Temporarily bidding farewell to Baron Lavende and his friends, Xia De followed a servant upstairs.
The first and second floors were designed as large ballrooms, but on the third floor, it transformed into an ordinary corridor with rooms on both sides.
Jialinna and her maid Lina were waiting for Xia De in the study room near the stairs.
Xia De noticed that the Duchess seemed to prefer talking to people in the study.
“Good evening, Jialinna.”
This time, it was a direct meeting, not through a door.
The red-haired Duchess sat in a chair behind the desk, with her personal maid, Tifa Servett, standing beside her.
The Duchess was wearing a black and white evening gown, and she looked even prettier than the last time they met.
Given her attire, Xia De guessed that she would also appear in public later.
“Good evening, Detective.”
She motioned for Xia De to find a place to sit.
The conversation did not begin immediately; Jialinna curiously observed Xia De for a moment before speaking:
“I never would have thought you knew Leia?”
“Who? Oh, Princess Leticia Cavendish, yes, I know…yes, I know.”
He hadn't figured out the situation yet, so he could only go along with the conversation.
“Congratulations, Detective, a big surprise awaits you tonight.
Do you want to guess what it is?”
Jialinna asked.
Xia De sat on the sofa and immediately thought of what Anlos had said that morning.
Without waiting for Xia De to guess, Jialinna gave the answer directly:
“A knight’s title that hasn’t been awarded for hundreds of years is going to be awarded again.”
She said, then watched with satisfaction as confusion and surprise appeared on Xia De’s face:
“A knight’s title? Me?”
Xia De truly hadn't expected this surprise; a knight’s title didn't fit the Steam Age at all.
“Yes, a knight’s title.
Originally, Anlos and I tried to get you a Delarion Honorary Knight’s Medal.
But I didn’t expect you to know Leia.
Leia specifically wrote back.
She very cleverly didn’t write directly to our King, but instead wrote to Queen Diana, and then had the Queen lobby the King, so the knight’s title is yours.”
She said with a sigh, then asked in a teasing tone:
“Tell me, Detective, what is your relationship with my grandniece?”
This form of address made Xia De ponder for a while before he could sort it out:
“This…we’re friends.”
This must have been Louisa writing to Princess Leia, which is why the Princess, who was on a foreign visit and returning, wrote back to secure the title for Xia De.
This once again made Xia De realize how good the relationship between the Writer and the Princess was.
He owed the Golden-haired girl more and more favors.
“Friends?”
Not only Jialinna didn't believe it, but the maid also smiled, clearly disbelieving, but fortunately, they didn't ask further:
“In any case, congratulations, Detective.
I have already received the news in advance that you have been granted the title of ‘Hamilton of Leijiede.’
Of course, it’s just a title, without any fiefdom, meaning it’s purely honorary and cannot be passed down to your descendants.
But compared to an honorary medal, a knight’s title is already a very high commendation.”
Thunder Jeed is a small town under Tobesk City.
In the past, a knight's title often meant a small fiefdom, which is why it corresponded to a place name.
Seeing that Xia De still hadn't reacted, Jialinna added:
“Let me think, with this title, when you introduce yourself in the future, you can call yourself… ‘Hamilton of Leijiede.’
Oh, does that sound good?”
“Very good…”
Xia De nodded, not having much real feeling for this honor, after all, he was not a person living in this era.
He did not deeply appreciate things like glory, and a knight's title was just a title; there were no pounds to be gained:
“Jialinna, what are the benefits of this title?”
This was what he cared about.
The Duchess behind the table had long anticipated that Xia De would ask this question:
“The title itself is an honor.
You can be considered a noble…the lowest rank of nobility, but at least not a commoner.
With this, if you can contribute to the kingdom again, the difficulty of being directly ennobled next will be greatly reduced.”
“No, I mean, does the title itself have…”
He awkwardly rubbed his fingers.
Jialinna wasn’t meeting Xia De for the first time, so she wasn’t surprised by his thoughts:
“No, in fact, knights in the past even had to periodically pay a portion of their land’s taxes to the kingdom.
However, if you are short on money, it seems that in addition to the title, there will also be a royal reward when the award ceremony takes place later…”
She turned to ask the maid:
“What exactly will be given?
No one has ever seen such a knight bestowal ceremony in our lifetime.”
“A Delarion Honorary Knight’s Medal, and a knight’s longsword symbolizing status.
Because the Kingdom hasn't bestowed a knight’s title in a long time, this sword is an antique found in a warehouse.
