Miss Vitter looked at Xia De, then at the maid holding the cat. She hadn't noticed before, but now she realized how pretty the maid's figure was.
“Truly wonderful, Sir Hamilton, I really didn't expect such a card game could occur.”
This was beyond simply “wonderful.” The rules of the two rhode cards influenced each other, allowing Xia De, who should have lost, to win after flipping over the fourth card. Even the final games of Big City Player couldn’t compare to such excitement.
Xia De also let out a long breath. Of course, he didn't know what his fourth card was, but he was very confident in his luck:
“Miss Vitter, your card skills are also excellent. Perhaps this is what makes rhode cards so appealing to us.”
Although his voice was normal, it was still almost drowned out by the loud discussions of the people.
Miss Vitter, whose true name was Miss Pa Wo, stood up and extended her hand to Xia De. Xia De also extended his hand and grasped her gloved hand.
“You won. I hope we’ll have another chance to play rhode cards together next time. Congratulations, Knight, you truly live up to your title as the champion of Big City Player 1853.”
The Sorceress said, then took her silver notebook and left, with no intention of continuing to talk to these men. Xia De alone remained as the winner, standing by the card table under the grape arbor, accepting congratulations, but his eyes were still watching the direction Miss Pa Wo had left.
The Sorceress walked towards Schluch Lake, which was also the direction where the Witches claimed a Keeper was about to appear. And for such an important matter, Xia De didn’t believe this Hexacle Sorceress had no other companions.
One must remember, when she plotted against Princess Margaret, who was seemingly an ordinary person in Huntington City, she brought two companions to increase the probability of success.
Xia De narrowed his eyes slightly. Although he was still dealing with those congratulating him on his victory, he had already come to a conclusion in his heart:
“The Cultists of the raging storm are very likely also at Lakeview Manor. This time, no matter what, they cannot be allowed to leave.”
As the final winner, Xia De received the rhode card with the flower suit, 5 of 【Life Ritual · Wedding】. Even if his original goal wasn't to win this card, when this pretty rhode card was delivered into his hand, Xia De couldn't help but show a genuine smile.
Although the “Lakeview Manor Early Winter Rhode Card Tournament” had ended, people were unwilling to leave. Instead, they gathered in small groups, discussing the “thrilling” card game they had just witnessed. Two gentlemen boxing under the grape arbor, cheating caught during the card game, and the final exciting match—all of these were enough to make this rhode card game a topic of enthusiastic conversation among local players for the next few weeks.
Baron Lavende and Baron Rwanda even wanted to invite Xia De to stay and play another game, but Xia De pointed to Tifa, who was standing nearby holding a cat:
“I need to take a walk by the lake with Miss Servite. She is Miss Jialinna’s personal maid.”
“Oh, so it’s Miss Servite. I felt she looked familiar just now. Then we won’t disturb you.”
The two Barons showed expressions of understanding and made an agreement with Xia De to play cards at the Prophet Association next time they had time.
Bidding farewell to his friends, Xia De and Tifa left the lively area under the grape arbor and walked in the direction Miss Pa Wo had left.
Leaving the grape arbor area, the surroundings suddenly became quiet, and even the heart, excited by the rhode cards, gradually calmed down. Tifa, holding Mia, followed beside Xia De, looked up at the young Detective’s profile, and then quietly asked:
“Was there something wrong with that Miss Vitter just now?”
Being chosen as an apprentice by the Great Witch, she was naturally quite perceptive.
“A Ring術士 of the Truth Society, Hexacle.”
Xia De lowered his voice slightly, one hand in his pocket, the other touching his ear. His eyes narrowed slightly, looking at the darkness ahead. At this point, he and Tifa had entered a garden path not illuminated by gaslights.
The shore of Schluch Lake was only a few hundred meters away. The temperature by the lake at night in winter was very low, so there were almost no other people here. Xia De had already sensed an abnormal distribution of elements; whisper element was diffusing, but it seemed to be confined by an invisible force, only circling the lake:
“She probably came for the Chosen One, but that’s not important to me. I have something else, something very important, to confirm. It might be a bit dangerous next, Tifa, do you want to come with me?”
“She is Hexacle, and I am also Hexacle.”
The maid reminded him.
“Alright, then, prepare your spellcasting materials and weapons. This time, I actually hope for an unexpected turn of events.”
Because collecting the prize and accepting congratulations took some time, five minutes had passed since the end of the card game when Xia De and Tifa set out to find the Sorceress from the Truth Society.
But fortunately, although the back garden of Lakeview Manor was vast, it still had boundaries. Coupled with Xia De’s rough guess of where the other party wanted to go, he quickly saw the lady in the black and red dress again by Schluch Lake.
