"I remember it was a cat's meow, three short and one long, repeated twice."
It was hard to say whether it was more embarrassing to be discovered as an agent or to be seen imitating a cat's meow. Xia De pondered in his heart and returned to the auditorium along the path. After climbing in through the window at the end of the corridor, he wrote a note in the corridor, noting the location and time of the bomb, then pursed his lips and tried his best to imitate the sound of a cat.
Because he lives with a cat, he thinks he imitates it quite well.
Although it is not common to hear a cat meowing in a building, it can also be regarded as a wild cat breaking in. After the meow, Shade quickly threw the note on the ground and left from the other side of the corridor.
Soon, the guard who heard the cat's cry and came to check the situation alone saw Xia De coming from the direction of the bathroom. The two of them found the note together, picked it up and checked it. When they saw the content of the note, the guard's eyes widened suddenly.
"Sir, whether this is true or not, you need to inform your superiors as soon as possible."
Xia De remained calm and told the other party his identity:
"I'm Hamilton from Rejade. Quick, tell your superiors about this. Who's in charge here now? I'll take responsibility. Evacuate the crowd as soon as possible."
As he spoke, he adjusted his bow tie to make himself look taller.
The two quickly returned to the entrance of the lecture hall No. 3. Xia De's identity was indeed very useful, and the note attracted attention. At this time, Princess Margaret had also sent her personal maid to check the situation at the entrance of the lecture hall. After asking the guards at the door about the situation, the maid immediately returned to the princess in panic, holding up the hem of her skirt.
"Sorry, I guess I have to interrupt rudely."
So, when the gentleman on the podium was calculating the conduction formula with chalk, Princess Margaret stood up in front of everyone's surprised eyes:
"Now, everyone get out of here. Yes, immediately."
Although no one knew what was going on, since the princess had spoken, people quickly and orderly evacuated. Fortunately, there were not too many people in the lecture hall, including the visiting delegation, envoys, dignitaries from Tobysk City Hall, and accompanying professors from the school, so everyone retreated to the corridor in just two or three minutes.
It was only then that the note with the bomb information was finally known to the public. Princess Margaret asked for the note and trembled when she saw it.
She looked at Shade with sharp eyes and opened her mouth with countless questions to ask, but at this time, the muffled explosion and the subsequent screams in the lecture hall made it impossible for the princess to talk to Shade. She was protected by the guards and quickly left through the corridor. No one could guarantee that there were no other bombs.
The time bomb was a small bomb made in a workshop, and it only blew up four tables in front and behind. Its power was not great. But the explosion of the bomb still caused great panic, so much so that the college visit that morning was canceled.
All the people present, including Shad who came back from the bathroom, were searched and questioned. Even Shad and the guard were questioned separately because they were the first to find the note. At this time, the carriage that Princess Margaret was riding in had already left here, and the gentlemen who had booked to play Rhodes with Shad had to give up their plans to play cards and dispersed with the shocking news.
"Did you find anything?"
At 12:10 noon, Director Anros took Shad out of the Redwich Field. The matter was handed over from the police to MI6, and Shad, who was suspected, was naturally released immediately.
He could have dropped a note himself to make a noise to attract people to discover the bomb, which was possible, but after using the Grey Eagle signal to attract Princess Margaret's attention, MI6 naturally suspected the Grey Gloves, and had no idea that this matter was related to the loyal "Hamilton of Rheed".
Shade nodded, and boarded the carriage home with Director Anros at the gate of the Redwich Field. As the carriage slowly moved forward, Shade told the facts he had woven:
"I also heard the cat's meow before I found the note. But when I saw the note, there was no one else in the corridor except the young guard."
Dark Anros, who was in a normal mood in the past, now looked a little gloomy:
"That guard is a royal guard. His origins can be traced back three generations. He is fine. The note contains the location of the bomb, the person who dropped the bomb belongs to the Principality of Lamia, and a janitor who was killed across the street. The note is the key, but it was taken away by Margaret of Anjou. There is every reason to believe that the person who wrote the note is someone from the 'Gray Gloves'."
Xia De controlled his mouth and did not let a smile appear. His colleagues were indeed suspecting the wrong person and were suspecting another colleague of his.
Director Anros was unhappy at this time, partly because Margaret Anjou was assassinated, but more because the Gray Gloves discovered this earlier than the MI6:
"There was no one else in the corridor at the time. I thought the guy must have run away from the window... Did you see anyone suspicious afterwards?"
