Huntington still has streets with steam pipes all over the walls, and still has the city style of carriages, gentlemen and barefoot children. However, the southern Kingdom of Carsenrick and the northern Kingdom of Draerion are still somewhat different in culture, so even though they are cities in the same era, the city scenery and style are still very different.
In the northern kingdom of Draerion, cities pursue straight roads and symmetrical layouts; while in the cities of Carsenrick, rare sloping streets can be encountered, and blocks are often divided by horizontal roads.
The similarities are the bustling and lively big city scenery, the fog lingering in the city, the clothing style dominated by gray and black, and the extensive alleys connecting the main streets.
Due to the terrain, there are often sloping streets in the urban area of Huntington. In addition to the girls selling flowers and boys selling newspapers, there are also children carrying small baskets to sell grapes on the streets.
After all, not all grapes are used to make wine, so the city of Huntington in the north of the United Kingdom is also an important producer of fruit grapes in Carsonrick.
Shad even asked the driver to stop and bought some grapes, which he turned into toys and put in his pocket, intending to give them as gifts to the doctor and priest Augustus after returning to Tobysk.
Although Huntington is located in the Great Plains in the middle of the Old World, the city itself is built on a raised hill. The city is generally undulating, and the roads leading to the central city are all uphill. The central city is the city hall, high-end clubs, restaurants, opera houses, and residences of the nobles, while other functional areas of the city, such as large markets and civic squares, are mostly concentrated in the relatively flat periphery of the city.
Looking at the street scenes of the unfamiliar southern city from the car window, the carriage carrying Mr. Shad and Bernhardt went up a rather steep slope, passed through the doorway-like area between the towers, and stopped at the door of the "White King Club" in the center of Huntington.
It is only one street away from Huntington City Hall. On the left is the royal-controlled Carsonrick Bank, and on the right is the Huntington Gardens Opera House.
Those who came in and out of the club were all southern nobles of considerable status. After Mr. Bernhardt jumped off the carriage, a waiter came out to welcome the Viscount without even showing his membership badge.
Together with Shad, who had obvious Delarion appearance, he entered the low-key, luxurious and stylish high-end club under the guidance of the waiter. He asked Shad to sit in the club's restaurant, prepared books for him to pass the time, and left his servants to serve Shad.
Mr. Bernhardt left the club temporarily and asked Shad to wait for a while.
The restaurant of a high-end club is usually the place where private conversations take place. The restaurant is not decorated magnificently, but it has its own style and unique style. The distance between each table is very far, and people gather together to eat and talk quietly.
Mr. Bernhardt returned soon with a wooden box in his hand. He sat down and opened the box. Inside, between the straws, was a bottle of wine with an oak cork.
"Look at this."
He handed the bottle to Shade, who was surprised to see the label on the bottle. It was a hand-painted label with the Kasenrick language and a vineyard scene:
"Château Midlo, cellar from 1803?"
"Yes, yes, you are very conscientious."
Mr. Bernhardt showed a somewhat smug look:
"Moreover, this label is the work of the late Mr. Vincent, a painter from Carsenrick. Now the label alone is enough to be sold at an auction house. This is a famous wine collected by my father, and later passed on to me. I have never been willing to open it. Although it is precious, wine is meant to be drunk. Today you have come to this city, and it is appropriate to celebrate with this bottle of wine."
As he spoke, he called the club's waiter familiarly, handed the bottle to them to sober up, and said with a smile:
"Mr. Watson, compared with what you have done, I can only give you so little in return. 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 an acquaintance when he first arrived in a strange city.
While waiting for the wine to be sobered, the two took the club's menu to order food, and Mr. Bernhardt also introduced the specialties of Carsonrick to Shade. When the opened wine was sent back in an ice bucket, the first course, 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, Carsonrick, came over:
"Bernhardt, long time no see, are you back from Delarion?"
He greeted the vampire familiarly, but this gentleman with a Huntington accent was an ordinary man.
"Yes, I came back more than half a month ago. Look, this is my new friend I met in De La Ryon, the writer Mr. John Watson."
Then, he introduced to Xia De:
"This is the local Baron Roland."
The baron politely shook hands with Shade, then asked with a smile:
"Mr. Watson, can you play Rhodes?"
