Afterward, Richard entered the underground factory and loaded all the uranium ore from the warehouse into the Eden he brought, then returned to Blue Lake Estate.
In the study of Blue Lake Estate, Richard steadied himself slightly, adjusted his state, opened Eden, and walked in, fully dedicating himself to the nuclear weapon research and manufacturing plan.
By now, the sky was pitch black.
The pitch-black sky covered Jialan City, yet in one part of Jialan City, it was brightly lit and extremely lively.
This was precisely the residence of Marquis Vian.
In the ballroom of the residence, hundreds of candles were lit, and the crystal chandeliers above shone as brightly as a small sun, illuminating the entire hall without a trace of darkness, as if daylight had returned.
The band hired in the corner was the famous "Roth" band, all members dressed in blue and white uniforms, with intoxicated expressions as they played.
The variously shaped instruments, under the manipulation of the band members, produced incredibly soft and harmonious tones, continuously floating in the hall, creating a relaxed, joyful atmosphere.
In the middle of the hall, several dining tables were set up, adorned with exquisite utensils and abundant food: roasted goose with snow pear, herb-rubbed steaks, pan-fried cod, fruit platters...
There were so many participants that it was deliberately set up as a buffet to cater to different needs.
Of course, the attendees of this banquet rarely truly focused on the delicious food; more so they held glasses of wine, conversing with those around them to achieve their social objectives.
Like attracts like, and the entire hall faintly revealed several social circles.
Among them, the circle represented by Marquis Vian was the most important. Surrounding Marquis Vian and engaging in conversation with him were all the prominent figures in Jialan City, either wealthy or noble. Through conversation, they completed numerous exchanges of interests, influencing the future state of Jialan City.
Apart from them, there was the circle of noble ladies, who, although just affiliates of the nobles, behaved very gracefully at this moment, with a harmonious atmosphere. While speaking softly, they occasionally glanced towards the direction where their husbands were.
The rest formed the circle of noble children.
They were not the main characters of this banquet but couldn’t be ignored.
Though currently lacking the energy to influence anything, with the support of their parents, most would become the heirs of the family in ten years.
Therefore, they were all trying hard to behave like their parents, restraining their unruly nature, and conversing like true nobles with those around them.
Among them was the son of Marquis Vian—Harry.
Teenage Harry, at this moment, was dressed in an elegant black evening suit, talking with several familiar peers.
Several of these peers were his classmates at Ash Academy, having learned a little extraordinary knowledge, bearing a sense of pride, and showing a bit of disdain towards ordinary noble offspring.
However, they all maintained a certain respect towards Harry, partly because Harry’s father—Marquis Vian, possessed more powerful capabilities than apparent. On the other hand, they all knew Harry, apart from attending Ash Academy, was also studying under another powerful, mysterious wizard.
This wizard, it was said, was considerably more formidable than their teacher Vici at Ash Academy.
A girl spoke up, named Emily, around twelve or thirteen, wearing a pink dress, seriously looked at Harry and asked, "Harry, I heard that today’s banquet, your father—Marquis Vian, invited that mysterious wizard teacher of yours, right?"
After hearing the girl’s words, several peers nearby glanced towards Harry.
Harry nodded and admitted, "Indeed, I heard my father mentioned it. He did invite Teacher Richard to attend the banquet. However... knowing my teacher, he isn’t very fond of lively events, so the chances of his attendance aren’t high."
"What if, I mean, what if," Emily, the girl, seriously looked at Harry and said, "What if that Teacher Richard of yours comes, could you introduce us?"
"This..." Harry hesitated.
"Please, just let me meet him once," Emily pleaded, staring at Harry with big eyes.
Seeing Emily’s expression, Harry suddenly felt his heartbeat quicken and his throat a bit dry, he responded, "Alright."
"Thank you, Harry!" Emily immediately smiled happily.
Harry, looking at Emily’s smile, felt a flutter in his heart, almost unable to suppress his emotions, his face growing involuntarily warm. Noticing his sister Cathy waving at him from afar, he quickly apologized and walked over.
... Content originally comes from novel⚑fire.net
Harry quickly walked to his sister Cathy’s side, took a long breath, and then looked at Cathy and asked, "What’s up, Cathy?"
"Did Teacher Richard not come?" Cathy asked.
"Seems not." Harry shook his head.
"The banquet is already almost halfway through," Cathy said, a bit disappointed, "It seems likely that the teacher won’t be coming."
"Yes." Harry agreed somewhat, then sighed, "I was hoping to introduce Emily to the teacher, but it seems there’s no chance now."
"Emily?" Cathy raised an eyebrow, cautiously looking into the distance, locking onto the figure of the girl named Emily, then withdrew her gaze and looked at Harry, asking, "Why did you agree to this?"
"Well..." Harry opened his mouth, vaguely explaining, "She seemed sincere, and she’s always been nice to me. Her father, Mr. Rom, is on good terms with our father, so... I agreed."
"Nonsense!" Cathy saw through the truth, saying, "Clearly, you like her."
"I—" Harry opened his mouth again, not knowing how to explain.
At this moment, Cathy said, "Let me tell you first, although you like her, I really dislike her."
"Because I think she’s very fake, and most importantly, she’s wearing the same colored dress as me." Cathy pointed to her pink pleated skirt, rather angrily.
"..." Harry fell silent, feeling that the reasons girls disliked others were truly inexplicable.
"In any case, you may like others, but you can’t like her," Cathy said.
Harry frowned, feeling a bit embarrassed, and retorted, "Why?! You like others too, and I never interfered."
"I like others? Who?"
"Mino." Harry pointed at a boy with freckles in the distance.
Cathy widened her eyes: "I don’t like him at all."
"But when he expressed his affection towards you, you didn’t reject it."
"That was me testing him."
"Whether he was sincere."