“Mr. Watson, I never thought cider could taste like this.”
Mr. Bernhardt raised his glass, took a sip of the drink, and then narrowed his eyes, showing an expression of enjoyment: “Excellent, truly excellent. Mr. Watson, may I ask which vineyard produced this fruit wine? I must visit them.”
“I can’t tell you that, but I promise, this bottle of wine is just as delicious as this bottle of cider.”
Xia De was very satisfied with the result: “Send this bottle of wine to the Princess. Tell her it’s a gift from a friend, red wine brewed in a vineyard in the New World. Compared to the produce of White River Valley Vineyard, this bottle of wine should be more suitable as a gift.”
He reached into his pocket, rummaged around, and pulled out two more bottles: “Three bottles should be enough.”
“You’ve helped me again this time, Mr. Watson. Please be sure to dine at my manor tonight.”
Mr. Bernhardt said, then stood up, instructed a servant to take the wine bottles, and left the dining room again.
This time, Mr. Bernhardt was gone for forty minutes. During this period, lunch had already ended, and Xia De sat at the table, holding a teacup and reading today’s newspaper. Although his carson rick was very poor, the text comprehension allowed him to read the newspaper without any difficulty.
The lead story on the front page of the local newspaper was the Princess’s visit to Huntington City. The following pages covered the City Hall’s announcement of financial reforms, which reportedly aimed to cut civil servant positions and replace them with temporary contract workers. The third page featured news about the local winter horse racing competition. As for the advertising section, like newspapers in the North Country, there were strange inventions seeking investment, such as “human stretchers” and “steam-powered retractable hangers,” or newly opened local shops soliciting business.
Xia De even saw his fellow Detectives placing advertisements in the newspaper, promising low fees. Outsiders had a very poor impression of these “rule-breaking” individuals; malicious price reductions would only make business difficult for everyone.
“However, the Detectives in Huntington seem to be doing quite well; they can afford such large ad spaces.”
Just as Xia De was copying the address of “York Little Bee Pastry Shop” into his notebook, thinking of bringing some Southern pastries for Dorothy and Luvia, Mr. Bernhardt finally returned, still looking very troubled, even more so than before.
A servant pulled out a chair for the Viscount. After Mr. Bernhardt sat down, he clasped his hands together and hesitantly asked Xia De, who was considering whether to bring a pastry for his cat:
“Mr. Watson, if the Princess wants to see you, would you mind meeting Princess Margaret?”
“Huh?”
Xia De looked up from his notebook in surprise, staring at him: “The Princess wants to see me?”
He realized his voice was a bit loud, so he lowered it and pointed to himself: “I apologize, Mr. Bernhardt, I cannot be seen by the Princess in this place. You know, in Tobesk’s social circles, I will definitely run into the Princess. I can’t let her see my face beforehand. Even if I’ve applied some special cosmetics now and she couldn’t possibly recognize me, I can’t take the risk.”
“What if we temporarily change your appearance even further? Make you even more different.”
Mr. Bernhardt was very apologetic: “I know I shouldn’t force you to help, but just now the Princess tasted one of those three bottles of red wine and, like me, praised your red wine greatly, and then she wanted to see you. I’m truly sorry, but if it’s really not—”
“Wait a moment.”
Xia De said, frowning.
The whisper murmured in his ear. Xia De resisted the urge to nod and said in his heart: “If I can indeed further change my appearance based on the Witch’s Eyeshadow, familiarizing myself with the Princess beforehand should also help with my plans in Tobesk.”
Thinking carefully, this was a rare good opportunity. With Mr. Bernhardt’s introduction, the Princess’s guard at this moment would definitely be lower than when facing a foreign knight. And taking advantage of this opportunity, Xia De would have a chance to probe her personality and temperament.
“However, is my luck really this good? The choice given by that golden rabbit leg is truly valuable. How many rabbits will I dream of tonight?”
While worrying about his sleep quality, he also remembered one more thing to ask:
“Mr. Bernhardt, do you know if the Anjou Royal Family also has Ring術士?”
The middle-aged Vampire was somewhat surprised, but perhaps not that surprised: “Of course I know. Wait, you mean the current Ring術士 of the Anjou Family is her? I thought it was… Cerces’s correspondence student? Don’t worry, I won’t say anything.
“If the other party is a Ring術士, is it possible for your disguise to be seen through by her?”
Mr. Bernhardt immediately shook his head: “Don’t worry, this is a unique illusion of Vampires, a superposition of racial talent and Miracle. I didn’t use it in Middelsburg because once this talent is discovered by a local High-Ring Sorcerer, they can immediately identify my identity. But I bet Princess Margaret is definitely not a High-Ring Sorcerer, so you don’t need to worry. I am very confident in my racial talent.”
