The sound of the violin floats on the top layer, with the sounds of silver flute and clarinet underneath, and finally the soothing cello sound with Kasenlic style is the base, which is the typical style of Kasenric dance music.
The entire first floor of the Rothschild Manor has been opened up as a banquet venue, and the hall, which occupies a quarter of the first floor, is the main banquet venue. This place itself is prepared for banquets.
It is still early, and Princess Margaret has not yet given her farewell speech. The gentlemen and ladies in exquisite dresses under the crystal lamp are enjoying their time at this moment.
Shad, whose English is not very good, followed Mr. Bernhardt and found his friends at the long table with him. They were vampires with little bats hanging on their heads. There were about seven or eight of them, all dressed in white shirts and black formal suits, but each one had different decorations such as pocket watches and badges.
They were each carrying red wine, and when Mr. Bernhardt came over, they talked loudly about this autumn’s grape harvest. Similar to the vampires in Fort Midhill, most of the local vampires are also engaged in the wine business. Even most people in the local wine guild have a vampire background. Shade believes that this is in line with the beliefs they believe in. related to a god.
“Oh, look who’s here?”
A middle-aged man with a rough beard, who looked more like a bear-man or other alien creature than a vampire, greeted Mr. Bernhardt loudly:
“Armand, when did you come back from Fort Midhill? Is business going well?”
“I came back two weeks ago. As for business? Oh, my colleagues in that mountain city actually don’t welcome me.”
Mr. Bernhardt also smiled and hugged him, then patted Shade on the shoulder and introduced to everyone:
“Everyone, this is my friend, from Delarion. Although he is not from us, he is still from our side.”
Although this introduction was very vague, people understood what he said.
“Good evening, gentlemen.”
Shad said in Kassenric, taking the initiative to shake hands with these gentlemen, and judged from this that most of them were low-level, and only one was a fifth-level. In comparison, Mr. Bernhardt of the Seventh Ring has the highest level. It finally makes sense that he was sent to perform the mission of Fort Midhill in the autumn.
Mr. Bernhardt has a high reputation in the local area, so Shade was warmly welcomed as his friend. People asked him about interesting things about Delrayon, praised his appearance, and marveled at the exquisite workmanship of his dress. Mr. Bernhardt was very happy to see his friend welcomed. He picked up two glasses of red wine from the tray in the waiter’s hand, handed one of them to Shade, and then said:
“Any interesting things happening in the city recently? I have been recuperating since I came back. Yes, I encountered some things in Mibao, so I am not sure about the interesting things happening in the city recently.”
As he spoke, he tapped the glass with his ring, and then winked at Shade. Shade knew that Mr. Bernhardt’s ruby ring was actually an alchemical item he made himself, which could make wine taste like blood.
“Interesting thing?”
The old man whom Mr. Bernhard called “Count Ronan” raised his glass and clinked it with the former man. The old man held a cane filled with gold and wore three gems on the five fingers of his right hand. The rings and buttons on the black jacket looked like sterling silver, each with a subtle pattern of a little bat on it. But not only does this look not appear abrupt, but it has a low-key sense of luxury:
“Count Sagia died yesterday at the White King Club not far from here. The murderer was his lover.”
Count Ronan said, Mr. Bernhardt nodded slowly:
“What a surprise.”
Xia De also echoed:
“It’s surprising. I didn’t expect the security in Huntington to be so bad.”
“It’s not the local security police. There is actually a hidden secret in this matter.”
Earl Ronan lowered his voice and raised his eyebrows at Shade:
“Sir, you have just come to the local area, so you may not be well informed. It is said that the church also arrested a person yesterday, a person from the Pantanal.”
He blinked, and Mr. Bernhardt made a clear expression:
“It’s them, they are so brave.”
As he said that, he explained to the “confused” Shade the meaning of the people coming from Pantanal.
“What do they want to do?”
Baron York, who had pigtails on the back of his head, asked while holding a wine glass. He wanted to touch Mr. Bernhardt’s ring with his own glass, but the latter smiled and dodged it.
This time it was the bear-like Viscount Ramadi who answered him. The viscount’s voice was very elegant and did not match his appearance at all:
“I heard some news, but I can’t guarantee it’s true.”
Everyone glanced around, and then the Viscount lowered his voice:
“It is said to be related to the Heart of the Pantanal. There are a lot of rumors in the swamp now. The herbal medicine business run by Count Sachia has stretched his hands too long and blocked the road that shouldn’t be blocked.”
“What is the Heart of the Pantanal?”
Xia De was suspicious, but before he could ask, Baron York, who was wearing gold-rimmed glasses, said again:
“Speaking of which, I have another piece of news. This is exclusive news. Not even the church knows about it. The Association for the Search for the Truth, yes, that academic organization further south, sent people to us. It is said that in Find something.”
