During their conversation just now, Xia De had been contemplating about the Witches. His final conclusion was that he couldn't just pretend not to know about this matter; he at least needed to ascertain their attitude.
He coughed, signaling the Black-haired maid who had already reached the door to wait, then looked at the Duchess behind the desk:
"Miss Jialinna, there's actually one more thing I wanted to mention. I recently learned some strange historical stories from the Library at Saint Byron's."
"About what?"
"About... Witches."
He glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw Tifa Servett, the Black-haired maid, standing in front of the door, completely blocking the entrance. the moment made Xia De question whether it was right to discuss this matter now, but rather than cooperating with mutual suspicion until a conflict erupted one day, it was better to clarify things from the start.
After all, with divinity accompanying him now, if the other party truly intended to cause trouble, it certainly wouldn't be Xia De who suffered.
"Witches... Detective, what do you want to discuss?"
She looked at Xia De.
"I learned a common knowledge from books: the Witches of the fifth epoch... while gaining great power, were also plagued by curses."
The Black-haired maid frowned at Xia De, then looked somewhat flustered at Miss Jialinna.
The Duchess, however, maintained a very natural expression:
"Is that so? Continue."
Her voice was very soft.
Xia De also looked at the Great Witch of the Witch Council, speaking while gauging her expression:
"Witches are unable to procreate, and they have an indescribable aversion to men; direct physical contact intensifies this aversion. This also explains why there are no records of the Thirteen Witch Emperors having descendants..."
He paused briefly, ensuring that the other party's emotions were still normal, before continuing:
"I also learned a small trick: Witches use the method of holding a man's wrist to determine their true gender."
The person on the sofa and the person behind the desk looked at each other, the meaning in the Witch's eyes was difficult to discern:
"That is indeed the case, which is why some people believe that the Witches of the Council are 'handkerchief enthusiasts.' In reality, it's simply that they have no choice. So, Detective, what are you trying to express?"
The conversation reached a critical moment, and both parties were sensing the current atmosphere. Xia De leaned forward slightly:
"I want to know... Since you can determine gender, and I clearly cannot trigger that curse, then... Miss Jialinna, what exactly do you want to gain from me?"
He asked very seriously, but did not receive an immediate answer.
The room fell silent, so much so that Xia De thought even if Mia suddenly appeared now, her steps on the soft carpet would make a loud sound.
Just as Xia De's mind wandered, the red-haired Duchess began to laugh:
"Looking at your expression just now, I thought you wanted to ask about something important like the whispering chapters. Oh, did I say whispering chapters? Pretend you didn't hear it. But only this question? It's simple, of course it's simple."
At least from this answer, the conversation was successful.
The Witch suddenly stood up from her chair, and Xia De also rose. Seeing the Duchess walk quickly towards him, he immediately dodged, but was easily caught by the wrist by her.
At this moment, Xia De maintained the highest vigilance, ready to use the power in his soul and Destiny Ring at any moment.
"You are not a woman."
Miss Jialinna said.
"Of course, didn't the makeup box you asked me to get already prove it? And my physiological reactions and appearance are indeed not those of a woman."
Xia De replied, trying to pull his hand free as he did last time, but he couldn't. He looked at the red-haired woman in front of him with an inquiring gaze, and she looked back at him without showing any weakness.
They were very close, and this proximity allowed Xia De to easily smell the scent of cosmetics on her.
"You are not a woman, you are a man."
She said again.
"Of course, didn't your potion already test that?"
Xia De said again, meeting her dark golden eyes:
"Or... do you want to verify it in other ways?"
He deliberately said something suggestive, wanting her to let go. But the Duchess didn't care at all; she just watched Xia De's expression:
"Whether seeing you up close, or direct contact, it doesn't cause me any discomfort. I've investigated your past; you are indeed human, but you don't conform to the common knowledge I possess. You are a man, that much should be clear..."
Her gaze shifted downwards, but only lingered for a subtle second before moving away:
"If you don't mind verifying it in other ways, I could help you find some high-class prostitutes."
The Black-haired maid standing beside them, witnessing this scene, coughed loudly, likely genuinely choked.
Xia De looked into her eyes:
"Miss Jialinna, what exactly do you want to do?"
"Nothing, I just want you to stay by my side. This secret, I can know it alone."
Seeing her smile up close, he could even clearly see the tiny hairs on the fair skin beside her lipstick-stained lips.
