During the conversation just now, Xia De had been thinking about the matter about the witch. His final opinion was that he could not just pretend that he didn't know about it, but at least he had to find out what the other party's attitude was.
He coughed, asked the maid who had already walked to the door to wait, and then looked at the Duchess behind the desk:
"Miss Carina, there is actually one more thing I want to tell you. I recently learned some strange historical stories from the library of St. Byrons."
"About what?"
"About... the witch."
He caught a glimpse of the maid Tifa standing in front of the door, completely blocking it. At this moment, Shade doubted whether it was right for him to talk about this matter now, but instead of cooperating with the other party in mutual suspicion until a conflict broke out one day, it would be better to make it clear from the beginning.
After all, he now has divinity by his side. If the other party really wants to make trouble, Xia De will definitely not be the one who will be in trouble.
"Witch... Detective, what do you want to talk about?"
She looked at Shad.
"I learned a common sense from the book. The witches of the Fifth Age... ... gained great power, but were also cursed."
The black-haired maid frowned and looked at Shade, then looked at Miss Carina somewhat helplessly.
The Duchess's expression remained very natural:
"I see. Keep talking."
The sound is very soft.
Xia De also looked at the Great Witch of the Witch Council, trying to guess her expression as he spoke:
"Witches are infertile and have an indescribable aversion to men. Direct physical contact can greatly amplify this aversion. This can also explain why there are no records of witch emperors leaving offspring..."
After a brief pause to make sure the other person was still in a normal mood, he continued:
"I also learned a little trick. Witches will use the way they hold men's wrists to determine their true gender."
The person on the sofa and the person behind the desk looked at each other. It was hard to tell what the witch meant by her eyes:
"That's true, so some people think that the witches in the parliament are all 'handkerchief lovers'. In fact, they just can't choose. So, detective, what do you want to say?"
The conversation reached a critical moment, and both sides were sensing the current atmosphere. Xia De leaned forward slightly:
"I want to know... Since you can judge the gender, and I obviously can't trigger that kind of curse, so... Miss Carina, what do you want from me?"
He asked earnestly, but didn't get an immediate answer afterwards.
The room became so quiet that Shade thought that even if Mia suddenly appeared, she would make a loud noise when stepping on the soft carpet.
Just as Shad was daydreaming, the red-haired Duchess laughed:
"From your expression just now, I thought you wanted to ask about something important like the Whispering Poems. Oh, I mentioned the Whispering Poems? You pretended you didn't hear it. But just this question? It's very simple, of course it's very simple."
At least judging from this answer, the conversation was successful.
The witch suddenly stood up from her chair, and Shade also stood up. Seeing the Duchess walking quickly, he dodged immediately, and was easily caught by the other party by the wrist.
At this moment, Xia De remained on high alert, ready to mobilize the power of his soul and life ring at any time.
"You are not a woman."
Miss Carina said.
"Of course. Didn't the makeup box you asked me to get prove it? And my body's physiological reactions and appearance also show that I am not a woman."
Shade answered, trying to free his hand like last time, but he couldn't. He looked at the red-haired woman in front of him inquiringly, and the latter looked at him without showing any weakness.
The two were very close to each other, and this proximity allowed Xia De to easily smell the scent of makeup on the other person.
"You are not a woman, you are a man."
She said again.
"Of course, haven't you tried your potion?"
Xia De said again, looking into the other party's dark golden eyes:
"Or... do you want to verify it in another way?"
He deliberately said something suggestive, hoping that the other party would let go. But the Duchess didn't care at all. She just looked at Shade's expression:
"Whether I see you up close or have direct contact with you, I don't feel any discomfort. I have investigated your past and found that you are indeed a human being, but it does not conform to my common sense. You are a man, so there should be no problem with this..."
She looked down, but only stayed at a subtle angle for a second before looking away:
"If you don't mind verifying it in other ways, I can help you find some high-class prostitutes."
The maid who was watching this scene beside the two of them coughed loudly, probably because she was really choked.
Shade looked him in the eyes:
"Ms. Carina, what do you want to do?"
"I'm not doing anything. I just want you to stay by my side. This secret is for me to know alone."
