“Oh~”
Irregular sleep habits always cause headaches. Xia De only realized it was time to get up when he vaguely felt someone pulling at his hand.
It took more determination to open his eyes today. Xia De only vaguely remembered falling asleep around four or five in the morning, and now it was seven o'clock on Wednesday morning.
“Mia~”
Xia De complained softly, secretly blaming himself for playing too late at the banquet.
“Meow~”
But the cat's meow seemed to come from a distance, and amidst the meowing, Xia De heard a young girl's laughter.
Opening his eyes, he saw Tifa smiling, standing by the bed, looking at him:
“Xia De, Miss told you all to go for breakfast.”
“All of us?”
Xia De, still groggy from sleep, paused, then suddenly sat up from the bed.
The morning sun shone into the guest room on the third floor of Garina Manor, and the warm early winter sun still brought delightful warmth. Snowflakes had accumulated a thin layer on the windowsill, and Xia De, with his excellent dynamic vision, could still see snow falling outside. Although he couldn't see the manor's courtyard from the bed, there was probably a layer of snow in the yard too.
The bedroom was quite warm. Mia was 趴 on the windowsill, glaring at Xia De, and it was clear that Xia De wasn't the only one in the bed.
He vaguely remembered that after midnight last night, he played “sheep herding” with people in the garden in the snow, then boated with Angelina on the re-opened Schluch Lake, and finally participated in a fencing duel that was somehow held on the second floor of the manor, which was a safe duel wearing heavy armor and using blunted swords coated with white ash.
After completing the trials of “strength, wisdom, and charm,” Xia De also relaxed for a rare moment. Besides not drinking excessively, he participated in almost all subsequent activities.
He couldn't quite recall the bizarre memories and the sparkling scenes everywhere.
He only remembered Angelina bidding him farewell with a curtsy, and Princess Margaret almost laughing unladylike when she saw Xia De's cat “chasing” the manor's cats—those nocturnal foraging cats had climbed onto Xia De's shoulder and were spotted by Mia.
The last memory of the banquet was the two Witches standing by the window, watching the snow-covered manor under the fireworks, while Xia De sat on the sofa, looking at the backs of the two beautiful ladies.
After the banquet finally ended, a small number of people stayed overnight at Lakeview Manor. Miss Silvia returned with Princess Margaret to the manor where they were staying, and Xia De left with Jialinna, accompanied by...
“Oh, is it morning?”
The red-haired Princess on his left complained with her eyes closed, ignoring Tifa standing by the bed:
“I don't want breakfast. Please don't wake me before ten.”
As she spoke, she snuggled her smooth neck further into the quilt.
“I'm not having breakfast either.”
The blonde Writer on his right mumbled as if in a dream. Her beautiful golden hair was spread across the white goose-down pillow, and the morning light from the window shone on the pillow, making the bright golden strands truly sparkle. Dorothy wasn't fully awake yet; otherwise, knowing Tifa was standing by the bed, she would never have spoken so casually.
“Last night...”
“Do you need me to help you recall?”
“No, no, no!”
Xia De immediately responded in his mind, now fully awake. Red Butterfly Day began yesterday afternoon at Peace Church when the two girls officially met. They certainly wouldn't waste time, so they both followed Xia De to Miss Jialinna's manor last night.
“Xia De, are you going to have breakfast?”
Tifa asked softly again, as if she didn't find this scene strange at all.
“Yes, I'll be right there.”
Xia De felt a bit awkward, and the cat on the windowsill had already jumped down, waiting for Xia De to get out of bed and take her for breakfast.
Having received Xia De's answer, Tifa turned to prepare to inform the kitchen to prepare Xia De's portion, but then stopped, looking at the girls sleeping with their eyes closed on the bed.
She returned to the bedside, leaned forward slightly, and kissed Xia De.
After releasing him, she pointed to the girls on the bed, then put a finger to her lips, signaling Xia De not to make a sound, closed her left eye, and winked at Xia De before smiling and leaving.
“Hmm...”
Xia De felt that the Maid's mood must be very good right now.
In any case, he didn't leave Miss Jialinna's manor all morning, but instead discussed the fourth Chosen One with the Great Witch.
He left around noon with Leia, Dorothy, and Angelina. Angelina had also stayed overnight at Miss Jialinna's manor last night; Xia De had seen her at the breakfast table, but he wasn't sure if the little Princess knew where her sister had slept last night.
The second “Red Butterfly Day” officially ended here. The Writer and the Princess felt very satisfied this time, and after Xia De returned home on Wednesday noon, he had to continue with his tasks.
First, he wrote a letter to Miss Silvia, inviting her to discuss the thesis he had written, in order to get a chance to meet Miss Silvia normally again.
Then, he went from the basement to Middlesburg, left a letter at the House of the Blind, and arranged with Sister Devlin to visit the Lake Goddess in Huntington City tomorrow morning.
After finishing these matters, he also took a tour of the black markets in Coldwater Port, Middlesburg, and Huntington City. By the time he returned home, it was already Wednesday evening.
