"Yes, I am very satisfied. I have to admit that this is the most satisfying wine I have ever tasted. Is the New World so suitable for cultivating vineyards?"
She looked at Xia De inquiringly, and Xia De smiled and talked about his business secrets:
"Yes, we have the best black soil, the best family-inherited fertilizer 'Jin Ke La', the best sunlight conditions, the most hardworking warehouse cats, and cheap workers. Your Highness, I bet that our wine is the best in the entire continent!"
In fact, the grapes used for winemaking are the defective products that Miss Carina's manor could not finish eating. Shad had heard Tifa mention it, so he wanted to make wine to prevent waste.
Princess Margaret smiled understandingly at Shad's "boasting":
"Sir, are you interested in providing wine to the nobles of Willendel? I can give you some small tax conveniences."
She pinched her fingers and said, Shade's eyes swept across her red nails, and he answered fluently according to the "lines" he had agreed with Mr. Bernhardt:
"I'm sorry, Your Highness. My winery doesn't produce much every year. We have fixed partners in Coldwater Harbor and Midhill Castle in the Delarion region."
“It’s such a shame.”
The princess said, but there was no regret on her face. Instead, because she was facing away from the window, the sunlight made the ring on her finger, which was casually resting on the armrest of the sofa, sparkle, and also made her slender white neck look very attractive:
"I'm not a vampire, what am I thinking?"
Xia De thought to himself as he listened to "her" laughter.
Princess Margaret continued:
"I heard that you are friends with Viscount Bernhardt? This time I brought some red wine for him to taste. I wonder how much more you have?"
This was her real purpose. Giving this "high-end wine" provided by Shade to the nobles of Drarion was definitely the best personal gift.
"The amount of wine?"
Shad made an embarrassed expression, then looked at Mr. Bernhardt, who nodded slightly.
This is acting, which means that the two people are communicating about this matter.
"Your Highness, I'm honored that you like the red wine produced by our winery. But this time, I came to Huntington to visit a friend, so I didn't bring too much luggage, and when entering from Delarion, too much wine would be taxed, otherwise I would have directly transported it in large wooden barrels. I'm sorry, Your Highness, I need to keep some for visiting old friends in Willendel next week, so if you want, I can give you 8 bottles in my personal name."
"Well, Mr. Holmes, perhaps you could reconsider this."
Without the princess speaking, Mr. Bernhardt took the initiative to "persuade" his friend, his tone even a little exaggerated:
"With your noble status, I will not let you make any effort in vain. Haven't you always wanted to expand the market of Carsenrick? This is a good opportunity. You have always been blocked when negotiating business with the people of Drarion, so why not come to us to do business?"
Xia De hesitated and said:
"Yes, those nobles of Draerion are all suckers..."
I originally wanted to use the term "vampire" to mock him, but then I remembered that Mr. Bernhardt was a vampire, so I changed my words:
"... They are all blood-sucking tapeworms. I contacted a nobleman who is related to the royal family. She actually held my cat hostage and threatened me by saying, 'Young gentleman, you don't want your cat to be without an owner, do you?' and made me agree to her rude request."
In the end, Shade agreed to Leicia. This is Her Royal Highness the Princess imitating a scene from an opera.
"How about 10 bottles? Your Highness, these drinks are not valuable. I am willing to give them to you, but I brought them from the New World by ship to express my gratitude to my old friends."
"Mr. Holmes, these wines will be presented as gifts to the royal family of Delarion. I think this may also help your business. The noble ladies in the North are really rude."
Margaret Anjou said with a smile. Shade thought for a moment and nodded.
"Then you can take 12 bottles. I wish you a smooth visit to Delarion. The wines are now stored in Viscount Bernhard's manor, where I am staying temporarily. Will it be in time to deliver them tomorrow?"
"Before ten tomorrow."
The princess said, and then she reached back and the maid standing behind her handed a bill of exchange to Shade:
"It's a small token of my appreciation. Your wine is worth the price. I hope that after I return from Delarion, I can discuss the customs of the New World and my experience in winemaking with you."
"No, no, I can't take your money."
Shade hastily declined, so Mr. Bernhardt took the bill for him:
"Mr. Holmes, how can you refuse the princess?"
Then he pushed Xia De's hand away and stuffed the bill into Xia De's pocket.
Margaret of Anjou was very satisfied with Mr. Bernhardt's performance, Mr. Bernhardt was very satisfied with Shad's performance, and Shad was also very satisfied with the princess's performance - he had just seen the number "75" on the bill of exchange.
