"I will not put the remaining two stones on the table. After all, they are not clean. One of the two stones is also a part of the seal, and the other is a stone tablet left by the ring wizard at that time, recording the whole experience. But unfortunately, only part of the stone tablet is left now, and there is even less information that can be interpreted."
Shade said regretfully.
"What does it say?"
Miss Lathers inquired curiously.
"A warning. The demon I'm dealing with is similar to a mirror, at least in the eyes of humans. Therefore, in addition to its strange contract ability, its conspiracy to manipulate people's hearts, and its own combat power, it is very good at hiding itself and turning itself into any living or non-living thing it sees."
Shad said:
"So, the stone tablet warns future people that if they want to catch the demon again after it breaks free, they must pay attention to its hiding ability."
"Is there any way to crack this ability? For example, some special relics?"
Miss Benanis asked, and Shad shook his head:
"These are the only remnants of the stele that can be found. I searched in the mud for a long time but couldn't find other parts. Besides, it's too late to look for relics now. Fortunately, my friend in Tobesk gave me a bottle of special eye drops that can help me and enhance my tracking ability."
"Then have you ever thought that, since you met that maid yesterday evening, everything was a trap set for you by the devil?"
Miss Carina asked again. Shade shook his head and cut a small piece of sausage and gave it to Mia:
"I thought about it, so after I went back last night, I visited a 'demon expert'. He and I analyzed it together and thought that what the maid said was most likely true."
Then he put down the ring and asked Yin Luna:
"I'll give you this, do you want it?"
The table suddenly became quiet, and all the ladies looked at Xia De in surprise. Yin Luna was also very surprised, looking around uneasily, and then asked softly:
"Give me... a ring?"
"I already have one, so there's no point in having a second one. The fate of the chosen one means that you will one day encounter the devil, so isn't it appropriate for you to have it with you?"
"I see..."
So the sounds of talking and laughing resumed at the table, and Shade looked at the witches in surprise, not quite understanding why they were so concerned about this matter just now.
"Then leave it here with me first."
Yin Luna nodded, stretched out her hand, and said casually:
"Please help me put it on..."
“Ahem.”
Miss Carina coughed, and the seventeen-year-old girl reluctantly took the ring from Shad's hand, then caught a glimpse of Miss Rita Swift giggling, while Miss Haley Aurora was staring at the bacon in front of her, as if studying the artistry of breakfast.
"By the way, is there anyone else going to Margaret's party tonight besides me?"
Xia De asked curiously again.
"Me, Hillis, and Sylvia will all go."
Miss Benanis said:
"I am a baron, and I have some reputation in the local area."
She is so modest.
"Although Sylvia is traveling in a private capacity, she is still the princess's tutor and personal physician, so she was also invited."
"I was invited, but I declined."
Miss Aurora said:
"Tonight, Carina and I will go to the Temple of Night that you mentioned. Since we cannot rule out the possibility that it is the location for the Chosen One Ceremony, we will go there to observe the terrain in advance. After we come back, we will meet with Sister Defulin and then go into the parliament to report the situation to the Speaker."
"I came here secretly. The banquet has nothing to do with me."
The Lady of the North said, while Miss Hayley Aurora, Tifa and Miss Rita Swift also had their own tasks, so they didn't go. Hayley had to sign a deal with the local Chamber of Commerce on behalf of Miss Aurora, Tifa went to the Night Temple with the Great Witch, and Miss Swift was waiting to contact Grandma Cassandra, and she also had to go to the black market to retrieve the information that the witches had spent a lot of money to find out some time ago.
As for Yin Luna—
"I can go or not. Her Royal Highness the Princess gave several anonymous invitations to the local church, but as you know, everyone has been very busy recently. So, except for a few ordinary clergy who will show up to maintain their relationship with the royal family, the other invitations are useless... Oh, the Peace Church sent two teams into the manor to prevent the cultists from causing any more trouble."
Yin Luna squinted at Xia De:
"So, do you need me to go?"
"You should get some rest. Even if you go, I'm afraid we won't be able to meet."
Yin Luna nodded regretfully:
"That's right, I'll stay in the church then. Have a good time tonight, Shad. But don't stay too late at the party, as we still have to deal with the devil tomorrow night."
