The princess said to a surprised Xia De with a smile, then gestured for Xia De to sit down and talk:
“What a coincidence to meet you here, would you like to watch the opera together?”
Besides her, there were only her maids in the box. This time, Angelina Cavendish came to watch the opera alone.
But she probably didn't know that Xia De was waiting for her sister, and genuinely wanted to invite Xia De to watch the opera with her; otherwise, she would never have invited Xia De to stay.
Xia De himself didn't want to get involved with more of the Cavendish family, as this would lead to a lot of trouble. He considered making an excuse to decline her invitation, but perhaps sensing Xia De's intention, Princess Angelina said again:
“Knight, do you have other companions? Or are you waiting for someone? Oh, it’s alright, you can invite them all.”
Angelina Cavendish’s attitude was very sincere, and Xia De found it hard to refuse. However, thinking of the message Leia had just sent, saying she would arrive in at least half an hour, he said:
“Alright, Your Highness, but I can only stay here for half an hour. I have other things to do later. I came to watch the opera today because I received a commission.”
“No problem, but next time you must attend my salon. My friends are very interested in you…”
The sixteen-year-old princess said happily, then gestured for Xia De to sit down and talk, and instructed her maids to pour tea and bring new biscuits.
Compared to watching the opera, their conversation was what truly interested Xia De.
Although to outsiders, Princess Angelina was the kind of princess who was doted on by the King, frequented banquets and salons, and was just waiting to be politically married off by Larus III, when she discussed domestic politics and recent Carson Rick news, she could easily offer her own views and insights, which were not as poor as Xia De had imagined.
She even had some understanding of the New World. Although the princess herself didn't like such remote places without even a cake shop, she spoke eloquently about the kingdom's gains from the New World.
Of course, it was limited to very superficial explanations, mostly strange anecdotes she had heard from people around her. For example, she excitedly told Xia De that there was a type of cat in the New World smaller than a common mouse, and it was very cute and docile, didn't shed fur, had a small appetite, and consistently defecated at eight in the morning every day.
However, the diet of this idealized pet was limited to the fresh leaves of a plant called “Cat-tailed Mouse Grass,” which only grew in the New World. Therefore, this peculiar creature, dubbed “Mouse Cat” by the expedition team, was never brought before the princess.
“Once that grass can be transplanted to the Old Continent, I definitely want to raise one.”
The princess said to Xia De, but Xia De couldn't imagine himself adding a new pet.
He could almost picture Mia, the orange cat, perched on the highest cabinet in the house, completely hidden in the darkness, watching with a gloomy expression as Xia De interacted with the new pet under the gas lamp—a terrifying scene.
The half-hour passed quickly as they chatted and watched the opera.
Princess Angelina allowed Xia De to leave as promised, but before he departed, she once again invited Xia De to attend her salon when he had time:
“The first time I saw you in the courtyard from the second-floor terrace of Lakeview Manor, I felt you were different from everyone else.”
The little princess praised:
“Don’t refuse the next invitation, Knight, I have a good impression of you.”
Xia De smiled and agreed, but then excused himself by saying he was very busy lately and would only have time in a few months.
After bidding farewell to the princess at the box door, Xia De walked along the corridor towards the staircase, intending to return to the box and continue waiting for Leia.
At the corner of the corridor, he encountered three strangers in black trench coats, walking quickly, so Xia De stepped aside to let them pass. The tall man in the lead, wearing a black hat, nodded at Xia De as a thank you. Xia De was very curious about these three gentlemen, who were wearing casual clothes to watch the opera.
“They’re probably guards for some great noble,” he thought to himself, wondering what he would say when he finally met Leia. He continued walking forward with his head down. Because his head was down, his eyes unconsciously looked at the floor beneath his feet.
Therefore, he saw a series of sparse red auras on the red carpet below him.
“Hmm?” His steps didn’t stop, but his eyes blinked twice, immediately discerning what it was:
“Is this Blood Echo? It can passively display now?”
Xia De thought in surprise. These red auras were indeed the manifestation of the Blood Echo in action. But he hadn't activated the Miracle, which meant this Miracle could passively display relatively fresh bloodstains at close range.
His heart stirred, and these auras immediately disappeared. It seemed that the passive state, once noticed and turned active, could still be canceled by Xia De at any time.
“But where did the blood come from? Did it stick to the bottom of those three men’s shoes?”