Xia De nodded, hesitated, and put away his notebook: “Alright then, let’s go meet the Princess.”
“Mr. Watson, thank you for your help. I’m truly sorry about this matter. But please rest assured, Princess Margaret is a very easy-going person, without too many bad habits of nobles.”
As he spoke, he reached out and brushed Xia De’s face. Xia De then took out his mirror and found that his appearance had changed slightly again. He looked no different from before, but upon closer recollection, they seemed to be two different faces.
On the third floor of the White King Club, rooms were reserved for the club’s senior members, and the Princess, who was preparing to take a steam airship from the local area to Tobesk, was waiting in the room to meet guests.
Mr. Bernhardt spoke with the guards outside the door in the corridor. Then, the guards knocked on the door and explained the guests’ identities to the maid who opened it. Soon, Xia De and Armand Bernhardt were granted permission to enter. And when Xia De walked into the room, the Witch detection badge hanging on his chest finally began to heat up.
This indicated that the Princess who had taken the “Difference Engine” data from Xia De’s hand in Middelsburg last time was Margaret Anjou.
The high-end members’ lounge was even more luxurious than a high-end room in a typical hotel; the red carpet on the floor seemed to be pure wool. Only half of the window curtains in the room were drawn, and Margaret Anjou was sitting on a single sofa with her back to that window.
She looked to be about the same age as Xia De’s body, with the Anjou Royal Family’s characteristic light golden hair, and her eyes were a somewhat faded light blue, which, in Xia De’s opinion, were not as deep and expressive as Dr. Schneider’s blue eyes.
Because it was just daily life, she was not wearing a crown on her head, but her long dress attire still appeared elegant and noble. Her eyes were long and narrow, and her eyebrows were even prettier than the color of her hair. Her light golden long hair was tied together, falling over her right shoulder. What impressed Xia De the most was her height.
Roughly estimated, she was only slightly shorter than Xia De. The Outsider had only seen such height on a true Great Witch.
She was not as youthful and vibrant as seventeen-year-old Iluna, not as gentle and intellectual as the recently renowned Dorothy, and certainly not as reserved yet passionate as Leia, who was also a Princess. Her temperament conformed more to the definition of a normal “Princess”; she was the kind of lady who, with one glance, could be associated with the word “Princess.”
There was a faint scent of incense in the room. When Xia De and Mr. Bernhardt entered, the Princess was holding a carson rick book, titled “Northern Pearl: The History of Tobesk.” On the coffee table, besides a porcelain teacup and some document bags, there were also three red wine bottles and a glass goblet.
The maid led the two gentlemen to the sofa. After receiving permission, they sat down on the long sofa. Although it was a long sofa, they both chose to sit away from the Princess, and ultimately, Mr. Bernhardt was the one closer to the Princess.
“Viscount Bernhardt, is this the vineyard owner you spoke of?”
In carson rick, with its very complicated but cultured grammar, she asked this question. Margaret Anjou’s eyes were appraising Xia De, and even though Xia De had changed his appearance, due to the blessing of countless souls, his extremely amiable demeanor immediately earned him some goodwill from the foreign Princess.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Armand Bernhardt respectfully replied, holding his hat, and introduced: “This is Mr. Sherlock Holmes, who runs his own vineyard in the New World. He is originally from Delarion and has traveled to many places.”
The name “John Watson” was not used because Watson’s name was used by Xia De as his name during his Ring術士 adventures, and it was best not to associate it with this ordinary world. “Sherlock Holmes” was the name Xia De signed when he joined MI6 for convenience in collecting his salary (Chapter 168); there was no possibility of it being leaked, and even if it were, it would not be easily linked.
“Hello.”
The young Princess smiled and nodded slightly at Xia De, who said: “Good afternoon, Your Highness. It is an honor to be granted an audience with you. I wonder, are you satisfied with the red wine I provided?”
He deliberately used his very clumsy carson rick; this was a small trick to increase goodwill.
Margaret Anjou, with an elegant smile, sat on the single sofa looking at Xia De, who held his hat and bowed slightly. This was the Outsider’s first meeting with the Southern Princess, and in Xia De’s view, the Princesses of this world were nothing like those in fairy tales.
They were all so independent, intelligent, and shrewd. Most of them did not need their Princes, whether it was Leia, who had an inexplicable ambition for power, or Margaret Anjou, who tried to win over an ace spy; they were all more outstanding than the Princes in stories.
