Ch.178Chapter 178 – Invitation

Following Baek Yuwol’s guidance, we toured the Yellow Dragon Fortress. Since it was getting late and we were hungry, we followed her to a nearby restaurant.

I insisted on paying for the meal. When Baek Yuwol tried to pay with her own money, I said I wanted to treat her as thanks for the tour, and she reluctantly agreed.

“How is it? Does the food suit your taste? Some visitors from the Western Continent have trouble with our spices.”

As the food arrived and we began eating, Baek Yuwol asked after watching me take my first bite.

“Fortunately, it’s quite good.”

Contrary to her concern, the food here suited my taste well.

I’ve always been the type to eat anything without complaint, and my experiences in the military and small companies had trained me to eat whatever was put in front of me.

Besides, by my standards, the cuisine here wasn’t particularly heavy on spices—it was essentially typical Chinese cooking.

“I’m glad you like it. This restaurant is a place I always visit whenever I come to Yellow Dragon Fortress on family business.”

It seemed this restaurant was Baek Yuwol’s personal favorite spot.

The fact that she introduced me to her favorite restaurant suggested that she had taken a liking to me after I fixed her hand.

“You haven’t tried other restaurants?”

“I’ve been to several others, but the chef’s skill here is unmatched. That’s why I deliberately brought you here. Introducing guests to mediocre establishments and giving them unpleasant experiences would go against my family’s principles.”

Perhaps it was because she was raised in a prestigious family? Her introduction to a good restaurant aligned with her family’s principles.

Well, even in our Gelebrio Empire, any noble family with a reputation would strive to treat guests well rather than turning them away.

In particular, how lavishly one treated guests could significantly influence public perception of the family.

It was considered an indicator that the family had enough wealth to treat guests generously and that the head of the family possessed excellent character.

Thus, in most cases, it was a noble’s duty to treat visitors with respect and hospitality.

Of course, if the visitor was a hopeless ruffian, they would keep the hospitality to a minimum.

“Thanks to you, my taste buds have had a pleasant experience.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. If anything, I’m the one living a new life thanks to you, Count.”

“Is that so?”

I only fixed her hand, yet she claimed to be living a new life. I wondered how desperately she had wanted beautiful hands.

“Women who practice martial arts like me are greatly influenced by Lady Dok Jinhye. Although she practiced poison arts, she didn’t have the ‘poison hands’ typically seen in poison practitioners. Her secret was reaching a level where she could control the poison at will to preserve her delicate hands.”

Poison arts must refer to martial arts using poison. I’ve heard of poison hands before.

It involved dipping one’s hands in dozens of poisons to turn them into weapons imbued with deadly toxins.

Having read many martial arts novels in the past, I could understand Baek Yuwol’s explanation.

“They say that once practitioners of poison arts begin training their poison hands, they essentially give up on having beautiful hands. But after Lady Dok Jinhye mastered poison arts to the extreme and reached a level where she could control the poison at will to preserve her hands, it became essential for female martial artists to protect their beautiful hands.”

“Isn’t that a bit excessive?”

“Not at all. Compared to the poison arts Lady Dok Jinhye practiced, most martial arts in this world don’t damage the hands that much. Some martial arts even have beauty benefits that enhance the overall appearance of the body.”

I felt something odd about this.

Wait, then what about her?

Baek Yuwol’s own hands had been grotesquely deformed from practicing martial arts, hadn’t they?

“Then what happened to your hands, Miss Baek Yuwol?”

“It was because of the Vermilion Bird’s feathers. My fath—I mean, the head of my family recognized my talent for martial arts and had me grasp the Vermilion Bird’s feathers each time I reached a new level.”

So it wasn’t simply from learning martial arts.

“My hands were damaged as a result of touching the Vermilion Bird’s feathers. From then on, I strived to master martial arts to the extreme. I believed I needed to reach a level where I could hold the Vermilion Bird’s feathers without injury to preserve my hands. And now I’ve reached a level where touching those feathers doesn’t affect me at all.”

As she looked down at her hands with satisfaction, I felt a pang of sympathy for her.

“Well, now I have these beautiful hands thanks to you, Count. It still feels like a dream. I never thought I’d have such beautiful hands again.”

“Wasn’t there a method like ‘complete bodily transformation’ or something similar to fix your hands?”

“Complete bodily transformation? Well, I’ve never heard of that… what is it?”

Seeing Baek Yuwol ask what complete bodily transformation was, it seemed this concept didn’t exist in this world.

“Hmm, that’s interesting. I can see how one might think that way. But no matter how extremely you train in martial arts, your body doesn’t transform all at once.”

So it really doesn’t exist here.

Well, if such a thing existed, Baek Yuwol, who desired beautiful hands, would have done it long ago.

After finishing our meal with some trivial conversation, we resumed our tour of Yellow Dragon Fortress.

“Are you Count Patos Severio?”

While exploring various parts of Yellow Dragon Fortress with Seon Yuhwa and Baek Yuwol, a man wearing Golden Lion Unit attire approached and addressed me.

“Yes, I am. What is it?”

“A letter from His Majesty the Emperor. Now if you’ll excuse me…”

He handed me a letter and vanished as suddenly as he had appeared.

A letter from the Emperor, addressed to me.

Hmm… I wonder what it contains.

I carefully examined the letter he had delivered.

It was a thick paper envelope with an embossed dragon image, likely symbolizing the Liu Empire.

The envelope was sealed with wax, so I broke the seal with my fingers to open it.

Inside was a single sheet of paper.

It must have been infused with perfume, as a fragrant scent spread in all directions the moment I took it out.

I first checked what language the letter was written in.

If it was written in the language of the Eastern Continent, I wouldn’t be able to read or interpret it.

‘That’s a relief.’

Fortunately, the letter was written entirely in the common language used in the Western Continent, including the Gelebrio Empire.

The contents of the letter were as follows:

[To our esteemed guest from the Western Continent, we hereby inform you of the following.]

[The sixteen proud and noble great families of the Liu Empire have prepared a modest banquet to welcome you.]

[As you may know, the sixteen great families are distinguished houses that actively cooperate with the imperial family and serve as pillars of our glorious empire.]

[The date is one week from now. The venue is the Yellow Dragon Hall, a short distance from the imperial palace.]

[We sincerely hope you will attend the banquet. Forming connections with the heads of the sixteen great families will surely be of great assistance in your future endeavors.]

[Information regarding appropriate attire and etiquette will be provided through Seon Yuhwa. Until we meet again, we hope you enjoy your journey.]

The letter’s content was straightforward.

The Emperor truly seemed to respect the sixteen great families, showing deference to them even in this letter.

The important part came next.

The heads of the sixteen great families had prepared a banquet to welcome me.

They called it a “modest banquet,” but could anything prepared by the heads of the sixteen great families truly be modest?

Perhaps it would be grander and more splendid than any banquet I had ever attended.

But all I could do was attend.

“Miss Seon Yuhwa.”

“Yes, Count?”

“Would you teach me about the etiquette of the Liu Empire?”

I thought I should learn about the empire’s customs and protocols.

That way, even if I met the family heads one-on-one later, at least I wouldn’t be called disrespectful.

“Of course. Anything you request, Count.”

Fortunately, Seon Yuhwa agreed to my request.

I can only hope to form good connections with the family heads at the banquet in about a week’s time.