Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 373 White Eagle Mansion
As the sun sank behind the mountains, but before it was completely dark, Winters and Anna arrived at the mansion of [Borso da Este].

Upon seeing the white eagle emblem painted on the carriage, the guards immediately opened the door and let them pass.

In the northern part of Steel Castle, the most valuable thing is land. And after entering the gates of Este Palace, one must pass through a garden before reaching the main building.

"This is a mansion?" Winters glanced at the meticulously manicured low conifer bushes on both sides of the passageway, raising an eyebrow. "Not a palace?"

Mr. Ed explained nonchalantly, “The Frolla people control Steel Castle’s business in Veneta, while the White Eagle family dominates Frolla. But they are not Steel Castle people after all, and are not eligible to be elected to the Executive Committee, so it’s not hard to understand why they use this method to demonstrate their status… Considering the increase in land value over the past twenty years, this deal is actually profitable.”

“What about Aquamarine?” Winters asked.

“In the iron trade, Navarre Trading Company and the other Aquamarine people are small players, not worth mentioning.” Mr. Ed’s wrinkles deepened. “Besides, only the Flora are obsessed with the ostentatious displays of the nouveau riche.”

Upon hearing this, Anna covered her mouth and chuckled—it seems that no matter when or where, jokes about regional discrimination always have the magical power to make listeners smile.

No wonder some allies commented so harshly: whenever the people of the Azure gather to chat, they always spend a third of their time insulting the people of Flora, another third insulting the people of Hundred Flowers City, and yet another third insulting each of the other allied city-states one by one. Only the last little bit of time is used to talk about serious matters.

However, it took Winters, who had studied in the federal provinces for many years, a while to understand the joke.

The carriage stopped outside the hall, and Mr. Ed nodded in greeting before getting out.

Only the Baron and Baron remained in the car. Anna, sitting next to Winters, suddenly hesitated and, unusually, showed a hint of panic.

Winters took Anna's hand, squeezed it, and said nothing.

If a human being lives in the open wilderness for too long, he will experience inexplicable fear and unease when he returns to the city.

It's a feeling of being disconnected from the world, or you could say it's the shock of "stepping from one world into another."

Winters understands this all too well; each time he returns to "civilized society," he has to silently adapt for a long time.

Anna looked at Winters, and without them saying a word, their eyes met, and Winters had already conveyed what he wanted to say to Anna.

Anna smiled and nodded, so Winters gently shook Anna's hand again and stepped out of the carriage first.

Anna, who remained inside the carriage, took a deep breath, then put on a polite smile and stepped down from the carriage, taking the hand that Winters offered.

The exterior of the main building of the Este Palace is decorated with stone columns, arches and reliefs, making it grand and solemn. It is quite different from the "narrow windows and thick walls" style of Monta, and is no different from the grand manor houses on the outskirts of Aquamarine that Winters had seen.

It was as if a god had exerted his power to move a building from the Venetian Tower to the Steel Castle.

Looking at the brightly lit Ester mansion, Winters had the strange feeling that he was in the blue sea.

However, the high doors and long corridors of Venetian houses were for ventilation and heat dissipation, while the houses of Monta people used thick walls and narrow windows to keep warm.

Kaman, riding alone in the second carriage, appeared behind Winters. Seeing Winters standing still, Kaman frowned and asked, "[Old saying] What's wrong?"

“[Old saying] It’s nothing.” Winters shook his head and extended his hand to Anna.

Anna took Winters' arm, the two smiled at each other, and walked through the main entrance.

Upon entering the building, Winters realized that his expectations were completely unnecessary: ​​the interior was not cold at all, but rather comfortable and warm, quite unlike the outside.

Winters instinctively surveyed the terrain and discovered that while the Ester House maintained the Venetta style on the outside, it had undergone extensive internal modifications to adapt to the climate of the mountainous country.

For example, no gaps or openings could be found in the doors, windows, or walls that were visible to the naked eye. Any possible gaps were carefully sealed with felt strips, and even the door frames and the edges of the doors were reinforced with thick woolen fabric.

The large windows facing the garden are made of square pieces of transparent glass, making the banquet hall appear more spacious and open, similar to the window structure of the Château de Navarre.

However, unlike the Château de Navarre, which Winters only discovered upon entering, the Château de Esther had an ingenious double-walled exterior.

The two exterior walls are identical, both with glass windows that ensure both natural light and insulation. Between the walls is a corridor wide enough for three people to walk side by side, covered with a dark red carpet.

Winters couldn't help but chuckle self-deprecatingly.

Anna asked with her eyes.

Winters turned his head slightly and whispered to Anna, "[Old saying] Isn't it amusing to question a stonemason's livelihood with your cleverness?"

