At 2:30 in the afternoon of that day, Shad, who was at home, had not received a reply from Miss Carina, but someone knocked on the door downstairs.
When he opened the door, he saw a carriage parked at the door. There was no one in the carriage, but the driver, who was smoking a cigarette, handed Shade a note. On it was Miss Carina's beautiful handwritten cursive letters, asking Shade to get in the carriage and go see her directly.
It seems that the great witch also took Shade's request for a visit very seriously.
The carriage took Shade through the sweltering city, along the road Shade had walked once before, to Miss Carina's estate outside the city. The last time he came here was at night, and the abnormal fog made Shade wonder if this was a "witch's house", but he didn't see anything unusual during the day.
The suburban manor in the sun looked like it had just been washed, and the tiles on the roof shone in the afternoon sun. The lawn was trimmed to almost the same height, and after the carriage drove through the main gate, Shade saw a team of servants in the distance pruning the big trees in the courtyard.
He once again had a new understanding of Miss Carina's financial resources.
Compared with the magnificent manor house of the royal family, the interior decoration of Miss Carina's house is relatively "plain". The only thing worth mentioning is the oil paintings on the walls of the corridor. She probably likes the scenery of various places. Those oil paintings that look expensive are all landscape paintings, and none of them are portraits.
The meeting place was the study on the second floor. When Shad knocked on the door and entered, in addition to the Duchess and the personal maid, there was also a middle-aged woman in a white shirt and a formal skirt, reporting on tax work.
Miss Carina waved her hand and asked the middle-aged woman to go out first. As she passed by Xia De, the latter nodded at him with an indescribable curiosity in her eyes.
"Good afternoon, Miss Carina."
"Good afternoon, detective. I haven't spent the summer in Tobesk for several years. It rained yesterday and it's so hot today... Let's do it this way. Tifa, afternoon tea."
After Shade sat down on the sofa, the Duchess behind the desk also came to the sofa. The maid Tifa brought a team of maids and pushed a dining cart to bring afternoon tea and snacks.
From the window of the study, you can see the general view of the manor courtyard, and looking further away, you can see the vague appearance of the city buildings. In autumn, if it is windy, the farmland outside the manor will have golden wheat waves, and it is really nice to sit here and watch the scenery.
“It’s really nice here.”
Shade praised softly, and the Duchess sat on the single sofa opposite Shade in a very relaxed posture. She waved her hand to let the maids except Miss Tifa leave first, and then looked at Shade's outfit today:
"Detective, I didn't expect that you and your friends would be looking for trouble with the Silver Eyed One so soon."
Before the Sunday banquet, Shad revealed his thoughts and stated in the letter that he wanted to seek help.
"Yes, if it's any later the people from the Blood Spirit School will be here, and we don't want to deal with so many people at the same time."
"That's right, so what are your plans now?"
The Duchess asked, and Shade thought for a moment and nodded:
"On Thursday night, the church will go to encircle and eliminate the cultists who believe in the Lord of the Blood Feast. We will take advantage of the fact that the people of Mercury Blood are attracted there, rush into the underground ruins, and kill the Silver Eyed One."
After a pause, he confirmed that he had no other ideas, and nodded:
"That's the plan."
The red-haired Duchess tilted her head and looked at him:
"This plan of yours is really... concise."
She laughed, but not in a mocking way:
"It's good to have your own plan. Simple plans are less likely to go wrong. I am happy to help you. So what kind of help do you want me to provide? First of all, you have to understand that the church has a thirteen-ring warlock in the city now, and I can't take action directly."
"No, no, you don't need to do anything directly. I want to borrow some relics that I can use and return them after the matter is over. I can mortgage Founder Silver Moon to you."
Shade said immediately.
"Forget about the mortgage, but what price can you pay to convince me to lend you the relic?"
The Duchess asked, and Shade looked at her expression:
"What do you need me to do this time?"
Miss Carina smiled, bent down and picked up the teacup:
"Thursday night. The Orthodox Church chose this time because that night, the cultists will gather together to hold a banquet with Mercury Blood and call on the evil god again."
Xia De's expression became serious. He really didn't know about this.
"This time they tried to have the gods come to the material world as saints, and the human body was the missing Mr. Lawrence you investigated last time. But don't worry, the church has a complete grasp of their action plan, action time, and action location, and has figured out the organizational status of the entire church, and has a list of people involved in this matter. On Thursday night, the thirteenth ring warlock of the Sun Church led a team to personally handle the sacrifice site, and the church's ring warlock team searched the entire city for the people on the list."
"It's a bit like what happened at Lakeview Manor, but this time the church is in control... But what does this have to do with me?"
