They had to leave the carriage out of the village and they entered the village which as usual had wet ground which was slippery with patches of puddles here and there.
"How come I don't remember this place?" asked Barron to himself who was being carried by Lucas in a small bag, hanging in his left hand. It was only Belle and Lucas who could hear Barron speak.
"It is a street which doesn't need your help. People here die every day," Lucas commented pulling Belle to his other side so that he was closer to the street path. This was one of the shadiest towns, maybe not as bad as the black market but it is still was considered to be a notorious village, "Are you sure is where the keeper of the house lives?"
Belle's bright eyes looked at the people and the houses that stood on either side of them, "I found the address in the attic. There's a stash of letters that were stored in there. His name is Guivenver."
She pulled out the envelope that had the address of this place, "He should be here. It says house number twenty-one," she looked to her right to notice the house that was numbered as fourteen, "It should be somewhere here. The architectures of the houses are placed outside while the inside is where the market and other places are."
"What a smart lady you are, Belle," Barron complimented her.
"Thank you," Belle tried not to smile because of the atmosphere they. were surrounded in, "I was preparing to get into the council before which is why I know some of the old architecture," but she had decided to drop that thought. There were other things that needed her attention and maybe going to the council would possible put her in light, "The house should be somewhere in the next lane," she said, leading them as they walked to finally find the house with number twenty-one on it.
The house looked old and black. As if the wood that was used to build it had soaked itself with water over the years that had pa.s.sed since it had been built. The street was quieter than the others with barely one man who pa.s.sed by them.
Walking up to the door, Belle took to knock on the surface of the wood, waiting for someone to open.
When the door did open, it was a man who appeared to be in his early thirties. A human. The man appeared to be apprehensive and suspicious of them, not opening the door fully, he stared at them.
"Is this Guivenver's house?" asked Belle.
"Yes. Who are you?" asked the man without opening the door fully.
"I am Belle Adams and this is my butler and," Belle looked at Barron who was in the bag ready to be introduced when she realized it was a stuffed toy to others, "I am guessing Guivenver is no more?"
"He pa.s.sed twenty years ago. He is my grandfather," answered the man, "Michael. When you said Adams residence, is it the Orchard house?" he asked slight curious.
"Yes, that's what it was previously," Belle replied back, "I actually had a few questions about the house," but the housekeeper was dead.
The man named Michael pushed the door open and moved back as if letting them in. Belle looked at the house that appeared to be even dark than the atmosphere and environment they were in. She then stepped inside the house and Lucas followed in before the door was shut close. It was a small house where the walls were close to them. By the looks of it, it appeared that he was living alone.
A single candle was burning on the table and the two windows that were built barely allowed any light inside.
"Take a seat," Michael showed his hand over the two chairs that were there and he took himself to sit on the narrow bed, "My grandfather didn't like speaking about the house when someone asked about it. A lot of people were interested in knowing how the first family who the mansion actually belonged to had come to die."
"Grandfather was a.s.signed to the house a few months before the death took place. It was a ma.s.sacre," said Michael.
"By the witches?" Belle asked curiously.
"I don't think they ever identified who it was but there was one thing that people found out. The owners of the house, their bodies had gone missing. The servants of the house said that they saw them die and fall on the ground but during the inspection, no bodies were recovered from there."
"Do you know who killed them?" it was Lucas who asked the question.
The man shook his head, "Grandfather said that the house owners didn't have enemies. They lived a very quiet life. A lot of people died that day."
That was truly strange but then one could only suspect if it had something to do with the black witches. After all, even Belle's family had done nothing to anyone yet they had been targeted.
Belle then asked him, "Was the house ever exorcised? What about the family before mine?" if his grandfather had lived this long, it only meant that he was a vampire.
"I don't think people ever thought about ghosts. Death is everywhere, it would be tedious to keep exorcising every now and then. He did say that the lady before your family was not happy with the rumours. They had taken the house on the rumours of it having treasures which were hidden but I doubt anyone ever found it until now because it is just a rumour."
