had trouble making friends, making her question whether she was incompetent, just like her mother said. All she wanted was to be friends and talk to them. After walking around the stranger's mansion as if it was her own. Feeling lonely, she wondered if she should apologise for something she must have done. She returned to the garden where the three young girls were now missing.
"As if I, Rosetta Hooke, will apologise to them!" Young Rosetta huffed, but the feeling of loneliness lingered in her heart.
Ready to walk back to where her mother was, she took a step forward when her eyes fell on something moving on the grass. The butterfly was on the grass but had only one wing, while the other wing had fallen a little away from it.
Rosetta sat down on the back of her heels, and in front of the one-winged butterfly.
Rosetta picked up the butterfly's broken wing, and she murmured, "You have wings, which are pretty, yet you couldn't escape..."
At the same moment, Lady Aurora and a few of her acquaintances stepped out of the room they were sitting in to catch Rosetta.
"What is Rosetta doing there?" Questioned one of the vampiresses, slyly smiling, when she noticed the Marchioness's face turn pale on finding her daughter sitting on the ground.
"Rosetta!" Lady Aurora called her, and the small girl snapped her head behind before she quickly stood up.
Lady Aurora had always tried to raise her daughter with the highest manners that belonged to the elites, and she couldn't believe that her daughter could display such a lack of manners.
Another woman who was beside Lady Aurora remarked, "Huh, is that a butterfly's wing? My my, how cold hearted for such a small girl."
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ALLURE OF THE NIGHT
Chapter 362 Do Not Fear The Dark
Music Recommendation: Castration- Ben Frost
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"It seems like the governess that you hired for Rosetta isn't doing a good job, Lady Aurora," Molly's mother remarked, noticing young Rosetta make her way to where they stood.
Even though the vampires were cold creatures in nature, most of their kind who entered high society didn't like to show their personalities and wanted to be part of a society filled with poise and perfect manners.
"Don't you know not to tear the butterfly's wings, Rosetta?" Molly's mother questioned her.
Young Rosetta looked at the woman's daughter, who stared back at her. Rosetta raised her hand and pointed a finger, "Molly, Ellyen and Wilma did it. They were with it earlier, and I found the butterfly only now."
"Rosetta is lying, mama," the girl named Wilma quickly cleared her name before suspicion of what they had done would arise. "We didn't touch or even see the butterfly at all. Isn't that right?" The young girl looked at her friends, who nodded.
Rosetta's eyebrows furrowed, and she said, "Liar! I saw you waiting to catch it. You said it yourself to me."
Wilma cowered behind her mother and responded in a small voice, "I don't know why she's blaming us for something she did."
One of the women clicked her tongue and said, "Not only cruel but she blatantly lies. It seems like you will need to put in a lot more effort on this one, Lady Aurora."
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"They are lying, mother! I would never do such a bad thing!" Rosetta's voice raised, and this was enough for Lady Aurora to lose her patience.
When they reached home, Lady Aurora dragged her young daughter through the corridors. The Marchioness scolded, "You cannot sit still without making a scene every single time I take you out so that you can mingle. Not only are you hell bent on ruining your name, but sullying the Hookes family name."
"Mother, I didn't do anything wrong! I swear I didn't hurt that butterfly!" Rosetta tried to explain to her mother in a shaky voice, but her mother was more than furious to listen to even a word of hers.
It wasn't about hurting the butterfly. Lady Aurora could care less about the insect. People had looked down upon her, the same people who were beneath her. She said angrily, "How long will it take for you to behave like the other girls? Do you see them making a scene? You are good for nothing child. Nor do you look pretty, nor do you have the sense to behave in public."
Lady Aurora continued to drag her daughter to the quieter side of the mansion, while Rosetta pleaded, "Mother, please! I will behave better! I promise! I won't do it again."
But her mother didn't pay any attention to her pleas and she continued to pull her until they reached a room, where the curtains covered the windows. Lady Aurora reprimanded Rosetta, "This has been repeating for a long time and I thought you would learn, but it seems like you are slow. It is time for you to learn and not repeat this kind of behaviour again."
