The flames in the torches softly wavered against the wind that drifted from the forest where the council had been built. The corridors of the council building were deserted, and it appeared to look quiet from the outside.

In one of the council rooms that belonged to the Head of the Inner Circle, Vincent now sat in front of Clayton, where the young-looking vampire looked displeased. It was because he noticed the blood stains on Vincent’s clothes. Clayton grimly questioned,

“Whom did you kill this time?”

“Some low level vampires who didn’t have the ability to listen. I had to kill them to save an innocent human,” responded Vincent, taking one last drag from his cigar that he had lit earlier before pressing the tip of it on the ashtray.

A frown appeared on the young-looking vampire. It was because he knew there was more to it and said, “I am surprised. Who is that fortunate or unfortunate human?”

“My little sister’s governess. She was framed to have killed someone and was put under punishment of being whipped until she bled and couldn’t walk. Isn’t that pitiful?” questioned Vincent, and Clayton wondered if the vampire in front of him had learned to offer help to the humans. “I did the right thing, right?” he asked the Head, who warily looked at him.

“I guess,” replied Clayton.

“Great, because the woman is the person who was accused of having killed Fowler, and the one’s I killed were the guards,” Vincent leaned back against the chair, and Clayton’s eyes narrowed.

“What?!” The head of the inner circle glared at him and asked, “What happened to Cripps?”

“He’s cleaning up the mess he made in the dungeon. He should be here soon,” Vincent brought his hand in front of his face and yawned.

The young-looking vampire placed his hands on the table with a light thud and demanded,

“I thought I made myself clear about who was handling the case. Yet you went and meddled in it. Do you think the other members of the inner circle will quietly sit back when they find out about it?” questioned Clayton, “Your reputation of killing people has surpassed anyone’s name in the council. One mistake and you cannot save yourself from not being a prisoner in the same dungeon where you put others.”

Clayton stared at Vincent, hoping Vincent had a good reason for going against the protocols of the council.

Vincent’s eyes moved to the corner and his lips quirked, before saying, “Why don’t you ask Cripps himself?”

The next second, someone knocked on the closed room’s door from outside.

“This is Cripps reporting,” came Mr. Cripps’s voice, and Clayton’s gaze shifted from Vincent to look at the door.

“Come in,” Clayton barked, and the door opened.

When Mr. Cripps opened the door, his jaw tightened on seeing Vincent sitting there. He bowed his head and before he could raise his head, Clayton demanded, “What happened in the dungeon, Cripps?”

“Moriarty failed to listen to the orders and took the accused involved in Mr. Fowler’s death,” Mr. Cripps tattle-tailed while glaring at Vincent. If Vincent thought that he could get away, it was a big mistake, thought Mr. Cripps to himself. “Not only that, it was only later did he mention that he had the lead to the ac mentioned about an important information related to the case.”

Clayton turned to look at Vincent, who explained,

“I was following instructions by not meddling in the case. And frankly, if your incapable men did a proper interrogation, you would have saved everyone’s time and stopped the innocent from being tortured.” Vincent then continued, “If we are talking about protocols and breaking them, I believe that it is known that no prisoner shall be harmed in the first twenty-four hours of time. But Mr. Cripps ordered the woman to be mercilessly whipped, someone who had nothing to do with the case.”

“I never ordered for the woman to be whipped. It was the head guard, who took matters in his own hands,” Mr. Cripps defended himself.

“Easy to blame the dead,” hummed Vincent, and Mr. Cripps walked further into the room.

“You were the one who killed him! This is all a ploy of Moriarty to frame me and to justify his actions,” Mr. Cripps explained to Clayton, who was turning annoyed. “I was going to interrogate the woman to find the truth, but he interfered–“

“That’s enough!” Clayton snapped at them, glaring at the men. He took a deep breath and said, “Both of you will face consequences for the lack of following the rules. Mr. Cripps, the case no longer is under your care. You forgot to do something so basic. Were you so eager to close the case?”

