The royal guards in uniform stood in front of the steps leading to the seats above the south side auditorium, and even the noisy crowd around them did not seem to affect them.
In this era of transition between the new and old eras, the equipment of the royal guards is also very interesting. Of course, there are guns, but in addition, everyone wears heavy armor, holds a spear, and has a sharp sword hanging on his waist.
Xia De heard that sometimes MI6 agents also needed to temporarily act as royal guards. He really hoped that he would not have to encounter such a mission. This set of equipment looked extremely heavy.
Shad came over with the cat, and after the loyal guards asked about his identity and background, one of them walked upwards and stopped three levels of seats away from the ladies, and explained the identity of the visitor to the maid.
At this time, a few people had noticed Shad's arrival, so before the guard came back, Queen Diana, Miss Carina, and Tifa behind Miss Carina also shifted their attention from the stables to Shad.
Queen Diana, wearing a silver hollow crown inlaid with rubies, held a feather fan made of colorful feathers today. She put the fan in front of her mouth, tilted her head and whispered something to Miss Carina, causing the women nearby to laugh.
Xia De naturally got permission to continue going up. He straightened his clothes and soon reached the upper level of the awning.
Miss Carina wanted to get up and go talk to Shade somewhere else, but was stopped by the queen, who was over 40 years old but still looked youthful and energetic:
"Let the knight come over here directly."
She ordered.
So, Shade, who originally just wanted to see the world and ask about some sun-related items, sat down on the right side of Miss Carina in a daze.
To his right was an empty seat, and to his right was another noblewoman who looked to be in her thirties, the daughter of a duke. To Miss Carina's left was Queen Diana, who looked at Shad with great interest:
"Knight Hamilton, long time no see, good day. Is there anything important you want to talk to our Duchess about?"
She placed her hand on Miss Carina's shoulder affectionately, the witch showing no expression.
"Good day, Your Highness. Good day, Miss Carina. I cleaned up the house some time ago, thanks to Miss Carina's help. Today I specially brought some wine to visit her at the manor to express my gratitude. It was the manor housekeeper who told me that Miss Carina was here. I hope my visit is not too presumptuous."
As he spoke, Shad reached into the inner pocket of his coat. After pausing for two seconds, under Queen Diana's interested gaze, he took out two wilted roses. He held them with his right little finger, ring finger and middle finger, pinching the two beautiful flowers between his thumb and index finger.
Because he couldn't see the details of his pocket, the two flowers he took out were one red and one white, and they were not exactly the same:
"To two beautiful ladies."
He said with a smile, and the red-haired Duchess finally smiled:
"Knight, this is the first time you've brought me flowers. Even though they don't look fresh, they're still nice."
Although the Queen had a higher status, Miss Carina, as the elder, chose the red rose first, and Queen Diana took the white rose.
Both ladies looked very happy, and Shade smiled and put his hand down. His gesture just now was very awkward, because there was a small flower-shaped pendant toy between the little finger, ring finger and middle finger of his right hand.
At this time, he put his hand down and gently touched the inside of the hem, and another red rose appeared.
Xia De quietly reached behind him and passed the flower to the back through the gap between the seats. On the surface, he still talked to the queen with a polite smile.
Standing in the back was Tifa. The maid was originally paying attention to the jokes between the queen and Miss Carina, and she saw a flower slowly stretching out from the bottom. It was Shad's hand, and he even hooked his fingers, signaling Tifa to take the flower away.
The maid's dark eyes swept towards Shad who was talking to the queen. If it weren't for the little movement of his hand, no one would have thought that it was he who handed over the flower.
She looked around, then quickly bent down and took the flower from Xia De's hand. With her left hand behind her back, she slowly twisted the flower branch, and a smile that she tried hard to control appeared on her fair face.
"Knight, I have often heard my daughter talk about you recently."
Queen Diana said, her eyes once again looking at the horses running on the racecourse. Shade was startled, and was about to explain his relationship with Leicia when Miss Carina interrupted:
"What did little Ajelina say about Shade?"
"Ajelina recently complained to me that she had invited Hamilton Knight to her salon many times, but Mr. Knight always found a reason to refuse."
This was a bit unfair to Shade. Apart from Ajelina saying that she would invite him every time she met with Leicia, he had not received any written invitation. Moreover, he was really busy this autumn, as there were too many things to do in Midhill Castle.
"The detective has a lot of commissions. I recently received a big business, and the commission left by Uncle Sparrow also needs to be completed."