"You want to study me?"
He frowned.
"Study? No, generations of powerful Witch Emperors in the fifth epoch studied the curse for an entire epoch, but found no results. I am much weaker than them, and I am not that kind of genius researcher, so why would I waste time on such a thing? Therefore, having you stay by my side, allowing me to enjoy this secret exclusively, is enough. You can understand it as... I am collecting you."
This statement made Xia De very uncomfortable.
"Collecting me?"
"That phrasing is probably not appropriate. You can understand it as: I want to watch the only man Witches can touch grow and become stronger. It's like watching an ordinary, dirty antique gradually transform into a powerful relic. This process is a rare joy in life. Helping you is not difficult for me either. And I really want to know, when you grow up, whether you can discover the reason for your own anomaly, which might help us."
Xia De's reflection was in her golden eyes, and Xia De believed his own eyes must also reflect the woman so close to him. He originally thought this conversation would cause some conflict, but he didn't expect such a result. But this result was not bad; the other party had no ulterior motives, and he was naturally very happy:
"If that's all, Miss Jialinna, I am very pleased to have piqued your interest, and I am also very willing to maintain our... cooperative relationship."
"I am also very willing to always help you, not only because you are the only man I can touch, but also because I truly appreciate you. Xia De · Su Lun · Han Mi Er Dun, I haven't met anyone as interesting as you in a long time; you are different from everyone else. Of course..."
Her smile once again displayed a charm that clearly exceeded that of a human, which was abnormal:
"If you can make me happy, I don't mind with you..."
The Black-haired maid at the door coughed again, but this time it was probably intentional, reminding the Duchess she served to be more dignified.
"I still mind a little."
He steadied himself from the captivating charm so close to him, primarily relying on the woman's soft chuckle that now reached his ears:
"Then our relationship remains as before, except... what does this have to do with you holding my wrist?"
She smiled, then released Xia De's hand, but did not continue the topic that would cause the Black-haired maid to keep coughing:
"I cannot guarantee what other Witches of the Council think of you, after all, there are quite a few madwomen in the Council. If any other Witches come to this area, I will inform you in advance, and you should not actively provoke them."
Turning to her Black-haired maid:
"Tifa, quickly take this curious gentleman to learn etiquette. Time is running out. When you come back, remember to get yourself some water to drink; I noticed you've been coughing, it seems your throat is uncomfortable."
"Please wait, Miss Jialinna, I still have many things I want to ask."
Before the Black-haired maid could speak, Xia De spoke first, but the Duchess, who had just been very "enthusiastic" towards Xia De, had no intention of continuing the conversation. She shook her head regretfully at Xia De:
"Next time, Sir Knight, but I'll allow you one more question."
"Is she a Witch?"
Xia De pointed to Miss Tifa Servett. He actually had many questions, and the key to this question was not the Black-haired maid's identity, but rather how many true Witches the Witch Council actually had in the current sixth epoch.
The answer to this question could help Xia De understand many things.
It was the Black-haired maid who answered the question:
"Only the thirteen most powerful Great Witches in the Council are true Witches. Although others also possess some of the Witches' power, it is basically equivalent to borrowing the power of a relic, and they can only be considered candidates for a Witch. Only after one of the thirteen Great Witches dies do candidates become eligible to compete for that vacant Council seat. So, Mr. Hamilton, I am not a Witch."
"Then what exactly is going on with me? Why don't I react to your Witch curse, and also..."
Xia De still wanted to ask, for example, whether the Great Witches inherited the power of the Witches, or if they truly possessed both the "Witch" and "Ring術士" extraordinary systems of the fifth epoch and sixth epoch simultaneously.
"One question is over, Detective, see you later. If you still doubt you're not a man, go find a prostitute in an alley yourself, and if you find an answer, remember to tell me. If you want to know more secrets, the metamorphosis ring, or when you reach the high ring."
Miss Jialinna said with a smile, then nodded to the Black-haired maid, and Miss Servett calmly opened the study door. Therefore, although it was confirmed that Great Witch Miss Jialinna held no ill will towards him, this conversation, which Xia De considered a "showdown," ended so easily.
There was no anticipated conflict, nor any deliberate denial. Jialinna Cavendish openly admitted the facts Xia De had obtained and left him with more questions.
