The black sun hangs high

Chapter 72 Dinner Party
Although Hugh has now largely accepted his new identity and has even continued Hugh Ernst's original "work" in his creative endeavors, this does not mean that he has truly accepted the works he has created.

At least until now, Hughes has not been able to get used to discussing his novels with others directly.

As a magic scholar with both keen intellect and keen senses, Verin discovered this long ago.

And she is also very good at using this.

She was delighted to see Hugh's frustrated expression when discussing the topic, as it gave her a similar sense of pleasure as witnessing a wondrous magical reaction.

However, Veraine did not continue to "make things difficult" for Hugh. She looked Hugh up and down and then chuckled: "It seems that Mr. Hugh is ready to face his readers in Borden?"

Hugh countered, "It seems Miss Veraine wants to offer some advice on my outfit?"

"No suggestions, it's good enough as it is... at least enough to deal with those ladies."

The two, already quite familiar with each other, exchanged a few simple jokes, after which Hugh asked, "It's getting late, Miss Vera, are you planning to have dinner?"

"Of course we had the waiters bring it up. We couldn't leave the room anyway, could we?"

"not necessarily."

Hugh shook his head: "I checked the situation in the garden and on the street outside. Right now, the Adlon Hotel is probably under martial law."

Upon hearing this, Weilin immediately became serious, her relaxed eyebrows furrowing slightly: "Hmm? What happened?"

"It's not going to be dangerous."

Hugh walked to the window and looked once again at the vast garden of the Adlon Hotel and the street outside the hotel gate. At this time, although pedestrians and vehicles had reappeared on the foreign guests' avenue, their number and density were still very limited.

"It seems that some important person has arrived, so a short-term curfew was imposed on the surrounding area."

Vera also went to the window. She carefully observed what was outside and then said, "You mean, this 'important person' might be the one who 'invited' us to the hotel?"

"Perhaps, I can't be sure."

Hugh turned to look at the magic clock on the wall, which was shaped like a chubby highland owl with its eyes squinting, looking like it was secretly observing others, making it look quite endearing.

It is now close to 8 p.m.

"However, if that important person really intends to talk to us about something, then a belated dinner might be a good option."

Weilin frowned. Just as she was about to say something, a clear bell suddenly rang out in the living room.

"A visitor has arrived."

Hugh raised an eyebrow at Vera, then walked towards the living room door. As the door opened, a familiar figure appeared before Hugh and Vera.

Finn, the elven receptionist from before, was now standing at the door, but he had changed out of the hotel receptionist uniform and into a sharp suit, typical of the butlers of the Wotel nobles. He even wore white gloves and a monocle, and a golden eagle claw pendant hung on his chest.

Seeing this, Hughes naturally adjusted his tone: "Mr. Finn, is there anything I can help you with?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Ernst..."

This time, the elf's manners were more meticulous than before, and his demeanor had also changed. After changing into the butler's outfit and wearing the golden eagle claw pendant, Finn's demeanor became solemn and dignified, making it impossible for Hugh and the other to treat him with the same attitude they had towards hotel waiters.

"My conversation with you two was very brief, so please allow me to reintroduce myself."

The mountain elf bowed again, and Hugh noticed that as he bowed, his palm remained gently pressed against the golden eagle claw pendant.

After straightening up, Finn said, "Finn Asarel, the current royal butler of Walter, greets the two distinguished guests and apologizes for having to meet you as a servant in order to avoid leaks and unnecessary alarm."

The tall, slender elf nodded amicably to the two of them: "However, it seems that with your sharp minds, you two guests have probably already guessed what's going on."

Hugh really wanted to shake his head.

He had indeed made considerable mental preparations, but he never expected that the elven waiter who had come to the entrance of the Adron Hotel to greet and guide him would be the current royal steward of the Kingdom of Walter.

"Mr. Finn, may I ask if we can find out which prince or princess wishes to see us?"

The royal butler did not answer; instead, he smiled and raised his hand, saying, "Please follow me, gentlemen."

Hugh and Vera exchanged a brief glance before leaving the room one after the other.

The moment the door closed, the four Ymir Legion soldiers guarding the doorway moved simultaneously, turning around in unison to protect Hugh and the others as they walked towards the end of the corridor.

They were now on the tenth floor of the Adlon Hotel. As they followed Butler Finn to the elevator in the middle of the corridor, Hughes realized that this machine, which was very similar to the old-fashioned elevators he knew, was now also under the control of the Ymir Legion soldiers.

After everyone entered the elevator, the soldier quickly closed the elevator door and picked up the special crystal that served as the magic key, embedding it into the slots that pointed to different floors.

"Let's go to the fifteenth floor."

So Hugh looked at the floor plan on the elevator wall and found that the fifteenth floor belonged to the VIP meeting room, the custom restaurant and the reception room.

The elevator quickly reached the floor.

The carpet on the fifteenth floor was quite different from those on the other floors. The carpet used here was grayish-white and looked like it was woven from the fur of some kind of magical creature. The two sides of the carpet also had black and gold trim that the Voltel people liked.

"You two have only just arrived in Borden today, and your journey must have been very tiring. Therefore, we have specially prepared a sumptuous dinner at the Waterloo Plateau to treat you. We hope you will enjoy it."

As Finn walked, he used his steady, gentle voice to explain to Hugh and his companion the things they needed to pay attention to: "Although His Highness has never liked formalities, as the royal steward, I still feel it is necessary to remind you two not to be too impolite, nor to overstep your bounds."

