Bidding farewell to old John, who seemed to be at leisure every day, Xia De hurriedly took a carriage with gifts and rushed to Feather Pen Street. When he met Dorothy, Luvia had already arrived.
Dorothy was attending Yodel Palace as a guest of the banquet, so she was wearing a formal ball gown. This sky-blue long dress, which matched her golden long hair, was very pretty. Luvia was attending Yodel Palace as an employee of the Prophet Association, so she was wearing the Prophet Association's relatively simple black and silver-edged lady's clerical uniform dress.
After Xia De praised how pretty they looked, the two happy ladies asked Xia De to wait in the living room for a while, as they still needed some time to tidy up their attire in the bedroom.
So Xia De went to the kitchen to make tea for himself and sat on the sofa to wait. Compared to his visit in the morning, Dorothy's apartment looked even messier. Clothes, sashes, and shoes were scattered everywhere, and the coffee table was mostly occupied by a makeup box with a mirror.
Since he had nothing to do, he decided to formally learn Mind Blast. Learning this Miracle did not require complex ritual materials, only obtaining a psychic crystal, and then...
Xia De pinched the ring on his right index finger with his left hand, closed his eyes, and gently rotated it, letting his fingertips rub against the psychic crystal on it.
At the same time, he whispered a strangely pronounced incantation, using his mental power to perceive the scene in front of him in the darkness.
Suddenly, he frowned, and his spiritual energy surged towards his right index finger. Xia De stretched out his finger and pointed forward, and an invisible mental force, amplified by the ring, entered the air.
“Old John really didn't lie to me.”
He smiled and opened his eyes, examining the ornament on his finger. Only by using the Miracle could he perceive how smoothly his spiritual energy flowed through this ring:
“Alchemy really can make a lot of money.”
Muttering to himself, he reached for the teacup he had just placed on the coffee table, then comfortably leaned back on the sofa.
Holding the teacup, he looked around, his ears picking up the whispered opinions of the blonde Writer and the brown-haired female Prophet about shoe styles and stocking patterns.
They thought Xia De couldn't hear them, but Echoes of the Past had the passive effect of enhancing hearing, and coupled with his improved physical qualities, Xia De could hear such subtle sounds.
“Speaking of Echoes of the Past, I wonder what sounds I would hear if I used this Miracle here...”
Because he was too bored, Xia De, holding his teacup, suddenly had this idea. He knew, of course, that eavesdropping in someone else's home was extremely impolite, and that such behavior was close to a crime.
“Her” laughter came from beside his ear, probably mocking Xia De's idea.
“You're right, it's better not to be so impolite.”
The Outsider thought to himself, shifting his weight back and leaning fully against the soft sofa. Dorothy's sofa was softer than the one Sparrow Detective left behind; Mia would probably like the sofa here.
Xia De took a sip of tea, then heard the two ladies in the bedroom, who had shifted their topic from choosing stockings to choosing the waist cincher for their dresses, and from that, began discussing some content unsuitable for Xia De to hear.
“Hmm... I'll still use Echoes of the Past to listen to past sounds.”
So, in order not to hear the current sounds, Xia De on the sofa still decided to use that very impolite Miracle.
He took another sip of tea, activated the Miracle, and then heard Dorothy's very clear voice:
“Luvia, after you're done with the rhode cards, you must dance with me.”
Dorothy and Luvia had always had a good relationship, and this conversation must have happened not long ago, which meant that while Xia De's actions were impolite, they weren't an invasion of privacy.
He felt relieved, took another small sip of tea, and then came Luvia's voice:
“Of course, no problem. It's just a shame that I finally have the chance to attend such a banquet, but I can't move around freely like you. Dorothy, you're really lucky to have met Princess Angelina through a Detective story.”
Although Dorothy's invitation was given by Leia, it was in the name of the little princess. Hearing this, Xia De couldn't help but wonder about the relationship between Princess Angelina and Leia. A few days ago at the Opera House, Angelina Cavendish was clearly somewhat afraid of Leia.
Luvia continued to speak:
“Dorothy, this dress of yours is really nice.”
“Oh, this one? This is a dress custom-made by Mrs. Rhine. Do you know how much gold this dress is worth?”
Dorothy's voice didn't state a number; she probably gestured with her hand.
“But this price is still acceptable, this dress is really pretty.”
Luvia continued to praise, and Xia De also nodded, holding his teacup. The sky-blue dress he had just seen was indeed pretty.
Luvia spoke again:
“However...”
She hesitated.
“What's wrong?”
Dorothy asked curiously, and Xia De heard her rustling through clothes hangers.
“How much did you pad? How is it so big?”
“Cough, cough!”
