Chapter 2185: Dreams, Kisses, and the Eve of the Banquet

The dream was long, and Xia De described it in great detail, but the more Miss Beilindier listened, the more she felt something was wrong. Even the maids tidying the basement nearby gradually put down what they were holding, staring at Xia De in astonishment.

And Xia De continued to talk to himself:

"... After defeating the Dessert Giant together with the Snow Elf and the talking pigeon, we wore flower crowns and, surrounded by some dainty Fairy Forest Spirits, climbed to the highest treehouse in the center of the forest covered in white snow—that is, frosting. We sat together on the edge of the terrace at the top of the treehouse, watching fireworks explode under the moon. Those fireworks were truly beautiful; when they went 'Boom— boom— boom~', they not only bathed the forest in color but also reflected Emilia's face in iridescent hues."

Miss Beilindier looked at him with an even more meaningful gaze:

"And then?"

"And then? She suddenly asked me to turn my head to look at her. She was supporting herself with both hands on the floor of the treehouse terrace, her two feet dangling in the air. She said she had something to tell me, but because the sound of the fireworks was too loud at the time, she leaned closer to me. When she was close enough—I mean, I could even clearly see her eyelashes trembling at that moment—we faced each other, with the background of constantly exploding colorful fireworks, the vast starry sky, and the bright silver moon, and then..."

"What happened? What did you two do?"

It was unclear who asked subconsciously, and only then did Xia De notice that everyone was watching him tell the story:

"It seems the young ladies all have similar childhood dreams."

Xia De thought to himself, and Miss Beilindier urged:

"Hurry up and tell us, and then?"

"Then we were woken up by you."

Xia De said very honestly, and seeing the witch frozen there, he even blinked:

"Then the dream ended, ending at the moment we were staring at each other at close range amidst the fireworks."

They gasped almost simultaneously, and Xia De even saw that Miss Matilda actually looked at her master and teacher with a reproachful gaze for a moment.

Miss Beilindier also gasped subconsciously, then shook her head violently:

"It's a good thing I woke you two up... No, I've also been affected by the relic; perhaps I should go outside and bask in the sun."

Saying this, she left the basement without paying any attention to Xia De.

Xia De stood where he was, feeling confused, and looked at the young ladies around him; they also looked elsewhere, each going to do what they were supposed to do. Only the blonde head maid was willing to make eye contact with him, and she asked curiously:

"Mr. Watson, did you do that on purpose or was it accidental?"

"Sorry, what?"

Xia De asked again, and the maid immediately shook her head and went to do her own work:

"No wonder you were able to charm my young lady..."

She said in a low voice, but in fact, everyone here could hear it.

If Emilia hadn't encountered a relic again, Xia De had originally planned to go home for lunch. But now, waking up from Emilia's dream, it was already two o'clock in the afternoon. Since some time had already been wasted, Xia De was no longer in a hurry to go back. After walking out of the basement, he first went to find Emilia, who was blushing and unwilling to speak to him, to confirm her current condition and prevent any sequelae that neither he nor Miss Beilindier had discovered.

Afterwards, he found the witch standing on the second-floor terrace, truly basking in the sun. The weather was quite good today; although the entire city was still shrouded in black fog, at least the sunlight at two in the afternoon was acceptable. The witch's blonde hair seemed to be shining in the sun. She recognized Xia De's footsteps, so before Xia De reached her side, she spoke:

"I just saw you talking to that elf miss here."

Emilia had only been staying in this manor for a few days, yet the witch was already calling her "Emilia." Calling her "that elf miss" at this moment was undoubtedly teasing and reminding Xia De.

"Yes, I checked to see if she had any other problems left on her."

Xia De looked down at the courtyard, where Emilia was combing the fur of the snow-white little beast in the sun, together with several maids who happened to be in the yard:

"I don't think this will be the last time; I really have caused you trouble."

"I said, don't say such things again."

The witch hummed softly:

"During the meeting yesterday, I heard Vanessa and Sylvia say that the royal family has prepared to arrange for Margaret to visit Moon Bay. It will be in the newspapers in the next day or two. The distance between Willandale and Moon Bay City is neither far nor near, so they will be able to arrive before the end of this week."

"What mission was Margaret assigned? In such a busy time, how could the royal family feel at ease letting a princess come to Moon Bay?"

Xia De asked immediately, and Miss Beilindier looked at him suspiciously:

"I noticed that you didn't ask about Vanessa and Sylvia's arrangements first, but instead cared about that princess..."

She paused:

"Last time I said that in order to please you, they specially sent that princess to you, but I was half-joking then... Can you be honest with me now about what kind of relationship you and Margaret Anjou actually have?"

Because they would arrive in half a week, Xia De did not hide it:

"It can be considered a lover relationship."

