Miss Jialinna gave a brief introduction, then saw Xia De still looking at her.
"Is something wrong?"
The Duchess asked curiously.
"Just a family tutor and a private doctor? I thought Great Witches all had very prominent secular identities."
Xia De listed:
"You are a Duchess with a fief in Delarion, the Aurora Family's maritime business is world-renowned, and the Cassandra Auction House is almost universally known in the Old Continent. That Miss Silvia, is she just a royal family tutor? Then how does she cover her daily expenses? Does the Council also reimburse Witches for their research and study expenses?"
Miss Jialinna was amused by Xia De:
"Silvia is a commoner. Her teacher, the Witch who passed away three years ago due to an experimental accident, left her a substantial inheritance, enough to cover nearly ten years of expenses. As for the future, adults are responsible for themselves; the Council does not provide living expenses."
Xia De was very curious about this Great Witch who was at the end of the Council, but the foreign delegation's visit would not be for at least half a month. As for the princess he met in Mi Fort who also possessed Witch power, Miss Jialinna had investigated but found nothing:
"We have no right to question others' followers. Oh, His Excellency the Speaker does have that right. But that princess cannot be Silvia's apprentice. Silvia is still too young, and before she masters her own power, the Speaker forbids her from having apprentices. Besides, do you think Ring術士 with spatial talent who are also compatible with Witch power are so easy to find?"
The Red-haired Duchess spoke before Xia De could:
"Of course, you don't count. Besides, you also said that the Anjou Family princess has very little Witch power. I think Silvia merely developed her into a follower. As for whether there's any deeper meaning to this, I don't know for now."
As she spoke, she gestured for Xia De to follow her to the stables to pick out a few horses. Miss Jialinna had once said she would teach Xia De how to ride, and with the frost descent month approaching, this year would be his last chance if he didn't learn soon.
Of course, Xia De not only wanted to learn to ride from the Duchess but also planned to learn simple knitting from Tifa. To complete this week's gift box task, he intended to knit a scarf himself. If he failed, or couldn't finish it within a week, he would sew the finished product into a cat bed; perhaps the cat would like it.
The time came to Friday, officially entering the first day of the frost descent month, the second to last month of the year.
The start of a new month naturally brought many things to handle, such as steam bills, gas bills, taxes, and newspaper advertising fees, and so on.
When Xia De went to the "City Waste Management Center" in Tobesk West District to collect his MI6 salary and process reasonable expense reimbursements, Mr. Johnson, who was in charge of receiving Xia De, also revealed the news of Margaret Anjou's impending visit.
Of course, he knew far less than Miss Jialinna, having only heard that Xia De would be entrusted with an important task.
Xia De spent the entire Friday morning running around the City. In the afternoon, he went to Coldwater Port, combining the legends he heard from Sister Devlin to ask Mr. Edmund about stories concerning Gods and Saints. Of course, Xia De also didn't forget that the Knowledge of Time Perception left by the Old God Grey-Robed Sage might now be found at Saint Byron's, Apner Library, and the Guiding Light Hermitage. Therefore, he entrusted Mr. Edmund to search for information about Grey-Robed Sage's followers and Time Perception in the Hermit Order.
After handling these matters, Xia De had no other pressing concerns until the next time key opened.
He returned home with this thought, and then encountered a long-unseen client.
Although Xia De was just an ordinary Detective, an old man named Hank, who lived in Tobesk South District and saw the Detective advertisement in the newspaper, wanted to commission Xia De to investigate a haunting in his home.
Mr. Hank was a retired accountant who used to handle minor financial accounting work at the City Hall. For a week, every night as soon as he closed his eyes, he could hear faint breathing and hoarse, indistinguishable whispers in his ears. After he could no longer endure it, he decided to find a Detective to resolve it:
"I always thought insomnia was just a mental illness for idle people, but now I know, it's truly tormenting."
Old Mr. Hank's mental state was very exhausted.
The appearance of strange sounds in his ears did not mean he was becoming a Ring術士; Xia De was certain of this. If the haunting was real, Xia De would very much like to introduce him to Priest Augustus, because he only handles cases involving living people; if the haunting was fake, then it would be necessary to pull out Dr. Schneider's business card, as only a Psychologist could treat such a problem.
Of course, to first determine what was happening, Xia De visited Mr. Hank's home on Friday evening and indeed discovered a lingering soul in the old man's house.
