Chapter 500: With Lei Qianya

It seemed that Miss Galina not only didn't like such banquets but also had other troublesome things today.

Miss Galina very sensitively discovered Xia De's gaze in the crowd below. She shook her head at Xia De imperceptibly, not knowing what meaning she wanted to express.

Without giving a speech on the staircase, Wang Hou Diana, surrounded by Cavendish princesses, princes, and noblewomen, walked along the cleared passage from the staircase to the large balcony on the second floor amidst the music. Standing here, not only the guests on the second floor and the guests in the courtyard, but even pedestrians on Silver Cross Avenue, as well as people on the second and third floors nearby such as St. Deran Square, could see her.

This balcony was the location where the King delivered formal speeches to all citizens.

Because there were too many people, Xia De didn't try to squeeze to the front to watch Wang Hou Diana's speech. He supported Dorothy and carefully sat back on the sofa. Just now, when Lei Qianya followed the Wang Hou to the second floor and walked onto the balcony, Dorothy almost fell directly onto Xia De.

"Honestly, knowing it would be like this, you shouldn't have come to this banquet."

Xia De let Dorothy sit down and originally wanted to use 【Cynthia's Silver Moon Blessing】 for treatment, but was refused by Dorothy with a wave of her hand;

"It's okay."

Her forehead was full of cold sweat, her face was very pale, and her voice was almost completely covered by the sound of the Wang Hou's megaphone.

"It was just a moment of discomfort; I originally thought the distance was far enough."

She was not lying; her complexion was indeed recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye. However, there was still sweat on her forehead, and the long, thin golden locks of hair intentionally left hanging at her temples were stuck to her cheeks because of the sweat.

"Is Lei Qianya okay over there?"

Xia De was more worried about Lei Qianya suddenly collapsing in front of everyone.

"It's okay, she took a painkiller in advance."

"What?"

Xia De frowned in surprise, but Dorothy pursed her lips and shook her head:

"It can only be like this; this is also something that can't be helped. As long as we don't get close, this kind of thing won't happen... In this life, I'm afraid we will never be able to truly look at each other."

Fortunately, Dorothy's writer friends were all standing behind the crowd on tiptoe, trying to see Wang Hou Diana who was giving a speech directly, so Dorothy's abnormality wasn't seen by too many people.

And after the Wang Hou finished her speech, the lively banquet officially began. Wang Hou Diana didn't leave but accepted interviews from reporters and chatted with familiar noblewomen. The young princes and princesses of the Cavendish family also chose to do their own things. Xia De counted carefully; just the King's children who appeared today exceeded ten.

Larus III's reproductive ability was really the strongest among all past kings.

Hou Jue Glassley soon sent a servant over, asking Xia De to go to the gambling table by the wall on the second floor to meet them. But before Xia De could say goodbye to Dorothy's writer friends, another maid came from the third floor; it was Miss Galina asking Xia De to go up.

So he could only temporarily say goodbye to Dorothy and let the servant apologize to Hou Jue Glassley; he would probably be late for a while.

When he saw Miss Galina on the third floor, the Duchess, who was dressed exceptionally beautifully tonight, looked a bit troubled. She had Tifa confirm that no one was eavesdropping outside the door before whispering a slightly creepy fact to Xia De:

"There is a 13th-ring sorcerer at this banquet."

"What?"

"Don't worry, it's the church's 13th-ring sorcerer, the 'Iron Right Hand' Sari Pirot of the Church of Creation."

Miss Galina sat in front of the dressing table, her chair facing Xia De's position, frowning slightly in displeasure, but combined with the red ball gown dragging on the carpet and the shining hair accessories on her head, this made her look even more beautiful:

"I only heard about this at 7:40 PM. Iron Right Hand was originally stationed on the outskirts of the 【Dark Domain】 and only returned to the city temporarily after changing shifts with the 'Sun Greatsword' these past few days. It was Wang Hou Diana who sent him an invitation; this is quite unexpected. The royal family rarely invites high-level ring sorcerers from the Orthodox Churches."

"What is the Wang Hou inviting this gentleman to do?"

