393 The Guests (1/2)

November was the Month of Winter. The city in the north, Antiffler, was ready to become the world of ice and snow at any time under the freezing wind.

The light blue and clear river named Donati went through the city, and Count Mecklen's garden villa was located on the piece of highland near the river. Behind the villa, there was a very steep hill called Saxony, carved with countless fine relief sculptures.

This was a classic pillar-structured villa, which accorded with the conservative building style of Holy Heilz Empire. However, when Lucien went through the garden blooming with the light-purple flowers called Crystal Elf and stepped into the hall, he discovered that the design of the place was definitely inspired by the passion from the Kingdom of Syracuse based on its luxurious decoration, the featured curved lines on the walls, and the unique layout of the place.

The walls around and the ceiling above were drawn with many beautiful half-naked young women. Together with the well-built male statues placed in the space, a bold and unrestrained atmosphere was created.

Lucien had some understanding of art and psychology. When he was appreciating the stunning design of the place, he was also trying to figure out what the young nobles of the empire were thinking. It seemed that the younger generation of the nobles in Holy Heilz Empire had been fed up by the extremely conservative traditions and rules, and they were leaning toward the luxurious style from the Kingdom of Syracuse not far away from them.

This was for sure a piece of good news for the Congress of Magic and the Kingdom of Holm.

While many places like Allyn, the Kingdom of Holm, and the Duchy of Calais were all developing at a fast pace with great energy, and the popularization of the alchemical items were also bringing many big changes to the social structures and people's way of thinking, the younger generations in Holy Heilz Empire and the Kingdom of Syracuse were still blindly enjoying their wealth and extravagant way of living.

When the young fell, the nation fell. Those people who worried could survive, and those who saw no dangers would die.

Wearing a polite smile on his face, Lucien walked to the host of tonight's party, Deniz Mecklen.

”My dear Beaulac, I thought you wouldn't come!” said Deniz, who was a delicate and pretty young man with long blond hair. There were many exquisite designs on his dark-red suit, including the mysterious ruby brooch and the fine silver chains.

In Lucien's eyes, Deniz was like a postmodernism artist, which complied with the description of Beaulac: Deniz was passionate about painting and sketch, and he also designed jewelry and clothes himself. At the same time, he regarded himself as a fine and perfect female, and thus Deniz liked men.

Lucien knew that he could never underestimate Deniz, who was the first one among the younger generation of the nobles in Antiffler to become a grand knight. At that moment, Deniz was only around twenty-seven, but he was already a level-five grand knight, and his blood power, Thunder, was very powerful.

After gently hugging Deniz, Lucien grinned, ”Why wouldn't I?”

Deniz covered his mouth and giggled, ”That was just my instinct. Men are always rude but fragile. I was afraid that you and Arthen might give each other some hard time over the party, and I know that Arthen has been waiting for this opportunity for so long, so he could rule you out from the underground palace competition. Then, it would be way easier for him to win the game. The rest of the monkeys will bend their knees in front of him.”

Lucien had some uncomfortable feeling in his stomach, but he tried to maintain the loving smile on his face, ”Monkeys are just monkeys.”

Lucien's response surprised Deniz, and he looked at Lucien with his light-brown eyes, ”What happened to you, Beaulac? You're different now. I can feel your confidence.”

Playing to be mysterious, Lucien just smiled but did not say anything.

Deniz giggled again, ”This is getting very interesting now. I'm wondering if I should go down there as well. Please me, Beaulac. Maybe I am willing to help you beat Arthen.”

The fact that maybe Beaulac could win the important help from Deniz was the very reason why Beaulac accepted the invitation to the party.

Lucien purposefully put on a quite encouraged look, but he also said, ”Maybe Arthen will have some helpers as well.”

Deniz laughed, ”Don't get all excited. This is not a decision yet. The old one in my family carries a lot of hope in Arthen after all.”

Clearly, Deniz was waiting for Beaulac to ask again and use all the means he could to please him, but Lucien did not really need his help. So, he decided to look up at the ceiling.

”Isn't this my beloved cousin Beaulac?”

The deep and feigned voice came from the gate.

Lucien believed that he had heard the voice earlier when he was walking around. Turning around, Lucien saw a tall blond man walking toward them holding the arm of a beautiful young woman.

The young man was wearing a fancy and formal uniform from the military. On his right chest, there was a fine ribbon, and on the other side, there was a row of medals. Beside him, the young lady was very elegant dressing in a light-blue evening dress. She was definitely attracting most of the men's attention at the party.

Lucien looked at the blond man and grinned, ”Arthen, you might want to behave in a more mature way, as a member of our Gorse family. The other guests here might think we're rude when you are yelling.”

”Beaulac, you…” The look in Arthen's eyes changed. What Duda told him was correct. Something had happened to Beaulac, and right now he was showing a completely different attitude to him!

Arthen did not show his thoughts on his face, instead, he still put on a smile, ”My dear cousin, nobility comes from our blood. A noble who cannot awaken his blood power is not qualified. Also, you know nothing about art. You don't know painting, music, piano, or poem. You tell me how you differentiate yourself from those ordinary citizens. After all, many of them at least know how to play a musical instrument!”

When Beaulac was the most promising inheritor of the title, he was busing with reaching out to the other nobles and attending all the parties, so he hardly had any time studying art. And when he lost his edge, he devoted all his time to knight training, but he obtained nothing in the end. Thus, many nobles called Beaulac a savage behind his back.

Lucien was not interested in winning the quarrel. He simply lifted his eyebrow a bit and responded, ”He who laughs last laughs best.”

”Oh, really? I've heard that you've been to the black market very often recently, my dear cousin. I'm sure that you've discovered some good stuff there. But I would like to advise you to think about how far you can go with this external help.” Arthen was indicating that he was constantly watching Beaulac.