Kacha!
Thunder streaked across the sky of Tobysk, and the first rain of this spring, which began on Tuesday evening, continued to fall on Wednesday morning. But this is a good thing, as every spring rain is very important in this era when most people are still struggling to make ends meet.
At 8:30 in the morning on Wednesday, the sound of raindrops hitting the windows made a rhythmic sound. Although it was a bit chilly outside, the mansion at Carina Manor was still warm and dry as usual.
The gas lamps were still on even during the day, leaving the dim morning scenery outside the house. When the witch, who had just washed up, walked into the restaurant with her maids, she saw Leisia sitting at the dining table, poking the frosted pancakes on the plate with a fork.
Carina Cavendish's brisk steps instinctively paused, then a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. She continued to walk into the restaurant and sat opposite Lesia.
The princess who had arrived early in the morning also looked up at her, took a look at the witch's outfit, the gorgeous red dress, the diamond earrings on her ears, her fair and rosy skin, and then said lazily:
"As much as I hate to admit it, you look several years younger."
"Little Lecia, you're saying this as if I were actually very old."
The Duchess smiled and spoke to her grandniece as the maids brought her breakfast on a dining cart.
Shade left at around seven o'clock, and when Tifa helped her put on makeup and do her hair in the bedroom, the witch found that she looked younger and prettier. Therefore, she spent more time putting on makeup in front of the mirror this morning than usual. Even if witches are gorgeous, no one would dislike looking younger and prettier.
Not only her appearance, she was also quite proud of her decision and actions yesterday, but she didn't know how to express it "normally". When Tifa brought the cup of hot milk to the table, Miss Carina finally thought of a question:
"Lecia, why are you here at this time? Is there something urgent?"
Leicia glanced at her with a scrutinizing look:
"Yes, someone stole my things. To be exact, I received a letter from Miss Luvia Annette this morning. She asked me to come here and take a look. At that time, I guessed that something had happened here."
Although she didn't know what happened to Shade yesterday, at least she found out from the maid of the manor where Shade slept:
"So, how does it feel?"
The princess asked in a frivolous tone. The witch thought for a moment:
"Don't talk like that, Leicia, where is the demeanor of Princess Cavendish? But to be honest..."
He tapped his cheek lightly with his fingers:
"very nice."
Raindrops hit the glass windows of the restaurant. Miss Carina nodded after she finished speaking. When she looked at Leicia, her smile became even stronger:
"Or rather, pretty good."
"Tsk~"
Leicia made a very unladylike sound. In fact, it was just like what Miss Carina had said to Shade yesterday. Her aunt had contacted her through Dorothy a long time ago, and the two sides reached an agreement, in which the witch made some concessions in exchange for her consent. After all, Shade promised Leicia that she would know about this matter in advance.
"Of course it's good. I've never been wrong."
Leicia said, and then looked at the newspaper on the table:
"So, we will be a family from now on."
On the front page of the newspaper, the Kingdom's Minister of State, the Marquis of Walster, announced this year's fiscal reform and stimulus plan. On the outside page, there were reports of the upcoming border negotiations with the United Kingdom of Carsenrick and the 1854 Tour de Tobesk.
"A family..."
Karina nodded, but then reacted:
"Lesia Cavendish, weren't we a family before?"
"You know what I mean."
Leicia said that since it had already happened, she would not say anything more. After all, it was still unclear who would suffer the loss. However, she was curious about something else, so she lowered her voice and asked, poking her head out from behind the newspaper:
"I heard from the maid here that you entered the room at 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon, and you didn't even have dinner."
This topic made her blush a little:
"So... you guys... until midnight?"
The witch's face flushed, and the crazy memories of last night, fierce, passionate, rude and gentle, also came flooding back:
"Of course not. Shad just recovered from a serious illness due to the incident in Randall Valley. How could I ignore his health? Besides, our knight is a little too... brave. Although I am twice his level, it seems that he really learned a lot from you... It was only midnight, and then he hugged me to rest. It felt so warm and reassuring."
"You are able to... ... be amazing without the Eternal Youth Leaf."
Leicia covered her face with a newspaper, not wanting others to see her expression:
"I don't know what kind of magic Xia De has learned, but his physical fitness is really amazing."
This sentence reminded the maids present of the shocking scene of "donating the heart" yesterday afternoon.
"No wonder you like being with that writer lady..."
The Duchess grumbled.
Leicia then looked at Tifa behind Carina:
"I thought you would ask for help. Knights serving the royal family sometimes need the tenderness of princesses. Don't just think about yourself."
The black-haired maid had a blank expression on her face as she performed her duties as a personal maid.
Jialina looked behind her and shook her head slightly:
"That's not something you would say. I remember you never liked sharing since you were little. But I told Shade last night that as long as he doesn't take the final step, I don't mind him flirting with my apprentice and personal maid occasionally. Leicia, you're still young. You can't just give men whatever they want."