Anna, as if guided by a premonition, asked, "[Old language] This house?"

Winters nodded.

In fact, Winters had not yet discovered the truly brilliant design of the Ester House.

In a location unseen by Winters, within the thick stone walls, the master stonemasons who built the house laid a circulation system using techniques for constructing underground drainage systems.

As long as the fire in the water tower burns brightly, hot water can flow throughout the entire building like blood, driving the chill out of the hall and bedrooms.

It is precisely because of those walls that radiate heat that the Esther House can maintain a comfortable temperature like a summer evening even in the howling wind.

“However, too many windows are not good for defense,” Winters thought. “The bushes in the garden can also become cover for attackers. If I were to guard this place, the first thing I would do is dig up those unsightly trees. The stone house itself is sturdy enough, hmm… dig a moat around it, set up a few cannons, and level the ground, and that should be enough.”

"[Old saying] What are you thinking about again?" Kaman asked indifferently, emphasizing each word: "[Old saying] Your Excellency, Baron."

“[Old saying] I also thought of some happy things,” Winters replied with a smile.

At the servant's announcement, Winters, arm in arm with Anna, walked through the second door and into the hall.

The hall, decorated with brocade and sculptures, seemed somewhat empty, probably because not all the guests had arrived yet.

A dark-haired man who looked to be in his early thirties got up from the couch, left the small group of people chatting by the fireplace, and walked towards Winters and Anna.

The dark-haired man wore an embroidered jacket and tight stockings. His upper lip and chin were clean-shaven, and his hair was meticulously combed. He wasn't fat, but he wasn't exactly muscular either, and his steps were somewhat unsteady—probably due to excessive drinking and womanizing.

His face had a pampered pallor, a characteristic of skin that had never been exposed to the scorching sun or the biting wind.

Although he had a slightly delicate and frail demeanor, the black-haired man wore a calm and confident smile.

If nothing unexpected happens, he should be the owner of this mansion—the famous "White Eagle".

The dark-haired man walked straight up to Winters and Anna, openly observing Anna.

Staring at a married woman for an extended period of time is undoubtedly offensive, especially when her husband is standing right next to her.

However, the dark-haired man brazenly looked Anna up and down, as if Winters didn't exist at all.

After a moment, the black-haired man withdrew his aggressive gaze, but still stared intently at Anna.

He began by greeting Anna with a languid, soft Florian accent: "[Old saying] Noble lady, even in Florian on the shores of the Inner Sea and in Steel Castle a thousand miles away, I have heard of your courage, wisdom and beauty."

Before Winters could react, his attendant, Kaman, had already frowned.

The greeting may seem like just a polite remark, but to those who know the inside story, the words "bravery," "wisdom," and "beauty" are all loaded with hidden meanings and veiled implications.

Kaman stared worriedly at Winters's retreating figure, secretly gripping the Holy Symbol, his fingertips trembling slightly.

Anna remained calm and smiled, retorting, "[Old saying] So my wisdom and beauty can only come after courage, Mr. Esther?"

White Eagle was taken aback for a moment, then revealed a genuine smile.

“[Old saying] No, no, no, esteemed lady, your wisdom far surpasses your courage.” White Eagle took Anna’s hand with his characteristically intimate and dashing gesture, and lowered his head to kiss it lightly: “[Old saying] Your beauty surpasses your wisdom even more.”

“[Old saying] Thank you.” Anna lifted her skirt slightly and returned the greeting with a smile.

At this moment, other guests arrived. White Eagle politely exchanged a few pleasantries with Winters before heading off to greet the new guests.

Kaman let out a long breath, and Winters turned around and looked at Kaman strangely.

“[Old saying] Let’s go.” Anna gently pulled Winters’ arm, a lively smile playing on her lips. “[Old saying] Let’s go admire the ‘Flora’ collection.”

As she spoke, Anna led Winters to the edge of the hall and examined the oil paintings of white eagles hanging up one by one.

……

For some reason, it seems that the cleaner the wall, the more it needs to be decorated. It's as if humans feel uncomfortable when they see a bare wall.

In their choice of decorations, the imperial nobles favored weapons, armor, and spoils of war, while the Venetians and the United Provinces preferred paintings.

The paintings can be further subdivided. Most Protestant Canadians favor still life paintings, where flowers, apples, and even bread baskets can be framed; or they may record moments of life: a milkmaid pouring milk, a housewife returning from the market... In contrast, Venetta, whose Catholics are the majority, prefers religious themes, using her brush to recreate stories from the scriptures; there are also historical themes, such as the process of welcoming the remains of St. Mark.

