After Saturday night, Xia De sent an urgent express letter within the City to Miss Jialinna's manor early on Sunday morning, hoping to receive a reply as soon as possible.
He had no other plans for today, so he decided not to go out, but to read books and organize files at home.
When Xia De returned from mailing the letter at half past eight, Dorothy came to visit again. On one hand, she was returning the Detective files she had borrowed last time, as well as the book "Delarion Ancient Fairy Tales Collection," which Xia De had bought at the auction before the Blood Feast; on the other hand, she hoped to stay in Saint Delan Square today to continue borrowing those Detective files to gain more inspiration for her Detective stories.
"Speaking of which, how much of a backlog do you have now?"
Xia De was curious about this, and the Golden-haired girl showed an elegant smile, indicating her confidence:
"The first story is adapted from your experience with the two cemetery ghosts you encountered, and it's called 'Expired Murder.' My novels are not published every issue; they are serialized twice a week. 'Expired Murder' is enough for two weeks' content, and I've already finished it.
The second story is 'The Mystery of the Bloody Letter,' which I originally planned to write myself, and that's probably enough for three issues. The third story is already half-written, based on the Detective records I've seen here. Xia De, your study is truly a treasure."
She smiled at Xia De, who nodded indifferently:
"As long as you like it, you can come anytime you want."
Anyway, his sensitive items were all behind the hidden wall in the basement.
So, that morning, Dorothy and Xia De spent time together in the study. However, both were doing their own things. Xia De was flipping through the book he got back from the doctor yesterday, hoping that at least the woman's voice in his head would record all the content for future use.
Dorothy, on the other hand, was very interested in looking through the Detective files, and if she encountered any parts Xia De hadn't organized yet, she would even help organize them.
Sparrow Hamilton lived in Saint Delan Square for two years, handling dozens of large and small commissions. Although his work efficiency was much higher than Xia De's, his money-making efficiency was not as high as Xia De's.
At noon, Dorothy complained that Xia De's house had no reserved vegetables or meat, so she and he took Mia to a restaurant outside for lunch.
After returning from lunch, Miss Jialinna's message still hadn't arrived, so Xia De took advantage of the midday break to tell Dorothy about the second letter from Miss Mia Gaode.
"Bathing the cat?"
The Golden-haired girl sat on the sofa and glanced at the cat, which, after eating its fill, was starting to get sleepy and was lying on Xia De's lap, half-closing its eyes as if feigning sleep, while accepting Xia De's petting:
"How come I remember you mentioning this last month?"
Dorothy asked.
"Yes, but I didn't have time, did I?"
Xia De replied, and so the Golden-haired girl tied up her long golden hair with a hair tie on her wrist. While tidying her hair, she motioned for Xia De to stand up and smiled at him and the cat:
"So, do you have time now?"
"Of course I have time."
"How long do you think it will take to bathe the cat?"
"About half an hour?"
"Then what are we waiting for?"
Dorothy, with her hair tied up, also stood up and looked at Xia De with a suspicious gaze:
"You always like to finish things immediately and never procrastinate, so why do you always procrastinate with this cat? It just so happens that we have nothing to do, so I'll bathe the cat with you. Although your house doesn't have reserved vegetables, you should have an apron, right?"
"Meow~"
The cat, picked up by Xia De's movement, let out a dissatisfied cry. The young orange cat's meow was very soft, completely unaware of what was about to happen.
"Alright then, of course I have aprons. The former Detective left quite a few, I don't know what he intended to do with them."
Xia De nodded hesitantly. This matter indeed could not be delayed, and he still needed to mail Mia's photo to Miss Gaode.
"Meow~"
The cat in Xia De's arms wiggled its body, its small paws dangling from Xia De's arm, looking very content. Maintaining this posture, the napping cat was carried by Xia De into the washroom.
(Mia is bathing)
"You just showered? Do you also have a habit of showering at noon?"
This was the first question the Duchess, holding a book, asked Xia De when he sat down in front of Miss Jialinna that afternoon.
It was still the study in the manor outside the City, and still the same spot on the sofa. However, Xia De's hair was not yet dry, and traces of him having washed his hair were easily visible.
"Not showering, but bathing the cat."
Xia De corrected.
"Bathing the cat?"
The red-haired Witch chuckled in response, while the Black-haired maid Tifa Servett, who already knew what had happened on the way, stood by, preparing tea sets for the two of them and chuckling softly.
Over eighty percent of the servants in Miss Jialinna's manor were female, and naturally, cats were kept here. Although the Duchess did not seem like someone who would personally bathe a cat, she clearly guessed what had happened.
