"Um?"
Up until this point, the ladies still hadn’t realized what Shad was doing.
Then, they saw a silver arc of light appear at Xia De's fingertips. Xia De frowned slightly, listened attentively to the instructions of strength given by "her", and then pressed his fingers on the skin. With a light downward stroke, it was quite clean and neat, and the flesh and blood separated to both sides. The blood splattered on the table, staining the clothes red, and frightened everyone.
Even the twelfth-level witch was unable to react immediately to what Xia De had done. It was not until she saw Xia De pointing his finger at her chest, at her burning heart, that she widened her eyes and instinctively leaned back in her chair.
"It hurts, but I can bear it. If my heart is pierced during a battle, it won't affect my combat effectiveness."
Shade thought to himself, and was very satisfied with the test results of the magic "Heart of Stone". He looked at the shocked and panicked Duchess in front of him, then reached out and poked his heart, and then the corner of his mouth twitched in pain:
"Allow me to offer you my heart. Excuse me, Duke Carina, do you want it now?"
"What?"
The witch asked instinctively. If she saw this scene on the battlefield, she wouldn't even blink. But when she saw a familiar person doing this in front of her, no matter how decisive and skilled she was, she would inevitably be shocked.
"Miss!"
The loyal head maid reminded her from behind, and Miss Carina finally realized:
"Oh, my God! Shad, what have you done? Hurry, stop the bleeding! Are you crazy?"
After a flurry of activity, Shade smeared the soil from the flowerpot on the windowsill on the wound, and the spell "Active Soil" easily healed the wound. He then asked for a glass of water, treated it with "Food of Fullness", and poured the liquid emitting a blasphemous silver light on the wound, and now even the scar disappeared.
"Very good. Very good."
After the panic, the Duchess behind the desk covered her forehead with her hands, looking frightened... She was indeed frightened:
"Although the knights who are thirsty for glory in the stories are always willing to sacrifice themselves to the princess, queen or other beautiful female characters, we don't have to do that."
"Well... because everything that happened today was too much like a scene from a knight novel."
Xia De said, and Miss Carina closed her eyes and nodded:
"Your mission is complete, but I think I need to take a break. This is too exciting for me. Tifa, you go to Hamilton in Rejade and get his reward. I keep my word. Knight, you wait here. After this wonderful adventure, you should take a break."
Hearing her say this, Xia De knew that the matter was not over yet, so he sat down on the sofa in the study and looked around for his cat.
Half of the maids followed Miss Carina and left, and the other half followed Tifa to get Shade's reward.
But after a long time, when the black-haired maid came back, her hands were empty.
She said to Xia De regretfully:
"Knight, I'm afraid you'll have to get that gift yourself. After all, it's a treasure that belongs to you alone."
Shade nodded, stood up, and followed Tifa out of the room. He followed the maid to the third floor, and strangely, he didn't meet anyone along the way. It seemed that in just a few dozen minutes, the house was completely empty.
After arriving on the third floor, Tifa walked towards the master bedroom of the manor. Shade subconsciously slowed down his pace, and the maid, who had long guessed that he would do this, turned around and said:
"Wouldn't it be reasonable for the Countess's most precious treasure to be placed in her bedroom?"
"If I remember correctly, you said the same thing when you brought me the potion last time."
Shad pointed out, and then saw Tifa winking at him:
"Shad, you really don't know what we are going to do?"
Xia De looked at the tightly closed door. If he hadn't realized it before arriving at the manor, he understood it now.
"You're hesitating."
Tifa said, and then without giving Shade a chance to interrupt, she looked at him with her black eyes:
"Think about it carefully, Xia De. Since she has made up her mind, it is you who is hesitating and unwilling to move forward?"
She didn't even give Xia De a chance to speak, she just grabbed his hand and continued to walk forward, with a smile on her face, because she didn't feel any force in the opposite direction.
Shad followed Tifa into the master bedroom and found that the curtains were closed, but red silk was hung all over the room, making the room look like a maze made of silk. None of the gas lamps in the room were turned on, and the light source was the red short candles standing on the ground, which made Shad very worried about fire prevention.
The specially made candles have a strange fragrance when burning, and the incense burner placed on the table by the wall makes the smell in this pink maze-like room even more breathtaking.
Tifa, smiling, led Shade through layers of red curtains and red candles as the smell became stronger and stronger. Finally, they came to the bed. The soft bed was surrounded by gauze curtains, through which the graceful body lying on the bed could be seen.
"Knight, look, your reward is here."
Tifa said with a smile.
"Um... ... "
"I really don't know if you are really stupid or just pretending to be stupid."
The duchess, wearing a gorgeous red dress, waved to her personal maid, who smiled and stepped back, then left the room and closed the door.
Carina Cavendish looked at the man standing beside the bed. His golden eyes were surprisingly bright at this moment:
"Is there anything more precious than me in this manor? I thought you would have thought of what is happening now after hearing about the reward this morning."
She sat up straight, pulled aside the thin curtain, and saw Shad standing against a background of red silk and flickering candles.
She saw the expression she hoped to see on that face, but she also saw a serious expression that shouldn't appear at this moment, like an angel judging a mortal:
"I hope you can figure it out, not because of what others did."
Xia De rarely showed such a serious expression in front of her, but in the current atmosphere, this not only did not make her angry, but instead made her feel as if a fire was burning in her chest.
His face was flushed, and the temperature of his cheeks was rising. In particular, he thought of the young man in front of him, a "divine scroller" who had truly carried the power of the Holy Silver Moon Old God:
"I know what you mean, but this is what I think. I still have a lot of concerns, yes, a lot."
