It was lunch time, so Granny Cassandra invited Shad to have lunch with her, wanting to talk to him about Miss Carina. Shad also needed to find a place to eat, so he agreed.
The two did not eat inside the auction house, but at Wood's Restaurant on Oak Street. This is a high-end restaurant in the city center, and as a wealthy businessman, Cassandra was naturally warmly entertained.
The characteristic of Wood Restaurant is that all the tableware here, except for knives and forks, is made of wood. Of course, if the customer requests, it can also be replaced with metal tableware or porcelain tableware.
As the oldest witch in the Witch Council, Granny Cassandra knew a lot of things. It was from her that Shade learned that Miss Carina's teacher was also a member of the royal family, but not a direct descendant of the Cavendish family. Based on the blood relationship back then, she might have to be ranked after fifteenth in the succession ranking.
Of course, this does not mean that the Cavendish family has become a family of ring wizards like the Aurora family. Before Miss Carina and her cousin, there had never been a royal member in the witch's seat.
Granny Cassandra was very talkative, and even mentioned to Shade some interesting stories about Miss Carina's childhood, the kind of stories that Shade would most likely be thrown out of the Witch Manor if he dared to bring them up.
Not only that, she even talked to Shade about Sister Defulin of the Spiritual Order. Zina Cassandra, who was over a hundred years old, knew the Spiritual Order when she was young and witnessed the succession of three chief sisters of the order. Even the current leader, Sister Defulin, was discovered by Grandma Cassandra as a gifted person.
"Devlin is really gifted, especially her eyes that can see through death, which is a very rare gift."
The old witch gave this comment with a platter of vegetable salad in front of her.
"Why didn't you choose her as your successor?"
Xia De asked curiously, and the old man across the table shook his head:
"I have consulted my teacher, and she thinks that compared to the power of a witch, Daveline is more suitable for the spiritual cult. The cult she leads can exert more power for this world. Judging from the current situation, the teacher is worthy of being a teacher."
When Grandma Cassandra inherited the seat, the previous great witch unfortunately died young, so her teacher was another ring sorcerer. Shad had heard about this from Sister Devlin and Miss Carina.
"So your teacher is..."
Since the other party mentioned this news, Xia De took the opportunity to ask curiously.
"Oh, I can't say the teacher's name casually. However, the teacher happens to be in Midhill Castle, preparing for a ceremony that takes place once every twenty-two years. I can introduce you to each other during the ceremony."
Granny Cassandra said with a smile, and Shade nodded without further questioning. However, based on the information currently known, Shade strongly suspected that the teacher of the old man in front of him was a twelfth-ring or even thirteenth-ring warlock.
After all, she was older than Mother-in-law Cassandra.
"Oh, speaking of which, is there any ring sorcerer in Midhill Castle who is extremely good at the power of death? He doesn't have to be very strong, but he must be good at it. I need help from such a ring sorcerer with something."
During the meal, Xia De asked casually, and the witch, who had already heard the news about the third chosen one, naturally gave an answer:
"Galina asked you to help me? No, young man, that's not necessary. I will investigate this matter myself. I know you are very capable, but don't interfere in matters related to "Whispering Poems" lightly."
"I see."
Xia De did not ask any more questions to avoid arousing the witch's suspicion. He thought that Sister Defulin also knew about the Whispering Poems, so he could not ask the spiritual sect for help.
After lunch, Shad said goodbye to Grandma Cassandra and went to the Midhill Castle Mechanical College.
Interestingly, after the real "Midhill Fort" in the old days, which was a castle camp used for defense, was abandoned, it was not demolished, but became the site of the Midhill Fort Mechanics Institute which was later established.
The castle is located at the foot of Mount Xikar, and its main body is in the shape of the Chinese character "回", which means a stranger's hometown.
The entire academy, in addition to the castle itself and the large open space in the center of the castle, also includes parts separated by independent outer walls and other teaching buildings built later next to the castle.
Compared to St. Byron's College (note), which Shad already knew covered an area larger than a city, the old-fashioned brick and stone castle with spires that he saw after getting off the carriage was more in line with his imagination of a "magic and spell school."
Unfortunately, this is just an ordinary local college and no one would fly on a broomstick here.
Unlike the university district in Tobesk, which consists of several well-known schools in the kingdom, there are only two well-known schools in Midhill Castle. The older Midhill Castle Mechanical College is directly connected to the steam factory area at the foot of the mountain, which can be regarded as the integration of industry, academia and research.
Near the castle, you can see countless chimneys spewing black smoke, carriages passing by in a hurry on the street, and merchants walking around frequently. Compared with the city center, this area looks more lively.
The weather was still gloomy, and it was even drizzling when Shade got on the carriage, but the rain had stopped when he got off. Shade had never been here before, so if he wanted to find Professor John Dunn, he had to ask someone about it.
As he was looking around, a figure hurriedly walking towards him from his left side and his eyes met.
"Um?"
"Um?"
The man in the Royal Army uniform was Captain Rades, the "Captain of Eight Guns" who had not been seen for more than half a month. Although Shade was now wearing eye shadow given by the witch and clothes he had never worn in Tobesk City, Captain Rades still recognized him:
"Mr. Hamilton?"
Of course, the burly officer was not sure that the person he saw was Shad Hamilton. Tobesk was too far away from Fort Midhill, and because of the eye shadow, Shad did look different.
Xia De thought about many things in his mind for a moment, but finally nodded:
"It's me."
Now that he had been recognized, there was nothing wrong with pretending to be here on a business trip. As long as he didn't appear in the newspapers in Tobesk for any reason in the last two weeks, he wouldn't be exposed.
So he motioned to Captain Rades to go to a secluded location under the willow tree by the wall to talk with him. Captain Rades saw Shad at Midhill Castle and seemed very excited:
"Oh, Detective, why are you in Midhill Castle? I almost didn't recognize you just now."
He shook hands with Xia De enthusiastically and truly regarded Xia De as a friend.
"Because of a troublesome commission."
The detective from Tobesk pretended to be troubled:
"I just got here a few days ago. Tobesk's client asked me to come here to investigate a matter related to an illegitimate child. The client's identity is very sensitive, so I cannot reveal my purpose. I will leave after the investigation. Captain, I am now using the alias John Watson, a writer, so please call me by that name."
"John Watson? Oh, I remember that."
The captain nodded, and understood the reason given by Shade:
"Illegitimate children are indeed troublesome. Is he a great noble? Oh, I shouldn't ask. But Mr. Watson, you can completely refuse this commission. After all, it takes a week to get here by train from Tobesk... ... The other party is very powerful?"
Captain Rades thought he had found the answer and couldn't help but frowning:
"Did they threaten you?"
"No, no, I know Duchess Carina. Who dares to threaten me? It's because the other party gave too much."
Shade twirled his fingers. Now, Captain Rades understood Shade even better. The middle-aged man couldn't help but smile:
"So what are you doing now? Do you need my help? I'm familiar with this city."
"In order to investigate the illegitimate child, I got in touch with a local wealthy businessman. But the businessman wanted me to find a lost antique before he was willing to help me. Captain, do you know where the college's folklore professors are usually?"