On Saturday afternoon, Angel rushed to Iris Flower Winery outside Backlund west of Northern Suburbs in advance, and welcomed a luxurious carriage with the Earl Hall family crest in this new manor, and met Audrey Hall who was invited.
This winery and its large tracts of grape vines did not originally belong to Angel, nor did they belong to Baron Cinderas, but a friend of Baron who once invited Angel to visit Coal Merchant Winster, his other manor.
When this businessman who first came to Backlund and became attached to Cinderas heard that the other party was looking for a gift for a young lady, he enthusiastically presented his newly purchased winery, along with the aged wine in the cellar, as well as winemakers and manor servants who had signed work contracts, for a total price of 35,000 pounds.
As for Baron Cinderas, who nearly committed suicide by jumping off the building at Angel's home after being "Manipulator" Hypnosis, Angel naturally accepted it with a smile.
Although the annual repair, maintenance and labor costs are thousands of pounds, this winery can produce a large amount of high-quality wine, which can be sold to subsidize part of the cost. It can also replace the consumption of wine at various dinners and dances held by Angel, making a steady profit.
Standing in front of the four-story villa, surrounded by gardens and fountains, looking at the endless grapevines outside the fence, Angel felt that his pockets were being filled by Gold Pound, and he took a breath of great satisfaction.
"I heard about this winery during the conversation between my father and my brother. It is larger than the Meige Manor of the Duke Negan family, and is even as good as several gardens owned by the royal family. Although there are only vineyards and no additional woods, and hunting activities cannot be carried out in the autumn, the land is more fertile and the quality of the wine produced is better."
Audrey on the side was wearing a Ladies' Wide-brimmed Hat with lace and ribbons. He also looked at the grapevines and said with some emotion.
The two maids stood a little further away, giving the two masters undisturbed private space.
Hearing Audrey's praise, Angel's already raised corners of his mouth could hardly be suppressed.
The urban area of Backlund is in a state of continuous rain and no sunshine for most of the year, but its suburbs always have thin clouds and bright sunshine, just like a sunshine belt surrounding the urban area, providing sufficient sunshine time for the vegetation.
Therefore, various plantations on the outskirts of the city, especially the vineyards outside West Northern Suburbs, produce wines of excellent quality. However, most of the manors here belong to the royal family and traditional nobles. Most of the champagne, white wine and red wine they brew are for their own use and less for sale. Only upper-class people or connoisseurs who like fine wine know about it. Therefore, their reputation is not as good as that of several famous wine producing areas in Intis.
I heard that before being acquired by Winster, this winery originally belonged to a certain land noble. However, they have not been doing well in recent years and their family has fallen into decline. They can only sell a large amount of real estate to maintain the dignity of the nobles. Therefore, it was picked up by a businessman without a title... Angel muttered, and returned to the manor from the garden with Audrey, and came to the four-story villa.
This building is a rare square shape in the city. Four "sides" with a large number of rooms surround the internal courtyard, so that all bedrooms and guest rooms have large windows and balconies that can see vegetation. The interior decoration seems to imitate the style of some museums, decorated with sculptures, paintings and display cabinets, and crystal chandeliers can be seen everywhere, making the entire building like a palace.
Of course, this kind of courtyard design is not original, but is a Loen Kingdom style that has been popular for hundreds of years, but it is extremely rare in urban areas, because its only problem is that it occupies too large an area, and in Backlund Empress Borough, where land is at a premium, even Duke cannot live in such a manor.
No wonder the nobles like to buy another property in the suburbs as a venue for banquets, hunting and other activities. Their money and power cannot be fully utilized in urban areas...
Walking between these unnamed sculptures and murals that looked valuable, Angel secretly looked at Audrey, who was admiring the interior decoration, and asked:
"What do you think of this manor?"
Hearing this, Audrey withdrew his gaze and looked at his friend beside him, his eyes flickering, and after a moment he smiled and said:
"I meant to say something complimentary, but I can tell by the look in your eyes that you want me to tell the truth.
"This manor Oldest One belongs to Duke Negan. It was renovated by Mr. Winster before it was handed over to you. I think he rearranged the interior furnishings in order to cater to the aesthetics of the upper class. However, the level of the designer he hired was not in line with his worth and he made many ridiculous changes."
Audrey's emerald-like eyes held a frank attitude, but what he said made Angel's heart beat wildly.
"My suggestion is to reduce the number of oil paintings and unify their styles to the realistic style after Twenty Years' War. The position of the sculptures should also be changed. Most guests do not want human or animal sculptures to appear in their rooms. Some small ornaments can please them...
"If you need it, I can introduce you to a designer who works for my father. He is responsible for repairing the family castle and several important properties every year, and adjusting the decoration style of the building according to the popular designs every year. He can help you solve Iris Flower Manor's existing problems as soon as possible and catch up with the important social occasions in the autumn."
It turns out there are still so many questions. Is Baron Cinderas planning to make me look embarrassed... No, he probably just bought the manor from Winster and gave it to me as a gift. He might have never been there, and the latter is just a nouveau riche, a coal boss... Well, I am not even a coal boss, and I have no right to slander him.
Angel gradually lowered his shoulders as Audrey spoke, and asked with some hesitation:
"Would it be, um, more expensive to renovate like this?"
"Most of the paintings and sculptures are ready-made, and the main body of the building does not need to be modified. Including the interior furnishings to be purchased, the total cost is about 5,000 pounds. Compared with the fixed maintenance costs here, it should not be expensive."
Audrey replied without thinking, and then noticed that the expression of "Empress" Miss beside him quickly became stiff.
"I suddenly feel that the decoration of the nouveau riche is suitable for me now..." Angel forced a smile and said with a change of tone, "Fortunately, the wine collection here should make the guests forget the incongruity in the decoration style. Let's go to the wine cellar to have a look?"
