The original tables and chairs in the conference room had long been cleared away, and now there were folding chairs with red cushions placed in the room. In front of the wall where the terrace was located was a mahogany platform with a table on it, which the auctioneer would use later.
The auction items were all placed around the room. The Rhodes card that Shad was interested in was placed near the door. It was obvious that it was not the protagonist.
"Let me see."
He stopped in front of the glass counter, looked at the cards on the red velvet cushion, and smiled:
"Special cards in the queen suit are really interesting."
History of the New World Development: The Wind of Development, Queen of Flowers. (Note)
If you draw this card, you will randomly select a card from the remaining deck. If it is the sun color, the New World Development History: Wind of Development will be regarded as the King. The effect of the drawn card is invalid and it is discarded. It will not be added back to the deck and is regarded as a normal card.
"The queen's suit itself is only smaller than the king and 21, so it doesn't make much sense for the queen to become the king."
Unlike other special rule Rhodes cards, there is a line of small words written in Draerion and Kasenric below the rules:
To commemorate the geographical discovery of the New World, which was a turning point in civilization, we hope that the spirit of exploration will spread across the world.
The "New World" series of cards was released about half a century ago, and has been reprinted every 5 years since then, but the special cards in each reprint are different, so it is also called "New World I" and "New World II". The series of cards was made to commemorate the discovery of the New World. The first edition of 15 special cards was not sold, but given to the fleet that discovered the New World many years ago.
The Queen's suit that Shade is currently looking at, because of its commemorative significance, the normal selling price is definitely more than 80 pounds. Because it is a charity auction, the reserve price of the items is mostly premium. The current reserve price is 85 pounds 12 shillings, but it is obvious that even if the final price exceeds three figures, it is possible.
“That’s really good.”
Shade looked at the silhouette of ships coming and going in Dagon Harbor, a famous port in the New World, and narrowed his eyes slightly. He has always been frugal, and except for the ring warlock-related items, he has never spent more than 100 pounds at a time. But this card looks really tempting...
So buy it? An occasional indulgence
There was a whisper in my ear, her tone was very gentle.
"No."
At least three seconds passed before Xia De shook his head firmly:
"You must control your desires. Even though I have saved a lot recently because of the differential engine blueprints in the spy case, my future expenses are still huge. I can't spend money carelessly."
Although he said this, he still looked down at the card.
Is this considered asceticism
"No, it's just about the future. And look, when have you ever seen me spend money for pleasure? Oh, the money I spent on Mia doesn't count. That was a remittance from Miss Gold."
He took another look at the card and then turned to leave. But he did not leave the room, but stayed here to see what the final price would be.
There were still fifteen minutes before the auction started. A few people had already taken their seats on the folding chairs, and Shade had already walked to the easels in the southeast corner of the room. Under the light of the specially installed floor-standing gas lamps, the artworks looked quite good.
These are not antique paintings, but donated by local painters of some note. The starting price for each painting is 10 pounds, and only the buyer knows whether it is worth the price.
Xia De stopped in front of the easel and saw that these oil paintings were all about heroic epics and myths. The three paintings closest to him were "The Brave Man Slaying the Devil", "The Girl Holding Fire" and "The Phoenix in the Sky".
All three paintings use large areas of red as the background color, but the first one is dark red, the second one is red and black, and the third one is bright red.
"How does it look?"
Hearing a voice next to his ear, Xia De turned his head slightly and saw a short and thin man with a red beret and a small mustache.
"It depicts the epic feeling very well, but I don't quite understand. This one is about the legend of a brave man defeating a demon, and that one is related to the local fire worship tradition. What does the one in the middle mean?"
The painting in the middle is "Girl Holding Fire". A little girl in a white robe and with gray hair is sitting barefoot beside a bonfire, with her eyes closed and her head tilted, holding a thin flame in her burned hands. The background is a very abstract red and black scene, and Xia De can't see the meaning of this painting.
"This is a story I heard from my friend who is a professor of folklore. It is the primordial fire. It is a legendary flame, the first flame after the birth of the world. The prosperity of the flame symbolizes the prosperity of the world. It's an interesting story, isn't it?"
The man in the red hat hugged his chest with his right hand and touched his chin with his left hand.
"Sir, are you the painter who created this picture?"
Shade asked, and the latter nodded while controlling his smug expression:
"Yes, so I came here to see who will eventually appreciate my artistic achievements."
"But according to the locals, the local fire worship tradition is related to the phoenix. Is this legend of the primordial fire also related to fire worship?"
Xia De was basically certain that the "original fire" that the other party had heard of should be the flame in Sister Defulin's hand.
"No, no, the legend of the Phoenix is the origin of local customs, and the Primordial Fire is an ancient myth spread throughout the world."