The entity wasn't even an evil spirit; it would disappear in a few weeks even if left alone. Using the ability of Soul Echo, Xia De gained partial memories of the soul by touching it and thus learned that the soul was Mr. Hank's good friend in life. After his death, he worried that the elderly Mr. Hank, living alone, would die alone at home like him, with no one to collect his body, which is why he appeared there.
"So, even in this era, there are problems with elderly people living alone."
Xia De in the bedroom looked at old Mr. Hank, who was preparing tea for him in the kitchen, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
The rest was much simpler. Xia De inquired about more detailed information regarding the so-called "haunting" incident, then pretended to investigate the house, specifically asking Mr. Hank if he had recently visited a cemetery, and obtained the identities of old Mr. Hank's acquaintances before leaving.
"Detective, do you really think this is... a haunting?"
The old man had an expression of wanting to ask but not daring to.
"It's not certain yet, but I really think you should go to Dawn Church for prayer. At least it can make you feel better."
On Saturday morning, Xia De, as planned, visited Mr. Hank's acquaintances one by one, and then was "surprised" to find that Mr. Kant, who lived in the University District of Tobesk City, had died in his home.
Because the weather had recently turned cold and Mr. Kant lived alone, his neighbors hadn't discovered that the old man had passed away. It was Hamilton Detective's keen-nosed cat that suddenly cried out when Hamilton Detective was about to give up knocking, and the clever, brave, and affordable Hamilton Detective then realized there might be a problem in the house.
The police from Leedweich Field quickly arrived, and Xia De's client, Mr. Hank, also came upon hearing the news. He couldn't enter the apartment nor see the body. The police, out of respect for "Hamilton of Leijiede," only allowed Mr. Hank to understand some details of the case.
Xia De's client, pale-faced, roughly guessed the truth of the haunting in his home. His chapped lips trembled slightly as he left with Xia De:
"Crushed to death by a collapsed bookshelf at home, his body buried in a pile of books—that's truly unfortunate."
He murmured to himself, and Xia De offered advice again:
"Mr. Hank, I think this commission is probably over. If you need it, you can seek help at Dawn Church; the clergy there are very professional."
Xia De still remembered he was nominally a Dawn believer, and he awkwardly drew the holy emblem on his chest.
Mr. Hank sighed and nodded:
"Detective, I'll transfer the remaining payment to you tomorrow. I really didn't expect something like this... Do you think, in this world, there are really ghosts?"
Mr. Hank said softly, deeply affected by the death of his friend. The old man, of course, was skeptical about the existence of ghosts, otherwise he wouldn't have commissioned Xia De in the first place. But now, seeing the body and recalling his nightly experiences, the belief he had always held finally wavered.
"I don't know either."
Xia De shook his head slightly, and a light laugh immediately echoed in his ears, but he ignored it.
Although the long-awaited commission didn't earn Xia De too many pounds, at least the story was quite good. That afternoon, during the meeting at Dr. Schneider's, Xia De recounted the case to Dorothy.
Since Priest Augustus probably wouldn't be back until tomorrow, there were still only four people at the meeting today.
Dorothy and Luvia sat on the long sofa, while Xia De and Dr. Schneider sat on the short sofas on either side. Xia De wasn't sure if Dorothy had privately spoken to Luvia, but at least today they seemed to be getting along harmoniously.
Indeed, when the study session ended with Dr. Schneider repeatedly emphasizing the importance of next month's promotion exam, the blonde Writer and the purple-eyed Diviner even went shopping for clothes in the City together. Winter was approaching, and proper ladies needed to consider their winter attire in advance. In the past, Luvia and Dorothy often shopped for clothes together, but ever since what happened last Saturday, every time they appeared together, Xia De's guilt and worry would surge forth.
Luvia had long known about Xia De's greed and had accepted this fact. But how Dorothy and Leia truly felt, and what their attitude towards Luvia was, Xia De wanted to figure out as soon as possible.
But at least this Saturday, Xia De uncharacteristically couldn't be with Dorothy. He had originally wanted to ask about the next step in Saturday evening's lesson plan. Advancing to Four Ring, the Ling Rune of 【Power】 had become the current key. But at least obtaining this Ling Rune was not difficult, because almost two-thirds of Ring術士 possessed this Ling Rune. 【Power】 could be associated with a large number of Miracles, just like the 【Heaton Seal】 in Xia De's hand.
