It was quite boring to just stand there and let others take pictures, and while maintaining a smile, Xia De’s eyes scanned the crowd.
Thus, he once again saw Miss Bei Ya Si in the brightly lit banquet hall. This time it was definitely not an illusion; the brown-haired Sorceress, dressed in a formal gown, immediately made a shushing gesture when she saw Xia De looking at her, then turned and plunged into the crowd, seemingly not wanting Xia De to know what she was doing.
“At least she wasn’t dressed as a maid this time.”
Xia De muttered softly to himself.
For a long time afterward, Xia De did not see Miss Bei Ya Si again. After the complete knight investiture process ended, Xia De, arranged by the attendant, stood with several Duchesses, waiting for the King to present awards to others who received honorary medals.
He carried the antique Knight’s longsword in his hand, his fingers constantly caressing the ruby on the scabbard. This was just an ordinary item; even with proper maintenance, the erosion of time still rendered this sword completely useless.
During the boring wait, Xia De thought about hanging this sword in the living room of Room No. 1 on the second floor, so that every client who came for a commission could see it.
Only two people received honorary medals, and they were awarded separately. The ten or so people who received special commendations afterward did not have the honor of being awarded by the King; they went on stage together and were jointly awarded the “Tobesk Special Contribution Medal.”
As for Captain Lades and others who did not receive medals, only their names were read, thanking them for their contributions to the King. But this was enough for the Captain; such an honor was enough to clear his “Eight-Gun Captain” reputation. After tonight, Captain Lades could pack his bags and wait for notification.
By the time this entire process was completed, the time had already gone from seven o’clock to half past eight.
The busy King would not stay here long, but would return directly to the City, while the other Duchesses had their own plans.
Perhaps because Miss Jialinna specifically chatted with Xia De for a few words, the other Duchesses also spoke a few words with him, getting to know each other. Because of the curse the Sorceress carried, Miss Jialinna rarely appeared in public, and her attitude this time undoubtedly indicated that Xia De was someone she favored.
After the awards ceremony ended and the King left, the banquet officially began.
The Duchesses returned to the third floor together, and then a group of people immediately surrounded Xia De wanting to talk to him. Reporters also followed with their notebooks, and the business cards Xia De received in just ten minutes were surprisingly more than he had given out today.
Priest Augustus had instructed that public interviews were very necessary, so Xia De had no choice but to answer everyone’s questions in turn.
Even when someone asked what he was thinking when he stopped that bullet, Xia De, whose head was already dizzy from the questions, blurted out:
“All things have an end, and people will all meet their death…”
His mind immediately cleared, and he discarded the idea of searching for a heavier mountain in this world:
“Perhaps a person’s value is limited, but when he makes a contribution that exceeds his own value, his personality and soul will be sublimated at that moment.”
Xia De didn’t know what he was talking about, but seeing the people around him nodding constantly, he at least didn’t say anything wrong. Of course, he didn’t forget to praise the importance of the royal family to Delarion, praise the Right God, Mr. Dawn, and at the same time promote the Holy Prayer Festival for the Church.
In short, Xia De was truly unaccustomed to such social occasions.
It took a full forty minutes to get rid of the reporters, and by the time he could finally get away, before the men who wanted to chat with “Miss Jialinna’s close confidant” could surround him, Xia De was surrounded by a group of young ladies.
Xia De exchanged a few polite words with the ladies, and then someone wanted to “talk alone in the garden” with him, or wanted to hear him tell some “Detective stories” in private.
Xia De was not stupid and certainly knew what this meant, but he was also very unaccustomed to the ladies’ enthusiasm and could only decline, saying he had other matters. But even so, his hands were still stuffed with some handkerchiefs, on which addresses were written in lipstick or powder.
“You need to get used to these, Mr. Hamilton, no, Your Excellency Hamilton of Thunder Jeed.”
Baron Lavende, who came to find him for a card game, walked over with a smile.
“Are the girls so enthusiastic now?”
He held the handkerchiefs, not knowing what to do with them.
“They’re not enthusiastic about you, but about your status and your relationship with Miss Jialinna. Now the Duchess of Saladill has almost openly declared that you are her person. Oh, what a lucky fellow, has Miss Jialinna taken a fancy to you?”
He smiled ambiguously, joked, patted Xia De’s shoulder, and then led Xia De, who was carrying the sword, towards his friends.
From the first floor of the banquet hall to the second floor, Miss Bei Ya Si, whom he had seen half an hour ago, was nowhere to be seen again. Although Xia De was worried, nothing had happened when he met her last weekend, and Miss Jialinna was on the third floor now, so there was no need to worry about any sudden incidents. He then accepted the invitation to join Baron Lavende and his friends’ rhode cards game.
These gentlemen occupied the sofas and coffee tables at the best spot in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows on the second floor of the banquet hall. Sitting here and looking out, one could see the night view of Tobesk City and the starry sky of the summer night.
