Chapter 1954

In that warm, ambiguous glow, the two stared at each other for several seconds. The maid kept her eyes fixed on Xia De, but her hands lifted the hem of her skirt slightly, revealing to him a pair of black leather shoes pressed together, and the sheer black fabric above them. The shoes were a balance of practicality and decorum, while the hosiery was a high-end product from Miss Sylvia. Before the heart-pounding Xia De could observe further, she bent down while keeping her legs still, *snap-snap*, unfastened the magnetic buckles of the low-heeled shoes, and straightened up again. With her hands folded in front, she stood in a very elegant maid's posture. She lifted her legs one by one, slipping her feet out of the shoes and stepping forward.

Her toes were the first to touch the red carpet beneath the sofa set. Xia De felt as though he could hear the friction between the fabric and the wool carpet. She stood with her legs together on the carpet just in front of the shoes, while the pair of black low-heeled shoes remained on the floor outside. Under the gaslight, both her feet and the shoes maintained a posture of elegant alignment; the graceful movements and attention to detail were a testament to the cultivation and etiquette of Lady Galina's maids.

She turned, bent down again, picked up the black shoes, and placed them out of Xia De's sight beside the sofa. Then, she faced Xia De and bowed slightly. She raised her hands to undo the white lace hairband, letting her black hair, which had been pinned up for convenience, cascade down her back. She then looked at Xia De while using the hairband to loosely tie up her flowing hair.

Having finished this, she bit her lip lightly and walked forward. Before reaching Xia De, she sat down on the carpet and looked up at him. These movements were fluid and seamless. In the light, the maid's face had gentle curves, and her nose was straight and symmetrical. Her eyes were large and round with clear contours, and her dark brown pupils radiated a warm, tender light. Her long eyelashes curled but trembled slightly; the emotion in her eyes needed no words to be understood by Xia De.

Her lipstick-coated lips were full and soft, curving slightly into a charming smile. Her eyes were positioned slightly lower than Xia De's, so when she looked up at him, her expression appeared even more fragile.

"It's cold on the carpet. Get up."

Xia De didn't know why he said that, but he reached out and pulled the maid up, letting her sit beside him.

"Knight, the Duchess is away for the moment and won't be back for another hour."

She reminded him softly, her hands clutching the front of her maid's dress, wrinkling the fabric slightly. However, Xia De, who was staring at that charming face, had no time to look at her dress.

"Yes, I know."

"Then..."

The maid's hand rested on Xia De's leg and tapped it lightly, quite playfully.

Her smile grew even gentler:

"The Duchess has neglected you this time; I am truly sorry. Knight, please do not blame my mistress; she has her own difficulties."

A look of genuine guilt appeared on her face:

"I hope that you will not speak of the Duchess's slight outside, lest it damage her reputation. Please allow me to act on my own initiative to make amends for the Duchess, and to find some shallow amusement for you in this boring night."

"Amusement..."

"Yes, all of this is for the Duchess. Knight, you may..."

Her large eyes looked at Xia De. Although he was no longer the same outlander he had been a year ago, he still felt his heart ready to leap out of his throat in this atmosphere and conversation.

"Do whatever you wish. Perhaps be a little rough... I am willing to make this silent sacrifice for the Duchess, even if she never knows. I only ask that you say nothing when you face the Duchess. Please, can you forgive her neglect?"

She bit her lower lip:

"May you?"

She wasn't asking for Xia De's opinion, for she had already wrapped her arms around Xia De's neck and pressed his head forward and down.

"Meow~"

The cat, which had been using the sketch of the room decoration as a paperweight, was startled awake by the strange sounds. It sniffed the air, confirmed that Xia De wasn't stealing snacks, and went back to sleep.

As for the story of the loyal maid offering herself to the Knight to make amends for her Duchess on the sofa behind the cat, it was just a mundane little daily story of the manor.

Outside the door, the maidens listened with flushed faces to the sounds from within. The starry sky had unfurled in the night outside the manor; it was truly a fine night.

Although Lady Galina had said she would be back before nine, it was already nine-thirty on this Saturday night when she stepped out of her carriage and entered the manor's foyer.

The maids helped the mistress remove her coat and brought her indoor shoes. When the red-haired Duchess walked into the study on the second floor and saw Xia De sitting on the sofa holding the cat and reading a book, she let out a sigh of relief:

"I am truly sorry for being late. A small conflict broke out between the south of the Kingdom and Karsinrik, but fortunately, it was contained. Because there were drafts and sanctions that had to be published in the papers first thing tomorrow morning, I had to participate tonight."

Seeing Xia De stand up, she even gave him a quite apologetic hug. Then, she twitched her nose and looked at him with an ambiguous smile:

"You've already bathed? Oh, didn't you bathe once before you came? Were you in such a hurry?"

