A grand welcome dinner was held in the Lord's Mansion. This was the first time a banquet of this scale was held since the completion of this large building.
Gawain is not a person who likes banquets. Although Hetty and Rebecca are from orthodox nobles, they are not very keen on banquets (of course the main reason is poverty), but even if they are not interested in banquets, They also know the necessity of this kind of event in upper-class society - a well-prepared banquet often has multiple political, economic and even military significance. It can not only demonstrate the economic strength of the host, but also be completed in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere. This is certainly a pretty good deal for a deal that might have required sword-and-dagger negotiation elsewhere.
Gawain still has not built himself a "castle" in the traditional noble way. He still prefers a house that is comfortable enough to live in, so even if the territory has developed, he is just a lord. Part of the palace was added and expanded, and an area was planned to build auxiliary buildings in the open space around the courtyard. Eventually, the lord's palace will probably become a building between a castle and a palace. And this is undoubtedly a very novel thing for the Duchess and Her Royal Highness the Princess from the north.
In the main hall where the dinner was held, musicians from the Leslie area were playing comfortable and pleasant music. After a few short dances, the guests at the banquet began to dance in the main hall. Food was freely available at the huge dining tables on both sides, and men and women in luxurious attire—including members of the envoys from the royal capital, the "new nobles" who were still alive in the south and were eligible to attend the banquet, as well as important officials and officials of the Principality of Cecil. His relatives were walking back and forth in the banquet hall. Victoria passed through these people like a light snowflake and came to Gawain.
"How do you feel?" Gawain looked at the Duchess of the North in front of him and raised his wine glass, "This place should be very different from the environment you are familiar with."
"There are very few nobles and more powerful officials. This is indeed very different from the aristocratic banquets in the north, and the rules here are much less."
"The red tape is depressing. We didn't have that back then. So many things to pay attention to - in my opinion, those young people who pursue classical aristocratic etiquette can try our Cecil's buffet dinner. Of course, true classics must be learned from an ancient person like me."
"...That makes sense." The duchess was startled for a moment and showed a somewhat stiff smile. Then she looked around, at the neat and bright hall and the large floor-to-ceiling windows in the distance, and couldn't help but sigh, "Compared to For this banquet, your 'castle' is even more impressive... I have never seen a castle in this form. You didn't seem to think of it as a fortress when you designed it... and you didn't place a barracks in the courtyard. ?”
Gawain smiled: “Barracks? My troops can’t fit into the courtyard of the castle, and the old-style castle is damp and cold. You have to light a fireplace in every room to be able to live in it. In my opinion, It's not as comfortable as a house like this - I amA seven hundred year old man. "
"Then there is probably no healthier 'elderly' in the world than you," Victoria said helplessly. She was not a person who was good at joking, but in the face of a humorous elder, She had to be flexible, “I noticed there’s no fireplace here—the castle is heated with magic? ”
“The heat source is the fire element array located underground, which relies on a set of copper heat exchangers to transmit heat to the entire building. There are interlayers in those walls with metal pipes and Brick Road," Gawain explained, "Not only here, most of the buildings in this city have similar facilities. There will be a large heat source station in the block, and its heat can heat the entire block. I designed it. of. "
Victoria's eyes widened slightly: "You mean...everyone's home in this city is as warm as here? ”
Gao Wen nodded: “Of course, and in fact some new buildings are even warmer than here - the heat exchanger installed in this house is the first generation, and the pipe design cannot be compared.” I'm planning to replace it next year. "
Victoria didn't pay attention to what Gawain said next. She just showed a look of disbelief: "...Building something like this in the entire territory...I'm afraid this is not an easy task, right? "
"It is indeed a bit difficult, but fortunately we have magic technology," Gawain said with a smile. He looked into the Duchess's eyes and watched every change in her expression, "And if we If you plan well and centrally heat the entire neighborhood in a neat and uniform manner, you will actually consume less things - than burning firewood and charcoal in every household and having people freeze to death every winter, don't you think this is better? What? ”
The Duchess did not speak for a while.
Cecil City, this city that rose rapidly in the “barren land”, is incredibly advanced.
This city reminded her of the City of Thousand Towers where she lived for a long time when she was young to learn magic - the mage capital in the Violet Kingdom was also equally advanced and had magic everywhere. The power makes the entire city continue to operate in a complex manner as if it is alive. However, in comparison, Cecil City and the City of Thousand Towers are so completely different.
This newly emerged city. It may have less heritage than the City of Thousand Towers, and it may lack some magnificent buildings that have experienced many vicissitudes of life, but its advanced features are more profound in every aspect, and have even penetrated into every civilian.
This is the devil. What is the power of magic technology?
After a brief silence, she finally spoke: "I have been thinking about magic technology since I set foot on this land. What is it. I thought the walls of the Rock Fortress were magic technology, I thought those cars were magic technology, I thought the street lights in this city and the heating device of this house were magic technology, I thought it was a type of magic, it was some new style, convenient spells... But now it seems that it is more complicated and novel than I thought. "
Gawain did not say anything. He just nodded and allowed the duchess to continue.
