When he saw Marquis Mikhail, the tall and thin middle-aged man was looking at the portraits on the wall with his hands behind his back. According to the gilded nameplate below, it was Miss Mihail's grandfather, Marquis Sanchez Mihail.
Compared with Earl Hessa, who has a particularly outstanding military temperament, Jenkins thinks that Marquis Mihail is more like a politician. Miss Windsor happened to be here, wearing a white dress suitable for a dinner party, with decent jewelry and elegant light makeup, which was inseparable from the Marquis.
Obviously, the protagonists of this dinner were originally Miss Windsor and Jenkins, and the Marquis was only the host.
The dinner was very rich. Jenkins liked the foie gras very much, but stayed away from the medium-rare steak; the lamb stew with potatoes looked very good, but in fact it tasted as strange as the baked fish steak; if chocolate can accompany Jenkins to appear Here, then it will definitely like cold cuts, this cat has always eaten delicately, but now it may only be accompanied by life orbs and metal nuggets.
The bottle of wine that Jenkins brought was opened for the dinner, and everyone drank some. Miss Mihail's eldest brother, a sturdy man who worked in the financial department of Nolan City Hall, praised Jenkins' vision severely.
With the family of the Marquis Mihail present, neither Miss Windsor nor the Marquis himself raised any sensitive topics at the dinner. Most of the topics discussed during the dinner were related to the local news of Nolan.
The Marquis was not as serious as he seemed, and even took the initiative to tell a joke at the dinner table. It's not funny, though, and it's kind of a pornographic metaphor—or maybe Jenkins got it wrong.
After the dinner Miss Michael had wanted to have a talk with Jenkins, to thank him personally for the events of that evening. But Marquis Mihail and Miss Windsor had already walked to the study with Jenkins, and that was the place to talk about things.
Just as Jenkins expected, the Marquis sat behind his desk and didn't speak at all, but looked at Miss Windsor who was sitting directly opposite Jenkins.
She dressed a bit maturely today, with a lazy temperament besides the girlish charm.
"Long time no see, Jenkins."
Jenkins didn't think the two were close enough to call each other by first names, but he didn't point that out right away.
"Long time no see, Miss Windsor. You look even more beautiful since Beldyran's parting."
Yes, Miss Stuart taught.
"Your compliment is truly flattering."
Although it is annoying, the necessary courtesies and pleasantries cannot be omitted. And after this series of nonsense, they finally got to the point.
The topic was started by Miss Windsor. She talked about Jenkins winning the Ritter Award a month ago, and then she talked about the Queen's early departure at the dinner that day, and finally pointed to the Queen's physical condition.
What Miss Windsor said was more serious than what Earl Hesha revealed, and when it came to this matter, it really had something to do with the succession of the throne.
"I understand. She wants to win over the Church of the Sages in Nolan Diocese, so as to get the help of the largest church in the country!"
Jenkins thought he had found the truth about tonight's dinner.
The trend of the conversation that followed did not exceed his expectations, but even though there were only three people in the room, Miss Windsor still didn't understand what she said.
She seemed to want Jenkins to understand some veiled meaning hidden in the words, and Jenkins understood the intention, but not at all what she was trying to express.
"Mr. Williams, this is the general situation now, do you understand?"
"I may understand...Her Majesty's health is a concern, so ownership of the crown is the object of all relationships. The Royalists want the Queen to choose the heir herself, rather than a foreigner with no political experience. People live in Cold Spring Palace; the King Zun Party hopes to transfer the power of the royal family according to the normal order of succession, and most of those people are nobles with actual power, and they want to control the parliament to vacate the new king, so as to achieve interference in the power of the kingdom."
This was summed up by Jenkins after a few seconds of silence. Both the Marquis and Miss Windsor were a little surprised. They didn't expect this young man who had never been exposed to politics to be able to see it so clearly.
"Quite right."
She expressed surprise at Jenkins' performance, and didn't have time to organize what followed.
