The uniformed Royal Guards blocked the steps leading to the upper seats of the south grandstand, and even amidst the surrounding clamor, they appeared unperturbed.
In this era of transition between old and new, the equipment of the Royal Guards was quite interesting. Firearms were naturally present, but in addition, each man wore heavy armor, carried a long spear, and had a sharp longsword at his waist.
Xia De heard that sometimes MI6 agents also needed to temporarily act as Royal Guards, and he sincerely hoped he wouldn't encounter such a mission; that gear looked incredibly heavy.
Xia De approached with the cat, and after the loyal guards inquired about his identity and origin, one of them walked upwards, stopping three rows of seats away from the Noblewoman, and informed the maid of the visitor's identity.
At this point, a small number of people had already noticed Xia De's arrival, so before that guard returned, Queen Diana, Miss Jialinna, and Tifa, who was behind Miss Jialinna, also shifted their gaze from the racetrack to Xia De.
Queen Diana, wearing a silver openwork crown inlaid with rubies, held a fan made of colorful feathers today. She held the fan in front of her mouth, tilted her head, and whispered something to Miss Jialinna, causing the nearby women to laugh.
Xia De naturally received permission to continue upwards. He tidied his clothes and soon arrived at the upper level of the sunshade.
Miss Jialinna wanted to get up and speak with Xia De elsewhere, but she was stopped by the Queen, who, despite being over forty, still possessed youthful vitality:
“Let the Knight sit directly over here,” she commanded.
Thus, Xia De, who had originally only wanted to broaden his horizons and inquire about sun-related items, found himself, in a daze, sitting to Miss Jialinna’s right.
To his right were empty seats, and further right was another Noblewoman who appeared to be in her thirties, reportedly the daughter of a certain Duke. To Miss Jialinna’s left was Queen Diana, who looked at Xia De with great interest:
“Knight Hamilton, long time no see, good day. Do you have anything important to discuss with our Duchess?”
She affectionately placed her hand on Miss Jialinna’s shoulder, and the Witch remained expressionless.
“Good day, Your Highness, good day, Miss Jialinna. I was cleaning up my house recently, and thanks to Miss Jialinna’s help, I specially brought wine today to visit her at the manor to express my gratitude. It was the manor's butler who told me Miss Jialinna was here; I hope my visit isn’t too presumptuous.”
As he spoke, Xia De reached into the inner pocket of his overcoat. After his hand paused for two seconds, under Queen Diana's interested gaze, he pulled out two wilted roses. His pinky, ring, and middle fingers held them, while his thumb and index finger clasped the two pretty flowers.
Because he couldn't see the details inside his pocket, the two flowers he pulled out were one red and one white, not entirely identical:
“For two pretty ladies,” he said with a smile, and the Red-haired Duchess’s face finally broke into a smile:
“Knight, this is the first time you’ve brought me flowers. Although they don’t look fresh, they’re still nice.”
Although the Queen's status was higher, Miss Jialinna, as the elder, still chose the red rose first, while Queen Diana took the white rose.
Both ladies seemed very pleased, and Xia De also smiled as he lowered his hand. His gesture just now was awkward because nestled between his pinky, ring, and middle fingers was a small flower-shaped pendant toy.
Now, as he lowered his hand, with a slight brush against the inside of his coat, another red rose appeared.
Xia De discreetly reached his hand behind him, passing the flower through the gap in the seat to the back. On the surface, he continued to converse with the Queen with a polite smile.
Standing behind him was Tifa. The maid had been observing the playful banter between the Queen and Miss Jialinna when she caught sight of a flower slowly emerging from below. It was Xia De’s hand, his finger even hooked slightly, signaling Tifa to take the flower.
The maid’s dark eyes swept towards Xia De, who was speaking with the Queen; if she hadn't seen the small movement of his hand, no one would have guessed that he had handed out that flower.
She looked left and right, then quickly bent down to take the flower from Xia De’s hand. Her left hand was behind her back, slowly twirling the stem, a smile she tried hard to control appearing on her pale face.
“Knight, I’ve been hearing my daughter speak of you often lately,” Queen Diana said, her eyes already looking back at the horses running on the track. Xia De’s heart skipped a beat, and just as he was about to explain his relationship with Leia, he heard Miss Jialinna interject:
“What has little Angelina been saying about Xia De?”
“Angelina has been complaining to me recently that she has invited Knight Hamilton to her salon multiple times, but Sir Knight always finds an excuse to decline.”
This was somewhat unfair to Xia De; aside from Angelina always mentioning inviting him whenever he met Leia, he had never received any written invitation. Moreover, he was truly very busy this autumn; there were simply too many things happening in Middlesburg.
