OBS Chapter 3965 The Witch's Smile
Chapter 3965 The Witch's Smile
Chapter 3965 The Witch's Smile
"The scenery here is beautiful, isn't it?"
When the two were halfway through their journey, walking along the cobblestone path at the edge of the park's large lake, Wei Ge asked softly.
The lake shimmered with the reflection of the lights, and looking up, one could see the banquet hall of the charity gala not far away, its golden splendor complementing the tranquil night view of the park.
"Yes, it's beautiful here."
Shad responded softly, as if afraid of disturbing the atmosphere:
“I have been to many cities and seen spring in many cities, but even the spring city night view of the Randall Valley is not as beautiful as this park.”
Wei Ge smiled serenely. After alighting from the carriage, she had followed social etiquette and linked her arm with Xia De's, feeling that tonight's invitation had been absolutely right.
"If you like, we can come here alone in the future. I really enjoyed tonight too, yes, I really enjoyed it."
The calm lake in the park reflected the lights of the clubhouse standing on its shore, the shimmering water rippling in the night breeze like flowing fragments of gold. The distant outline of the clubhouse gradually became clearer, its white stone walls glowing warmly in the night. Shad could even see the velvet curtains hanging inside the windows and the warm glow of the gas lamps behind them.
A gently sloping path led up to the entrance of the clubhouse, its lawns meticulously manicured on either side. At the clubhouse entrance at the top of the path, the Duchess, the host of the banquet, stood ready to greet the guests.
According to standard social etiquette, the Duke and Duchess should have been greeting guests at the banquet hall entrance at this time. However, the Duke is currently at the front lines and unable to return, which everyone understands.
Seeing Vige walking towards them arm in arm with a strange young man, Duchess Russell, all smiles, took the initiative to come over and exchange pleasantries with Vige:
Good evening, Vige.
She first covered her mouth and smiled, praising Wei Ge for looking very well today. Then, with an ambiguous smile, she inquired about Xia De's relationship with Wei Ge. Finally, she thanked Wei Ge for her support of charity. Xia De could tell that the two had a good relationship.
The Duchess's "thank you" certainly came with a price, as there was a long table inside the exhibition hall, which was decorated as a banquet hall, with guestbooks and donation boxes on it. The 100-kroner check that Viggo took out at this moment was only an "entrance donation"; there would be "donations during the banquet" at other parts of the evening.
However, Viggo didn't care about the money, especially since the local newspaper's "charity column" would publish a list of donors after tonight. The list would be in order of the amount donated, and Viggo didn't want the Astley family to be ridiculed.
Although temporarily decorated as a banquet hall, the exhibition hall's foyer still looks different from a formal banquet venue. However, considering this is a charity gala, perhaps this was the organizer's intended purpose.
Xia De noticed a small "charity achievement exhibition" at the entrance of the banquet hall, where thank-you letters from orphans, construction blueprints for the local refugee reception center, and recent photos of beneficiaries taken in the outer city were displayed. Xia De and Wei Ge took a look with great interest.
"In a little while, you'll come with me to talk to the charities that received this aid. I remember that people from Arcadia Children's Aid, Snakeheart Hospital, and Candleburg Charity Association all came."
Viggo said softly, then coughed weakly a few times, and Xia De gently patted her back twice.
The servants in the banquet hall took away Viggo's winter cloak and Shad's hat, followed by a social warm-up before the formal dinner began, namely a cocktail party.
This was very similar to the dinners that Shad accompanied Galina to in Tobeskoye, where guests chatted freely in the banquet hall, enjoying aperitifs of champagne and snacks, and the topics of conversation naturally revolved around charitable donations, social news, and aristocratic gossip.
Moreover, the keen-eared Shad noticed that most of the conversation ultimately veered towards the ongoing Civil War. Those present at such a banquet, of course, wouldn't believe the exaggerated war reports in the newspapers, reports that even ordinary people found exaggerated.
This is Arcadia City, right next to the front lines. Every day, officers and soldiers returning from the front to rest and recuperate arrive at Grayrock Pass, providing a wealth of firsthand information. Just by accompanying Viggo forward, Shad learned many secrets of the Eastern Front that even Galina hadn't mentioned.
"Perhaps Director Anlos should send someone infiltrated into such an event."
Xia De thought to himself.
