“Your Highness.”
Xia De looked seriously at the princess in front of him, who was looking at him with a slight blush.
“I want to tell you—”
He suddenly lunged forward, embracing Angelina and entering the room.
But he didn't charge forward; while embracing the sixteen-year-old girl, he pushed off with his feet, and they both turned around. Xia De crossed his hands behind the princess.
Bang!
Whoosh!
The gun in his right hand accurately struck the head of the man cowering in the corner of the right wall. Although Xia De had never practiced shooting, the man was simply too close to Xia De.
The four rhode cards in his left hand flew out. Under Xia De’s deliberate control, the four cards didn't exaggerate by directly slitting the opponent's throat but instead struck the opponent's wrist and the finger on the trigger.
With another bang of a gun, although the trigger was still pulled by the enemy behind the door, the shot, due to the pain, lost its accuracy and hit no one.
“There’s one last one!”
Pressing down the hammer of the Luger revolver with his right thumb, Xia De's left hand, which had been holding Angelina, now, as his body turned, wrapped around Angelina's back, pulling her right hand so that she came to his side after spinning a full circle.
This made it easier to aim and allowed him to block the last enemy's gun barrel.
After turning, he raised his gun to face forward. The third enemy, who hadn't been dealt with immediately, didn't fire back in the short time. Instead, he held a gun to the young maid's head, hiding behind her.
Although the man in the black hat was much larger than the maid, with Xia De's marksmanship, he really didn't have the confidence to hit the enemy with one shot.
Xia De looked at the opponent, pointed his right hand to the side, and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Smoke billowed from the gun muzzle. The man behind the door, clutching his wrist, was shot in the chest. He crashed backward into the wall from the bullet's impact. He raised his gun, still intending to shoot, but his hand didn't grip his gun, which was knocked away by a plate bravely thrown by the maid who was close to him.
Xia De pressed down the hammer for the third time, looked at the man in front of him, and pointed his right hand downwards to the side.
“You’re off, a little more down. Yes, right there.”
Bang!
The man behind the door leaned against the wall, clutching his chest, his head tilted, and slowly fell down.
Xia De was still staring intently at the black-hatted man hiding behind the maid:
“Your Highness, please take your servants and leave this place first.”
Pressing down the hammer, he still looked straight ahead but fired another shot to the right. The corpse trembled. Xia De was preventing the opponent from playing dead.
If everyone else left, then even if Xia De used the power of a Ring術士, there would only be one maid as a witness, which would be easier to handle.
“No, no one can leave, or I'll shoot her dead!”
The man's eyes were wide, and he was breathing heavily, his eyes bloodshot, his face a picture of collapse. Xia De hadn't closed the door when he rushed in with Angelina, and the gunshots had already spread:
“Don't be nervous, friend, maybe we can talk. Look, I don't have any weapons.”
Xia De stared at him intently. To show sincerity, he even released his right hand, letting the revolver fall to the ground. For him, killing people with a gun was the least efficient method.
“Also, throw away the cards on you! I saw it just now! Your cards can kill people!”
“No, I didn't use cards to kill anyone just now.”
Xia De didn't directly deny this point. He reached into his pocket, took out a stack of cards, and handed them to the princess beside him.
“And more!”
The man hiding behind the maid shouted.
He probably just wanted to try, not expecting Xia De to reach into another pocket and hand his backup cards to the princess as well.
In fact, he could only attach the Miracle 【Treasured Possessions】 to one deck of cards; the opponent was really overthinking it.
“And more!”
The man said again when he saw that Xia De indeed had more prepared.
Xia De hesitated, unbuttoned his overcoat, and threw the 【gun of kindness】 tucked at his waist onto the floor.
“This time, I really have nothing left.”
He tried to sound as sincere as possible and said before the other party could refute:
“Let the princess leave here; you can take the two of us as hostages.”
“No, no one can leave.”
The man's gun-holding hand was trembling slightly. Xia De was very worried that he might accidentally pull the trigger of that Glass Pocket Single-Shot Pistol.
“Hm? MI6's standard issue firearm? Are those people who sell military weapons finally in trouble?”
Although Xia De was surprised, he didn't show it. But the blonde maid he was holding hostage was truly nervous. She bit her lip and closed her eyes, her head desperately tilting away from the gun muzzle.
Footsteps were already audible outside the door, and the sound of the opera had stopped after the second gunshot. Xia De knew he couldn't lose:
“Angelina, take your servant and leave.”
Xia De said again, then felt the sixteen-year-old princess stand behind him:
“Mr. Hamilton, I’m a little scared.”
She was completely hidden behind Xia De, pulling at his clothes as she spoke, her voice loud. And, Xia De actually heard a click, similar to a gun safety being disengaged, beneath her voice.
His eyes continued to meet those of the man with the gun:
“Don’t be afraid, I will protect—”
Bang!
A gunshot rang out from behind him, accurately striking the black-hatted man's brow.
The maid shrieked and ran away from the corpse. The man's eyes were wide, and he didn't even have time to leave a last word before his body fell heavily to the ground.
“This…”
Xia De turned to look back. Angelina Cavendish was hiding behind him, a bright smile on her face, holding a golden miniature lady's pistol with smoke rising from its muzzle.
The pistol's trigger seemed to be made of gemstone, and the gun body might have been gold-plated. This highly decorative lady's small pistol could only hold three bullets, including the one already loaded into the barrel, and was a self-defense weapon for women in high society.
Angelina smiled shyly at Xia De, then unladylike lifted her skirt, revealing her black small leather shoes and white long stockings underneath.
