Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 782 Iris Winery

On Saturday afternoon, Angel arrived at the Iris Winery in the northwest suburbs of Backlund in advance. He welcomed the luxurious carriage with the Earl Hall's family crest in this new manor and met Audrey Hall who was invited to come.

This winery and its large tracts of vines did not originally belong to Angel, and certainly not to Baron Sindras, but to a friend of the Baron, a coal miner named Winster, who had invited Angel to visit his other estate.

When this businessman who had just arrived in Backlund and attached himself to Sindras heard that the other party was looking for a gift for a young lady, he enthusiastically offered his newly purchased winery, along with the aged wine in the cellar, as well as the winemakers and manor servants who had signed work contracts, for a total of 35000 pounds.

As for the "apology" from Baron Syndras, who almost committed suicide by jumping off the building in Angel's home after being hypnotized by the "manipulator", Angel naturally accepted it with a smile.

Although the annual repair, maintenance and labor costs are as high as several thousand pounds, the winery can produce a large amount of high-quality wine, a portion of which can be sold to subsidize the cost, and can also replace the consumption of wine at various dinners and dances held in Angel, so it is a sure profit.

Standing in front of the four-story villa, surrounded by gardens and fountains, looking at the endless vines outside the fence, Angel felt his pockets filled with gold pounds and he breathed a sigh of satisfaction.

"I heard about this winery during a conversation between my father and brother. It is larger than the Meige Manor of the Duke of Nigan's family, and even comparable to several gardens owned by the royal family. Although there are only vineyards and no additional woods, hunting activities cannot be carried out in the fall, but the land is more fertile and the wine produced is of better quality."

Audrey, who was standing nearby, was wearing a wide-brimmed hat with lace and ribbons. She was also gazing at the grape vines and spoke with some emotion.

The two men's maids stood a little further away to give the two masters some private space without being disturbed.

Hearing Audrey's praise, Angel's already upturned lips could hardly be suppressed.

Backlund's urban area is rainy and sunny for most of the year, but its suburbs are always covered with thin clouds and bright sunshine, like a sunshine belt surrounding the urban area, providing sufficient sunshine time for vegetation.

Therefore, the wines produced by the plantations on the outskirts of the city, especially the vineyards in the northwest suburbs, are of excellent quality. However, most of the estates here belong to the royal family and traditional aristocrats. They use most of their own champagne, white wine and red wine and sell less of them. Only people in the upper class or connoisseurs who love fine wine know about them. Therefore, they are not as famous as the several famous wine producing areas in Intis.

I heard that before being acquired by Winster, this winery originally belonged to a land noble, but they had been running the business poorly in recent years and their fortunes had fallen. They had no choice but to sell a large amount of real estate to maintain their noble dignity, and that’s why it was picked up by a businessman without a title… Angel muttered as he and Audrey returned from the garden to the interior of the manor and arrived in front of the four-story villa.

The building is square in shape, which is rare in the city. Four "sides" with a large number of rooms surround the internal courtyard, so that all bedrooms and guest rooms have large windows and balconies with views of vegetation. The interior decoration seems to imitate the style of some museums, embellished with sculptures, oil paintings and display cabinets, and crystal chandeliers everywhere, making the whole building like a palace.

Of course, this courtyard design is not original, but a style that has been popular in the Kingdom of Loen for hundreds of years. However, it is extremely rare in urban areas because its only problem is that it occupies too much land. In the Queens District of Backlund, where every inch of land is valuable, even a duke cannot live in such a manor.

No wonder the nobles like to buy another property in the suburbs as a venue for banquets, hunting and other activities. Their money and power cannot be fully utilized in the city...

Walking between these sculptures and murals that he couldn't name but looked very valuable, Angel secretly glanced at Audrey who was looking aside to admire the interior decoration, and asked:
"What do you think of this manor?"

Hearing this, Audrey retracted her gaze and looked at her friend beside her, her eyes flickering. After a moment, she smiled and said:
“I wanted to say something flattering, but I could tell from the look in your eyes that you wanted me to tell the truth.

"This manor originally belonged to Duke Negan. It was remodeled by Mr. Winster before it was handed over to you. I think he rearranged the interior furnishings to cater to the aesthetic tastes of the upper class, but the level of the designer he hired was not in line with his status, and he made many ridiculous changes."

Audrey's emerald eyes were frank, but what she said made Angel's heart beat fast.

"My suggestion is to reduce the number of paintings and unify their style into a realistic style after the Twenty Years' War. The position of the sculptures should also be changed. Most guests do not want to see sculptures of people or animals in their rooms. Only small ornaments can please them...

"If you need anything, I can introduce you to a designer who works for my father. He is responsible for renovating the family castle and several important properties every year, and adjusting the decoration style of the buildings according to the popular designs each year. He can help you solve the existing problems of Iris Manor as soon as possible so that you can catch up with the important social occasions in the fall."

There are so many questions. Is Baron Syndras planning to embarrass me... No, he probably just bought the manor from Winster and then gave it to me. He might not even have been here. And the latter is just a nouveau riche, a coal boss... Well, I'm not even a coal boss, so I have no right to criticize him.

Angel's shoulders gradually dropped as Audrey spoke, and hesitantly asked:
"Will it be, um, more expensive to renovate it like this?"

"Most of the paintings and sculptures are already there, and the main building doesn't need to be altered. Together with the interior furnishings to be purchased, the total cost should be around 5000 pounds. Compared to the fixed maintenance costs here, it shouldn't be expensive."

Audrey answered without thinking, and then she noticed that the expression of the "Queen" next to her quickly became stiff.

