Chapter 3151

Margarete sighed softly; soaking in the hot spring dyed her fair neck with a very beautiful blush:

"It wasn't that we couldn't defeat them, but at that time we were already facing pressure from Delarion in the north, and the coastal areas of the Lagson Kingdom, the predecessor of the Lagson Principality, were rich in brave and battle-hardened soldiers. Coupled with the fact that the development of the United Kingdom navy was somewhat lagging at the time, and the Lagson Kingdom not only occupied the bay area but also had a series of small islands in the south of the bay as a final base of resistance."

"So to avoid fighting on both the north and south fronts at the same time, our ancestors gave up the military annexation of that area located on the west bank of Star Fall Bay, and instead achieved peace with them at the cost of the Lagson Kingdom giving up part of its territory and being downgraded to a principality."

Margarete summarized:

"That piece of land is also the only area in the entire southern region of the Old Continent that the United Kingdom has never actually conquered. A few years ago, some people in the country promoted an agenda to make the Lagson Principality a part of the United Kingdom, but in the end, this matter also fizzled out."

"I think my trip to the south shouldn't directly bring me into contact with figures like the Grand Duke of Lagson."

After all, when Xia De visited other cities, most of the time he just hung around in the lower city, docks, or wild forests—except for Moon Bay.

"That's not necessarily true."

Miss Jia Lin Na smiled and moved closer to Xia De, so Vanessa, who was originally on Xia De's right, gave up her position, and Miss Jia Lin Na leaned over very naturally:

"Margarete and Princess Lei Qianya probably don't know, and I only heard rumors—the Grand Duke of Lagson intends to mediate the conflict between Karsenrik and Delarion."

Everyone present was startled, and Princess Lei Qianya asked suspiciously:

"Why does that old gentleman think he has such ability? Is he... overestimating himself too much?"

"Actually, you can just call it arrogance."

Miss Jia Lin Na reminded, but she agreed with Princess Lei Qianya's view:

"Small countries have their own ways of dealing with the world; of course, it's also possible that the Lagson Principality is arrogant enough to think it can become a chess player. However, in my opinion, Princess Lei Qianya's father and Margarete's father should both send some people over."

"Why?"

Aimiliya asked curiously, and it was Xia De who gave his view:

"Although everyone knows that a great war is coming, it is still very necessary to see the other side's attitude and cards before the war."

"Yes, that's the principle. However, when the representatives of both sides meet, I'm afraid it will be arguments and accusations again; the two major cases of the princess's death and the human trafficking in the capital have not been closed yet."

Everyone didn't keep talking about such heavy topics in the hot spring; after seeing small land-birds occasionally poking their heads in the woods next to the hot spring, Xia De asked about the current maintenance situation of the "Moon Sanctuary."

This stronghold in the forest had basically been built, and the girls who were stationed here daily were selected from the followers of Silvia, Fulora, and Xiwei.

Speaking of this topic, Xia De, who was holding Miss Jia Lin Na and Xiwei, asked:

"I've been here a few times since the Battle of the Woodland... you wouldn't all know, would you?"

"You want to ask if we know who followed you here, right?"

Xiwei asked like this, and then everyone laughed, which made Xia De think that it seemed everyone knew about this.

In short, soaking in the hot spring with everyone in the depths of the deep forest on a year-end festival night with light snow was indeed a quite good enjoyment.

While soaking in the glowing hot spring, Xia De was still thinking about whether any accidents would suddenly appear nearby, and then let everyone solve them together; unfortunately, there were no other things in the Vesta Woodland for the time being after the Battle of the Woodland ended, so there would be no lucky person who needed half of the members of the Witch Council to take action to solve it.

The girls, not knowing if they had discussed it in advance or if they all had a tacit understanding, appeared by Xia De's side in turns, and after staying with Xia De for a while, they went to replace others; even Miss Haili Afuluola, who was least familiar with Xia De, was pushed over by Xiwei once.

Girls who were relatively shy, such as Yiluna and Miss Swift, generally sat with Xia De purely with blushing faces, while ladies who were relatively bold, such as Princess Lei Qianya and Miss Jia Lin Na, all liked to do some small actions underwater.

Xia De was not sure if everyone had discovered their behavior, but tonight was the year-end festival, and even an outsider was willing to empty his mind and then believe that everything that happened today was reasonable.

The lively hot spring party lasted until eleven o'clock, and then everyone came out of the pool one after another to change clothes and prepare to go back.

It was just a pity that Margarete could not follow the crowd back to Tobesk; after all, she still had to greet her parents according to custom tomorrow morning.

And when they returned home, it was indeed eleven-thirty; Grandmother Kasandela had already fallen asleep, and after discussing with Miss Swift, everyone decided to wake Grandmother up in a while.

So, just like yesterday, in the remaining time of 1854, everyone sat down in front of the fireplace in the living room and chatted casually. It was just that this time Luweiya no longer agreed to let Xia De sit on the carpet, but let him hold Little Leaving Xiao Leaving Xiao Miya and sit in the center of the long sofa facing the fireplace.

