Miss Pavone said this, and Shade remembered that the reason why the Truth Society was originally connected with Margaret was because the Truth Society wanted to seek something from the princess. However, after arriving in Tobesk, due to the appearance of the fourth chosen one and the increasingly strict protection around the princess, the Truth Society members never appeared around the princess again after the night banquet at Lakeview Manor.
Now that Princess Margaret and her party are about to leave Tobesk, Miss Pavone appears again.
"Ma'am, what do you want to talk to me about? You don't have to be shy about Mr. Hamilton."
Margaret asked in a serious tone, and Miss Pavlo smiled:
"We chased you from Huntington to Tobesk, just for something very ordinary. Your Highness, our friends, some friends who love blood, gave us a page of a script used by a circus puppeteer. We learned from the script that you have a very strange book in your hand."
"Books? What books?"
Princess Margaret frowned slightly.
"Books from your school library."
Miss Pavone said, and Princess Margaret finally understood:
"The Secret of Immortality... But I lost that book."
She explained:
"I lost it on the night of the wedding banquet at Lakeview Manor. I didn't bring it with me, but put it in my luggage at Canary Manor. After I came back from Lakeview Manor, the book disappeared. For this, I paid a large sum of gold to the college library as compensation."
In fact, it was Miss Sylvia who took it away, and the Witch Council repaid the princess's compensation. Now the book is in Miss Carina's hands. Shade often saw the Duchess holding the book and reading it recently. Even on the way to Huntington City, Miss Carina still brought the book with her.
"As expected, the Truth Society is looking for the Secret Art of Immortality. They want to see the fragments of poems in it... The content of the fragments states that the number of pyroxenes required for the Chosen One's Ritual is five. Speaking of which, except for the Council, the Guiding Light Hermitage, and us, no one else seems to know this."
Xia De thought silently in his heart, but on the surface he pretended to be puzzled about what the two ladies were talking about.
"Oh, ma'am, you didn't think I had the book?"
Princess Margaret smiled sarcastically:
"If you just do a little research, you will know that I recently took out a large sum of money to solve the college's compensation problem."
Because they had to explain the origin of the money, the compensation was indeed the princess's savings, but the parliament would then compensate the money through trade with Miss Aurora instead of just throwing the money to the princess. With the tax system and banking industry gradually maturing, witches would not do such imprudent things.
Miss Pavo stopped spinning her umbrella in the snow and pursed her lips:
"Lost?"
"Yes, the college library investigated later and told me that there was no need to look for it. The book was taken away by a group of crazy women. If you want to find it, you can go find them."
"Mad woman..."
It can be seen that Miss Pavo almost immediately realized who this was referring to. Although the Witch Council is not a very famous organization, it is quite important to certain groups.
The sorceress opened her silver book, checked a few pages, and closed the book:
"It is indeed a witch... Well, I am sorry to interrupt your date, Your Highness."
She held the umbrella and bowed slightly, expressing her apology politely:
"I still stick to my point of view. Sometimes, ladies should take the initiative."
He chuckled and slowly stepped back. After retreating into the darkness that could not be illuminated by the gas lamp, he completely disappeared from the street.
Gone.
"She" whispered softly in Shad's ear.
Princess Margaret looked at Shade and said with some disappointment:
“The atmosphere changed immediately... I mean the atmosphere of storytelling.”
"Keep moving forward, the destination is not far away."
Shade said, and Margaret nodded, following the knight forward. The two tacitly did not talk about the previous story, but the princess would glance at Shade from time to time, her white hands tucked into her sleeves, and occasionally move closer to Shade, but she never had the courage to hold his hand.
"I am the princess of the United Kingdom of Carsenrick, and I will be the witch's apprentice."
She reminded herself in her heart, but the more she thought about it, the more she felt that this snow was extremely cold and heartbreaking.
Turning right from Smith Street and crossing the famous Queen Mary Avenue in the southern part of Tobesk, the two people in the snow finally arrived at their destination, the quiet Raven Lane.
Although it was an alley, it was much better than the narrow, dirty and chaotic neighborhoods in the slums. On both sides of the alley were three-story apartment buildings of similar specifications. The towering buildings stood quietly in the snow, welcoming the two people who arrived at night.
"Margaret, let's put on our cloaks and continue walking."
Shade gestured, and together with the princess, he put on his cloak and then his hood. Margaret didn't know the nearby neighborhood, and couldn't learn the name of the current alley by memory alone.
