The castle of the Grand Duke of the Silver Shield is undoubtedly one of the most dazzling jewels of Baldur's Gate. This magnificent duke's mansion is both a castle and a palace, which occupies almost half of the block, and even those nobles from the Falling Star Sea area who are accustomed to seeing the prosperity and grandeur of the royal castle are also amazed.

Compared with the royal castles in the prosperous areas of the central part of the continent, which have lost their defensive significance, the castle of the Grand Duke of Silver Shield has only a more rugged and majestic momentum without those extremely ingenious and continuous columns and arches, and without those large domes and reliefs that are only for beautiful decoration.

A thick, tall, boxy outer wall separates the interior of the Duke's palace from the bustling street. The walls are far taller than any of the surrounding buildings, and soldiers patrolling back and forth can easily stand on the walls and towers and look down on the surroundings, controlling the vantage point of the block.

This is a building that is both practical and solemn, which is the foundation of the Silver Shield family standing in Baldur's Gate, and it is also a witness to the continuous glory of the Silver Shield family. Just as the Silver Shield family is at the heart of Baldur's Gate, this majestic castle is the centerpiece of the entire neighborhood that surrounds it.

The Temple of the Grey Helm, the Mage Tower, the three Old Wine Barrel Taverns, and many other noble mansions and high-ranking adventurers' residences surround the castle of the Silver Shield family like stars and moons, forming a close-knit and prosperous system.

And at this moment, in front of the door of the Grand Duke of the Silver Shield, on both sides of the towering bronze statue, the corridor specially used to park the carriage was already densely packed with all kinds of carriages. These carriages carry a variety of coats of arms and emblems, all of which are painted with shiny paint, and are more or less decorated with gold threads or stripes, and each one looks more elegant than the other.

As the de facto ruler of the city, the uncrowned king of Baldur's Gate, Grand Duke Anta Silvershield, held a banquet that naturally attracted countless nobles, merchants, wealthy people, and other high-class people. Countless people are looking forward to the opportunity to meet the Grand Duke, hoping to gain the favor and favor of this powerful Grand Duke - not to mention, His Excellency Anta * Silver Shield also has several beautiful and wonderful daughters, if he can be favored by the princesses of the Silver Shield family, it will be a real opportunity to ascend to the sky.

However, the world of Faeron is not a stable and peaceful world, and the existence of magic, magic, and various supernatural powers makes it extremely easy to assassinate and murder. Therefore, despite his high position and power, he is already the uncrowned king of Baldur's Gate, but the Grand Duke of Anta * Silver Shield is still very sober, he is careful not to give anyone a chance to assassinate him, and if it is not necessary, he will not directly meet outsiders.

As a basic security measure, for any ball or banquet, visitors must stop their carriage in front of the castle gates, enter the castle with an invitation card, and be detected and checked by magic. This is not rudeness and arrogance, but the caution of the world's great figures, and the general unspoken rule in aristocratic politics. Only a very small number of special or respectable people will be treated as a direct carriage ride into the castle.

However, all the people who watched the excitement at the gate of the Grand Duke's Castle today were surprised to find that the Grand Duke's Castle, which had always been closed, suddenly took the initiative to open its gates.

Listening to the sound of three loud trumpets from the castle, followed by the sound of neat drums and trumpeters, two teams of knights in silver shields in full costume came out of the city gates.

These costumed knights, with silver shield insignia on their shoulders, rode equally dressed horses, grasping the railing with one hand while the other hand remained on the hilt of the sword at the waist, in a welcoming ceremony to the sound of music.

And just as the astonished eyes of the others watched, several carriages painted with shiny white paint, printed with double swords and silver shields and the fire* phoenix emblem, slowly drove into the castle of the Grand Duke of the Silver Shield under the welcoming procession of the Silver Shield Knights.

Beyond the high gate of the city wall, the carriage stopped in the castle, stretching from the castle hall to the red carpet in front of the gate hole, where the old butler of the Silver Shield family and some servants were already waiting.

"Lord Aelita, Miss Shiki, welcome back!"

The car door opened, and the old butler saluted the two princesses of the Silver Shield family with a smile on his face: "Lord Duke is meeting with the envoy of Evrysca, and Madame is presiding over a ball in the hall, so I can't come to greet the two young ladies......"

"It's another prom!"

Hearing that there was another dance party in the castle, Shi Ji's face suddenly fell, she was the most annoyed by this kind of ball, as the daughter of the hot Silver Shield Grand Duke, she was the target of those nasty guys at the ball, no matter how much she couldn't get rid of it, not to mention how annoying it was!

"Prom, is it a banquet? Is there anything to eat? ”

Shi Ji doesn't like proms, but the simple-minded Holy Maiden Maiden's eyes lit up when she heard the word prom, as the princess of the Southern Red Dragon Empire, the Holy Maiden Maiden naturally participated in countless proms and banquets, but she was simple-minded, and her impression of the prom was only that there were many people, wearing a lot of beautiful clothes, and eating a lot of food together.