When Finn uttered the words "Do not overstep the bounds," Hugh clearly felt the emphasis in his tone. Moreover, he also detected an extremely heavy magical fluctuation in the air. Violet, standing nearby, obviously noticed as well; her eyebrows twitched slightly, and then she pursed her lips tightly.

As a mage of the Lake level, she felt a very obvious pressure at this moment.

She knew that the other party was definitely not one of those rare deep-sea level magic masters, but in terms of the concentration of magic power and the level of mastery of magic, the other party was definitely much stronger than her.

But this is normal.

A royal butler is often also the head of the royal guards and their personal bodyguard. Although they have the magician qualification certification of the Legal Council, they are completely independent of the Legal Council. Even Merlinle has no power to command or restrict these magic masters.

They only serve the royal family to which they are loyal.

Under this terrifying intimidation, Hugh decisively suppressed any inappropriate thoughts or ideas in his mind. Under the cold gaze of the Ymir Legion soldiers in the corridor, they finally arrived at their destination.

The restaurant is a customized restaurant; room number 1509.

The restaurant was very large and bright, but the dining tables for entertaining guests were rather small. This was completely different from the tables that nobles used to entertain guests in Hugh's mind. Although the tables were still much larger than ordinary tables, they were still large enough for diners to have close face-to-face conversations.

In the bright light, Hugh and Vera saw a woman.

A woman dressed in an elegant gown, wearing light makeup, and with long brown hair.

She was very beautiful, but Hugh instinctively felt that it was not appropriate to describe her with words like pretty or exquisite. Although her attire and demeanor were very much in line with aristocratic standards, her temperament was more like that of a soldier.

Sharp and calm, like a military knife standing upright in the snowy night, its blade cleaving through the cold wind.

At this moment, both Hugh and Vera's expressions changed noticeably.

Hugh's mind worked at its limit. He painstakingly sifted through Hugh Ernst's memories and found scattered recollections of aristocratic etiquette. He clenched his right fist and pressed it against his left shoulder, while clenching his left fist behind his back. Then he bowed slightly forward.

This can be considered a standard form of Walter aristocratic etiquette.

However, Finn, the elf who served as the royal steward, was not entirely satisfied. He coughed lightly and glanced at Hugh's right foot—according to the most standard etiquette, his right foot should have been moved back slightly by half an inch to show the nobleman's respect and concession to the royal authority.

Hugh's lips twitched slightly, almost imperceptibly.

He never imagined that what a white-haired witcher had experienced in the court would happen to him.

In contrast, Verine perfectly embodied the demeanor of a magical scholar. Her left hand was also behind her back, while her right hand was gently placed on her abdomen. When she bowed, her right foot lightly touched the ground, signifying that scholars would not easily get involved in worldly power struggles, but would instead focus more on the study of magic.

Vera's performance earned her the approving glance of Butler Finn.

While feeling helpless about this, Hugh was also somewhat surprised.

He had previously made many different guesses about the identity of this person behind the scenes, ranging from a potential rival of the Ernst family to an important figure in the military system, and even certain members of the royal family who had a good relationship with Prince Harved...

He certainly didn't overlook Princess Sophia, who was already considered the "designated heir" in the eyes of the people of Walter, but considering the princess's extremely close relationship with the army and the recent turmoil in Walter, Hughes minimized the possibility of her appearing.

"It really is her... But thinking about it carefully, the only person who can have the royal butler by her side and has the authority to directly mobilize the soldiers of the Ymir Legion is her."

Just as Hugh was lost in thought, a clear and cheerful voice rang out.

"Alright, Finn, please stop torturing my guest."

At Princess Sofia's behest, Hughes finally ended his awkward and painful etiquette "punishment." He and Verine straightened up and then, guided by two waiters, went to their seats.

Finn, the butler, was about to speak when Princess Sophia, with her unique demeanor, glanced at him and said, "It's already quite late, and we haven't even started our meal yet. That's not appropriate... Let's proceed with our dinner and conversation in the simplest and quickest way possible!"

The elf butler sighed somewhat helplessly, but he still nodded in the end. Then he raised his hand and snapped his fingers, and the waiters immediately brought the various dishes they had prepared to the table.

"Mr. Hugh, Miss Vera, may I address you as such?"

Princess Sofia's eyes weren't large, but they were extremely bright. Her lips were slightly thin, which always gave people a subtle sense of pressure, but she was still smiling: "Neither of you seem to like using surnames, right?"

Sophia's very first words at the start of the dinner party immediately put an invisible pressure on Hugh.

This statement was quite interesting. Hugh realized that the other party had likely already investigated him thoroughly, and that his and Vera's background was probably no secret to them at all.

"of course can."

After the initial shock and discomfort, Hugh quickly recovered. He smiled and nodded to the princess across the table: "Miss Verine and I have just settled in. It is a great honor to be hosted by His Highness at the Adlon Hotel."

"what?"

Hugh's reaction seemed to surprise Princess Sophia. She leaned forward slightly, a strand of brown hair falling from her ear: "As far as I know, Mr. Hugh, you have never experienced such a scene before, have you? Doesn't it make you nervous to dine with a member of the royal family?"

"Your Highness, I am indeed nervous."

Hughes steadied his heartbeat and breathing slightly and replied, “As a lowly illegitimate child, I am bound to feel nervous when dining with any legitimate nobleman… Therefore, what Your Highness is seeing now is merely a rehearsal for the family dinner that may follow.”

"I like your answer, Mr. Hugh."

Princess Sofia nodded in satisfaction: "However, I need to correct one of your mistakes."

"No matter what your past identity was, when you successfully escaped from the city of Seren, you were no longer lowly."

(End of this chapter)