Mathilda looked out of the window as she sat in the magic carriage that was moving steadily.
The wide and flat road stretched forward along the line of sight. The wide road could almost accommodate eight or nine large carriages running side by side. Obviously, it was specially designed to cope with the modern traffic pressure. Beautiful and elegant buildings lined both sides of the road. Those buildings had a brand-new style that was different from Typhon, but also different from the old Ansu. They retained the classical and elegant shape of the Northern Kingdom, but also had some pleasing neat lines and regular shape.
Between these buildings and the road, there were neatly arranged street lights, magic projections distributed at the intersection or open space, station signs designed for the magic car parking, and welcoming crowds in bright and thick winter clothes pouring into the streets in the cold winter season.
On the magic projections, on the large colorful paintings of the stations, there were all kinds of welcoming statements or images, and even real-time images of the moving convoy.
This was the modern capital of magic, the city of Cecil …
Mathilda retracted her gaze, but still retained the perception of an Extraordinary to pay attention to the movement on the road outside. She looked at Philip, who was in the same car as her, and saw an almost undisguised pride on the young army commander's face.
This was normal. A noble of such status would of course show such pride in front of a foreign ambassador.
But on both sides of the road outside, the people of Cecil, who were said to be just 'ordinary citizens', had similar expressions of curiosity, excitement, and other similar pride on their faces. This was not so normal.
"I hope you will be satisfied with the welcoming process we have arranged." Philip looked into the eyes of the princess of Typhon in front of him and said with a smile on his face, "Cecil and Typhon have many differences in customs, but we have a common root, and this root can be the tie that brings the relationship between the two countries closer."
"I sincerely hope for a longer peace," Mathilda said with the same smile. "This is good for all of us."
The magic car of Typhon's delegation drove through the straight 'Pioneer Avenue' of Cecil City. Under the welcome of the citizens and the protection of the security team and the Steel Rangers, they gradually left the outer city and entered the city center. As a large square appeared outside the car window, all the Typhon messengers, including Mathilda, suddenly heard a loud explosion —
It was like a thunderbolt, and it was not far away. The explosion was not just one, but more than 30 times in a row.
Some of the messengers were surprised, and even Mathilda could not help but look at Philip opposite her. The latter just smiled at her and said, "Don't be nervous, it's just a gun salute..
"Using gun salute to welcome guests from afar is Cecil's rule."
Mathilda blinked and recalled some of the information she had collected before. She could not help but have some strange thoughts —
Cecil's people did seem to like to use these loud gunshots to welcome their guests, but sometimes they would hit the sky, and sometimes the guests' heads …
"Interesting rule." Mathilda smiled. "In the new era, there are indeed some new customs and habits."
When it was close to noon and the giant sun gradually rose overhead, Mathilda led the Typhon's delegation to Gwen.
It was not luxurious, but it was grand and solemn enough. It was a unique welcome for Typhon's people. After the welcome ceremony, Gwen stood in front of the steps of the 'Autumn Palace' and looked at the 'Flower of the High Mountain' with a smile.
Beside him stood Heti, Rebecca, several government office executives, and Veronica with a platinum scepter in her hand.
Amber was not at the scene, but people familiar with the situation knew that the Director of Military Intelligence must be there, but he had not come out yet.
Mathilda was wearing a complicated classical black court dress, and her long black hair was decorated with thin golden chains that hung down to her waist. She walked slowly to Gwen with an impeccable posture and slightly bowed her head. "Greetings, the great Gwen Cecil.
"I'm here on behalf of the Augustus family to bring the goodwill of Typhon.
"May you be healthy for a long time, and may your achievements be passed down for generations."
"In a sense, your last sentence is not a blessing, but a statement," Gwen said slightly jokingly and stepped forward. "Welcome to Cecil."
What followed was a boring but unavoidable official speech session. Both sides smiled and said the words they had prepared in advance, but everyone still had to maintain a solemn look, trying to make the meaningless commercial flattery look more sincere.
Rebecca felt bored in a few seconds and secretly yawned. She looked at Mathilda Augustus who was talking and laughing with her ancestor and could not help but mutter in her heart. She looked around and saw Aunt Heti on one side and Veronica on the other. If she chatted with the former, she might be scolded, so she turned to Veronica. "Hey, she's also a princess, and I'm also a princess. Why can't I be like her and break the flattery into three parts?"
This question was really difficult to answer. After all, when the Ansu Dynasty was still around, Veronica could break the same flattery into four parts.
Therefore, the "Saintess" who was surrounded by a faint holy light kept silent and just shook her head gently. Then her eyes fell on Mathilda and did not move away for a long time.
Mathilda looked up and met a pair of gentle and quiet eyes that lacked the texture that a living person should have. It was as if they were carved out of crystal.
That pair of eyes seemed to carry some kind of profound examination, which made Mathilda's heart tremble slightly. However, when she looked carefully again, she found that those eyes seemed to have simply swept past her, and that strange feeling of examination from before had disappeared.
After the reception ceremony, it was a grand lunch.
