“Yes, very satisfied. I must admit, this is the most satisfying wine I have ever tasted. Is the New World really so suitable for vineyards?”
She looked at Xia De inquisitively, and Xia De smiled as he spoke of his business secrets:
“Yes, we have the best black soil, the best inherited fertilizer ‘Golden Kompost,’ the best sunlight conditions, the most diligent warehouse orange cat, and cheap labor. Your Highness, I bet our wine is the best on the entire continent!”
In reality, the grapes for the wine were the leftover, imperfect ones from Jialinna’s estate that she couldn’t consume. Xia De had heard Tifa mention them and asked for them to make wine to prevent waste.
Princess Margaret showed an understanding smile at Xia De’s “self-praise”:
“Mr. Holmes, are you interested in providing wine for the nobles of Weilandale City? I can offer you some small tax benefits.”
She said, pinching her fingers. Xia De’s gaze swept across her red fingernails, and he answered smoothly, according to the “script” he had rehearsed with Bernhardt:
“My apologies, Your Highness, my winery’s annual output is not much. We have fixed partners in Coldwater Port and Middelburg in the Delarion region.”
“That is truly a pity.”
The Princess said, though no expression of regret could be seen on her face. Instead, because she was facing away from the window, the sunlight made the rings on her fingers, casually resting on the sofa armrest, sparkle, and also made her slender, fair neck look very alluring:
“I’m not a Vampire, what am I thinking?”
Xia De thought to himself amidst “her” laughter.
Princess Margaret continued:
“I heard you are friends with Viscount Bernhardt? You specifically brought some red wine for him to taste. I wonder, how much stock do you still have?”
This was her true purpose. Giving this “high-end wine” provided by Xia De to the Delarion nobles would definitely be the best private gift.
“The quantity of wine?”
Xia De made a difficult expression, then glanced at Bernhardt, who nodded slightly.
This was acting, indicating that the two were communicating about this matter.
“Your Highness, I am honored that you like the red wine produced by our winery. However, this time I came to Huntington as a friend, so I didn’t bring too much luggage. Moreover, too much wine would be taxed when entering Delarion, otherwise, I would have transported it directly in large wooden barrels. My apologies, Your Highness, I still need to save some to use when visiting old friends in Weilandale City next Saturday, so if you wish, I can personally gift you 8 bottles.”
“Oh, Mr. Holmes, perhaps you could reconsider.”
Without the Princess even speaking, Bernhardt proactively “persuaded” his friend, his tone even a little exaggerated:
“With Your Highness’s noble status, she wouldn’t let you give it away for nothing. Haven’t you always wanted to open up the Carson Rick market? This is a good opportunity. You always encounter obstacles when doing business with Delarion people, so why not do business here with us?”
Xia De hesitated:
“Yes, those Delarion nobles are all suc—”
He had intended to use the term “Vampire” to mock them, but then remembered Bernhardt was a Vampire, so he changed his words:
“...are all bloodsucking tapeworms. I contacted a noble related to the royal family, and she actually held my cat hostage, saying, ‘Young gentleman, you wouldn’t want your cat to lose its owner, would you?’ to threaten me into agreeing to her unreasonable demands.”
In the end, Xia De still agreed to Leia; this was the Princess imitating a scene from an opera.
“How about 10 bottles? Your Highness, these wines are not valuable, and I am willing to give them to you, but I specifically brought them by boat from the New World, originally to express my regards to old friends.”
“Mr. Holmes, these wines will be given as gifts to the Delarion royal family. I think this will also help your business. The noble ladies of the North Country are truly impolite.”
Margaret Anjou said with a smile. Xia De thought for a moment and nodded:
“Then you may take 12 bottles. I wish you a smooth visit to Delarion. The wines are currently stored at Viscount Bernhardt’s estate, where I am also temporarily staying. Will it be too late if I send them tomorrow?”
“Before ten o’clock tomorrow will be fine.”
The Princess said, then reached back, and the maid standing behind her handed Xia De a bank draft:
“A small token of my appreciation. Your wine is worth this price. I hope that after I return from Delarion, I can still discuss the customs of the New World and winemaking experiences with you.”
“No, no, I cannot accept your money.”
Xia De hastily declined, so Bernhardt took the bank draft for him:
“Mr. Holmes, how can you refuse the Princess?”
Then he pushed Xia De’s hand away and tucked the bank draft into Xia De’s pocket.
Margaret Anjou was very satisfied with Bernhardt’s performance, Bernhardt was very satisfied with Xia De’s performance, and Xia De was also very satisfied with the Princess’s performance—he had just seen the number “75” on the bank draft.
