Chapter 1126: Respective Gifts and Xia De's Bonus

Of course, Little Mia was likely the only creature who was unhappy. She did not like places with too many people, so she curled up inside Xia De's overcoat, revealing only her small cat head to breathe the air; this appearance was practically as if a cat had grown right in the center of Xia De's chest.

The Prophet Society was also bustling with people due to today's competition, so after obtaining Xia De's consent, the carriage driver dropped him off at a location two hundred meters from the Society's entrance.

After paying the fare, Xia De walked forward while looking at the Silver Cross Avenue during the Year-End Festival. Suddenly, he felt the cat on his chest heating up, and then realized it was the badge warming up.

Since Mia also felt the temperature, she squirmed on Xia De's chest; at the same time, Xia De turned to look behind him, and sure enough, he saw the familiar carriage driving toward this location.

Even the Duchess's carriage could only move slowly through the crowded crowd. Because it was not easy to talk on the busy street, Xia De had intended that if Miss Galina also noticed him, he would just offer a greeting from the window; after all, she would visit St. Teresa Square this afternoon.

But after the carriage stopped, the "newly recovered" red-haired witch actually stepped down from the carriage. She was wearing a silver-white long dress that Xia De had never seen before today, with a bright red ladies' coat over her upper body, which matched her hair color quite well:

"Miss Galina, are you feeling better? I heard you have recovered, but I haven't gone to visit yet."

"A bit better, it's just that my nose is still a bit uncomfortable."

The witch was supported by her personal maid, Difa, and while feigning a weak appearance, there was clearly a smile in her eyes.

"Then you should hurry back into the carriage; it is truly cold today."

Xia De said very earnestly, playing his role well. The Duchess of Saladir nodded slightly, and then, right there on the busy street, without any concealment, she kissed Xia De on the side of his face; the smile in her eyes became even more obvious:

"Then, Happy Year-End Festival, my... Knight."

She turned and returned to the carriage. When Difa helped her into the carriage, she did not forget to wink at Xia De, though he did not know what it meant. The carriage soon drove away from Xia De, but Xia De could already imagine the speed at which the news of the Duchess kissing her lover on the side of the face on the street would spread throughout the entire city.

"She was definitely doing it on purpose."

Xia De touched his face, and then requested:

"Help me check if there is a lipstick mark left on my face?"

"She" laughed in Xia De's ear, but still pointed out the spot that needed to be wiped for Xia De.

Just as he entered the Prophet Society, the sound of people loudly discussing the release of the first series of Luo De cards for next year, along with the promotional posters posted on the bulletin board on one side of the gate, rushed into Xia De's ears and eyes together.

In the new year, to celebrate the Year-End Festival, the Prophet Society would release the 【Hibernation and Spring Birth】 series of cards around February. This was a brand-new theme for the Luo De deck, which led to much discussion among the people.

And the people who recognized Xia De all greeted him loudly, and asked if he had come to participate in the noon final.

"Oh, that goes without saying; I am looking forward to seeing who will be able to sit with me at the final's card table!"

While Xia De smiled and greeted the people he knew in the Society, Vice President Mark also heard the news and walked down from the third floor, leading Xia De away from the lively first-floor lobby:

"That 【Natural Disaster · Blizzard】 card you asked the Society to help repair has already been fixed; it's just right to give it to you."

Mr. Mark led the way in front, and then sighed softly:

"This year is finally coming to an end; 1853 really feels like it passed so quickly."

"Quickly?"

Xia De asked curiously; after leaving the first floor, the second-floor corridor where the divination rooms were set up was much quieter.

The middle-aged man nodded while saying with quite a bit of emotion:

"When I first met you, you didn't even understand Luo De cards, and even intended to sell the 【Founding · Silver Moon】. Now, not only do you have almost a quarter of a deck of special rule cards, you even won the Grand City Player championship and obtained five 【Founding】 series cards. And all of this happened in just the half-year from midsummer until now; isn't that fast?"

Xia De revealed a smile; he admitted that at least this time, this smile was a self-satisfied one.

The noon Luo De card competition had no suspense; the one who walked to the end in the 1853 Year-End Festival Luo Luo De Pai Tournament in the Tobesk region was Viscount Chekhov from the Katingen Luo Luo De Pai Club.

He was wearing a red coat and white knickerbockers, and to Xia De, he was not a stranger. The two had faced each other once in the Luo De card competition at the wedding banquet at Lake View Manor in early winter, and this time, facing Xia De again, Viscount Chekhov also maintained a vigorous fighting spirit and an extremely strong desire to win.

The competition adopted a best-of-three rule, and each game was divided into five rounds, calculating victory based on wins, losses, draws, and the points of busted cards.

In the end, naturally, Xia De won, and Viscount Chekhov was not annoyed; instead, he enthusiastically invited Xia De to play cards at the Katingen Club where he was located when he had time.