The painter talks freely:
"I have also traveled around the Old World for folklore research and heard many interesting stories. In areas with a tradition of fire worship, most people can hear ancient myths related to the 'primordial fire'. In Midhill Castle, on the contrary, it is difficult to hear such stories. The custom of worshiping the phoenix has suppressed the 'primordial fire' myth. This can be regarded as folklore defeating myth."
Xia De nodded, his eyes fixed on the slender flame in the little girl's hand in the oil painting. If the "Original Fire" is really the so-called first flame, then this relic can also be considered an item from the First Age.
In the end, the History of the Development of the New World, The Wind of Development, which Shad had his eyes on, was bought by a merchant from Carsenrick for a sky-high price of 132 pounds, which made Shad completely give up.
After the auction, he wanted to find a Rhodes card venue and play cards with local card players. But just when he came to the first floor from the second floor of the castle, he was called away by Miss Aurora's maid.
It was still the lounge where they had met a few hours ago, and the two witches were also there. Seeing Xia De come in, they motioned him to sit down and talk:
“People from the Truth Society showed up here?”
The old witch began to speak.
"Hmm? Oh, the church found out, didn't it?"
Shad was not surprised at all.
"Yes, but it's not important. Let the True God Church handle this matter."
Miss Aurora said:
"I asked you to come here for another matter. About twenty minutes ago, someone in Auction Room No. 1 paid a high price for an antique."
Grandma Cassandra handed Shad a black and white photo. It turned out to be a metal coffin with patterns of branches and vines all over the surface, and in the center of the coffin lid was a silver cross.
"According to the information provided by the seller, this is an antique that was dug out in 1054 C.E. from the north side of the Cameron Mountains, at the location of the current Principality of Set. It was now put up for auction by that foreign antique dealer, with a starting price of 1,200 pounds. Then, someone directly raised the price to 6,000 pounds and bought it."
"6,000?"
Xia De was really shocked. He just bought more than 100 pounds of Rhodes cards and couldn't bear to buy them:
“Is there a problem with this deal?”
"I checked all the antiques at the auction in advance, and this is not a relic."
The old witch said with certainty:
"After the transaction was completed, I smelled a strange smell from the buyer. He didn't seem to be human."
Miss Carina said that Mother-in-law Cassandra is an expert on demons and aliens, so it is normal for her to notice this.
"Galina said that you have a sense of the relics beyond that of a normal ring sorcerer. Now that the coffin has not been delivered, we hope you can take a look."
Miss Aurora looked at Shade:
"Although this has nothing to do with the parliament, all abnormalities in Midhill Castle are worth noting. Especially items like coffins, which are too closely related to death."
"No problem, I'll go now. But who is the buyer? To be able to pay 6,000 pounds at once, he must be of a very prominent status, right? Moreover, the money should have been prepared in advance."
Xia De asked again.
"He is not a local, but a viscount of Carsenrick. He is a distant relative of the Anjou family of the Carsenrick royal family. He is famous for his family's vineyards and wineries in the south. This time he came to Delarion for the wine business."
Granny Cassandra said.
Shade nodded, then suddenly looked up;
"Wait? The Carsenrick people? Red wine? The rich man who bought the coffin, isn't his name Armand Bernhardt?"
"Yes, Viscount Bernhardt."
Miss Aurora nodded in surprise:
"Detective, do you know him?"
"I... ... "
He was about to say that he knew him, but then he remembered that he had attributed the red color phenomenon in the sky when he entered the narrow room to the vampire, and said that he only saw it from afar and did not know his name.
"After that, I think I met him once more..."
Then he thought of the encounter between the uncle and nephew at the Xikar Inn, but that time involved the matter of the gray-headed eagle.
So he immediately shook his head:
"I don't know him. I just met this gentleman when I was hanging out in the city and helping people solve their problems."
"It seems that you have had a very fulfilling autumn here."
Miss Aurora smiled and said:
"Carina also said you were working hard."
"Then I'll go check out the coffin first. As for Bernhardt's matter, we'll talk about it later."
He stood up, hesitated for a moment and asked again:
"What is Viscount Armand Bernhard's reputation in Carsenrick?"
"A very nice gentleman."
Miss Aurora said.
"I see."
Xia De pushed the door open and walked out, while the two witches continued their conversation:
"I also met Mr. Bernhardt in Carsenrick. He rented my ship to transport wine to the New World. He was also a poor man. His parents died early. Although he inherited the title, there were few people around him he could trust. It is said that he was married, but his wife died very early."
"Is there no one else in the Bernhardt family?"
The old witch asked curiously, and the curly-haired young witch recalled:
"The Bernhardt family has never been prosperous. In modern times, Armand Bernhardt has no other relatives with the same surname except for his two uncles and a niece who is not yet an adult."