The different preferences for paintings are closely related to the social atmosphere.

The Venetians disliked still life paintings for their dull subject matter and uninteresting content; similarly, the United Provinces would never have displayed ancient goddesses with bare breasts and minimal clothing on their walls.

Just as the Venetians disliked the conservative and stubborn United Statesmen, the United Statesmen despised the Venetians for their extravagance and debauchery.

Of course, neither still life paintings nor religious paintings are truly mainstream subjects.

The truly dominant paintings, hanging on the wall of the hall of the Estèphe mansion, stare directly at Winters and Anna—they are portraits.

……

Upon seeing the ninth—or perhaps tenth—portrait of some unknown "White Eagle," Anna commented: "[Old saying] Hmm...very 'Flora' style."

In the context of the residents of Hailan, the terms "[Flora people]" and "[Chief Hed]" are similar, both carrying connotations of vulgarity, low taste, and nouveau riche.

The animosity between the Hailan and Flora people has a long history, the most direct cause being trade disputes during the city-state era. However, a closer examination reveals that it can even be traced back to several wars in ancient times.

However, as a seasoned victim of regional discrimination, Winters harbored no particular animosity towards the Flora. This was because when he was studying in Guido, the United Provinces typically lumped all Venetas together, labeling them all as dissolute and extravagant.

Winters decided to say something fair: "[Old saying] just a few portraits."

“[Old saying] It’s not just a few portraits, my lord.” Anna corrected with a smile: “[Old saying] Judging from the technique, the first few paintings are hard to tell are of people. They are at least two hundred years old… probably the work of some slave painter.”

"[Old saying] So?"

"[Old saying] Two hundred years ago, what was the pigment that had hardly faded except for accumulating dust?"

A sudden unease washed over Winters. Ms. Navarre wouldn't ask questions beyond her comprehension; if she did, it meant Winters knew the answer…or rather, he should remember it.

Winters racked his brains and finally found the answer in a corner of his memory: "[Old word] lapis lazuli."

“[Old saying] Yes, isn’t it enough for the Flora to have clumsy painters use precious lapis lazuli to paint?” Anna praised with a smile, “[Old saying] I only told you this once, and you still remember it.”

Winters coughed lightly: "[The old saying] was twice. Once was in Oceania, after the celebration parade, when I bought the painting for you; the other was at Mitchell Estate in Wolftown."

Anna didn't say anything more, but simply tightened her grip on Winters' arm.

Kaman, standing behind the two, had a dark expression on his face and asked gruffly, "[Old saying] Can I get a drink, Your Excellency?"

"[Old saying] Monks can drink alcohol?" Winters asked deliberately.

“[Old saying] Of course you can.” Kaman said expressionlessly, “[Old saying] But right now I just want some ice water.”

After speaking, Kaman bowed and strode to the other end of the hall.

After Kaman left, Anna pulled Winters to look at a few more paintings, but felt a bit bored: "[Old saying] They're all portraits of 'da Este,' I'm not looking anymore."

Winters scanned the hall and joked, "[Old saying] With so many portraits, did the White Eagles move all of them here?"

“[Old saying] Because paint is expensive.” Anna said matter-of-factly, “[Old saying] Painters don’t paint for themselves, but for their clients, so naturally there are many portraits. Behind a complete colored work may be dozens of sketches, and those sketches without paint are the real works of the painter.”

Winters was jolted awake by the memory of the uncolored line drawings in Anna's sketchbook. He felt guilty and wanted to say something, but ultimately swallowed his apology.

“[Old saying] I can also paint a portrait of you.” Anna whispered in her ear, “[Old saying] For free.”

Winters, who had just been feeling frustrated, was suddenly reminded of some terrible memories. He shook his head vigorously: "[Old saying] No, no, no, I won't, I'll talk about it another time, later..."

“[Old saying] Humph.” Anna’s tone was full of disappointment. She drew out the last word and reminded her, “[Old saying] In the future, we will have plenty of time.”

“[Old saying] That’s right, why rush things?” Winters immediately agreed.

Anna squeezed Winters' arm hard, then sighed, and said with a smile, "[Old saying] Alright! I should hand you over now!"

"[Old saying] Hand it over?" Winters asked, puzzled. "[Old saying] What does that mean?"

"[Old saying] You have your circle of gentlemen, I have my circle of ladies, it's time to hand you over to someone else."

Winters understood what Anna meant, but he wanted to spend more time with her: "[Old saying] I just want to be with you."

Anna's cheeks flushed: "[Old saying] In this situation, if I keep bothering you, I'll be accused of being jealous, and you'll be seen as henpecked. So, go talk to other gentlemen, go chase after other ladies."

