Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

The Witch grew more and more annoyed, so much so that her mood remained quite unpleasant even after boarding the carriage. Shard, who was sharing the carriage, naturally noticed her distress and intentionally wanted to inquire about it. However, Miss Matilda stopped him with a look, leaving Shard unaware of the Witch’s anger till the end.

The literary salon of the Marchioness of Ankara was held at a small manor in the northwest of Moon Bay City, with only a few members participating. Although Bella Belindel’s title was merely that of an Earl, she was undoubtedly the most prominent among the noblewomen and noble ladies present.

This was not only due to her own title but also because, on Moon Bay’s land, the stature of the Seven Families of Glory could not be demonstrated merely by noble titles.

There had been snow a few days before, and the afternoon temperature this day was not very high. Thus, the bright room had closed windows and ignited a fireplace, and with the crackling of the firewood, the heat-soaked scent of tea and the aroma of sweets even made Shard feel drowsy.

"This is probably how Mia feels when sunbathing."

The salon’s atmosphere was quite calm, with acquaintances gathering in twos or threes to discuss things softly; the ratio of male guests to female guests was about one to three. Shard greeted Miss Belindel and temporarily excused himself, subsequently finding a woman holding a teacup in her right hand and gripping her right arm with her left hand, standing alone by the window gazing at the garden view.

From her silhouette alone, she looked exceptionally slender, dressed in a thin red and black long dress, with curly black hair tied with a lace headband. When Shard approached her side, he saw her high nose bridge and full lips, appearing to be in her thirties.

"Mrs. Dubois."

He said softly, as the woman turned to look at him, he added:

"Mr. Albert sent me."

Upon hearing this name, the woman with a solemn expression nodded slightly, then continued to turn and look at the scenery outside the window, taking a sip from her teacup:

"What’s been happening lately? Many of the same clan are unwilling to communicate with each other, and the Church seems to be searching for us?"

She was the kind of person not well-informed.

"A corpse was found in the city, suspected to be the work of the Vampire Kind. Mr. Albert is investigating this matter, hoping you will be extra cautious for a while."

"Was it done by the same clan from out of town?"

Their thoughts were surprisingly consistent.

"It cannot be confirmed yet. Additionally, a Vampire Beast has appeared in the city these days, and the Church is more suspicious of the Vampire Kind."

Upon hearing from Shard, the woman sighed deeply:

"I understand, please thank Albert for me, oh, and thank you too. Though now is not the past, human Circle Sorcerers still have considerable concerns toward us Exotic Species."

She could sense that Shard was definitely not of the same clan, while Shard shook his head to express it was nothing much. He intended to bid farewell to check on Miss Belindel’s affairs, but Mrs. Dubois called him again:

"Can you help me deliver a letter to Albert later? The Herbal Medicine he commissioned from the New World has arrived at the dock, and I don’t dare to approach him now."

"Of course."

Spider Alley isn’t far, and Shard will be meeting Mr. Benhart there tomorrow:

"You and Mr. Albert are old acquaintances, aren’t you?"

Shard asked again, and Mrs. Dubois smiled and nodded:

"Yes, I heard Mr. Albert’s lectures when I was studying at the Academy of Higher Education in Moon Bay City. His human anatomy course was very impressive."

Shard had heard from Mr. Benhart that the coroner had retired from the New World and came to this place, initially teaching for a while, then joining a clinic before finally going to the Morgue.

"If it hadn’t been for that incident, Mr. Albert might still be teaching at the school..."

She sighed softly, seeing Shard’s curious gaze, she proactively explained:

"That was nearly ten years ago, and today’s newspapers can’t find it, but at the time it caused quite a stir. A female student disappeared from our Academy, and after police investigation, the case was unresolved. Later, somehow, rumors said the missing person was abducted by someone from the Edington Family... students erupted in protest, then somehow it also involved school reforms and the Kingdom Navy stationed in Moon Bay, Mr. Albert supported the students back then and participated in the class suspension activities, and then he..."

Mrs. Dubois sighed again.

"So was the missing person eventually found?"

Shard curiously asked, and Mrs. Dubois nodded:

"Found her, she didn’t report to the school and went to Draleon for an autumn trip with her family. By the time she returned, two months had passed and the issue had already settled."

Shard blinked, and the noble lady pursed her lips, showing an expression remarkably similar to his. Neither of them said anything further, instead, they looked out towards the garden through the window.

"What were you discussing with Mrs. Dubois just now?"

