"How come I don't know about this?"
Prince William's voice suddenly became low, and Earl Granger pursed his lips and said nothing. Shad knew the answer, because Prince William had been busy with his business with Oxenfort some time ago and had no time to take care of these things.
"Also, Margaret wants to get her own money? I know that the business she does behind the scenes is definitely not a small amount."
The prince began to pace in front of the window again. Looking at his profile, Shade could tell how anxious he was at the moment:
"That won't do. If she really wants to pay, then I can't just pretend I don't know. All the cash I have now has been invested in... But if I can't take out a single penny, what will my father think of me?"
As he spoke, the prince looked at Earl Granger with sharp eyes. The Earl showed an expression of sudden enlightenment and said softly:
"Your Majesty's reply has not arrived yet. Perhaps Your Majesty can solve this matter from Willendel. After all, the kingdom's treasury is still sufficient. But if you really need to advance some money at that time, how about this, Your Highness, I will lend it to you. I know you came here in a simple outfit and must have forgotten to bring your checkbook."
Prince William stopped again and turned his back to the window, with admiration and admiration in his tone:
"Then I'll trouble you, Count. You are truly the most loyal person to the royal family."
Shade admired the restraint of Earl Granger, because the Earl was still able to put on a very natural, reserved smile after being praised:
"You are so flattering."
Xia De thought that the conversation was over, but Prince William said:
"Count, since you still have some cash in your hands, have you ever considered investing? You know, if you don't spend the gold in your hands, it's no different from scrap copper and iron. As it happens, I have a very good project in my hands now... Although I can't tell you the details, it is related to the gold mine that has been circulating in the city recently... In fact, we discovered a large precious metal mine in the open sea."
Lord Granger blinked.
"Precious metal mines... Actually, the family business has not been very prosperous in recent years. As you know, the trade war launched by the Delarion people against us has caused heavy losses to small businessmen like me."
Prince William's tone was somewhat bewitching:
"It doesn't have to be too much. You only need to pay 10,000 kronor. The rate of return will definitely be higher than you think. Don't give me an answer now. I will visit you again in a few days and I can give you some information then."
"That would be great."
Although the Earl concealed it well, Shade could still see that he was relieved. 10,000 crowns is about 120,000 to 130,000 gold pounds. Although a wealthy and powerful noble like Earl Granger could probably afford this amount of money, no one would easily lose so much without feeling sorry.
Earl Granger was not at all interested in Prince William's business, probably not because he saw through the scam at once, but simply because the conversation just now made him feel that the prince was not a reliable person.
Although the conversation inside the room was still going on, it should have come to an end. After watching this "funny", Shade moved his body carefully, preparing to return to the indoor corridor to wait for the count, but as soon as he moved, his ears caught a sound on the ground.
Turning his head and looking down, he saw a strange man standing in front of the manor house, looking up at him in surprise. Shade was sure that the tall and thin man looked directly at him instead of looking at the glass:
"Hey! What are you doing up there?"
The man on the ground asked.
Twelve rings.
A voice in my ear gently reminded me.
Xia De smiled, then turned into a group of red butterflies and flew towards the rooftop:
"What bad luck."
The twelve-ring sorcerer who can appear here must be an official member of the church. If he is caught up by the other party, he will be in trouble this time.
"Ragarai's Leap!"
After dropping the extract of weathervane blue grass on the tip of his tongue, Xia De jumped directly down from the roof, took a step forward in the air, and entered the room from the corridor window on the third floor.
But it was not safe to enter the room, so he quickly walked back down the stairs to the first floor. Fearing that he might implicate Margaret, Shad did not go to find the princess, but blended into the crowd.
He picked up a wine glass and then stood at the window where he had just talked with Mr. Enriquez, looking out, relaxing his body and pretending to be very leisurely. Shade let out a long sigh, feeling quite annoyed at his own carelessness. Although he could not have expected that the Twelve Rings Warlock would appear when he was eavesdropping, he should have thought of this possibility.
"It seems that my mentality has been wrong recently. I still need to be extremely careful and cautious."
After waiting for a long time, no one came to find him, so Xia De finally relaxed a little. He took a sip of the wine glass he was holding and found that it was champagne. He put the glass on the windowsill and was about to turn around to look around, but he found that ripples appeared on the surface of the liquid in the still glass.
"What?"
earthquake.
