Chapter 37 Carnival 02

Villanova, located on the cliffs of the West Coast, is a seaport city with a long history.

The streets in the city are well-organized, winding between wet rocks and ancient bricks, and the air is filled with the smell of salty sea breeze all year round. White seagulls hover over the city, occasionally passing over the sea and diving into the bay with surging waves.

It is precisely because of this unique geographical location that the city has been able to escape danger many times during turbulent times, and it has also become one of the earliest residences of royal power.

According to legend, the first King of Lodevia was crowned on the top of this cliff. Since then, Villanova has been called the "Royal City" and gradually developed into the political and power center of the kingdom.

***

At this time, on the official road leading to the royal city, a large convoy was moving slowly forward.

The wheels rolled over the gravel with a steady, low rhythm.

Zhu Yu leaned against the car window, slightly opened the curtain, and looked at the increasingly clear silhouette of the city by the sea.

This time, she did not choose to enter the city in a low-key manner, but instead, she openly brought four or five motorcades with her on the pretext of being "invited by royal nobles."

At the front was a carriage with the Gold Cup Tavern logo printed on it, with wine barrels placed steadily inside it, swaying slightly with the carriage.

On this journey, in addition to her close confidants, Maggie and Betty, Zhu Yu also brought along Mrs. Janet, who had not been seen for a long time, Sera, and several powerful secret society wizards who were specially transferred from various places.

As for the last train of carriages, it was under the banner of the "Noble Guard" and was led by Lin Ji.

Zhu Yu also stuffed some unfamiliar faces into the guard group - these people were other players who recognized Zhu Yu's identity in the dungeon and took the initiative to join him.

Zhu Yu did not refuse these players from joining.

The closer we get to the royal city, the more confusing the situation becomes.

These players each play different roles in the copy, and perhaps they can be of unexpected use in the next game.

Seeing the high walls and spires of the royal city looming in the horizon ahead, Zhu Yu turned his head and told Maggie beside him:

"Remind everyone to talk less after entering the city."

Maggie nodded slightly and lowered her eyes in response.

Not far away on the stone road in front of the city gate, a row of roosting seagulls seemed to be disturbed by the noise of the wheels rolling on the ground. They flapped their wings, flew across the blue sky, and flew towards the city wall.

***

The moment the carriage drove into the gate of Villanova, Zhu Yu noticed something was wrong.

Although the carnival is approaching, the whole city is eerily quiet.

Although the announcement in the royal city claimed that "Carnival is coming soon", most of the shops along the street closed their doors and windows, and even sealed the doors with wooden boards, leaving only a small opening for ventilation. There were a few taverns and hotels that were still open, but there were only a few people inside. The owners and waiters wore heavy masks and stared at strangers passing by on the street with vigilance.

Patrolling soldiers can be seen everywhere in the city, wearing armor and looking tense, as if they are ready to suppress any riots at any time.

As Zhu Yu lifted a corner of the car curtain, a faint smell of disinfectant hit him in the face.

The smell mixed with the dust on the street was carried into the nostrils by the wind, making people hold their breath involuntarily.

She covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief and stuck her head out, and found that the bulletin board at the intersection was full of notices. Below a few yellowed arrest warrants were the latest epidemic prevention guidelines and prohibitions, such as "no gatherings", "no going out unless necessary", "report any symptoms immediately", etc.

The scene in Villanova was in stark contrast to the Dionysian festival she had experienced not long ago.

Although there were incidents of wine being swapped and plague nearly breaking out during the Dionysian Festival, the festive atmosphere in that city was still enthusiastic. Fireworks bloomed in the night sky, beer flowed on the streets, countless people raised their glasses to drink and sing to their heart's content... It was a real carnival for the people.

The Villanova before them, which was obviously the center of power and the richest city in the kingdom, was like a cage shrouded in dark clouds. Even the seagulls hovering on the eaves seemed to sense the depressing atmosphere and flew towards the seaside far away from the city.

The strong contrast made Zhu Yu frown slightly.

How big a problem is this city hiding?

