Although the knight from a foreign land and the beautiful princess had performed many "dramas" in the opera box that could not be told to others, this time they were really watching the opera together, so not only were the gas lights in the box still on, but Ajeline and Mia were also there.
The cat, who was probably almost one year old, was currently sitting on the coffee table, fiddling with a rolling green apple with its little paws, while the little princess was sitting on the left end of the sofa, seemingly watching an opera, but in fact she was listening to the conversation between Shad and her sister.
"My people have already connected with Margaret of Anjou's people. I never thought that the princess had such a thing."
Leicia was dressed up tonight, wearing a sparkling ruby crown on her head and a ruby earring on each ear. One was the Sage-level relic Curse-Removing Stone, and the other was the ruby that Shade gave her when she was in Coldwater Harbor.
"My business with that princess will probably be very big, Shade. I'm considering whether to give you a brokerage commission. I remember that you're very short of money recently, right?"
"No, don't give me money. I just delivered a letter for you... Who told you that I was short of money?"
Xia De asked curiously. Leicia blinked and said as the singing voice below sounded again:
"I've noticed that you've been very sensitive to the topic of gold pounds lately. Four days ago, I stayed at your place over the weekend, and when we were talking about the decoration of your second-floor room No. 2 in bed, you showed great sensitivity to the price."
Ajelina's ears moved, obviously she heard something interesting.
"I always do, don't I? Besides, I have a box of gems I got from Huntington, along with the arrow I stabbed you with. They are very valuable."
Xia De said with certainty. Leixia shook her head slightly and looked at Xia De with a rather reproachful look:
"Knight, don't lie to me. Earlier last week, I met your fortune teller at your house in the middle of the night. She told me that you had been arguing with your client for a long time over the commission for the 'Tobesk Country House Haunting Case'... Her pajamas were very beautiful."
That night, Dorothy was actually at Shad's, while Luvia was reading the stars on the third floor. Dorothy got up to drink water, and Luvia went to the first floor to rest, and the two talked a few words in the living room.
Ajelina's little ears moved again, obviously attracted by words like "Miss Fortune Teller and I", "midnight", and "pajamas".
"It's not that the client doesn't want to pay the commission. It's just that after the incident was resolved, the client, Viscount Victor, and almost all of his immediate family members were arrested by Redwich. He therefore wanted to evade the money promised to me in the contract, and claimed that he would never pay anyone to send himself and his friend's family to prison."
Xia De nodded:
"The old gentleman was very dissatisfied with this, but fortunately, Redwich court handled justice and allowed me to freely choose antiques to deduct the detective fees before confiscating his estate... Oh, Leicia, I just did what I should do as an ordinary citizen."
Leicia covered her mouth and chuckled like a lady:
"You are now the most famous detective in Tobesk. I never thought that you would encounter so many big cases in a row, and then there was that group of stupid thieves who dug a tunnel to get into the warehouse of the Yodel Palace..."
She picked up a peeled orange on the coffee table, peeled off another slice, twisted it with her slender fingers, and held it to Xia De's mouth:
"But how many pounds are those commissions worth? If I remember correctly, at the end of the year, I, the blonde writer, and the fortune teller stayed overnight at your place..."
“Ahem~”
The little princess, who was drinking tea, choked on the water and started coughing violently. The personal maid standing by the wall immediately came over and patted her on the back. Leisia frowned and looked over:
"Ajelina, you will be seventeen years old in a while. How come you can choke when drinking water in public?"
"Sorry, sister."
The little princess lowered her head and whispered, so Leicia continued her conversation with Shade:
"On the morning of the first day of the new year, when we were having breakfast together at your house, you complained that you had already been promoted to the fifth ring, but you did not have enough money to buy new magic for yourself."
"In fact, my current thaumaturgy is sufficient, and because of the school year reward, the library can also let me choose thaumaturgy for free."
Xia De said somewhat embarrassedly, he knew that the so-called "broker commission" that Leicia was going to pay him was actually his "pocket money".
Just like Miss Carina left a large sum of cash in the study of the manor for Shad to use before she left, but Shad didn't touch a single banknote. He would not spend the girls' money for no reason.
Pathetic self-esteem.
"She" whispered softly in Xia De's ear, but Xia De pretended not to hear.
"Okay then, but if you need anything, you can always come to me... I really don't know why you are being so polite to me."
Lecia muttered softly, and after Shade ate the orange slice she handed to him, she asked Shade to feed her another slice as well.
"I remember you said last time that you would sell a batch of contraband from the New World. I mean, in-demand goods. You'll have Margaret sell them on your behalf in Carsenrick. Are you still going to take the route to Coldwater Harbor this time?"
Shade asked while peeling an orange, to prevent the princess from bringing up the topic of giving him money again. Mia turned her head and glanced at Shade, but she was not interested in the pungent orange.
