"Good evening, Hamilton Knight of Ryder."
Shad did not know the young Prince Nasser Cavendish, a polite young royal gentleman in a black tuxedo. But Prince Nasser, who had the iconic fiery red hair of the Cavendish family, obviously knew Shad. After the salon owner Leicia chatted with Shad casually at the door, he took the initiative to talk to Shad.
Of course, the young prince was soon overtaken by Ajelina. As the king's favorite princess, Ajelina's status was obviously higher than Nasser, who did not participate in government affairs and had no power. But Ajelina did not say a few words to Shad. After all, he could not block the door, which would affect the guests behind.
Just as Shade thought, Princess Margaret encountered some accidents in public at Huntington and Lakeview Manor, so the church directly arranged for ring magicians to protect her in the salon tonight. It was certainly not easy to arrange a few strangers who were obviously out of place in the salon with only more than 30 people, so the church disguised them as staff members of the Prophet Association.
Judging from the number of people, it should be the full 7-member team of the God of Creation, the God of Creation and Destruction. These people did not appear directly in the room where the salon was held, but waited in the next room. Because they were all gathered together and frequently used magic as if they were scouting, Shade was able to confirm their location.
Luvia should be waiting for news from Shade in the room on the third floor, and the servants in the salon were arranged by Leicia. Seeing that nothing happened for the time being, Shade entered the room and pretended that he really came to participate in the reading salon.
This was originally the divination room of the Prophet Association. Now all the divination-related instruments have been moved to both sides of the room. The fireplace in the room has been lit, and soft sofas are placed untidy in front of the fireplace.
There are tables with drinks and desserts on the wall for guests to enjoy. In addition to the sofa, there are several square tables with round stools placed on both sides of the fireplace.
People who had already taken their seats were chatting with each other. Compared with banquets and dances, the reading salon was less noisy. At least everyone knew that this was a gathering of "cultured people".
Shade didn't see anyone he knew for the time being, so he randomly chose a sofa to sit down, put the Hamilton Detective Stories in his hand on a small table beside him, and picked up a collection of essays called Sunset at Dusk from the table to read. Not long after he sat down, Princess Margaret appeared with her entourage and maid.
After she greeted Leicia at the door, she entered the room. While chatting with the people she was traveling with, she saw Xia De, who was holding a goblet and reading a book.
Thinking about the foggy afternoon last week when she met Shad at the Three Cats Inn, Princess Margaret had her own ideas.
She whispered a few words to the lady accompanying her, then made a gesture to Sir Prissy, and the group sat down next to Shad. Although the sofas were not arranged neatly, some of them were pushed together. There were not enough seats nearby, so Sir Prissy sat next to Shad after obtaining his consent.
Because of Shad's outstanding performance at the Lake View Manor banquet, especially the title of "Penny Detective", he became a social celebrity in the city. Of course, the guests from Carsonrick all knew Shad, so they invited him to join the conversation before the salon started.
Princess Margaret sat on the sofa in front of Shad. She took the initiative to start a conversation and talked about the books she had read recently. While the princess was talking to people, Sir Prissy said to Shad enthusiastically:
"Good evening, Mr. Hamilton, what are you reading?"
"Good evening, sir."
Xia De closed the book and shook hands with the other party, then showed the book in his hand:
"This is a collection of essays written by an unknown writer in Delarion more than three hundred years ago. The manuscript was discovered and published many years after his death. Judging from the content of the essays, the writer was quite poor during his lifetime. It would have been great if he could have received royalties during his lifetime."
"'Sunset at Dusk'? Yes, I have read this book. But if the author could get paid for his writing during his lifetime, he probably wouldn't be able to write the articles we can see now."
The poet from Carsenrick shook his head. After the greetings, he handed Shade a note:
"Your Highness asked me to give it to you."
Shad knew that it was no coincidence that Sir Prisha was sitting next to him.
He avoided Sir Prissier's gaze and looked at the contents of the note:
Mr. Hamilton, 6:55, unoccupied staircase at east corner of second floor. Please do come, I want to thank you for your help during the fog last week.
Shade raised his eyebrows, glanced at the princess who was talking to the poetess Ms. Lewis, and then folded the note. Giving this note was not just an appointment with him in a few minutes, it also meant that Margaret Anjou admitted that she was the one who collected the relics with Mr. Alan Madison that afternoon.
"Your Highness gave me a math problem. It has no application scenario. It is just a simple sequence problem."
He said to Sir Prissier with a smile.