Xia De asked hesitantly:
"Ms. Karina, you don't want me to stop the evil god..."
"Oh, detective, don't be silly. I'm asking you to go. Can you do it?"
The Duchess shook her head and tapped her teacup with her fingers:
"I need you to attend this banquet and obtain an item."
She said, and Xia De looked at her seriously to make sure that she was not joking:
"Sorry, even if we don't mention whether I should show up at that occasion, I don't have time. Thursday is also the time for our action."
"It's okay. I will arrange for someone to assist you at the banquet. You can leave immediately in the carriage after you succeed. I will be responsible for the aftermath. To be honest, if Mercury Blood had not guessed that there was a great witch in Tobesk and was wary of suspicious women, it would be more appropriate to let Tifa do this."
Miss Carina said, and the maid beside her showed no expression.
"So what do you need me to get?"
"The ring of transformation."
"Hmm? That's not..."
"Yes, he was taken in by the Peace Church. In order to infiltrate the cult with their own people, the church deliberately let the ring be 'accidentally lost'."
There was a smile in the Duchess's golden eyes:
"So, this gives me an opportunity. I have already arranged the personnel and made a plan. That banquet will not only have cultists and people from the Orthodox Church, but also my people. You just need to follow the plan, and you will get the ring easily. Oh, by the way, the excuse for holding the banquet is to donate to the Tobysk University District, and there will be an auction. No matter what you buy, I can pay for you later."
"This... Will you be there?"
Xia De didn't care about the good things that others paid for to participate in the auction. He cared more about his own safety.
The witch saw what he meant:
"I was not there, and the church notified a very small number of members of the royal family to stay away from the banquet on Thursday night. Therefore, I was able to learn about this matter in advance and conduct an investigation."
She narrowed her eyes:
"I won't force you to go, but if you agree, once you get the ring, according to our previous agreement, you can ask any question about the Witch Council at will, and I will answer it as long as I know it. And in addition to lending you the relic, I promise that after this, you will have my complete trust. In addition, please give me your hand."
"What's the meaning?"
Xia De didn't understand what was going on, but he still stood up and stretched out his hand across the coffee table, and then Miss Carina grabbed his wrist.
"Again?"
He struggled a few times, but couldn't get free:
"Don't worry about your safety. Do you know why, Detective?"
The pair of dark golden eyes looked at Xia De, and Xia De hesitated to look at the maid, who shook her head, not knowing what she meant.
"have no idea."
"Because, I finally met you, the only man who is not affected by the witch's curse. I can't bear to let you die easily in such a small matter."
This sentence was so convincing that Xia De was no longer worried:
"Actually, you can let me go and talk."
He reminded her, and the witch smiled at him, then she let go of his hand:
"Tifa will be at the banquet on Thursday, along with several of my other servants. Even if you really run into big trouble, we will be able to get you out of it safely. After the matter is over, I will arrange a carriage to take you away, so that you won't be delayed."
"That's no problem. I'll attend the banquet on Thursday."
Xia De nodded and looked at the red mark on his wrist. The Duchess's grip was really strong.
Although the temporary additions will make things more complicated on Thursday night, there is no need to worry too much since we are so well prepared.
"Well, as for the relic you want to borrow..."
She did not ask the maid Tifa to get the thing, but leaned on the sofa and thought for a while, then reached out and took off the gold necklace from her neck.
The necklace is luxurious and exquisite, with a gold chain woven into a diamond pattern and wrapped around a ruby.
Miss Carina signaled the maid to hand the necklace to Shade. The black-haired maid seemed very surprised, but still did as she was told. As for Shade, when he took the necklace, he could even feel the body temperature on it.
"This is the gift I received when I officially joined the Witch Council, Detective. Guess my rank."
"Hmm... Secret Keeper Level (Level 3)?"
"No, it's a sage-level (level 2) relic, the ancient witch's gold necklace. After wearing it, any magic and spells used on non-witch objects will be more effective. I can't give you a relic that is too dangerous, as there is a risk of losing control. Relics without risks are mostly useless. But I think this one should be just right. After all, you have already demonstrated your mastery of Silver Moon magic at Lakeview Manor. With this necklace, the effect of your magic can be further enhanced."
"Sage level..."
Xia De couldn't help but marvel. It's not like he had never seen anything like this before, but this was the first time he had come across a true sage-level relic. Sage-level relics would not circulate on the black market. They were truly priceless. A self-circle sorcerer like the Doctor had never even touched a sage-level relic.
Looking down carefully, except for the ruby, the entire necklace is made of gold. The golden chains cling to each other, forming a pattern and a sentence at the same time:
We can only trust ourselves.