Two months after coming to this world, Xia De had gotten used to a cat suddenly jumping out from beside his pillow every time he woke up, either jumping onto his chest, meowing for food, or rubbing his face and the back of his hands with its furry face.
Therefore, when Xia De woke up from under the strange ceiling and did not hear the familiar voice of Mia, he felt inexplicably lost.
"I haven't seen little Mia for over 24 hours."
Thinking of this, Xia De felt even more lost.
It was eight o'clock on Wednesday night, and after sleeping for twelve hours, Shade felt very good. There seemed to be a banquet in the distance, and he heard the sound of an organ.
After getting up from the bed, he first found himself wearing a set of pajamas he had never seen before, and then found that there was no one in the bedroom, but his original clothes and belongings were all on the bedside table. He took a quick look and found that the witch's gold ring was missing.
"Hmm? Who changed my clothes?"
This was a room that Shade had never been to before. It was about the same size as the living room and dining room of Shade's room No. 1 on the second floor. There was a double-door solid wood wardrobe in the corner, and opposite the wall of the four-poster bed with curtains, there was a desk with bookshelves full of books.
There was a painting of the Coldwater Harbor Pier hanging above the bed, and the bed was on a step higher than the carpeted floor of the room, and the bed seemed to be a double bed.
There is a piano under the wall near the door. The mermaid-shaped gas lamp above the piano is turned off, just like the gas lamp at the bedside and above the desk.
"The gas lamps in Aurora Manor are all in the shape of mermaids. This is actually a hint. I should have thought that the witch could call mermaids."
But the room was not dark, because the curtains were not closed. Through the window, the three-color moonlight shone into the room, shining on the quilt on Shad's body, on his hands and on his face.
Bathing in the moonlight and breathing deeply in the air, Shade was in a good mood. After all, he saved Leicia and got a drop of divinity without paying any price. All his goals in Coldwater Port were accomplished.
"Is the moon phase today, the silver moon brighter?"
Thinking about this, he was about to find his slippers and get out of bed, but he saw a drawstring on the top of the bedside table and pulled it gently.
Of course he couldn't hear any sound, but the corresponding bells would definitely ring in the servants' rooms, and the running people would tell Miss Aurora that Shad had awakened, and the witch, who didn't know what she was doing, would probably see Shad soon.
The pipes inside the walls include not only gas lamps and steam pipes, but also bell lines that can be used to call servants in any room. They have appeared in large numbers in the manors and mansions of the nobles since before the steam age.
From this perspective, the steam age did not actually change all of people's habits.
From the mermaid-shaped gas lamps on the wall, Shade guessed that this was not Sophia's mansion, but the witch's manor. When he changed his clothes and saw the witch waiting for him in the brightly lit restaurant of the mansion, this idea was confirmed.
"You woke up too late, Leisia Cavendish. You just left Coldwater Harbor by steam train an hour ago."
The beautiful brown curly hair hung down behind her head without any binding. The witch changed into a dress that Shade had never seen before and seemed to be in a very good mood, but Shade did not think that she had caught Darkness.
"She's gone? I thought that Resia was also attending the party in your manor. When the maid led me over just now, I saw that it was really lively outside."
Shade asked in surprise, sitting on the left side of the main seat at the long dining table.
"It's a party outside. The bad things are over and people want to have some fun. I happened to be in a good mood, so I held another abnormal party. It's always quiet here, so it's nice to have some fun occasionally."
The witch held her head with her hands and looked at Shade:
"The princess was supposed to leave on Friday evening, otherwise she wouldn't have come to my party on Tuesday night. But His Majesty the King urged her to leave, and something serious happened in Tobesk. Otherwise, she would have left at least after you woke up."
The witch said, and for some reason, Shade actually felt that her attitude towards him had improved a lot.
"Did Leicia leave me a letter?"
Xia De asked again.
"No, she didn't trust me and was worried that I would read the letter. Hamilton, I thought you would be very disappointed, but the princess ignored you and left."
Xiwei Aurora smiled and said:
"But aren't you curious about what happened in Tobesk? I bet, including everyone in the lively party outside, there are no more than five people who know the news now."
She looked at Shad's face carefully. Although they had a long talk more than ten hours ago, the witch didn't pay much attention to Shad's appearance at that time. Now meeting in the brightly lit restaurant, looking at the young detective carefully, even the witch admitted that Shad Suellen Hamilton was the kind of young man who could attract girls.
