“What? Tonight?”
Dorothy nodded, looking at him with some dissatisfaction:
“Yes, Xia De, tonight, you must prepare seriously. Although Leia is very familiar with you, you still need to show your attitude. She cannot stay out for long. The King is furious because of Sachs Cavendish, and no one wants to displease him now.”
“What should I do?”
Xia De was not only happy to finally be able to see the Princess in Tobesk, but also even happier to finally get rid of the four 1-shilling printing plates in his hand. With those things in his possession, he always felt like he could become a criminal at any moment.
“Time is too tight, how should I arrange it?”
“I knew you wouldn’t be able to, but it’s okay, I’ve already arranged it for you.”
The carriage started moving towards Saint Delan Square. Dorothy took out her notebook, which had the schedule written in it:
“You go home immediately, change into clothes you don’t usually wear. Wear gray gloves on both hands, and a brooch of any animal on your chest as a token. At 6:50, wait at the alley entrance next to the Prophet Association. When the carriage with the falcon bird crest stops, immediately jump in. You must be quick, the carriage will only stop for five seconds.”
“Is Leia in the carriage?”
“Oh, Xia De, please close your mouth, time is tight, don’t interrupt me.”
Dorothy seemed a bit anxious:
“The carriage will travel east, then turn south, stopping on the street at the edge of the University District and Tobesk South District. You will leave the carriage, walk around the area twice through the alley, and at 7:40, enter the nearby Red Flame Restaurant. I have already booked a private room for you, Leia will be waiting for you inside.”
“You for us...”
“You can eat and chat, but remember, the opera at the Tobesk Grand Opera House in the South District starts at 9 o’clock tonight. I have already booked tickets for you.”
“You for us...”
“Try not to leave the private room after the opera starts to avoid being seen. After the show ends at 10:30, Xia De, you need to be a gentleman. You can take Leia back to Saint Delan Square to sit for a while and chat about topics you’re interested in, or you can send her directly back to Silver Cross Avenue. I have already booked a four-wheel taxi carriage for you from the Opera House, and the driver is Leia’s person, so please rest assured.”
“You for us...”
“Finally, you must remember to get Leia back to Yodel Palace before midnight, otherwise...”
“Otherwise Leia will turn from a Princess into a broom girl?”
Xia De suddenly said.
“What fairy tale are you talking about? Xia De, time is tight.”
Dorothy waved her hand, telling Xia De to shut up:
“The royal guards at Yodel Palace change shifts at 12:10 AM. Leia can only control the guards from the first half of the night, so she must return before midnight.”
After speaking, with a tearing sound, she roughly tore off a page from her notebook and shoved it into Xia De’s hand. It contained not only the schedule, but also precautions, and Dorothy’s reminders about Leia’s preferences.
The Golden-haired girl looked at Xia De very seriously:
“Also, I’m sure you haven’t prepared a gift to welcome Leia back to Tobesk. Oh, gentlemen these days are always so careless. But don’t worry, I sent a letter yesterday and ordered a bouquet of flowers for you at ‘Mary Jane’s Flower Shop’ near Saint Delan Square. They should be delivered by the time we get back to the square. You can take one to see Leia, or you can give them to her after the opera when you bring her back to the square.”
“Help me...”
Xia De finally couldn’t help but interrupt her:
“Dorothy, aren’t you coming with us?”
He looked at the girl in front of him. Although Dorothy had a smile on her lips, when her eyes looked at him, her expression seemed a little sad:
“I told you, Leia and I cannot have close contact, or even look at each other from a distance. Instead of me following you from afar, it’s better if I don’t appear tonight. This is better for both of us.”
“But...”
“Don’t use conjunctions, Xia De. I can do anything for you, it’s fine.”
She didn’t know what she thought of, her face was a little red, and she tossed her hair:
“Leia is me, and I am Leia. I won’t mind this. Besides, all the expenses tonight are paid by Leia, including that bouquet of flowers. I also left Leia’s personal maid’s name. Xia De, have a good time tonight.”
She said with a smile, seeming genuinely unconcerned.
The carriage moved steadily, but the clatter of horse hooves and the noisy sounds from the street outside in the evening still made the silence inside the carriage feel a bit strange.
Dorothy pushed open the window, and a warm wind with a burnt smell immediately rushed in.
She turned her head to look at the densely packed tall chimneys in the distance, with thick black smoke billowing into the sky. This was the unique skyline of Tobesk, the Steam City, a symbol of this era.
Xia De also looked out the window:
“Dorothy, if I can find a way in the future that allows you to meet, to look at each other, to touch...”
