The three royal families in the conversation soon noticed Shade. The two princes of Delarion, Marius Cavendish and Derrick Cavendish, showed surprised expressions and said:
"Look, it's Hamilton from Ryder."
"Good morning, knight. Are you waiting for your father's summons?"
They all recognized Shad just by his face and shook hands with him enthusiastically. Of course, Leicia also greeted Shad, but she only called him "Knight Hamilton" and did not shake hands with him, looking like a reserved lady.
"Good morning, Your Highness."
Shad also took off his hat and saluted the kingdom's successors.
"Who is Father talking to now?"
Marius Cavendish, who was 28 years old this year, asked the eunuch attendant, who said respectfully:
"Lord Cornell is in there."
The Marquis of Cornell is currently in charge of the Kingdom's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Shad has seen him in the newspaper.
"I suppose it must be about the upcoming visit from Margaret of Anjou."
Derrick Cavendish, who was thin and even shorter than Leicia, said:
"I received the news and had originally planned to visit by train, but now Carsonrick has changed his mind."
"Do we also need to take a ship and land at Coldwater Harbor or other ports?"
asked Leicia. When she came back in the summer, she left from Carsenrick by boat.
"I heard that they borrowed a steam-powered airship from the Church of Creation at a high price."
Derrick Cavendish, who was wearing glasses, said to his sister:
"This kind of diplomatic visit also has the nature of competition. Maybe the other party wants to suppress you."
Leisia's expression remained unchanged:
"Considering political factors, it seems that she came here with a political mission and wanted to put pressure on people in advance. Those southerners are really naive."
"Knight Hamilton, what does father want you to do?"
The oldest, Marius Cavendish, asked Shade again. The other two looked at him curiously. Shade shrugged.
"I'm sorry. I don't know."
He looked at the eunuch attendant in the red coat, who shook his head slightly.
"Knight, I read the latest Hamilton Detective Stories. In a city filled with steam and haze, traveling through the streets and alleys to fight against evil and uphold justice, the life of a detective is really rich and interesting."
Marius Cavendish added, patting Shard on the arm:
"If you have time, you can come to my literary salon and share your stories with my friends. We are all very curious about you."
If Ajelina's salon wanted to invite Shade because the little princess simply wanted to show off her interpersonal relationships with her friends, then the invitation from His Royal Highness the Prince must have political implications. The stranger was not a fool, so he smiled and nodded at this moment:
"If I have time, I will definitely go."
"She" smiled into Shad's ear.
"Knight, our sister Mona is getting married next week. Did Aunt Carina give you the invitation?"
Derrick Cavendish also asked enthusiastically:
"If you haven't, I can give you one, it will be very lively."
"The Duke has invited me."
Xia De responded again, saying that Miss Carina had not mentioned this matter yet, but it was Lecia who said it.
"Then we'll meet at the wedding. My aunt trusts you very much, and I think we can become friends."
The two princes exchanged a few more words with Shade. During this time, Leicia did not actively communicate with Shade. Prince Marius Cavendish also explained with a smile:
"Lecia is usually so serious and cold to strangers. Please don't mind."
"Of course I don't mind."
Shade said, trying not to look at Leicia, while Prince Derrick said jokingly:
"In this respect, she is very similar to Great-Aunt Carina."
Even if he didn't look at Leicia, Shade knew that Her Royal Highness the Princess must be angry.
Seeing that the meeting between the king and the marquis was not over yet, the princes took their servants to say goodbye and left. Before turning around and leaving, Leicia gave Shade a helpless smile, then followed them and left along the red carpeted corridor.
Shade looked at Leicia's back, wondering what kind of image he had among the nobles of Tobesk because of the rumors about the "daughter's lover". Then he thought that Miss Carina had never had any intimate scandals with any man since she became an adult, and since she started a relationship with Shade in the summer, she seemed to have ignored other men.
"They don't really think of me as Miss Carina's marriage partner, do they?"
Xia De thought hesitantly and looked at the eunuch servant again. The latter smiled humbly at him:
"Knight, His Majesty may need to talk to the Marquis for a while. I think we need to continue waiting."
The stranger nodded, recalling how miraculously he had been drawn into the political center of the kingdom step by step over the past six months.
After waiting for an hour, the door of the king's study was finally opened. The gray-haired old man who walked out was the Marquis Cornell.
