The so-called "reward heavier than a medal" piqued Xia De's curiosity, so after seeing off his superior, he first mailed the letter to Mrs. Lemeier, and then walked to Dawn Church.
He pretended to be devout, sitting on a long bench for half an hour, listening to the middle-aged Priest standing behind the pulpit preach about the deeds of the righteous god, Mr. Dawn, which were religious myths. After the service ended, he found Priest Augustus through the middle-aged Priest. The Priest was busy coordinating the church choir's schedule at the time, but still took the time to talk with Xia De:
"Yes, I heard from Bishop Owen that the church intends to help you get a heavier reward, but I haven't inquired about the specific result yet. You know, I've been terribly busy lately."
The Old Priest pointed to the group of children waiting behind him. As a senior Priest who had experienced countless Holy Prayer Festivals, Ratt Augustus would definitely not be idle before the Holy Prayer Festival ended.
"Oh, and one more thing, if reporters interview you at the evening banquet, don't forget..."
He didn't forget to remind him. Xia De smiled and nodded knowingly:
"Of course, thanks to Mr. Dawn."
The Priest immediately lowered his head, closed his eyes, and drew the holy emblem on his chest. This was an unconscious action.
The remaining time during the day was spent reading. Because Mr. Anlos repeatedly emphasized not to be late, Xia De was ready to set off at 5:30, even though the banquet officially started at 7:00 PM.
Of course, he didn't forget to feed Mia before leaving. Mia didn't seem to want to go out with him. Compared to the "dangerous" outdoors, this cat preferred the safety of Saint Delan Square Six.
He went to find Captain Lades first. He thought the Captain was still preparing, but unexpectedly, he had already been waiting for Xia De to arrive. For Xia De, tonight's matter was only a relatively important reward, but for the Captain, it determined whether he could return to the front line, so he valued it even more than Xia De.
Xia De's formal attire was the same set he wore when playing cards with the Old Duke, while the Captain was not wearing a black suit, but a red army uniform. There were no wrinkles on the clothes, and not a single stain could be found on the clean fabric.
On the way in the carriage, the Captain told Xia De that he had paid someone to clean and iron it two days in advance, and just cleaning this piece of clothing cost two shillings.
"But it's all worth it."
When the Captain said this, his eyes seemed to be glowing. His life had changed because of the relic, and now he was about to see the light again.
Although the banquet officially started at seven o'clock, most of the guests had already arrived before seven o'clock. There was a specially built flat road from the city to the Royal Manor. As for whether it was the taxpayers' money or the Royal Family's own pounds that were spent, that was not something Xia De should consider.
Upon approaching the manor, they saw many private carriages parked by the roadside. Relatively speaking, Xia De and Captain Lades, who arrived by rented carriage, seemed a bit shabby.
The two of them, one considering himself a clumsy Detective and the other a small figure, thought no one would recognize them, but they unexpectedly met acquaintances as soon as they got off the carriage.
Captain Lades met friends from his time serving on the front line. Some of them were transferred back to Tobesk for a break and were also invited to tonight's banquet.
As for Xia De, he met Baron Lavende. Since discussing the disposal plan for the ancient fairy tale - match girl rhode cards last time, the two had not seen each other for a week and a half.
The Baron had just gotten off his carriage. Xia De saw that the Captain was chatting with his friends and couldn't leave for a while, so he greeted him and temporarily took his leave, entering the manor with Baron Lavende.
"Mr. Hamilton, it's been a long time. I never thought you would save Queen Diana."
Xia De's MI6 identity could not be exposed, but what he did had already been reported. The newspaper did not publish a photo and only mentioned his surname without his given name, but when the Baron saw Xia De appear here, he knew Hamilton must be him.
It was still early, and the gentlemen and ladies attending the banquet had just arrived. Walking on the garden paths of the manor, the well-dressed men in formal attire and the flamboyantly dressed ladies in evening gowns did not realize that the young man beside them was one of the protagonists of this banquet.
"I think if anyone else were there, they would do the same."
Xia De said something that no one would believe, but everyone would feel was correct when said.
Baron Lavende was not very concerned about the details of that day, after all, the newspaper's description was even more exciting than Xia De's real experience. Walking side by side with Xia De, the Baron wiggled his conjoined index and middle fingers of his right hand at Xia De, a classic card-dropping motion:
"Detective, do you have rhode cards with you?"
As he spoke, Baron Lavende himself laughed.
"Of course."
Xia De patted his pocket.
Baron Lavende's smile grew even wider, a genuine smile from the heart:
"How about it, after receiving the King's reward, would you like to play rhode cards with us? This time, I can introduce you to a few new friends. After the card game at Lakeview Manor, I'm really looking forward to seeing your card game again."