Though the Head of the Inner circle looked young, he had experience in dealing with people in council for many years now, and there was nothing that passed his eyes.

Mr. Cripps tried to explain, “Sire–“

“Clean the mess that was made today,” came the blunt words from Clayton. His eyes shifted to look at Vincent, “Even if you are a member of the council, you cannot go against the protocols and kill the guards.”

“I wouldn’t have to do it, if this one didn’t order the guards to manhandle the innocent woman and also beat me,” remarked Vincent. Clayton gritted his teeth because earlier, Vincent had made him approve of his actions.

Clayton said to Mr. Cripps, “I would like to speak to Mr. Moriarty alone.”

Mr. Cripps bowed his head and left the room, closing the room behind him. Clayton said to Vincent, “The people at the inner circle table won’t overlook your actions. You are lucky that Cripps made a mistake.”

Vincent nodded and he replied, “I know, which is why I did what I did.”

“You could have left them alive, but you killed them,” Clayton’s red eyes didn’t look away from him.

Vincent smiled at Clayton’s words. He said, “I think it is time you handed me the case. You and I both know I am far better suited for the job.”

“After you killed the guards in the dungeon?” Clayton raised his eyebrows.

Vincent asked, “Don’t you think the head guard’s actions are questionable? What if someone tipped him to close the case entirely? And did you expect me to let them off the hook? The damage was done and it needed to be fixed.”

“Because according to you, death is what answers the questions?” replied the Head of the Inner Circle, and it widened the smile on Vincent’s lips.

“That’s half the answer. Torture does,” Vincent replied with a coldness in his eyes. Though Vincent had advised Eve to let go of her past, he didn’t apply the same to himself. He liked to settle scores with people.

He wasn’t always like this.

When he was young, an incident had changed him and his sister, Marceline. They had perceived the trauma differently. He smiled at the memory before looking at Clayton, who was watching him.

“You should get some rest. After all, good little boys go to bed soon,” Vincent remarked as he got up from his seat, which struck a nerve in Clayton, and the young boy scowled at him.

“One day I will myself throw you into the dungeon,” Clayton said dryly.

An hour had passed since Vincent had left Eve alone in the bathtub, still submerged under the water. After having calmed herself, she now released bubbles under the water, where it moved upwards before bursting at the surface. She failed to hear the room door unlock, and Vincent stepped inside before locking the door again.

Vincent heard the bubbles’ sound and noticed the mermaid was still in the water.

His footsteps were soft against the room’s floor and he came to stand next to the bathtub. Though mermaids were told to be beautiful creatures, he could only agree that this woman was the loveliest of all he had seen.

If it was someone else in his place, they would have fallen in love with her beguiling beauty, but this was Vincent. He had seen countless beautiful women, and beauty wasn’t enough to waver his heart or mind. Though, he was amused that her mood had turned good, where she was blowing bubbles like a child.

Ripples caused by the bubbles wavered the surface of the water.

When Eve finally saw Vincent’s face on the other side of the water, who offered her a smile, she stared at him for a second. When she realised he was watching her, she gasped. Because her hair wasn’t covering her bosom anymore and had spread out around her head.

Eve emerged from the water, and her lowered body returned to her human legs. She coughed out the water she had gulped in shock.

“W-when did you return?” She quickly pulled her knees close to her chest, hugging it.

“A while ago. The blood on my clothes is making me hungry. If you are done playing in the water, I am getting in,” said Vincent.

Eve’s eyes almost fell from her face when she saw Vincent unbuttoning his shirt. Bells started to ring in her head. Not wedding bells, but the bells of alarm.

She heard his shirt fall on the ground and tried not to look at him. She pleaded in panic, “Wait! Let me get out!”

“Alright,” replied Vincent, waiting for her to step out of the bathtub. Seconds passed, and her skin turned flush. Even though she said she would, she couldn’t get out of it, naked.