"I didn't mean to interrupt your tryst, but there was something I forgot to tell you just now."
Miss Carina said, looking around the room casually, and then noticed that the cat on the bed was looking at her:
"Sylvia asked me to inform you that your investment was successful. Her experiment has made critical progress, and the yield rate of the samples tested in the steam factory is also very high. You will probably get the first dividend this fall or winter."
"invest?"
Shade thought for a moment, and recalled what Miss Sylvia said before she left. He even gave the young witch 5,000 pounds:
"Successful? In other words, artificial synthetic fibers..."
Xia De raised his eyebrows. This was quite a remarkable achievement. Miss Sylvia became the first person in the world to synthesize artificial fibers. This was an achievement worthy of being recorded in history books.
"What artificial synthetic fibers? Aren't you cooperating to invest in women's clothing textiles?"
Carina Cavendish said, took two steps back, lifted the hem of her skirt with both hands and turned around:
"I changed into a nightgown with a higher hemline, but you didn't even notice that I'm any different than before?"
Tifa pointed quietly, and Shade followed her direction and looked down to see the black close-fitting fabric wrapped around the feet and calves. This kind of fabric was quite rare in this world, and he had only seen it on the great witch of the Fifth Age. The small feet were wrapped, and the clothes were close to the body, outlining the perfect curves of the legs. The translucent black fabric extended upwards into the hem of the skirt, leaving just the right amount of reverie.
He blinked his eyes and said with great satisfaction:
"It's amazing that Miss Sylvia succeeded so quickly! I dare say that this is definitely one of the most important inventions in the human world in the past century! The success of artificial synthetic fibers not only means that the textile industry has taken another path, but also means that chemistry and..."
"I understand why Sylvia likes you, Xia De, is this all you want to say?"
Miss Carina stared at him. This time, without Tifa's reminder, Shad understood it himself:
"This pair of fabrics suits you very well, very beautifully. But I think it would be more beautiful without this pair of fabrics, so that I could see directly into your ..."
His eyes were fixed on the pair of black shoes, and his sight was looking from bottom to top:
"It's so perfect, just like a work of art. Although the clothes serve as decoration, they prevent me from seeing the white color and perfect lines..."
Unable to resist the temptation to express his curiosity about what kind of nylon Miss Sylvia could produce, Shade suggested:
"Can I touch it?"
"Oh, knight, what is this to ask? It is so disgraceful!"
The witch's face was rarely red. Girls of this era could not easily have their legs seen, let alone be evaluated like Shade:
"It's really vulgar... It's really..."
She turned and walked away, but she didn't look angry with Shade, but was really shy. Shade wanted to say something, but Tifa suddenly kissed his cheek:
"Sweet dreams, knight."
She whispered, pressing her right index finger to her lips, then to Shad's mouth, before quickly following Miss Carina.
Shade followed them into the corridor and stood at the door, watching them walk into the master bedroom on the third floor next door. Miss Carina glanced at Shade before entering the room, then turned her head away with a red face and did not speak to him.
He returned to his room only after the maids urged Shad to go back to his bedroom to rest and stated that Miss Carina would not come to see him tonight.
The cat was still looking at him on the bed. Just now, the cat thought it would sleep in the cloakroom again tonight.
What, don’t you regret rejecting the witch at the dinner table
Suddenly, he heard "her" voice. Xia De thought for a moment, picked up the cat and climbed onto the bed. It was indeed time to go to bed:
"Now that I think about it, I do feel a little regretful. But as I just said, let Miss Carina think about it herself, and this is indeed the promise between me and Resia. I am a very honest person... Yes, very honest. I promised Luvia that I would go to the end, promised Dorothy that I would always tell her stories, and promised Resia about Miss Carina..."
Instead of turning off the lights immediately, he lay down on the gorgeous and exaggerated four-poster bed, leaning against the headboard, feeling the smoothness of the quilt and the softness of the mattress, and looking at the starry sky outside through the window.
"She" smiled softly in his ear:
The Sixth Era, 1854, late winter, a starry moon. Lying in bed and looking at the sky, the stars wink at you. Sad stranger, do you know how many people can't sleep tonight because of you? When you take a heart, you are destined to accommodate that heart. And these gentle warmth that is enough to fill your chest will accompany you to sleep in many, many long nights. The thread of bondage involves you and her, and it is also your anchor in this world. New stars appear in the sky, this is a night worth remembering. May you have a small harbor in this world and no longer be alone.
"That's not your tone... Why are you saying that?"