"Coldwater Harbor is investigating smuggling recently. It's the beginning of the year after all, you know. This time we'll take the route from Carsenrick's Spring City to Randall Valley City. Although it takes a little longer to go directly from the New World to Carsenrick across the sea, it's much safer."
Leicia bit Shade's finger, and only let him go after he showed a surprised expression. Then she smiled and pointed at Ajelina, who was pretending to watch the opera but was actually looking at this side:
"This time, I let Ajelina participate in my business. Although she can only provide some capital, Ajelina is not young anymore, so she should have some income of her own."
"Randall Valley... I might go there soon."
As Shade spoke, he smelled the perfume on the fiery red hair:
"If there's anything that needs to be taken care of, let me do it."
"Of course. You are being polite to me, but I will not be polite to you, my knight... Speaking of which, Margaret Anjou will be heading to Randall Valley City in the near future. You should be able to meet her."
"Um?"
This matter was completely unknown to Shade:
"For your business?"
"Of course not. It is Princess Margaret of Anjou and Prince William of Anjou of Carsenrick who are going to Randall Valley City to participate in the completion and unveiling of the United Kingdom Navy's Second Southern Dockyard."
Xia De didn't quite understand this, so Leicia said to her sister:
"Ajelina, let me test you. Explain this to the knight."
Ajelina nodded and her tone became serious:
"William of Anjou is the eldest prince of Carsenrick and has been in charge of naval affairs for many years. Princess Margaret of Anjou visited Tobesk at the end of last year and was entrusted with an important task because she reached a trade agreement with her father and made great contributions. However, according to current intelligence and speculation, this trip is also related to the political struggle between the two royal families... ... The more credible statement is that the shipyard is in a hurry to be unveiled after the year-end holiday, which is related to the dispute in the Pantanal region. The king of Carsenrick hopes to gain an advantage at the negotiating table by expanding the navy."
"Negotiations? The borders and trade routes of the Pantanal?"
Xia De asked worriedly. Leixia nodded, praised her sister a little, and said to Xia De:
"It's a pity that you were not made a baron during the honors season. But what you did for MI6 really can't be exposed. I will discuss with the princess of the southern country whether I should let you make new achievements. The princess of the southern country also has her own political enemies."
She seemed to be saying something terrible.
"Looks like it's going to be busy again."
Xia De sighed, and Leicia thought for a moment and asked again:
"If I remember correctly, your Time Key has been delayed for a long time. Do you have any plans to use it soon?"
Shade couldn't tell the girls that he couldn't use the key for some reason, so he told them that he wanted to take a break. The punishment was in the early morning of New Year's Day, which was also a Wednesday. Today was also Wednesday, which happened to be the last day of the two weeks:
"I plan to postpone the key issue until Sunday. I'm used to setting off at that time. After a half-month break, it's time to start moving again."
Shade turned his neck slightly. His next stop was the "City of Spring" - Randall Valley City. Luvia in the dream pointed out that in this city, the only time key that could lead to the past, the Sixth Era, was hidden. In order to find out what happened in the past and what would happen in the future, Shade had to get the key, and the sooner the better.
"Speaking of which, the next Red Butterfly Day is approaching. What plans do you have?"
Tonight was a date with Lecia. Shade put all his worries aside for the time being and asked the princess again. Lecia shook her head regretfully:
"Dorothy said that the Red Butterfly Day has been temporarily cancelled. She has been very busy recently. The Kingdom Popular Literature Award really made our writer famous. Moreover, she is not satisfied with her results in the end-of-year exams and is busy studying recently. Obviously, the summer exam week is still a long way off... Really."
Although she half complained, she also approved of Dorothy's choice.
"Cancel? Postpone to what time?"
"Ajelina's birthday party early next month."
Leicia glanced at her sister:
"Then the three of us will meet again... Do you remember the wedding banquet at Lake View Manor? Instead of a low-quality date for three people, it is better to make every meeting a memory that will be engraved in your life."
Her words were entangled with the high singing on the stage, and the look in her eyes seemed to melt Xia De.
Xia De had no objection to this. Although Ajelina had some small opinions, she would not say them out loud.
But when the princesses said goodbye to Shade at the opera house that night and were on their way back to the Yodel Palace in a carriage under the protection of the royal guards, the little princess hesitantly asked her sister:
"Sister, from now on, if you...if your multi-person party is short of people and your friends can't come, you can call me."
Leisia thought for several seconds before she understood what she meant. Her face turned slightly red, and she flicked her sister's forehead with a half-angry and half-ashamed look.
"When I get back, I'll ask my personal maid to check if you've read any unhealthy books recently. Oh, Ajelina, a lady of the royal family, would never say such a thing."