"I like your coining of the terms 'Royalist' and 'Royalist' very interesting... So, Mr. Williamett, what do you think of the matter?"
You don't even need to think about it. Miss Windsor, who grew up with the queen, is of course a member of the royalist party, and Marquis Mihail should be too. Even Miss Windsor herself may want to wear the crown. If the queen appoints a successor, she will be the most powerful candidate.
"I have no idea, this matter has nothing to do with me."
No matter how stupid he is, he knows that this kind of thing must not be taken lightly, otherwise he will definitely face a lot of trouble in the future. Moreover, he has no need to stand in line at all.
"You are really honest. Sorry, I didn't mean anything else, I just wanted to ask for your personal opinion. I swear on the honor of the Windsor family, it is absolutely impossible for a fourth person to know what happened tonight."
After finishing speaking, he turned his head to look at Marquis Mihail, and his gentle gaze towards Jenkins immediately became sharp.
The tall and thin middle-aged man shrugged, raised a hand and said:
"In the name of the Great Lord God of War, I will absolutely not disclose the conversation that happened here tonight in any way."
He obviously knows Jenkins better, because Jenkins' next sentence is:
"Miss Windsor, I think you should swear to the gods like the Marquis."
Miss Windsor was not angry with this sentence, she raised a hand, but her eyes were still fixed on Jenkins:
"I swear to the great sages who inherit the righteous gods that I will never leak the conversation that happened here tonight in any way."
She was a shallow believer, and Jenkins found nothing of a believer in the lady.
"My view is very simple. I just hope that the kingdom can be peaceful, the people's living standards can continue to improve, and the development of the steam industry will not stagnate."
Miss Windsor's beautiful eyes rolled:
"Then the bloodline inheritance of the royal family is not important, the bloodline of the Middleton family has continued from earlier eras..."
"Under the circumstances of equal ability, of course I support the most orthodox heir."
Jenkins did not say whether what he considers "orthodoxy" refers to the queen's appointment or the law of succession, so the sentence remains vague.
As if she got the answer she wanted, Miss Windsor smiled again.
The following conversation did not involve such a sensitive issue. Marquis Mihaile remained silent, while Miss Windsor talked with Jenkins about the kingdom's decree. She greatly appreciated the behavior of the Church of the Sages in paying for the kingdom's public facilities, and asked Jenkins about the Air Protection Act.
He almost said things like green water and green mountains.
All in all, it was a very boring dinner party, and very inexplicable. After the meeting in the study, Mrs. Michael gave Jenkins a tea set as a gift. He also found that Miss Michael seemed to have something to say to him, but Jenkins did not find a chance for the two of them to be alone.
Both Miss Windsor and Marquis Michael obviously knew about the existence of the extraordinary world. In the guard, Jenkins saw at least five benefactors, but none of them were of a high level.
Jenkins was still puzzled as he left the brightly lit marquis mansion in a carriage. He looked back at the buildings that were about to disappear from his sight, and kept recalling the content of the conversation in the study.
"It seems to be probing, but why do you keep asking me to express my views on the kingdom's decrees? Strange..."
He turned his head and sat up straight, thinking that the church was where he stood, so he temporarily forgot about these things. Thinking of going back, I couldn't help but narrow my eyes:
"Hope the chocolate doesn't cause trouble at church."
When he returned to the church, he found that Bishop Parode was still awake, so he told him everything that happened tonight. After listening to his story quietly, the old man patted his shoulder lightly:
"You don't need to take this matter to heart. The church has already started to pay attention to the situation in the kingdom. Everything will be fine."
So far, the newspaper has never mentioned the news of the queen's physical condition, which at least means that the situation is not so bad that there will be a coup tomorrow. It was only when Jenkins was lying in bed that he realized that no matter who is on the throne, it will not have much impact on his life. Instead of something so distant, it is better to concentrate on how the opera script should be completed .
