Holding the cat in one hand, Xia De lowered his head to straighten the wrinkles of his clothes while walking to prevent others from seeing his expression. When he raised his head again, his peripheral vision swept across the corridor connecting the banquet hall, but he was suddenly stunned:
"Hmm? Am I seeing things wrong?"
You read that right, it’s him.
"Oh my Mia."
Xia De groaned softly in his heart and walked quickly to the corridor on the first floor.
"Dr. Schneider!"
A few seconds later, he walked through the crowd and came to the corridor. He called softly, and the middle-aged man who was about to turn the corner at the other end of the empty corridor stopped. He turned and looked at Shade, and it was indeed Dr. Bill Schneider.
The middle-aged blue-eyed psychologist was dressed respectably for the banquet. His silk hat and formal suit made him look quite impressive.
"Oh, good evening, Shad."
He stopped to greet Shade, not surprised at all that Shade was also at the party:
"I just heard about your story. The dart game and the horse riding competition are really great. It seems that you have a very colorful social life."
"Don't talk about this for now, doctor, why are you here?"
Xia De asked in surprise, and quickly joined him and asked in a low voice. He still remembered that summer night, when he unexpectedly saw Dr. Schneider in Lake View Manor, and then experienced the beginning of all the stories.
There were almost no people in the corridor on the first floor of the banquet hall. There were only some art exhibitions here. The sounds coming from the courtyard outside were louder than those inside, so there was no need to worry about the conversation being overheard.
"this... ... "
Dr. Schneider hesitated for a moment before saying:
"I'm telling you, don't tell anyone else."
"Don't worry, I'll even swear on it with my cat."
"That's not necessary, it's not that serious."
The doctor shook his head and stood under the gas lamp at the corner. After the accident on a midsummer night, all the gas lamps in Lake View Manor were replaced. The church was worried that the unsuccessful descent of God would leave hidden dangers in the manor, so the gas lamps were all decorated with the sun pattern of the holy emblem of the sun.
"I am here in the company of Mr. Alan Madison."
Then he added:
"Do you still remember this gentleman? He is a correspondence ring wizard at the Sexess Higher Medical School, and he is the team leader like me. The last time you saw him with me in the Anthem Square was when you went to sell pornography..." (Chapter 371)
"Oh, doctor, you don't have to remind me."
Shade immediately stopped him from continuing. Dr. Schneider's "Great Memory Recovery" method was very effective:
"It's the spice merchant in the turban."
He nodded to indicate that he remembered.
The doctor continued speaking, looking around:
"Two correspondence ring sorcerers from the Serkses Higher Medical School came from other places, not from this region. According to the arrangement of the school, the two correspondence students from other places will connect with Alan and use their group's identity to carry out activities during their stay in Tobesk. Both parties agreed to confirm their identities at the banquet tonight, but you also know that Alan is not a noble and has never participated in such gatherings. Because he was worried that it would be embarrassing to come alone, he invited me to come along."
"So that's how it is."
Shade nodded slightly. When Priest Augustus went to Midhill Castle, he did not contact the local group because of his special status and the church's special mission at the time. Her Royal Highness was obviously diligent and studious, unlike Priest Augustus.
"But I can't tell you who those two correspondence ring sorcerers from other places are..."
After the doctor finished speaking, he smiled and added as if he couldn't help himself:
"Their identities are very special. I was shocked when I heard about it."
He looked like he wanted to share a secret with Shade, but couldn't.
Xia De nodded again and said nonchalantly:
"Her Royal Highness Margaret of Anjou, and the poet Sir Lydia Prissier."
"Um?"
Dr. Schneider was surprised:
"How did you ..."
"I also have my own intelligence channels."
Xia De pointed upwards and let the doctor guess.
The doctor then did not ask the source of the information, but instead issued an invitation:
"Since you already know, why don't you come with me. I think the princess wouldn't mind getting to know other ring sorcerers in the area. Besides, you are also a noble, so maybe you will have something in common with the princess and the knight."
"No, no, doctor, I won't go with you."
Shade shook his head. He didn't want to expose his identity as a ring sorcerer in front of the two men for the time being.
"I have urgent business to attend to. I need to read a manuscript book."
"Is it an ancient book? The banquet is indeed a good place for transactions. You can go and do your thing, but our group has a good relationship with Alan's group. If you still want to meet the two men and women from other places, you can ask Alan to introduce them later."
