He had wanted to take advantage of the evening to ask Dorothy some questions about the exam, but just as they spread out their books in front of the fireplace, the hot badge on Shad's chest reminded him that the witch had already arrived downstairs.
The ringing of the bell downstairs was slower than the heat of the badge, so Shade had time to look out of the living room window. The familiar carriage coming from the snowy city meant that it was Miss Carina who came to visit this time, not Miss Sylvia.
"What's up with the demon?"
The Great Witch acted decisively. She asked immediately after Shade opened the door downstairs. Behind the Duchess was the deep winter night. Tifa had just stepped off the carriage and gave Shade a concerned look.
"Oh, Miss Carina, how did you know about this?"
Shade asked curiously, then stepped aside to let the witch and her group in.
The Duchess was furious. After entering the room, she took off her fox fur shawl and handed it to Tifa:
"I just came back from Sylvia, and she told me about Margaret Anjou's encounter with the devil. Her Royal Highness did not mention who she encountered this with, but we can guess that it must be related to you. A young girl like Margaret Anjou does not know how terrible the evil spirits of the Third Age are, so how could we not know? What is going on?"
The concern in his tone was palpable.
"Let's go upstairs and talk about it. But don't worry, the other party is not a very scary demon. I have found a way to deal with it."
Miss Carina probably came in a hurry, and there were only two maids accompanying her besides Tifa. They went to the kitchen and prepared tea with Dorothy. Although Leicia hated her great-aunt, Dorothy's attitude towards the duchess was barely neutral, and she didn't have any special thoughts.
"Shadow, do you understand what you are facing?"
After she sat down on the sofa, her tone was still so stern, which made Mia, who was lying in front of the fireplace to warm herself, squirm and look over here, as if she was worried that Shad would be bullied.
"I've seen Darkness and Human Pus, how could I not know what the devil represents?"
Xia De said, taking off the badge on his chest that continued to heat up and handing it to her:
"After the Human Pus incident, I met a very powerful friend who can help me exorcise demons. Look at this. I bought it from him for self-defense."
The "Witch Detection Badge" was originally made by Miss Carina for Shade, so she easily noticed the white bone edge on the side of the badge. When Father Augustus used the angel's bones to make the bone round badge, he took the issue of concealment into consideration, so under normal circumstances no one could see what the bone layer was used for.
Even after the witch checked, she couldn't find out what it was. It wasn't until she took out a small bottle of black mud-like substance and dripped it on the badge that the burning black flames made her frown relax:
"What material is this divine item made of? It seems that you really know an incredible alchemist."
"Ms. Carina, please don't worry about the demon. I will take care of it in a week at most. You don't have to worry about me."
Shade said again, then hesitated and took the Duchess's hand.
The red-haired witch's expression immediately relaxed, and she turned her head to look out the window with a very rare blush. Tifa, who was standing behind the sofa, winked at Shade with her left eye, which meant encouragement.
"If you think you can handle it, I won't say much, but you must be careful when dealing with things related to demons. The evil spirits of the Third Epoch are immortal and can even hide directly in people's hearts."
"I have a lot of holy water at home, and when the situation is resolved, I will bathe in the holy water."
Xia De said again, and then changed the subject:
"Besides the demon thing, I also learned another thing. Yesterday I was at the Three Cats Inn and ran into the people from the Apna Library again. I overheard their conversation with the Truth Society and the Pantanal Voodoo Society. The fragments of poems they sold were actually all incomplete. The location required for the ritual of the chosen one is not the water surface, but the 'island in the water'."
“The church’s patience with the Apner Library is probably running out.”
Miss Carina sighed. Shad did not say that "Sir Prisha is the chosen one". After all, Luvia had not yet figured out how to deal with the fourth chosen one.
"But the Pantanal Voodoo Society..."
She thought about it:
"Sister Develin is currently investigating the Great Swamp, and the Council has collected a lot of information to help her. I can't think of any reason why the Voodoo Society would get involved in the affairs of the Chosen Ones. I hope they are just hired thugs."
The maids brought tea, and Dorothy went straight into the study, without any intention of speaking to Miss Carina. The Duchess talked to Shad for a while, and when she finished her first cup of tea, she glanced at the clock in the corner of the living room:
"I have other things to do tonight. Come with me now and I'll be back in about two hours."
"No problem, but what are we going to do? Do I need to prepare additional weapons and spellcasting materials?"
Miss Carina thought for a moment:
"It shouldn't be dangerous. Sylvia is going with us. The Council has found information about a suspected 'Secret Keeper'. Let's try our luck. You can bring weapons, but in my opinion, that's unnecessary."
