Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic
Chapter 899 - 899: The "Big Fellow" in the Middle of the Lake

In short, after meeting the groom and the bride, this banquet officially began for Shard and Dorothy.

Dorothy temporarily separated from Shard to meet her friends in the literary world. Lecia was probably with Princess Margaret entertaining the guest from the Southern Nation.

So, Shard decided to meet the Grand Witch first. Witches generally dislike lively banquets because there are too many men there. Even though they must attend this banquet, it's the only way for the two to reasonably get to know each other, gradually deepening their relationship.

Mr. Esberg had prepared a separate lounge for the distinguished guests attending the banquet, especially the guests from his wife's family, on one side of the third-floor hallway of the Lakeside Manor. When Shard, carrying Mia, stepped onto the third floor, memories of a midsummer night flooded his mind again. He paused at the last step of the stairs, looking at the banquet hall door directly opposite the staircase.

A few months ago, Dorothy crashed through that door and flew out. The scene of the doctor desperately using the Sublimation Incantation to severely injure "Lady Lassoya" seemed just like yesterday:

"Such nostalgia..."

The last time he came here, the hallway was still filled with a mist of blood. The exploding door had wrecked the hallway, but on this early winter night, it had long since returned to peace.

The doors of the banquet hall were wide open, with long tables inside laden with food. Various gold and silverware under the gas lamps highlighted the financial strength of the Esberg Family. Guests not eating could help themselves to food here, though at this moment, there weren't many people inside. After all, for this grand wedding, tables with food were placed all over the mansion and manor, with even a tent for roasting lamb in the backyard...

"Meow~"

Seeing that Shard had no intention of entering the banquet hall and was instead turning aside, Mia suddenly meowed, extending a tiny paw to pat his arm. This cat always showed extraordinary wisdom when it came to food.

"I'll get you something to eat in a while."

Shard patted the cat's little head, and it stopped meowing.

"Aren't you getting smarter?"

The lounge prepared by the Esberg Family for important guests was on the left side of the third-floor hallway. It certainly wasn't a place one could enter casually, but when Shard reached the top of the stairs, the guards on duty merely glanced at him and respectfully called out "Rejed's Hamilton". They then eagerly led him to the door of Miss Galina's room.

The pendant on his chest was hot to the touch; indeed both witches were inside. As Shard entered, they were holding wine glasses and chatting while looking at the lively courtyard outside from the window.

In the night, the silhouette of the two witches in evening gowns deeply attracted Shard's attention. Just now, Dorothy mentioned that the most beautiful girl at this dance was the bride, but Shard was sure that the most beautiful ones must be these two ladies.

"Ahem."

Seeing Shard staring at the ladies by the window in a daze, the Little Princess Angelina coughed to remind Shard that she was also there.

Shard seldom saw Angelina not staying with Lecia. At this moment, the Little Princess had changed out of her bridesmaid attire and into her usual elaborate princess dress, sitting on the sofa in the lounge, looking somewhat displeased, glancing at a document.

"Good evening, Miss Galina, good evening, Your Highness Angelina, good evening, Miss Sylvia."

He greeted them in order of status. The sixteen-year-old princess showed a hint of joy and was about to put down the document, but seeing Miss Galina turn from the window, she bit her lip and obediently continued reading the pages in her hand.

"Good evening, Shard."

Since Miss Sylvia was "not familiar" with Shard yet, only Miss Galina greeted him. Holding a glass of red wine, the Witch turned around, the pure ruby-like hue of the wine in her hand making her look even more enchanting:

"Would you like to try this wine? It's a personal gift from Princess Margaret to me, and it tastes very nice."

She said with a smile, obviously aware of the origin of the wine. After all, the raw material for the wine was the imperfect grapes from her manor that they couldn't eat.

"Thank you, but I don't feel like drinking now. Oh, what's Her Highness Angelina reading?"

Shard asked curiously. Miss Galina glanced at Tifa, who softly explained:

"Yesterday, at the dinner hosted by His Majesty for Princess Margaret Anjou, Her Highness recommended her math teacher, a famous scholar in the United Kingdom of Carsonrick, Miss Emma Sylvia, to His Majesty, hoping Miss Sylvia could get access to the libraries of several schools in the Tobesk University District."

The young scholar, Miss Sylvia, standing by the window, gestured towards him with a glass in her right hand while her left hand was across her chest:

"Thanks to His Majesty Larus III's generosity."

"Just before the banquet started, Miss met Her Highness Angelina and asked Miss Sylvia to give some questions to test Her Highness's math level."

