Of course, Little Mia was probably the only creature that was unhappy. It didn't like places with too many people, so it huddled inside Shad's coat, with only its little head sticking out to breathe air. It looked like a cat had grown right in the middle of Shad's chest.
The Prophet Association was also crowded with people because of today's event, so the driver, after obtaining Xia De's consent, dropped him off two hundred meters away from the entrance of the association.
After paying the fare, Xia De walked forward while looking at the Silver Cross Avenue at the end of the year. Suddenly, he felt the cat on his chest getting hot, and then realized that it was the badge that was heating up.
Mia also felt the temperature, so as Xiade's chest was moving, Xiade turned around and looked behind him, and sure enough, he saw a familiar carriage coming towards him.
Even the Duchess's carriage could only move slowly through the crowded crowd. Because it was difficult to talk on the busy streets, Shad originally planned to greet Miss Carina from the window if she noticed him, after all, she would visit Saint Teresa Square this afternoon.
But after the carriage stopped, the red-haired witch who had just recovered from a serious illness actually got out of the carriage. She was wearing a silver-white long skirt that Shade had never seen before, and a bright red women's coat on her upper body, which matched her hair color very well:
"Ms. Carina, are you feeling better? I heard you recovered, but I haven't visited you yet."
"It's a little better, but my nose is still a little uncomfortable."
The witch was supported by her personal maid Tifa. While pretending to be weak, there was a smile in her eyes.
"Then you should get back to the carriage. It's really cold today."
Shade said seriously, playing her role well. The Duchess of Saradir nodded slightly, and then, on the busy street, she kissed Shade's cheek without covering up, and the smile in her eyes became more obvious:
"Happy End of Year then, my... Knight."
She turned around and returned to the carriage. When Tifa helped her get on the carriage, she didn't forget to wink at Shade. No one knew what she meant. The carriage quickly drove away from Shade, but Shade could already imagine how quickly the news of the Duchess kissing her lover's cheek on the street would spread throughout the city.
"She definitely did it on purpose."
Xia De touched his face and asked:
"Help me check if there are any lipstick marks on your face?"
"She" laughed in Xiade's ear, but still pointed out the place that needed to be wiped.
As soon as he entered the Prophet's Association, the sound of people talking loudly about the release of the first edition of the Rhodes series of cards next year, as well as the promotional posters posted on the bulletin board on the side of the gate, entered Shad's ears and eyes.
In the new year, the Prophet Association will release a series of cards called Hibernation and Spring Rebirth in February to celebrate the end of the year. This is a brand new theme of the Rhodes deck, so it has attracted a lot of discussion.
People who recognized Xia De greeted him loudly and asked if he was here to participate in the final at noon.
"Oh, of course. I'm looking forward to seeing who will be sitting next to me at the final table!"
While Xia De was smiling and greeting the familiar people in the association, Vice President Mark also came down from the third floor after hearing the news and led Xia De out of the busy first floor lobby:
"The natural disaster blizzard that you asked the association to help repair has been repaired. It's just right for you."
Mr. Mark led the way in front, and then sighed softly:
"The year is finally coming to an end. 1853 has gone by so fast."
"Quickly?"
Xia De asked curiously. After leaving the first floor, the corridor on the second floor where the divination room was set up was much quieter.
The middle-aged man nodded and said with emotion:
"When I first met you, you didn't know anything about the Rhodes deck, and you even planned to sell the Founding Silver Moon. Now you not only have special rule cards that cover almost a quarter of the deck, but you even won the Grand City Player Championship and got five Founding Series cards. And all this happened in just half a year from midsummer to now. Isn't that fast?"
Shade smiled, and he admitted that at least this time, it was a smug smile.
There was no suspense in the Rhodes competition at noon. The winner of the 1853 year-end Rhodes competition in the Tobysk region was Viscount Chekov from the Katyn Rhodes Club.
He was wearing a red coat and white bloomers, and he was no stranger to Shade. The two had played against each other once before, at a wedding Rhodes card game at Lakeview Manor in early winter. This time, facing Shade again, Viscount Chekov also maintained a strong fighting spirit and a strong desire to win.
The game adopts the rule of best of three games, and each game is divided into five rounds. The victory is calculated based on the points of win, loss, draw and bust.
In the end, Shad naturally won. Viscount Chekov was not upset. Instead, he warmly invited Shad to play cards at his Katyn Club when he had time.
But in fact, this special Rhodes aristocratic club, in addition to playing cards, is more for social and political purposes.