"Gambling?"
Xia De asked in a low voice.
He glanced at the lawn out of the corner of his eye. The neatly trimmed grass would probably be very suitable for lying down and taking an afternoon nap. But the banquet was not outdoors; this was a formal dinner, held in the manor's grand ballroom. The manor itself was built for the Royal Family to hold banquets, so there was no need to worry about whether it could accommodate so many people.
"No gambling, but if you're willing, we'll still use our special cards as stakes."
The Baron said in a low voice.
Xia De also smiled. He didn't know anyone anyway, and rather than aimlessly wandering around with a wine glass after receiving the award, it would be better to sit down and play a few exciting rounds of rhode cards:
"Of course I'll play, Baron. I've gotten a few good cards recently, I can show them to you in a bit."
"Oh? Then I'm really looking forward to it."
Both men smiled, as if rhode cards were the most important thing tonight, even more so than the King.
Because it was a building specifically built for banquets, the grand hall of the manor was directly behind the main entrance. The banquet hall was divided into three floors, connected by a central curved golden staircase, but ordinary guests were only allowed to move on the first and second floors. The third floor was a lounge for Royal Family members and distinguished guests.
Xia De and the Baron entered the mansion together. Baron Lavende, who had a wide circle of friends, introduced Xia De to his friends. Baron Rwanda, who had played cards with them last time, was also there. He was still lukewarm towards Baron Lavende, but was very happy about Xia De's appearance.
Of course, when he heard that Xia De was the "enthusiastic citizen" who had blocked the bullet for Queen Diana, he was even happier.
Hearing that Xia De also planned to play rhode cards with everyone after the award ceremony, he was so happy that he almost forgot his "hostile" relationship with Baron Lavende.
Most of the two Barons' friends also loved rhode cards. Before the banquet began, everyone had nothing to do, so a group of men stood together discussing interesting card games, boring politics, or joking with each other and telling interesting stories about the city.
Everyone had already heard about the appearance of Founding · Silver Moon in the city last Sunday. People could even completely recount the details of that game, but no one currently knew who was holding the card and playing against Duke Lucas.
Among Baron Lavende's friends, there were indeed some who were present at the Old Duke's residence that night, such as Baron Scavin. But they all obeyed the Old Duke's instructions and did not reveal Xia De's identity, only raising their glasses or smiling at Xia De whenever people excitedly talked about Founding · Silver Moon.
It seemed that the secret of Xia De being the holder of Founding · Silver Moon would not be kept for too long.
"But it doesn't matter if they know, I have Miss Jialinna as my backing now anyway."
He thought this, his eyes occasionally looking towards the banquet hall entrance, worried about seeing acquaintances like that night at Lakeview Manor.
Besides rhode cards, the gentlemen chatting together, having learned from Baron Lavende that Xia De was the "enthusiastic citizen," invited him to recount the events of that day.
In the rumors among the citizens, what happened on Wednesday noon at Tobesk Station was increasingly distorted from the truth. Even though the police department's statement was published in the newspaper, people still preferred to believe the news heard from tavern idlers or taxi drivers.
As for the truth in the newspapers, that was definitely false. Most people believed that City Hall and Leedweich Field never published true news in the newspapers.
"The rumor I heard was that the person who saved Queen Diana was a wrestling champion from a small southern town who killed a bear with his bare hands in his hometown. On Wednesday noon, he caught a bullet with his bare hands and then tore the gunman into two pieces on the street."
Baron Lavende said this in a joking tone, making everyone around him laugh.
"Look."
Xia De showed his "thin" arm and also joked:
"Rather than saying I can tear people into two pieces on the street, it's more like I can summon a meteorite to destroy an entire block."
"Oh, that's really interesting."
The somewhat short but seemingly shrewd Baron Rwanda had already laughed until tears came out, although Xia De did not think he had told a very funny joke.
Chatting with people was the best way to pass the time, but Xia De did not spend too long here before a servant handed him a note.
When unfolded, it contained Miss Jialinna's handwriting, which was easily recognizable by its special cursive style. She asked Xia De to go to the third floor to find her, as there were some things to discuss.
Thinking of Miss Jialinna naturally brought to mind the information obtained when he entered 1068 for the third time.
Xia De confirmed that he was male, his physiological characteristics were fine, and God also confirmed this. But he was indeed unable to trigger the curse borne by the Witches. This matter, in the sixth epoch, could only be explained by the Witch Council members.
He had been considering these days whether he should proactively talk to Miss Jialinna about this issue, or wait for her to bring it up first.
This meeting at the banquet made his thoughts multiply once again.