Xia De on the sofa coughed violently. He trembled as he placed the teacup on the coffee table, stroking his chest and bowing his head, his whole body shaking with discomfort because the tea had gone down his windpipe.
“Xia De, what's wrong?”
Hearing the sound from outside, the two ladies in the room immediately asked.
“Nothing, cough, cough, nothing, I choked.”
He stood up, coughing violently:
“May I use the washroom?”
Then he hurried towards the washroom, his coughing along the way indicating that he had indeed choked.
“Seriously, how can he be so careless?”
Dorothy in the bedroom complained, while Xia De learned a universally applicable simple truth from this incident—
Eavesdropping on others' conversations always comes with a price.
“Cough, cough!”
Listening to the laughter beside his ear, he leaned on the washroom sink, patting his chest. But honestly, Xia De was still very curious about the next sentence of that conversation, and how Dorothy had answered.
The girls finished tidying up after another half an hour. Xia De left a step earlier, found an unoccupied four-wheeled rental carriage at the intersection of Feather Pen Street and Seminary Boulevard, asked the coachman to wait at the entrance of Building B, No. 221 Feather Pen Street, and then the three of them went to Yodel Palace together.
Luvia had to meet up with the others from the Association, so she got off the carriage early at the entrance of the Prophet Association. Xia De jumped off the carriage first, then, under the gaze of Dorothy who leaned out of the carriage window, extended his hand to Luvia, helping her alight from the carriage.
“Then we'll see you at the banquet later!”
Luvia smiled and waved to Xia De and Dorothy. The black iron gas street lamps beside her made the made-up girl look even more radiant than usual.
The gas street lamps on Silver Cross Avenue had a uniform style. At the top of the black lamp posts, the iron art metal gas lamp casings, curved into complex patterns, were at varying heights. Three gas lamp glass covers were enclosed within the iron frame, and the interior of the gas lamp was connected to the gas pipeline of the lamp post. Although they couldn't compare to the designs of gas lamps in noble houses, their relatively simple and unadorned appearance did not diminish the reputation of the central street of Steam City at all.
After bidding farewell to Luvia, Xia De and Dorothy couldn't continue by carriage either, because in the middle section of Silver Cross Avenue, where gas street lamps were gradually lighting up, to prevent carriage congestion, private carriages could proceed, but rental carriages were not allowed to continue.
So Xia De and Dorothy had to get off the carriage early. There were quite a few guests like them, after all, not every noble had a private carriage.
Just as he paid the fare, Xia De heard someone calling his name.
A four-wheeled carriage with a black carriage slowly stopped by the street, and Chief Anlos leaned out of the window;
“Good afternoon, Xia De. Come on up, let's go in together.”
Chief Anlos had also styled his hair today and was wearing a formal suit, but the style was relatively simple and without much decoration. If one didn't know his identity, they would absolutely not connect this ordinary-looking, unremarkable man with the Chief of MI6.
“Is it convenient?”
“What's inconvenient? Oh, this Lady is...”
“My companion for tonight, Miss Dorothy Louisa.”
Xia De introduced, and Chief Anlos suddenly understood:
“I know that name, The Lady who serializes Detective stories in the Steam Bird Daily, your stories are very popular in our department too. Oh, I knew it, Hamilton Detective, is Xia De!”
“Dorothy, this is my friend, Mr. Dak Anlos, who works in logistics management in the Royal Army.”
Xia De briefly introduced, winking at Chief Anlos, meaning he hadn't revealed his identity.
Chief Anlos smiled and nodded:
“Come on up, I'll take you in. Entering Yodel Palace now requires surrendering weapons, and even a simple body search, which is too troublesome. I'll take you in, so you won't need to be offended by those rude servants.”
Besides Mr. Anlos, there was also a Noblewoman in the carriage, roughly his age and slightly plump. This should be Chief Anlos's companion, but not Mrs. Anlos. Xia De heard that his superior was still unmarried.
“So do I need to surrender my weapon?”
The careful body search was probably due to Prince Sachs's recent incident of breaking in with a gun. Xia De's normal revolver could turn into a toy, but the gun of kindness was still on him.
“No, you don't have to. I'm also carrying a weapon, and we can all vouch for your loyalty.”
Chief Anlos said, sitting beside his companion, facing Xia De, and slightly lowering his voice:
“The Opera House incident from last Saturday has been closed. Her Royal Highness Angelina spoke highly of you and praised you greatly in front of His Majesty and the Queen. If you're lucky tonight, you might even get another chance to be summoned by His Majesty.”
“That would truly be my honor.”
Although he said so, Xia De had no interest in meeting Larus III.
Compared to the uninteresting middle-aged man, Xia De was more interested in the girl beside him and rhode cards.