Shade said apologetically, wondering why Ajelina always mentioned him:
"Of course, I still want to express my apologies. I will not refuse the next invitation from Her Royal Highness the Princess."
"Ajelina will probably be very happy. Speaking of which, Mr. Hamilton, you are not young anymore. I remember you are not married yet? Oh, then you should participate in more activities like this. A handsome and outstanding gentleman like you will be very popular in the eyes of the ladies in the capital."
This topic also attracted the attention of the noble ladies around. Only Miss Carina looked at the queen strangely. Almost everyone had heard the ridiculous rumor that Shade was her "lover".
"There is no rush to get married. I have even heard of local nobles getting married in their thirties."
Shade said as he teased Mia, who was a little apprehensive about the unfamiliar surroundings, but since Shade was around, she wasn't going to be scared.
"Those are just a few examples..."
The queen suddenly smiled, then turned to Xia De and asked:
"Knight, can you ride a horse?"
"certainly... ... "
Shade wanted to shake his head.
"Yes."
Miss Carina helped him finish the next sentence, and then, in front of Shade's surprised eyes, she took over the next task for him:
"Why not let Xia De go downstairs and ride his horse for a while?"
The witch said, and it didn't look like she was joking, because she turned to look at her maid:
"Tifa, take Shade to choose a horse. I hope he can choose a suitable mount."
As he spoke, he "took" Mia from Xia De's arms and gave him a look.
"Yes, miss."
Tifa said softly, and at the same time, Marquise Lemaire, who was sitting in the front row, stood up and arranged for the servants to follow them to choose horses.
"This is really interesting. Why don't we add some spice to it?"
Queen Diana said:
"Knight, if you can win the top three in the next round, this fan will be given to you as a thank you gift for the beautiful white rose."
The feather fan should be made of ivory, and the pendant is a purple gem. A rough estimate shows that the value will not be less than three figures, equivalent to a special rule Rhodes card.
"That's a good idea, Shade. If you can be the first three to cross the finish line..."
The witch shook her finger:
"This ring is yours."
On her hand was a golden ring, which had traces of enlightenment elements so subtle that no one except Shade could have discovered it. This should be some kind of alchemical item, but the specific function was unknown.
"Okay, ladies, please look forward to my performance."
Shade, who had no idea how to ride a horse, stood up pretending to be calm, and followed Tifa and the Flamel family's servants downstairs to the stable to choose a horse.
"It's okay, don't be nervous."
The maid of the Flamel family walked in front, Shade was in the middle, and Tifa was slightly behind. She spoke softly in Shade's ear, obviously understanding the witch's intention:
"Your Highness Ajelina is King Larus III, who is planning to use her as a pawn in a political marriage. The Queen is testing your relationship. In order to prevent you from saying the wrong thing or even exposing your relationship with Her Highness Resia, the lady asked you to leave temporarily."
“But I really can’t ride a horse.”
He pretended to look at the people in the stands opposite and spoke in a low voice.
Last time, Tifa only taught him how to get on a horse and maintain the correct posture on the horse. He really didn't know how to ride a horse.
"It's okay, please take this."
Tifa unnoticedly placed a metal amulet into Shade's hand:
"Take this, it will make the animal docile, at least it won't make you fall."
"Then what... ... "
"Remember the horse riding tips I taught you last time."
"That's just the theory part."
"Yes, that's enough. A racehorse in training won't give you any trouble."
Tifa paused:
"I'll tamper with the other horse's hoof, and cast a delayed lameness spell, so at least you won't be the last one."
But Xia De was still worried. Losing to a lame horse seemed even more embarrassing.
The next step was to go to the rather smelly stable and choose a horse to ride. Since Shad didn't know how to ride a horse, Tifa chose the more docile bay-red Draerion Highlander horse for him.
It was a mare, and when Shade approached it, it was eating grass with its head down. When Shade tapped it with the spell, the horse just glanced at him, as if blaming Shade for disturbing its feeding, but there was no other reaction.
Of course, Shade wanted to find a horse with the same color as Mia, but in this world, there was no orange horse as dazzling as the sun.
"I wonder if I can find a relic ring that can make Mia bigger in the future. Riding a giant cat seems like a good idea. That cat is very brave when facing animals smaller than itself or of similar size, as well as its own kind."
Watching the maid and groom of the Lemaire family talking anxiously, Shad was thinking about all sorts of things.