The Vampire Duchess's Secret Marriage Contract

2| Meeting a Rival in the Wild

Lithe as a cat, I landed on grass covered ground and brushed off the dirt from my clothes. I took out my pocket watch. It was half-past nine. The sky had darkened to a pitch black, the garden only visible under the moonlight.

I leisurely ran past the workers, my presence only a breeze to them. At this pace, I could get to the Gustav HeadQuarters in less than half an hour. My fedora hat fought for its life to cling on to my head as I ran swiftly through the streets.

In about twenty minutes, I had reached the headquarters. I blended into the crowd. Some were surprised at seeing someone appear out of thin air, but none stood to watch. I looked at the giant building in front of me. It was not broad or fancy like the other buildings surrounding it, instead; it was sleek and modern, the tallest building in the street, towering over all other houses.

'Should I enter through the front door, or climb up?'

I decided to enter through the narrow entrance framed by two gray giants of pillars, took the folded cane from my waist and snapped it open. It was heavy since it had hidden daggers inside.

I confidently walked through the front door, greeting the guards with a friendly nod and headed to the reception. The receptionist was, of course, a stout man with beady eyes, a balding head and a thin moustache. Ladies were not allowed to work in 'esteemed' positions such as these, after all.

Too delicate and fragile, they said. I gritted my teeth, shoving the thoughts away from my mind. Now was not the time for my feminist ideals to flare. I was disguised as a man. I acted as if I was supposed to be there and sneaked into the stairway quietly.

No one was there since it was almost closing time. I ran up the stairs. According to my information, the files I needed to 'borrow' were on the fifth floor. I stopped right at the hallway as I sensed three people in a room not far from me.

"Two of our men are already dead, Mr Laurent. Someone is clearly targeting you! We refuse to risk our lives for some piece of paper," an agitated man's voice yelled.

Silence reigned in the room.

I began to eavesdrop out of curiosity. Was it by any chance the recent murders that happened in the Reinhardt territory they were talking about? I heard that it was a serial killer, but it seemed that was not the case.

"Sir, you have to give us some clue as to who is after us. From how gruesome the murders were, we're not even sure if the people after you are human," another man spoke up in a hesitant tone.

More silence.

"Mr Gustav, I pay you to follow my orders, not question them. Of course, if you find that difficult, you are welcome to resign at any time," a pleasurable male voice said in a chilling tone that sent shivers down my spine.

His voice was so commanding and alluring, I wondered what he would look like. My distracted brain then started working again.

'Wait, Mr Gustav?' From the conversation, it sounded like the man with the pleasant voice was higher up in the hierarchy. So there was someone behind the Gustav Enterprises this entire time? But who could it be? According to my sources, it was completely run by a bunch of commoners.

And there was no one powerful enough commoner that could be behind such an enterprise. Was an aristocrat involved, after all? How did that slip my ears? Well, that didn't matter now. I was getting important information from this conversation.

After a moment of silence, a timid male voice spoke up.

"But it would certainly be more efficient if we knew what we were up against, sir."

"Vampires," said the man with the alluring voice. I froze. Vampires did not meddle in the human realm. I was only a Halfling, so my affairs didn't matter to those stuck up bloodsuckers, but they absolutely did not take part in human affairs.

Unless they were provoked first. Or there was something that interested them enough to come out on their own.

So which one was it?

What did these foolish humans do to attract the attention of those dangerous beings?

I listened closely to their conversation, which was in hushed tones. The man who seemed to be their leader did not speak again. They mostly talked about preventative measures, and moving the 'files' to another place. What files were they talking about? I did not know. It must have been what the vampires were after.

I made a mental note to gather information about what this was about, so that I could avoid it. I was not foolish enough to let my father's business empire crumble by offending vampires of all species. I waited till the three men went out of the room.

I still had some files to check and needed to know what they were planning with their latest business endeavor. So that our Duchy could be prepared for what they were doing.

I hid myself behind a door and cast an invisibility spell for safety measures as they walked out into the corridor. I could immediately put faces to the voices. One was a short and stout man, who had a speck of a beard on his chin and a head full of rich brown hair. He was the one who yelled.

The second was a lanky man with grey hair, wearing glasses, who seemed to be the one with the timid voice. The third one stepped out of the shadows and I gasped as I caught sight of his mostly hidden face.

It was a face I could recognise anywhere. My one rival in business whom I could find nothing about except his appearance and name, which I had to pay a whole lot of money for, thousands of kairas for one bloody picture.

'Azrael Gvantsa.'

W/N
*Sweats nervously* I'm thoroughly hoping you guys like this. I'll be grateful for a vote and reading list adds, and comments are much welcomed and does wonders for my motivation. By the way, 'Kaira' is the currency of this empire.