Whispering Verse

Huntington still has a streetscape with walls covered with steam pipes, and it still has an urban feel where horse-drawn carriages, gentlemen, and barefoot children appear together. However, the culture of the Kingdom of Kasonlik in the south and the Kingdom of Delarian in the north are still somewhat different. Therefore, even though they are both cities in the same era, the scenery and style of the cities are still very different.

In the northern Kingdom of Delarion, the city pursues straight roads and a symmetrical layout; while in the city of Kasenric, you can encounter rare sloping streets, and blocks are often divided by intersecting roads.

The similarities are the bustling and bustling big city scenery, the fog lingering inside the urban area, the predominantly gray and black clothing styles, and the alleys that connect the streets in all directions.

Due to terrain reasons, there are often sloped streets in the urban area of ​​Huntington. On the streets here, in addition to flower-selling girls and newspaper-selling boys, there are also children carrying small baskets selling grapes.

After all, not all grapes will be used to make wine, so Huntingdon, a city in the north of the United Kingdom, is also an important fruit grape producing area in Carsonlik.

Shade also specifically asked the coachman to stop, bought some grapes, turned them into toys and put them in his pocket, intending to give them as gifts to the doctor and Priest August after returning to Tobesk.

Although Huntington is located in the central Great Plains of the Old World, the city itself is built on a raised hill. The city is somewhat undulating in general, and the roads leading to the central city are all uphill. The central city is the city's city hall, high-end clubs, restaurants, opera houses and residences of nobles, while other functional areas of the city, such as large markets, citizen squares, etc., are mostly concentrated on the flatter periphery of the city.

Looking at the street scene of the unfamiliar southern city from the car window, the carriage carried Shade and Mr. Bernhardt, passed through a rather steep upward slope, passed through the doorway-like area between the towers, and stopped in the city of Huntington. The entrance to the "White King Club" in the city center.

It is only one street away from Huntington City Hall. On the left is the royal family-controlled Carsonrick Bank, and on the right is the Huntington Gardens Opera House.

The people who come in and out of the club are all well-established southern aristocrats. After Mr. Bernhard jumped off the carriage, without even showing his membership badge, a waiter came out to welcome the Viscount.

Together with Shade, who had an obvious Delarian appearance, he entered the low-key, luxurious and stylish high-end club under the guidance of the waiter. He asked Shade to sit down in the club's restaurant and prepared books for him to pass the time. He left his servants to serve Shade.

Mr. Bernhardt temporarily left the club and asked Shade to wait a moment.

Restaurants in upscale clubs are often where intimate conversations take place. The restaurant is not decorated splendidly, but it has style and its own special style. The distance between each table is very far, and people gather together to eat and talk quietly.

Herr Bernhard returned soon with a wooden box in his hand. After sitting down, he opened the box. Among the straws inside was a corked wine bottle.

"Look at this."

He handed the wine bottle to Shade. Shade looked at it in surprise and looked at the label on the bottle. It was a hand-drawn label paper with the words of Kasenlik and the scenery of the vineyard:

“Château Midlo, cellar from 1803?”

"Yes, yes, you know your stuff."

Mr. Bernhardt looked somewhat proud:

"Moreover, this label paper is the work of the late Mr. Vincent, the painter of Carsonlik. Now the label paper itself is enough to be auctioned at the auction house. This is a famous wine collected by my father and was later passed down to Me, I have never been willing to open it. Although it is precious, wine is for drinking. Today you came to this city, so it is appropriate to celebrate with this bottle of wine."

With that said, he summoned the club's waiters familiarly, handed them the wine bottles to sober up, and said with a smile:

"Mr. Watson, compared with what you have done, what I can repay is really very little. Please don't be polite today. Since you are a guest in this city, you must give me the opportunity to repay you. "

Mr. Bernhardt was happy to see Shad again, and Shad was also happy to meet familiar people just after arriving in a strange city.

While waiting to sober up, the two took orders from the club's menu, and Mr. Bernhardt also introduced Kasenrik's specialties to Shade. By the time the opened wine was returned in an ice bucket, the first main dish, Huntington Caramel Grilled Fish, was already on the table.

The waiter poured red wine for the two of them, and another gentleman in formal attire, Mr. Kasenlik, came over:

"Bernhardt, long time no see. Are you back from Delarian?"

He greeted vampires familiarly, but this gentleman with a Huntington accent was an ordinary person.

"Yes, I came back more than half a month ago. Look, this is my new friend I met in Delrayon, the writer Mr. John Watson."

