Derek Palace
Mi came out of the room again. Fried was eating the breakfast provided by the innkeeper. When he saw Mi come out, he quickly swallowed the food in his mouth, wiped his mouth clean, stood up and called out, "Sheila, please prepare breakfast for the master."
“Just give me a cup of tea.” Mi stopped Sheila, who was about to turn and go to the kitchen, and said to Fried, “We’ll go out after you finish your breakfast.”
Fried quickly finished the milk in his cup, then took out a small bag, packed the flour into it, and stood by the rice table: "Sir, I am at your service at any time."
This time, Fried showed Mi around Sun City. Sun City has two circular avenues. The outer one is called the Sun City Ring Road, which encircles the entire city. The inner ring road is called the Royal Circle. Between the two ring roads are numerous alleys and roads, forming a complex road system that runs through the entire city. From Derek Castle, a straight avenue leads to the Royal Theater, followed by Dahlia Square, where the Sun City Lord's Palace is located. From Dahlia Square to Derek Palace is the location of the Royal Circle, which connects the four main avenues of Sun City (east, west, south, and north). It encompasses parts of noble castles, residential areas, administrative buildings, and commercial streets, making it a city within a city.
Fried was walking with Mi on the smaller Royal Circle, where a large number of sanitation workers were sweeping the streets, making them spotless and sprinkling water on them. Women were squatting down, wiping the cobblestone pavement. On either side of the circle were side streets, each more than a meter wide, separated from the main street by two colorful ribbons. At intervals along the streets were flower flags or Royal Derek flags.
"This is a dahlia flag. The dahlia is the national flower of the Flower Kingdom. Everyone in the Flower Kingdom loves dahlias. Anything decorated with a dahlia pattern will be much more expensive," Fried explained as they walked, treating Mi as a new adventurer and introducing everything in detail. The Dahlia Square was piled high with huge flower baskets. Dahlias are large, compound-leaved red flowers with a barely noticeable fragrance, but their vibrant color and petals that shimmered like red velvet.
Mi looked at the roads, which were noticeably cleaner and tidier than those in the outer city. The houses on both sides of the road were also covered with decorations. Royal flags, dahlia flags, and noble banners hung on the windowsills. It was a huge and tedious task.
Fried, noticing that Mi was staring intently at the workers cleaning the road and the flags on the road, quickly said, "Tomorrow is the New Year in the Land of Flowers. The royal family will be parading along this road. Later, the Royal Circle will be covered with a red carpet. Tomorrow will be even more beautiful than today."
"New Year?" Mi looked at the festive streets. She had been away from the Witchwood for almost two years. Spring in the Misty Forest was full of life, Redstone Town was peaceful and serene all year round, the summer in the Wasteland was violent and unpredictable, and the winter in Sun City was dry and cold. Fried was wearing a shirt today, and even though it was cold, he still kept pulling open his tattered cloak to reveal the collar of his shirt.
The New Year in the Flower Kingdom was established two hundred years ago by King Derek I, falling on the third full moon after the oat harvest each year. It is also the date King Derek I signed the "Declaration of the Flower Kingdom" after ending two centuries of war and conflict in the Flower Kingdom. The "Declaration of the Flower Kingdom" defined the territory and rights of citizens, and reportedly contained a hidden message: long-lived individuals are granted noble status from birth to ensure their safety. This day was designated January 1st. This year marks 315 years since the Login Number entered the Flower Kingdom, historically known as the March 15th Annals Act.
This year marks the 501st year of the Flower Kingdom's New Year celebrations, which are exceptionally grand. In addition to the royal family's traditional festivities, the royal theater—the Derek Theater—is open to the public free of charge for seven days, allowing all citizens to watch performances by the royal actors. Even the usually heavily guarded royal palace is open to the entire city for seven days. It's a carnival in which everyone participates. Fried, recalling the Flower Kingdom's 500th anniversary celebrations, said regretfully, "My lord, if you hadn't come a year earlier, the Derek Palace would have been so vast and beautiful. It had a huge maze, towering fortresses, and a magnificent ballroom filled with jewels. The lamps were all made of crystal, sparkling and dazzling. Just looking at the crystal chandeliers in the palace, I could stare at them all day without blinking."
"Can't we visit the palace tomorrow?" Mi was thinking about the gift she wanted to give to Zara's daughter, Betrice. It would be much more convenient for her to visit the palace legitimately than to explore it alone.
“No.” Fried shook his head regretfully. “There’s a performance at the Derek Theatre tomorrow, but you have to buy tickets. It’s only free for special celebrations. Living in Sun City requires a lot of Gold Derek.”
Fried took Mi around Sun City for half a day, finally returning to the Flower Inn to eat dinner before heading back. The innkeeper, Sheila, brought Mi a vase with two dahlias in it; one was in full bloom, the flower larger than the vase itself, while the other bud hid beneath the blooming dahlia.
“Fried said he’ll find a good spot tomorrow, and you can just come with me.” Sheila placed the vase on the windowsill and carefully adjusted the angle.
"Do you know Fried?" Mi looked at the chubby boss; the women of the Flower Kingdom were generally quite robust.
"This kid didn't cheat the adults out of money, did he?" Sheila poured Mi a cup of tea. "I saw he was wearing a shirt today." The poor of Suncity always wore a cloak—a thin linen cloak in summer and a rough wool cloak in winter. Women wore skirts, always with an apron, carefully keeping them clean and tidy. Men owned a shirt, worn only for celebrations and important holidays. Children wore a cloak from childhood until they started working and earned wages, at which point they would buy a formal shirt. A boy wearing a new shirt meant he had found a good job and was a responsible adult.