Xia De was stunned:
“Truth Society?”
He almost blurted out, but luckily he stopped in time.
Mr. Bernhardt tapped the floor with his leather shoe uneasily twice and drank the red wine in his hand:
“Truth Society?”
He tried to lower his voice as much as possible, his bright eyes narrowed, and wrinkles appeared on the pale skin of his forehead:
“I also met this group of lunatics in Middleburg. What are they doing here? Is it related to the people in the Pantanal?”
“It doesn’t matter. Academic organizations like the Truth Society look down on the country bumpkins in the Everglades and think they are uneducated.”
Viscount York said with a smile, everyone in the circle smiled, and Shade also laughed together. Even among ring wizards, there is a chain of discrimination.
“The Truth Society only sent three people, accompanied by a cleric from an active illegal religious group who believed in incorrect gods. They found me on the black market, bought some special drugs, and asked me about this They received information about the banquet and bought four invitations at a high price. Those people are really rich.”
This “drug dealer” disclosed the information about his customers without any care:
“I don’t see them yet, but they will definitely come.”
Xia De immediately scanned the surroundings, and then heard someone ask again:
“Why are you related to evil, ahem, I mean illegal believers again?”
This time it was Mr. Bernhardt who gave the answer:
“The Truth Society suffered a big loss in the Fort Midhill incident. Almost all the professors it sent were caught for illegal prostitution. Moreover, they have never minded cooperating with illegal elements. After all, most of the illegal The molecules are not as crazy as them.”
Because they belong to the same race, these vampires trust each other and gather together to exchange various local news using metaphors that ordinary people cannot understand. During this period, Shade listened quietly and wrote down the contents.
However, the diet of vampires is a little different from that of normal people, so they all took some fruits and vegetables on their plates and did not touch the meat.
Since Shade had no acquaintances, he did not run around. Even when he saw a crowd of people playing Rhodes gathered in the corner of the hall, he did not rush over to join in the fun.
On the contrary, the middle-aged priest with the Holy Emblem of the Church of Peace on his chest came over to shake hands with Mr. Bernhardt. He seemed to be an acquaintance of Mr. Bernhardt. At this time, the other vampires tacitly changed the topic. Before the first snow falls, in the name of the Huntington Liquor Association, go to the local church to donate to the Huntington Orphanage and Welfare Home.
It seems that they have completely integrated into the lives of ordinary people.
Xia De did not take the initiative to talk to strangers, but someone came to talk to Sha De. It was a group of local aristocratic girls who gathered together. They smiled and pushed one of the girls in a red skirt and handed Shade a handkerchief. After Shade took it, he discovered that it had an address and name on it.
Looking at the girl again, she was already a little shy and went to join her friends.
Seeing Shade’s surprised look, the “drug dealer” Baron York laughed again and joked:
“We girls from Huntington have always been so enthusiastic and bold. The one just now seems to be the daughter of the MacDonald family. She is a good marriage partner. Their family’s vineyard is better than Bernhardt’s. Be big.”
“But the quality of their wine is not as good as mine. The red wine produced by the Bernhardt family is sweeter than the blood of virgins!”
Mr. Bernhardt immediately retorted, and the people around him laughed and joked, but they did not deny that the quality of his wine was very good.
Xia De looked at the handkerchief and then touched his face. He was not in the habit of messing with strange girls.
When the clock tower in the center of the city rang seven times in a row, Princess Margaret of Anjou, wearing a blue princess dress and a silver crown, finally stood in front of the accompanying Willendale nobles. Accompanied by him, he appeared on the platform above the stairs.
While the spotlight of the newspaper’s camera kept flashing, the music stopped and the voices in the banquet hall also stopped abruptly. Shade held the wine glass and looked at the princess with long pale golden hair who was standing on a high place with these rather upper-class and respectable vampires. Under the reflection of the surrounding gas lamps, her whole body seemed to be shining.
She did not take out the speech notes, but started speaking directly.
“Citizens of Carsenlique, on behalf of the Royal Family of Anjou and the Tobesk delegation of 1853, I would like to make a speech at this moment. Peace has come to the Old World for nearly a century, and Delarion and Carsenlique The friendly relations have continued since my ancestor, the great Corleone I”
“Mr.”
Xia De was looking up at the princess when a young lady’s voice came from behind. Turning around to look, I saw that it was a girl dressed as a maid. This is a ring warlock with the power of a witch. Shade has seen her before. When he met Miss Sylvia at the Owl Club, she was the one who served Miss Sylvia:
“Miss wants to see you.”
The maid whispered, Shade nodded, and then said to Mr. Bernhardt:
“That lady has something to do with me. I’ll be back soon.”
“Be careful.”
Mr. Bernhardt patted Shade on the shoulder with some concern, and then watched Shade gradually walk away as the maid walked through the crowd.