Leaning close to Winters' ear, Anna added kindly, "[Old saying] If you dare, give it a try."

“[Old saying] I don’t know why.” This time it was Winters’ turn to blush: “[Old saying] You look so cute right now that I even want to flirt with other ladies to provoke you.”

Anna was both anxious and angry, and blurted out in her native language, "I'm leaving!"

Anna turned and left Winters' side. She walked past the men who made way for her and strolled to the sofa next to the silver samovar, quickly joining in the ladies' conversation.

I was all alone now—Winters quickly realized this.

To be fair, although Borso da Este owned a magnificent mansion, he was not a competent master, especially when compared to Madame Navarre.

Madame Navarre made every guest feel comfortable and at ease, placed every conversationalist in the most suitable circle, and ensured that no one felt neglected.

Bolso couldn't do it, or rather, he was too lazy to do it.

Therefore, he did not introduce "Baron Granah" to anyone else, nor did he bother to place the Baron in a suitable position. Simply rising to greet him and exchanging a few polite words was already the greatest respect he could show.

Excluding internal banquets during his military academy days, Winters made very few public appearances. As a newcomer to social life, encountering an irresponsible host inevitably leads to predictable consequences.

Winters found himself left hanging.

Carlo Ed was chatting with several other elderly men; Anna, among the ladies of Steel Castle, was hardly recognizable as a Venetian; even Kaman was having a pleasant conversation at a long table at the far end of the hall.

Winters assessed the situation and decided he could either go have a drink with Kaman, casually blend into a small group of people chatting, or stay put and continue to admire the majestic white eagles.

As he was still considering which path was less painful, a servant of the Ester family approached him and said politely, “Sir, please follow me. A gentleman wishes to see you.”

“[Old saying] Who wants to see me?” Winters asked.

The servant blinked in confusion and repeated, "Sir, please follow me. A gentleman wishes to see you."

Winters chuckled and took out a gold coin: "[Old saying] Answer my question, and it's yours."

The servant glanced at the gold coins, then at Winters, and repeated for the third time, as clearly as possible, "Sir, please follow me. A gentleman wishes to see you."

Winters considered for a moment, tapped the gold coin in his palm, and nodded.

The servant led the way, with Winters following cautiously, and the two left the hall one after the other.

At the end of the corridor between the two outer walls, Winters finally saw the inviter's face—a tall, thin, middle-aged man with tired eyes.

On the windowsill in front of the middle-aged man were a wine bottle, a wine glass, and a bucket of ice.

There was another wine glass in the middle-aged man's hand, with very little of the pale golden liquid left in it.

The middle-aged man poured himself half a glass of wine, then poured half a glass of wine into the empty glass that was not in use, and gestured for Winters to take it away.

Winters made no move.

The middle-aged man smiled, took a sip of the liquid in his glass, and then handed the glass to Winters.

Even so, Winters merely accepted the glass with his left hand—the gold coin was still tapped in his right palm.

The middle-aged man picked up the unused wine glass, took a sip, looked out at the garden, and asked casually, "Which class are you in?"

"[Old saying] What?"

"Don't play dumb." The middle-aged man glanced at Winters, took off a ring and placed it on the windowsill, revealing a mocking smile: "Which class of the Army Academy?"

[Should this be considered a major chapter?]
[Regarding painting, before the widespread availability of cheap pigments, painting was an expensive undertaking. Unlike the image of artists today, artists of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the early bourgeois revolutions were more like "craftsmen."]
[Because whether it's painting or sculpture, the client places the order first, and then the painter begins work. For example, Michelangelo was commissioned to paint the ceiling of the Vatican and was invited to create the Pietà sculpture.]
Very few painters—usually those from wealthy families—are able to create freely; most are assigned works. Because free creation gets no market. Rembrandt's *The Night Watch* was originally an assigned portrait, but Rembrandt improvised and painted it as a "patrol." Today we consider it a masterpiece, but Rembrandt's patrons were furious, directly causing his reputation to plummet and ultimately leading to his impoverished later years.
[That's why so many famous artists of that era left behind portrait paintings, because portrait painting was a very common business; many painters earned their living by painting portraits, and portrait painting was also a daily task for court painters.]
[What should a painter with limited funds do?]
[1. Uncolored (most painters leave behind a large number of uncolored sketches or freehand drawings)]
[Secondly, use inexpensive pigments. If blue is expensive, don't use blue; if purple is expensive, don't use purple. If all else fails, you can use indigo (but organic pigments will gradually fade due to oxidation)].
[Thank you to all the readers for your collections, reading, subscriptions, recommendations, monthly tickets, rewards, and comments. Thank you everyone!]
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(End of this chapter)