Whispering Verse

The original tables and chairs in the conference room have long been cleared, and now there are folding chairs with red cushions in the room. In front of the wall where the terrace is located is a mahogany high platform, with tables placed on the high platform. It's what the auctioneer will use later.

The auction items were all placed around the room. Among them, the Rhodes card that Shade was interested in was placed near the door. It was obvious that it was not the protagonist.

"Let me take a look."

He stopped in front of the glass counter, looked at the cards on the red velvet pad, and smiled:

"The special card in the queen's suit is really interesting."

[History of the Development of the New World·The Wind of Development], the Queen of Colors. (Note)

After drawing this card, randomly select a card from the remaining deck. If it is the sun suit, then [History of New World Development·Wind of Development] is regarded as the king. The effect of the drawn card is invalid and discarded. It is not re-added to the deck and is regarded as a card that has been drawn normally.

"The queen's suit itself is only smaller than the king and blackjack, so it doesn't mean much for the queen to become the king."

Unlike other Rhodes cards with special rules, there is a line of small words written in Delarian and Kasonric under the rules:

[To commemorate the great geographical discovery of the New World, this is a turning point for civilization. May the wind of pioneering blow throughout the world. 】

The "New World Development History" series of cards was released about half a century ago, and will be reprinted every five years, but the special cards will be different each time it is reprinted, so it is also called "New World Development History I" and "New World Development History" II" and so on. The series of cards was produced to commemorate the discovery of the New World. The first edition of fifteen special cards was not released, but was given to the fleet that discovered the New World many years ago.

As for the Queen's suit that Shade has seen so far, because of its commemorative significance, its normal price is definitely more than 80 pounds. Because it is a charity auction, most of the auction prices are at a premium. The current reserve price is 85 pounds and 12 shillings, but it is obvious that even if the final price exceeds three digits, it is still possible. .

"It's really good."

Shade narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the silhouettes of ships coming and going from Dagon Port, a famous port in the New World, on the card. He has always been economical and has never spent more than 100 pounds at a time except for things related to ring wizards. But this card looks really tempting.

【Do you want to buy it? An occasional indulgence? 】

A murmur sounded in her ears, her tone was gentle.

"No."

At least three seconds passed before Xia De shook his head firmly:

"You have to restrain your desires. Even though I have saved a lot of money recently because of the difference engine drawings of the espionage case, my future expenses are still very large and I can't spend money carelessly."

Even though he said this, he still looked down at the card.

[Is this considered penance? 】

"No, it's just a plan for the future. And look, when have you ever seen me spend money for pleasure? Oh, the money spent on Mia doesn't count, it's Miss Gothe's remittance."

He glanced at the card again, then turned away. But instead of leaving this room, I continued to stay here, wanting to see what the final transaction price would be.

There were still fifteen minutes before the auction started here. A few people had already taken their seats on the folding chairs, and Shade had already walked to the easels in the southeast corner of the room. Under the light of the specially installed floor-standing gas lamp, these works of art look quite good.

This is not an antique painting, but a donation from a well-known local painter. The base price of each pair is 10 pounds. As for whether it is worth the price, only the buyer himself knows.

Shade stopped in front of the easel and saw that these oil paintings were all about heroic epics and myths. The three paintings closest to him are "The Brave Killing the Demon", "The Girl Holding Fire" and "The Phoenix in the Sky".

All three paintings use a large area of ​​red as the background color, but the first one is dark red, the second one is red and black, and the third one is bright red.

"How does it look?"

There was a voice in his ears. Shade turned his head slightly and saw a short and thin man wearing a red beret and two small beards.

"It depicts the epic feeling very well, but I don't understand. This one is a legend about a brave man defeating demons, and that one is related to the local tradition of worshiping fire. What does the one in the middle mean?"

The oil painting in the middle is "Girl Holding Fire". A little girl wearing a white robe and gray hair sat barefoot by the campfire, her eyes closed and her head tilted, holding a slender flame in her burned hands. The background was a very abstract red and black scene, and Shade had no idea what the painting meant.

"This is a story I heard from my friend who is a folklore professor, the original fire. It is the legendary fire, the first fire after the birth of the world. The prosperity of the fire symbolizes the prosperity of the world. It is very interesting. Story, isn’t it?”

The man wearing a red hat holds his chest with his right hand and touches his chin with his left hand.

"Sir, are you the painter who created this painting?"

Shade asked, who nodded while controlling his proud expression:

"Yes, so I came here specifically to see who would finally appreciate my artistic attainments."

"But according to the locals, the local fire worship tradition is related to the Phoenix. Is this legend of the primordial fire also related to fire worship?"

Shade was basically certain that the "primordial fire" the other party heard about should be the flame in Sister Devlin's hand.

"No, no, the legend of the Phoenix is ​​the origin of local customs, and the Primeval Fire is an ancient myth spread throughout the world."