“I have a lot of Detective commissions, and I’ve recently taken on a big case. The commission left by Uncle Sparrow also needs to be concluded,” Xia De said apologetically, wondering why Angelina always mentioned him:
“Of course, I still wish to express my apologies, and I will not refuse Her Royal Highness Princess’s next invitation.”
“Angelina will probably be very happy. Speaking of which, Mr. Hamilton, you are not young anymore, and I remember you are not yet married? Oh, then you should participate in more such events. I imagine a handsome and excellent gentleman like you would be very popular among the ladies in the capital.”
This topic drew the interested participation of the surrounding Noblewoman. Only Miss Jialinna gave the Queen a strange look; almost everyone had by now heard the absurd rumor that Xia De was her “lover.”
“There’s no rush to marry; I’ve even heard of nobles here who don’t marry until their thirties,” Xia De said while teasing Mia. Although Mia was a bit anxious about the unfamiliar environment, as long as Xia De was by her side, it wouldn’t be scared.
“Those are just a few examples…” The Queen suddenly smiled, then turned to ask Xia De:
“Knight, can you ride a horse?”
“Of course…” Xia De wanted to shake his head.
“He can.” Miss Jialinna finished his sentence for him, then, to Xia De’s astonished gaze, took on the responsibility for what was to come:
“Why don’t we let Xia De go down and ride a lap?”
The Witch said, not sounding like she was joking, as she had already turned to her maid:
“Tifa, take Xia De to choose a horse. I hope he can select a suitable mount.”
As she spoke, she “snatched” Mia from Xia De’s arms and then gave him a meaningful look.
“Yes, Miss,” Tifa said softly, while Madame Lemeir, who was sitting in the front row, also stood up and arranged for servants to accompany them to choose a horse.
“This is truly interesting; why don’t we add some stakes?” Queen Diana said:
“Knight, if you can win the top three in the next round, this fan is yours. As a thank you for that pretty white rose.”
That feather fan was likely ivory-boned, and the pendant was a purple gem. Roughly estimated, its value would not be less than three digits, equivalent to a special-rule rhode cards.
“That’s a good idea, Xia De. If you can cross the finish line in the top three…” The Witch wiggled a finger:
“This ring is yours.”
On her hand was a golden ring, with an extremely faint trace of the Enlightenment Element, so subtle that no one but Xia De could detect it. This should be some kind of alchemy item, though its specific function was unknown.
“Alright, ladies, please look forward to my performance.”
Xia De, who couldn't ride a horse at all, stood up with feigned composure and followed Tifa and the Lemeir family’s servants downwards, preparing to go to the stables to choose a horse.
“It’s okay, no need to be nervous.” The Lemeir family’s maid walked in front, Xia De in the middle, and Tifa slightly behind. She spoke in a very soft voice into Xia De’s ear, clearly understanding the Witch’s intention:
“Her Royal Highness Angelina is a pawn King Larus III intends to use for a political marriage. The Queen is probing your relationship, and to prevent you from saying the wrong thing, or even exposing your relationship with Her Royal Highness Leia, Miss Jialinna suggested you temporarily leave.”
“But I really can’t ride a horse,” he said softly, pretending to observe the people in the opposite stands.
Last time, Tifa only taught him how to mount a horse and maintain the correct posture while on it; he truly couldn't ride.
“It’s alright, please take this.” Tifa subtly slipped a metal charm into Xia De’s hand:
“Hold this, it will make animals docile, at least it won’t let you fall off.”
“And then?”
“Remember the riding tips I taught you last time.”
“That was just the theoretical part.”
“Yes, that’s enough. Trained racehorses won’t make it difficult for you.”
Tifa’s voice paused:
“I’ll tamper with the hoof of another horse with a delayed 【Limping Curse】; you won’t be last, at least.”
But Xia De was still uneasy; losing to a limping horse seemed even more embarrassing.
Next was to go to the rather smelly stable to choose a horse that could serve as a mount. Given that Xia De couldn't ride, Tifa chose a docile, chestnut-colored Delarion Highland horse for him.
It was a mare, and as Xia De approached it, it was lowering its head to eat fodder. When Xia De used the charm to pat it, the horse merely glanced at him, as if blaming Xia De for disturbing its meal, but had no other reaction.
Of course, Xia De would have preferred a horse the color of Mia. But in this world, there were no horses as brilliantly orange as the sun.
“I wonder if I can find a relic ring in the future that can make Mia bigger; riding a giant cat seems pretty good too. That cat is very brave when facing animals smaller than itself, or of similar size, and its own kind.”
Xia De thought about random things, watching nervously as the Lemeir family’s maid and the stableman conversed.