Rosetta had already received a slap on her cheek from her mother when they had climbed inside the carriage, and tears had streamed down her eyes. She shook her head, "P--please, don't hit me mother."
Lady Aurora looked around the room before her eyes fell on the old and closed cupboard. She dragged Rosetta and opened the cupboard, which had dust in it, before pushing the girl inside it.
"Mother!" Rosetta sobbed, and Lady Aurora glared at her. This had the little girl quiet while her lips trembled.
"You better sit in there and reflect on what you did. It is time you become smarter, than tarnish the Hookes name," Lady Aurora closed the cupboard and locked it from the outside. She said, "You will stay here, until you learn your lesson." With that, the Marchioness closed the room's door and left her daughter in the dark.
Rosetta, now locked in the cupboard while surrounded by darkness, called for her mother, "Mother! Mother, please let me out!!" She shook the cupboard's doors with her tiny hands, but it didn't open. "I promise to listen! Plea--"
She heard something scratch against the corner of the big cupboard, and she started to panic further, "MOTHER!"
In the present, in the Moriarty mansion, Rosetta's breathing was uneven, and she had pulled her knees close to her chest.
Rosetta crumpled her skirt, digging her nails into the fabric, which pressed into the sides of her legs. The fear that had been etched in her mind from the past had returned in full force. She felt it crawl from every side of the darkness she was surrounded in.
"I am sorry..." Rosetta whispered, her voice holding sorrow that even Eugene sensed. "I... I am scared of darkness."
She wondered if Eugene would find it funny. That a grown woman like her, who was a vampiress, was scared of such closed spaces that were dark. But then she heard Eugene's gentle voice,
"I understand, Lady Rosetta."
The silence was deafening except for the heavy breathing from Rosetta, who appeared to be trying to calm herself.
"T--There's a spider..." Rosetta whispered, hearing the little rustle in the room. "I don't like spiders, Eugene."
Eugene moved to where Rosetta was, and he sat next to her, "I am right here and next to you. I will keep the spiders away from us."
"But you can't see," Rosetta pointed it out, and Eugene's lips twisted into a smile, on how the vampiress spoke directly even though she was scared and he was the only company she had here.
"I have good ears, milady. I will use them and I believe you have good ones too," Eugene spoke to her in a calm voice.
Like a scared mouse, Rosetta moved to one side only to end up yelping when her shoulder touched Eugene's, and she quickly apologised, "I am sorry!"
"You have been apologising too much. You haven't done anything wrong to say sorry," Eugene said to her. It wasn't like Rosetta didn't want to stay close to him, but she didn't want him to think wrongly about her.
Rosetta asked him, "Aren't you scared of the dark?"
"People of the poor grow up without too much light. We live on the streets, in the alleys or forest until someone gives us a job, or brings us here to serve them. You get used to it after sometime as it is normal," Eugene said, before thinking to himself about how there was no light in some of the people who belonged to the wealthy status.
"I don't think I could ever get used to the darkness..." Rosetta whispered, and a tear slipped from her eye.
For the next ten minutes, they stayed in silence. With both of them locked inside the room, not knowing how long it would take for someone to find them, Eugene asked, "Why are you scared of spiders? You are bigger than them. All you need is something to smash it with."
Rosetta nodded in the dark, "I am bigger than that... When I was small, my family would often lock me up in the cupboards and rooms, which were dark and old. To discipline me."
"Were you a handful as a child?" Eugene asked her.
Right now, their status or kind didn't come into the picture. Because of the darkness, they focused on each other's voices and the emotion behind them.
Rosetta stared into the darkness, "I must have been." Considering the number of times her mother had turned furious and locked her up. But after two seconds, she said, "I don't know. My mother used to be very upset with me, even if I didn't do anything wrong. How was your childhood?" She tried to distract her mind. She added, "It is okay if you don't want to share."
His childhood? Eugene thought about it and answered, "I never knew my parents. Never seen them as they didn't stick too long for me to know them. I lived in the back alleys, searching for food. I wanted to help so that I could fill my stomach. But people don't trust children who are poor, if they steal something."
Rosetta turned to look at Eugene, and she asked, "How did you find food then?"