"Um..."

Xia De decided not to explain, and he was very glad she hadn't noticed that although the handmade wool sofa cover with the flower and spire pattern was identical to the original, it had actually been replaced.

"It's snowing outside again, did you know?"

The witch asked, gently sniffing at Xia De's neck:

"The busy work is all over. Knight, let's go rest. When we were at Green Lake, you hardly ever came to see me."

The "rest" they spoke of did not mean the same thing, but fortunately, they didn't need to explain it to each other.

"Resting with you is the best rest."

She said, then invited him with a smile:

"However, I need to bathe first. Would you like to join me?"

She pulled Xia De's arm toward the study door without waiting for an answer. Little Mia was left by Xia De on the sofa; it didn't like wet environments. As they passed the doorway, the maids, including the black-haired head maid, bowed, but Lady Galina didn't see the look exchanged between Xia De and Tifa, though both understood the meaning in each other's eyes.

"Do you know what I'm most happy about?"

Lady Galina was still talking.

"What is it?"

"Today is Saturday, and it is night. This time should have belonged to Rixia, but she is still at the Yodel Palace dealing with paperwork, while I am able to be with you. Does this not deserve to be happy about?"

(Little Mia is running...)

A pleasant night passed quickly. When the morning sun shone on the Galina Manor, the witch, unwilling to get up early, lazily demanded to sleep a little longer while holding Xia De's hand, but was eventually brought out of bed by him.

After breakfast at the manor, she didn't make Xia De use a crystal shoe to go home but instead took a carriage into the city with him, as she had to spend the whole day in town.

The carriage dropped Xia De off at the door of No. 6 St. Theresa Square. The witch kissed him goodbye before letting him leave. She no longer cared about the frequent appearance of her carriage at Xia De's door; by now, even the blind and deaf in Tobesk knew of the relationship between Xia De and the Duchess.

People were even speculating when the Hamilton of Lei Jiede would become the Duchess's husband.

Xia De had things to do today as well. After returning home and tidying up a bit, he went to the Green Lake Hotel again. As for Mia, perhaps because it had been away from home for too many days, it refused to follow Xia De out again. So the cat was left to watch the house, which it liked, knowing Xia De would return.

The main task today was to handle the placement of the Edwards family members. Xia De had already arranged to go to the old Edwards mansion with Megan and Audrey. However, when he first visited Dr. Schneider, who was still recovering, and then came from the city hotel basement to the basement of the Green Lake Hotel on Green Island, the young witch follower who maintained the ritual array told Xia De that the Great Witches were waiting for his arrival.

"Could it be that they have found a time for me to use the 【Poetry Cards】 in the Council?"

He wondered curiously, but when he saw Miss Aurora and Miss Bernice on the first floor, he found it was something else.

"The 'gift' from the Church, or rather, for the God-Caller, has arrived."

Three identical black leather suitcases were placed on the table. The cases were not large, but they were thick. They looked brand new, and the wooden handles were glossy; the leather exterior was clearly high-end. Xia De took a liking to the appearance of these three cases immediately and planned to keep them for himself after checking them, even if he couldn't use them out and about, they would be excellent containers for home.

"We haven't opened them yet; after all, they are your things. They've been here since this morning. Check them; the Church's sealing runes are still here."

Miss Aurora pointed them out, and seeing the two witches were curious, Xia De invited them to check them with him.

Xia De had originally asked for the "Heart of the Living Dead" and the "Philosopher's Stone," but those were extra items he had requested; the Five Gods Church had prepared other "gifts" as well, though Xia De didn't know what they were.

"Open it."

He picked a case at random, recited the meaning of the golden rune at the magnetic lock, and with a *snap*, the case opened. Cold air immediately rushed out from the gap. It wasn't a temperature change caused by elements, but ice packed inside.

The case was large, but more than half of its volume was ice, and a space had been hollowed out in the center of the ice to hold a glass bottle. Inside the bottle, a lifelike heart floated, beating at an extremely slow pace.

The structure of the heart appeared identical to a normal heart, only its color was a moldy green, and traces of fish scales could be seen on it. ===== CHAPTER 1955 =====

"Open."

He chose a box at random and read the meaning of the golden rune at the magnetic lock of the box. With a click, the box opened, and cold air immediately rushed out from the gap. But that was not the temperature change caused by the elements, but ice cubes packed inside.

The box was large, but more than half of the volume inside was ice, and the center of the ice was dug out to place a glass bottle. As for the glass bottle, there was a lifelike heart inside. The heart floated in the center of the bottle, beating at an extremely slow speed.

The structure of the heart looked exactly the same as the normal heart structure Xia De knew, except that the color of the heart was moldy green, and fish scales could be seen on it.