Randall Valley City is located in the valley plain on the west side of the mountains in the southwest of Carsonrick. It is not a seaport city, but due to the extremely convenient water transportation, ships can directly enter the inland river from the estuary and then come to Randall Valley City. In addition, the steam railway track running from north to south makes this city an important transportation hub city in the southernmost part of the west coast of Carsonrick.
Of course, the city is not famous for its inland shipping, but it is famous throughout the Old World for its scenery of the Randall River Valley plain.
The scenery in spring, in particular, is known as the most beautiful in the South. Even Shad has heard of the many festivals celebrated in the Randall River Valley every spring.
More than 30 years ago, the Randall River Valley was hailed as the most livable city in the entire Carsenrick, and even the royal family would go here for vacation every summer.
But all this happened more than 30 years ago, and the advent of the steam age also seriously affected the city. In order to keep up with the development level of the United Kingdom, the construction of steam factories polluted the originally blue sky.
Although the pollution here is not as bad as that in Tobysk, known as the "Steam City", it has become difficult to see a completely blue sky in the past decade or so.
But if you leave the city and walk towards the river valley forest and mountainous areas in the northeast of the city, you will find that the air is still fresh and natural. The bigwigs in Randall Valley City try their best to control the pollution and limit it to this city. At least in recent years, it seems that the emission of polluted gases here is much better than other cities.
It was snowing, so the weather was gloomy. The winter sky was covered with gray fog, and the air pressure caused the polluted air to settle, making the city foggy.
The Granger family is the most prestigious family in the area. The family's generations of management and good reputation have made Granger a famous noble surname in the Randall River Valley. The 39-year-old Earl Heiger Granger is the current title holder of the family. Of course, the earl does not stay in the area all year round.
In the Steam Age, nobles were more accustomed to staying in the capital than usual, unlike their ancestors who mainly lived in manors. The rise of the emerging bourgeoisie meant that the nobles would be marginalized if they were not in the center of political power for a long time, and the result of marginalization was decline.
But fortunately, on this dull winter morning, Lord Granger was in town.
The Cherry Leaf Street where Shad appeared is located in the eastern part of the city, and the Earl's manor in the city is located to the west of Cherry Leaf Street, close to the core area of the city.
Every city has its own architectural style and urban planning style. Walking in the City of Spring in winter, Shad discovered that this place was not like Tobesk, where the city was laid out almost in a grid layout, nor was it like Huntington, the wine capital of Carsonrick, which had many slopes due to the terrain.
The distribution of cities in the Randall Valley seems quite random, but walking in it, you can feel an inexplicable sense of order. It's a bit like the difference between a strictly symmetrical aristocratic manor and a completely asymmetrical landscape garden. It feels a bit confusing when looking at the map to find the way, but when you actually walk, you won't get lost at all.
If he could successfully find the key that "Luvia" mentioned here, Shade would be very interested in taking a walk in the city and the famous river valley forest outside the city to see the scenery of the Spring City. But now the business is more important, at least he must find a way to return to the abandoned church before the sun sets.
Although it is in the city, the Earl's manor covers a large area. After going uphill, the building surrounded by white walls on the high ground at the end of the road is the location of the Earl's manor.
Visiting such a noble person usually requires an appointment in advance. Although Xia De, who had been disguised, did not make an appointment in advance, after he explained his purpose to the guard of the manor and showed one of the two medals, the guard hurriedly reported to the owner of the manor.
Not long after, the old butler in black formal attire appeared hurriedly outside the manor's imposing gate:
"Sir, what should I call you?"
He asked Xia De through the fence,
"John Watson, the writer from Willendal."
Shad still uses this name, and his accent sounds pretty good now:
"I wonder if the Earl is at home now? I hope to return these two medals to him personally."
As he spoke, he handed out John Watson's business card.
This was not printed by him to disguise his identity, but was sent to Tobesk by Margaret from Willendale not long ago. Her Royal Highness had created a false identity for him, and now this identity was completely verifiable.
"Yes, Mr. Watson, come in, the Earl is working in his study and he would be happy to see you now."
The old butler wearing a white wig rubbed the surface of the business card with his fingertips. After roughly understanding the material, he bowed slightly, opened the fence gate with his own hands, and led Xia De into the courtyard.