“15 bottles, 5 pounds a bottle?”
Although 5 pounds was already a very high amount for a commoner, for high-end red wines consumed by nobles, such a price was simply unacceptable. For example, the 1803 vintage from Midrow Winery that Bernhardt treated Xia De to at lunch, its single bottle price was definitely close to a three-digit number of pounds.
The gift Margaret Anjou wanted to give to the Delarion royal family, while not necessarily a famous wine of that caliber, a price of 5 pounds per bottle was indeed a bit too shabby.
“It’s crown.”
“She” reminded softly.
Only then did Xia De remember that this was Carson Rick, and there was no reason for the bank draft the Princess handed him to be denominated in “pounds.” And at the current exchange rate, 11 to 12 pounds could only be exchanged for one crown.
He raised an eyebrow, and his smile became even more sincere when he thanked Princess Margaret Anjou. Without the backing of a famous name, no matter how excellent his wine was, such a high price was an overcharge. It seemed that the Princess of the Anjou Family, like the Princess of the Cavendish Family, both had substantial savings.
Thinking this way, if it weren’t for the inconvenience of explaining the wine’s origin, and the fact that privately brewing wine was illegal, he could actually make a fortune by mass-producing blood brew.
“However, would this blood brew be addictive?”
This was also something that needed to be considered.
Although Margaret Anjou also possessed the power of a witch, because that power was extremely weak, her aversion to men was not very strong. The Princess had nothing to do today and was tired of visits from local noble youths, so she kept Xia De and Bernhardt to talk with her.
The specific content of the conversation was about the customs of the Old Continent and the New World. But Xia De had never been to the New World, so with Bernhardt’s cooperation, he focused on discussing the situation in Delarion. Coincidentally, Princess Margaret was departing for that Northern Pearl the day after tomorrow evening, which was Saturday evening, so she inquired about Tobesk City from Xia De.
Tobesk was Xia De’s home base. Because he had connections with people from different social strata, his work as a Detective often took him to the Lower City, so he was familiar with the living conditions of nobles, middle-class, clergy, and ordinary commoners in Tobesk City, and he also knew a lot about Tobesk’s gossip... especially about himself.
Princess Margaret was very interested in these matters, especially the part about the North Country nobles. Xia De tried his best to maintain his character setting, so he didn’t know too many noble secrets, didn’t know the interior decoration of the King’s study in Yodel Palace, didn’t know the small hobbies of the royal family members, didn’t know the location of MI6 strongholds, and certainly had never seen the Duchess’s files of kingdom military documents.
Although he couldn’t go into too much detail, considering that in the next few weeks he would meet the Princess again as “Hamilton of Thunder Jeed,” when the topic turned to this “young knight,” he spoke a few good words about himself, paving the way for future interactions in his true identity.
The three tasks: “Contact Guiding Moon,” “Obtain the borrowed book ‘The Secret of Immortality’ from the Princess,” and “Find the Gray Headed Eagle,” were all related to her.
“Speaking of Hamilton of Thunder Jeed, I imagine Your Highness has heard of him. I was once fortunate enough to meet that young gentleman at the Prophet Association on Silver Cross Avenue in Tobesk, and even played rhode cards with this 1853 Great City Player champion. I must admit, he is truly very handsome, kind to others, elegant in conversation, and quite shrewd.”
As Xia De spoke, Bernhardt, with a strained face, squinted and held his teacup, secretly watching him. This Vampire knew Xia De’s true identity.
“I have also heard rumors about him. It is said that the knight is actually the lover of Duchess Jialinna Cavendish?”
The Princess with light golden long hair quietly inquired.
Xia De hadn’t expected such a strange rumor to spread among the nobles of Carson Rick. He wanted to refute this claim, because currently, he could only be considered the lover of Jialinna’s personal maid and grand-niece, not the Duchess’s lover. But a hasty refutation would only arouse suspicion about his identity, so he explained:
“Yes, this claim is widely circulated in Tobesk, and the tabloids have many false statements. But in such a metropolis, such rumors are as numerous as snowflakes in winter, so I cannot clarify the actual situation.”
Princess Margaret nodded slightly, but Bernhardt subconsciously believed it to be true. He didn’t understand why he had such a thought, after all, Xia De Hamilton in his eyes was so upright and helpful. It was just that vaguely, the Vampire felt that even if Xia De had some emotional connection with a humanoid relic, he wouldn’t be surprised:
“Why would I think this way? Am I normal?”
Bernhardt thought to himself while listening to Xia De’s conversation with the Princess, feeling inexplicably strange about his own thoughts.
