Chapter 3274: Marchioness of Cholmondeley

Although he couldn't immediately detect the location of the First Fire, confirming that the First Fire was indeed on this island could already be considered a very big gain.

Xia De didn't pay too much attention to this matter. After all, from past experience, not finding it was the normal situation. And by the time Xia De and Emilia arrived at the town at the foot of the snowy mountain again, it was completely dark.

Miss Reinhardt, dressed up, was waiting for them in the snowy mountain hall. After Xia De arrived, she carefully looked at his attire:

"Not bad, is it a handmade formal suit? It seems you also frequently attend such formal banquets."

Emilia wasn't interested in noble banquets, so she and Miss Larsen stayed in the town to take care of the unicorn Ellie. It had to be admitted that Emilia was indeed professional. In just three days, the unicorn's mental state had clearly returned to normal. Although the physical injuries hadn't fully healed, its body was significantly sturdier than when Xia De saw it on Sunday night—

This also reminded Xia De that he absolutely couldn't let Emilia manage Little Mia's food.

Emilia promised to help Xia De check if there was any information left by ancient witches on the unicorn. And the carriage to the city had been prepared in advance. After the witch explained to her apprentice how to handle things if something happened at night, she and Xia De took the carriage and set off for the City of Time.

Grand Duke Lagson intended to mediate the relationship between Delarion and Karsenrik, so this welcome banquet on the island was held for both sides at the same time. Grand Duke Lagson specially came from the capital of the principality, Lomari City, and the venue for the banquet was also his private manor on the island.

That was a luxurious manor on the northern edge of Fatumunster City, but unlike noble manors in other cities that also owned nearby woodlands or farmland, even Grand Duke Lagson only owned the ownership of a small forest next to his manor, because most of the woodlands on this island belonged to the Fatum people.

Xia De and Miss Reinhardt arrived a bit late. When they reached the manor entrance, most of the guests had already arrived. Xia De jumped off the carriage, then turned and held the witch's hand to let her also step off the carriage. Attending this banquet tonight was just out of social need. Without a major mission, Xia De's mood was relatively relaxed.

The old butler was standing in the cold wind at the manor entrance checking the invitations, but Xia De and the witch should belong to the least important type of guests. After all, whether it was the witch or "John Watson," neither had a noble title nor were they friends of important people.

So participating in this kind of social activity in the capacity of not being the focus of the banquet was very novel for Xia De.

The manor opened the banquet hall on the second floor. The banquet hall also had a terrace. Standing on the terrace, one could overlook the Fatumunster snowy mountain under the starry sky. The representatives of Karsenrik and the representatives of Delarion had all arrived. Just by looking at their faces, one could roughly distinguish the stance of most guests.

Of course, there was no shortage of local nobles from Lagson Principality coming to join in the fun, or rather, feeling proud to participate in such a big scene. After all, the flames of war between Delarion and Karsenrik were unlikely to extend to Lagson Principality in the southernmost part of the Old Continent, so the local nobles seemed to treat this two-country talk as some kind of novel thing like an art exhibition or an art show.

Miss Reinhardt knew most of the local people present, and correspondingly, Xia De actually knew most of the representatives of Karsenrik and Delarion. Some were known when participating in various talks and negotiations before, and others were seen in the confidential documents of the Military Intelligence Service.

Xia De even suspected he saw the figure of his superior, Director Anluosi. Director Anluosi really went everywhere when he was busy.

"What are you looking at?"

Miss Reinhardt, who was preparing to take Xia De to see her good friend, asked curiously. Xia De prevaricated:

"Seems to have seen an acquaintance I knew before."

Claire Reinhardt, who was looking forward to deepening her relationship through this banquet, immediately became alert:

"It wouldn't be a woman you met by accident again, right?"

After asking, she realized that asking questions like this was very inappropriate, but Xia De didn't care, shaking his head very casually:

"Of course not. I don't have acquaintances everywhere I go. Not a woman, it's a man, and he's an ordinary person."

Miss Reinhardt nodded lightly, still feeling in her heart that her question just now was very inappropriate.

Her former classmate and good friend was the wife of the Hou Jue of Cholmondeley in Wilndale. This Marchioness was not only Miss Reinhardt's former classmate, but the relationship between the two was quite good. Seeing the witch from afar, the Marchioness waved enthusiastically at her.

The person who was chatting with the Marchioness just now left very consciously. And after the two walked closer, Xia De saw that the Marchioness looked about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with light brown long hair and emerald green eyes. Her appearance was quite outstanding, but after Miss Reinhardt approached, she appeared a bit ordinary due to the contrast.

"Long time no see, Molly. Did you receive the Year-End Festival gift?"