He was holding a file bag in his hand, and when he saw Xia De at the door, he actually recognized him. When the eunuch servant entered the study and asked Xia De if he could enter, the Marquis politely exchanged a few words with Xia De about the recent weather, and then patted his shoulder meaningfully. After noticing that Xia De's muscles were tight and his lower body was very stable, he praised him:
"Today's young people are no worse than when I was young."
"How come you all know me? As far as I can remember, I don't have any frontal photos leaked out."
Xia De quickly got permission to enter the study. After adjusting his collar, he stepped into the study.
This was still the room where Shad was summoned after he blocked a bullet for Queen Diana on the street in the summer. The study was very large, with the desk placed in the middle of the room. The king had his back to the colorful French windows behind him, making the room look empty but also very oppressive.
The outsider had no special reaction when he came to see Larus III last time, but this time he felt a little ashamed. This was not because after coming to this world, Shade was intimidated by worldly power, but it might be related to the close relationship he had with the other party's daughter.
"Long time no see, Hamilton from Rejade. Have you been waiting outside for a long time?"
"It's been a while, your majesty. No, just a moment."
Whether it was because of Leicia or because the other party gave him money every month, Xia De behaved very respectfully:
“I wish you good health.”
"Let's talk business."
The crowned king, who was shorter than Shad, asked the eunuch servant at the table to move a stack of documents to the bookcase on the wall. He closed the golden fountain pen cap and finally looked up at Shad.
I have to admit that this series of actions made him look extremely majestic:
"Sir Anros recommended you to me, believing that you are an excellent agent of MI6. Now, there is a very difficult task that needs to be assigned to you. This task may not be completed, but leaks are not allowed."
"Please trust my loyalty."
Shade said, and then the Gray Gloves' slogan "Eternal Loyalty" somehow popped into his mind.
"Yes, Hamilton of Regede, your loyalty is indeed beyond doubt, and the Duke of Saladil can vouch for you."
The king nodded slightly, took the document handed back by the eunuch servant who came back from the bookcase, and put it aside. In fact, in addition to Shade, the king and the red-clothed servant, there were two armored guards on the inside of the door, but the latter two were no different from the statues.
"The intelligence you obtained about Midhill Castle during your time in the Big City was very accurate. MI6 almost caught a big fish... almost."
Larus III frowned slightly, as if recalling some bad memories.
Shad knew that the king was very unhappy with MI6's actions in Middlesbrough. It seemed that MI6 had finally figured out which of Carsonrick's men had appeared at Middlesbrough train station that day.
It was a coincidence that he was the one who distracted the MI6 agent at Middlesbrough Railway Station that day and let the foreign princess leave in time. Perhaps it was because Shad got the valuable information and proved his worth that he was given this mission.
"I wonder if the Gray Gloves will ask the Grey Eagle to do anything during the princess's visit."
Xia De thought silently, and almost the next moment, Larus III behind the desk really mentioned the "Grey Eagle":
"The latest information, which only Anros and I know, is that Margaret Anjou may have contacted the Grey Eagle while in Tobesk..."
Xia De was startled, and thought in the midst of "her" laughter:
"How come I don't know?"
"... You need to approach Margarita d'Anjou socially and find out who she was in contact with during her visit to Tobesk."
Of course, this work is not only done by Shade, Shade's colleagues will certainly work hard. But only someone like Shade, who has nothing to do with MI6 on the surface, can appear in social occasions, and seems to have a way with ladies, is suitable to carry out this operation in the open.
The secret contact between the Sixth Bureau agents and Princess Carsenrick would be an international scandal if it was discovered, so the King had to personally discuss this mission with Shade. I'm afraid that apart from him and Director Anros, not many people knew about Shade's mission.
"I see."
Shad nodded.
Larous III reiterated:
"We believe that the Gray Gloves of Carsenrick will also take action during this period. Just tell Sir Anros about the specific arrangements and the help you need. Duke Carina thinks highly of you, and I think you won't let us down."
"Yes."
Shade nodded again, wondering if arresting himself was a feasible option.
Thus, the second private meeting between Shad and Larrousse III ended simply like this. He received verbal encouragement, accepted a rather important task, and received a verbal promise that "if you perform well, you can be promoted after this matter is over."
A series of plans and conspiracies will unfold around "Princess Margaret of Anjou's visit to Tobesk." Foreigners living in Saint Teresa Square, which can directly see the Jodel Palace, will be involved in the political waves because of the generous salary.
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