"Don't go back to Delarion anymore."
Xia De stood by the wooden ladder and said to the two people in the night, but he did not refuse their action of paying. This was what he deserved:
"I originally wanted to charge you a total of 100 pounds, but just give me 60. You still have to find new jobs and continue studying art, so you will need money plenty of time."
"Sir, I really don't know how to thank you."
Mr. Feringa said standing in the night, and finally gave the sewer drawings to Shad. He would never come back in this life, and these drawings were of no use to him.
"Sir... I don't ask for forgiveness... I am really... loyal..."
Although she was talking to Shad, Miss Brown was actually looking at Princess Margaret behind Shad, who was standing in the shadows that could not be illuminated by the lights on the ship.
Miss Brown was choking up and couldn't speak. Seeing this, Shade urged her:
"Go, go, we finally got here, don't..."
Suddenly, a large light was heard in the distance. Xia De turned his head suddenly and saw a group of people holding kerosene lamps approaching in this direction. The leader seemed to be Director Anros.
Others on the dock also looked towards the group of people approaching along the riverside street.
"MI6! The head seems to be..."
The maid behind the princess whispered, and Princess Margaret subconsciously looked at Shade, and her beautiful face was revealed from under the cloak.
"don’t worry."
Xia De said in a deep voice, and then immediately urged:
"Miss Brown, Mr. Feringa, you go aboard first."
Then he turned and walked towards the people who were approaching:
"Your Highness, don't move here. Leave everything to me."
He took off his hat and trotted off the pier. Mr. Feringa took his luggage and boarded the ship immediately, while Miss Brown, who was standing behind, turned her head for the last time to look at the silent princess:
"Feel sorry."
Margaret Anjou lowered her head and said nothing, while Miss Brown bit her lip and was finally pulled up the wooden ladder by Mr. Feringa.
Meanwhile, Xia De had already approached the group of people. The leader was indeed Director Anlos. The people behind him wanted to raise their guns, but Director Anlos, who recognized Xia De, stopped them:
"Oh, why are you here?"
He didn't call out Xia De's name. Xia De waved to his boss, then took two steps forward with him and the two spoke alone.
Xia De lowered his voice and pointed at the princess on the pier:
"Mr. Anros, what happened?"
Without waiting for Director Anros to explain, Shade said:
"That girl over there, Margaret of Anjou, I'm here with her to relax. We... um... she asked me out on her own initiative."
The middle-aged man looked at Xia De suspiciously, and Xia De smiled embarrassedly:
"Well, she has some smuggled goods to be checked out. They're on that ship. They're local tobacco. She came out for a walk with me as a sideline."
"It seems that you have completed your majesty's mission well."
Director Anros looked at the hooded figure on the pier from a distance. After Shade's reminder, he also realized that it was Princess Margaret. Of course, at this time, pretending not to see it is the best choice:
"Nothing much tonight. A defected agent has returned to Tobesk. We suspect she has connections with the Gray Gloves."
He did not doubt that Shad or Princess Margaret would help the former maid. The former had nothing to do with the incident, and the latter was even a victim:
"Don't stay out too long tonight."
Director Anros said:
"I am leading people to search along the river. After all, it is unlikely that she wants to leave by train."
"Why would you personally lead a search team for something like this?"
Shade asked curiously, Director Anros is the head of MI6, he usually does not participate in direct actions.
"After all, it is the end of the year now, and the Sixth Department will also be subject to His Majesty's assessment and year-end bonus evaluation."
He sighed, looking like a middle-aged man struggling to make a living:
"So I have to show some performance, after all, it is the end of the year, and His Majesty is still watching at the Yodel Palace."
Xia De nodded in understanding:
“It’s not easy.”
Director Anros patted Shade on the shoulder:
"Princess Margaret will be leaving next week. You still have one week left on your mission. I hope that damn grey eagle shows up."
He waved to the others behind him:
"The next dock."
So the team turned around and continued searching for other boats downstream.
Xia De said goodbye to Director Anlos, and after confirming that the group had gone far away, he returned to the princess by the pier in the dark:
"It's all right."
He said softly. Although Princess Margaret was curious about how Shad persuaded the MI6 people to leave, she did not ask any more questions.
After taking on the last two passengers, black smoke came out of the cargo ship's chimney. After a long whistle, the cargo ship slowly left the dock and headed along the river into the darkness downstream.
Princess Margaret said nothing from beginning to end. Only after the ship had sailed away did she stand on the pier and whisper to Shade:
"Detective, aren't you surprised that I'm here?"
"Why are you surprised? I think you want to see her leave with your own eyes, so that you can say goodbye to that unpleasant experience."
Shade said, he was finally relieved, after a day of hard work, he got nothing except a map and sixty pounds, but he was still happy:
"Aren't you glad to see Miss Brown go on board?"