But in reality, this kind of specialized Luo De card aristocratic club, besides playing cards, had the more important purpose of socializing and politics.

The prize for the Year-End Festival Luo Luo De Pai Tournament was far less generous than the "Grand City Player" one, but the 200-pound bonus was quite attractive compared to other city-level events.

After receiving the bonus and accepting people's congratulations, Xia De did not go to find Luvia, but talked with Vice President Mark for a while longer, then intended to go have lunch; Little Mia was already impatient by this time.

Just as he left the Prophet Society, he saw Director Anluosi standing under the gas lamp opposite the Society, holding a newspaper and looking at him, so Xia De pressed his hat and also walked over with his head lowered.

The carriage happened to arrive at this moment, and after stopping for ten seconds, it started again; by this time, the two gentlemen had already disappeared from sight.

"I knew you would come to participate in the Luo De card tournament, so I came specifically to wait for you."

Taking off his gloves, Director Anluosi on the carriage kept his words short and direct, handing Xia De a note on which the time for tomorrow afternoon was handwritten in blue ink:

"His Majesty wants to see you, tomorrow, which is the afternoon of the Year-End Festival, at one o'clock, for about ten minutes."

He specifically emphasized the time point. The Outlander frowned slightly; he had seen a statement in the newspaper that on the morning of the Year-End Festival, the King would deliver an annual speech at the Yodel Palace, and then would not conduct any public activities for the entire day. But in reality, on the day of the Year-End Festival, the King would privately meet with many people, and those who could see His Majesty the King on the last day of every year were all big figures in the kingdom's political scene, or people with extremely close relationships with the royal family.

Likely seeing Xia De's confusion, Director Anluosi added another sentence:

"It is for the matter of commendation. You did well during Princess Margaret Anjou's visit; although you failed to catch the Gray Hawk, at least you established a good relationship with that princess, which is very important for the kingdom... The year-end public knighting this year will likely be in mid-to-late January, and you will receive your reward then. Besides that, tomorrow His Majesty will give you some rewards separately; after all, the content of your mission cannot be made public."

Xia De nodded knowingly, and Director Anluosi lowered his voice and added another sentence:

"Additionally, His Majesty will likely give you a new mission, to maintain a long-term connection with Margaret Anjou. When necessary, you will be arranged to go to Willundale for a temporary vacation; Miss Galina also knows about this. I am telling you in advance so you can prepare."

Xia De nodded again. The royal descendants of Kassenrik did not have as many brothers and sisters as Lei Qianya; among the two princesses and two princes, one would definitely inherit the throne. And among them, Margaret, who could represent the kingdom in visiting Delarion, still looked like she had some hope on the surface, so "Fire-Leaper" Larus III valued the relationship Xia De had established very much.

"I understand."

He nodded gently, and Director Anluosi handed him an envelope:

"The year-end bonus from MI6."

"MI6 also has a year-end bonus?"

Xia De asked with a surprised smile, but still reached out and took the envelope.

"Why can't MI6 have a year-end bonus? Are we an illegal department?"

Director Anluosi found it very strange, and then explained:

"You completed quite a few difficult missions this year, so the bonus amount is relatively large; this is the fund I approved, after all, the originally planned budget must be spent by the end of the year... I will give you the bonus and your salary for this month together, so I won't make you go to the City Waste Management Center separately; have a good holiday."

Xia De squeezed the envelope, and a smile appeared on his face. Although he was not sure of the exact amount, it was at least several hundred pounds.

The bonus from the Year-End Festival Luo Luo De Pai Tournament, plus the year-end bonus from MI6, gave Xia De, whose savings had plummeted, confidence once again. Although neither Lei Qianya nor Miss Galina would be stingy about giving Xia De "pocket money," the Outlander still had quite a bit of self-esteem.

Throughout the entire morning of Monday, Xia De's footsteps had not stopped, but after handling these matters and mailing gifts to other friends in the city, there was basically nothing left to do before the Year-End Festival.

After having lunch with Little Mia at noon, he prepared to go home to wait for Miss Galina's visit in the afternoon. But not long after he got home, the bell downstairs was rung. Xia De originally thought it was a client or an acquaintance like Viscount Fu De, but he did not expect that the person standing outside the door was an unexpected acquaintance:

"Captain Lei Jiede?"

Wearing a crisp Army Captain's uniform, with black boots on his feet, and holding a bottle of red wine in his hand, Captain Lei Jiede, whom he had not seen for a long time, actually appeared at the entrance of No. 6 St. Teresa Square.

"Long time no see, Mr. Hamilton."

This former "Captain of Eight Guns" also greeted Xia De with a smile.

"Captain, aren't you stationed at the Red Water Camp on the Wind-Rising Path of the Sikar Mountains? Oh, please come in, I really didn't expect to see you before the Year-End Festival." ===== CHAPTER 1127 =====