Since he had nothing to do, Xia De stopped and walked back to the corner of the corridor, tilting his head to look at the three men.
The three men stopped in front of Angelina’s box. After knocking, the one in front seemed to reach out and cover the mouth of the person inside. The three men rushed in, then closed the door.
The corridor returned to silence, with only the sound of the opera echoing. The three men didn't notice Xia De's head peeking out from the corner, and naturally didn't know that Xia De had witnessed this scene.
“What’s going on?” Xia De raised an eyebrow and straightened his tilted body.
When they brushed past him earlier, the voice in his ear didn't indicate that the three were Ring術士, so this shouldn't be Xia De's bad luck in encountering another mysterious event.
But the three men were clearly acting suspiciously, so Xia De restored his toy revolver to its original state. Since he stumbled upon this, he naturally had to intervene, especially since Princess Angelina was Leia's sister.
He returned to the door, then knocked and said loudly:
“Your Highness, I apologize, I left my…”
He had intended to say he left something behind, but then thought that if the three men discovered that the room didn't contain the item Xia De claimed to have left, they would realize Xia De was prepared.
So Xia De said:
“Your Highness, I left the garter you gave me here.”
There were five women in the room, and Xia De didn't believe they couldn't even find one garter. And the princess hadn't said she was giving Xia De a garter just now, so they would know at this moment that Xia De had already sensed something was wrong.
The soundproofing of this noble-exclusive box was very good. Xia De's loud voice should have been audible inside, but he couldn't hear any sound from within. After a long while, the door was opened a crack. A trembling maid blocked the gap, her mouth closed, looking as if she wanted to speak but dared not.
She actually handed Xia De a garter.
It was decorated with white lace and a light pink bow secured with pearls. When Xia De took it, he even felt its warmth.
“Your Highness!” He gripped the door crack, not giving anyone a chance to close the door, but he also had no intention of pushing the door open:
“I know I angered you just now, which is why you don’t want to see me, but please believe me, that was absolutely not an offensive act.”
He winked at the maid blocking the door in front of him, and she bit her lip, looking at him.
“Please, you must forgive me, otherwise I won’t leave today!” he said.
After a few more seconds, Angelina’s voice came from behind the door:
“Yes, Detective, I forgive you.”
Her tone of voice was also off. Xia De was curious who was so bold, so he continued:
“Your Highness, your eyes are as bright as the stars, your lips are more captivating than a delicate rose. I beg your forgiveness. Please grant me one last meeting. If you refuse me in person, I will truly give up this time.”
Such words were, of course, not made up by Xia De; he had heard them while watching the opera earlier. And the three newly arrived men had clearly not heard the actors recite these lines.
“Will you really leave after seeing me?” Angelina said intermittently from behind the door. Xia De immediately replied:
“Oh, yes, Your Highness, please believe me.”
The room was quiet again for a while, at least half a minute later, the maid blocking the doorway was suddenly pulled back, and then Angelina was pushed out from the side, as if by someone, again blocking the doorway.
The little princess pursed her lips and looked at Xia De. Her body blocked the view from outside to inside, but also blocked the view from inside to outside. Xia De didn't know if Angelina Cavendish had the good habit of carrying steam bombs with her at all times and liking to give them to others, like her sister, so he assumed she had no combat capability.
After cocking the hammer of the gun in his hand, he shook it in front of the princess:
“Be careful.”
He mouthed these words, and regardless of whether Angelina understood, he continued to recite the opera lines he had just heard:
“Even the stars shining in the night sky are not as… as your…”
Angelina winked at Xia De, and her right hand suddenly moved, her index finger pointing in three different directions. From behind the door, faint breathing could be heard, indicating she was trying to tell Xia De the enemies' positions.
“It seems she’s not entirely useless either.” He thought to himself, unaware of what his mouth was saying. But he knew he couldn't drag this out, otherwise, even if the people inside were foolish, they would realize Xia De was stalling for time.
“Since there are ordinary people present, I can’t rashly use a Ring術士’s power. Even if I do, I can only use something that won’t easily arouse suspicion. It’s a pity that the doctor hasn’t gotten the ‘Heart Crystal’ yet. Although the MI6-issued Luger revolver has six chambers, it can’t fire continuously. At first, I can only use the gun to knock down one person…”
Pondering, Xia De had already made a decision. He held the gun in his right hand and took out four rhode cards from his pocket, holding them between his fingers.