"Of course, we can play cards together when we get a chance."
Xia De said politely, and the smile on the baron's face immediately became more sincere. He said to Mr. Bernhardt:
"Look, you finally took out this bottle of wine. Since you are entertaining guests, I won't bother you any more."
As he spoke, he patted Mr. Bernhardt on the shoulder and pointed upstairs:
"That one is here too, he's upstairs now, and the local youngsters are trying their best to get up there."
"Which one?"
After the baron left, Shade asked hesitantly with his fork in hand:
"Is there someone of great status also in the club?"
Mr. Bernhard hesitated for a moment, then said to his servant, a young man who was also a vampire:
"Bring Mr. Watson today's Huntington Morning Post."
Then he said to Shade:
"Look at the front page."
The servants soon brought the newspaper, and the front-page headline was "Princess Margaret of Anjou and a visiting delegation arrived in Huntington today."
"We left on a steam-floating airship on Saturday, and I didn't expect that we'd already be in Huntington today, only Thursday."
Xia De suddenly realized.
"Mr. Watson, you are also aware of this person's upcoming visit to Tobesk?"
He pointed to the newspaper on the dining table, and Shade nodded:
"Yes, Tobesk has been preparing for this for a long time. My house can directly see the Yodel Palace, and the Yodel Palace has been renovated and cleaned recently."
Mr. Bernhardt knew Shade's true identity, but he didn't know Shade's exact address. He was surprised to hear him say this. He didn't expect that this young and powerful northern knight lived such a wealthy life:
"Yes, the princess is upstairs in the club now. I was wondering, when I came in just now, the guards downstairs were obviously not locals. They turned out to be royal guards."
Shade showed an understanding expression, but the purpose of his coming to this city was for the "Lady of the Lake", and the matter of the princess would wait until Tobesk. But he still carefully touched the pendant on his chest. The pendant that detected the witch did not heat up, indicating that the princess's accompanying mathematics teacher and personal doctor, Miss Sylvia, the thirteenth seat of the parliament, was not nearby.
The two chatted while eating, and the first topic was of course about Midhill Castle. Although many vampires were arrested by the church, Mr. Bernhardt was not sad about it. After all, he was not familiar with most of them, and there were not many unlucky guys in his clan.
Speaking of the blood-sucking god, the middle-aged vampire lord showed great awe. He didn't want to say too much on this topic, but he still lowered his voice to tell Shade that after the battle of Midhill Castle, the vampires received an oracle asking all members of the races involved in the Midhill Castle operation not to explore the truth of that night.
Shade understood this behavior and thought that the blood-sucking god strictly abided by the bet witnessed by "Impermanence and Balance" before the duel on Mount Xikar. It was a good thing for him that the blood-sucking species did not pursue the truth of that night. The truth of the God War on Mount Xikar would eventually be submerged in the long river of history.
Mr. Bernhardt was not born a vampire, but was transformed. This is what the gentleman admitted to Shade. He seemed to identify with this identity. He probably had many unforgettable stories during the transformation ceremony. He told Shade frankly that he could command most of the vampires in Huntington City. Therefore, if Shade encountered trouble in the city, he could always ask him for help.
Surrounded by local nobles, the atmosphere in the club was quite harmonious. The stranger and the vampire were discussing things that absolutely could not be heard by others. Shade thought for a moment and lowered his voice:
"Mr. Bernhardt, you should have noticed it, too."
Xia De put down the silver knife in his hand:
"I am able to perform conditional space jumps to different locations."
The other party knew his identity in Midhill Castle. In fact, a little investigation would reveal that at the same time in Tobesk City, the scandal between Shade and the Duchess was still going on:
"The only place I can be in Huntington is the White River Valley Vineyard, so hopefully..."
"No problem. I'm responsible for taking care of the White River Valley Vineyard. I'll prepare an extra horse there. You can ride into the city later and deposit the horse at Ferdinand Winery in the west of the city. It's also my property."
Mr. Bernhard nodded and assured that everyone who had met Shade was reliable:
"So what are you doing here? I think I can help you."
He picked up his goblet and shook it gently, while Xia De continued to ask in a low voice:
"Have you heard the rumors about the Lady of the Lake?"