Sophia Mansion is located on a high ground facing the sea in the north of Lengshui Port. Although it is called a mansion, it is actually an estate used by the royal family for summer vacation.
To the west of the mansion is the sea, to the south is the city of Lengshuigang, and to the east and north are coastal forests used by local nobles for recreation. They can be used for hunting and fishing, and are also an important source of local wood for Lengshuigang in winter.
Shade had visited Miss Carina's estate in Tobesk, but had no chance to look around. He had also visited Lakeview Manor when attending a party, but it was nothing like the royal estate.
After the group returned to Sophia's mansion, the two scholars were placed under temporary custody, and Leicia would handle their matters separately.
The princess was soaked all over, and after returning, she took a bath first. There was a large special bathing pool in the manor for the use of royal family members.
Of course, Shad would not be allowed to use such a bath, but Leicia arranged a room specifically for him, and the bathroom in the room was large enough for him to clean himself.
But when the soaked Xia De got the clean clothes and prepared to wash, the two young maids who came to deliver the clothes did not leave:
"What else do you have to say?"
The stranger asked in surprise, the towel he had just used to wipe his hair still draped over his shoulders.
"Your Highness, let us help you..."
"No, get out."
Xia De then realized that outsiders were not used to this kind of thing.
"Don't misunderstand me. We are His Highness's personal maids, not those from Sofia's mansion..."
"go out."
Xia De waved his hand. He would not change his principles easily. Although the stranger hoped that he could adapt to this era, he preferred to stick to his principles in some matters:
"go out."
So the maids could only apologize and leave, and Shade was able to take a hot bath in peace.
After Shad changed his clothes, he thought he could see Lecia immediately, but unexpectedly, two barbers, led by the manor maid, trimmed Shad's hair. However, when he looked in the mirror after the trimming, he could not see any difference from before.
After that, Shade could not leave. The servants pushed the clothes hangers with pulleys and asked him to choose coats, pants, shoes and hats. Shade, who didn't care much about clothes, picked a black suit at random, but at the request of the middle-aged maid with a very oppressive look, he had to try more combinations.
After choosing the clothes, they couldn't leave yet. The middle-aged maid who seemed to be the head maid took out a deck of Rhodes cards from the pocket in front of her skirt and wanted to gamble with Shade:
"This is too much. Why do you want me to stay here?"
Seeing him ask this, the middle-aged maid who called herself Liya Hels replied embarrassedly:
"Your Highness has not finished dressing yet, so let us find you something to do for the time being. If the weather clears up, we can take you for a walk in the garden, but it is still raining now, so it is not convenient for you to visit other places in the mansion."
Xia De then understood:
"Then I'll wait for a while. Speaking of which, don't you doubt my identity? Don't you want to know who I am?"
When he and Lecia came back, they entered the mansion openly through the main gate.
Ms. Hulse smiled faintly:
"You are Knight Hamilton of Rejade, and you saved your Highness's mother, Queen Diana. You don't have to worry about His Majesty the King knowing your Highness's friendships. This is not Tobesk, and since your Highness was able to be arranged to visit such an important diplomatic event as Carsenrick, do you really think that there are not enough people around her who can be trusted?"
It seems that Xia De's impression of the so-called "princess" is still too limited by the stories of his hometown.
It was already twelve o'clock in the afternoon when Ms. Hulse led us to the restaurant.
It was still raining outside, and through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the restaurant one could see the small trees in the mansion's garden swaying slightly in the wind.
After changing out of the clothes that concealed her identity when she went out, Resia Cavendish wore a fluffy blue and white princess dress and sat in the main seat of the restaurant waiting for Shade. The restaurant was not dark, the golden candlesticks on the long dining table were burning, and the gas lamps with the royal family emblem on the wall were also emitting light.
There was a huge oil painting hanging on the wall behind Leicia. Red curtains hung from the roof on both sides of the painting, and the golden tassels at the bottom almost touched the ground. In the painting was an old man wearing knight armor on a horse. Even a stranger could recognize him. This was Leicia's great-great-grandfather, the great-grandfather of the current king, Larousse III the Fire Leaper, and Miss Carina's grandfather, Mir Cavendish, known as the "Red Lion".
He once personally led soldiers into the territory of Carsenrick and killed the governor of the southern county of Carsenrick with a sword. He was the last well-known knight emperor before the rise of firearms. Stories about him have long been circulated in Draurion, and he is a true legend.
Xia De paused in front of the two doors of the restaurant before actually walking in.
Leicia sat at the far end of the long table, looking at the rain outside the window with her face in her hands. Her red hair was carefully combed and hung behind her head. On her right ear was the ruby earring that was a sage-level relic, and on her left ear was the small mermaid-shaped ruby earring that Shade gave her last time.
The silver crown on her head shone in the light of the gas lamp. The girl wore light makeup, her skin was an attractive pink and white, and the lipstick that Shade could not recognize made her lips look very bright.
Even though he had seen many noble ladies wearing makeup at banquets before, he had to admit that none of them were as dazzling as the princess sitting at the end of the table.
The servants pushing the dining cart were placing dishes. Just what Shade saw was enough for him to eat for three meals. Of course, he would not say anything about wasting food, but he regretted not bringing Mia with him.
"Good afternoon, Shade."
Seeing Xia De coming over, Leixia stretched out her hand to signal him to sit on her right.
"good afternoon."
Xia De also responded, and then according to the principle of "when you don't know what to say to ladies, compliment their clothes", he praised quietly:
"This is a really nice suit."
The princess smiled shyly:
"Shad, come sit down. I said I would treat you to a meal on Monday, but you left in such a hurry. Now I finally have a chance."
In the end, there were only two of them sitting at the table, but there were eight dishes and two soups on the table. Shade thought it was a lot, but Leicia told Shade that she didn't expect the two to come back at noon, so this was a hastily prepared lunch.
The rule of this era was that the daily dinner was the most important meal of the day, and the feast that the princess prepared for Shad would actually only appear at dinner.