"Considered?"

"Um... Her Highness the Princess is still pure."

"Everything else is impure, right?"

The witch nodded knowingly. For a small character like a witch apprentice, she didn't think she would be her opponent:

"That's fine too. If you can really fully bind Margaret Anjou, it will be easier to persuade more witches to accept your existence. As for that princess visiting Moon Bay, besides the conciliatory attitude the royal family wants to show to local citizens that you discussed some time ago, it is also because the royal family wants to warn the Seven Great Families on one hand, telling us not to have strange ideas before the autumn harvest, and warning our northern neighbors not to reach out casually; on the other hand, it is also using Margaret Anjou's visit as an excuse to let the Kingdom Navy stationed in Moon Bay City move around, preparing in advance for the inevitable North-South War."

She added:

"Remember the Marchioness of Ankara? That woman from a werewolf family. She helped me get some information from the Hou Jue. Although it is not very confidential, it looks like that 'Lion' King Ryan in Willandale wants to use Moon Bay Port as a fulcrum for future wars. When necessary, he wants to build this place into the northernmost combat fortress on the west coast of the kingdom."

Xia De then asked:

"Is this to make the whole Moon Bay fight for Karsner? It will definitely affect the city's trade at that time, and it will even more affect those ships coming from the New Continent. Will you all agree to such a thing?"

"Of course I don't want to agree. If Karsner and Deraerion want to fight, let them fight; why drag us into it?"

The Countess hummed:

"But Moon Bay is nominally still part of Karsner, so it is impossible to shirk it completely. According to my idea, helping Karsner is inevitable, but in reality, how to do it—could it be that King Ryan, who lives far away in Willandale City, can personally run to Moon Bay to supervise us building city walls and catching spies?"

Saying this, she glanced at Xia De:

"I am supporting the Beilindier family alone, and now the pressure is also very great. Although Matilda can help me, she is ultimately just an assistant."

Xia De knew how he should answer:

"I might be able to help a little. When Margaret and the others arrive in Moon Bay, you will know who I really am... I hope you won't be too surprised."

After revealing his identity, with the help of Margaret and Galina's influence, it would be no problem to help the Beilindier family better mediate between the two countries. This could also be considered a way to make the Witch Council more united.

"As long as you don't tell me that you are actually a girl in disguise, I won't be surprised at all. When they arrive locally..."

Miss Beilindier's tone carried some sighs, and she said without concealment:

"Although it is great that we can have more helpers, I still like the days when you only have me in front of you."

These words made Xia De feel a bit embarrassed, so he said:

"Speaking of which, since I arrived in Moon Bay, I have always been busy with various things and haven't had a good walk around locally. Before Margaret and the others arrive, if you have time one day, take me for a leisurely walk in Moon Bay. Whether it's inside or outside the city, or even going out to sea to fish, it's all fine."

The blonde witch smiled and continued to look at the young ladies combing the fur of the little unicorn downstairs:

"Alright, but I can't take you to the Candy Forest, and I can't find the Ice Cream Giant either."

"I..."

"No need to explain. Give the elf a dream, then can you give me a kiss?"

She blinked, then wrapped her arms around Xia De's neck.

By the time Xia De returned to his home in Tobesk, it was already two-thirty in the afternoon.

Dorothy and the maids sent by Rixia to deliver formal wear to Xia De and help him change were almost driven crazy. This might be a bit of an exaggeration, but Dorothy, who had already put on a dark blue gown with her long golden hair tied up with a ruby hairband, did indeed complain when she saw Xia De:

"Sir Knight, I thought you had forgotten about tonight. We arrived after lunch; where on earth did you run off to?"

After getting close and sniffing suspiciously, she didn't give Xia De time to explain:

"Go wash up and change your clothes quickly. The witches in Moon Bay are really rude... We have to enter Yodel Palace early to rehearse that opera. You don't need to understand the complete script; you appear in the final act, and your lines are all written on that paper. Just take a look at it in a moment."

She pointed to Little Mia on the coffee table, and the cat lazily stood up, revealing the paper it had been pressing under its body. Xia De's eyesight was perfectly capable of seeing that only half of that paper even had text written on it.

"Alright, sorry, there were some things over there... You look truly beautiful today."

Then the blonde, blue-eyed girl covered her mouth and chuckled:

"You are always like this. Go quickly, Her Highness Rixia even specially sent maids, just worrying that you wouldn't make it in time. Don't refuse this time; I don't even mind if they might take advantage of you, so what are you worrying about?"

"Dorothy, what are you saying?"

So Xia De followed the maids into the bedroom, while the others in the living room helped Dorothy tidy up that cumbersome skirt. The cat also wagged its tail and followed into the bedroom, wanting to protect Xia De's safety. ===== CHAPTER 2186 =====