Time passed.

Unknowingly, the New Year was approaching.

During this period, the Kingdom Defense Bureau's investigation into Loren Rose came to an end.

They seemed to have uncovered nothing useful.

The sealing of that bluestone building was over, and Ethan had even sneaked in to take a look.

There was a hidden basement inside.

But everything inside had been moved out, leaving nothing behind.

The only thing evident was that Loren Rose was likely a Sea God's believer.

Because there were many traces of Sea God worship in the basement.

As for the vacant position of president at Winster University after Loren Rose's disappearance, the board has not yet made a final decision.

However, with Ethan's influence, El indeed became the most promising candidate.

Now the board is inclined to appoint him as the acting president after the New Year.

This news made El ecstatic, and upon hearing it, he immediately went to Bolita Manor.

He knew very well who was behind the scenes helping him secure such an opportunity.

And after Loren Rose's case seemed unresolved, Ethan had been closely monitoring the Kingdom Defense Bureau's stance on Ned.

However, from the current perspective, the Kingdom Defense Bureau had no intention of moving against Ned.

Uncertain whether there was no clue, or if Ned's high status made him untouchable.

Ethan had no plans to change allegiance for the time being.

After all, the investment matters in Saint Kuanti were to truly begin after the New Year.

What consumed most of his efforts lately was the clearing plan against Albertine.

The Shadow had quietly arrived at Winster and settled in a secret safe house of the Bolita Clan.

In the days to come, Ethan would not expose this card to the light.

The Shadow was also content to live in the shadows.

Vincent had become well-acquainted with Albertine's real name weaknesses and his lifestyle habits.

These days, he kept scouting and observing.

Just waiting for a chance.

Finally, there was the matter of the King of the Beihai.

Although Gustav was a historian, he truly didn't know about the King of the Beihai.

However, having mingled in the Royal Capital for many years, he had some connections, mostly academic enthusiasts. If they were to look for someone specializing in the Kingdom's northern history, they could find one.

But since his friends were in the Royal Capital, sending telegraphs back and forth would take some effort.

Currently, there was no information on that front.

On this day, Ethan was finishing the modified version of "The Persistence of Memory" at home.

Since Anya had already checked, that man named Jackson Matherwell was indeed a famous art collector with considerable influence in the Royal Capital.

Ethan even contacted Pupol, who was far off gathering materials, to confirm that he had discussed Ethan with Jackson.

He learned that Jackson had arrived in Winster and was interested in representing Ethan's work.

Pupol also promptly said, "Since Jackson has found you, then you should hand over the painting to him. While he may not be as good as me at painting, he is better at promotion and marketing. My only requirement is that once the painting is brought back to the Royal Capital, I want to be the first to see it."

Ethan naturally had no reason to refuse this request.

Even though Jackson was an excellent art collector, having a master like Pupol to help with promotion was undoubtedly a strong support.

So he hurried to complete this painting.

His plan was to finish it around the New Year.

However, he was, in reality, quite beset with trivial matters.

Sure enough, just as he moved a few strokes, the phone rang.

After Anya answered it, she came over to tell him, it was Sofia calling.

He could only face Anya's rolling eyes as he went to take the call.

"Ethan, the New Year's banquet is coming up in a couple of days, and I don't know what to wear, could you help me pick out something this afternoon?"

"Of course."

Now was not the time to fall out with Ned, so Ethan naturally didn't decline Sofia's invitation.

As for the New Year's banquet, it was the City Hall's New Year's banquet to thank those who contributed to Winster over the past year.

Given Ethan's current status, he was undoubtedly among those invited.

And Vincent chose the timing for action.

Precisely on the day of the New Year's banquet.

————————

January 28th.

The day of the old and new year transition.

Although the new calendar system was already in use on both new and old continents,

However, regarding the true holiday calculation, both sides had maintained the oldest traditions.

So even though the new year had been around for almost a month, the real celebration was just about to begin.

On this day, the entire city of Winster was decorated with lanterns, filled with a festive atmosphere everywhere.

The only difference from previous years might be — the wine.

Even if privately brewed wine was rampant, it wasn't something that could be openly displayed.

But it doesn't matter, as there is now the best substitute, grape bricks.

Grape bricks had become the most popular product in Winster lately.

Or rather, not just in Winster, but also in neighboring cities like Itasca City, Butan City, and even farther ones, grape bricks were becoming popular.

This undoubtedly brought more revenue to Ethan and his team.

Especially with the New Year approaching, many people wanted to get some wine to celebrate.

The private winery was nearly operating 24 hours a day, yet demand still slightly exceeded supply.

To the point that the making of private wine became a bit lax.

But fortunately, with Vincent's supervision, no major mistakes ever occurred.

That morning, the last batch of the old year's private wine was fully produced, loaded onto trucks, and personally transported to the docks by Vincent.

This batch of wine was different, as it was not transported and sold via the Bolita family's previous routes.

It utilized the smuggling line obtained from the Corleone Clan.

A few days ago, after Lady Talia, the only daughter of the Corleone family, successfully arrived at Fengcui's hometown on the old continent, the line was wholly handed over to Ethan.

This time, it was the first use of this line for transporting Bolita Clan's goods.

Ethan valued it greatly, and so did Vincent naturally.

After delivering the goods to the dock, he watched as the dockworkers loaded the items onto the boat box by box.

These dockworkers were the skilled hands left by the Corleone Clan and were very familiar with smuggling operations.

This batch of private wine was naturally not for the old continent; after all, that region did not lack wine.

This time, they utilized their route to go out to sea, handing over the goods to those in need on the ocean, then transporting back to the Kingdom's mainland.

As for them, they continued to head to the old continent to bring back new wine.

Watching the large ship slowly disappearing at the harbor, Vincent turned to gaze at the bustling city.

The New Year was about to arrive.

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