When I saw her smile from a close distance, I could clearly see the short hairs on her fair skin around the corners of her lipstick-coated mouth.
"You want to study me?"
He frowned.
"Research? No, in the Fifth Era, generations of powerful witch emperors studied the curse for an entire era, but to no avail. I am much weaker than them, and I am not a genius researcher, so why should I waste my time on such things? Therefore, it is enough for me to let you stay by my side and let me enjoy this secret alone. You can understand it as... I am collecting you."
This statement made Xia De very uncomfortable.
"Collect me?"
"That's probably not the right way to put it. You can understand it as, I want to watch the only man the witches can get in touch with grow and become stronger. It's like watching an ordinary dirty antique transform step by step into a powerful relic. This process is a rare pleasure in life. Helping you is not a difficult thing for me. And I really want to know, when you grow up, can you find the reason for your abnormality yourself? This may help us."
Xia De's figure was reflected in the golden eyes, and Xia De believed that the woman who was close to him must also be reflected in his own eyes. He thought that this conversation would definitely lead to some conflicts, but he didn't expect to get such a result. But this result was not bad. The other party did not have any other intentions, so he was of course very happy:
"If that's all, Miss Carina, I'm glad to have aroused your interest, and I'm also happy to maintain our... cooperative relationship."
"I am also happy to help you all the time, not only because you are the only man I can touch, but also because I really admire you. Shad Suellen Hamilton, I haven't met such an interesting person like you for a long time. You are different from others. Of course..."
Her smile once again displayed a charm that clearly transcended human nature. This was not normal:
"If you can make me happy, I don't mind being with you..."
The maid at the door coughed again, but this time it was probably intentional, reminding the Duchess she was serving to be more dignified.
"I still mind it a little."
He calmed down from the charm so close, mainly relying on the woman's laughter that came to his ears:
"So everything between us remains the same, except... what does this have to do with you grabbing my wrist?"
She smiled, then let go of Shade's hand, but did not continue talking about the topic that would cause the maid to continue coughing:
"I can't guarantee how the other witches in the council will treat you. After all, there are many crazy people in the council. If other witches come to the local area, I will inform you in advance, and you should not take the initiative to provoke them."
Turning to look at her maid:
"Tifa, take this curious gentleman to learn etiquette quickly, as time is running out. Remember to get yourself some water when you come back. I noticed that you have been coughing, and it seems that your throat is uncomfortable."
"Please wait a moment, Miss Carina, I still have a lot of things to ask."
Before the maid spoke, Shade spoke first, but the Duchess, who had been very "enthusiastic" towards Shade just now, had no intention of continuing the conversation. She shook her head at Shade with regret:
"Next time, Mr. Knight, but I will allow you to ask one more question."
"Is she a witch?"
Shad pointed at Miss Tifa Servet. He actually had a lot of questions, and the key to this question was not the identity of the maid, but how many real witches there were in the Witch Council in the Sixth Era.
The answer to this question can help Xia De understand many things.
It was the black-haired maid who answered the question:
"Only the thirteen most powerful witches in the parliament are real witches. Although others have some of the power of witches, they are basically just borrowing the power of relics and can only be regarded as candidates for witches. After one of the thirteen witches dies, the candidates are eligible to compete for the vacant parliamentary seat. So, Mr. Hamilton, I am not a witch."
"So what's going on with me? Why doesn't your witch curse work? And..."
Xia De wanted to ask more questions, such as whether the Great Witch inherited the power of the Witch, or whether she really possessed both the "Witch" of the Fifth Epoch and the "Ring Wizard" of the Sixth Epoch.
"One question is over, detective, see you later. If you still doubt that you are not a man, go find the prostitute in the alley yourself, and remember to tell me if you have the answer. If you want to know more secrets, turn to the incarnation ring, or you have reached the high ring."
Miss Carina said with a smile, then nodded to the maid, and Miss Servet calmly opened the door of the study. Therefore, although it was confirmed that the great witch Miss Carina had no ill will towards him, this conversation, which Shade regarded as a "showdown", ended easily.
There was no expected conflict, no deliberate denial. Carina Cavendish simply admitted what Shad had learned, leaving him with more questions.