Xia De blinked his eyes and looked at the starry sky outside the window. The air in the suburbs was very good. Even in a sparsely populated month, you could still see those shining stars. Mia stood on Xia De who was lying on his side and looked out the window.
The reunion after a long separation, the respect and understanding you showed her, and the perfect ambiguity. The fruit of the bond has been fulfilled. A current witch gave you her heart.
Xia De understood this as "the favorability level is full."
"You didn't say that when it came to Recia, Luvia, and Dorothy... Well, you did."
He still remembered the sentences "pure blood" and "red butterfly flies with you".
"She" smiled gently, and Xia De also smiled.
A moment later—
Outsider.
"I am here."
It’s late at night, go to sleep.
"Good night, then."
He closed his eyes and gradually fell asleep. Mia saw that Shad's breathing was gradually becoming even, so she jumped off his body, lay down in front of Shad's face facing the window, meowed softly, curled up into a cat ball, and closed her amber eyes.
The man and the cat fell asleep, the gas lamp in the room turned off automatically, and the starlight from the window shone on Shade's face and the orange cat's back. Everything was peaceful. After a while, the quilt automatically pulled up, covering Shade's exposed shoulders.
(Little Mia is running...)
After having breakfast at the manor early on Saturday morning, Shad went into the city with Miss Carina who was going to the Yodel Palace, and then went to Randall Valley City as planned.
Margaret's schedule was very busy recently, and Shad couldn't find her that morning, so he gave all the documents of the Stonemasons' Guild to Miss Benedict at the Wilde Opera House and asked her to bring them to Margaret.
"And this, the power of the earth: summoning a stone statue."
He did not forget to take out the little statue. Although the witch had already listened to his story about Thursday's experience, she was still surprised:
"You could even call this 'summoning a golem'. Yes, that suits me. The rumor of the moving stone statues in the Stonemasons Guild has been around for hundreds of years, but you solved it in one night. This is definitely not a coincidence. Do you have any special investigative skills?"
Shade only brought along the special fortune teller Luvia.
"Anyway, the Power of the Earth: Summoning the Stone Statue is in your hands. This way, we will have three ring sorcerers who master the power of the earth. How is your investigation with Miss Lathers going?"
He asked.
"She is still retracing her father's path, and has not found much yet. However, the locations of the three items in the auction house that are suspected to be related to the 'Heart of the Earth' have been basically determined. Come to my place next Monday to get the documents, and then we can start a new round of investigation."
The girls of the Golden Dawn were progressing faster than Shad had expected.
"In addition, in order to avoid a recurrence of the Tobesk incident last summer, the Five Gods Church in this diocese has decided to take immediate action against the local evil god believers. When I heard the news, the Five Gods Church had already made a plan, and a major operation will probably take place this weekend."
The witch was just telling this story as a joke, after all, neither she nor Shade was involved:
"The cultist who controls the power of the earth and the stone incarnation should be the focus of this operation. I will be there and try my best to capture him. Now the news that the fifth chosen one will appear in the Randall Valley has been confirmed by the three major colleges and the Five Gods Church. The church wants to use this operation to deter the ring warlocks from all over the world who are attracted by the news of the chosen one. I hope they can succeed."
Then he looked at Shade:
"So this weekend, I want you to abandon all actions in the Randall Valley and wait until the church's big operation is over."
This is also for Xia De's safety. Xia De knows that she cares about him very much:
"No problem. I wasn't planning on doing anything locally over the weekend anyway. I'll be home soon. I have an important meeting in Tobesk this afternoon, and tomorrow I'm going to attend Princess Ajelina Cavendish's seventeenth birthday party. It's going to be a lively party."
Miss Benanis frowned slightly while holding the small statue covered with golden runes:
"Ajelina Cavendish? I've only heard Carina and Sylvia talk about Resia Cavendish and you."
Ajelina was a princess who did not participate in politics and rarely appeared in newspapers in the South, so Miss Benanis was not even sure if she had heard of this name. After all, there were too many princesses in the Cavendish royal family.
"She is Leicia's sister. Although she is just an ordinary person, she is very inspired. I even believe that she has the gift of a prophet. Leicia intends to help her gain freedom, and Ajelina also longs for her sister's recognition and help."
Xia De briefly explained the situation, and Miss Benannis's lipstick-painted lips curled up slightly:
"So, the young princess of the royal family, who longed for freedom, sought help from the upright, kind, compassionate, handsome and strong young knight? So, she has a good relationship with you? Oh, I can guess it from your expression. Then, can you satisfy the curiosity of this 'old woman' like me? What does the statue you plan to give to the little princess look like?"