Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 497: Writer Friend
With Director Anlos on the carriage, the group of four indeed was not searched for weapons. Director Anlos had other matters to attend to, and after entering Yordel Palace, he separated from Shard. Unless there was something else, Shard probably wouldn't see his superior at the banquet tonight.
It was now six fifty in the evening, and in Tobesk during late summer, one could only see the last remnants of the sunset at this time. The courtyard of Yordel Palace was adorned with streamers and decorations. Well-dressed men and women greeted each other and, under the illumination of the gas lamps in the courtyard, walked on the red carpet laid down the central axis towards the main building of Yordel Palace.
The banquet was about to start.
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The "Yordel Palace" belonging to the Royal Cavendish Family was not actually a palace but a palace complex located in the city center. Its area was about four to six times that of Saint Delan Square. This place served not only as the residence of the royal family but also as the political center of the Kingdom.
Today was the Queen's birthday banquet, hence the main building of Yordel Palace was made available as the venue for the event. Other than the birthdays of the King and Queen, only when hosting delegations from Carsonrick or during certain important award ceremonies, would there be a banquet of this scale.
Shard and Dorothy stepped onto the red carpet with the crowd, moving through the decorated courtyard into the foyer of the three-story building.
Although it was referred to as a foyer, its size was larger than all three floors of the Shard Family's townhouse with a basement and attic combined. On either side, there were corridors, and directly opposite the main entrance were two intersecting spiral staircases.
With the furniture removed, the area was arranged to resemble a banquet hall.
The banquet was held on the first and second floor. Aside from the long dining tables, the clean floors were covered with red carpets, and under the brightness of the gas lamps and overhead crystal chandeliers, everything seemed to glitter.
At the entrance to the banquet hall, guests could submit gifts, handled by a butler-looking man wearing a wig and monocle, dressed in a red coat, who led the servants in recording at a long table by the door. Dorothy quietly told Shard that this man was the chief steward of the West Hall of Yordel Palace, one of the palace's stewards.
When Shard asked her how many stewards there were in the place, Dorothy actually did not know.
"Lecia spent quite an effort trying to remember everyone's name when she was a child," she said.
The gifts for the Queen wouldn't be opened right away but were piled up for the Queen to check later. Shard casually handed over his box. Although the packaging of the box was decent when viewed alone, it looked rather plain compared to the other gift boxes.
Dorothy, of course, also brought a gift—a silver makeup mirror. Although it was valuable, it wasn't anything special. Since the Queen couldn't possibly keep every gift for herself, Dorothy didn't really bother choosing carefully.
After registering at the door, Shard and Dorothy formally entered the main venue of the banquet.
Miss Galina had already explained the detailed procedure of the banquet to Shard. At eight o'clock, the Queen would appear and thank the guests for coming. If King Larus III was available, he might also appear.
After eight, the courtyard would be fully opened for those who wished to get some fresh air, with bands and performers arranged there.
The dance would officially begin at nine-thirty, but only on the second floor. Those who wanted to dance could go up with their partners.
After ten, guests could choose to leave, but at that time, some beautiful fireworks would be set off in the courtyard for half the city to enjoy together. The banquet would end at midnight, but it would last until one o'clock for those who stayed for various reasons. Thus, the night was long, and it would have been a rare moment of relaxation for Shard if he hadn't been preoccupied with Daknis.
It seemed that everyone could find something to do at this banquet. Before the Queen Diana appeared, people gathered in small groups to quietly discuss the banquet or talked with acquaintances about things related to Yordel Palace.
A few reporters also received invitations to the banquet. Cameras set up at the entrance of the first-floor banquet hall captured the splendid scene after the flashes went off. That photograph could probably be considered one of the most prosperous scenes of this era.
Shard and Dorothy came to the second floor together and stood beside the long dining table. Shard listened as Dorothy introduced some of the moving Yordel Palace guards and servants.
But even Lecia could not recognize everyone here, so Dorothy could only briefly introduce those she remembered.
"You and Lecia are now in Yordel Palace. Will you be affected?" Shard asked quietly, looking at the food on the table. Tobesk's noble banquet mostly used a buffet-style food service, even for the Queen's birthday banquet.
"Don't worry, Lecia is now in the room at the corner of the west corridor on the second floor," Dorothy replied.