Eugene answered nonchalantly, "Go through the trash of every person's house when they were asleep." But he could do it only in the middle class or the poorer side of the village and town, as guards often guarded the houses of the wealthy. Somedays, there was no food, and some days, there would be rotten food, which would make him sick after eating.
Trash.... Rosetta couldn't believe that Eugene had such a hard childhood.
"When did you start working at Eve's house then?" Rosetta asked him.
"It was two years before Mr. Dawson passed away. I was young but not too young when I came to work for the Dawson's family. They have been very kind towards me, treating me like their family member," Eugene would forever be grateful to the family.
"You know, when I first met Eve, I thought how nice it would be to be her. Beautiful, calm, kind, and a family who loves her dearly. I can tell with the way Lady Aubrey and you look after each other," Rosetta softly laughed.
Eugene murmured, "Be careful for what you wish, for the wish you wish upon isn't what you would want." Rosetta's eyebrows furrowed, and before she could ask why he said it, she heard him ask, "You make it sound like you don't have a loving family."
"Would you look down upon me if I badmouthed my family?" Rosetta asked, and then she said, "You don't like my family, so it should be okay... My parents have been everything I have known, they were the only ones who have loved me. But it is only now that I question if they really do. Ready to use me, just to achieve their own motives. Pardon me, I don't mean to complain."
"I am sure you didn't mean to," Eugene said, "It is the curse that many bear, when born in a family that belongs to high positions."
Rosetta smiled and said, "I wish my parents would lose all their wealth."
Listening to her words, Eugene burst with laughter as he noticed the vampiress's innocence in her words.
He then said, "Don't be scared of darkness, milady. Once you accept it to be part of you, you will learn to walk through it."
pAn,da-n0v e1,c "You think I will be able to do that?" Rosetta asked him in hope.
"Yes," Eugene offered his words of hope and advice. He continued, "You are bound to fear because of how you were treated and how you felt many years ago. But if you think about it, time has changed now. You are no longer that small girl. The thing that you feared, is now much smaller than what it used to be. Think closely, if you break the door now, you will find light. All you need is to break the door."
Rosetta thought about it, realising how true his words were. There was light and people outside this room. More than that, there was Eugene right next to her.
"Thank you for your kind words, Eugene Eggs. I will always keep them close to my heart, even if one day you may not respond to my feelings the way I want you to. We can be... friends. I do have very few of them," she awkwardly smiled.
Hearing the last name, Eugene's lips twisted once again. It was because that was not his last name. He had given the vampiress an odd one because he knew a person who didn't love him would never be able to accept such a terrible last name. Especially not one who liked to maintain an image in front of others.
Eugene didn't go to comment on Rosetta's words, which left her wondering what he was thinking.
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ALLURE OF THE NIGHT
Chapter 363 Where Is Lady Rosetta?
Eve stepped out of the piano room and while walking, met Alfie, whose eyebrows had been drawn together. The servants had gone back to continuing their work and noticed how Lady Aurora was nowhere to be seen, except for Blythe, who stood on the other end of the corridor.
"Did they find Rosetta?" Eve asked the butler in a low voice.
"We haven't been able to find her in or around the mansion, Ms. Barlow," Alfie responded to her in the same lowered voice, and he continued, "The lady hasn't left any note in the room where she has been staying. Her things haven't gone missing either. Do you think she eloped all by herself?" There was a hint of astonishment in his eyes.
Eve shook her head, "I don't think so. She might have gone out for some air." But Rosetta wasn't someone to do that.
"All the carriages are parked in the shed, milady," Alfie replied.
"Then she must be somewhere in the mansion. Let us find her before Lady Aurora makes another uproar," Eve whispered, and she asked, "Can you do me a favour?"
"Yes, milady?"
"Try to keep Blythe away from me. I need to find a black cat in the mansion," Alfie gave her a nod, and Eve walked towards the end of the corridor.
When Eve walked past Blythe, who was watching her like a hawk, the maid was ready to follow her, right then Alfie jumped in, and he instructed the maid,
"There is a shortage of help for having to clean the piano room. As Miss Allie and Ms. Barlow are done for the day, you can continue to work there," the butler pointed her toward the piano room.