"Your life is truly interesting."
"I rather wish this kind of interestingness could be less. Thankfully, cats only need to be bathed once every few months, otherwise—"
Xia De thought of the cat an hour ago in his own washroom, staring with wide eyes as he put it into the bathtub, and how, upon contact with the warm water, it suddenly struggled and then erupted with powerful combat strength.
Xia De had once wondered how Mia, with her physique, managed to bully other animals in the pet store.
Now he knew that the combat power of such small creatures should never be judged by appearance. If not for Dorothy's help, Xia De might not have been able to catch the constantly struggling cat trying to escape.
Throughout the entire cat-bathing process, Mia kept struggling, which resulted in Xia De being almost completely drenched. He hadn't even had time to dry his hair when the carriage arrived at Saint Delan Square.
So now Dorothy was at Xia De's house, using a towel to dry the water off the grumpy cat, which was wrapped in a blanket. After its fur was all plastered to its skin, it looked as if it had lost a whole size, and after seeing its reflection in the mirror, the orange cat had been sulking at Xia De.
"Alright, let's get to the point. You said you found a bottle of ancient potion that's still usable?"
Miss Jialinna closed the book in her hand and placed it on the tea table. Xia De noticed it was a women's Summer fashion magazine—a real magazine.
"Yes, the ancient mermaid's elixir of youth."
Shifting his thoughts from the cat at home, Xia De placed the bottle of potion on the table.
Tifa looked at it curiously, while Miss Jialinna picked it up, held it up to the light for a glance, then carefully pulled out the stopper, sniffed it with a twitch of her nose, and slightly furrowed her brows:
"I thought you were just joking. I didn't expect this, Xia De. I know this; it's a high-level potion that only ancient merfolk could make. It can make anyone return to youth for a certain period of time. The ancient Witch Emperors even used it to bathe."
Priest Augustus, on the other hand, said that the ancient Witch Emperors added this to their breakfast. But no matter which statement was correct, both confirmed the rumors of the Witch Emperors' extremely luxurious lives.
After getting Xia De's permission, Miss Jialinna had Tifa retrieve a professional glass dropper for preparing potions and a black elderly cat. Carefully drawing one drop, she dripped it into the cat's mouth.
The three of them watched the cat. With its lazy meow, its fur visibly grew thicker and shinier at a speed visible to the naked eye, and its aged body also began to recover its health.
It suddenly leaped from Miss Jialinna's lap onto the tea table, and just as it was about to pounce towards Xia De, it was caught by the Black-haired maid's outstretched hand.
It took a full half an hour for it to return to its original aged appearance, and a smile appeared on Miss Jialinna's face:
"From the color, scent, and effect of the potion, this is indeed a high-level potion that the merfolk of the fifth epoch offered to the Witches. Potions and materials offered by different races are something people of our era could never imagine. And in the fifth epoch, except for a few Witches who could find relics like the youthful immortality leaf when they were young, most of them relied on various expensive potions to maintain eternal youth, hmph, those women—"
The Witches of the sixth epoch seemed quite displeased with the Witches of the fifth epoch. Miss Jialinna's slender fingers gently shook the bottle, watching the liquid swirl inside, then looked at Xia De:
"Xia De, I won't ask you where you got this. Since you don't offer to tell, I won't probe your secrets. But this is very useful to me. A small bottle is probably enough for an adult to regain youth for a week. How about I offer you 3300 pounds?"
"Of course, that price is certainly acceptable."
Xia De nodded immediately. His original expected price was around 2300 pounds. Although this potion had extraordinary effects, it was a one-time use item, and its efficacy lasted for a limited time, so this price was already quite good.
"But I want cash this time, no bill of exchange."
Large bills of exchange took time to cash, and Xia De also didn't want to always use bills of exchange signed by the Duchess to withdraw money, as it wouldn't be good for his reputation.
"No problem, but that means you'll have to wait a bit."
She nodded to Miss Servett, who immediately left the room to arrange the cash Xia De wanted.
Miss Jialinna placed the potion on the table and talked about other matters with Xia De:
"Do you remember last time I told you that the council sent a new Witch to search for the second The Chosen? She has already departed, heading to Coldwater Port. I heard there are merfolk causing trouble there, and the entire City is searching for those strange creatures. Speaking of which, I remember Leia seems to be in Coldwater Port; I wonder what she's doing."
She told this to Xia De as a piece of news, but it was quite important to Xia De. He feigned indifference and asked:
"I wonder which Great Witch was sent out this time? Can I know her identity? Oh, I won't tell anyone."