After a brief pause, Victoria Wilder spoke again: " Magic technology—is it for ordinary people, right? ”
“Ordinary people can really take control of it and benefit from it. ”
Victoria took a deep breath.
She did not ask Gawain about the principle of this technology. This childish question would only make herself appear abrupt and shallow, and she did not Ask Gawain if he knew what it meant to put the power of magic into the hands of ordinary people. She didn't believe that the promoters of this technology would not think of this. She just thought about it silently, and then seemed to turn the topic in another direction: "You relied on it to arm your army and then defeated a coalition of more than 40 nobles in the south? "
Gawain showed a smile, and Rebecca's voice came from the side: "They took the initiative to call us!" ”
Victoria turned her head and saw Cecil’s heir standing next to her holding a cake. Her eyes were wide open, with a little cream on the corner of her mouth, and her face was full of She looked very proud, but the next second the girl exclaimed: "Wow - aunt said I won't be allowed to interrupt today..."
"It doesn't matter, we are just chatting," Victoria said to Rebecca nodded, "You look beautiful today, Marquise Rebecca. "
Rebecca suddenly reacted when she heard the other party greeting her. This girl who had never failed etiquette class because she defeated all the etiquette teachers hurriedly put the cake aside and tried to learn from memory. He lifted up his skirt and saluted: "Hello, Duchess Wilder, you are also very... eh? ”
She finally realized what the other person had called her just now.
However, Gawain just stood aside with a smile, quietly like an outsider who had mastered everything in advance.
"Female... Marquis? Rebecca stared, pointing to her nose and asking the duchess, "Are you talking about me?" ”
“Isn’t that right? According to Anzu's laws, the adult first heir of a noble family will automatically inherit a title one level lower than that of his father before officially inheriting the title," Victoria said looking at Rebecca, but this was obviously not just for Rebecca. "Duke Gawain Cecil has developed land in the southern border that matches his title, so according to the agreement in Silver Castle that day, the rights that the Cecil family should enjoy have also been restored. "
Her eyes finally fell on Gawain, and the latter just nodded lightly, indicating that he was aware of the matter.
The expression on the duchess's face did not change, but in her heart Sighing slightly
Just like what Wales Moen said that day - things that have already fallen into the hands of the other party are not considered gifts. For such a person, there is no need to care about the second king.To the ancestral figure of this attitude, the "recognition" from St. Sunil is worthless.
Rebecca was a little confused - she knew about the "promise in Silver Castle" mentioned by Victoria, because she also followed when the agreement was concluded. When her ancestors came from Francis The second dynasty took back the permanent right to develop seven hundred years ago. The second dynasty also announced that it recognized the dukedom of its ancestors, but added restrictions: Gawain Cecil's dukedom would only be used as His personal permanent honor cannot be hereditary for the time being. Unless he can use the right to develop during his lifetime to develop the minimum land that meets the title of duke, the duke title and related powers of the Cecil family can be restored...
At that time, the big shots in Silver Castle seemed to think that it would be impossible for our ancestors to carve out a duchy from the wasteland in their lifetime.
In fact, the ancestor did not carve out a duchy from the wasteland - he killed all the nobles in the southern border, which is completely different from what he said at the beginning...
Rebecca, the newly appointed Marquise Cecil, blinked her cute eyes. She was drawing formulas in her mind, which was good at dealing with machines and fireballs, trying to figure out the "turning people on" What is the difference between "the unclaimed land that was occupied after killing it" and "the real unclaimed land in the wasteland"? However, before she could figure it out, she saw that her ancestors were already talking to the duchess in a natural manner. The chat continued: Lord Ancestor did not seem surprised at all, and the Duchess did not mention the details of the contract that day...
Rebecca thought about it, and suddenly felt that politics is really powerful. It turns out that everyone You can be shameless...
In front of Gawain, Victoria was raising her glass slightly: "Now that the situation in the kingdom is turbulent, there is a powerful guardian duke guarding the southern border, and everyone in Silver Castle feels much more at ease. "
Gawain also raised his glass with a smile on his face: "That's great - it seems that this outdated old man like me is quite popular."
Two. The two guardian dukes greeted each other, clinked glasses in a friendly manner, said polite words, and had completely opposite thoughts in their hearts, leaving the most perfectly angled photo for the reporters carrying Magic Network terminals on one side of the hall.
Then Gawain was ready to leave - as the host of this dinner, he had to entertain more than one guest.
He and Victoria Wilder still had a lot to talk about, but he was not in a hurry. The really important things would be discussed after this banquet.
Looking at her ancestor who turned to leave, Rebecca waved her hand: "Ancestor--can I eat a few more cakes today?"
Gawain did not look back: " Just don’t overeat.”
“Hey! I know!”
After a while, Rebecca had another plate of cake in her hands. The Marquise smiled brightly and showed off to Victoria: "You should try this - the cake made by Mr. Power Said and the meat he baked.Just as delicious. ”
It’s so carefree.
Victoria Wilder looked at Rebecca, who had already rubbed cream on her face and behaved completely unlike a marquise. The girl couldn’t help but shook her head.
“Don’t you want to eat? "
"No, I'm just a little envious of you. ”