Cornflower Witch

Chapter 407 Family Secrets

In the evening, a horse-drawn carriage arrived at the apartment building on Narcissus Street.

Soon after, Hiltiya came downstairs, bid farewell to her two friends, and boarded the carriage.

"Come back tonight, remember to be careful." Aurora waved to the girl in the car.

Although the Asura district is generally safe, the events that have occurred over the past six months have made the three of them feel unsafe and they have become much more cautious.

“I know.” Hiltiya nodded, then lowered the curtain.

The black carriage carried Hiltia away. Compared to the roaring steam locomotive, this improved high-end carriage was more comfortable to ride in. If they were not in a hurry, most wealthy people would still choose the traditional carriage.

Furthermore, regarding carriages, the people of this world have developed a fairly sophisticated rating system, which clearly ranks carriages based on their structural materials, decorations, and the animals that pull them.

The carriage that Hilti is currently riding in is equipped with two 'Red-Maned Court Horses', which are 'Tier 1 Blood Law' and are quite expensive. Compared to ordinary horses, Court Horses are much gentler and smarter, easy to train, and have a high degree of obedience. They are also handsome and are a new breed that has been continuously bred and cultivated by the nobles of the Ninth Era. They are very popular among the wealthy and powerful.

With its superior horse breed, black walnut wood body, and exquisitely decorated red copper ornaments, this carriage is considered a rare mid-to-high-end vehicle in the Asla region. The next level up would be a carriage equipped with a second-tier war beast, and as for a carriage equipped with a third-tier beast, that's something ordinary people can't even see. Perhaps Aurora's main family has a few spares, but as the legitimate daughter, Aurora can't just use them casually.

Twenty minutes later, the carriage stopped in front of the 'Night Fragrance' guild hall on Beetle Street. Then, a servant in a black uniform opened the carriage door and let the beautiful young woman inside, who was lifting her skirt, slowly step down.

This was her second time here, but this time Siltia didn't have any missions to perform. She looked up at the lit-up sign on the hall and then went inside.

It was an ordinary banquet, attended mostly by acquaintances and friends of the Fox family, and the atmosphere was relaxed.

Banquets are generally divided into three types. The first type is banquets for important matters, such as weddings, celebrations, political negotiations, etc. The second type is a regular gathering of the wealthy, used to connect with each other, socialize and relax, without any important purpose. The third type involves fewer people, mostly very close friends or close relatives.

This banquet was clearly the second type, because the Fox family owns a stake in 'Night Fragrance' and often holds banquets here, usually once or twice a month.

The dim lighting in the venue created a relaxing atmosphere. Guests chatted in small groups around the tables, and occasionally, when the mood struck them, they would join their partners on the dance floor for a song.

After entering, Hilti looked around and found that most of the guests were older, while young people like her, under twenty or in their twenties, only made up a small portion.

Instead of asking the waiter where Walnut was, she walked quietly through the dimly lit banquet hall, selecting her favorite fruits and desserts to enjoy.

Since we're already here, let's eat something first. If we're socializing with people later, we probably won't even have a chance to eat. After all, it's a bit impolite to eat while others are talking.

As expected of a family whose main business is pastries and food, the quality of the food here is quite good, with many items reaching the 'Tier 1 Excellent' quality. Even a small piece of pastry costs close to 1 gold coin, and the entire banquet would cost at least 500-600 gold coins. However, it seems that this level of banquet is the norm for the Fox family.

After enjoying some snacks and fruit, Hiltiya saw a mature noblewoman walking into the venue arm in arm with Walnut. Many guests went up to greet her, some to express their gratitude, some to catch up and chat, and some to discuss business.

Seeing that the crowd was getting a bit crowded, Hiltiya didn't go forward and continued to sit at the small round table to the side, enjoying her snacks.

About half an hour later, the noblewoman finally glanced at the guests who had gathered around her. Then, prompted by her niece, she spotted Hilti in a distant corner.

With a slight nod, the noblewoman in a long black dress with red trim walked over and sat down opposite Hilti.

"Hello, I'm Mared. Welcome, Miss Hedra, to this banquet," she introduced herself simply.

“Hello, Mrs. Mared,” Hiltiya put down the food in her hand and responded politely.

The lady then exchanged a few more polite questions and conversations before gently beckoning Hu Tao, who was standing to the side, to come over.

"I have some things to take care of today, so I'll have to leave Hu Tao with Hedra. I hope you two have a pleasant chat." With that, she got up to say goodbye and went to meet her old friends at the banquet.

Seeing her aunt leave, Hu Tao, who had just sat down, quickly relaxed, and the corners of her eyes returned to their usual slightly upturned look. She waved to the maid following behind her, and then the maid poured her favorite iced wine.