The golden eyes stared into Xia De's eyes. She could see what Xia De was thinking at the moment from those eyes:
“But judging from the current situation, if I don’t take action now, maybe even Ajelina will laugh at me in the future.”
"What does this have to do with Princess Ajelina..."
"Don't interrupt me, Shad."
Her voice was gentle, and the emotion in her eyes was even gentler. It seemed a little too hot here. Although Xia De restrained himself to be calm, he could still feel his heavy breathing.
"Originally, I still couldn't make up my mind, so I chose to let fate decide whether this was the right thing to do. I'll give you five tests. If you can accomplish them, it means that fate also allows me to do this."
Shade opened his mouth, but no words came out.
"Tifa and the others know me very well. She probably gave you a hint. As long as you find three items, I will assume that you have completed them. The Holy Grail consumes time, which determines whether you value this matter; the Crown tests your skills as a ringmaster and examines whether you are smart enough and know how to use power; your heart represents your feelings for me..."
This was her truest thought, and as the curtain was completely opened, Shade also saw her current outfit. The red skirt was actually a thin nightgown. Because of the side-sitting posture, the legs below were pressed down, and they were thin stockings that were as thin as skin:
"As for the fountain of endless wine, it was my dream when I was little. My other dreams included 'eternal flame' and 'unicorn', but I know you have those."
The flame refers to the "Original Fire", which Unicorn Shade can borrow from the academy.
"And the Philosopher's Stone is a treasure that I believe even you cannot possibly find. So, you only need to bring three of them to pass my test.
The crown represents power, the wine represents dreams, the Holy Grail represents holiness, the Philosopher's Stone represents wealth, and finally your feelings. This is not a ritual in mysticism, but a ritual I chose for myself... a ritual of the heart and emotions, which can be regarded as a unique way of, uh, proposing. I propose to you."
The expression on Shade's face changed for a moment, and the witch smiled and said:
"Look at you, are you touched by me? Or are you sad because of guilt? Shad, Shad, if you keep on like this, you will be played around by the girls of the Cavendish family for the rest of your life."
In fact, there are more than five items. About an hour ago, the black-haired maid gently said that she was willing to be the extra sixth test to test the knight's skills in advance for the Duchess. Of course, these things are not suitable to think about now.
Carina Cavendish held out her hand to Shad:
"You unexpectedly completed all my tests perfectly, even better than I thought. So, fate is also catering to me, and fate does not want to go against Carina Cavendish's intentions. I don't need to hesitate, my soul tells me what I want to do. And now, I need your answer."
She looked at him, and he looked at her:
"If you are ready, I will not back off. Although I know that I am going further and further down the wrong path, at least I will not back off in front of you. This is also my wish."
The smile in her golden eyes became more obvious. She straightened her body slightly, and the fabric between her legs rubbed against each other inadvertently as she stood up:
"I love hearing you say that. I always do. ... Shad Suellen Hamilton, please look me in the eyes."
The two continued to stare at each other, and the red-haired witch asked:
"From now on, when you are alone, can you just call me by my name?"
"I think so, Carina."
A smile appeared on her red lips that were specially painted with lipstick:
"When I first saw you at the Lucky Southern Cross Club in the summer of 1853, I never thought that this day would come."
She stretched out her hand outside the bed and hooked his hand:
"I don't need to be subtle. Now tell me, do you like me?"
"Of course, it's not just the witch's appearance, but also your soul. In this boring era, it's hard for me to find a soul that shares the same interests as me and is so interesting."
Shade said seriously that compared to the hometown of foreigners, the customs and fashions in the Steam Age were very boring. But the soul of the witch Carina Cavendish was really interesting. Witches were never bound by the times:
"My initial thought to you was to thank you for helping me. But after meeting you again and again, and experiencing various things again and again..."
The witch licked her lips:
"I also like the way you want to talk but don't know what to say. Well, knight, I didn't ask you to come here just to let you stand and talk to me. Excuse me..."
She gently pulled Xia De, with a charming look in her smile:
"Are you ready to receive your reward?"
So Xia De's body leaned forward with the force and knelt beside the bed, but he still had one thing to mention:
"But... ... "
"Lecia knows about this. Yes, Luvia Annette knows about it too. I won't make it difficult for you."
She stretched her head and gently moved her nose in front of Shade's cheek, as if she was sniffing something. The tip of her nose brushed across the skin of his cheek, and the scent of the witch rushed into her nose. It was a slightly warm fragrance, the temperature of a living person, and the burning heart and soul.
It seems to be even hotter here than before.
"There is one more question."
"If you dare to ask my age, even now, I will punch you."
"No."
He looked at her:
"I want to know your middle name."
In an instant, it was as if some strings were plucked, and the soul in the golden eyes almost burned Xia De. She pursed her red lips and gave the answer:
"Elena. It doesn't mean anything. It's my grandmother's name."
"Carina Elena Cavendish..."
Shade said her full name, and the witch pointed her finger at his mouth:
"I have also heard about your story with the princess. Since you can serve the princess well, you can also serve the duchess well, right?"
She smiled and took one of Shade's hands and placed it on her leg. After seeing Shade's expression, she chuckled and pulled Shade up completely. Then, the curtains around the bed fell, covering all the scenes inside.
In the windless room, the red silk swayed gently and the candlelight flickered ambiguously.
"The princess once praised the knight's bravery, but today you are going to defeat a real witch. Hamilton of Rejade, are you ready? You must perform well."
At this moment, almost all the candles in the room were extinguished, leaving only the candles at the four corners of the bedposts, illuminating the two passionate souls.