The Little Princess shyly peeked at Shard from behind the paper, revealing a frustrated expression, evidently having been sitting there for over an hour. Now that the banquet had begun, she still hadn't been granted permission to leave, her mood plainly apparent on her face.

Miss Galina chuckled:

"Since I gained my title, I've seldom overseen the education of family members. It seems the Royal Family's math skills have indeed regressed over the years."

Angelina was discreetly watching Shard, barely masking the plea to "save me" on her face.

"May I take a look at these problems?"

Shard asked, then walked over to the sofa and picked up the handwritten notes:

"Oh, these are indeed very professional questions. But I think, perhaps Her Highness should take time to ponder them later. After all, this is a wedding banquet, which is quite noisy, and not conducive to concentration."

The sixteen-year-old princess nodded immediately, then looked expectantly at her grandaunt. Miss Galina's smile did not diminish:

"Alright then, Angelina, remember to send the answers to my manor by tomorrow evening."

"Yes, no problem!"

The Little Princess said loudly, then realized her behavior was quite unladylike. She blushed, tidied up the pages on the table, and was about to leave with her Maid, but paused to ask Shard:

"Knight, in twenty minutes, the riding competition at Lakeside Manor will start. Are you interested in participating? I heard from my mother that your performance at the stable last time was impressive."

Shard naturally nodded in agreement. Dorothy had just mentioned that Lecia asked her to convey Shard's acceptance of Angelina's invitation:

"Of course, I'll participate. That will be fun."

"I'll go prepare a horse for you now. See you later, I'm going to get changed!"

Saying this, she left the room cheerfully.

"Change clothes?"

Shard looked at Miss Galina in surprise. The latter placed her glass on the windowsill, her fingers with red nail polish reflecting a somewhat seductive color under the gas lamp:

"Since it's a wedding game, it's naturally a double riding horse race. If you want to participate, you must have a female partner. I think Angelina assumes you're choosing her as your partner."

Miss Sylvia, standing by, also laughed:

"I've heard Miss Galina say that you had an affair with her grand-niece, is it this one? But judging by her appearance, clearly..."

"No, no, no, of course not her, Her Highness Angelina is only sixteen!"

Shard hastily defended himself, although the age of adulthood in this world is sixteen, the Outlander has Outlander's rules:

"Ladies, please don't joke about me. Today's party is very lively, aren't you planning to go down for a stroll?"

He too stepped to the window and looked out at the courtyard illuminated by lights with the two Witches. More and more guests were gathering, and laughter and uproar could occasionally be heard from the tents set up outside. It's a pity the sun hadn't completely set yet, otherwise, the courtyard lit by lanterns at night would appear even more splendid.

When Shard and Dorothy entered earlier, the main path in the middle of the courtyard was somewhat empty. Now there was a long table set there, offering various delicacies and a five-layered cream cake.

Shard instantly felt the Mia in his arms becoming restless again.

"You know, we always dislike such lively occasions."

Miss Galina said, then glanced at Miss Sylvia:

"Shard, don't you have something to say?"

"Oh, yes."

Shard took out the draft of a paper he wrote:

"Miss Sylvia, if you have time, could you please take a look at this in the next couple of days?"

"A paper?"

The young Grand Witch was slightly surprised but nodded:

"No problem, but if you want me to help you proofread the details, you'd better give me the final draft... Imaginary numbers? You're actually researching this? Interesting, you really should consider my last proposal."

This referred to becoming her apprentice, but she dared not mention it in front of Miss Galina.

Miss Sylvia mimicked Miss Galina's action, placing her glass on the windowsill, and casually flipping through the manuscript, her attention fully captured.

"Shard, Miss Sylvia and I will stay here. If you encounter troubles during the banquet that you can't resolve, feel free to come here to find me."

"What kind of trouble might arise at the banquet?"

Shard asked curiously, then pondered:

"Could it be that MI6 and the Grey Glove have some plan?"

"Why would you think that?"

Miss Galina asked curiously. Shard nodded, indeed he hadn't received any orders from either side regarding the banquet:

"Is it possible a thief has appeared here?"

In recent weeks, burglaries in the city have become frequent, disturbingly so.

"Oh, I do suspect there's some humanoid relic related to theft in the city, but Lakeside Manor has nothing to do with that matter."

The Witch continued, not giving Shard a chance to guess further, as she squinted at the view outside the window, speaking softly:

"There have been some minor issues with Lake Schluch between Lakeside Manor and Lemer Stable."

"What minor issues?"

"To put it simply, it seems some big creature is about to appear in the middle of the lake."

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