With that said, he introduced to Sha De:

"This is the local Baron Roland."

The baron shook hands with Shade politely, and then asked with a smile:

"Mr. Watson, can you play Rhodes?"

"Of course, we can play cards together if we have the chance."

Shade said politely, and the smile on the Baron's face immediately became more sincere, and he said to Mr. Bernhardt:

"Look, you are finally willing to take out this bottle of wine. Since you are accompanying the guests, I won't disturb you."

As he spoke, he patted Mr. Bernhardt on the shoulder and pointed upstairs:

"That one is here too and is upstairs. Now the local young people are sharpening their heads and want to go up."

"that one?"

After the baron left, Shade took a fork and asked hesitantly:

"Is there someone with great status in the club?"

Mr. Bernhard hesitated for a moment and said to his servant, a young vampire who was also a vampire:

"Bring Mr. Watson today's Huntington Morning News."

Then he said to Shade:

"Look at the front page."

The servant quickly delivered the newspaper, and the headline on the front page was "Princess Margaret of Anjou and the delegation arrived in Huntingdon today."

"We set off on a steam airship on Saturday. I didn't expect that today was only Thursday and we arrived in Huntington."

Shade suddenly realized.

"Mr. Watson, you also know about this man's upcoming visit to Tobesk, right?"

He pointed to the newspaper on the dining table, and Shade nodded:

"Yes, Tobesk has been preparing for this for a long time. I can directly see the Yodel Palace from my house, and the Yodel Palace has also been renovated and cleaned recently."

Mr. Bernhardt knew Shad’s true identity, but did not know Shad’s specific address. He was surprised to hear what he said. He did not expect that this young and powerful knight from the North would live such a prosperous life:

"Yes, the princess is upstairs in the club now. Let me tell you, when you came in just now, it was obvious that the guards downstairs were not locals. They turned out to be royal guards."

Shade showed a clear expression, but the purpose of his coming to this city was for the "Lady of the Lake", and the matter of the princess should wait until Tobesk. But he still carefully touched the pendant on his chest. The pendant for detecting witches did not generate heat, which meant that the math teacher and personal doctor accompanying the princess, Miss Sylvia, the witch of the thirteenth seat of parliament, were not nearby.

The two chatted while eating, and of course the first topic was about Fort Midhill. Although many vampires were arrested by the church, Mr. Bernhardt did not feel sad about this. After all, he was not familiar with most of them, and there were not many unlucky guys in the clan to which he belonged.

Speaking of the blood-sucking god, the middle-aged Vampire Seed Lord showed great awe. He was unwilling to talk too much about this topic, but he still lowered his voice and told Shade that after the Battle of Fort Midhill, the vampires received an oracle, instructing all race members involved in the Fort Midhill operation not to Discover the truth about that night.

Shade understood this behavior and believed that the vampire god was strictly abiding by the bet witnessed by "The Impermanence of Everything and Balance" before the duel at Mount Sikal. It would be a good thing for him that the vampires did not pursue the truth of that night. The truth of the battle between the gods of Mount Sikal will eventually be lost in the long river of history.

Mr. Bernhardt was not born a vampire, but was transformed into one. This is what this gentleman admitted to Shade. He seems to be quite aware of this identity. There are probably many unforgettable stories during the transformation ceremony. He confessed to Shade that he could command most of the vampires in Huntington City. Therefore, if Shade encounters trouble in the city, he can always turn to him for help.

Surrounded by local nobles with status, the atmosphere in the club was very harmonious. Foreigners and vampires were talking about things that must not be heard by others. Shade thought for a while and lowered his voice:

"Mr. Bernhardt, actually you should have noticed it."

Shade put down the silver knife in his hand:

"I'm able to perform conditional space jumps in different locations."

The other party knew his identity at Fort Midhill. In fact, he could find out with a little investigation. At the same time in Tobesk City, the scandal between Shade and the Duchess was still going on:

“The only place I can show up in Huntington is at that White River Valley vineyard, so hopefully.”

"No problem, I am responsible for taking care of the White Valley Vineyard. I will prepare an extra horse there. You can ride into the city later and store the horse at the Ferdinand Winery in the west of the city, which is also my property. "

Mr. Bernhard nodded and assured that everyone who has met Shade is reliable:

"So what are you here for? I thought I could help you."

He picked up his goblet and shook it gently, while Shade continued to ask in a low voice:

"Have you heard about the rumors about the Fairy in the Lake?"