There was a slight shaking sensation, and then the crystal chandelier above the head made a rather scary sound. The originally lively banquet hall was suddenly filled with silence as if covered by a mute spell, and everyone looked up at the shaking and creaking crystal chandelier. After someone shouted "Go outside quickly", the guests quickly gathered at the door of the mansion.
On the night of Friday, the 21st day of the Month of Sparse Stars, a small earthquake with the epicenter in the center of Randall Valley City came unexpectedly and quietly.
The sudden earthquake interrupted the rhythm of the banquet. Although the scale of this earthquake was far less than the one that occurred half a month ago when Shad realized that there was divinity in the Randall Valley, the banquet was still interrupted and ended hastily.
Shade did not stay here for long. He said goodbye to Margaret with a heavy heart and left. Her Royal Highness felt extremely sorry for inviting Shade but not entertaining him well. When she watched him leave from the window, she felt very guilty.
Instead of taking a carriage, Shad walked to the street and returned to the Bountiful Land Inn in the city center. He had intended to talk to Luvia about the earthquake, after all, this time the earthquake occurred directly in the city. However, he did not expect that as soon as he entered the bright and warm inn, he saw Luvia and another lady sitting at a table against the wall. They were listening to the heroic stories of the bard playing the lyre and talking quietly, and Shad turned around and left directly from the door.
Because the person who was talking to Luvia was Miss Danister, the librarian of St. Byrons. Miss Danister had asked Shad on Wednesday morning if he wanted to send a message to Luvia in Randall Valley, but she actually came directly.
So, with nothing to do, Shad went to the street alone again, and while thinking about things, he came to the Forgotten Church on Cherry Leaf Street.
After entering the invisible church through a special method, I found that the church was also empty.
Shad did not choose to go home immediately. Instead, he walked on the red carpet and came to the front row of seats in the front hall. He picked up the photo of the Watson family and put it aside, then sat next to the stone statue of Mr. Lathers.
He moved his center of gravity back slightly, allowing himself to lean against the backrest of the stone chair, and then looked at the holy emblem that had been hung up together with the stone statue.
After a long while, the sound of sighing finally rang out in the empty church. The church was quite dark, with only moonlight coming in through the hole in the roof.
Shad did not move for a long time, thinking about his recent actions in the Randall Valley, thinking about the ancient family line, the evil spirits from the Third Age, and the epic of the Chosen Ones from the Sixth Age.
Suddenly, inspiration struck him. He turned around and looked behind him. Then he saw the transparent soul of Mr. Lathers standing in the moonlight, with his head bowed, praying respectfully to the holy emblem hanging on the wall.
Xia De did not stand up, but turned around and put his hands on the back of the chair:
"I thought the next time I'd see you would be after I got rid of the demon."
The devout soul did not answer Shad, but opened his eyes after the prayer was completed. The moonlight penetrated the transparent figure, but due to the characteristics of the spirit, no shadow was left.
Willon Lathers looked at the young man sitting next to his body:
"That was the original plan, but now we have to come and see you earlier."
"Is it related to tonight's earthquake?"
"Yes, the petrified plague in the city and this earthquake are both signs. The madness of the earth is spreading to more land at an accelerated rate. Next Tuesday, a black mud area connected to the roots of the earth will appear again in the local area. We need your help."
Shade looked at him:
"If you need my help, you should at least give me a certain amount of trust. Even now, you still won't tell me the truth about yourself?"
Mr. Lathers was silent for a moment:
"We must be vigilant against that demon. Our secret cannot be told to anyone until the demon leaves this area."
Xia De sighed slightly:
"Really... Do you know "Whispering Verses" and the Chosen One?"
“I’ve heard of it, but I don’t know.”
The soul answered calmly, so Shade told him in the quiet old church about the great prophecies of the Witch Emperors, the thirteen chosen ones, and what had happened since last summer:
"The Guardian is the fifth chosen one, the chosen one of the earth. However, the chosen ones are individuals, not groups, so I haven't fully understood your affairs yet... But I have a guess."
"If we become the chosen ones, we can completely cleanse the pollution of the earth. We are willing to do so and become your companions."
Mr. Lathers said that he behaved quite rationally, even a little abnormally.
"It's not that simple. Rituals, cultists, demons, if the chosen ones appear so easily, then what kind of epic of the Sixth Epoch would it be?"