"I suddenly feel that the nouveau riche decoration is more suitable for me now..." Angel said with a forced smile, and changed his tone, "Fortunately, the wine collection here should make the guests forget the incoordination of the decoration style. Let's go to the wine cellar to take a look?"

"I heard that even the royal family has collected a lot of the red wine produced by Iris Winery. I am looking forward to it."

Audrey understood that Angel was trying to change the subject and smiled. She then started chatting about the value of wines of different years and the differences in winemaking styles between other wineries and Iris.

It seems that the Queen has been short of money recently, either because she has to prepare the potion materials for Sequence 3 or because of the impact of the previous battle in the southern continent... A trace of doubt flashed through her mind, and she wanted to take the initiative to renovate the villa as an apology for her reckless behavior that almost exposed the identities of the Queen and the World. However, she felt that the mere 5000 pounds might not be worthy of this demigod of the Tarot Club, so she hesitated and did not speak. Arriving at the wine cellar, the two visited hundreds of bottles of wine of varying years left by the previous owner of the manor, and picked out a bottle of 10-year-old red wine and tasted a small glass in the tasting room.

Audrey was full of praise for this part. Although she had just reached adulthood and seldom drank alcohol even when dining at home, she had been exposed to the wines for a long time and had a clear understanding of different grades of wines. After her evaluation, Angel had a new understanding of the value of the wines in this wine cellar.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to rest, the two chatted about their plans for the next few days.

"Mr. Hampres invited me to a small gathering of psychology enthusiasts at his home tomorrow afternoon. I think this is a signal for the gathering of the Psychological Alchemy Society. There, I might actually face Hvin Rambis."

Audrey raised her glass and took a sip, then spoke in a low voice.

There was no one else in the room except her, Angel, and Susie who had been following her. But whenever Audrey talked about the Psychological Alchemy Society, she would still speak softly subconsciously.

"It's best to ask Mr. Fool for help and obtain his blessing, which can prevent you from being hypnotized again... In addition, I will use the blood curse on Hampres to keep an eye on the situation over there. If there is any danger, I can intervene immediately."

Angel made several suggestions, then asked:
"What do you think is the purpose of asking you to come this time? Is it the 'instructions' from that day?"

"He probably wanted to know the details of the communication between my father and Baron Syndras. He has visited my father twice this week and had secret talks in the reception room. Apart from my brother, even I was not allowed to get close... Fortunately, with Susie, I was able to get some useful information."

Stroking Susie's head, Audrey's expression became serious and she continued:
"Because Syndras distanced himself from the Conservative Party and approached the new party represented by my father, the conflict between the two parties has become increasingly acute. In addition to the usual attacks and vetoes of each other's proposals in parliament, the struggle has spread to the business field. Malicious acquisitions, industrial competition, and market exclusion may be the mainstream in the future. A certain degree of rift has already appeared within the kingdom."

"The royal family doesn't care?"

Angel asked subconsciously, and then immediately realized the problem:
Hvin Rambis is an advisor to the royal family on the surface, but he seems to be secretly following the royal family's orders.

Perhaps, the two parties becoming alienated from each other and creating a rift is exactly what the royal family hopes to see!

Is this related to their creation of missing persons, covering up the truth with smog, and cooperation with the "Witch Cult"? Is it a different manifestation of the same huge conspiracy?

Angel looked at the intelligent girl in front of him and found that her eyes contained the same worry.

It seems that she has also thought of this... Could it be that the members of the Conservative Party and the New Party have not thought of this? No, they may also be happy to see it happen. After all, only when the conflict intensifies will there be a redistribution of interests, and some people will have an opportunity to take advantage of it...

Angel felt helpless when he thought of this. Even with his ability as a demigod, he could not do anything under such circumstances. Even the Baron Sindras, who was worth tens of millions, was just a fuse. Hvin Rambis, who was also a demigod, was the match that lit the fuse. The internal forces of the kingdom, which had gradually become inward-looking since the defeat in the war, were the real powder keg.

Forcing a smile, Angel changed the subject to a lighter one:

"Dwayne Dantès will be returning to Backlund tonight."

She was talking about Mr. World... Well, at this moment, should I say that I look forward to the specialties of the southern continent that he will bring back, or congratulate him on his safe journey? Would this make it seem like there is some kind of special relationship between us, and cause Miss Queen to misunderstand?
Audrey pondered, not knowing what to say given her identity. She subconsciously glanced at Susie who was lying at her feet, and found that this guy was actually sleeping on his stomach.

Come and help your master find a solution!
She secretly nudged Susie with her toes, which instantly woke up the "psychologist" and made her look around, shaking her head.

----

In the evening, a train spewing gray smoke and white steam drove into Backlund and stopped steadily on the platform.

Klein, whose face had returned to that of a middle-aged gentleman, held a gold-studded cane in one hand and pressed a silk hat with the other. He walked out of the first-class carriage and stepped onto the ground of Backlund. Behind him followed a servant with brown skin, a low nose bridge, and obvious mixed-race features from the southern continent, as well as a burly bodyguard wearing a leather windbreaker and a face so ordinary that it was difficult to remember.

They are "Winner" Enzo and "Admiral of Hell" Ludwell, of course, they have been transformed.

After being promoted to Sequence 4, Klein's puppets can also use all the abilities of the "Trickster", which makes it very convenient for him to carry the puppets. They can transform into any appearance they need, use illusions to change their clothes, and even fire air shells with power comparable to that of cannons without weapons. The flames can jump thousands of meters away at any time, and they can even exchange positions with the original body in an instant.

Of course, the task of these two extraordinary people at this moment is just to help their master carry the luggage.

With the help of the puppet he controlled, Klein walked out of the station with ease. He took a breath of the obviously cleaner air and smiled as he muttered to himself:
"Backlund, I'm back."

(End of this chapter)