The sun sank into the mountains, but the sky was not completely dark, when Winters and Anna arrived in the mansion.

Seeing the white eagle heraldry painted on the carriage, the guards opened the door and let it go.

In the northern city of Steel Fort, the most valuable thing is land. After entering the gate of Este Mansion, you have to pass through a garden to reach the main building.

"Is this the mansion?" Winters glanced at the carefully carved low needle wood on both sides of the corridor, raising his eyebrows lightly: "Isn't it a palace?"

Mr. Ed explained unsurprisingly: "The Frora people control the Steel Fort's business in Venetta, while the White Eagle family dominates Frora. But they are not Steel Fort people after all, and are not qualified to be selected for the Executive Committee, so

It is not difficult to understand that it demonstrates its status in this way... Considering the appreciation of the land over the past 20 years, this transaction is actually profitable."

"Where is the sea blue?" Winters asked.

"In the iron trade, Navare Trading and other sea blue people are small players, not worth mentioning." The wrinkles at the corners of Mr. Ed's eyes became deeper: "Besides, only Frora will be obsessed with outbreaks

The pomp of the household.”

As soon as this statement was spoken, Anna also covered her lips and chuckled - it seems that no matter when and where, regional discriminatory jokes always have magical powers that make the listener smile.

No wonder the Vinetta commented so harshly: Whenever the sea blue people gather and chat, they always take one-third of their time to insult the Frora people, and then take one-third of their time to insult the Baihua City people.

I will take one-third of my time to insult other alliance city-states one by one, and the remaining little time will be spent on serious matters.

However, Winters, who had been studying in the United Provinces for many years, took some time to understand the jokes.

The carriage was parked outside the foyer, and Mr. Ed nodded and got off first.

Only the "Baroons" were left in the car. Anna, who was sitting next to Winters, suddenly hesitated and showed a rare hint of panic.

Winters held Anna's hand, pinched it, and said nothing.

If a human lives in the open wilderness for too long, when he returns to the city, he will feel inexplicable fear and discomfort.

It was a feeling of being disconnected from the world, and it could also be said to be the impact of "crossing from one world to another".

Winters has a deep understanding of this. Every time he returns to "Ming Society", he has to adapt silently for a long time.

Anna looked at Winters. The two of them didn't need to speak, just their eyes met, and Winters had already expressed what he wanted to say to Anna.

Anna smiled and nodded, so Winters gently shook Anna's hand again and stepped out of the car first.

Anna, who stayed in the carriage, took a deep breath, then smiled appropriately, and walked out of the carriage with the hand handed by Winters.

The exterior of the main building of Este's mansion is decorated with stone pillars, arch frames and reliefs, which is solemn and solemn, which is very different from the Monta style of "narrow windows and thick walls". Instead, it is no different from the wealthy manor in the sea blue suburbs that Winters has seen.

It seemed as if a god had exerted his might and moved a building from Venetta to Steel Fort.

Looking at the brightly lit Este Mansion, Winters actually felt like he was in the sea blue.

However, the popular high-door corridor in Vineta houses is to ventilate and dissipate heat, while the Monta houses use thick wall windows to avoid the cold and keep warm.

Carman, who was alone in the second carriage, appeared behind Winters. Seeing Winters standing still, Carman frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's okay." Winters shook his head and reached out to Anna.

Anna held Winters, and the two looked at each other and walked into the main entrance.

As soon as he entered the building, Winters found that his thoughts were completely redundant: the house was not only not cold, but was comfortable and warm, completely different from the outdoors.

Winters instinctively examined the terrain and found that although Este's mansion insisted on the exterior of the Venetta style, it had made numerous changes inside to adapt to the climate of the mountainous country.

For example, where the door and window walls are visible to the naked eye, no air leakage gap can be found. Where there may be gaps, the gaps are carefully sealed by felt strips, and even the door frame and the edges of the door are nailed with thick wool.

The large windows facing the garden are spliced ​​with transparent glass, which makes the banquet hall more spacious and transparent visually, similar to the window structure of the Navare Manor.

But the difference between Navare Manor is that Winters discovered it only after entering the door that Este Manor has built two exterior walls ingeniously.

The two exterior walls are exactly the same, with glass windows, which not only ensure lighting, but also protect against cold and heat. Between the wall is a corridor that can accommodate three people, with a dark red carpet.

Winters couldn't help but laugh at himself.

Anna asked with her eyes.

Winters turned his head slightly and whispered to Anna: "Isn't it fun to use his cleverness to question the mason's ability to make a living?"

Anna asked in a sensible way: "This house?"

Winters nodded.

In fact, Winters has not discovered the truly clever design of Este House.

In a location that Winters cannot see, inside the heavy stone wall, the stonemason who built the house used the technique of building crypts to lay the circulation pipes.

As long as the fire of the water tower is burning, hot water can flow through the entire building like blood, driving the chill out of the hall bedroom.