"Nothing, just a simple invitation. It's her birthday; sending invitations to prominent people in the city is normal. But my nephew, Larus III, is a bit angry because of this. Originally, he was prepared to appear just now, but he didn't because of this matter... He has always opposed royal family members bypassing him to privately contact high-level church officials."

"But the Wang Hou is just..."

Xia De narrowed his eyes slightly:

"Is she really just inviting him on a whim?"

"I'm glad you didn't treat Diana as a simple person directly."

Miss Galina smiled and then greeted Tifa to help her rub her shoulders. Xia De then mentioned the matter of Dac Nisi. When the two met in the afternoon, because they were both in a hurry, he didn't have time to say:

"Dac Nisi has already entered Tobesk. At least before last night, he had already entered the city area."

"You ran into him again?"

Miss Galina tilted her head slightly:

"Could it be that he really came to seek revenge on you? Oh, this is getting interesting."

She tapped the armrest of the armchair, which had the Cavendish family crest engraved on the back, with her slender fingers:

"I originally thought I could have a few more days of leisure, but now I can't be idle. Honestly, the Council asked me to kill Dac Nisi with my own hands... Xia De, after this matter ends, I will thank you for the information. If there is other information, remember to tell me as soon as possible. Don't try to catch him yourself; you don't know the power of ancient evil spirits and demons. Even a 13th-ring sorcerer wouldn't necessarily win easily if they fought him rashly."

"No problem, Miss Galina."

The Duchess suddenly raised an eyebrow, a smile appearing on her face:

"Why not thank me now? Tifa, take the detective to find little Lei Qianya. When I came back from the second floor just now, I saw her enter the east corridor; she probably went to her lounge."

Although this main building of Yodel Palace had some rooms as living locations for royal family members, its administrative role was also very strong. As a princess who had already participated in government affairs, Lei Qianya had her own study or lounge here. Among Larus III's unmarried daughters, few had this treatment.

"Remember not to pass through the banquet hall to prevent being seen by people with ulterior motives. Go from the east staircase; if you meet anyone, just say I asked the detective to go downstairs to get something."

She arranged, the maid nodded, and Xia De also stood up from the chair:

"Miss Galina, I should stay at Yodel Palace until about eleven o'clock. If there is anything else tonight, you can come to the second floor to find me at any time."

"I know, you have an appointment to play Tarot cards with others. Speaking of Tarot cards, Wang Hou Diana will probably give you a surprise tonight; you can look forward to it a little."

She said, supporting her face with a smile.

Guided by Tifa, Xia De took a large detour on the east side of the third floor before seeing the narrow staircase used by servants. Walking through the interior of the labyrinth-like building, he didn't meet anyone along the way.

After stopping in front of the door with the "Lei Qianya Cavendish" nameplate, Tifa signaled Xia De to knock on the door himself:

"Princess Lei Qianya probably won't like seeing me."

The black-haired maid winked playfully at Xia De. If it was cute for the younger Iluna to do this action, then it was playful and slightly charming for Tifa. After that detective assistant work, she seemed to have a different view of Xia De:

"Then I'll go back first, Xia De; Miss might still have things for me to do over there."

She said in a low voice.

"That's fine, goodbye, Tifa."

"I wish you a pleasant evening."

Saying this, the maid smiled at Xia De, then stepped on the carpet and turned to leave.

Xia De confirmed that the other party's back disappeared around the corridor corner before reaching out to knock on the door lightly.

"Who is it?"

The voice of Lei Qianya came from inside. Although it sounded a bit muffled through the door, it still made Xia De smile:

"It's me."

He believed in his voice; Lei Qianya could recognize it.

Just after he finished speaking, he didn't hear the footsteps that should have sounded immediately. Instead, after waiting for a while, a set of footsteps that was clearly not Lei Qianya's approached the door.

After the door was opened, what Xia De saw was a young man with reddish-brown hair, shorter than him, wearing a black tailcoat and a white shirt, with a pocket watch chain extending from his chest pocket tied to a button. His skin was a bit dark, his eyebrows were thick, and he asked Xia De at the door with some doubt:

"Sir, who are you?"

"He's my friend."

Before Xia De could speak, the voice of Princess Angelina sounded from inside the room.

Xia De looked into the room. There were quite a few people inside. Besides servants, there were Princess Angelina, Lei Qianya, and several other young men and women Xia De didn't know.