But the maid had not forgotten the slap that she had received from the Marchioness for her irresponsibility in looking after Lady Rosetta. She didn't want to risk her neck being snapped next for not being able to keep an eye on the lowly human governess. She said to the butler, "I am not the servant of the Moriartys, but a Hookes. I am obliged to answer to Lady Rosetta, and now that she isn't here in the mansion—"
"Then there is no reason for you to stay here, unless you are a servant," Alfie was curt with his words. As the butler of the Moriarty mansion, he was used to managing servants during the absence of the members of the Moriarty family. He knew exactly how to handle maids like Blythe. "Would you want me to see your things to be sent back to the Wright's mansion?"
Blythe stared at Alfie for a good two seconds, and she then said, "My mistress may not be here right now, but I am sure you are well aware that the Marchioness would like to have me stationed in the mansion until Lady Rosetta returns. After all, her things are still here. Failing to comply will only add trouble to your young master," a slight sly smile appeared on her face.
"Don't bring the terms about the deal that has been made by the Moriartys and the Hookes. You are a maid, and if you cannot work in the mansion, you can stand outside the mansion and wait until Lady Rosetta or the Marchioness returns. Or do you prefer to have guards escort you out?" Alfie returned his calm and poised smile. "Well?"
"Let us hope my mistress will be able to find Lady Rosetta and if she's run away, it has nothing to do with you, your master, or with the human governess," Blythe's words held a foreshadowing warning.
The maid glared at the butler and started walking away from there, while he followed her until they reached the front of the mansion's entrance. Blyth thought, 'Vincent didn't seem to be in the mansion right now, and with the human governess inside, it is better I wait for Mistress to return.'
Inside the mansion, Eve searched for Timotei and not knowing where he would have stretched himself to laze the few hours before the next meal would be presented, she decided to look for Eugene if he knew where the cat was.
But even after asking a few people in the mansion including the butler, Eve didn't know where Eugene was. Somewhere the line of worry deepened on her forehead.
Away from the Moriarty mansion, a furious Lady Aurora who now sat in her carriage, was on her way to Darthmore. She had gone to the Wright mansion and picked up her husband from there, letting him know what happened. But before the carriage could leave the edge of the Skellington town, Marquee Hooked opened the front window and ordered the coachman, "Go to the magistrate's office first quickly."
"Yes, Sir!," the coachman obliged, and soon the horses and the carriage took a U-turn.
Once they reached the building where the magistrate worked, they entered inside and noticed the magistrate stand up from his seat, even though a second ago, he seemed busy reading a parchment.
"Marquee Walter Hooke and Marchioness Aurora Hooke, what a pleasant surprise that you have come to visit me. Please come inside and take a seat," the magistrate snapped his fingers, and the servant in the room stepped forward.
"We have come here to seek your help, Mr. Welbek," Marquee Hooke informed the magistrate.
It took the magistrate a moment to realise the Hookes appeared upset and tense.
"Of course! Anything you need. All you need to do is ask, and I shall see that it is done!" Mr. Welbeck, the town's magistrate answered without missing a beat.
"We want you to keep this under wraps without creating too much hoo-ha about the matter as it concerns my family," Marquee instructed him, and Mr. Welbeck nodded for him to continue. Rosetta's father said, "Our daughter Rosetta… has gone missing. We want you to send your loyal men to watch the borders of all towns, and where everyone gets on the carriages. If you find our daughter, bring her back to us."
Mr. Welbeck was taken aback by hearing that Hooke's daughter had gone missing. He carefully asked, "Did she run away with so—"
"She has not," came the curt answer from Lady Aurora, and she held a glare that had Mr. Welbeck offer her an apologetic bow. She smiled as she said, "Rosetta is a young, shy lady, who doesn't know anyone in Skellington. We are worried that she must be in grave danger, and would appreciate it, if you could try to find her as quickly as possible."
If Rosetta had escaped from here with someone's help, the best option was first to find her before it would be too late for her to find her daughter. She could deal with Vincent later.
Mr. Welbeck nodded, "I shall do that once the men return from their current search."