The convoy drove into the heart of the royal city and was not stopped until the high walls of the palace were right in front of them.

"No passage ahead."

A middle-aged man wearing a neat dark blue uniform and a silver badge stepped forward and spoke.

Zhu Yu heard the servant behind him whisperingly call him "Master Butler Elton".

"Ms. Draka, you are very welcome."

Butler Elton bowed slightly. Although his tone was polite, it also revealed a hint of condescending indifference. "For the safety of the royal family, foreign motorcades are not allowed to enter the palace. Please get off the car and walk in."

Zhu Yu naturally sensed the contempt and temptation hidden in the other party's tone.

But she didn't say much on the spot, she lifted her skirt and got off the carriage.

"Nora, bring the wine down."

Nora hurriedly took several winery workers to unload barrels of beer with golden cup emblems from the carriage.

Zhu Yu specially prepared a considerable amount of goods for this wine tasting event in Wangcheng. Each barrel was sealed tightly, and the outer layer of the barrel was waxed and sealed with ropes to preserve it properly.

However, as soon as she entered the palace, she found that the epidemic prevention measures in the palace were much stricter than she had expected.

On both sides of the long corridor stood a row of doctors wearing black robes and beak-shaped masks, wrapped tightly from head to toe. The air was filled with a strong smell of herbs and alcohol, which made people's eyes sore.

When the young Avella saw the doctor wearing a crow's mouth mask walking towards her, she couldn't help but let out a cry and quickly hid behind Zhu Yu, muttering:

"Are they human? Why do they look like evil spirits that have risen from hell?"

Zhu Yu heard Avella's complaints and knew that the scene in front of him reminded her of the terrifying experience in Rose Manor.

So she touched Avella's head and comforted her:

"Don't be afraid. These people are the palace's epidemic prevention doctors. They are just dressed a little scary."

Having said that, Zhu Yu soon discovered that these people's epidemic prevention procedures were even more stringent than Mrs. Gwen's.

She immediately experienced the strictness of the so-called "Royal City Standards".

These crow-beaked doctors first sprayed her with chemicals for disinfection, and used silver needles to test her body temperature and blood samples; even the accessories she was wearing had to be temporarily taken away and sealed.

Zhu Yu calmly cooperated with the doctor's examination and did not show any impatience.

When it was their turn to carry the barrels, the leading doctor, a crow-beaked doctor, said:

"To prevent the wine from being contaminated during transportation, all sealed barrels must be unsealed on the spot and transferred to the palace's spare clean containers for secondary disinfection."

"But once the wax seal is opened, it will destroy the fermentation environment of the beer and affect the taste."

Nora immediately retorted: "These are the best tasting and quality wines in our tavern."

Doctor Crow's Mouth glanced over coldly:

“Are you questioning the palace’s quarantine standards?”

"You--!" Nora was so angry that she was speechless for a moment.

Zhu Yu interrupted them.

"All of these wines are produced by the Golden Cup Tavern. They have been sterilized and sealed beforehand, so there is absolutely no possibility that the wine will be contaminated. Moreover, they are all brewed for the king and nobles. If you open the seals and the taste becomes worse, and the king is unhappy, can you guarantee the consequences?"

Doctor Crow's Mouth was speechless for a moment. It was obvious that he did not have the courage to make a promise.

Zhu Yu thought about how his beer was almost swapped at the Dionysus Festival, and his tone became a little colder:

"You can insist on changing the container, but it's best to ask the king first. Otherwise, if something goes wrong with this batch of wine during the conversion, I don't want to be blamed for your decision."

Butler Elton looked at her with a more scrutinizing look in his eyes, as if he was reassessing the importance of the young lady in front of him.

"Never mind, this will do."

After a moment, Butler Elton waved his hand and turned to order: "Keep these barrels sealed and send them directly to the palace. The rest of the people should be dealt with according to the plague standards."

After going through tedious epidemic prevention inspection procedures, Zhu Yu and his party finally entered the palace.

The royal family arranged a spacious independent residence for Zhu Yu.