It is precisely because of those walls that emit heat that Este House maintains a comfortable temperature like summer evening in the howling cold wind.

"But too big and too many windows are not conducive to defense." Winters thought: "The shrubs in the garden will also become bunkers for attackers. If I guard it here, the first thing to do is to dig out those annoying trees.

The stone house itself is strong enough, huh... dig a circle of trenches, set up a few cannons, and level the land, which should be enough."

"What are you thinking?" Kaman asked lukewarmly, pronunciating with great force: "Master Baron."

"I thought of something happy, too." Winters replied with a smile.

Amid the attendant's announcement, Winters walked through the second door with Anna in his arms and walked into the hall.

It should be that the guests have not arrived yet, and the hall decorated with brocade and sculpture is a little empty.

A black-haired man in his early thirties stood up from the soft couch, got out of the small circle of chatting beside the fireplace, and walked towards Winters and Anna.

The black-haired man was wearing an embroidered jacket and tight stockings. His beard on his upper lip and jaw was shaved cleanly, and his hair was meticulously combed. He was not fat, but he couldn't be called strong, and his footsteps were a bit sloppy when walking - probably the color of wine

The cause of excessiveness.

His face showed a pampered "pale" of being pampered, which was a characteristic that only skin that had not been exposed to the scorching sun or had not been blown by the cold wind.

Although his temperament is slightly weak and slender, the dark-haired man has a calm and confident smile on his face.

If nothing unexpected happens, he should be the owner of this mansion - the famous "White Eagle".

The black-haired man walked straight to Winters and Anna and observed Anna without any concealment.

It is undoubtedly an offensive to "attention" to a "married" lady for a long time, especially when her "husband" is standing next to her.

However, the black-haired man looked up and down at Anna without restraint, as if Winters did not exist at all.

After a moment, the black-haired man withdrew his aggressive gaze, but he still looked at Anna intently.

He dragged his lazy and soft Frora accent and greeted Anna first: "Great lady, even in Frora on the shore of the inland sea and the steel castle thousands of miles away, your courage, wisdom and beauty... I have too

What you hear.”

Before Winters could react, Kaman, who was accompanying him, had already frowned.

The other party’s greeting seems to be just a polite word, but for those who understand the inside story, “brave”, “wisdom” and “beauty” all have words in their words, which are innuendo.

Kaman stared at Winters' back with concern, holding the holy emblem in secret, and his fingertips trembled slightly.

Anna calmly asked with a smile: "So my wisdom and beauty can only be followed by courage? Mr. Este?"

Bai Ying was stunned and immediately showed a real smile.

"No, no, no, respectable lady, your wisdom is far superior to courage." Bai Ying picked up Anna's hand with his unique intimate and chic movements, lowered her head and kissed her gently: "Your beauty is even more wise."

”

"Thank you." Anna lifted her skirt and returned the gift.

At this time, other guests were present. Bai Ying politely exchanged greetings with Winters and set off to welcome the new guests.

Kaman let out a long breath, and Winters looked back at Kaman strangely.

"Let's go." Anna gently pulled Winters' arm, and a lively smile appeared on the corner of her mouth: "Let's go and enjoy the 'Frora' hiding."

As he said that, Anna led Winters to the edge of the hall and inspected the oil paintings hanging by the White Eagle one by one.

...

For some reason, it seems that the cleaner the wall, the more things you need to decorate. It seems that humans feel uncomfortable when they see the bare wall.

In the selection of decorations, the imperial nobles preferred weapons, armor and war, while the Venetians and the Unionists used paintings.

Valley/span>The paintings can continue to be subdivided. Most of the Protestant people who converted to Protestantism are fond of still life paintings, flowers, apples and even bread baskets, can be put into the picture frame; or record the moments of life: the maid who pours milk, the return of the market

housewife……

In contrast, Venetta, who dominated the mainstream of the Catholic Church, prefers religious subjects and uses brushes to reproduce the stories in the scriptures; and historical subjects, such as the passage of the remains of St. Mark.

The reasons for the different preferences for paintings are closely related to social style.

The Venetta people disliked the boring and boring still life paintings; the Unionists also had no chance to hang the ancient goddess with her breasts exposed and her clothes exposed on the wall to display it.

Just as the Venettas hate the conservative and stubborn people of the Union, while the Uniontas despise the Venettas' arrogance, extravagance and lewdness.

Of course, neither still life painting nor religious painting is a real mainstream theme.

The truly dominant paintings are now hanging on the wall of the hall of Este's mansion, staring straight at Winters and Anna, they are portraits.

...

When I saw the ninth pair - maybe the tenth one - I don't know which "White Eagle" portrait was, Anna commented: "Well... it has a 'Frora' style.

In the context of the sea blue residents, and similarities, they all have the meaning of vulgarity, low-level style and nouveau riche.
To be continued...