But this at least confirmed one thing for Xia De: the Witch Council very likely knew the truth of the epoch transition between the fifth epoch and the sixth epoch, and knew many secrets of the Thirteen Witch Emperors. Perhaps, they might even directly know the true meaning of the whispering chapters.
And all of this, Xia De would need to gradually learn from Miss Jialinna in the future.
"But at least I've found a direction, rather than letting those secrets stumble upon me."
This was Xia De's thought as he followed behind the Black-haired maid.
The Duchess had foreseen the need to teach Xia De etiquette, so she had already found an etiquette teacher, the same one from before the card game.
Perhaps because Xia De was about to receive a "Knight title," the middle-aged man with a white wig and old-fashioned court attire, who was somewhat effeminate, had a different attitude towards Xia De this time.
After the boring lesson, Xia De originally wanted to go talk to Miss Jialinna again, but the Black-haired maid Tifa told him to wait on the first floor, as the Duchess had other guests to see.
Xia De didn't know if it was true or not, but since the other party didn't want to see him, he didn't insist. As he walked down the stairs, he was still pondering his future attitude towards Miss Jialinna. His gaze aimlessly shifted from the steps beneath his feet to the floor below, then his steps suddenly halted; he actually saw what appeared to be Miss Bei Ya Si's figure in a formal gown flash through the crowd in the first-floor ballroom from above.
"Hmm?"
His first reaction wasn't to think about what the other party was going to do, but to reach for the relic in his pocket.
Because today was "Sunday evening," a time Xia De was particularly wary of, his seemingly neat formal attire concealed almost all of his belongings.
He hurried down the stairs, wanting to see what Miss Bei Ya Si was up to. But though he had seen her figure from upstairs, once he reached the first floor, he could only see gentlemen discussing politics and ladies greeting each other and talking about their outfits.
"Did I see wrong?"
He stood in the center of the crowd, thinking, then asked himself:
"Did you sense Miss Bei Ya Si's elemental presence just now?"
"【Too far.】"
"Alright then, if you spot her later, remember to remind me."
For the next twenty minutes, Xia De moved through the ballroom, wondering if he might find other acquaintances, but in such an occasion, the other four members of the group had no reason to be there.
He did, however, encounter Captain Lades again. The Captain, red-faced, pulled Xia De aside and introduced him to his friends from the army.
Those gentlemen in army uniforms attending the banquet were all active military officers still in service. Captain Lades himself was a company officer, and his friends naturally also held military ranks. Among them, the oldest-looking middle-aged man with a brown beard was actually a serving Royal Army Lieutenant Colonel from Delarion, which was a very significant position.
Before the King appeared, Xia De did not leave the Captain's side, but listened to a group of officers share stories from the southern front. Captain Lades, due to the "Eight-Gun Captain" incident, had been under criticism for some time, but now that he had a chance to return to the front, his friends who used to joke about him no longer brought up the matter.
Having learned from Captain Lades that the young Detective was also one of the main figures at today's banquet, Xia De was naturally welcomed by them. After they accepted Xia De's business card, Xia De curiously asked these military men, who were most familiar with the front lines, about the possibility of Delarion and Carson Rick engaging in full-scale war again in the coming decades.
This concerned his life; once a full-scale war began and peace gave way to conflict, no one could remain unaffected.
Under the crystal chandelier overhead, the officers holding their wine glasses exchanged glances. Captain Lades looked at the Lieutenant Colonel, who nodded cautiously and answered the question. Perhaps having spent too much time on the southern front, his accent was a bit strange:
"Mr. Hamilton, you shouldn't be asking us this question."
His left hand, not holding a wine glass, pointed to himself:
"We are not the ones who decide all this."
He pointed to the group of middle-aged gentlemen nearby discussing recent tax policies:
"Not you."
Finally, he pointed to the higher floor:
"But them."
Xia De understood his meaning perfectly and couldn't help but shake his head. Most of the others had similar expressions, so Captain Lades proactively raised his glass:
"To peace."
Although the others did not speak, they all raised their glasses and clinked them with his.
The ballroom was filled with clinking glasses and lively chatter. Besides the beneficiaries, no one liked war. But the start of a war, most of the time, is not decided by those who dislike it.
Xia De sincerely hoped that the peace between Delarion and Carson Rick could continue indefinitely, after all, the epic of the sixth epoch had already begun, and this world was already chaotic enough.