During this wedding banquet, all areas in the manor's front courtyard and back garden, including even the hayloft, cowshed, and stables, were open, but there would certainly be secluded areas with almost no one. At this moment, Miss Pa Wo, the Hexacle Sorceress of the Truth Society, stood in a secluded spot by Schluch Lake. There were no gaslights here. Behind her were large trees with only a few withered leaves in early winter, and in front of her was Schluch Lake under the starry sky.
The surroundings were extremely quiet. The Moonlight did not illuminate her in the shadow of the trees; instead, the lake water, reflecting the light of the starry sea, cast its shimmering ripples at her feet, illuminating her black patent leather high heels.
The silver notebook had now transformed into a large book with a silver cover, suspended in front of her, slowly turning its pages automatically. Miss Pa Wo’s appearance had returned to how Xia De first saw her in Huntington City.
She stood before the open book, her eyes tightly closed, arms outstretched in an embracing gesture, as if manipulating the automatically turning book.
The pages rustled. On the calm Schluch Lake under the Moon, only a few small boats floated. The shimmering light of the lake water, under the starry sky, appeared somewhat dreamlike, revealing a splendor not belonging to mortals.
Xia De and Tifa stood in the bushes, watching this scene. The maid's right hand was in a “seal” state, using the Witches’ secret art to cast an illusion, concealing their whereabouts.
Even with Tifa’s concealment, Xia De still controlled his breathing rate. They didn't dare to get too close, but he could still feel that the silver book, shining in the Moonlight, was also a relic, and its level would not be lower than Sage-level (Level 2).
“What exactly is Miss Pa Wo’s status within the Truth Society?”
Besides the elemental changes caused by that book, a layer of white mist had appeared on the lake surface at some unknown time. The white mist gradually obscured the lake surface reflecting starlight under the starry sky. The white mist spread towards the shore but always remained within the lake’s bounds. Something was indeed appearing; the 【Time-Space】 core Ling Rune allowed Xia De to perceive the spatial changes. In the center of Schluch Lake, a location-type relic that should not exist was about to appear.
“Meow~”
The cat, resting in Tifa’s arms, suddenly opened its eyes. In the dark night, its two eyes were as dazzling as candlelight. The young cat didn’t know what was happening here, but vaguely seemed to smell something very pleasant.
It wanted to meow, but Xia De’s hand reached to Tifa’s chest at that moment, stroking the opened-eyed cat. So Mia obediently closed her mouth, waiting for good food to be actively delivered by Xia De.
Around the white mist diffusing from the center of the lake, it was clear that Miss Pa Wo was not the only one waiting, but everyone was very patient. Xia De tried to empty his mind to perceive the surroundings. After confirming that no one was peeking nearby, he opened his mouth and gestured to Tifa:
“Disguise us.”
The maid nodded, took out three pebble rune stones from her pocket, kept one for herself, handed one to Xia De, and placed the other under Mia’s paw. The cat didn’t like this strange thing, but it didn’t throw it away either.
The pebble rune stones originally only had runes painted with ink. As Tifa chanted softly, the runes shimmered with a faint pink light. There were no other unusual phenomena, so Tifa gently nodded to Xia De, indicating it was done.
She and the lady from the Truth Society were both Hexacle, and she had also been personally taught by the Hexacle Witch, possessing the Witch’s power herself. Xia De trusted her disguise ability very much.
With preparations complete, Xia De did not directly launch a long-range attack from behind Miss Pa Wo, or step out to appear directly behind her and stab with a sword. Instead, he deliberately made some noise in the bushes, then led Tifa to the shadow of the trees by the lake.
The white mist swirled here, as if to delineate the boundary between the abnormal world and the normal world. Miss Pa Wo was manipulating the relic, performing a very difficult spell, but upon hearing the sound, she was still able to turn around immediately, only then did the silver book stop turning its pages automatically.
“Who are you?”
The woman asked with a frown.
“Isn’t it a bit foolish to ask such a question now?”
Xia De shook his head slightly. Miss Pa Wo scrutinized him and the ugly woman behind him holding a dog.
“Woof!”
The “dog” barked.
“Are you also here for the Chosen One?”
Miss Pa Wo’s expression remained unchanged. Although she turned to look at them, her hand was raised again to manipulate the glowing book to continue turning its pages.
“No, no, we are here for you, Madam of the Truth Society.”
Upon hearing Xia De say “Truth Society,” Miss Pa Wo’s expression changed slightly, but she remained calm:
“A wise person does not only seek what is before their eyes, and a good planner will not only see the immediate scenery. The Moonlight is beautiful tonight. Since you are not enjoying the Moon but appearing here at this time, I think we probably share a common goal.”
