That evening, Princess Margaret Anjou’s banquet was held at Canary Manor, where she was staying. That manor belonged to the Cavendish Royal Family and was specifically used to entertain foreign dignitaries. It was located in the northern part of Tobesk South District, near the University District, about a twenty-minute drive from Saint Delan Square.
Xia De had not understood that morning why the Vice President of the Truth Society had appeared at the Third National Mechanical College. To prevent her from appearing again at the banquet that night, he took advantage of his free time in the afternoon to find Yiluna at Black Stone Security Company and informed her about Miss Pa Wo’s appearance.
Yiluna then informed the Church of this matter, so at the banquet held at Canary Manor that night, there were a few more Ring Arcanists from the Church.
And when Xia De entered Canary Manor at 6:30 PM, the warmth from his badge reminded him that more than one witch would appear there that night.
Miss Jialinna was also at Canary Manor, but it was unlikely she would show up at the banquet.
Although in the city, Canary Manor occupied a considerable area. Xia De had been here several times to “learn foreign languages,” so he was quite familiar with the interior of the manor.
Tonight's banquet was held in the banquet hall on the first floor. Although only those who were in the lecture hall that morning were invited, a considerable number of people ultimately attended the banquet for various reasons. People seemed to treat it as a diplomatic banquet.
While the bombing incident was still mentioned, people were more concerned about what punishment the Lamia Duchy would face afterward. In times of peace, such a heinous incident rarely occurred; even when Queen Diana was shot in the street in the summer, it did not have such a great impact as this incident.
Princess Margaret Anjou made an appearance at the start of the banquet, then disappeared, leaving Count Herbos of the visiting delegation to entertain the guests.
Xia De did not see Miss Pa Wo appear again during the banquet. He had intended to find time to go upstairs to see Miss Jialinna and ask if the council remembered the past events of Miss Schultz Teresa, but he had only taken two steps towards the staircase with his wine glass when Princess Margaret Anjou's personal maid walked over.
“Mr. Hamilton, did you see the person who dropped the note?”
As soon as they met in the study on the second floor, Princess Margaret Anjou asked somewhat eagerly. She urgently needed the Gray Headed Eagle’s surrender, but since their meeting in Middelsburg in the autumn, the Gray Headed Eagle had never contacted her again, nor had he even collected the 1,000 pound reward.
Now that the mysterious ace agent had reappeared, Margaret Anjou knew it was another opportunity.
“Oh, Your Highness, why do people always ask me this question?”
Xia De shook his head:
“At Leedweich Field at noon, I almost didn’t even eat lunch. If Miss Jialinna hadn’t sent someone to get me out, I probably wouldn’t have been able to attend tonight’s banquet either. So, what exactly is going on? I’ve found that people are more concerned about that note than the bomb.”
“I’m so sorry, Detective, I’m so sorry to involve you in this matter. I cannot tell you the truth of the matter; I cannot involve you in such a troublesome political vortex.”
The Princess unladylike pressed her palm against her forehead:
“This matter is related to Gray Gloves and MI6, Mr. Hamilton, you must have heard of these two organizations. So, I’m sorry, I cannot say too much, I can only tell you that the person who dropped that note is an extraordinary individual.”
Xia De nodded in agreement. He had always believed that Mr. Sparrow Hamilton was quite extraordinary; there was no doubt about that.
“Again, I apologize for involving you. Oh, and I also want to thank you, thank you for discovering that note.”
“It’s nothing. I involved you in the matter of the Demon, and you didn’t accept my apology either, did you?”
Xia De said, glancing at the study:
“That Evil Spirit of the third epoch will not threaten us for much longer, please rest assured, this matter will be resolved very soon. But before that, I will still visit once every day.”
“No problem, we are friends. From now on, you can call me by my first name.”
The Princess nodded, seeing Xia De to the study door. Only after Xia De left did she pat her cheeks. Thinking again of Xia De who had just left, she sighed inwardly, now she understood why he could win the favor of that beautiful Duchess:
“Handsome, powerful, steady in his actions, no bad habits… if I didn’t want to be a teacher’s apprentice, I probably would have fallen for someone like him too.”
On the other side, Xia De returned from the second floor to the first floor. At this time, the atmosphere of the banquet was lively. He took another wine glass, then looked up among a group of guests and saw Doctor Schneider, who absolutely should not have been there.
“Hmm.”
This often meant the occurrence of something strange.
The Doctor was also dressed in formal attire for the banquet, holding a wine glass and standing by the banquet hall window, looking at the people in the banquet with a very melancholic expression. The senses of a Six-Ring Arcanist were very keen; when Xia De noticed him, the Doctor quickly saw Xia De as well.
