From the Ship of Fools to Earl of Wugang

The guests attending the banquet hosted by Grand Duke Plichni stopped one by one in front of the silver book in the front hall and wrote down their names, titles and purposes of visit.

The Master of Ceremonies then unfolded the name cards during a brief pause in the music and read them aloud to the Grand Duke and Duchess and the Crown Prince one by one.

This exhausting routine is seen by many foreign guests as a nostalgia for the old days by the royal bloodline.

Before Conrad received his ceremonial oath at the age of sixteen, he also regarded this set as an expensive sign-in book, and only later did he understand its secrets.

The name is written by the person, acknowledging their entry into the Silver Bell Palace; the Master of Ceremonies reads it aloud, and the royal family grants recognition; the Grand Duke's line receives an audience, thus giving this relationship a national ceremony to witness it.

The same ceremony was repeated for generations, thus forging an invisible bond between the royal family and its subjects—the seal of coronation.

The Grand Duke possesses the most complete record; Leopold's traces come from the laws of succession, public investiture, and countless royal ceremonies. Matilda will leave her signature on the first page of the register tonight, marking her first public recognition by the entire court.

The master of ceremonies read out an endless stream of lengthy invitations, while Conrad saw Leopold cast a smiling glance at him, clearly remembering his complaints in the side hall.

Conrad raised his glass in acknowledgment, indicating that he recognized the Master of Ceremonies' hard work that evening.

No one noticed that some of the ink used in the register had been replaced before it was even sent to the palace.

Black ink marks fall on silver pages, with a faint blue-gray hue emerging at the edges, a mysterious connection flowing from beneath the surface of the world to the depths of the banquet hall.

As the reading continued, a servant quickly walked up behind the Grand Duke through the side door and handed him a folder sealed with sealing wax.

Conrad's expression changed when he saw the chief squire read only the first page.

The document was quickly handed to the Grand Duke, and Leopold was summoned to his side.

The three spoke in hushed tones, but Conrad still managed to glean the words military railway, chlorine, fuel, and evacuation.

Soon, the Grand Duke handed the banquet over to Leopold and hurriedly left the palace with two courtiers and a squad of guards.

The Grand Duchess stayed behind to appease the guests, the band resumed playing, and everything seemed to be just a slight delay.

Over the next hour, Conrad tasted what he had to experience—marriage hints, trade probes, and a mayor's attempt to use the royal name to congratulate the casino's opening.

The argument coming from the other side of the banquet actually energized Conrad.

Two young nobles from a minor member state surrounded a maid who was in charge of serving wine, demanding that she take them to a terrace that was only accessible to court personnel.

The maid explained several times that she had work to do, but the two men took her refusal as a joke. Several guests nearby seemed to notice the commotion but ignored it.

As he walked over, one of the young men was mocking the lack of manners of the servants in Plichni's court.

"Your insights into court etiquette are very interesting." Conrad took the wine tray from the maid and handed it to a waiter who rushed over. "Plichni welcomes guests, but he doesn't treat waiters as complimentary gifts at a banquet."

"We just wanted to ask her to dance. Your Highness, there's no need to make things so unpleasant over a maid."

One of the nobles, who had drunk quite a bit, reached out to push Conrad away.

"If you want to dance, there are plenty of empty seats in front of the band area." Conrad grasped the man's outstretched hand, his smile unchanged. "There's only one shortcut through this passage to the decanter. Would you like me to take you there?"

The other person tried to pull their hand away, but Conrad's fingers slowly tightened until he doubled over in pain. The two were quickly taken to the sobering-up room, where the maid thanked them softly, but then hesitated to speak.

Matilda happened to pass by and pulled the person aside: "If you've been wronged, just speak up. No one will blame you for it."

The maid then said that she had seen a stranger in a logistics uniform pushing a cart carrying sealed wine barrels in the service passage on the east side.

She casually asked if it was a gift for Manager Walter, but he replied that Mr. Harper had already agreed to use the old elevator.

Matilda looked at Conrad: "Mr. Haber retired six months ago."

"I'll go check on her. You stay with Mother." Conrad summoned three guards and headed east.

Only a row of brass wall lamps were lit in the east corridor. As Conrad rounded the first corner, he saw someone who shouldn't have been there.

The tall nobleman who had just been taken to the sobering-up room was kneeling in front of an underground door. He was completely oblivious to the fact that his right hand was covered in blood, his fingernails scratching incessantly at the door, and he was repeating incoherent words.

Upon hearing footsteps, he slowly turned his head, a strangely satisfied smile on his face.

Three guards immediately stepped forward to restrain him. The young nobleman's strength far exceeded what one would expect from a drunkard, and he nearly knocked one of them over in his struggle.

Conrad grabbed his arm from the side, pressed his knee against his back, and swept the back of his neck with the silvery light of "Benevolent Wind".

The abnormal power rapidly diminished, and the young nobleman coughed up several mouthfuls of wine with gray foam before fainting.

A thin layer of ash covered the door frame, its edges emitting a faint smell of fish oil. Conrad stabbed it with his sword, and in an instant, the coating peeled away, revealing a continuous mass of runes.

He sensed a connection converging along the base of the wall and extending into the depths of the corridor.

Some people clearly saw this drunken nobleman as a key to unlocking the silver pages.

The accompanying guards dialed the internal phone several times, but all they heard was static.

Conrad sent his youngest guard back the way he came to report the situation to Leopold, while he and two others continued their investigation along the tide line.

The guard's footsteps quickly disappeared around the corner, but a few seconds later a dull thud was heard in the distance as a body hit the wall, followed by the sound of metal hitting the ground.

Conrad immediately took a few steps after him, only to find the corridor empty. The wall lamps were still burning, there were no obvious drag marks on the floor, and the guards he had sent out were nowhere to be seen.

Without further delay, he drew his sword and led the remaining two deeper into the area, clearing out two rune nodes hidden behind the wall lamps and the food delivery elevator.

Each time a section is damaged, the music coming from overhead will be briefly distorted.

After dealing with the second location, Conrad suddenly stopped: "Let's go back to the banquet hall now, and leave the rest to the reinforcements."

The three of them retraced their steps, pushed open the wooden door leading to the upper level, and found themselves back in the same passageway they had just walked through—the drunkard lying on the ground, the sword marks on the wall, the bloodstains on the ground, all exactly as they had been.

One of the guards turned and pushed open a storeroom door next to him, wanting to try another route. Behind the door was the same passageway, but their positions appeared at the other end, standing next to the drunkard.

The two tried the remaining doors, and the positions of the wall lamps, bloodstains, and stone chips were exactly the same. No matter which direction they chose, they would eventually end up back here.

"Your Highness, have we gone to the wrong place?" the guard asked, his voice strained.

Conrad drew a new diagonal line on the wall with the tip of his sword, signaling to take note of the mark.

A gunshot rang out from deep within the rock above, causing all three to look up simultaneously.

Immediately afterwards, the music from the direction of the banquet hall abruptly stopped, leaving only the chaotic noise of brass instruments, which was then swallowed up by the gasps of the crowd.

Conrad gripped his sword and pushed open the door again.

Behind the door was still the same dimly lit passageway, stained with blood; all the exits led him back to the same place.