The girls either sat on the sofa, or leaned against the armrests of the sofa, or sat on the back chairs prepared by the maids, or sat on the cushions in front of the fireplace.

Although no one asked Xia De to speak again, he couldn't help but talk about the story from the summer of 1853 to the present. That was not only a story about himself, but also a story related to everyone present.

Time passed quite quickly in such casual chat; the flaxen-haired girl went to wake up Grandmother Kasandela around eleven-forty-five, and not long after Grandmother took her seat, the sound of fireworks appeared one after another in the city that had already quieted down.

The maids carried trays and distributed tea cups or wine glasses to everyone in front of the fireplace. Xia De stroked Little Leaving Xiao Leaving Xiao Miya with his left hand, held the tea cup he used daily at home lightly with his right hand, and looked at everyone here:

"Ten, nine..."

Yiluna, Aimiliya, and Ajielina sat together in front of the fireplace, comparing the sizes of the cups in their hands.

"... eight, seven..."

Princess Lei Qianya sat on the right armrest of the short sofa where Miss Jia Lin Na was, and quietly threw a wink at Xia De, obviously planning what would happen in a while.

"... six, five..."

Tifa and the maids who had finished their work stood behind the short sofa; the maid ladies would celebrate the end of 1854 here with their masters.

"... four, three..."

Grace and Helen squeezed into the same chair, with Miss Yilaise beside them; the boat girl looked at the scene in front of her as if she was missing something, maybe there would be a chance to ask later.

"... two, one..."

【So what are you thinking about?】

"She" suddenly asked at this moment; Xia De held the tea cup in his hand high and smiled without answering this question:

"Happy Year-End Festival!"

"Happy Year-End Festival!" ×n

All the wine glasses and tea cups were raised together, and amidst the crackling sounds of various fireworks outside the window, they welcomed the arrival of 1855 of the General Calendar of the Sixth Era together with Xia De.

The snow was still falling, and the bell at zero o'clock rang at this moment, shaking the night sky, distant and deep. He had indeed had some troubles and worries at the moment the question was raised just now, but today was the Year-End Festival, and the outsider didn't want to think about those.

Having spent the second year in this world that had become familiar, when raising a glass with his family at this moment, all he thought about was firmly grasping the hands of all of them.

Amidst the fireworks, the sound of bells, the congratulations and discussions of the girls, and the dissatisfied meowing of the cat that had been woken up, the scene in front of him became more vivid and warm, and "She" smiled at this time and said:

【Present World · Sixth Era, General Calendar 1855, Winter, Month of Birth.

The bell of the year-end rings for the second time; what you see when raising your glass in front of the fireplace at this moment is the girl you care about. Outsider, having walked through spring, summer, autumn, and winter, experienced wind, frost, rain, and snow, and tasted all the sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy, when you come to a new year again, the last five chapters of the Whispering Poem have already opened their edges in the wind and snow.

The next scene blown by the winter wind is fate, a fate that repeats in cycles but will eventually return to the origin. The Ouroboros is the Ring of Destiny, and the double-edged sword is both a gift and a price; when fate shows its edge to you, will your choice be to open your arms and face the sword light, or to wield a long sword and grasp it to meet it?】

"Wait a minute, why must I face it directly? Can't I dodge flexibly?"

Xia De raised his own question, and "Her" whispering voice was still light:

【After all, even you cannot escape so-called fate.】

After spending zero o'clock together, the girls who usually didn't stay up late also returned to their rooms to rest; there were other activities waiting for everyone tomorrow, and this year-end festival was not over yet.

Of course, Yiluna, Aimiliya, and Ajielina would definitely have a late-night talk, but as long as they spoke in low voices, no one would stop them tonight.

Tomorrow morning Princess Lei Qianya and Ajielina had to appear at the Yodel Palace, but they planned to get up a bit earlier; they couldn't miss the overnight stay tonight like Margarete.

Of course, although no one followed Xia De to the bedroom when getting up from the fireplace. But when the lights in the windows of No. 6 and No. 7 St. Deran Square went out one by one, those girls who were looking forward to the real "activities" tonight also began their own actions.

Because Xia De knew in advance that someone would come tonight, he didn't fall asleep immediately after the bedroom lights were turned off. Instead, after arranging a cat bed in the closet for Little Leaving Xiao Leaving Xiao Miya, he turned on the gas desk lamp by the bedside and started reading.

【Guess who is the first to arrive?】

"Duoluoxi and Princess Lei Qianya."

The thought in his heart had just ended when Xia De suddenly frowned, because he heard a slight rustling sound coming from under the bed just now. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't consider the possibility of his home being haunted, but after the 【Fate Casino】 incident, he began to suspect again that anything could happen in his home:

"But it would be too much for it to be haunted on the night of the Year-End Festival, right?"

(End of chapter)