Among them were several young ladies Xia De had seen at the Divination Society, but because he didn't remember their names, he treated them as people he didn't know.

"Mr. Hamilton is my friend. I asked the servant to find him to wait for the ball to start with us."

Princess Angelina said again, so the young man at the door moved aside to let Xia De into the room. He looked at Xia De suspiciously, and only realized when Xia De brushed past him:

"Hamilton from Lei Jiede!"

"Yes, it's me."

Xia De nodded and admitted.

"You are the rumored lover of Miss Galina?"

Xia De stopped and frowned at him:

"Sir, this is impolite; please do not slander Miss Galina's reputation."

Not only him, but even Lei Qianya and Angelina frowned. Although the rumors were flying, these things couldn't be said like this.

This noble youth in front of him, whose name he didn't know, clearly had a hostile attitude toward Xia De. Although he didn't know where this hostility came from, Xia De wasn't the kind of person who would swallow his anger, and he was slandered when he clearly hadn't done anything; this was what made him most angry:

"Sir, please apologize to Miss Galina."

"Yes, I spoke out of turn."

Involving the real-power Duchess of the country, the other party clearly realized that what he blurted out under emotion was inappropriate. But after a very insincere apology, he looked Xia De up and down again, raised his eyebrows, and lifted his head slightly, saying:

"Mr. Hamilton, I heard you are a detective from St. Deran Square? Look, this appearance really looks like it."

This tone was extremely frivolous; in other words, it was impolite.

"Then, Detective, why don't you deduce what we were doing just now?"

He said with a smile:

"A detective from St. Deran Square should have this ability."

Xia De looked at the others. Most people also felt that speaking like this was very impolite, while a small number of young ladies were trying to tell Xia De what had happened here just now with their expressions.

"Is that so..."

Xia De turned and walked toward the maid by the wall. With his back to the crowd, he reached out to Ms. Hulse, Lei Qianya's head maid:

"Madam, lend me a gun."

Saying this, he pulled out the 【Gun of Kindness】 from his waist. Although besides Ms. Hulse, two other maids saw this scene, no one dared to make a sound.

"This gentleman, actually, besides being a detective, I am also a knight."

Xia De lowered his head and nimbly flipped open the cylinder.

Because the 【Gun of Kindness】 could use a ring sorcerer's spirit to generate bullets, he usually wouldn't put bullets in it. Now all six chambers were empty.

Xia De reached into his pocket, took out a bullet, showed it to the surprised crowd, and then pressed the bullet into the cylinder.

"And the most important thing for a knight and a detective is actually courage."

Flipping the cylinder back to the correct position, he showed the handgun to the thick-eyebrowed noble youth at the door:

"Since you are questioning my detective ability, why don't we have a bet? No, the gambling method of Tarot cards is too boring; let's bet on this."

With a flick of his finger, the cylinder immediately spun. After the cylinder was fixed again, Xia De picked up the gun and signaled to the other party:

"You go first or I go first? I think you understand what I mean."

"Oh, you, you lunatic!"

The youth in the black tailcoat looked at Xia De in disbelief. Xia De shook his head:

"This is an honor bet; in the old era, knights were very happy to use this way to maintain their reputation."

"Mr. Hamilton, you don't have to take risks for this person. This is Mr. Jason Dimock, the youngest son of Count Dimock."

Princess Angelina's voice came from the side, but Xia De had no interest in knowing who the other party was:

"Then, little Mr. Dimock, you go first or I go first?"

"You..."

"That's fine, I'll go first."

Xia De aimed the 【Gun of Kindness】, which absolutely could not be used for suicide, at his temple and pulled the trigger before others could react.

Click~ a sound, and sure enough, no bullet was fired.

"Your turn."

Xia De walked a few steps quickly and handed the gun forward, but Mr. Dimock clearly didn't dare to take it:

"You..."

"Oh, two times each, right?"

Saying this, he was about to raise the gun again. The youth in the tailcoat immediately stopped him:

"No, no, I mean..."

"Oh, one time each, but you want me to pull the trigger?"

Xia De raised the muzzle, and Mr. Dimock immediately raised both hands:

"Knight, calm down, please listen to me, why should I bet with you?"

