"Mr. Watson, I never thought that cider could taste like this."
Picking up the wine glass, Mr. Bernhardt took a sip of the wine, then squinted his eyes and showed an expression of enjoyment:
"Yes, it's really very good. Mr. Watson, may I ask which winery produced this fruit wine? I must visit them."
"I can't tell you that, but I promise that this bottle of wine is just as delicious as this bottle of cider."
Xia De was very satisfied with the result:
"Send this bottle of wine to the princess and tell her it's a gift from a friend. It's a red wine made in a winery in the New World. This bottle of wine should be a more appropriate gift than the wine produced in the White River Valley vineyards."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out two more bottles:
"Three bottles should probably be enough."
"You have helped me again this time, Mr. Watson. Please come to my manor for dinner tonight."
Mr. Bernhardt said, then stood up, told the servant to pick up the bottle, and left the restaurant again.
This time, Mr. Bernhardt was gone for a full forty minutes. During this time, lunch was over. Shade sat at the table with a cup of tea and read today's newspaper. Although his level of Kasenric was very poor, his knowledge of words allowed him to recognize the words on the newspaper without any obstacles.
The front page of the local newspaper had the headline of the princess's visit to Huntington, and the following pages were about the financial reforms announced by the City Hall, which was said to reduce the number of civil servants and replace them with temporary dispatch workers. The third page had news about the local winter horse racing competition. As for the advertising area, like the newspapers in the north, there were strange inventions such as "human stretcher" and "steam-powered retractable clothes hanger" seeking investment, or local newly opened stores soliciting business for themselves.
Xia De even saw his fellow detectives placing advertisements in newspapers and promising to charge very low fees. Outsiders had no good feelings towards such guys who broke the "rules", and malicious price cuts would only make it difficult for everyone to do business.
"However, the detectives in Huntington seem to be doing well, as they were able to find such a large space to advertise."
Just as Shad was copying the address of "York Little Bee Pastry Shop" into his notebook, thinking of bringing some southern snacks to Dorothy and Luvia, Mr. Bernhardt, who had finally returned, still had a very sad expression on his face, even sadder than before.
The servant pulled out a chair for the viscount. After Mr. Bernhardt sat down, he clasped his hands together and asked Shade, who was considering whether to bring a snack for his cat, hesitantly:
"Mr. Watson, if the princess wants to see you, would you mind going to see Her Royal Highness Margaret?"
"Um?"
Xia De looked up from his notebook and looked at him in surprise:
"Princess wants to see me?"
After he finished speaking, he realized that his voice was a little loud, so he lowered his voice and pointed it at himself:
"I'm sorry, Mr. Bernhardt, I can't let the princess see me in a place like this. You know, I will definitely run into the princess at social events in Tobesk, and I can't let her see my face in advance. Even if I put on some fancy makeup now, she can't recognize me, and I can't take the risk."
"What if you can go one step further and temporarily change your appearance? It will make you even more different."
Mr. Bernhardt was very embarrassed:
"I know I shouldn't force you to help me, but the princess just tasted one of the three bottles of red wine and praised your wine as much as I did, and then she wanted to meet you. I'm sorry, but if you really don't..."
"Wait a moment."
Shade said, frowning.
Are you going to see her
Whispering in his ear, Xia De resisted the urge to nod and said in his heart:
"If I can really change my appearance further based on the witch's eyeshadow and get familiar with the princess in advance, it should also be helpful for my plan in Tobesk."
Thinking about it carefully, this is a rare opportunity. With Mr. Bernhard's introduction, the princess's vigilance is definitely less than that of a foreign knight. And taking this opportunity, Shade has the opportunity to test the other party's character and temper.
"But, my luck is so good? The choice given by the golden rabbit leg is really valuable. How many rabbits will I dream about tonight?"
While I was worried about my sleep quality, I remembered another thing I wanted to ask:
"Mr. Bernhardt, did you know that the Angevin royal family also has ring sorcerers?"
The middle-aged vampire was somewhat surprised, but not that surprised:
"Of course I know. Wait, you mean, the current ring wizard of the Anjou family is her? I thought she was... a correspondence student of Sexes? Don't worry, I won't tell anyone.
"The other party is a ring sorcerer, so is it possible that your disguise can be seen through by her?"