"Long time no see, Claire. Of course I received it. I also hope you like the gift I sent you."

The two exchanged pleasantries, and then the Marchioness looked at her with emotion:

"In the blink of an eye, it's been so many years since we graduated. You look like you haven't changed at all, still so young and beautiful. I heard your mineral exploration business is doing well? I didn't expect that among so many of us in the same grade back then, only you are still doing your original profession."

"Does running around outside really help keep you young? Look at me, after giving birth, I'm starting to have wrinkles at the corners of my eyes, but you are still a twenty-year-old girl."

The platinum-haired girl laughed because of this compliment:

"Molly, you are just under too much pressure. You were like this when we were studying back then. This time you came to my hometown, I can take you around."

That Marchioness, who looked quite sentimental, nodded with a smile:

"I've heard you talk about the scenery of Fatumunster Island for a long time. Oh, I haven't asked who this handsome gentleman is..."

She looked at Xia De curiously again. Miss Reinhardt introduced him:

"This is my friend Mr. John Watson whom I met in other places. This time I returned to my hometown, he said he wanted to come here to see, so we came back together. A few days ago he even went to my house."

So the Marchioness covered her face with a fan and laughed:

"Originally I was thinking of asking about your private affairs. It seems you have already arranged it yourself... truly young."

This sentence was said to Xia De. After finishing, she took the initiative to extend her right hand to Xia De, with her palm facing down and her fingers naturally drooping. Xia De bowed slightly, supported her hand back with his right hand, and lowered his head to touch the air on the back of her hand with his lips symbolically.

This was the standard action of the hand-kissing ceremony. Generally speaking, one absolutely couldn't touch the woman's skin directly.

Seeing that Xia De's action was so standard, the Marchioness asked curiously again:

"I don't know what Mr. Watson does?"

Miss Reinhardt wanted to explain, but Xia De spoke first:

"Gifted by others, I am a shareholder in a small gold mine. In addition, I do some small business in Wilndale with friends. I also have business partners in the Moon Bay area. The seven major families of Moon Bay and I have some shallow friendship."

If it were fifty years ago, this kind of person who had no noble title and was just doing business wouldn't be able to enter the eyes of nobles; but after the steam revolution began, a large number of emerging nobles and giants emerged, giving this kind of purely very wealthy businessman the qualifications to stand with nobles.

The Marchioness's eyes lit up;

"Very familiar with the nobles of Moon Bay? Do you know Countess Belindell of Moon Bay? When the Hou Jue and I passed by Moon Bay before the Year-End Festival, we saw her. That Countess also looked very young and had quite a temperament."

Xia De immediately felt the witch's gaze beside him cast toward him. He smiled reservedly:

"I have seen Countess Belindell, but I am not particularly familiar with her. I just saw her from afar at a social banquet. However, I am very familiar with Hou Jue Morsen locally, and even raced horses with him."

Hou Jue Morsen was a high-level blood-sucking species in Moon Bay. When Xia De, Mr. Bernhardt, and the coroner sought help from the blood-sucking species forces in Moon Bay, he even joked with him using a horse's heart.

Claire Reinhardt found that she seemed to have recognized a brand-new side of the man beside her. Past interactions made her think that the man with the pseudonym "John Watson" was a mysterious person who was unrestrained but very capable and wandered on the Old Continent.

But today he performed completely like an old hand mixing in noble banquets. Not only were his clothing and etiquette very appropriate, but even just standing there, it was as if he was born to belong to such an occasion.

The Marchioness, who was sentimental because she saw her old classmate still bright and moving, showed a smile to Xia De after just a few words. Obviously, she had a good impression of the strange young man from the north. But Claire Reinhardt knew that her old classmate wasn't the kind of person who could be deceived by a man's few words.

And the explanation Xia De gave about his identity was also something the witch had never heard of. However, what he mentioned were just ordinary people's things. It wasn't difficult for a high-level ring mage like Xia De to get some industries, so she didn't notice what was behind the things Xia De said.

Miss Reinhardt and the Marchioness of Cholmondeley hadn't seen each other for a year, and they had many things to say. Xia De was curious about where that Hou Jue of Cholmondeley had gone, but unfortunately, he didn't know that Hou Jue.

As for the representatives of Karsenrik and Delarion, they got along very harmoniously at the banquet. There were only two human kingdoms on the Old Continent, so the diplomatic and military representatives of the two countries were mostly familiar with each other. Now the two countries hadn't gone to war yet, and most people here wouldn't go directly to the battlefield even if they went to war, so there was no need to make the atmosphere tense at the banquet.

If it weren't for knowing the background of this banquet, someone would probably think that everyone here was a friend.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 3275 =====