Xia De thought about it:
"When I was walking out of the auditorium with other visitors, I did see a stranger who I didn't know very well mixed in with the crowd..."
He described the specific image of "the other party":
"It was a man, probably in his twenties, or at least he looked like he was in his twenties. He was about the same size as me, and his clothes were similar, but I didn't see his face clearly. I was curious about who he was, but he soon disappeared in the crowd."
"That agent must have escaped during the chaos."
Director Anros took a deep breath:
"This matter cannot be suppressed. Tomorrow's front-page headline will probably be about the lecture hall where the explosion occurred."
He rubbed his brows, and then Xia De asked curiously:
"This assassination should soon lead to the capture of the relevant personnel, right?"
"I'm not worried about that. The rebels in the Principality of Lamia won't get away this time. I'm worried about the Gray Gloves. It's obvious that their power in Tobesk is beyond our expectations. Although they indirectly did a good thing this time, we still have to be on guard... If there was evidence, I would even suspect that the damn Gray Eagle has appeared again."
The carriage stopped, and Director Anlos was about to get off. Shade looked out the window and saw that they had already reached the intersection of Saint Teresa Square. Director Anlos would probably have to go directly to the Yodel Palace to report to King Larousse III, and he would probably get a scolding.
"Shad, in the next few days, I need you to stay with Margaret Anjou as much as possible. I suspect this matter is not over yet. I will organize people to be responsible for her safety. You need to pay attention to who is in contact with her. I heard that you have a good relationship with her? If possible, it would be best to get the note back."
Director Anros said to Shade who got off the carriage through the window:
"I will arrange your promotion after Margaret of Anjou and her group leave."
Xia De didn't react much to the promise of "promotion", but instead asked:
"Your Highness, will you continue your tour this afternoon?"
"No, all itineraries will be reviewed again. If something like this happens again, it will be an international scandal."
But in fact, with the power of the bomb today, it is impossible to hurt Princess Margaret, who is five rows away from the seventh row. Not to mention that as a fourth-ring warlock, even if the bomb exploded under her feet, the damage would definitely not be fatal. It's just that people don't know the power of Her Royal Highness the Princess, and they don't care about the specific parameters of the bomb. They only care about the connection between "Princess" and "bomb attack".
"Tonight, as usual, everyone who is here today will be invited to a dinner. Margaret Anjou needs to comfort those who were unfortunately involved in the incident because of her."
Director Anros said:
"Shad, will you go?"
"Of course I will go. I think the princess would like to talk to me, too."
Xia De nodded, and Director Anros smiled:
"I originally promised Miss Carina that I would let you join the Sixth Department so that you... I will personally apologize to the Duke, but you are really outstanding, young man, really outstanding."
The news of the steam bomb attack at the Third National Mechanical Institute auditorium spread throughout the city in just a few hours in this era of underdeveloped communication. Dorothy naturally learned the news from Shade who had returned home first, and then exchanged souls to let Leicia, who had been handling matters at the Yodel Palace this morning, know the details.
Among his friends, only Dr. Schneider knew clearly that Shad had inherited the name "Grey-headed Eagle". Even Lecia only knew that Shad worked for MI6.
In fact, given the relationship between Shad and Leicia, it would be fine to tell her about the "Grey-headed Eagle", but Shad decided to give up this identity after protecting Princess Margaret during her visit and repaying the kindness of Detective Sparrow. Once Leicia was informed of the identity of the "Grey-headed Eagle", Leicia would definitely use this identity to do something.
Instead of telling the truth to Recia and letting her choose between him and her own ambition, it is better to say nothing, just like his promise to Detective Sparrow, so that this middle-aged man sleeping in a foreign country can rest in peace.
So, Shad decided to be the bad guy himself.
But even though he wanted to repay Detective Sparrow's kindness, Shad did not lie to Recia. He told the story from a bystander's perspective and told Recia everything he knew by touching her soul and feeling her memories.
Of course, Her Royal Highness the Princess could tell that when Xia De said "I saw someone", he was actually referring to himself.
The blonde held her face in her hands and tilted her head to look at Shade:
"It seems like you have some little secrets you don't want me to know."
"I want to protect another person's reputation."
Xia De said, hesitated for a moment, and added:
"After Princess Margaret leaves, I will tell you what I have concealed this time. I just hope you won't be too surprised... Well, you will definitely be surprised."
"As long as your secret is not that you are actually a woman, I won't be surprised by anything."
Leicia said with a smile, reaching down, looking at Xia De, and said softly:
"Hiding secrets from your princess is unbecoming of a knight. I will punish you."