When Shard returned to Miss Belindel’s side, who was sitting on a beige fabric sofa chatting and laughing with the Marchioness of Ankara and several other noble ladies, Miss Belindel asked softly.

"The weather, look how gloomy it is outside, there is likely to be a thunderstorm tonight."

These ladies of noble birth also turned to look out the window, indeed, it was now as dark as dusk compared to half an hour ago.

"I hope this terrible weather doesn’t affect my family’s fleet business."

A lady whom Shard didn’t know complained, and then they began to discuss topics that Outlanders found meaningless. Only Miss Belindel, who was observing Shard’s expression, noticed that Shard seemed somewhat worried. Thinking about his invitation to seek her help tonight, she knew the impending thunderstorm surely heralded some major event.

Even though Shard disguised his face with an illusion technique, his aura and physique remained strikingly noticeable. The Outlander had never considered his aura and physique issues, but in reality, the distant feeling of harmony yet disparity with the world and his increasingly perfect physique’s lines were noticed by the women around him.

Therefore, near the circle of sofas, someone soon began to inquire about Shard’s background, and Miss Belindel introduced him with a smile:

"This is my distant cousin."

This statement was extremely ambiguous, and the noble ladies all showed expressions of understanding, while the unmarried noble girls excitedly talked about which noble family from the Northern Country the "cousin" belonged to.

Miss Belindel was quite pleased with this and was even more satisfied that despite some women improperly batting their eyes at Shard, or even some covertly handing him handkerchiefs, Shard remained cold-faced, deep in thought about something.

The Witch felt that "John Hua’s" composure was strong, knowing only a witch could make him lose his demeanor. But little did she know, Shard was contemplating if it was worth to burn a drop of divinity tonight if danger arose.

At Green Lake, he had obtained a drop of divinity from the Lord of the Deep Sea Drowned and the moon of the Silvermoon Library, so even though he spent a drop when advancing to the Seventh Ring, plus the drop he had stored previously, he still had two drops of divinity.

From Shard’s experience, exchanging one drop of divinity for another is definitely worthwhile. Not only does burning divinity transform oneself into a god again, but acquiring a new divinity also allows him to master more types of powers.

His only concern now was whether there was indeed divinity left behind in Moon Bay City from the ancient battle between the Ocean Gods and the Dragon Devourer.

Once Shard returned his focus from this question, the topic of conversation among the ladies had shifted to the "new products" in Velindale City. Of course, in this conservative yet open era, it was quite impolite to discuss women’s intimate apparel publicly, but since everyone there was acquainted, they freely talked.

Although Miss Sylvia had amassed enough stock before starting the first batch of supply, the stockings made of synthetic fibers were sold out on the day they were released. Shard wasn’t clear about Miss Sylvia’s pricing for different level products, but listening to the surrounding ladies saying that even if the price increased tenfold, it was still hard to find satisfactory items on the market in Velindale City.

Mrs. Rachel Chandler, who was wearing a pearl necklace, had just returned from Velindale and vividly described the situation on the day the products first entered the store:

"Women and their husbands or lovers rushed into the store like refugees from a famine era, waving their tickets at the people behind the counter, urging them to check out. I had never seen such a scene, but beauty-loving women are innocent, and those long socks are innocent too."

She also touched her face:

"Of course, showing legs at a ball is extremely inappropriate. But if some man could transform into a cat and stroll through the ballrooms at Velindale, he would definitely find most of the young ladies wearing those fashionable socks on their legs."

They all laughed. The noble ladies accustomed to Moon Bay City were not clear on what kind of fabric it was, but it didn’t stop them from pursuing the fashion trends of Velindale’s grand nobles. The nobles of Moon Bay City always had a contradictory mindset: wanting to maintain independence to highlight their unique status, yet striving to keep up with Velindale, fearing they might fall behind.

"I’ve seen such products in Moon Bay."

The long-waiting Blonde Countess finally said, the striking crimson birthmark on her brow still mesmerizing.

A few women with good relations with her had heard some rumors, but most were unclear:

"Princess Margaret seems not to have sold those products in Moon Bay. Countess, do you have means to obtain products from Velindale?"

"Yes, the Belindel Family has always maintained a good relationship with Her Highness Margaret."

She opened the small fan she carried, covering the lower half of her face, her golden eyes delightfully captivating:

"The products sold in stores are nothing. The high-class goods not sold by Her Highness are worthy of my status."

She beckoned to Miss Matilda behind her, and the Blonde Maid promptly brought those boxes.