But in fact, the above reasons are all lies. She did this to "retaliate" for what the maid and her lover did in the bedroom when she was on a "business trip" to the Pantanal Swamp at the end of last year.
"Just think it through yourself. I hope you won't regret this decision."
Leicia shook her head. She knew how powerful the black-haired maid was.
"Also, I'm curious about what you asked Shade to do before four o'clock yesterday. I heard from Luvia that he set aside a day yesterday to help you with something, so how did he end up on your g?"
"I had the knight offer treasures to the Duchess he served. The endless spring of wine, the Holy Grail, the Philosopher's Stone, the King's crown, and his heart."
Thinking of this, the witch couldn't help but smile:
"Late at night, I lay in his arms, listening to his heartbeat and the origins of those treasures. You see, it was fate that gave me instructions. No, it was fate that followed my thoughts."
"You're so boring."
Leicia said, and then she thought of how she had left clues step by step last year for Shade and Dorothy to find, and finally meet in the sea of flowers at home:
"But did you really take so many good things from Xia De?"
She asked again, and the witch shook her head rather coolly:
"Of course not. I just asked him to find it for me to see, but I didn't ask him to give it to me. Do you think I sold myself? Oh, little Lecia, this is not the way women of the new era think."
Leicia smiled, continued reading the newspaper and ignored her.
Miss Carina lowered her head and cut the fried egg with a knife, then said:
"However, I did keep three of the five treasures. I let him take the Philosopher's Stone and the Crown, as they might be useful to him. I kept the relic Bacchus Bottle as a commemoration of this event. He said he could still make the Golden Holy Grail, so I kept it as well. There are ancient runes of youth on it, which are recorded in the parliament's materials and Shade's secret art of immortality. Maybe I can make an elixir of immortality in a certain sense, which is very worth studying. Last but not least, I left behind..."
She met Lecia's inquiring gaze and blinked:
"His heart."
The corner of Her Royal Highness's mouth twitched:
"Shad is going to Randall Valley again? You should eat quickly and then follow me into the city."
"He said he would go to the Dawn Church to meet his priest friend first, and then go to the Randall River Valley to deal with one last matter. You want to invite me to the city? Why, do you want to communicate with me? Go shopping for clothes together? Or, go to the opera house?"
The witch was in a really good mood today. She glanced at the scenery outside the window:
"Since it's raining outside, I thought we could plan some more indoor activities."
"Of course it's not about communicating feelings. Luvia wants to meet us. Yes, the three of us. Dorothy Louisa can't come because of something. That purple-eyed fortune teller is not easy to deal with. You stole someone else's things. Have you thought about how to deal with it?"
"Isn't it the same with you?"
Carina Cavendish said, but she did feel a little uneasy.
Although Luvia Annat's ringmaster level was much lower than hers, and her family background was not as good as the girls of the Cavendish family, but when facing this fortuneteller, she always felt that he was definitely not as simple as he seemed.
Moreover, although Shad did not say it, his choice to pursue the epic of the Chosen One seemed to be originally related to the mysterious soothsayer.
"I know you are a witch of the Witch Council. Even if you think that fate allows you to make crucial decisions, but with Shade... from now on, is your witch identity okay?"
Leicia suddenly asked again, and the witch nodded:
"At least, I don't feel anything wrong. Except for being in a good mood, I am no different from usual."
Before Shade left this morning, she even tried to enter the parliament with Shade. Of course, there was no one in the parliament at such an early time, but the experiment had proved that furthering the relationship with Shade would not affect the witch's power.
She even discussed with Shad in the council, forbidding Shad to take his relationship with her any further and reveal it to anyone except Lecia, Dorothy, and Luvia, and that the two of them keep a certain distance when meeting other witches.
The superficial excuse was to prevent the speaker or other witches who Shade didn't know from being too intimate and discovering their relationship. But the real reason was that if Xiwei Aurora, Vanessa Benanis or Emma Sylvia knew about it, it would be fine. She didn't dare to think about what would happen.
"You'd better hide that smile on your face. Who knows what will happen when you meet Luvia later."
Leicia said, and then both sides of the table were quiet for a while. The Cavendishes ate their breakfasts. Only the occasional footsteps of the maids and the sound of rain outside the window continued.
But in the end, Her Royal Highness couldn't help but be curious, so she looked up and asked again:
"Did you try yesterday..."
She made a rather complicated gesture with both hands. The witch looked at it for a while before she understood. She asked in surprise:
"You've actually tried this?"
Leisia showed a contemptuous expression on her face and lowered her head to continue eating breakfast. The Duchess looked at her and suddenly smiled, feeling that the days ahead would become more and more interesting.