Lady Aurora stepped forward, trying to tower over the magistrate, who, in truth, was taller than her. She then demanded, "I don't care if they are busy. Order and have them look for my daughter, unless you would like to be summoned by the King and be handed with execution for your lack of tact towards my family's situation. The King would be disappointed about it, if he came to know that you didn't help us," she warned the magistrate.
In the magistrate's eyes, the Hooke family was reputable and had high connections, or more right to be said, Walter Hooke had a good relation with the King.
"I will try to do my best, milady," Mr. Welbeck bowed, and Lady Aurora continued glaring at him.
"Find my daughter quickly. Someone must have kidnapped my precious daughter," Lady Aurora demanded, as she didn't know where Rosetta was and didn't want to accept that her daughter had run away.
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ALLURE OF THE NIGHT
Chapter 364 Admirable Councilman
Music Recommendation: Elusive Man- (K)NoW_NAME
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In Darthmore and the chamber of the Head Council, Vincent dropped a file on Clayton's desk, which had the small-looking vampire stop what he was doing and stare at the bundle. His gaze shifted to Vincent and he asked,
"Did you finally finish going through the file that I gave you last week?"
Vincent offered a smile and said, "I like the hopeful you. It is cute. But no, these are documents that relate to the Hookes."
Clayton, who had been leaning against his chair until now, sat straight and picked up the file. He murmured, "All this while, I have been wondering why you were so willing to get yourself set up by them. As if almost eager." His red eyes briefly looked at Vincent and then back at the file. "I can only assume that you did have something to do with Marquee Walter Hooke's sister's murder."
"The one time where I didn't kill someone, and I get the blame for it," Vincent clicked his tongue, but the mirth in his eyes didn't make the Head Council believe his words. He then pulled the chair in front of the desk and took a seat. "Did you know that the Hookes are soon going to be drowning in debt and poverty. The Hooke's financial condition has plummeted, and this file has the names of people whom they owe and owed money. People from high status."
"I already know it, I was there when they visited and quickly offered you the deal to marry their daughter. And you accepted it very willingly," Clayton turned the pages and then placed the file back on the desk. He said, "Someone close to you killed the woman, and you are covering up for it. You do understand that breaking the blood marking in the Council's registry will lead to your execution and your family's reputation will suffer."
Vincent nodded before he responded, "I am aware of that. I don't plan to break the blood binding seal, someone else will help me to nullify it."
Clayton gave him a suspicious look, and he questioned with a frown, "What are you up to, Vincent? They aren't regular people. Even if they are drowning, they are people with connections."
"Everything good, and nothing bad. I promise, it will all be worth it," a wicked smile adorned Vincent's sinful lips.
Vincent knew that if he didn't take the blame for Lady Camille Wright's murder, the Hookes would frame someone close to him, and now that they knew it wasn't just his family but also Eve, he didn't want them causing any harm. Even though he would try to protect his and Eve's family, he was no God to be present everywhere and know everything. The easiest way was sometimes to trap people. One had to make their opponent believe they were trapped.
"What are you doing with this file? Want to tell everyone that they are falling into the line of poverty?"
"Of course, not. I am not so petty to do that," Vincent picked up the file and read the names listed. "I have much better use of this file." He added, "There's a soiree being held in my mansion, I would be delighted if you attended it." Saying this, he turned around and made his way towards the door. Before he stepped out, Clayton remarked,
"The Hookes, don't underestimate them. Especially not with the blood seal," Clayton warned Vincent.
"Thanks for your worry," Vincent smiled and stepped out of the room, making his way through the corridor. On the way, he met two men who had just returned from their hunting case they had picked up and were on their way to report.
"Mr. Moriarty," one of the two councilmen greeted Vincent and said, "I would like to thank you for tipping us on the witch's location. We were able to successfully find and kill her."
Vincent's smile didn't reduce, and he turned amused, "It is always a pleasure to help fellow councilmen. What do you say, Mr. Scroggs?" He asked the other councilman, who stood next to Mr. Osborne. They were the same men, who had met Marceline in the Palavista forest.
