Eve stared at the head guard's lifeless body that bled on the ground while his eyes were wide open. Hearing footsteps approaching her, her eyes quickly snapped to see Vincent walking in her direction.

There was a slight frown as she continued to stare at him.

The council members appeared angry and disappointed because Vincent had gone against their protocols to protect her. He had killed the head guard who would have planned to hurt her further.

"You killed them" Eve whispered.

"Did you expect me to stand and watch you being dragged inside the cell?" Vincent questioned, staring at her. "Besides, haven't I already told you that your life is mine and not yours anymore?" His eyes fell on the severe bruise on her face. "You look terrible. Let us leave."

Eve pushed her hands on the ground with strength before standing up. But her legs had turned weak, and she used the support of the wall next to her. The earlier worry hadn't left her mind as she could transform at any moment. She let him know,

"I cannot walk."

Vincent noticed Eve's body wobble. Clicking his tongue, he bent and carried her in his arms. He asked her, "How much time do you have?"

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"Not much," she replied while trying to hang on to him. This was the second time Vincent carried her in less than a week.

"Hold on for a few minutes longer. I will get you out of here."

Eve held onto Vincent as he carried her. She felt the tingling sensation in her legs and tried to hide her feet in the long coat covering her body. The councilmen were stunned by Vincent's actions and watched him walk past them while carrying the woman.

Mr. Cripps's senses returned, stopping Vincent, "Where are you taking her?" He demanded.

"To Darthmore. To the council, you will find me there," Vincent offered a charming smile before he walked away from there, leaving the council members with gobsmacked expressions.

"You better be there," Mr. Cripps warned with contained anger.

"If you don't you can put a missing person poster around the place," stated Vincent before walking away from there.

Mr. Cripps rubbed his forehead with a headache forming in his head. He looked at the dead bodies that lay on the ground and said, "Once we return to Darthmore, I want you to draft a report about this. We need to get the place cleaned and re-assign the guards. He could have just told us what he knew about the lead."

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Gregory nodded before asking, "Why do you think he didn't tell us before? We could have avoided this mess."

"Exactly the very reason," stated Mr. Cripps, and his eyes fell on the head guard, where blood pooled around him. "If he told us beforehand, he wouldn't have been able to kill this one and it would have allowed us to report him for his misconduct behaviour. If we do now, it isn't just him but us two who will get into trouble," he gritted his teeth.

The councilman nodded, impressed by Vincent's mind. He said, "We must agree that Vincent doesn't just have a skill to kill people but also brains."

"It would be better if you stop patronising him, unless you want to face disciplinary actions," Mr. Cripps warned the young man.

Away from them, Vincent walked through the passages that had lit by the torches of fire on the walls. The prisoners who were wondering what the commotion was about until now, saw Vincent and turned quiet.

Vincent's footsteps were quick and he stepped out of the dungeon. He made his way to where his carriage stood, and his coachman Mr. Briggs noticed the woman in his master's arms, who was none other than the governess.

Mr. Briggs quickly opened the carriage door. Seeing the village head sitting in the corner of the carriage, with his hands and legs tied in rope to stop him from running. Vincent ordered his coachman, "Shift him."

"At the front, Master Vincent?" the coachman inquired.

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"No. At the back," replied Vincent, and for a moment, the village head believed the vampire was being sarcastic until the coachman put him at the back of the carriage and tied him like a piece of luggage.

Vincent helped Eve sit inside the carriage, before joining her. He noticed her continue to tremble, half in fear and half in anxiousness, while her eyes trained on her lap.

"You okay?" He asked her.

Eve slowly nodded. The panic that had been running high in her body slowly subdued. Her anxious mind, trying to keep herself from being caught earlier, turned quiet. She was finally safe, away from being violated or killed or exposed.

"Where are your shoes?" Vincent was subtle with his question. As he had found her without an outer dress and only inner dress, along with her bare feet, he didn't know what the lowly guard had done to her.

Eve's lips parted before she replied, "I was trying to hide So I removed the top dress and shoes."

Vincent noticed Eve's voice had turned slightly hoarse. Leaning forward, he pulled out a small bag that contained water and passed it to her,

"Drink." Eve took the bag from him and heard him say, "Slowly, we don't want you hurting more."

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She took little sips before returning it to him. But her eyes started to well up in tears, and unable to control the stress she had been trying to hold within herself, she finally broke into tears.

For the first time, Vincent noticed delicate tears slipping from Eve's eyes. While some drops rolled until the end of her cheek, some turned into refined, high-quality pearls before falling on her lap and some on the carriage mat below their feet.

When the coachman finished tying the village head and made his way around the carriage where the door was still open, Vincent pulled Eve into his arms, hiding her in his chest from anyone's sight but his, while she continued to cry.