"Tobesk... the real culprit behind the murder of Queen Diana has been found."
Xia De made a wild guess, but it was a positive sentence.
"How did you guess that?"
The witch asked with great interest. They chose to meet in the restaurant because the servants were there to prepare dinner for Shade. Miss Aurora knew that Shade did not like banquets that had nothing to do with him.
Now the dining cart has arrived. Xia De took a look and felt that he was not hungry:
"It's related to a member of the royal family, and Leicia must be involved. It should be related to the major events in recent weeks, because there was no clue before. In this way, it can only be that the murderer of Queen Diana has been found, and it should also be a member of the royal family. Larousse III will not tell the public about this, but I think he would like all his children to be present to give the murderer a suitable sentence."
He took the napkin handed to him by the maid, thanked her softly, and looked at Miss Aurora:
"Did I guess right?"
"Partially correct. It was your boss, Mr. Dark Anros, who found the murderer. He claimed to be on a business trip to the south, but in fact he had been organizing operations in Tobesk. And then..."
The witch smiled and shook her head:
"When I received the news, I felt like I was reading a palace novel. Prince Sachs, the seventh in line to succession and brother of Resia Cavendish, led his men into the Yodel Palace with guns, and was pinned to the ground like a fat pig by the guards in front of the king and queen... Tsk tsk tsk tsk, I don't know what Carina thinks of this matter."
Shade noticed that the servants were also preparing plates and napkins for her, and the witch wanted to eat with Shade.
"Aren't you going to the party outside?"
He asked curiously, from here he could also hear the melodious dance music and the buzz of people talking.
"What's so interesting about a party? If it were all pretty girls, I might be a little interested."
She elegantly dipped her hands in the copper basin brought by the maid, wiped them with a handkerchief, and then signaled to Xia De that he didn't need to imitate her and could do whatever he wanted.
"But the prince broke into the Yodel Palace with a gun?"
Although Xia De was surprised, he smiled. The outsider also felt that this was like a novel:
"Are there still such fools nowadays?"
“We have to accept that not everyone is as smart as we are.”
Miss Aurora's smile remained unchanged:
"That's why your princess is in such a hurry to go back. Otherwise, I bet she would..."
"She and I are just friends."
Shade stressed, not wanting to ruin Leicia's reputation.
"You don't have to tell me this. You need to explain it to your Miss Carina."
She pointed to the badge that was hung on Shade's neck again, and Shade smiled awkwardly:
"Me and Carina..."
"You should explain this to Princess Leicia, not to me."
Now the witch laughed even more happily.
When the witches are not hostile to Shade, they always show this playful trait.
The dishes were placed on the table one by one, which was no worse than the banquets outside.
Gold and silverware gleamed in the candlelight, and the local delicacies looked delicious. The appetizer before the formal meal was baked snails, which sounded terrible but looked very appetizing.
This is made by boiling specially raised high-quality snails in water to extract the meat, then frying garlic, spices and onions in butter before stuffing them into the snail shells. The shells are then sealed with butter and placed in a special baking dish. They are then baked in the oven before being served on the dining table.
Xia De was not very good at eating such "high-end" food, so Miss Aurora smiled and demonstrated to him how to use those professional tableware.
"So, did Darkness find it?"
He finally asked the question.
"No. When I entered the wine cellar, the passage you ran out of had collapsed. I chased the guy who coexisted with the devil all the way into the sea. I even met the God Summoner in the temple of the fishmen, but unfortunately he was unwilling to help me. He was probably trying to find a way to heal himself."
The witch's answer was totally unexpected. She shook her head with regret and reached back. The servant immediately handed her a new napkin. In front of Shade, while taking the napkin, Miss Aurora touched the chest of the young maid behind her.
This was a great stimulation for Xia De, who was in the one-month "uncontrolled desire period".
"Have you rechecked the collapsed passage? I thought you knew where it was."
As Shad spoke, his eyes were looking at the maid whose face was slightly red. He was testing her.
"I didn't know it at first, but when you were asleep, I went back into the wine cellar to check. After I opened the passage, I first found an empty dark room, and then I found the gap that you widened with your weapon. Maybe that passage was a secret passage that the fish people used to transport and store goods a long time ago."
The witch said, and Shade nodded, knowing that Desire had left. And thinking of Desire's face, he felt the uncontrollable desire become stronger.