After all, Miss Mihail found time to have a detailed talk with Jenkins. It was early on Sunday morning, Jenkins was even ready to start copying the tadpole text, and the carriage took the beautiful girl to Papa's antique shop.
She politely pushed open the door of the store, and her father didn't even ask her what she wanted, and motioned the two young men to go to the upstairs reception room to talk.
"Meow~"
Jenkins tried to pick up the chocolate, curled into a fuzzy ball on the counter, but it lazily extended its paw and patted the back of Jenkins' hand, refusing to leave its warm spot.
Jenkins smiled and shook his head, stroked his cat's back again, and then followed Miss Michael up the stairs.
The location of Dad's reception room is very good. Sitting on the sofa, you can just see the street view outside the window. Although there was no more snowfall today, the air was still so bad that even on Sunday morning, there were only sporadic passers-by wrapped in scarves hurrying by. There was a pot of verdant greenery on the window sill, and it had been there since Jenkins first came in the summer, and Dad came to water it when he had time, so it was always half dead. It wasn't until Jenkins' [Contact Healing] was upgraded to [Healing Breath], and it was discovered that it could be used to transport the spirit of life, that the potted plant came back to life.
"Miss Michael, would you like some tea?"
"No, Jenkins, I'm leaving right now, please don't bother."
She gestured for Jenkins to sit down, opened her mouth to speak, but blushed instantly.
This was just an instinctive reaction of the body, and she was sure that she had no reason to blush now. It is normal for the human body to go beyond conscious control at times.
"Last time, I mean Tuesday evening, Jenkins, thank you for your help."
As he spoke, he looked up at Jenkins' cheek. It had only been less than a week, and only a shallow scar could be seen on the side of his face, which should not leave permanent marks.
After discovering this, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"Is it just this thing? No, no need to thank, I think every normal gentleman will react that way when encountering such a situation. We should thank God for making that gunman's marksmanship so bad, otherwise It's not just that."
He reached out to touch his cheek, and he had forgotten about it in the past few days, and he didn't expect it to get better so quickly.
"So we're friends, right?"
"Of course, of course we're friends."
Jenkins nodded, not understanding why she wanted to ask that question.
"So, can I invite you to a winter vacation? Hathaway, I, and some other friends go to a small mountain villa in the Norland Mountains for vacation every year in mid-January. Although it is a bit remote, But it’s very interesting, and there’s even a spring that’s not frozen all year round, so I think you’ll be interested. Oh, you can bring your friends, and chocolates are fine too.”
This can be considered as a way to improve the relationship between the two parties. Brienne Mihail has fully figured out that there is no need for her to be hostile to this man who has the character and spirit of gold. Whether it is for the future or the present, it is necessary to further deepen the relationship.
She is also ashamed of her past suspicions.
"A winter mountain retreat... secluded?"
Jenkins was unwilling to leave Nolan City for a long time.
"Take a carriage from Nolan City, if it goes well, you can get there in two days. The journey is also very interesting, and the pine forest and snow scene in winter can't be seen elsewhere. It is a private territory, and there is only one bridge for people to get in and out , no one other than friends will show up."
"I'm going to ask Dad's opinion, if he can approve the holiday, then I think it should be fine."
"Okay, we haven't set a date yet, but winter vacations usually only last a week."
As he spoke, he stood up, and Jenkins quickly stood up too.
"Then I'll take my leave, Jenkins. It's a pleasure to be your friend."
"I'm glad too."
It was a strange thing to say, but the unexpected visit was finally over.
Jenkins sent Miss Michael to the door, and drove her carriage into the thick fog again. The girl was a little preoccupied when she boarded the carriage, so after sitting down, she found that there was an extra man in the carriage:
"Father! Why are you here..."
PS: The ordinary daily life will soon be over. This volume has completed 2/3 so far. Before the next intermission, the winter vacation story begins, it is estimated that there will not be such a long ordinary content.