The carved columns are all white, and the window frames are inlaid with colored glass. When the lights are projected on them at night, it looks like a prayer wall in a church.

The interior is covered with thick wool carpets and there is a constant fire in the fireplace.

Silver fruit plates, gold-rimmed wine glasses, and the rare spices and fabrics that can be found everywhere, all give no hint of the epidemic that is raging outside the city.

Zhu Yu stood by the window, looking at the dark night sky in the distance, feeling a little uneasy.

With her current identity, there are always people secretly monitoring her, so she simply uses the same old tricks as when she was in the town of Arce, and lets Betty and others gather intelligence separately under the guise of purchasing and delivering letters.

As it was getting dark, Betty returned and reported to Zhu Yu:

"Miss, our people are subject to many restrictions when moving around the city. Many streets are patrolled by guards and checked... Even the servants have their identity documents checked when entering and leaving."

Zhu Yu frowned and said nothing. There was a slight sound outside the door, and then George pushed the door open and came in.

"Didn't you go to the Knights to visit your friends?" Zhu Yu turned around, "Why didn't you stay there?"

"I didn't go in." George looked a little unhappy. "The guard at the door said that the Knights' Order has been closed and no outsiders are allowed to enter. The friend I wanted to find... I heard that he has also been infected with the plague and has been isolated."

Zhu Yu did not ask any further questions.

She just looked out the window at the dark night again, as if the entire royal city was shrouded in some invisible haze.

After the two men withdrew, Lady Janet entered the room.

She finally brought Zhu Yu some unexpected good news.

"We found something," she said with excitement and caution in her tone. "It seems that Queen Helena had a huge fluctuation of magical power before her death. Several wizards and I tracked that fluctuation and found the source."

"Where?" Zhu Yu asked anxiously.

"In an abandoned palace." Janet lowered her voice. "It looked like it was hastily evacuated. The dust wasn't very deep, but the layout was intact. And the strange thing was that no one else in the palace wanted to get close to that palace, so we were able to sneak in so smoothly."

Zhu Yu: "Did you find anything after you went in?"

"There aren't many things except this." Janet opened the box in her hand and took out a crystal ball. "We found it in the secret box on Queen Helena's dressing table."

"Crystal ball?" Zhu Yu looked puzzled.

"That's right." Janet nodded. "According to tradition, many prophecy wizards will seal their memories, prophecies or important images in this medium. Although Queen Helena is a curse wizard, the maid who has been with her for many years is a prophecy wizard. We guess that she has left some important memories in the crystal ball."

"Have you tried reading it?"

"I tried, but there was no response." Janet shook her head. "If the recorder only allows certain people to see the content, then unless you are the person she designated, you won't be able to see anything at all."

Mrs. Janet handed over the crystal ball and looked at Zhu Yu seriously.

"Helena had the closest relationship with you when she was alive, so I think you are the designated recipient."

Zhu Yu took the crystal ball, and as soon as his fingertips touched the cold crystal surface, he felt a subtle wave seeping into his veins from the palm of his hand.

The next moment, the crystal ball lit up with a soft light.

Her vision was pulled into a blurry picture.

In the foggy palace, Queen Helena, with a pale face and wearing a loose robe, stood in the center of a magic circle.

On the other side, the furious king suddenly drew his sword and rushed towards her.

The scene paused, and the sword pierced Helena's chest.

Blood splattered, the image in the crystal ball suddenly blurred, and then some kind of whispering spell echoed in the palace.

As the last spell fell, a twisted look of pain suddenly appeared on the king's face. Dark red spots quickly spread across his skin, and the ministers beside him screamed in shock, and the scene instantly became chaotic.

The picture ends here, and the crystal ball returns to silence.

Zhu Yu slowly came back to his senses from the broken image, a rare shock appearing in his eyes.

What shocked her was not the blood and chaos presented in the crystal ball, but the fact that the sound of the spell was exactly the same as the female voice that said "Close your eyes when it is dark" when she first entered the copy!

And if she was not mistaken, the source of the voice came from the dying Queen Helena.