Xia De was embarrassed to use public funds to order dishes such as "Fried Foie Gras with Top Black Truffles", but he was not too polite about ordinary dishes such as Green Lake's special bacon soup. The club's service was very thoughtful and the dishes were served quickly. During this period, the negotiators from the city hall also arrived here.
The first group of people to come in included the "Earl of Newcastle of Lexton", and Shade memorized his face and the face of the person he was talking to. It was ten minutes later when the Forlan brothers, who were dressed in formal suits and wearing monocles, came in.
Xia De had greeted the waiter, so the waiter took them directly to Xia De's table. When the two brothers sat down, they were a little confused when they saw Xia De ordering food for them. They wanted to ask Xia De's identity, but Xia De spoke again:
"Why don't I see Earl Lewis? I wonder how his injury is."
"The wound on the shoulder is healing, but the wound on the lower body is probably... Wait a minute, sir, who are you? Have we known each other before?"
Eric Foran, who was wearing a monocle on his right eye, asked in surprise.
"We've met once, don't you remember? On the rooftop of the Queen Maria Opera House in Tobesk."
The two brothers showed a look of surprise and panic. Xia De pressed the steak with a fork and cut the meat with a knife, while lowering his voice and comforting him:
"Don't worry, I entered this club using the identity of an MI6 agent."
The expressions on the brothers' faces became increasingly indescribable.
"Don't look at me like that. It's hard for MI6 or Gray Gloves to confirm the identity of every secret agent at all times. What's wrong with me borrowing this identity and asking them to pay for me to eat? After all, I have paid taxes in Delarion."
What he said was a matter of course, but Mr. Eric Foran, as his brother, knew that the high-level warlock in front of him definitely did not come to chat with them:
"Sir, what do you want to talk to us about?"
"Yes, I remember when we met in Tobesk, you were holding a relic compass and were able to locate the materials you were looking for."
Xia De put the beef into his mouth with a fork, and then wiped his mouth with a napkin:
"I want to borrow your compass to find something."
The two brothers looked at each other, and the older brother with the monocle on his right eye asked:
"Sir, what are you looking for? We don't want to pry into your privacy, but that compass can't find everything."
"I'm looking for the descendants of the Edwards family, the descendants of the former lord of Green Lake Town."
Xia De said, looking at the two brothers with different expressions:
"I don't know their names or their identities, I just know that these people do exist. There must be restrictions on the use of the relics. Can you find someone?"
He asked, and his brother Charles shook his head:
"That compass can only be used to find inanimate objects, and requires very precise names and appearances. Each use requires a certain... price. It cannot be used to find people."
"Forget it then. It's such a pity."
Xia De said lightly, without any regret in his tone:
"It's not a big deal for me to find a member of the Edwards family. I really hope they will come to me on their own."
As he said this, he glanced at the two brothers again.
He couldn't take the initiative to say that he knew they were Edwards, otherwise they would inevitably associate something with it since they had just revealed this to Shad Hamilton in Tobesk. But according to Shad's current questioning, they would only think that the man in front of them had found some clues and would not easily suspect the detective far away in Tobesk.
The two brothers had complicated expressions. They didn't speak immediately because the waiter had already arrived with the dining cart. After the waiter left, Eric asked softly:
"Sir, I wonder what you are looking for them for? We have connections in Willendel and may be able to help you find them."
"I have a letter from before the fall of the Edwards family. There is a pattern on it that makes me curious. I think the descendants of Edwards may know the meaning of the pattern."
Xia De raised his eyebrows, took out a notebook from his pocket, drew the image of the sun, moon and stars with a pen, and handed it to them:
"That's it."
The two brothers pretended not to know that Shade had seen through them, and Shade also pretended not to know that they already knew that he had seen through them. Mr. Forlan looked at the notebook together, and then shook his head together:
"Sorry, we have no memory of this pattern, but it looks very similar to the card back of the Rhodes card."
"Since you have connections in Willendel, please help me check whether there is any description of this in the relics of the former Edwards."
Both brothers understood:
"No problem. We'll write to the servants to help you look up the diagram. However, we don't know any Edwards other than Edwards of Willendel... How can we contact you later?"