"15 bottles, 5 pounds a bottle?"
Although 5 pounds is a very high figure for the poor, it is not affordable for the high-end red wine consumed by the nobles. For example, the bottle of 1803 cellar of Midlo Winery that Mr. Bernhardt asked Chad to drink during lunch, the price of a single bottle is definitely close to three-digit gold pounds.
The gift that Margaret of Anjou wanted to give to the royal family of Delarion did not have to be a famous wine of that level, but the price of 5 pounds per bottle was really too shabby.
It's Kroner.
"She" reminded softly.
Shade then remembered that this was Carsenrick, and there was no reason for the princess to use "gold pounds" as the unit of the bill of exchange. At the current exchange rate, 11 to 12 gold pounds could be exchanged for one crown.
He raised his eyebrows, and his smile became more sincere as he thanked Princess Margaret of Anjou. Without the blessing of fame, no matter how excellent his wine was, such a high price was a premium. It seemed that the princess of the Anjou family, like the princess of the Cavendish family, had a lot of savings.
Thinking about it this way, if the source of the wine was not difficult to explain and brewing wine privately was illegal, he could actually make a fortune by mass-producing blood wine.
"But is this blood brew addictive..."
This is also something to consider.
Although Margaret of Anjou also has the power of a witch, because that power is too weak, she does not have a strong aversion to men. Her Royal Highness had nothing to do today, and was tired of the visits of the local noble youths, so she left Shade and Mr. Bernhardt to talk to her.
The specific content of the conversation was about the customs of the Old World and the New World. However, Shade had never been to the New World, so with the cooperation of Mr. Bernhardt, he focused on the situation of Delarion. It happened that Princess Margaret was going to the northern pearl the night after tomorrow, that is, Saturday night, so she asked Shade about the city of Tobesk.
Tobesk is considered to be Shad's base camp, as he has connections with people from different classes. His detective work makes him frequently go in and out of the lower city, so he is familiar with the living conditions of the nobles, middle class, clergy, and ordinary poor people in Tobesk. He also knows a lot about Tobesk's gossip... especially those about himself.
Princess Margaret was very interested in these things, especially the part about the Northern nobility. Shade tried his best to maintain his character setting, so he didn't know too much about the nobility's privacy, the interior decoration of the King's study in Yodel Palace, the hobbies of the royal family members, the location of the MI6 base, and he had never seen the file bag of the kingdom's military documents in the Duchess.
Although I couldn't go into too much detail, considering that I would meet the princess again in the next few weeks as "Hamilton of Rejade", when the topic came to this "young knight", I said a few good words for myself to pave the way for the subsequent contact with my true identity.
The three tasks of "Contact the Moon of Guidance", "Obtain the book "The Secret of Immortality" borrowed by the princess" and "Find the Gray-headed Eagle" are all related to her.
"Speaking of Hamilton of Regede, I think Your Highness should have heard of him. I was fortunate enough to meet that young gentleman at the Prophet's Association on Silver Cross Avenue in Tobesk, and even played Rhodes cards with the 1853 Grand City Players Champion. I have to admit that he is really handsome, kind, elegant, and quite shrewd."
As Shad was talking, Mr. Bernhardt looked at him quietly with a stern face and a sidelong glance while holding the teacup. This vampire knew Shad's true identity.
"I have also heard rumors that the knight is actually the lover of Duke Carina Cavendish?"
The princess with long light blonde hair asked softly.
Shade had not expected that this strange rumor would also spread among the nobles of Carsenrick. He wanted to refute this statement, because at present, he could only be regarded as Miss Carina's personal maid and the lover of her niece's granddaughter, not the lover of the Duchess. But a rash refutation would only lead to suspicion of his identity, so he explained:
"Yes, this rumor is very popular in Tobesk, and there are many false rumors in the tabloids. But in a big city like that, there are as many rumors as snowflakes in winter, so I can't really say the truth."
Princess Margaret nodded slightly, but Mr. Bernhardt subconsciously thought that it was true. He didn't understand why he had such an idea. After all, in his eyes, Shad Hamilton was so upright and helpful. But vaguely, the vampire felt that even if Shad had some emotional connection with the humanoid relic, he would not be surprised:
"Why would I think this? Am I normal?"
Mr. Bernhardt thought as he listened to the conversation between Shade and the princess, and felt puzzled by his own thoughts.