The prizes for the year-end Rhodes Tournament are not as generous as those for the "Big City Players", but the prize of 200 pounds is still quite attractive compared to other city-level competitions.
After receiving the bonus and accepting people's congratulations, Xia De did not go to find Luvia, but talked with Vice President Mark for a while, and then planned to go for lunch. Little Mia could not wait any longer.
Just as he left the Prophet's Association, he saw Director Anros standing under the gas lamp opposite the association, looking at him with a newspaper in his hand. So Shad clicked his hat and walked over with his head down.
The carriage happened to arrive at this moment, stopped for ten seconds and then started again, but the two gentlemen had disappeared.
"I knew you would come to participate in the Rhodes card competition, so I came here specially to wait for you."
After taking off his gloves, Director Anros in the carriage made a long speech and handed Shade a note with the time of tomorrow afternoon written in blue ink:
"His Majesty wants to see you tomorrow, at 1:00 p.m. on the day of the year-end festival. It will take about ten minutes."
He emphasized the time, and the stranger frowned slightly. He had read in the newspaper that on the morning of the year-end festival, the king would make his annual speech at the Yodel Palace, and then there would be no public activities for the whole day. But in fact, on the day of the year-end festival, the king would meet many people in private, and those who could see His Majesty on the last day of each year were all big figures in the kingdom's political arena, or people who had a very close relationship with the royal family.
Perhaps seeing Xia De's doubts, Director Anlos added:
"It's for the reward. You did a good job during Princess Margaret of Anjou's visit. Although you failed to catch the gray-headed eagle, you at least established a good relationship with the princess, which is very important to the kingdom... ... The public awarding of honors will be held at the end of this year, probably in mid- or late January, and you will receive the reward then. In addition, His Majesty will give you some rewards separately tomorrow. After all, the content of your mission cannot be made public."
Xia De nodded in understanding, and Director Anros lowered his voice and added:
"In addition, His Majesty will probably give you a new task to maintain long-term contact with Margaret of Anjou. When necessary, you will be arranged to go to Willendel for a temporary vacation. Miss Carina also knows this. I'm telling you in advance so that you can be prepared."
Shade nodded again. Carsenrick's royal descendants were not as many as Leicia's brothers and sisters. One of the two princesses and two princes would definitely inherit the throne. Among them, Margaret, who could represent the kingdom to visit Draerion, seemed to have some hope on the surface, so "Fire Jumper" Larus III valued the relationship that Shade had established.
"I see."
He nodded slightly, and Director Anros handed him an envelope:
"MI6's year-end bonus."
"MI6 also has year-end bonuses?"
Shade asked with a surprised smile, but still reached out and took the envelope.
"Why can't MI6 have an annual bonus? Are we an illegal department?"
Director Anlos was very surprised, and then explained:
"You have completed a lot of difficult tasks this year, so the bonus is quite large. This is the money I approved. After all, the original budget must be spent by the end of the year... I will give you the bonus and your salary for this month. I won't let you go to the Urban Waste Management Center alone. Have a good holiday."
Shade squeezed the envelope and smiled. Although he was not sure of the exact amount, it was at least several hundred pounds.
The prize money from the Rhodes card tournament at the end of the year, plus the year-end bonus from MI6, gave Shade confidence again after his savings plummeted. Although neither Resia nor Miss Carina would be stingy in giving Shade "pocket money", the outsider still had some self-esteem.
Xia De didn't stop all morning on Monday. After dealing with these things, he mailed gifts to other friends in the city. Before the end of the year, he basically had nothing to do.
After having lunch with Mia, he prepared to go home and wait for Miss Carina's visit in the afternoon. But not long after returning home, the bell downstairs rang. Shad thought it was the client or an acquaintance like Baron Lavender who came to visit, but he didn't expect that the person standing outside the door was an unexpected acquaintance:
"Captain Rades?"
Wearing a neat army captain's uniform, black boots on his feet, and holding a bottle of red wine in his hand, Captain Rades, who had not been seen for a long time, appeared at the door of No. 6 St. Teresa's Square.
"Long time no see, Mr. Hamilton."
The former "Captain of Eight Guns" also greeted Xia De with a smile.
"Captain, aren't you stationed at the Red Water Camp on the Windy Trail in Mount Xikar? Oh, please come in. I didn't expect to see you before the end of the year." Your latest reading progress is detected as "Chapter 1,101: The Attack on the Night of the Blizzard"
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