"I'll come find you. You won't be leaving the Green Lake area anytime soon."
Shad said:
"And I won't ask you to help me for nothing. If you need anything, I can help you. Also, may I ask, do you have any plans to go to the island recently?"
"We had it originally, but there were some changes on the island the day before yesterday. The local church is searching the island, so we may have to wait for a while before we can go again."
Eric said.
"Well, don't expose your relationship with Edwards easily. This identity will become very sensitive in the future."
The two brothers nodded together:
"My grandfather said something similar before he passed away. There aren't many people around us who know who we are, and no one is in Green Lake."
"That's better. By the way, your grandfather's name is..."
"Edward Edwards."
This is the name of the second son.
Shade nodded and pointed to the Earl of Newcastle of Lexton:
"Why did this earl appear in Green Lake? Did he speak at the meeting this morning? I will also bring back some intelligence under this identity."
"The Earl of Newcastle wants to promote peace, but he is an extreme pacifist and is not welcome in any faction in the country. I heard that he came to Green Lake at the invitation of the Peace Church. The Earl's ideals are ambitious, but they are impossible to achieve."
Because it was not very important information, Charles Foran told Shade directly. Shade nodded and stood up to leave:
"The Green Lake area is going to be very chaotic recently, so you should be careful. Oh, I've already paid for the meal, so enjoy your lunch, gentlemen. The fish soup here is delicious."
As he spoke, he walked towards the restaurant door. No one in the restaurant who was talking in low voices paid much attention to him. After confirming that Shade had completely left, Charles, who was wearing a monocle on his left eye, asked his brother softly:
"he... ... "
Eric Foran touched his monocle:
"I don't see any ill intentions towards us, so don't worry too much. But this gentleman is right, we do need to be careful recently. Don't think too much, just eat. If what grandpa said before his death is true, I'm afraid our relatives will show up one after another. This is not just a matter between the two of us, it's a matter for the entire family."
After leaving the club, Shade got on a carriage and headed south out of the city. Although the carriages in the city were reluctant to enter remote villages, fortunately, the nobles of Green Lake City built a road to the lake for their convenience in going on vacation and leisure.
The carriage carried Shad, passing farmers carrying hoes, rickshaws carrying grain, and soldiers patrolling with guns. It turned right at the fork in the road leading to the outpost camp, passed through a grove of newly blooming lilac trees, and finally arrived at the lake.
This is a village called "Pukhov Village" by the lake. As the lake thaws in spring, the village, as an important port by the Green Lake, is also very lively. In order to serve the passing merchants, tourists and soldiers stationed by the lake, the village also has supporting taverns, hotels and blacksmith shops. If you want to find other goods, you may try your luck with traveling merchants.
"In the Green Lake area, there are more traveling merchants with backpacks and horse-drawn carriages than anywhere else. The countryside here is vast and has a large permanent population, not to mention that it is easy to cross the border. In the spring, watching those traveling merchants slowly walking on the country roads full of flowers is my most beautiful memory of my childhood in the countryside."
This was what the forty-something driver explained to Xia De on the road.
The village of Pukhov was more lively than Shad had imagined. Although it was indeed the size of an ordinary village, and the ground was muddy and the air was filled with the smell of chicken manure and the damp smell of lake water, the merchants, travelers, soldiers and villagers mixed together, making this place look more lively than the Crossroads Village where Shad and Captain Rades had a drink.
In Xia De's opinion, if the economic development of Green Lake City was not so poor, the location of this village could actually be built into a small town.
The purpose of Shade's trip here was to go fishing in the lake and see if the church's team on the island had any gains. After he got off the carriage, he entered the village. The villagers were not curious about a strange face like Shade. Instead, an enthusiastic child pointed out the direction of the tavern in the village for Shade.
Of course, Shad didn't go to the pub.
He walked through the backward village towards the dock while looking at it. There was a notice board at the junction of the village's paths. However, it did not have any commissions for adventurers to eliminate monsters, find missing goats, or help collect herbs. Instead, it only had information about ships that would dock in the near future, as well as notices for renting carriages and boats.