Therefore, as she and Xia De continued to move forward, she asked in a low voice:
"here it is... ... "
"Raven Alley."
Xia De answered, and the princess suddenly frowned slightly, then looked at the man's back suspiciously:
"Raven Alley, isn't this..."
Most of the windows on both sides of Raven Alley had turned off their lights, with only a few windows still lit by gas lamps. No. 7, located in the eastern section of Raven Alley, was one of the few buildings that still had its lights on in the snowy night. Of course, this was also related to the fact that it was not a simple residence, but had been converted into a grocery store.
When the hooded Shad pushed the door and prepared to enter, the princess looked up and saw the sign of "Smith Store". She finally confirmed that this was the place she was thinking of.
"But how could it be..."
The two entered the store. The person who was watching the store at night was a middle-aged man with slightly bald hair and wearing brown-rimmed round glasses. He was reading a novel at leisure. If Shade was not mistaken, it was "Hamilton's Detective Stories", and judging from the printing specifications and cover of the book, it was even a pirated copy.
"What do you want to buy?"
Although the guy in the cloak and hood looked suspicious, the shop owner was not panicked. He put one hand under the counter and still held the pirated novel that infringed the copyright of the writer lady in the other hand.
Xia De guessed that his hand under the counter was holding a pistol:
"I'm from the South, and I want to buy a Candle brand match."
The middle-aged man and Margaret frowned at the same time. The former put down the book and looked up at the two people who came in.
"Hello, southern visitor. Why don't you buy a Gaslight brand kerosene lamp?"
"Because I don't have any charcoal brand kerosene to light the lamp."
Shade said, then knocked on the counter table:
"I don't want a full box of Candle brand matches, I want a box with two missing matches."
"Yes, sir. Please wait a moment while I go get the goods."
As he said that, he opened the counter and walked out, then walked up to the second floor along the side stairs.
Shad turned his head to look at the princess in long boots behind him. The latter lowered her head and hid her face under her cloak, preventing Shad from seeing her expression.
The shop owner soon came back from upstairs carrying a black suitcase. He did not hand it to Shade directly, but went back to the counter first:
"You want two matches in a box, five pence in total."
Shad grabbed the matchbox with one hand and took out a shilling note with the other:
"Change please."
"Here is the change for £1,000. All in non-consecutive £10 notes."
The shop owner pushed the suitcase to Shade, then looked at him with a little awe, hesitated for a moment and spoke again:
"I never thought I would be able to see you in person. You are indeed an ace. I have been waiting for your arrival since autumn, but you unexpectedly showed up in the middle of winter."
After saying that, he smiled and shook his head:
"Of course, you may not be yourself now. Please keep these, thank you for your contribution, and have a good night."
Shade nodded, picked up the suitcase, and said in standard Carsenric:
"Eternal loyalty."
"Yes, eternal loyalty."
The shop owner bowed slightly to Shade as a sign of respect.
Turning around to leave, he found Princess Margaret behind him motionless. So he took the initiative to stretch out his empty left hand and hold the princess's right hand. Margaret's body trembled slightly, and then let Shade hold her hand, and the two returned to the heavy snow in Raven Lane together.
"you... ... "
The princess was about to say something but stopped herself and followed Shad towards the alley. She saw Shad take off his hood, then let go of her hand and raised his hand to take off her hood as well.
The two were very close at this moment. The girl with long light golden hair bit her lips lightly and turned her head slightly as if she was angry, not looking into Xia De's eyes.
Then, she felt Shad's hand holding hers again.
Their steps were unexpectedly much lighter, and the two of them, holding hands, came to the alley in silence. Xia De took the initiative to speak:
"Next, we'll take a carriage to Tobesk Public Cemetery to visit an elder."
"Um."
Margaret didn't know why she gave such a submissive answer. She followed Shade into the light of the gas lamp on the street again, but suddenly stopped:
"How old are you?"
I knew she would ask this question first.
"She" smiled and said in Xia De's ear, and Xia De also stopped:
"Twenty-two years old. Miss Carina and Princess Leicia are both quite aware of this. Come to think of it, you all seem to be a little older than me."
The princess pursed her lips, which showed her displeasure. But she knew that her displeasure was not caused by what happened just now, but because the young gentleman in front of her mentioned age:
"Are you his informant?"
Both of them knew clearly who the "he" here referred to.