At that moment, the Doctor’s expression was probably similar to Xia De’s.
The two quickly met by the window, both holding glass wine glasses. Xia De tilted his head and asked the Doctor:
“Doctor, you’re not going to say that the Demon is at this banquet, are you?”
The Doctor controlled his expression with a tense face:
“Yes, weren’t you here for this matter?”
He asked with some surprise in his tone, and Xia De was even more surprised:
“You found it, why did you come alone instead of notifying me?”
“I haven’t found it, I just suspect it’s here.”
The Doctor lowered his voice slightly and took a small sip from his wine glass:
“Do you know why I haven’t found it yet? Its injuries are even more severe than I thought, unable to exist independently, so it’s hiding and moving within a human body. I discovered it once on Thursday, injuring it severely again, but it very cautiously immediately changed its vessel.”
The Evil Spirit Demon of the third epoch possessed the ability to coexist with humans. This has been demonstrated by the Demons in Demon Scholar stories, or the “Arsonist” possessing the Flame Demon, or even “Human Pus.” This can be considered a kind of “racial talent.”
“I definitely won’t be able to catch it tonight; it’s very good at escaping. I want to put a mark on it tonight so that next time it absolutely won’t be able to run away.”
The Doctor drained his champagne:
“The only trouble now is that I don’t know whose body it’s hidden in, so I’m still looking.”
As he spoke to Xia De, his eyes remained fixed on the banquet hall.
Even Xia De could not easily detect a possessed Demon. When he first encountered Yifan Darkness in Coldwater Port, Xia De did not notice anything unusual about him until he removed his red glove to reveal the “Demon’s Mouth” on his palm.
Although Xia De could wander around with his badge and detect who was a Demon by abnormal reactions, doing so would also alert the other party that they had been discovered, and Doctor Schneider did not have time to place a mark.
So finding the Demon could only be done by the Doctor, and Xia De could only wait for good news from the Doctor.
Thus, for the rest of the banquet, Xia De stayed with Doctor Schneider. The Doctor had received his invitation from one of his patients and had no acquaintances at the banquet, so he joined Xia De, listening to Xia De discuss rhode cards with people, talk about interesting aristocratic anecdotes, and the aftermath of the morning’s events.
Around 9 PM, Xia De had already joined a rhode cards table and won three consecutive games when the Doctor coughed softly.
He knew the Doctor had found the target, so he bid farewell to the baron he was playing with and got up, walking towards the washroom.
“Found it.”
The Doctor was concise:
“It’s not a guest at the banquet; the target has possessed a manor servant. Follow me. In a moment, you restrain him for at least twenty seconds, and I can put a mark on it that won’t disappear for at least a year.”
Originally, the Doctor intended to do this himself, but now that Xia De was here, having help was naturally better. And if the mark was placed, the Doctor was confident of ending this matter before next Tuesday.
As Canary Manor was Princess Margaret Anjou’s residence, guests attending the banquet were theoretically not allowed to freely enter other areas of the manor. But for Xia De and the Doctor, ordinary guards could not stop them; they only needed to avoid the Church’s Ring Arcanists.
Xia De followed the Doctor, walking left along the first-floor corridor, then climbing out a window after passing the corridor to enter the right side of the mansion. They then passed through evergreen shrubs and entered a stone path, winding their way to the garden at the back of the manor.
Now in winter, even with the Royal Family paying for maintenance, the garden scenery was far from its peak in midsummer. By a snowdrift under a grape arbor, the servant being watched by the Doctor was actually talking to another person, and the gentleman opposite the possessed servant was very familiar to both Xia De and the Doctor: it was Sir Laikins Prisia.
“Power? No, no, power is not that easy to obtain.”
When Xia De and the Doctor carefully snuck closer, their conversation had already been going on for a while. Although there was a silencing rune on the ground, the Doctor just gently poked it with his finger, and the sound transmitted through. Silencing runes were basic runes; while effective, Ring Arcanists naturally had ways to counter them once they discovered them.
It was Sir Prisia who was speaking. The Doctor signaled Xia De to be quiet, preparing to cast a spell, while Xia De pricked up his ears, listening to the private conversation of the two people under the grape arbor, illuminated by Moonlight.
“There’s nothing wrong with pursuing power, but it relies on this.”
The Sir pointed sternly to his head:
“Not on something like you, which I don’t even know what it is.”
The servant looked about thirty years old, dressed very neatly, but the deliberate smile on his face was definitely not something a normal person could display:
“Do you know what great power you possess?”
It asked, and Xia De and the Doctor immediately frowned, because it was speaking in the Demon language.