But people were more concerned about rhode cards, but after Xia De and Baron Lavende walked through the crowd in the banquet hall, they still congratulated Xia De in turn. Although most of the people present had titles and were of higher status than Xia De, who only had the title of “Knight,” the Duchess’s favor made his status far from being merely a Knight.
After the pleasantries, they urged Xia De to take out the new special cards for display.
Under the gas lamps, every gentleman was excited. Xia De took out the cards from his pocket, not touching the “ancient fairy tale - match girl” familiar to Baron Lavende, and took out the other three special cards:
“Look.”
He took out “Coldwater Port City, Northern City,” “Tis Lake, Eastern Landscape of the Old Continent,” and “Original Steam Engine · Mark IX.” People passed them around and talked about the history of these three cards appearing in the past that they knew.
Some of them already knew about Xia De’s “Founding · Silver Moon” because they attended Duke Lucas’s rhode cards game last Sunday evening. Now that Xia De took out these three cards, some others who had heard about the deck that day but didn’t know whose it was, thus linked it to the rumor that the owner of the Founding series cards was the young Detective.
Baron Lucas was one of those who connected this matter after seeing the three cards. Baron Lavende, however, didn’t know, but excitedly told people that he had seen that “Coldwater Port City, Northern City” at an auction ten years ago.
When he heard that Xia De had obtained the cards from an Old Professor, he speculated that the buyer back then later resold the cards due to financial difficulties, and sighed that Xia De was very lucky. Although these cards with special rules were not particularly expensive, they were not necessarily available even if one wanted to buy them.
Tonight, Xia De was the protagonist, so people naturally let him choose his opponent for the card game. After inquiring, Xia De did not choose acquaintances, but chose to compete with Baron Cobol, who was younger among the group.
Baron Cobol was probably only thirty years old. Baron Lavende had just introduced that he inherited his title from his father. This Baron belonged to the wealthier type of nobles, fond of antique collection and rhode cards, and had five special cards in his hand, which was why Xia De wanted to see them.
So the two sides took their seats, and the others sat on the sofas or stood behind the players, crossing their arms, ready to watch the game.
This corner on the second floor of the banquet hall immediately became lively, and from time to time, people would come over to join the spectators. According to the “common sense” Baron Lavende popularized to Xia De, in any decent banquet, people would play rhode cards in a corner, which was also part of the culture of this era. The rhode cards issued by the Prophet Association to make money back then had become an important part of the sixth epoch civilization.
For an Outsider, a different world without entertainment was undoubtedly very boring. While occult books and the advancement of Ring術士 power were interesting, one occasionally needed to find other entertainment. Xia De’s attitude towards rhode cards thus gradually underwent subtle changes; at least tonight, he still very much enjoyed playing cards while looking at the night view from the floor-to-ceiling window.
A deck has 54 cards. Xia De certainly wouldn't put “Founding · Silver Moon” in it, so his deck had four special cards, while Baron Cobol’s deck had five special cards. Although they weren’t gambling, merely enjoying the fun of the cards, the people watching them were betting on who would draw the first special card.
The answer was Xia De; “ancient fairy tale - match girl” appeared first. Although it failed to trigger its special rule, the points themselves helped him win that round. The Baron’s special card, Moon 13 “Pirate King · Skeleton Captain Victor,” only appeared in the fifth round.
The special rule of this card is very simple: roll a 20-sided die; if the result is less than or equal to 10, the card’s number is adjusted to 22; if the result is greater than 10, the number can be adjusted between 13 and 1.
It cannot be said that this card is useless, only that it can be used very rarely.
The Baron had been playing rhode cards since his teens and was a true master of rhode cards, while Xia De relied purely on luck. As a result, although Xia De won more, the overall results of their matches could barely be called evenly matched.
Baron Cobol’s interest was further piqued by the tense card game, and he even suggested that the two sides bet with their respective special cards, but Xia De politely refused:
“I rarely gamble.”
As he spoke, he looked up and surprisingly saw Miss Bei Ya Si again at the staircase leading to the first floor. She seemed to have been forcibly pulled by someone’s hand, being dragged and forced to walk towards the first floor.
“Hmm?”
He widened his eyes and stood up, tidying the cards in his hand:
“Everyone, I apologize, I have something to attend to. I’ll be back in a moment.”
He said, pointing upstairs. The others nodded understandingly, thinking he was going upstairs to see the important figures. So Baron Lavende, who had been waiting, took Xia De’s place.
The expensive antique Knight’s longsword, which could not be used, was temporarily left there. Xia De walked towards the staircase. He looked back and saw that the people by the floor-to-ceiling window were tensely watching the game, and no one was looking this way, so he quickly walked down the stairs.
No matter what happened to Miss Bei Ya Si, he couldn’t pretend not to see it.