But this at least confirmed one thing for Shade: the Witch Council was very likely to know the truth about the epochal changes between the Fifth and Sixth Epochs, and many secrets of the thirteen Witch Emperors. They might even know the true meaning of the Whispering Poems.
And all of this will require Xia De to slowly learn from Miss Carina in the future.
"But at least I found the direction instead of letting those secrets bump into me on their own."
This was what Shade thought as he followed the black-haired maid.
The Duchess had anticipated that she would have to teach Shad etiquette, so she had found an etiquette teacher in advance, the same one she had played cards with last time.
Perhaps because Shad was about to receive the "title of knighthood", this middle-aged man wearing a white wig and old-style court costume, who was somewhat feminine, had a different attitude towards Shad this time.
After boring study, Shad wanted to talk to Miss Carina again, but the maid Tifa asked him to go back to the first floor and wait, because the Duchess had other guests to meet.
Xia De didn't know whether it was true or not, but since the other party didn't want to see him, he didn't force it. When he walked down the stairs, he was still thinking about his attitude when dealing with Miss Carina in the future. His eyes turned aimlessly from the steps under his feet to the downstairs, and then his steps suddenly stopped. He actually saw from a high place a figure who looked like Miss Bei Yasi in a long dress, flashing among the crowd in the banquet hall on the first floor.
"Um?"
His first reaction was not to think about what the other person was going to do next, but to reach for the relic in his pocket.
Because today is "Sunday night", a time when Shad is particularly vigilant, so under his seemingly neat formal suit, he hides almost all of his belongings.
I hurried down the stairs, wanting to see what Miss Beas was going to do. But I still saw her upstairs, and when I returned to the first floor, I could only see gentlemen chatting about politics and ladies greeting each other and talking about their outfits.
"Did I see it wrong?"
He stood in the center of the crowd and thought, and then asked in his heart:
"Did you just feel Miss Beas's element?"
The distance is too far.
"Well, if you find her later, remember to remind me."
For the next twenty minutes, Xia De walked around the banquet hall, wondering if he could find other acquaintances, but there was no reason for the other four people in the group to come to this occasion.
Instead, he met Captain Rads again. The captain, with a blushing face, pulled Shad aside and introduced him to the friends he met in the army.
Those gentlemen who attended the banquet in army uniforms were all active military officers still in service. Captain Rades himself was a lieutenant, and his friends naturally also had military ranks. The oldest-looking middle-aged man with a brown beard was actually a lieutenant colonel in the Royal Army of Delarion, which was a very impressive identity.
Before the king appeared, Shade did not leave the captain's place, but listened to a group of officers sharing what happened on the southern front. Captain Rades had been criticized for some time because of the "Captain of Eight Guns", but now that he had the opportunity to return to the front, his friends who had originally made fun of him no longer mentioned that incident.
Captain Rades told him that the young detective was one of the main characters in today's banquet, so Shade was naturally welcomed by them. After everyone accepted Shade's business card, Shade curiously asked these soldiers who knew the front line best about the possibility of a full-scale war between Delarion and Carsenrick breaking out again in recent decades.
This concerns his life. Once a full-scale war breaks out, peace will be gone and war will begin, and no one will be unaffected.
Under the crystal chandelier overhead, the officers holding their wine glasses looked at each other. Captain Rades looked at the lieutenant colonel, who nodded cautiously and answered the question. Perhaps because he had been on the southern front for too long, his accent was a little strange:
"Mr. Hamilton, you shouldn't be asking us that question."
The left hand that is not holding the wine glass points to itself:
“It’s not us who decide this.”
Pointing to a group of middle-aged gentlemen not far away discussing the latest tax policy:
“Not you.”
Finally pointing to a higher floor:
"It's them."
Shade understood what he meant and couldn't help shaking his head. Most of the others had similar expressions, so Captain Rades took the initiative to raise his glass:
"Peace."
Although the others didn't say anything, they all raised their glasses and clinked them with his.
The banquet hall was bustling with people drinking and chatting. No one likes war except those with vested interests. But most of the time, the start of a war is not decided by those who hate war.
Shade sincerely hopes that the peace between Draerion and Carsenrick can continue. After all, the epic of the Sixth Era has begun and the world is already chaotic enough.