The garter on her right side was gone. She put the gun back into the small leather holster hanging on the white lace fabric leg ring on her left side:
“Knight, it’s a good thing you asked for my garter. When I reached into my skirt to get the garter just now, I was able to take the gun out of the holster and hide it in my sleeve.”
She lowered her skirt and looked up at Xia De. Maids were moving and running around, calling out to others. People from outside rushed in, looking in surprise at the messy and tragic scene inside the room.
On the red carpet in the center of the room, sixteen-year-old Angelina Cavendish was smiling up at Xia De. That smile was almost perfectly identical to Galina Cavendish and Leticia Cavendish:
“Knight, quickly tell me, how did you throw those cards as weapons? Oh, that scene just now was truly dashing.”
“I…”
Xia De somewhat bewilderedly took his cards from her hand:
“Not a steam bomb, but a pistol… The Cavendish girls are truly remarkable.”
(Mia running)
Half an hour later, the Opera House was heavily surrounded by police from Leedweich Field and agents from MI6. Several high-power gas lamps were evenly distributed around the Opera House, making the entire Tobesk Grand Opera House seem as if it had suddenly turned from night to day.
Outside the Opera House, royal attendants surrounded a carriage, and inside the carriage sat the two princesses and Xia De.
Leticia, in a fiery red long dress, clutched her forehead, having largely understood the night's events from Xia De's description. They remained there, waiting to leave only after MI6 had finished questioning them about the specific situation.
“So what exactly happened? Was this Gray Gloves acting again?”
Xia De still didn't understand.
“No, no, it wasn’t Gray Gloves.”
Leticia looked very troubled:
“It’s still related to my brother, Sachs Cavendish.”
“Wasn’t he already arrested?”
“But his partisans are still there.”
Angelina said. After Leticia appeared, she had been very well-behaved, as if she feared Leticia.
“Yes, some people’s interests are tied to Sachs Cavendish. Now that I’ve returned to Tobesk, Father’s sentencing of my brother is about to begin, and some people want to make a desperate gamble.”
Leticia sighed:
“Although the three people just now had no special markings and used standard MI6 weapons, there aren’t many people who would be forced to resort to such methods. It will be investigated thoroughly.”
Xia De noticed that Leticia kept referring to her brother by his name.
Angelina hadn't gone out without escorts; however, her escorts weren't with her in the third-floor box but were stationed in other parts of the third floor and downstairs for security. The bloodstains Xia De had seen earlier were the blood of those murdered escorts.
But even if he hadn't appeared, Angelina would not have been in danger. Besides the princess herself carrying a small pistol, there were also a large number of high-ranking Tobesk military officers sitting in the audience downstairs at the Opera House that night, reportedly a collective entertainment event organized by Tobesk's veteran's club.
In fact, at the same time the standoff occurred on the third floor, the bodies of the murdered princess's escorts had already been discovered, so this not-so-rigorous kidnapping attempt was doomed to fail.
Because it involved the royal family and MI6's standard-issue firearms appeared, this matter would be led by MI6 in conjunction with the Leedweich Field police for investigation. Xia De, as a key individual, also had to undergo questioning, but he would find it difficult to explain why he was there tonight.
But fortunately, before Chief Anlos appeared, Angelina proactively suggested that she had invited Xia De to watch the play together that night. Leticia glanced at her, seemingly wanting to say something, but in the end said nothing, instead bending down and moving from beside her sister to Xia De's side opposite her:
“Honestly, tonight is our first meeting in Tobesk, and I specifically chose this dress. I was planning to give you a surprise.”
Leticia’s attire tonight was indeed pretty; Xia De had already complimented her when they first met.
“I don’t think we’ll have time alone tonight.”
She said in front of her sister, her pretty eyes meeting Xia De’s. Her gaze was very similar to Dorothy's, but not entirely identical.
“Xia De, Angelina and I will return directly to Yodel Palace in a moment. I suppose the next time we meet will have to wait until Mother’s birthday party next Wednesday. You must come.”
Saying this, Leticia embraced Xia De, releasing him after a good while.
Xia De smelled Leticia's perfume. It seemed she had made many preparations for her first meeting with Xia De since her return.
“Honestly, to encounter something like this.”
Complaining, Leticia looked at her sister, who appeared very well-behaved:
“Sister Leticia, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t mention this now, but I heard Mr. Hamilton and Lady Jia Lin Na—”
“Oh, that woman.”
Leticia's attitude towards Miss Jialinna was still the same as usual. She shook her head:
“Angelina, really, why did you run all the way to the south of the city to watch an opera so late?”
She adopted the attitude of an older sister, and the little princess immediately dared not speak, but Xia De felt that in her heart, she must have been saying that her sister also ran here so late to meet a man.
“Xia De, Angelina and I have a very good relationship; you can trust her.”
Leticia then said to Xia De, but without explaining the underlying meaning:
“In the future, if you can’t find me, finding Angelina is also the same.”
“Yes, Mr. Hamilton, I will do my best to help you.”
The sixteen-year-old princess looked up and said with a smile to Xia De.
Speaking voices from outside indicated that Mr. Anlos had arrived and was questioning the guards Leticia brought and the police who had arrived early about the situation. Xia De then remembered something and took out the garter from his pocket:
“Your Highness Angelina, I truly apologize for my offense just now. Here, this is yours.”
Although taking out the garter in front of Leticia wasn't ideal, taking it home would be even worse. Moreover, Xia De didn't want Angelina to think he was a garter collector.