"I heard that Iris Flower Winery's self-brewed red wine is even collected by the royal family. I'm looking forward to it."
Audrey, who understood that Angel was deliberately changing the subject, smiled slightly and chatted cooperatively about the value of wines of different vintages, as well as the differences in winemaking styles between several other wineries and Iris Flower.
It seems that "Empress" Miss has been short of money during this period. Is it because he has to prepare Potion materials for promotion to Sequence 3, or is it the influence of the previous battle at the Southern Continent... A trace of doubt flashed in her mind. Some people wanted to take over the decoration of this villa as an apology for their reckless behavior last time that almost exposed the identity of "Empress" and "The World", but they felt that a mere 5,000 pounds might not be worthy of this Tarot Club's Demigod, so they hesitated and did not speak.
When they arrived at the wine cellar, the two visited hundreds of bottles of wine of varying vintages left by the previous owner of the manor, and picked out a bottle of red wine that had been aged for 10 years and tasted a small glass in the tasting room.
Audrey is full of praise for this part. Although she has only recently grown up and rarely drinks wine even when dining at home, she has been exposed to it for a long time and has a clear understanding of different grades of wine. After her evaluation, Angel has a new understanding of the value of the wines in this wine cellar.
Taking advantage of the opportunity to rest, the two of them chatted about their arrangements for the past few days.
"Tomorrow afternoon, Mr. Hampres invites me to his house to attend a small gathering of psychology enthusiasts. I think this is a signal for the gathering of 'Psychology Alchemists', where I may actually face Hvin Rambis."
Holding up the wine glass and taking a sip, Audrey said in a low voice.
There was no one else in the room except her, Angel, and Susie who had been following her, but whenever Psychology Alchemists was mentioned, Audrey would still whisper softly subconsciously.
"It's best to ask Mr. 'Fool' for help and obtain his blessing. This can prevent you from being Hypnosis again... In addition, I will pay attention to the situation over there through Blood Curse of Hampres. If there is danger, I can intervene as soon as possible."
Angel made several suggestions and then asked:
"What do you think is the purpose of asking you to go to the appointment this time? Is it the 'instruction' that day?"
"Probably he wanted to know in time the communication between my father and Baron Cinderas. He has visited my father twice this week and had secret conversations at Reception Room. Except for my brother, even I am not allowed to get close... Fortunately, with Susie, I got some useful information."
Stroking Susie's head, Audrey's expression became serious and continued:
"Due to Cinderas's alienation from Conservative Party and contact with New Party, represented by my father, the conflict between the two parties has become more acute. In addition to the usual criticism and rejection of each other's proposals in parliament, the struggle has spread to the commercial field. Hostile acquisitions, industrial competition and market exclusion may be the mainstream in the future. There has been a certain degree of tearing within the kingdom."
"Does the royal family not care?"
Angel asked subconsciously, and then immediately realized the problem:
Hvin Rambis is Royal Advisor on the surface, but secretly he seems to be acting on the orders of the royal family.
Perhaps the alienation and estrangement between the two parties is the result that the royal family hopes to see!
Is this related to their creation of missing persons, covering up the truth with Great Smog, and their cooperation with "Demoness Sect"? Are they different manifestations of the same huge conspiracy?
Angel looked at the smart girl in front of him and found that her eyes also contained the same worry.
It seems that she has also thought of it... Couldn't Conservative Party and New Party members have thought of such a thing? No, they may also be happy to see the results. After all, only when the conflict intensifies will there be a redistribution of interests, and some people will have the opportunity to take advantage of it...
Thinking of this, Angel is a little helpless. Even with Demigod's ability, he can't do anything under this general situation. Even, who is worth tens of millions Baron Cinderas is just a fuse, and Hvin Rambis, who is also Demigod, is the match that lights the fuse. The internal forces in the kingdom that have gradually involved since the defeat of the war are the real powder keg.
Squeezing out a smile, Angel changed the topic to a lighter topic:
"Tonight, Dwayne Dantès will return to Backlund."
Did she mean Mr. World... Well, at this time, should I say that I look forward to the Southern Continent specialties he brings back, or should I congratulate him on a safe journey? Will this seem to have some special relationship, causing "Empress" Miss to misunderstand?
Audrey was thinking, not knowing what to say in her own capacity. She subconsciously glanced at Susie lying at her feet, and found that this guy was actually sleeping on his stomach.
Come and help your master think of a solution!
She secretly rubbed Susie with her toes, causing "Psychiatrist" to wake up instantly, shaking his head and looking around.
In the evening, the train spewing gray smoke and white steam entered Backlund and stopped steadily on the platform.
Klein, whose face has returned to the appearance of middle-aged Gentlemen, holds a gold-encrusted cane in one hand and presses his silk hat with the other. He walks out of the first-class carriage and steps onto the On the Backlund ground, he was followed by a servant with brown skin, a low nose, and obvious Southern Continent mixed-race features, and a burly bodyguard wearing a leather windbreaker with an ordinary face that was hard to remember.
They are respectively "Winner" Enzo and "Hell Admiral" Ludwell. Of course, they are the ones after the facelift.
After being promoted to Sequence 4, Marionette of Klein can also use all the abilities of "Trick Sorcerer", which also makes his behavior of carrying Marionette become It is very convenient, they can transform into any desired appearance, use illusions to change their clothes, and even without weapons they can fire Air Cannonballs that are as powerful as cannons, Flaming Jumps them thousands of meters away at any time, and can even switch places with the main body instantly.
Of course, the task of these two Beyonder at this moment is just to help their master carry the luggage.
Under the service of Marionette, which he controlled, Klein walked out of the station easily, took a breath of obviously cleaner air, smiled and said to himself:
"Backlund, I'm back again."