The value of the medal is immeasurable because no one has ever sold one, and the antique knight’s longsword is estimated to be worth no less than 100 pounds…but it’s best not to sell it; it’s an honor.”
The maid also knew Xia De well.
“I won’t sell it.”
Xia De said, actually calculating how much more money he needed to repair his third floor without affecting his daily life.
“Hamilton of Leijiede…what a strange way to put it.”
He sighed to himself.
“This kind of address is common in knight novels; in reality, very few people still call themselves that.
After all, the age of knights has ended, but people seem to believe that chivalry still exists.”
Jialinna said, but the first half of her statement was not entirely accurate, because nobles with fiefdoms could all call themselves that.
For example, Jialinna's fiefdom was Saladir County, so she could call herself “Cavendish of Saladill.”
“Chivalry? No, I don’t have that kind of spirit.”
Since they were all acquaintances, Xia De didn’t need to be evasive.
What happened on Wednesday noon was purely coincidental; he happened to have time, and it didn't cause much harm to his own interests.
“I can’t say your view is wrong, but people are always unable to evaluate themselves correctly.”
Jialinna said.
“Who said the second half?”
Xia De asked curiously, thinking it was a quote left by a literary master of this world.
“I said it.”
The Duchess replied, toying with the golden fountain pen in her hand.
With the reward and compensation, Xia De naturally wanted to inquire about the progress of the case.
Last time, Anlos said it wasn’t Gray Gloves, but there had been no follow-up since then:
“Speaking of which, Jialinna, has the background of the assassin who tried to kill the Queen been found out?”
“Oh, that matter, the investigation has concluded.”
The Duchess said, shaking her head with a regretful expression.
“Do you know who sent the gunman?”
Xia De asked again, then saw the maid standing next to Jialinna, shaking her head slightly at him.
“Of course not.
Detective, I know you’re curious why we didn’t investigate further; that’s because MI6 didn’t dare to investigate further.”
“What do you mean?”
Jialinna just smiled and said nothing, while the maid behind her answered instead:
“The Royal Family specifically requested the Orthodox Church to send Ring術士 teams to protect Yodel Palace, but no suspicious individuals were found.
However, Queen Diana was immediately attacked the first time she appeared in public these days, and the attacker seemed to know about the dangers near Yodel Palace, while the Queen, when outside, had no Orthodox Church guards with her.
This itself is somewhat coincidental.”
Xia De was startled.
As an Outsider accustomed to similar plot devices in his homeland, he immediately drew a startling conclusion based on the conspiracy theory, so he lowered his voice and quietly asked:
“Is it…the King?
To frame Carson Rick, in order to provoke war?
And thus achieve his ambition of unifying the Old Continent.”
Both Jialinna and the maid laughed:
“Oh, why would you think that?
Of course not.”
Jialinna smiled and shook her head, putting down the fountain pen in her hand:
“No one wants to continue fighting now, including our King.
MI6 found out it was one of his unfilial sons…Detective, you should know that in recent years, as the heirs have successively come of age, thoughts about that crown…Moreover, Queen Diana is not the current King’s first wife; among the current princes and princesses, only Leia and a few others are…the others are not all hers…”
The Duchess paused, then winked at Xia De:
“Do I need to continue?”
“No, no, no.”
Xia De immediately shook his head; he didn't want to get involved in such matters:
“This information is enough for me to imagine complex court political struggles that Outsiders would never understand, or the plots of those vulgar court romance novels.
These things have nothing to do with me; please don’t let me know.”
This was the truth; court political struggles were not something an Outsider who had just arrived could participate in, and there was no benefit in getting involved anyway.
“It’s good that you understand caution; even I don’t want to deal with such matters.
However, you actually read court romance novels?”
She looked at Xia De with a slight surprise, but in reality, Xia De had only flipped through Sparrow's relic to determine which novel was the so-called “codebook.”
“Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore.
So, let’s get back to the main topic.
I didn’t just call you here to tell you about the knight’s title.
Here’s the thing: the ceremony for bestowing a knight’s title is very complex; do you understand those rules?”
Jialinna asked again, though her tone had changed slightly.
After the conversation about the gunman’s identity, her mood seemed to have become somewhat bad.
“I don’t.”
“Then you’ll have to learn an hour before the King appears.
I imagine the King’s etiquette officer won’t have enough time to teach you then.”
She waved her hand towards the maid behind her, and the maid began to lead Xia De out.
But Xia De remained seated, looking at Jialinna, who looked back at him in confusion, knowing he still had something to say.