“I am somewhat happy, but I also feel like I have said goodbye to my childish self.”
She seemed a little disappointed.
A smile appeared on Xia De's lips:
"Moreover, you have successfully made Miss Brown feel guilty for the rest of her life. She will never forget what she has done, just like you have in the past eight years."
Hearing what Xia De said, the face under the hood finally showed a smile, and Xia De continued:
"As long as you are happy, my hard work this day will not be in vain."
He stretched himself in front of the princess:
"Then, Your Highness, would you still mind eating purple cabbage in the future?"
The princess looked at him reproachfully:
"Of course I mind. That kind of vegetable is not tasty anyway."
She looked at Xia De who was nearby, paused for a moment and said softly:
"Thanks."
"Why are you thanking me?"
Xia De asked back, then waved his hand:
"Your Highness, I actually have a purpose as well. Can you help me contact Sir Prisha? I hope to meet him at my home around Sunday afternoon. There is also a ring wizard friend of mine. Please tell him that I am a ring wizard. Just say that I am looking for a ring wizard with the power of the moon, and you recommended him."
"No problem, but I'll go with you, otherwise the Jazz may not agree."
She hesitated.
"One more thing, Shade, from now on I allow you to call me by my first name."
The princess looked at Shade, who hesitated for a moment, feeling the cold wind from the winter river blowing on his cheeks:
"Well... Margaret?"
The princess smiled again:
"I will be returning home next week. I didn't expect that I would meet a friend like you during my visit to Tobesk. I think I know why the Duchess is fascinated by you."
Xia De did not comment on this. He made a gesture of invitation, left the pier with the princess and the maid, and walked towards the street lit by gas lights.
The moon was full and the stars were sparse. The city was so peaceful in winter. Princess Margaret was reluctant to talk to Shad about Miss Brown. When Shad sent the princess to the carriage, she hesitantly asked Shad a question:
"Why do you want to help them? Don't tell me it's really for the 60 pounds. With your strength, you can make this money more easily by doing anything."
“Why do we need a reason to help others?”
Xia De pointed to his chest and said firmly:
"If I really want to give a reason, I helped a lot of people in the fall, and they all helped me in the mountains later when I was in danger. This made me realize that it's not bad to do good deeds occasionally. And as a knight of Drarion, I actually still have some chivalry."
"But what you are doing is damaging the interests of Delarion."
The princess said softly, looking around to make sure no one was paying attention, and then she gently kissed Shade's cheek:
"Then knight, here is your reward."
After saying that, he got into the carriage and without even saying goodbye to Xia De, he told the coachman to drive away.
Only Xia De, covering his face, stood at the street corner and watched the carriage leave:
"Do girls of this era like to express their gratitude with kisses?"
Maybe this is just a treat for you.
she said in Shad's ear with a chuckle.
"However, she touched me directly, so why didn't she notice that there was something wrong with me as a man?"
Her witch power was even less than expected. It seemed that Miss Sylvia had never intended to allow her to have any connection with the Witch Council from the beginning.
Xia De smiled, put his hands in his pockets, kicked the stone at his feet with his right foot, and watched the stone jump into the alley next to him:
"It's time for me to go home. Mia is still waiting for me at home. I've been busy all day, I need to rest."
He turned and walked in another direction, with an indescribable ease in his steps.
"She" whispered softly in Xia De's ear, and the thin moonlight illuminated Xia De's way home:
The Sixth Era, 1853, deep winter, the sleeping month. The curtain of civilization slowly opens to you. Standing on the land of the old continent, you have already understood and become familiar with the struggle between the two kingdoms of human civilization. The princess sings softly on the stage, the king sits on the throne overlooking the earth, secret agents shuttle through the city, and the laughing duchess is still wondering what she thinks. My dear stranger, desire weaves a big web, power casts a scepter, money piles up bones, and fate composes poems. The kingdom is in your hands. War and peace will be decided by you. This era has become more interesting because of your arrival. What kind of future do you look forward to
"Why are you saying this at this time? Have I accomplished something difficult? You have always spoken in this tone only after I have accomplished something great."
You are involved with princesses from both countries at the same time. This is enough to affect the situation of human civilization, because they are all very ambitious. Tonight, the anchor of civilization has been touched by you.
"She" smiled and answered gently in Shad's ear.
"Besides, why do you say that I am the conspirator behind the kingdom, plotting to overthrow the world?"
Xia De complained quietly in his heart, and turned to look at the carriage that had gone far away:
"According to what you said, it seems that I can easily influence the two kingdoms. When did I have such power?"
"She" just chuckled, but under Xia De's repeated questioning, she still asked back:
Foreigner, do you wish you had such power? "
Xia De looked up at the hazy moon in the sky:
"The pursuit of power is too tiring. I choose to pursue strength."
You've heard that knowledge is power, but isn't power also authority
Xia De shook his head and walked towards home.