This palace-like building was, from its initial design, planned to have the first-floor foyer and the second-floor hall serve as banquet halls. Although both are quite spacious, they are not very large compared to the building itself. It was once the largest palace on the entire Old Continent.
This record stood until twenty years ago when it was surpassed by the new Royal Palace built in Carsonrick.
Marquis Grassley, who had extended the Roder Card invitation to Shard at the opera house, found Shard at seven-forty on the second floor.
At that time, Shard was holding a plate and inspecting the whitened boiled meat on it. The Marquis came over with a smile to inform Shard that the Roder Card game at the banquet would start at eight-thirty, located on the second floor.
He had heard from somewhere that last week at the Three Cats Inn in Hymn Square of the Lower District, Shard had won "King's Secret Order: Substitute" with a Demon Series Roder Card, and he excitedly asked if Shard had brought those two cards.
"Of course,"
Shard took out the cards from his suit pocket and waved them.
"That's good. I've heard that many people are waiting to play Roder Card against you at the banquet,"
the Marquis quietly hinted, and Shard felt that this "many people" probably included him too.
"No problem, I'm also looking forward to seeing more Special Cards,"
After a very excited Marquis Grassley left, Shard wanted to discuss topics of drinks at the banquet with Dorothy a bit more, but probably tired of hearing Shard complain about the difficulty of finding juice here, she dragged him to meet her friends.
Calling them "friends" was actually a stretch; they were peers. These people occupied a corner of the sofa area in the southwest corner of the second-floor banquet hall, where, besides writers, some nobles who enjoyed being seen as cultured were conversing with them.
As soon as Shard approached, he saw Mr. Prosi Newman, the playwright he had met once at the opera house after the examination week. Because it was the Queen's birthday banquet, he was not dressed as a terrifying woman like the last time.
Even so, the makeup on this gentleman's face still tended toward a lady's style, as Shard had never seen such conspicuous pink lipstick on any man's lips in this era.
Nevertheless, Mr. Newman was surrounded by the most people, and this playwright, who appeared to be in his thirties, had a very high reputation. The play "The Prince's Revenge" that Shard and Miss Galina had seen at the opera house a few days ago was adapted by him from knight novels.
"Look, Luisa is here."
Perhaps because of Professor Luisa, many people here knew Dorothy. Detective stories, as a new genre of novels, should not have been accepted by peers so quickly, but seeing their enthusiastic welcome for Dorothy, Professor Luisa's influence might be even greater than Shard had thought.
"This is Rejed's Hamilton, the real-life model for my novel's protagonist,"
Dorothy introduced to her friends, and true to form, all the writers invited to this banquet from Tobesk knew who Shard was.
There was no one here who refused to shake his hand because of rumors that "Shard Hamilton had gained his status by clinging to the Duchess." Shard, meanwhile, made an effort to remember everyone present to avoid not being able to name them should he encounter them on the street in the future.
Apart from Mr. Prosi Newman, the somewhat effeminate playwright, the more famous individuals included Mr. Miles Garoff, a 39-year-old poet who had won the highest literary award in the Kingdom last year for his series of poems "Fallen Leaves Collection"; Mrs. Yewa Swift from Carsonrick, who had settled in Tobesk hoping to find fresh inspiration from Draleon, held a Baronial title from Carsonrick earned through her literary achievements; Mr. Francois Hyman, who had published thirteen best-selling novels and was known for his adventure and travel narratives, maintaining the highest circulation records for contemporary Draleonian popular novels; and finally, Professor Mulder Goethe, a 41-year-old essayist who taught in the Tobesk University District and also was employed at Yordle Palace as a writing and grammar instructor for the Royal Family.
Compared to these people, Dorothy, whose career had just begun to improve with the "Hamilton Detective Stories," seemed rather unremarkable.
After Shard and Dorothy took their seats on the sofa, it turned out to be Shard who received more attention. People were eager to talk to Shard about his detective profession or mention Roder Card.
Later, the topic somehow shifted to the creation of popular novels, and it was then that Dorothy got a chance to speak, pulling Shard into the conversation as well.
He certainly didn't understand much about literary creation, but thanks to the many literary works and classics he had read in his homeland, as long as the conversation didn't touch on the fundamental details of literary creation or poetry, he could add a few words about whatever was discussed.
After all, poetry couldn't be written in the exams back home.