"Your Highness is still upset about the 'one penny' issue at Lakeview Manor last time."
Sir Prisha raised his head slightly and looked at the princess in front of him. Shad couldn't tell whether he knew the contents of the note.
Jazz lowered his voice and reminded:
"Your Highness's math teacher, Miss Emma Sylvia, is very strict with her, so Your Highness attaches great importance to her math ability."
"I know Miss Sylvia. She is a very famous scholar."
Xia De replied in a low voice, took out his notebook from his pocket and put the note in the notebook:
"The math problem last time was actually just a thinking trap. Your Highness, there is no need to compete with me. Wisdom has never been a tool for comparison. Maybe I should take the initiative to admit that I can't solve this problem."
He was thinking of a reason to get up and leave.
"No, no, no."
Sir Prissy immediately shook his head:
"Gentlemen will not voluntarily admit defeat for such a reason. This is an insult to Your Highness. Besides, wisdom can only be expressed through a medium. The question you raised at Lakeview Manor is quite interesting. Once you fall into the logical trap you set, it will be very difficult to climb out."
The writers and authors of this era were usually proficient in mathematics. Shade did not understand the reason, but Sir Prissy in front of him was obviously that kind of person. Before this, Shade only knew about this gentleman as a "poet", "noble", and "ring wizard". The information provided by Miss Danister did not explain this gentleman's character in detail.
This time, he had a chance to talk to him up close, and he found that Sir Prisha, the Moon of Guidance, was a very talkative and intelligent man. He could talk to him on any topic, including but not limited to literature, politics, geography, history, and mathematics.
Even if he was judged by his status as a ring wizard, this gentleman was definitely knowledgeable and talented. On the topic of mathematics, his attainments were no less than Princess Margaret's, and on the topic of politics, he could understand what Shad had said to his neighbor Mr. Smith at the Lake View Manor banquet.
Sir Prissier had aroused Shad's interest in conversation, so he decided to wait until Princess Margaret left before leaving.
Sir Priss was also very interested in Shad, and during their conversation, Shad learned about his experience from Sir Priss. This gentleman was born into a close relative family of the Anjou royal family. Although his family was quite wealthy, he left the city where the Priss family lived very early and went to study in Willendel.
Although he had a generous living allowance, during his studies, he worked as a scribe in the church to subsidize his living expenses in order to understand the lives of the lower classes and experience the hard work.
His early independence allowed him to arrange his life and studies according to his own ideas. Unlike the illiterate Shad, this gentleman, who was just over 30 years old, had four degrees in literature, mathematics, law and theology. In addition to being a poet, he was also a scholar. Of course, these identities were obscured by his aristocratic status, and people paid more attention to his background rather than his own efforts.
Speaking of this, Sir Prisha shook his head with regret:
"A wise man is never blinded, but we all know that there are no wise men, only flawed mortals."
"You sound like a wise man when you say this."
Shade said with a smile, and saw Princess Margaret standing up and walking towards the door with her maid. So when Sir Prissy shook his head to show his modesty, the cup in his hand tilted slightly, and the juice accidentally spilled on his leather shoes:
"oh!"
He put down the cup embarrassedly:
"That was unfortunate, but it didn't get on the carpet. I guess I'll go to the bathroom and deal with it. It should be easy to wipe off. Come back and continue our conversation, sir. You really are well-informed."
"Yeah, there's plenty of time to keep talking tonight."
The middle-aged poet from the south stood up to make way for Xia De to leave. Xia De walked to the door with a normal look on his face. He first asked the servant at the door for a handkerchief to wipe his shoes, then said something polite to the princesses and princes at the door and returned to the corridor.
There were still about seven minutes before the salon started, and almost all the guests who were supposed to come had already arrived. The second floor of the Prophet Association was very quiet, and the association did not arrange for additional staff to disturb the nobles' gathering.
Walking through the brightly lit corridor, Shade followed the note and came to the empty staircase on the east side. A maid from the first ring was carefully keeping watch. Seeing Shade coming, the maid walked a little further away to avoid hearing something she shouldn't hear. The princess with light golden hair was standing under the gas lamp at the staircase, waiting for Shade.
The glass lampshade of the gas lamp was spherical in shape, and on the side there was an oil painting of a prophet using a crystal ball for divination. I wonder what this portended.
"Good evening, Mr. Hamilton."
Margaret of Anjou held out her white lace-gloved hand to Chad.
Shade smiled:
"Good evening, Margaret... No, Miss Mary."
The two held hands together.