As a major city in central Carsenrick, the local Serpentheart Hospital is naturally quite famous. However, the plump nun who came to the banquet this time was not a Ring Mage, so Shad simply stood politely to the side and listened while Viggo and the other woman were talking.
The representatives of these local charities were quite familiar with Vigo. It was clear that Vigo often dealt with them, and after learning of Shad's identity from Vigo, they all tacitly praised the two of them as a perfect match—Vigo Astley's intentions were obvious to everyone.
Of course, Shad did not forget to look for Mr. Bernhardt's whereabouts, but unfortunately, everyone was walking around before the banquet started, and even if Shad only looked at the racial markings on their heads, he could not see his friend immediately.
However, thanks to the large number of people around him, his "Destiny Manual: True Name Recognition" did come in handy several times. Knowing the real names of the local nobles, however, was of little use to Xia De; he only used it to calculate the probability of activating the ability against ordinary people.
"Do you often attend these kinds of events?"
Seeing that Xia De behaved very well and that he was very polite when talking to strangers, Wei Ge asked him in a low voice.
Although Xia De had promised Jia Lina not to talk about her for the time being, it was still acceptable to reveal her background and identity at this point.
"Yes, the witch I know has taken me to similar events before."
Viggo immediately recalled the identities of the thirteen members of the council and realized that they all seemed to meet the criteria. Even Claire Reinhardt, who had no particular background or status, frequently attended such social events because of her successful mineral exploration business.
Before the dinner officially began tonight, a small incident occurred.
At that time, Viggo and Shad said they would take him to see Baron Ramsey, who had the manuscript, during the free time after the banquet. They were just about to go and have a word with Mayor Norfolk's wife.
Xia De had heard from the coachman that the mayor, who was in his fifties, had a young daughter, while the mayor's wife, who had just given birth, was relatively young, only in her thirties. Before the two men met the mayor's wife, a suppressed commotion arose from the doorway.
Wei Ge glanced in that direction, a smile appearing on her pale face:
"Oh, it's them."
She then explained to Shad, who was unfamiliar with the local situation:
"Do you see that woman over there in that black evening gown and heavy makeup, and the young man beside her?"
Of the two people she mentioned, the former, despite wearing heavy makeup, was clearly over forty years old; the woman was plump and appeared somewhat arrogant. As for the latter, he actually looked slightly older than the stranger at the time, with a handsome face, though he appeared somewhat effeminate.
"That lady is a local viscountess, everyone calls her Lady Connaught. She inherited a large fortune from the deceased viscount, but she is notoriously stingy. Her lover is someone she took after her husband's death, but there are rumors that the two of them had already appeared together in public before the poor man passed away."
Wei Ge added softly:
"That young man had no background or status; he was originally just a foreman in the factory under that viscount. I don't know what else is going on, but they are a well-known joke in local social circles."
The former's stinginess was exaggerated, while the latter did a series of ridiculous things to curry favor with the Viscountess. Let's walk away and ignore them; such people cannot be friends.
Every place has its social circles with its own "celebrities," and for example, the outsider himself is considered a celebrity in Tobesco. Moreover, Shad and Galina's situation is somewhat similar to this couple's.
However, Shade wasn't after wealth, and his appearance did indeed make Galina envious. Especially after rumors about his "skills" spread, according to Lacey, many noble ladies actually believed that Galina had taken advantage of Shade.
In short, Vig quickly led Xia De away from the area near the door. Then the two met the mayor's wife, who had just given birth to her youngest daughter in March. The kind-looking lady praised Xia De and Vig for looking very well-matched when they stood together.
“Wei Ge, when did you meet such an outstanding young man? Look at him, I see many young girls secretly sizing him up, but he's only looking at you.”
The witch had an irrepressible smile on her lips; the smile hadn't disappeared since the beginning, but she kept explaining that she and Shad were just friends at the moment.
She took social etiquette into account without making Xia De feel that she had ulterior motives; she really considered all aspects.
Most mayors of this era did not hold noble titles but were instead members of emerging social classes, such as wealthy factory owners or heads of well-known social organizations. However, while the mayor was not of noble birth, his slightly young wife came from a local baronial family.
She was also quite familiar with Wei Ge, and even talked about Wei Ge's health condition. She held Wei Ge's hand and subtly hinted that since her health was not good, she should get married and have children as soon as possible, otherwise it would be even more difficult in the future.
This immediately made Wei Ge's face turn red, even though she thought she had considered all the possibilities.