“Then, you will become our...”
This sentence was almost a murmur, and Xia De did not hear the last word clearly.
The evening wind swept through the street, making the pedestrians on the street feel a bit chilly; autumn was coming. The wind also blew across the face of the girl at the window, making her golden hair sway with the wind.
She didn’t look at Xia De, so Xia De couldn’t see her expression. But this feeling of loneliness—where the most familiar person was nearby, they talked about almost everything, their souls were closely connected, yet they might never be able to touch or see each other in their lives—Xia De looked at her lonely back and actually felt that he understood it a little.
“Outsider, is this like you and me?”
Her voice suddenly appeared in his ear. Xia De was stunned for a moment, folded the notebook page in his hand, and put it into the pocket of his black coat:
“I didn’t say anything.”
After the carriage stopped at Saint Delan Square, Dorothy did not get off. Instead, after repeatedly reminding Xia De not to miss the time, she left in the carriage.
The feeling of one girl arranging a meeting schedule for him with another girl made Xia De feel incredibly strange.
However, since it was already arranged, he wouldn't break the appointment.
Although the agreed time was 6:30, to prevent being late, Xia De arrived at the alley entrance next to the Prophet Association at 6:10.
He had gray gloves at home to use as a token, but an animal brooch was truly hard to find. Finally, he found a brass eagle-head brooch in the bedroom desk of the deceased Sparrow Detective. Its design was quite similar to the emblem of a certain country in his hometown.
Standing still at the alley entrance would be very conspicuous, so Xia De also bought a newspaper from a newsboy on the street.
Unexpectedly, he had just opened the newspaper and hadn't even finished reading the headline about the King's speech on the front page, when he heard someone calling his name:
“Mr. Hamilton, what are you doing here?”
It was Mr. Stan, the local President of the Prophet Association. Vice President Mark and two other gentlemen Xia De didn’t know were with him. They looked like they were going for drinks together after work:
“I’m... on a Detective commission, I’m meeting someone.”
Xia De said half-truthfully, hoping these gentlemen wouldn't stay long.
“Work is really hard, having to meet people even during mealtime.”
Vice President Mark sighed, and the other gentlemen also sympathized with Xia De's profession. However, Vice President Stan, because Xia De helped solve the “Princess Angelina Injury Case” last time, had a very good impression of him.
Casually taking out a one-shilling coin and tossing it, the most famous Prophet in Tobesk smiled and reminded him:
“Mr. Hamilton, my divination shows that if you wear your gloves inside out, change the newspaper in your hand to the Three Penny Newspaper, and then buy a red rose to hold, you will encounter great luck during your meeting.”
Because this gentleman had accurately predicted “Knight” last time, Xia De trusted him greatly. After bidding farewell to the group, he found a newsboy on the street and bought another newspaper, then bought a red rose from a flower girl.
He had a bouquet of flowers at home, but to prevent them from being eaten by cats, Xia De had put them in the basement. He found it troublesome at the time and didn't take the flowers out, so now he had to spend money. But if it was for luck, it was probably worth it.
After buying the flower, Xia De continued to stand at the alley entrance with the newspaper and the flower. Silver Cross Avenue was especially lively in the evening. You could hardly see any ragged poor people from the Lower City here. Whether it was the gentlemen hurrying along the street, or the nobles leaving Yodel Palace in carriages, everyone looked so radiant and confident.
If Tobesk City was the core of the entire Old Continent's north, then Silver Cross Avenue was the core of Tobesk. The essence of civilization gathered here, and the people living nearby also enjoyed the benefits brought by the Kingdom and the era.
If one only observed the streetscape here, then this era was undoubtedly the most advanced, most civilized, and most stable. But for the Outsider who mingled in this City, he clearly knew that the essence of civilization could not be judged by its most magnificent scene.
“Civilization, ah~”
As he sighed in his heart, a light suddenly flickered beside him.
Xia De turned to look. Above the lamppost at the alley entrance, a warm yellow light flickered a few times, and with a soft pop, the light fully illuminated.
Clusters of light illuminated the street one by one, from the distance to the foreground, then from the foreground to further away. The light illuminated the stone pavement beneath everyone's feet and illuminated every person there.
No one stopped because of this scene. A few people would turn their heads to look at the gas streetlights beside them, a smile appearing on their faces.
Only the Outsider widened his eyes and looked up. For the first time in this era's night, he saw the gas streetlights illuminate, lighting up the City.
This scene was ordinary, yet it struck Xia De's heart like a hammer.