Because he hadn't slept enough yesterday, he was still yawning when he emerged from the basement. The snow in Tobesk had stopped by now, and because the ground temperature was a bit high, there was almost no snow accumulation on the streets. The dim yellow light of the setting sun shone into the house from the first-floor window. Mia, who had slept soundly through her afternoon nap, joyfully leaped down the stairs to greet Xia De, the setting sun's glow leaving streaks of patterns on her orange fur.
Upon returning home, Xia De took Mia to the Prophet Association to have dinner with Luvia, and explained what had happened at Lakeview Manor yesterday during dinner.
Of course, not about divinity, but about the Chosen One and the five wise man's stones.
“So that's how it is. This morning I heard about what happened at Lakeview Manor last night at the Association, and then I received a letter from Iluna, but by the time she arrived at Lakeview Manor, it was already over.”
Luvia held her fork, with purple cabbage on it:
“That being said, the Chosen One must have appeared at Lakeview Manor yesterday.”
“Yes, but there were too many people at Lakeview Manor yesterday, making it difficult for the Church and the Witches to investigate.”
Xia De said, wiping his mouth with a napkin:
“However, do you remember that ‘Miss Pa Wo’ I mentioned? The Six-Ring Arcanist from the Truth Society. This lady is suspicious. Not because of her special power, but because she happened to encounter me in both Huntington and Tobesk. From past experience, the Chosen Ones do indeed often encounter me.”
“This is just a hypothesis and needs to be verified.”
Luvia nodded slightly but didn't intend to waste coins:
“I can immediately identify the Chosen Ones as soon as I see them. Since this incident happened in Tobesk, I think it's necessary for me to personally meet that lady.”
“That's good too.”
Xia De said. He didn't ask how Luvia planned to find Miss Pa Wo, but rather trusted that the purple-eyed girl would have her own methods. In pursuing the Chosen Ones, the three of them cooperated, and Xia De wouldn't assume he had to do everything himself.
“Luvia, what I need to confirm now is, do we need to collect the wise man's stones? If we do, I can discuss with Jialinna how to start with the first trial, ‘finding the invisible person in Tobesk City.’”
“I will confirm the identity of the Chosen One, and you can figure out the matter of the wise man's stones, but there's no need to rush, because...”
Luvia said softly, looking around:
“The Church is currently unsure who the Chosen One of wisdom is, but they already know about the cooperation between Apner Library and the Truth Society, and thus know about the wise man's stones. Iluna told me that the Church plans to collect the wise man's stones first, because the ‘wise man's stone’ can only be gifted once, so once there's a clue, the Church plans to have Iluna be the one to obtain the wise man's stone.”
Xia De smiled:
“Iluna can get the wise man's stones found by the Church, and I can also find ways to prevent the wise man's stones found by the Witch Council from falling into the hands of those who shouldn't possess them.”
“Yes. So, what we need to be wary of is the movements of illicit Ring術士 organizations like The Society of Truth.”
The purple-eyed girl nodded, saying softly:
“The trial of wisdom and Knowledge can definitely not be solved by brute force; there are many things to consider.”
Luvia pondered, and Xia De felt Mia, who was squatting on the high stool beside him, tug at him with her paw, so he continued to focus on his food.
The purple-eyed girl smiled and then inquired:
“Knight, what did you do at the banquet last night? All day today, the guests at the Prophet Association seem to have been talking about you.”
“They talked about me? Oh, yes, the card game I played at the manor last night was fantastic!”
Xia De took a small sip of red wine, a smile on his face:
“Do you want to hear about the final hand? Two special cards influencing each other, coming from behind to take the lead—it was truly an interesting game.”
Luvia said, suppressing a laugh:
“No, no, no, rhode cards only accounted for a very small part. They said you were the ‘King of the Lakeview Manor Banquet’ last night.”
“Cough, cough...”
Xia De choked:
“What?”
“You posed interesting questions, rode horses, solved riddles, played darts, rhode cards, and so on and so forth, winning so many banquet games, and dancing with the pretty royal ladies at the ball. Rumor has it that you even piqued the great interest of Margaret Anjou, who even held your hand and wouldn't let you leave. Oh, Boy, what did you do last night?”
She held her wine glass, leaning slightly forward, her smile making her dimples more pronounced.
“This is all because of missions.”
“Whose missions?”
Xia De thought for a moment: MI6 wanted him to approach Princess Margaret, Gray Gloves wanted him to protect the Princess, the Lake Goddess wanted him to prove himself, and Miss Daniste wanted him to approach the Guiding Moon.
“Four different missions from four people!”
The base of his right palm was pressed against the table, his hand upright, with four fingers extended.
“You are always so busy.”
Luvia sighed, and Mia, thinking Xia De was playing with her, pressed her furry paw onto Xia De's palm. The cat's paw was small, and its appearance as it tapped Xia De's palm was comical.
The purple-eyed girl swirled her red wine glass:
“But this is good too. Life is so rich and colorful, and with Mia around, even though you can't use the dark door in the basement, we never have to worry about you losing control.”
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