"A new keeper? Then let's go now."
Considering that the devil was still watching him and Dorothy, Shad did not bring the night watchman with him, but left the sword to the girl and cat at home.
He prepared the other relics and boarded the Duchess's carriage in the night, which carried everyone to the east of the city.
In the planning of the capital city of Tobysk, the eastern and southern parts of the city are both wealthy areas, but most of the nobles live in the south, while decent middle-class people like Dr. Schneider are concentrated in the east.
The sun sets early in winter, and the lowest temperature has already dropped below freezing, which makes people try not to stay on the streets at night. The nominal center of the eastern part of the city is the local natural church. The carriage carrying the crowd did not pass there, but Shade could see the magnificent side tower of the natural church a few streets away in the night, and the top tower of the church seemed to be shining in the weak moonlight.
Two streets west of the Natural Church is the famous Regent Park in Tobesk. It was built to commemorate the Regent John about 200 years ago. It is the largest park in the city of Tobesk. Its establishment and maintenance are also related to the Natural Church.
And tonight's target is this park.
The carriage drove quietly across the bridge across the Ninton River. When it stopped at the bridge, Miss Sylvia, wearing a black dress, was waiting for them in the shadows not illuminated by the street lights.
Not far from the Witch is the channel of the Nington River, which cannot be compared with the Terrariel River west of the Yodel Palace. It is just a decorative river with a very small flow in the city.
Due to the heavy snow a few days ago, the river was frozen and snowflakes covered the ice. On the riverside at night, a witch who looked like a beautiful woman in a landscape oil painting was staring at the river. After the carriage stopped, she turned around and walked to the elegant gas lamp at the bridgehead.
"Shad will handle the demon matters himself."
The Duchess said simply, and then instructed Tifa:
"You will be waiting for us in the carriage with Julia and Anne."
"Yes, miss."
Tifa, who was about to get off the carriage, shrank back again and handed a heavy cloth bag to Shade. The silent coachman drove them away.
"What were you looking at?"
Miss Carina asked Miss Sylvia, and also looked at the river under the sparse starlight:
"The river here doesn't stink. It seems that the Church of Nature has done something."
"I'm calculating the snowfall in Tobysk."
Miss Sylvia said simply, smiling at Shade:
"If my digital divination is correct, the snowfall in Tobesk this winter will be far higher than in previous years... ...Shad, do you really not need our help with the demon matter?"
"No need, I can handle it myself."
"I really like snowy weather. Let's stop chatting here and go this way."
The Duchess said in a low voice. She led the way in front, walked down the bridge and turned left, and arrived at the gate of Regent's Park.
Regent Park was originally a private garden of the royal family. It was opened to the public from the time of Resia's great-grandfather, and then hosted the Delarion-Carsenrick Industrial Fair. Every summer, grand concerts without seats are held here, and the Regent Lake in the center of the park is a good place to take a walk after dinner.
Roentgen Allee, where Dr. Schneider's clinic is located, is a 10-minute walk away. The doctor often comes here for a walk when he has nothing to do.
Of course, there is no one in Regent's Park on winter nights, because a few years ago, someone illegally stored steam engine parts in the park, which triggered a joint protest by nearby residents. Therefore, the use of land and opening hours of Regent's Park are strictly restricted by the City Hall.
Entry to the park was not allowed at this time, but for Shade and the two witches, this was not a problem at all.
Walk inward along the gravel path, stepping on the snow on the ground through the sparse coniferous forest. After walking down the dirt slope, the dark Regent Lake is not far away.
This small lake is only one-fourth the size of St. Teresa's Square. It is an artificial lake dug and connected to the Ninton River.
“It’s right here.”
Miss Carina said softly, and the two witches walked on Shad's left and right. Shad was holding the canvas bag and looking at the lake in the moonlight.
"I felt no trace of the elements."
Xia De whispered softly, and his nose smelled two perfumes at the same time. Although they were both unique perfumes called "Witch's Scent", they actually smelled different.
Perhaps she noticed Shad's subtle movement of twitching his nose, Miss Sylvia blushed slightly, but she smiled and said nothing.
"Yes. Before this, I looked through the files of Redwich Field. In recent months, the only strange rumors that have come out of here are young men and women who broke in at night for trysts and heard someone singing in the lake."
Miss Carina said, looking at Miss Sylvia. The witch with short black hair nodded after a beat:
"We need a special method to summon the Secret Keeper, but before that we need to do something else."