Mr. Bernhardt immediately shook his head:
"Don't worry, this is a unique illusion of the vampires, a combination of racial talent and magic. I didn't use it in Midhill Castle because once this talent was discovered by the local high-level sorcerers, they would be able to identify me immediately. But I bet that Her Highness Margaret is definitely not a high-level so you don't have to worry. I am still very confident in my racial talent."
Xia De nodded, hesitated, and put away his notebook:
"Well, then let's go meet the princess."
"Thank you for your help, Mr. Watson. I am really sorry about this. But please rest assured that Her Highness Margaret is a very easy-going person and does not have many bad habits of the nobility."
As he said that, he reached out and wiped Xia De's face. Xia De took out the mirror again and found that his appearance had changed a little bit. He looked the same as before, but when he recalled it carefully, it seemed like two different faces.
On the third floor of the White King Club, there are rooms reserved for the club's senior members, and the princess who is about to take a steam-powered airship from the local area to Tobesk is waiting in the room to meet the guests.
Mr. Bernhardt talked to the guards outside the door in the corridor, and then the guard knocked on the door and explained the identity of the visitor to the maid who opened the door. Soon, Shade and Armand Bernhardt were allowed to enter. When Shade walked into the room, the witch detection badge on his chest finally began to heat up.
This means that the princess who took the "Difference Engine" information from Shad last time at Midhill Castle was Margaret of Anjou.
The lounge for high-end members was even more luxurious than the high-end guest rooms of ordinary hotels. The red carpet on the floor seemed to be made of pure wool. Only the curtains of half of the window in the room were opened, and Margaret Anjou was sitting on the single sofa with her back to the window.
She looked to be about the same age as Shad, with the iconic light blonde hair of the Angevin royal family and slightly faded light blue eyes. In Shad's opinion, her blue eyes were not as deep and bright as Dr. Schneider's.
Because it was just daily life, she didn't wear a crown on her head, but she looked elegant and noble in her long dress. Her eyes were long and narrow, and her eyebrows were more beautiful than her hair color. Her long light golden hair was tied together and fell in front of her right shoulder. What impressed Shade the most was her height.
Roughly speaking, he was only slightly shorter than Shade, and outsiders had only seen such a height on real witches.
She is not as youthful and energetic as the 17-year-old Yin Luna, nor as gentle and intellectual as the recently famous Dorothy, nor as reserved but passionate as the princess Leixia. Her temperament is more in line with the definition of a normal "princess". She is the kind of lady who can be associated with the word "princess" at a glance.
There was a faint scent of incense in the room. When Shade and Mr. Bernhardt entered, the princess was holding a book in the Kasenrik language, titled "Northern Pearl: The History of Tobysk". In addition to porcelain teacups and some file bags, there were three red wine bottles and a glass goblet on the coffee table.
The maid led the two gentlemen to the sofa, and after getting permission, they sat down on the sofa. Although it was a long sofa, they both chose to sit away from the princess, and in the end, Mr. Bernhard was the one closest to the princess.
"Viscount Bernhardt, is this the owner of the winery you mentioned?"
The Carsenric language has very complicated grammar, but the question was asked in a very cultured way. Margaret Anjou's eyes were looking at Shade, and even though Shade had changed his appearance, because of the blessing of thousands of souls, his extremely friendly temperament still made him gain some favor from the foreign princess.
"Yes, your highness."
Armand Bernhardt answered respectfully, clutching his hat, and introduced:
"This is Mr. Sherlock Holmes. He runs his own winery in the New World. He is a native of Delarion and has traveled to many places."
The reason why "John Watson" is not used is that Watson's name was used by Shad as the name of the Ringwitch during his adventures, and it is best not to be associated with the world of ordinary people. "Sherlock Holmes" is the name Shad signed when he joined MI6 in order to collect his salary (Chapter 168), so there is no possibility of leakage, and even if it is leaked, it will not be easily associated.
"Hello."
The young princess smiled and nodded slightly to Shade, who then said:
"Good afternoon, Your Highness. It is an honor to have your presence. Are you satisfied with the wine I offer?"
He deliberately used his poor Kasenric language, which was a little trick to improve his favorability.
Margaret of Anjou smiled elegantly as she sat on the sofa and looked at Shade, who bowed slightly with her hat in her hand. This was the first time a foreigner met a princess from the South, and in Shade's opinion, the princesses in this world were nothing like those in fairy tales.
They are all so independent, intelligent and shrewd that most of them do not need their own princes. Whether it is Leicia who has an inexplicable ambition for power, or Margaret of Anjou who tries to win over the ace spy, they are better than the princes in the story.