Just like what Shade said, no one could believe that the ace agent, the "Grey Eagle" who had done countless great things, was sleeping in such an unknown corner. No one would have the chance to know his story and everything in his past.
"Margaret, please say something for Detective Sparrow."
"Grey Eagle, on behalf of the Anjou family, I thank you for your contribution."
The princess said softly, reaching out her hand and touching the tombstone:
"On behalf of Shade, I also thank you... Please rest in peace in a foreign land, and may your soul rest forever. In the name of the royal family, although I cannot grant you glory and wealth, the heroic spirits of the ancestors of the Anjou family are with you. Your story has ended, and God bless your soul."
She quietly praised the Goddess of Creation and respectfully drew the holy emblem below the button of her cloak. Then she took off her ring and handed it to Shad, who dug a deep pit next to the grave and buried the princess' ring next to Detective Sparrow, an honor he deserved.
Margaret looked at Shad:
"In the name of Margaret of Anjou, I appoint you as the Grey Eagle."
"You are just a princess, you don't have such power."
Xia De pointed to the road, then pointed to himself:
"I don't need your appointment."
He said seriously:
"Because I am the Gray Eagle who inherited everything. But from now on, the Gray Eagle will only be loyal to you, my princess."
He bowed to Princess Margaret, who nodded modestly.
"We've seen the loyal agent, now let's go back."
Without looking back at the former detective who was sleeping in a foreign land, the two turned and walked into the snowy night.
"You know, Shade, if it wasn't so rude to kiss in front of someone's grave, I would have wanted to keep kissing you when you called me 'my princess' just now."
Only the faint whispers of the two people could be heard in the darkness.
"Go back to the carriage at Canary Manor. You can do this... Can you give me back the note that reported the bomb? Maybe I can use that note to get myself a lot of things."
The hooded girl in the dark patted Shade:
"I'm leaving tomorrow. Will you miss me?"
The young detective's chuckle was almost inaudible:
"Perhaps soon, Margaret, you will see me somewhere you will not expect."
"Really? I just hope that the carriage on the return trip can go slower."
It was 7:34 in the evening when they left Canary Manor, and when the carriage stopped one street away from the manor, it was 9:56 on Tuesday night, which was quite a bit later than what Shad had originally estimated.
But even though they had wasted a lot of time, they still did not return to the manor immediately. At the princess's request, Shade, who could only kiss the princess, kissed the southern girl who was about to return home again in the snow.
When they were about to return by climbing over the wall of the back garden, they unexpectedly ran into Sir Prissy who also seemed to be returning from outside. As a member of the visiting delegation, he should not be able to leave the banquet easily.
Sir Prisha was in such a hurry that he didn't even notice Shade and the other man who had entered the garden earlier. At this moment, the two men were kissing each other for the last time. They were frightened by the Sir and hid in the corner of the garden, watching the Sir hurry by without noticing them.
"What was Jazz doing so late at night?"
Xia De thought in surprise, but Margaret kissed him again, asking for a final farewell:
"Don't come to see me off tomorrow, knight. I'm afraid I won't want to leave."
She pushed Xia De, as if to give herself the courage to part with him:
"I hope to see you in Willendale in the summer... Bye... Remember to wear lipstick."
Having said that, he left in a hurry with red eyes, leaving Xia De standing there with the box in his hand.
He sighed slightly, and in the dark, he turned the suitcase into a toy and put it away:
"A thousand pounds."
After walking a few steps forward, a completely new figure suddenly appeared. Purple eyes seemed to be shining in the dark garden. Luvia must have just entered the garden because there was no snow on her shoulders.
"I just saw Princess Margaret wiping away tears as she left."
Luvia chuckled and then looked him in the eyes and added:
"Don't say that the wound on your mouth that is almost healed has nothing to do with her."
"About that, she said, she made me her lover whom she could only kiss, and I was still a gray eagle, a gray eagle who was loyal only to her."
Luvia showed a mocking expression on her face:
"Another girl who wants it all, eyeing the position of witch apprentice, but still entangled with men. If she hadn't met you, her ending would have been tragic. Young girls always don't understand that being too greedy will only hurt themselves."
Xia De was silent for a moment:
"Feel sorry."