The banquet that evening came as scheduled, and the venue was still at the manor where Margaret was staying.
Since there was nothing to do today, Shade arrived at the manor early at 6 pm on this Thursday. He did not bring any female companions with him, after all, Miss Sylvia and Miss Benanis should not have any contact with someone of his status.
This was not a wedding banquet that was just for fun. Because of the riot on Stonemason Street a few days ago and the attack on Margaret and Prince William at the Stonemason Guild, most of the local nobles knew the purpose of this banquet. Therefore, when the guests came to the banquet, most of them had serious faces and whispered with their companions or acquaintances, which made this banquet a little serious from the beginning.
The brightly lit banquet hall was soon filled with well-dressed men and women. Although most people knew the purpose of the banquet, the tense atmosphere soon relaxed as the band's violin music overflowed like a wave under the lights. The glasses and silverware on the table reflected the light of the gas lamps, and the ladies' gold and silver jewelry shone brightly in the banquet hall.
Margaret and Prince William did not appear in the banquet hall immediately. Instead, they were received at the door by the manor's butler and the royal attendant who accompanied the prince and princess on the visit.
Shade knew that Margaret and her brother were probably having final discussions with the representatives of the Masons' Guild about the joint speech that would be delivered at the banquet. So he did not go to find Margaret, nor did he go to find Miss Benanis and Miss Sylvia. He just watched the two witches from afar, chatting and laughing with the local ladies on the sofa, while Miss Lathers was nowhere to be seen.
He came alone again to the window where he had talked with Mr. Enriquez last time, holding a glass of wine and squinting his eyes, looking at the people behind him from the reflection on the glass window:
"What a quiet night."
The red wine glass was gently shaken by Xia De, and a subtle vortex formed on the surface of the liquid. When people nearby saw his posture, they knew that he didn't want to talk to strangers at the moment, so no one took the initiative to talk to Xia De.
Shad was originally looking at the reflection in the window, but unexpectedly saw Stone Oxenfurt's figure flash by in the shadow of the garden outside the window.
He asked Margaret, and her original intention was to invite local nobles to the banquet, and not invite Oxenfurt, who was only a businessman. But Prince William, who had a good relationship with Oxenfurt, gave him an invitation, so it was normal to see Oxenfurt:
"What is he going to do?"
It was seven o'clock in the evening, and there was still about an hour and a half before the scheduled public speech. So Shad planned to go outside to take a look. He didn't believe that Stone Oxenfurt would dare to fight him here.
So, holding the wine glass, Xia De walked past the reporters who were choosing a suitable photo-taking position in the banquet hall, and passed the crowd playing Rhodes cards at the table to the right of the door. He flashed out of the banquet hall door, then walked through the corridor and came outside.
The night wind in the Randall River Valley in March was still cold, but it was much milder than the real winter. For some reason, only a few gas lamps were on in the manor garden today.
So Shade walked through the darkness and soon came to the place where he had seen Osenfurt just now. He even glanced at the window where he had stood a few minutes ago, and was very happy to see that no one had occupied his position for the time being.
"But where are the people?"
Shade didn't have the unique ability to find people by observing footprints on the ground, but fortunately, no matter how large the manor was, the area of the garden was still limited. In addition, most of the guests were waiting indoors for the results of the mediation between the descendants of the Anjou family and the Stonemasons Association, so there was no one outside.
Xia De relaxed, closed his eyes, listened carefully, then shook the red wine glass in his hand and walked towards the stable in the southeast corner of the manor.
There were quite a few guests today, but no one came on horseback, so the stables only had horses from the manor. The horse keeper was not here, and there were no gas lamps lit near the stables.
When Shad came along the path through the evergreen bushes, he could only see the faint light of a kerosene lamp coming through the crack in the stable door.
He took a peek through the crack in the door and saw Stone Oxenfurt standing in the middle of the stable with a pitchfork in his hand. On the ground was a fat middle-aged man who was supporting himself with one hand on the ground and the other hand in front of him to protect himself. The latter kept crawling on the ground towards the door.
Both of them were wearing proper banquet attire, except that the fat man was wearing a modern black formal suit, while Ossenfurt was wearing a robe with some local characteristics of the Randall River Valley. If you smell carefully, you can even smell the smell of spilled red wine among the smell of feed and horse manure in the air.