Vincent had kept an eye on Marceline, knowing his cunning sister would try to find a solution for her lost fangs without accepting the good path everyone wanted her to walk in. When Eve had informed about his dear sister stealing Allie's fangs, he could only guess that she was trying to find a witch to help her.
Before Marceline would reach out to a witch, early this morning, Vincent had informed that the witch the Council was looking for was in Palavista forest. One which he believed Marceline had heard about and had gone to seek help.
"Of course, Mr. Moriarty! You are the most knowledgeable man here and we look up to you!" Mr. Scroggs answered, and he said, "We also met your sister there."
"Did you now. She must have lost her way," Vincent sarcastically stated, but the men didn't pick it up as they nodded. It seemed like Marceline wasn't done with one visit and had gone back to the witch for something else, the pureblooded vampire thought.
Mr. Osborne responded, "She told us she was taking a walk and ended up losing her way back. But there's nothing to worry about her, Mr. Moriarty. We killed the witch before she could harm your sister, and we made sure to see that she got inside her carriage."
The corner of Vincent's lips tried to stretch further, and he remarked, "It is good to see that the Council has brave men like you two. To have found the witch with a direction and put an end to the missing girls case, I will be sure to put in a good word about your work to the Head Council. Thank you for your kind gesture and seeing my sister in her carriage."
Mr. Scroggs was an admirer of Vincent Moriarty. He had heard about how capable and efficient Vincent was with his work, who solved difficult cases that others couldn't.
"Unfortunately, we couldn't save the young girls and women, who were lured and dragged into the witch's den. We found nothing but bones," Mr. Osborne informed Vincent.
"Draw up the family names of those who lost their young daughters to me, so that the compensation report can be made and hand it to me. I will submit it so the miserable families are compensated quickly," Vincent said to them, and the two councilmen bowed. He then walked past the two men and heard one of them remark from behind,
"How generous of him. Not only did he help us inform us where to find the witch was and give us credit, but he is willing to submit the report and put in good word for us. As expected from the Moriarty family!"
While Vincent worked on the file, he had on the Hookes, time passed in his office. He finished working on some envelopes, and once he sealed them, he handed them to Patton and ordered, "Have these immediately sent to the addresses on them."
"Yes, Sire," Patton complied, taking the many envelopes to post them. While the man stepped out of Vincent's office, he met Marquee and Marchioness Hooke in the corridor, who demanded,
"Where is Vincent?"
"Mr. Moriarty is in his offi—"
The Hookes didn't wait for the lowly vampire to finish his sentence. On reaching Vincent's office, Marquee Walter Hooke demanded loudly, "Where is Rose?" Vincent raised his eyebrows, and he deadpanned,
"In the mansion's garden. But if you don't like them, you will find plenty of them in the Council's garden."
Lady Aurora's eyes narrowed and she glared, "Our daughter Rosetta. What did you do or tell her?!"
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ALLURE OF THE NIGHT
Chapter 365 Quick Search
Music Recommendation: Elusive Man- (K)NoW_NAME
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Vincent didn't know what the Hookes were up to, coming here to the Council to absurdly accuse him. He couldn't help but smirk as the Marchioness glared in anger, and the Marquee's face held a deep frown, while they looked at him.
The pureblooded vampire stood up from his seat and said, "First, you force a marriage with your daughter, and now you come to my workplace and blame me for doing something to your daughter that I have no idea about. It is a mystery to me how you are still intent on wanting your daughter married to someone so vile as me, when you know it yourself."
Marquee Hooke tried to fix it by saying to Vincent, "Aurora didn't mean to accuse you, Vincent. Rosetta is missing from your mansion and she is nowhere to be seen. She didn't take the carriage out either, and we are worried about her."
Vincent's eyes shifted from the Marquee and looked at the Marchioness, who continued to seethe from where she stood. A look of surprise appeared on his face and he said, "I don't know why, but I don't think Lady Aurora is in agreement with you."
Though Lady Aurora liked to use the position of having the upper hand with Vincent because of the blood seal, Marquee Hooke didn't want to start a rift. After all, there were still weeks before the wedding would take place between Vincent and Rosetta. He said,
"She is worried about Rosetta. We are worried that someone must have harmed her, and she has gone missing. We would greatly appreciate it, if you could help us find Rosetta."