Dr. Schneider said, wanting to say goodbye, but suddenly said:
"Speaking of which, is something going to happen in this manor again? I just saw a few ring sorcerers from the Orthodox Church, but I'm not sure if they are here just to attend the banquet or for something else."
"Probably to protect the princess."
Shade said, just as he was about to explain what happened in Huntington, but then he remembered the witches' news that a "big guy" would appear in Lake Schluch, so he warned:
"Doctor, you must not go near the Schluchsee tonight."
"What was I going to do there?"
Dr. Schneider asked in confusion, but immediately understood, with a look of panic on his face:
"Oh, you mean... it's not going to be another summer thing?"
"No, no, it's not that serious. It's just a relic that has not yet been contained. There are high-level sorcerers who will deal with it. We just need to stay away from it."
The doctor breathed a sigh of relief:
"This manor has left a deep impression on me. I don't want to be forced to use the words of sublimation again. Well, I'll go over first. Alan is waiting for me. Remember to contact me if you have anything... I have a feeling that something incredible will happen tonight."
The doctor muttered, turning and walking towards the other corridor.
Xia De stood there and looked at the doctor's back. Past experience told him that when Dr. Schneider appeared at a banquet at night for strange reasons and ran into him, something big would happen every time:
"What is going to happen?"
Thinking about the wedding banquet tonight, Xia De went from the first floor to the third floor. Just like before, the guards guarding the corridor where the lounge was located had no intention of stopping Xia De.
Just before Shad knocked on the door of Lecia's lounge, the door opposite was opened, and the little princess Ajeelina and several other noble girls who looked only fifteen or sixteen years old walked out of the room opposite, chatting and laughing.
They were painting in the room just now. Xia De saw the easels standing by the window. On the canvas was an abstract dark blue starry sky.
"Detective Hamilton."
Ajelina was originally chatting and laughing with her companions. When she looked up and saw Shade, she smiled and greeted him, and even said hello to Mia:
"Would you like to come with us for a walk in the garden? There seems to be a goose chase over there in the hedge maze. That would be fun."
The "goose chase" is to use a stick or other means to drive the geese in the fence to the target location within a certain time limit. It sounds like a country game, but it is also popular at wedding banquets.
Ajelina was talking when she suddenly froze because she realized which door Shade was standing in front of:
"Detective, you..."
She showed a panic expression on her face, and asked somewhat at a loss:
"What are you going to do?"
"Her Highness Leicia said she has a handwritten copy of "Summer Night Collection" and invited me to read it together."
Xia De said naturally, Ajielina nodded first, then seemed to have thought of something:
"Don't go, she's lying..."
Squeak~
"Oh, Ajelina, I thought you were still painting, what are you talking about?"
The door was opened, and Lesia, who kept pushing the door, asked curiously.
"Sister, I..."
The sixteen-year-old princess subconsciously took a step back, stammering and not knowing what to say. Leicia looked at her strangely, then reached out and grabbed Shade's wrist, pulling him into the room, complaining with some dissatisfaction:
"Really? What took you so long? I just asked you to hurry up. Oh, knight, I'm not always so patient. You'd better respect the lady's invitation. Do you need me to have you tied up and come in?"
After saying that, she closed the door with a bang, leaving only Ajelina standing there holding the hem of her skirt.
The little daughter of the Asperger family, who had already walked away, turned around and called her, but Ajelina shook her head and asked them to leave first.
When she was the only one left in the corridor, the little princess walked carefully to the door of Lecia's room, then bit her lip and put her ear close to it.
She heard feminine laughter, the clatter of footsteps, the clinking of wine glasses, the drawing of curtains, the meowing of cats and the slamming of closet doors, and then all the sounds stopped abruptly as a silencing spell was cast onto the carpet.
Although she couldn't hear anything at the moment, as long as she thought about what might happen inside, she felt like she was being scratched by a cat's claws. Ajelina Cavendish pressed her ear against the door motionlessly. Even though she was standing in the brightly lit corridor and the temperature was just right, she felt as lost and uneasy as if she was standing on a snowy street. Imagining what was happening in the hot room at the moment, along with the feeling of grievance, she also felt an inexplicable emotion... ...
"Oh~"
Suddenly she sighed quietly, then realized that her emotions were not normal. Ajelina immediately left the door, touched her burning face, and then she lifted her skirt and trotted to chase her friends.
Turning her head and taking another look at the door, Ajelina Katharina Cavendish said softly in her heart:
"Knight Hamilton, I will definitely save you."