"Why apologize to me? If I couldn't tolerate this kind of thing, I should have taught you a lesson when I found Leithia Cavendish and Dorothy. They didn't understand how lucky they were to meet you in such an impossible probability, but I do."
She snorted, folded her arms across her chest, and stood shoulder to shoulder with Shade, looking in the direction where Princess Margaret had left, letting the snowflakes turn her hair white:
"That's good. At least we have a loyal and reliable ally in the secular forces in Carsenrick. Lovers who can only kiss... Humph, how greedy."
After laughing, he looked at Xia De again:
"The dance is about to begin. You don't have any other dance partner tonight, right?"
Leicia is attending an important meeting at the Jodel Palace tonight, which is said to be related to His Majesty the King's public speech at the end of the year. It seems that there is a problem with the statistics; Miss Sylvia cannot dance with Shad in such a public occasion even if she wants to; and Princess Margaret, who just left, has already said her final goodbye.
"Of course not."
Luvia nodded and asked arrogantly:
"Don't be like that. Are you unhappy about dancing with me? Xia De, I just hope that if you ever plan to become the behind-the-scenes ruler of the Old Continent, remember to inform me in advance. I also want to be prepared to manage this family."
"Sorry, what?"
"nothing."
She took Shade's hand:
"Let's go dancing. And I'll stay at your house tonight..."
The purple eyes staring at Xia De were actually glowing:
"Remember to tell me what you did to the princess during the two hours you were away."
(Iluna is praying...)
Princess Margaret's delegation finally left on Wednesday morning.
As agreed, Shad did not go to Tobesk train station to see the princess off. Instead, he and Luvia stood on the side of the tracks outside the train station, watching the train pass by them and go off into the distance.
"Go back."
Xia De said to the purple-eyed girl that the snow last night lasted until midnight and it had stopped falling now. But even so, it was still not a good idea to stand outside in this weather.
"I just didn't expect that you really wouldn't go and say your final goodbyes."
Luvia looks good today.
Xia De looked far away at the direction where the train was leaving:
"The steam-powered airship will probably land in Huntington on Saturday morning. I can even go to greet it then. Why say goodbye?"
Turn around and leave with Luvia:
"Let's continue with the previous topic. You talked so much with Miss Sylvia at the banquet last night. It's a pity that she is not the next chosen one?"
"Yes, but unfortunately, she is not. But this lady is indeed quite intelligent, and perhaps you should accept to become her apprentice, which will be of great help to you."
Luvia also sighed, and the two of them walked around the low wall on one side of the station and returned to the street to prepare to take a carriage back:
"The two known candidates are still Lakins Prisha and the vice president of the Truth Society. It is really difficult to choose the candidate this time."
Shad agreed with her.
They got into a carriage at the corner of the street, but instead of having the driver take them back to St. Teresa's Square, Shad asked the driver to take them to Mr. Booker's library.
Two days ago on Monday, Shad and Sir Prisha, who was already on the train, recovered the Book of Fools there. Shad promised to take time to visit the unfortunate book collector.
Luvia had also heard Xia De talk about this matter, and even knew that Xia De had obtained a relic book and planned to give it to her as a year-end gift.
The carriage arrived at the destination very quickly, but after it stopped at the intersection, before Xia De stepped out of the carriage, he heard the driver's surprised voice:
"Oh, what happened?"
"What's wrong?"
Xia De jumped off the carriage and looked up, and was surprised to find that the original location of the library had been burned into ruins. There was still smoke coming out of the ruins, and the buildings on both sides of the library were also severely damaged. It was obvious that the fire had just been put out.
The smell of burning was extremely pungent, the place was in a mess, and large areas of the ground were frozen.
A fire truck pulled by four black horses was parked in front of the ruins. The hose of the red-painted fire pump driven by a double-cylinder steam engine on the carriage was even dripping water onto the muddy ground.
The air was cold but moist. City firefighters in heavy scarlet uniforms were still checking the fire in the ruins, while police officers on both sides of the street were asking neighbors about the situation. The crowd watched all this with interest, and the fat owner of the store next door was crying and complaining about the injustice of fate. Even passers-by would stop and turn their heads to check the situation here, and the idle people who were loudly discussing the disaster in a Tobesk accent had already let Luvia know what happened here:
"Fire?"
Luvia got off the carriage and stood beside the shocked Shade, frowning slightly as she watched the scene before her.