As the carriage headed toward the city center, it was actually climbing steadily higher. Before Shade reached his destination, the coachman gestured for his Outlander passenger to look to the right again:
"Sir, do you see that castle?"
There really was a castle beyond the carriage window. It stood southwest of Vesta City, on the far side of a hill:
"I see it. That must be the grandest building in the city, right? Even Dawn Church, which we passed just now, wasn't this magnificent."
The coachman introduced it with a smile:
"That's Creekwood Town Conservatory of Music, the city's original school and now the finest music academy in all of Kasonlik. Many famous young musicians in the country came from there. If you have time, you should go take a look."
"Was that castle built specifically for the academy? It must have cost a great deal."
Shade asked again, but this time the coachman could not give a very definite answer:
"They say the castle was already there in the forest. I don't really know what it was originally used for."
So it was most likely another building converted from ancient ruins.
The road to the Accordion Inn passed by Golden Music Hall, and so Shade finally got to see firsthand the supposedly largest music hall on the entire Old Continent.
Like a golden palace, it stood in the center of the city's highest point. The flat structure used a symmetrical design, while the four plazas facing its four entrances in the four cardinal directions made it resemble an unfurled clover.
Its outer walls were adorned with elaborate beams, painted details, rich reliefs, and carvings, every part a masterpiece of art. Delicate, intricate decorations reflected the radiance of the early autumn morning sun. Porches resembling the Baroque style the Outlander