Can You Really Satisfy Me?

Hofburg Palace

As a city within a city of Vienna, it is world-renowned.

First, it occupies a large area.

The Habsburg Dynasty had a tradition that the emperor could not stay in the room of the previous emperor.

Therefore, each emperor expanded the Winter Palace, eventually forming its current size of 240,000 square meters.

Secondly, this palace has a long history.

Its earliest origins can be traced back to 1279, and it underwent six centuries of expansion by the time the New Hofburg Palace was completed in 1926.

At that time, Carl I, the last emperor of the Habsburg Dynasty, had already abdicated for eight years.

Today, the Hofburg Palace serves as the official residence and government seat of the Federal Republic of Austria.

The ceremony for receiving state guests is usually held here.

In addition to the presidential office, some areas will be used as exhibition venues and cultural facilities for tourists to visit.

Its status is basically the same as that of the Forbidden City Museum.

Even so, the palace was still too large, so the Austrian Ministry of Magic simply moved its headquarters there as well.

Since the "International Statute of Secrecy" came into effect, we've been hiding for hundreds of years, can't we still enjoy life?!

Similarly, this International Confederation of Wizards will also be held here.

William felt comfortable at the thought of staying in the palace for a few days.

It's like driving a Mercedes-Benz into the Forbidden City... awesome!

Compared to St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, this is a lavish feast.

As for Missandei, judging from her court attire, William already considered her a maidservant here.

As the carriage ventured deeper into the palace grounds, a variety of magnificent and gleaming imperial palace buildings came into view.

As William gazed at the buildings, he suddenly remembered that he had seen Hayao Miyazaki's "Howl's Moving Castle" in a previous life.

The materials used for the royal palace were taken from the Hofburg Palace.

The Renaissance architectural style, which combined the columns of ancient Greece architecture with the semicircular arches of Rome, was almost identical to the original.

In fact, the soldiers in the movie were dressed in the style of the Austro-Hungarian Empire soldiers.

The cursed Prince and the war that ensued also resonated with the First World War, which broke out due to the Sarajevo Incident.

Just as William was lost in thought, Granian ran quickly and stepped onto a bridge that arched over the lake.

The carriage had only gone halfway when William heard a loud hissing sound coming from the stone pillars of the bridge.

The swirling mist suddenly began to gush forth, churning and surging into the lagoon, rushing towards the carriage, engulfing William and Hermione.

It's actually a fog sculpture?

"Fog sculpture" is created using visible gas as a medium. That is, the fog is first visualized and then allowed to slowly dissipate. Therefore, it is quite original.

Moreover, because the wind and atmospheric conditions vary every day, the fog sculptures that appear each time also have different shapes.

This unique art form actually appeared in the Austrian Ministry of Magic.

Indeed, Vienna possesses a romantic atmosphere, even the wizards have embraced art.

The hissing sound from the small bridge abruptly ceased. William looked at the mist shrouding the lagoon, sometimes swirling, sometimes lurking, as if it had its own thoughts.

This scene is ethereal and dizzying.

He could also sense a kind of magic in the mist, similar to Floo Powder, that had changed the three's positions.

They are clearly entering the Austrian Ministry of Magic.

This is on a completely different level than the telephone booths outside the United Kingdom Ministry of Magic.

The smoke slowly dissipated, and the carriage was still on the bridge. But the scene in the distance had completely changed. A peculiar hall had appeared without warning.

A group of enormous white columns, each two hundred feet tall, stand alongside the towering glass curtain wall, leading all the way to the arched dome.

Above the dome, halogen spotlights shone with pure white light. A network of long corridors, suspended in mid-air, stretched across the entire Ministry of Magic.

A huge stone sits in the center of the hall, with the following inscription:

enskraft.

This is a German phrase meaning "courage and will".

In the wall not far away, there is a glass elevator that silently descends down the wall and returns to the ground to pick up other wizards.

In the surrounding corners, many Auror were on guard.

"We've arrived." Missandei stepped down from the carriage, her court dress trailing behind her, and led William and Hermione step by step.

After passing through a series of unusually strict security checks, the two arrived at a registration table. A young witch was registering them.

Looking at the name tags on their clothes, she could immediately tell that they were representatives of the International Confederation of Wizards.

The International Confederation of Wizards is not only attended by representatives from various countries, but also by many accompanying wizards and media reporters from various countries.

People with different statuses have different colored name tags.

But then another problem arose.

The representatives from various countries were generally quite old, but William and Hermione looked too young; they were clearly students.

The two individuals couldn't possibly be representatives, yet they were wearing name tags of similar color, so they could only be those who were speaking at a conference.

To be able to speak at the International Confederation of Wizards, and to be so young... it can only be those two.

Her eyes glanced at the names on the name tags, and sure enough, they were the famous Stark and Granger.

"Welcome to the International Confederation of Wizards," the witch said quickly in English.

"I need to examine both of your wands."

William and Hermione handed over the wands, which the witch took and placed on the wand detector.

The machine began to vibrate slightly, and a narrow strip of parchment was quickly ejected from a slit at the bottom.

The witch tore the paper down and compared it to the list that had been submitted in advance.

No problem!

She smiled again and asked, "Don't you two have any spare wands?"

William and Hermione shook their heads simultaneously, saying in unison, "There are no spares."

There are no spares... but there are many in my collection.

The witch searched through a long list of guests for William and Hermione's names.

After she found it, she handed over two room cards with numbers that matched the names.

"These are your room keys."

Hermione reached out and took the room key, glanced at the room number, and then put it in her Safety Watch.

Missandei, standing not far away, noticed this detail. Although her expression remained blank, her eyebrows were slightly raised.

The inspection was complete, and William and Hermione headed toward Missandei.

Missandei, unusually interested, asked, "Is this a wand made by Ollivander?"

William hummed in agreement, glancing at the blue wand peeking out from her sleeve.

"This is Mr. Gregorovitch's last work," Missandei said. "He was the best wand merchant."

William noticed the girl's straightforwardness and asked softly, "Excuse me, where is Mr. Gregorovitch's wand shop?"

"Mr. Gregorovitch has retired, and it's very difficult for ordinary people to find him," Missandei said.

Have you retired?

William also wanted to ask Gregorovitch to make a few spare wands.

What a pity.

"I'll take you to your rooms. After you've rested, I'll take you on a tour of the Hofburg," Missandei said softly.

"Just show us to our room, and we can explore the place ourselves," Hermione said apologetically. "No need to trouble you."

Missandei insisted, "It's not troublesome at all. I will personally take care of both of you until the end of the meeting."

She added bluntly, "This was ordered by the minister. He said we must take good care of you two and meet all your requests."

But you must stay by my side at all times, especially you, Mr. Stark.

"..."

Do you know how straightforward you are?

And... why are you following me? Am I going to destroy the Hofburg or ruin Vienna?!

William suddenly looked Missandei up and down, then smiled and said, "You really can fulfill all my requests?"

Missandei nodded and said calmly, "My only task here is to ensure that you two can enjoy this visit before the meeting begins tomorrow."

William, chin in hand, slowly said, "Alright, I need you..."

"Just letting your minister know, Hermione and I are going to Nurmengard... to visit him in prison."

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