"Would you like some, Hedra?" She gestured to the glass in her hand, which held clear rosy wine that wafted in the air and emitted a faint, delicate fragrance. The aroma was subtle yet refreshing and quite rare.

“This is my favorite starberry liqueur, would you like to try it?” she introduced to Silti.

After speaking, she instructed her maid to pour a small cup for Hilti, then brought it over. Taking the cup, the girl sniffed it; it emitted a rare berry fragrance and a slightly sweet taste. Filled with curiosity, Hilti took a small sip.

The cool sensation spreads from the tip of the tongue to the throat, as if you can smell the fresh scent of the mountains after the rain. The sweetness is mixed with a slight bitterness, which makes you feel refreshed. Finally, the bitterness dissipates and turns into a light sweetness, which makes you feel quite novel.

"How is it? It's pretty good, isn't it?" Hu Tao smiled as she watched Xilutiya taste it.

“It is very special.” Hiltiya nodded.

After exchanging a few polite words, Hu Tao brought up their previous meeting.

“Last time you came to the banquet, you ate cookies and ice cream together. I tried it later and it was great. How about we try making a new product using this idea?”

That must be the ice cream cone I knew from my past life, Hilti quickly realized. But it seems this world doesn't have that kind of idea yet; ice cream is the one that appeared earlier.

In the past, before the Industrial Revolution, artificial refrigeration and ice making were very troublesome, so ice cream was invented relatively late. Now, with the help of extraordinary forces, although the common people are still suffering, the upper class has already tried many new tricks.

"Sure, but I'm not good at these things. I just came up with that way of eating on a whim." Hilti didn't care much about this little idea.

"Alright, I'll have someone research it then. By the way, what name do you think would be good?"

An ice cream cone? That's too ordinary.

Naming it after someone? It doesn't seem like it would be easy to spread.

Perhaps they could work on ice cream; the girl quickly thought of the familiar spherical ice cream.

"Let's call it 'Smooth Snowball'. We can match the colors according to different flavors, so that buyers can not only enjoy the delicious taste, but also get a better visual effect, making it easier to promote." Soon, Hilti suggested several flavor combinations.

"...cream with purple vanilla, midsummer berries, white berries, and so on." She said casually, not finding anything special about it, but the maid opposite her was quite focused on memorizing all of these ingredients.

After discussing the ice cream, their conversation gradually shifted to the banquet.

It was clear that Hu Tao wanted to get along with her, but this pampered young lady, who was used to being pampered, never bothered to please others. As a result, Hu Tao ended up constantly introducing her family's businesses and their impressive and famous places.

This is her area of ​​expertise, where guests often feel awe or ingratiation towards her family background, making the conversation easier and more relaxed.

Fortunately, this time Hilti was indeed quite interested in the Fox family, and responded to each sentence one by one, allowing Kurumi to immerse herself in the conversation.

"Then where did that mysterious giant fire fox come from at the 'Fox Feast'?" The two finally started talking about the legend of the Fox family's ancestors.

"Many people are concerned about this issue, hehe." Hu Tao smiled, lightly covering her face with her folding fan.

“Indeed, if it weren’t for that mysterious fox, our family probably wouldn’t have achieved what we have today.” She closed her folding fan, rested it lightly on her wrist, and then recalled what her family members had said.

“According to my grandfather, that fox did have a special connection with our family. The dragon meat in its mouth did not come out of thin air, but was obtained from a powerful warrior after our ancestor saved him. At that time, the warrior was covered in dragon blood, his weapon was broken, and only half of the dragon's tail remained beside him.”

"That was a powerful warrior capable of slaying dragons. Our ancestor guessed that the other party's strength might be at the seventh level, but he was not sure, because the warrior died not long after being revived."

"Although he defeated the unknown dragon, he was also seriously injured. After being discovered, the matter was reported to the family ancestor, who then revived him."

"After the warrior recovered briefly, he knew he wouldn't live much longer, so he made many arrangements before he died. The fox was summoned by him through some special ritual."

"During the ceremony, the dragon's tail was cut into several pieces by the warriors. We don't know where some of the pieces went, but he specially left one piece and gave it to the fox, saying it was a thank you to our ancestors. The reason he didn't give it directly to our ancestors was because our family was relatively weak at that time and couldn't protect such a precious thing."

"What followed was the well-known 'Fox Feast,' in which our family summoned the fire fox through a special means, and it delivered the promised piece of dragon meat."

Hu Tao spoke casually about her family's secrets, it was unclear whether this was because it was no longer important, or simply because the young lady didn't realize that this was a history that should be kept secret.

(End of this chapter)