The formal negotiations on the establishment of embassies, the exchange of ambassadors, the exchange of students, and many other matters were set to be held tomorrow. But before the formal negotiations, the leaders of both sides could use the banquet and such to conduct some "exchange of attitudes" in advance. Surrounded by elements such as food, music, and so on, this exchange of attitudes could be carried out more easily. Under the premise that both sides of the negotiation hoped that things would go well, such early negotiations often yielded very good results.
Mathilda tasted the exquisite food that was different from Typhon's. She cut the barbecue meat sprinkled with various spices with a table knife, but at the same time, maintained a dignified and elegant manner. She did not show too much love for any of the food. Her eyes glanced at the waiters walking in the banquet hall, the magic images set around the hall, and the "Princess Cecil" not far away who did not seem to be very good at table etiquette. Finally, her eyes fell on Gwen. "I have heard that the Ansu are very good at barbecuing meat, so much so that the palace chefs of Typhon are keen to learn how the Ansu use spices. But now after tasting it, I realize that their imitation is ultimately just an imitation. The real thing is completely different."
"Then I'm afraid you have wronged your palace chef," Gwen said with a smile. "The food in front of you is not the traditional 'Ansu cuisine' but something I came up with in the past two years when I was bored. It seems to suit your taste?"
"You invented it?" Mathilda looked at the desserts on the table and the barbecue meat on the plate in surprise. After a moment of astonishment, she praised from the bottom of her heart. "It's incredible. I only thought you were a powerful Knight and a wise monarch. I didn't expect you to be a gourmet who can create delicacies. The flavor is really good. It's my honor to be able to eat them."
Gawain smiled and didn't say anything else.
A few years ago, when he had just opened his coffin, he had thought of using the delicacies in his mind to improve the food life in the other world. For this reason, he had seriously tried several kinds of food that were not available in this world. But in the end, there was no such thing as "taking out a plate of roasted meat and making the natives kowtow". After all, the gourmets in this world did not grow up eating soil, and he himself … was just an ordinary eater in his previous life. No matter how much food there was in the heavens, he did not know how to eat it but did not know how to make it.
The few foods he came up with now had the highest rating of 'taste good,' and they were soon crushed by the local chefs in terms of variety and quantity. Now, a few barbecue and Jiangnan desserts were left as embellishments in the 'state banquet'. This was the last achievement he left in the world's food and beverage industry as a transmigrator.
While Gwen was slightly distracted, Mathilda swallowed the food in her mouth again and looked at the small plate of sliced fruit in front of her with a little curiosity. She asked curiously, "This fruit tastes wonderful. I have never eaten it before. Is it a specialty of Cecil?"
Gwen glanced at the plate of fruit and almost showed a strange expression. But at the last moment, he kept calm and said, "This is the fruit of the Solin tree. It is indeed a specialty of the Cecil Empire."
He controlled the expression on his face, but he could not control the thoughts in his mind.
It was the fruit of Bertilla Augustus. Most of it was used to alleviate the food crisis in the Whitsunday Plain, and a small part was sent to Cecil City as a sample.
Now, he was using the fruit of the ancestor of the Augustus family to entertain her descendants.
After eating, they had to express their gratitude.
Come to think of it, the whole process seemed quite demonic.
On the other side, Mathilda didn't know what she had just eaten. (Actually, it wouldn't matter even if she knew. After all, there were thousands of people in Cecil who were eating these fruits.) After praising the fruit out of politeness, she brought up a more formal topic.
"I came this time, in addition to a formal diplomatic visit and to prepare for the follow-up projects, I also brought a personal greeting from my father." She put down the knife and fork and smiled faintly. "He thinks that the new order that you have created, and the magitech technology that you have brought, are great things that can change the world, which he admires …"
"I did not create the order alone, and I did not create the magitech technology," Gwen said. "But I do admit that they can change the world."
Mathilda glanced at Gwen and said rather solemnly, "My father … guessed that you would give a similar answer."
"Oh?" Gwen raised his eyebrows. "What else did he say?"
"He said that you are similar to him, and what you are concerned about is beyond a city, a country, and a generation," Mathilda said seriously. "He also wanted me to tell you that in the face of national interests, we are Cecil and Typhon. In the face of the world, we are all humans. The world is not safe, at least you understand this."
Gwen paused for a moment.
After a moment, he smiled and said faintly, "We have built the Great Wall together. At the border of the Gondor wasteland, I had a brief conversation with your father.
"So I can feel that his vision is longer than most people in this era.
"I am glad that he asked you to bring this message. You can tell him that all of our fate is on this continent. Under this premise, Cecil is happy to create a new era of peace and prosperity with Typhon."
As his voice trailed off, Gwen had already raised the wine glass in his hand.
Mathilda smiled and also raised the wine glass in her hand.
"Then let's celebrate this era of peace and prosperity in advance," she said.
…
After the grand luncheon, the emissary group was arranged to rest in the corresponding area of the Autumn Palace. Gwen returned to his residence.
He did not go to rest but went to the study.
Veronica was already waiting for him.
"Leit said that you have something to talk to me about," Gwen sat down behind the desk and looked at the "Saintess" holding a platinum scepter, the former leader of the Gondor rebels. "And I noticed that you looked at Princess Mathilda several times when you were welcoming me and at the banquet. Is it related to her?"
"Yes," Veronica nodded and said straightforwardly, "I sensed a little divine aura on her. It is very weak, but it does exist."
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