"Because you offended Miss Galina and my reputation."

Although Xia De smiled and lowered the revolver, he still stared at the other party:

"Or do you want me to pull the trigger three times first, and then you try the last three?"

Because he was very confident that this gun absolutely couldn't kill himself, the expression on Xia De's face showed that he absolutely wasn't joking.

"No, I..."

Jason Dimock looked at the others in the room, trying to seek help from others, but no one spoke at this time. Not only because Xia De was holding a gun, but also because what Xia De said actually made a lot of sense.

Even if they really played a dangerous bet here and someone died, the living wouldn't be punished too severely.

"I, I... I'm not feeling well, sorry."

Seeing no one helping him, the noble youth in the tailcoat backed away toward the door, then opened the door and flashed out, regardless of what his friends in the room thought.

"Tsk."

Xia De shook his head, took the gun, and turned to look at the group of people sitting on the sofa. Seeing no one speaking, he flipped the cylinder open again and took out the bullet.

Judging from the position of the bullet, the 6th pull of the trigger should have aligned it with the barrel.

"You were really too impulsive."

Princess Angelina, sitting on the sofa, said immediately. After finishing, she winked at Xia De; this action was very playful.

"I'm really sorry that this kind of thing happened, sorry, you guys go to the banquet hall first."

Lei Qianya, the real owner here, said to her friends, so people bypassed Xia De and left the room, but most of them would smile and nod at Xia De. It looked like what happened just now would definitely spread throughout this banquet.

After the guests left, Lei Qianya looked at the servants standing by the wall. After nodding slightly, Ms. Hulse led the servants to leave first.

After everyone left, besides her and Xia De, only Angelina Cavendish remained sitting on the sofa.

The little princess was originally holding a porcelain teacup, but seeing her sister stand up from behind the desk and walk quickly toward Xia De, who was standing in the center of the room and tucking the gun into his waist, she subconsciously put the teacup on the coffee table and then stretched her neck to look at them.

Lei Qianya reached out her right hand and straightened the head of the bowing Xia De. The red-haired young lady wrapped her left arm around him, then stood on tiptoe and kissed him.

"Oh~"

The little princess said softly, her face flushed, her eyes blinking without stopping as she looked at them.

"What is your relationship, anyway?"

After a long time, she picked up her teacup again, turned sideways, and asked in a low voice while holding the teacup.

Lei Qianya pushed Xia De away, panting heavily, and brushed back the scattered red hair by her ear; the flush on her cheeks couldn't even be covered by blush.

Her breathing was a bit unstable when she spoke, but the smile on her face was very obvious:

"Xia De saved me; this is a thank you."

None of the three people present believed this kind of talk, but Angelina didn't ask again.

"I wanted to do this last time."

Lei Qianya said to Xia De with a smile again. She looked at Xia De at close range; her eyes were very bright at this moment:

"After parting in a hurry in the west, I have always wanted to thank you. I wanted to kiss you on Saturday, but was delayed by those damn things. Now I finally did it; this feeling is really not bad."

"Sister Lei Qianya, the last sentence should be a line for a male character."

The little princess reminded immediately, but Lei Qianya ignored her sister.

"Xia De, Angelina doesn't want to be married to someone she doesn't like by her father for political reasons, so she sought help from me. She is someone who can be trusted, so it doesn't matter that she saw it just now."

Lei Qianya said again:

"I sometimes leave Tobesk. If you can't find me but encounter trouble in the city, you can also seek help from Angelina. She is always at Yodel Palace, but her maid can enter and leave relatively freely. I'll have her give you contact information in a while."

"I don't encounter any trouble in this city; it's very peaceful here."

Xia De said, carefully wiping off the lipstick on his lips with the back of his hand:

"Then, Lei Qianya, were you okay when you went to the second floor just now?"

He was still worried about this matter.

"It's fine. Sit down quickly; let's have a good chat. I know you're thinking about going to play Tarot cards, but delaying for an hour or two shouldn't matter."

"Actually, whether I play cards or not doesn't matter."

Xia De said lightly. Lei Qianya covered her mouth and chuckled, and Angelina also seemed to want to say something, but at this moment, the door was knocked again. ===== CHAPTER 501 =====