The princesses of the red dragon may have different personalities and hobbies, but their performance at the banquet is indeed very consistent, that is, they rush to the food pile and do not hesitate to shake off their cheeks and eat specially, what etiquette, what rules, what ball, all of them are ignored. As for the warriors who dare to come and talk to the red dragon princesses during their meal, hehe, what do you think will be the consequences of disturbing the dragon's meal?

As the Red Dragon Princesses, who are deeply favored by the Red Dragon Tyrant, they have enough status and power to silence those who are secretly talking. Therefore, for Maiden, a saint girl with a simple personality, no one has ever pointed out her mistake in her perception of banquets, and she is naturally accustomed to equating banquets with abundant and sumptuous delicious food - as for the commoner banquets she participated in when she was walking among the people, well, the simple commoners did not have as many tricks as the nobles, and the celebrations and banquets of the commoners were just eating and drinking happily, so this experience deepened her understanding that the banquet was equal to free eating and drinking.

"Who is this?"

The old butler turned his gaze to Maiden, the holy maiden who was in the same car with the two young ladies, and suddenly showed a surprised expression. The beauty of the Holy Maiden is impeccable, but what stands out most is her holy and pure air. The old butler has been the steward of the Silver Shield family for decades, and he has seen countless priests, priests, and holy warriors coming and going, but there has never been a priest with such a holy and pious aura.

"This is my friend Maiden, and she may be going to live in our family for a long time!"

Dugu Feng said lightly, and did not introduce Maiden's identity in detail, but just said: "She is not just a guest, you can treat her the same as me, Shi Ji, and Li'er!" ”

"I see!"

The old housekeeper nodded slightly, although Dugufeng did not introduce the identity of this young lady in detail, but she was undoubtedly a distinguished guest with a very big background, at least she should be treated like a young lady of the Silver Shield family.

"Hello grandpa, you can call me Maiden!"

Without the reserve of identity, the holy maiden Maiden jumped out of the carriage gently, and said to the old butler very familiarly: "If you need to carry things, you have no problem finding me." "During the time that the Holy Maiden was traveling among the people, she did not gain anything, at least she also knew that if you don't pay for food, you can also exchange it for labor.

"By the way, where the banquet was held? Let's hurry up and eat! ”

After greeting the old butler, the holy maiden Maiden touched her stomach and felt a little hungry, and suddenly pointed to the castle hall with some anticipation, and said: "Although I don't like to eat in front of many people, it is more important to have a full meal......

"Miss Elleta, Miss Saki, and Miss Maiden, maybe you should go and change your clothes first, the ball hasn't officially started yet...... I think the Duke will be glad to see you on the scene......"

The old butler's smile remained unchanged, and he automatically ignored the words of the holy girl Maiden that did not match her identity and temperament, but politely reminded Dugufeng and Shi Ji.

"Still going to a banquet?"

Thinking of the peacock-like young aristocrats at the ball, Shi Ji suddenly pursed her mouth. However, her mind turned quickly at this moment, and when she found that her stern and majestic father was not in front of her at this moment, her eyes suddenly rolled and she paid attention.

"Hey, hey, Maiden, the prom isn't interesting at all, I'll take you somewhere! Guaranteed to keep you fed......"

Shi Ji jumped up directly, took Maiden's hand and turned to run, and turned back to the old butler as she ran: "If my father looks for me, he will say that I am going to entertain guests!" La-la-la! ”

Because of the arrival of the banquet, the whole castle was very festive, not only the corridors and passages were covered with red carpets, but even the trees in the courtyard were tied with colorful silk ribbons.

Sakie dragged Maiden around the castle's main entrance, creeping into the steaming kitchen through the side door at the back.

"Bring some ginger, and pickled herring, Jenny, are you cut it all right?" Hurry up, that, then put it in the pot. And Lucy! Don't look stupid, it's time for the roast duck to spread the sauce again. ”

As soon as I opened the door of the kitchen, a noisy smell accompanied by a rising aroma came to my face. As soon as Shi Ji and Maiden entered, they heard Aunt Mary, the head cook, standing in the middle of the kitchen, waving the iron spoon vigorously, while commanding everyone with full of energy.

The kitchen was chaotic and busy, with cooks, servants, handymen, and attendants who came to serve food bumping around like flies. The creak of grease dripping into the flames, the sound of stir-frying with a shovel colliding with an iron pan, the sound of pots and bowls colliding with plates, the sound of chopping vegetables...... and so on, all kinds of sounds are mixed together, forming a strange world with order in chaos.

Maiden Maiden paid no attention to the noise of the kitchen, and as soon as she entered, her eyes were drawn to the roast pig and duck dripping with grease on the grill.

A young cook was spinning the grill, flipping over the roasted golden piglet, with layers of spices and sauces, and the yellow-orange-orange grease scrambled out of the pigskin under the red-hot charcoal fire, squeaking and squeaking.

"Thank you, God, for giving us food!"

The holy maiden Maiden unconsciously folded her hands and looked reverently at the constantly tumbling roast suckling pig, feeling as if she had come to heaven.