Lady Aurora tried to control her rage, and she said to Vincent, "Rosetta is your future wife. As her future husband, it is your responsibility to find her. I hear that you are very good at finding missing people."
Vincent and Lady Aurora stared at each other for a few seconds. The pureblooded vampire calmly said, "I think you missed a little detail. The people I find are usually dead."
A quick scowl appeared on the vampiress's face. She stepped towards him before saying, "Find her. The terms of the blood seal clearly states that—"
"The marking blood seal states that if a physical harm falls upon Rosetta Hooke, or if she goes missing or dies, the blame goes to Vincent Moriarty so that he doesn't find a way to break the blood seal and he will be sentenced to immediate execution," Vincent finished what was written in the Council's registry. He calmly stared at the vampiress and then said, "I remember what is written. What makes you think I would break the seal? I don't know about you, but I do love my life. Immensely."
Before another row of argument would take place between his wife and Vincent, Marquee Hooke requested Vincent, "Please help us find her, Vincent. We have already informed Skellington's magistrate, who has sent his men to look for her."
Vincent ran his tongue across his perfectly aligned teeth and replied, "Are you sure that she's missing?"
"The entire Moriarty mansion was searched and Rosetta is nowhere to be found," Lady Aurora replied in a crisp tone. "Do you think we didn't try to look for her before coming here?"
The corner of Vincent's lips threatened to pull, and he responded, "Let us start from the beginning. Let me see if the people in the mansion know anything about it."
Lady Aurora rolled her eyes and gritted her teeth, "Didn't I just tell you that she isn't there? You are wasting time, when she would have escaped—"
"Hm? Escaped? I thought Rosetta was very much in love with me, and was dying to marry me," Vincent stared at Lady Aurora. "My my, what would people think if they found out that the young vampiress daughter of Marquee and Marchioness Hooke ran away?"
Watching Marquee and Marchioness Hooke affected by this, it turned Vincent delighted. To know how much they cared about their reputation and how they would take their downfall. Lady Aurora stated, "Do you plan to find her, or should we go to the Head Council for his help?"
"That won't be necessary, Lady Aurora. It isn't as if the Head Council is the one marrying your daughter. You are right. As I am her future husband-to-be, I should find her myself," Vincent smiled, and he stretched his hand forward, "After you."
While Vincent, Lady Aurora and Marquee Walter were on their way to Skellington, back in the Moriartys mansion, Eve had finished searching the corridors and hadn't found Eugene. She stepped out of the mansion and into the backside garden to finally find Timotei sitting on a tree with his eyes closed.
"Timotei!" Eve called the black cat, who lazily opened one of his eyes.
"I am sleeping. Wake me up later," the black cat closed his eyes.
"I need your help finding Rosetta and Eugene," Eve hurriedly said in a low voice before turning to look back and ensure no one was around.
But though the maids and other servants weren't in the garden to see her talking to the black cat, one of the Moriarty members, who stood on the mansion's first floor, noticed Eve staring at a tree and talking to it. It was none other than Marceline, who had stepped away from her room. The vampiress's eyes narrowed, wondering what the lowly human was doing.
Timotei, who was hidden by the tree branches and leaves, remarked, "The vampiress must have hit Eugene's head and kidnapped him from here until he agrees to marry her."
"Rosetta wouldn't hurt Eugene," Eve frowned and then said, "I worry that they are in trouble. Not to mention, Lady Aurora made a fuss before leaving the mansion. If we don't find them, it isn't just Rosetta, but Eugene will be accused of kidnapping her. Please… Timotei you are the only one who can save them."
Eve's words got the little cat to open both its eyes, and it said, "Of course, I am the only one who can save this world from disaster. But don't think I have forgotten how I was thrown out of the window and I got entangled in the bushes."
Eve was glad that Timotei was the way he was, else it would have been hard to know where to look for Eugene and Rosetta. And as the mermaid and the cat started searching for the two lost people, the human and the vampiress continued to sit in the dark isolated room.
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