Mi realized why Fried had been showing off his shirt to everyone all day. She laughed and said, "Fried is clever, a little know-it-all."
"He's never been able to stay at home since he was little. He loves to run around, listen to the adults chat, run errands for them, and occasionally get a little reward money, which he'll take to the tavern to buy drinks for those adults in exchange for more information." Sheila received an affirmative answer and smiled as she said goodnight to Mi.
Mi closed the door, recalled the route she had taken during the day, reverted to her witch form, and passed through the rooftops. The night in Sun City was half dark and half bright. The residents and workers of the western city had long since fallen asleep, and the shops in the south of the city had their doors tightly shut. Only the noble castles were brightly lit, and noisy voices could be heard coming from the theaters and casinos.
Derek Palace is located slightly north of the center of Sun City, occupying a large area of land and serving as the most important administrative center of the entire Flower Kingdom. Mi followed the royal circular route to Derek Avenue in front of Derek Palace. Two rows of carriages lined the avenue, and guards stood watch on both sides. The palace was brightly lit, filled with the sounds of people and the flickering lights.
The rice floated on the carriage. Entering through the gate, there was a long driveway wide enough for two carriages to ride side-by-side, flanked by neatly manicured gardens. The first palace was a good twenty meters from the gate. At night, almost half of the five-story building was lit, and servants could be seen hurrying to and fro, their footsteps so light they were almost inaudible. This was the office; almost all the documents of the Flower Kingdom were issued here. Sometimes, the sounds of arguing and disputes could be heard from one of the offices. This was the palace where all the affairs of the Flower Kingdom were handled, and also the most famous building in the Derek Palace—the Niss Building. The most important building in the entire Derek Palace was named after Queen Derek I, supposedly in memory of the unparalleled Queen Niss.
Mi quietly slipped through a half-open window and hid in the shadows cast by the curtains. Two middle-aged men were checking tomorrow's procession route, confirming the security chiefs for each section, deciding where to stop for the cheers of the people, where to speed up, and where more manpower was needed. The king's procession was grand. After listening for a while, Mi retreated out of the window.
The first floor of the administrative hall is a huge hall. At the entrance, spiral staircases on both sides lead to the second floor. The wooden handrails are wiped clean every day, and the staircases are covered with patterned carpets, which are gorgeous and luxurious. On brightly lit nights, it is filled with elegant ladies and glamorous women, and a band plays different tunes in a place where almost no one notices them at the bottom of the stairs.
The ball had begun sometime earlier than expected, with servants constantly refilling the empty glasses of the dignitaries with wine. The dance floor was filled with young women, their faces adorned with polite smiles. Their movements were graceful, and even in the dead of night, the dance floor was still awash with swirling figures. Luggage-bellied men stood close to the young women, raising one hand for them to hold and spin around. Around the edge of the dance floor sat many noblewomen, adorned with sparkling gemstone necklaces, their velvet dresses shimmering under the crystal chandeliers. They held folding fans to their mouths as they conversed. Mi watched as the entire dance floor shimmered with different lights: vibrant green, lustful red, jealous purple, and calculating black. Mi had never seen such a complex interplay of light, making it almost impossible to see clearly. She had to shut down all her emotional receptors, retaining only her hearing and sight.
The room was filled with unfamiliar faces, and Mi couldn't recognize a single person or their name. She quietly approached two women who were constantly talking: "Have you heard? Princess Denise is throwing a tantrum over her dress for tomorrow."
"Why this time?" The lady put down her fan and nodded and smiled at a couple dancing in front of her.
"I heard that she wanted to wear the Queen's white mink cloak, but the Queen did not agree."
"Princess Denise is only ten years old; she can't wear the Queen's cloak."
"Who says otherwise? She insisted on a white mink cloak. Hina originally said she would give her one. You know, the merchant ships from the Sea Kingdom haven't come for more than half a year. Now Hina avoids Princess Denise whenever she sees her."
"What should we do then?" The woman raised her fan and moved her head closer to the woman beside her.
"Henna is altering a dress. She removed the pearls from her own red mink cloak, which was covered in pearls, and made a new crown for Princess Denise. I heard that Princess Denise is not satisfied and has asked Henna not to participate in the royal procession tomorrow."
"This won't do, will it?" the woman said, lowering her head. "The sons and daughters of the city lords of Lin City participate in the royal procession every year. How can Princess Denise have the final say?"
"You know that the king's favorite princess is Denise. If the throne could be passed on to his daughter, he would have made Denise the crown princess."
"Oh dear, I'm afraid the entire palace treasury wouldn't be enough for Denise to spend if she became crown princess." The woman turned her head to look at a group of young girls. "Are they all the daughters of the city lord of Lin City?"
As Mi followed the woman's words, he looked ahead and saw a row of seven or eight girls holding hands and walking up the stairs, quickly disappearing around the corner on the second floor.
"Yes, which one do you want to marry as your daughter-in-law?" Mi didn't listen to the two women continue talking; she followed the girls to the second-floor corridor.
"You, stop right there!" Mi froze, turning her head stiffly to see an angry girl charging straight at her. Before Mi could dodge, the girl had already passed right through her, grabbing a black-haired girl in the group and shouting, "Petrice, you stop right there!"
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