The manor courtyard was covered with snow, but the walkway leading to the mansion had been cleared. The study was on the second floor of the mansion, and the old butler led Shade inside while chatting with him.
Most of these noble manors have portraits of important figures in the noble family. The old butler proudly introduced the ancestors of the Granger family, but unfortunately, Shade did not hear the name of the low-level warlock, Mr. Thomas Granger.
Earl Heiger Granger, now 39 years old, is in his prime. When Shad walked into the carpeted study and saw the earl, his first impression was that he was like a strong lion.
The curtains were drawn in the study, but the gas lamps on the walls on both sides were bright. The count, who was sitting behind a long and imposing desk, had slightly curly brown hair, just like the oil paintings in the corridor. His eyes were large and bright, and he was wearing a red coat decorated with wheat ears. On his right hand, which was placed on the table, he wore a ring with a black gemstone.
When Shad entered the room, the Earl did not stand up to greet him, but he welcomed Shad politely. After Shad sat down, the old butler whispered a few words in the Earl's ear. Earl Granger showed a somewhat surprised expression, and Shad vaguely heard the word "business card".
After the servants prepared tea for the two, the Earl said to Shade:
"Mr. Watson, it's nice to meet you on this boring winter morning. If you hadn't come, I would probably have spent the morning working on these boring tax documents."
It is a necessary etiquette to start a conversation with meaningless pleasantries, which is equally important whether in Delarion or Carsonrick.
"I am also honored to meet you on this winter morning."
Xia De also responded, and then took out the two old boxes:
"I came here this time for this."
He opened the two boxes one by one, put them on the table and pushed them to the count. The count did not touch the medal directly, but put on gloves before taking it out of the box.
At the same time, the old butler knocked on the door again and brought some documents to the Earl. There were both paper materials and yellowed old photos. The Earl looked through the documents and checked the medals. After a long time, he nodded, put the medal back into the box, took off his gloves and said to Shade who was holding a cup of tea:
"Mr. Watson, do you know what these two medals are?"
Xia De put down his teacup and nodded:
"I found them in the secret compartment of a wall clock I bought at a second-hand store in Willendal. Later, when I looked up information and learned that it belonged to the Granger family, I also learned about these two medals. One is the Conqueror of Carsenrick, and the other is the Order of the Knights of the Golden Fleece."
In fact, these two names were mentioned in the letter left by Mr. Thomas Granger. Although Shade didn't know much about Carsenrick's medal system, he knew that they were very remarkable:
“It’s really a badge of honor.”
"Yes, this is the honor our ancestors achieved."
Mr. Granger nodded and said to the young man sitting there:
"Mr. Watson, thank you very much for returning these two medals. This is an indescribable thing for the Granger family. I don't want to insult you with money, but if I don't give you a generous reward for this, I guess my ancestors will not forgive me."
He blinked as he spoke, as if waiting for Xia De to make an offer.
Although Shade had already received the reward from Mr. Heigl Granger, if he didn't want anything at this time, it would make him look strange:
"Ten crowns."
He offered a relatively "low" price - equivalent to £120 to £130 - and said before the Earl spoke:
"Count, I am actually more interested in the story than the Crown."
Shade smiled and said:
"I came all the way from Willendale to the Randall Valley not for money. I like stories, so if possible, could you tell me the story of these two medals, especially the story before they were lost?"
He reached out and grasped the handle of the teacup again, but did not pick it up immediately. Instead, he let the bottom of the teacup rub against the saucer:
“Stories are worth more than money.”
The Count showed an expression of deep approval. He nodded and clasped his hands together on the table.
"To be honest, this family history is not particularly glorious. Mr. Watson, you probably understand that no matter how traditional an aristocratic family is, there will always be some members who... do not have aristocratic traditions."
Xia De nodded slightly, and the Earl narrowed his eyes as if lost in memory:
"I am thirty-nine years old this year. I was born in 1815 according to the Universal Calendar. The loss of the medal happened about thirty years before I was born. It was around 1780, when my father was not yet born and my grandfather was a teenager. The protagonist of the story is my great-grandfather's younger brother, Thomas Jane Granger."