The painter talked about it:

"I have also traveled around the Old World because of my collecting work, and heard many interesting stories. In areas with a tradition of worshiping flames, most of them can hear about ancient myths related to the 'primordial fire', Midhill On the contrary, it is difficult for Fort to hear such stories. The custom of worshiping the phoenix suppresses the myth of 'primordial fire'. This should be regarded as the victory of folk custom over myth."

Shade nodded, staring at the slender flame in the little girl's hand in the oil painting. If the "primordial fire" is really the so-called first flame, then this relic can also be regarded as an item from the First Era.

In the end, the [History of New World Development·Pioneering Wind] that Shade was interested in was bought by a businessman from Carsonlik for a sky-high price of 132 pounds, which made Shade completely give up.

After the auction was over, he thought about going to a Rhodes venue and playing cards with the local players. But just when they reached the first floor from the second floor of the castle, they were called away by Miss Aurora's maid.

It was still the lounge where we met a few hours ago, and the two witches were also there. Seeing Sha De come in, he motioned for him to sit down and talk:

"People from the Truth Society showed up here?"

The old witch spoke.

"Huh? Oh, the church discovered it, right?"

Shade wasn't surprised at all.

"Yes, but that's not important. Let the Zhengshen Church handle this matter."

Miss Aurora said:

"I came to you because of another thing. About twenty minutes ago, someone in the No. 1 auction hall bought an antique at a high price."

Grandma Cassandra handed Shade a black-and-white photo. It was actually a metal coffin. The surface was densely covered with patterns of branches, leaves and vines, and in the center of the coffin lid was a silver cross.

"According to the information provided by the seller, this is an antique that was dug out from the north side of the Cameron Mountains, where the Principality of Set is now, in 1054 of the Universal Calendar. It is now being put up for auction by the foreign antique dealer, and the bidding has started. The price was 1,200 pounds. Then, someone directly raised the price to 6,000 pounds and bought it.”

"6000?"

Shade was really shocked. He just bought more than 100 pounds of Rhodes cards and couldn't bear to buy them:

"Is there something wrong with this deal?"

"I checked all the antiques at the auction in advance and this is not a relic."

The old witch said with certainty:

"After the transaction was completed, I smelled a strange smell from the buyer. He didn't seem to be human."

Miss Carina said that Granny Cassandra is an expert on demons and alien species, so it is normal for her to be aware of this.

"Carina said that your perception of relics exceeds that of a normal ring warlock. The coffin has not been delivered yet, and we hope you can take a look."

Miss Aurora looked at Shade:

"Although this has nothing to do with the Parliament, all the abnormalities in Fort Midhill are worthy of attention now. Especially items like coffins, which are too closely related to death."

"No problem, I'll go now. But who is that buyer? He can afford 6,000 pounds at a time, so his status must be very prominent, right? Moreover, this money should be prepared in advance."

Shade asked again.

"Not a local, he is a viscount of Carsenlic. He is a distant relative of the Anjou family of the Carsenlic royal family. He is famous for his family's southern vineyards and red winery. This time he came to Delrayon , also for the wine business.”

Grandma Cassandra said.

Shade nodded, then suddenly looked up;

"Wait? A man from Kasenlik? Red wine? Is the name of the rich man who bought the coffin Armand Bernhardt?"

"Yes, Viscount Bernhard."

Miss Aurora nodded in surprise:

"Detective, do you know him?"

"I"

He was about to say that he knew him, but then he thought that he had attributed the red phenomenon that appeared in the sky to the vampires when he entered the narrow space, and said that he only saw it from a distance and did not know his name.

"After that, I probably met him once more."

Then I thought about meeting my uncle and nephew at the Sikal Hotel, but that time it involved the grey-headed eagle.

So he immediately shook his head:

"I don't know him. I just met this gentleman when I was hanging out in the city and helping people solve problems."

"It seems like you've had a very fulfilling time here this fall."

Miss Aurora smiled and said:

"Carina also said you were working very hard."

"Then let me go take a look at the coffin first. As for Bernhardt, we will talk about it later."

He stood up, hesitated and asked again:

"What's Viscount Armand Bernhard's reputation in Kasenrich like?"

"A very nice gentleman."

Miss Aurora said.

"I see."

Shade opened the door and walked out, while the conversation between the two witches continued:

"I also met Mr. Bernhardt in Kasenlik. He rented my ship to transport wine to the New World. He was also a poor man. His parents died young. Although he inherited the title, he didn't have many people around him. Someone who can be trusted. It is said that he was married, but his wife passed away very early."

"Is there anyone else in the Bernhardt family?"

The old witch asked curiously, and the curly-haired young witch recalled:

"The Bernhard family has never been prosperous. In modern times, Armand Bernhard has no other relatives of his own surname except for two uncles and a minor niece."

PS1: Thanks to reader @Daitianshi, who provided the name of the Rhodes card in the Rhodes card collection building.

PS2: Modify the details of the previous chapter and change Iluna’s dance invitation time to 9 o’clock.