Chapter 680: Bonfire Dance

Regardless of the reason, witches always hate men, so except for Xia De, their attitude toward other men was like this.

"Miss Cassandra."

The person who entered was a middle-aged man dressed in fancy clothes. His red formal suit was decorated with flashy medals, and a flower was tucked into his reddish-brown hair. He was wearing a pair of dark red trousers on his lower body, and a pair of white stockings on his legs, which wrapped his trousers up to his knees, looking particularly eye-catching.

He was about the same height as Xia De, but thinner than Xia De:

"Good evening, Miss Cassandra. Hmm, are there guests?"

This "Earl Dalak of Campbell" was very polite. Seeing Miss Lei Lei Qianya sitting opposite Priestess Cassandra, he stood at the door without rushing in. Of course, he also saw Xia De standing by the wall, but very naturally regarded him as a background decoration in this picture.

"Let me introduce you. This is Viscountess Lei Lei Qianya of Aurora from Karsenrik."

Priestess Cassandra introduced.

"Is it that Miss Lei Lei Qianya of Aurora of the Aurora family? The elegant Flower of Campbell, the Duchess who gallops on the ocean."

The Earl greeted Miss Lei Lei Qianya with a smile, and the latter just nodded coldly.

"Then Earl, what is the matter?"

Priestess Cassandra asked again.

"Wanted to talk to you about business, but since you have guests, I will come again in a while."

He bowed to the ladies, but didn't turn around and leave immediately. Instead, he took off his gloves and performed a bow with a set of complex movements:

"Oh, Miss Lei Lei Qianya of Aurora of Karsenra, welcome to Mid-Hillburg. I wonder if I have the honor to invite you to dance in a while? We can chat about my vacation manor in western Delarion."

According to Xia De's understanding of witches, they would probably politely refuse when they were in a good mood. But this time, Miss Lei Lei Qianya turned her head slightly and glanced at Xia De, the corners of her mouth painted with lipstick curled up, revealing a smile.

This kind of smile Xia De had also seen on Miss Miss Jia Lin Na's face, which meant the witch had a "good idea."

"Earl, what a coincidence, someone has already invited me to dance. It's a young man from Tobesk. Yes, very young, and also a noble. It is said that his relationship with the royal family is unusual. He has already invited me. However..."

She pointed to Xia De behind her with a smile:

"This is my bodyguard. The bravery

Xia De knew the witch was just looking for some fun.

"This is quite nice."

Count Dalak then looked up excitedly at Xia De, who had just been treated as background.

He first realized that this "bodyguard" had an outstanding appearance, and then saw the two pistols tucked at Xia De's waist.

After a moment of hesitation, he immediately shook his head:

"I am proficient in the rapier, but there is no need for us to resort to violence at the Fire Worship Festival party; it would ruin the atmosphere of this romantic bonfire banquet. However, I still look forward to dancing with you. So, I wonder if it might be possible to show our martial prowess in a different way with your loyal servant?"

"What way?"

The witch asked, but Xia De could hear that she was about to lose her patience.

"Luo De Cards."

The witch immediately laughed:

"Of course. Then, Watson, go and play a round with the Count. Remember... don't lose too ugly."

"Very well, my lady."

Xia De walked over from the wall and took out his own deck of Luo De Cards from his pocket. With a single-handed flick in the air and a light tap with the other, all the special cards were ejected from the deck as it spread out in the air. Then, both hands scooped simultaneously; his right hand grabbed the deck without the special cards, and his left hand grabbed the special cards.

He selected replacement cards from his spare deck to add in, then skillfully shuffled with one hand and arrived before Count Dalak of Campbell:

"It is an honor to play cards with you, but I have no special cards; I am just an ordinary player."

The slightly chubby Count looked at Xia De's hands in surprise, and it took him a long while to nod:

"I have one special card. Your shuffling motion is truly... beautiful."

"Thank you for the compliment. Then let us begin. In the name of the elegant Flower of Campbell, Xivi Cassandra, I shall defeat you."

They adopted the basic rules of best-of-five, and even without adding any special cards, Xia De still won with a three-game winning streak.

He even drew a King and a Blackjack once, which for a time made the Count of Campbell suspect that the armed bodyguard before him was some kind of professional gambler.

However, he was a good sport and accepted the loss gracefully. After praising Xia De's Luo Luo De Pai skills, he took his leave. Yet, when in close contact with this Count, Xia De always felt something was wrong with him, but he was certain the other party was just an ordinary person with no traces of elements on him, so he did not know why he felt that "intuition" of something being wrong.

Out of curiosity, he asked more about Count Dalak and learned that the latter had been very ill some time ago, bedridden for the entire summer before finally recovering. His thin physique was caused by that serious illness; otherwise, as a nobleman with no worries in life and no bad habits other than eating, drinking, smoking, women, and Luo De Cards, there was no reason for him to be so thin.

Because he had been delayed at Miss Aurora's, Xia De's plan to meet local Luo Luo De Pai players before the dance was completely dashed.

Seeing that the bonfire dance starting at 8:30 was very close, Xia De did not leave the lounge again, but instead chatted with Miss Aurora and Mother Cassandra about what he had seen at the auction, complained about the auction prices of Luo De Cards, and then discussed the current situation in Mid-Hill Fort.

When the time was about right, and one could see couples or other pairings gathering in the courtyard from the window, Xia De stood up from the sofa. Amidst Miss Aurora's smiles, he imitated the movements of other gentlemen he had seen, placing his left hand on his chest, waving his right hand in the air, and extending an invitation with a slight bow:

"Miss Xivi Aurora, may I invite you to dance?"

"Of course."

The witch laughed happily:

"Wait for me outside; I need to touch up my makeup."

The light makeup on her face looked quite good, and there was no need for a touch-up, but Xia De wisely did not point that out.

So he left first to wait in the courtyard. When saying goodbye to Mother Cassandra, the old witch said with a hint of regret:

"Young man, if one day Miss Jia Lin Na draws her blade and stabs you to death, I probably wouldn't be surprised."

"Um, what?"

"Nothing. You also look like the kind of person with many methods; at least, the teacher thinks so."

She shook her head:

"I will leave in a while and go back to rest. A reminder again: the teacher's ritual will be held on Monday. If you are interested, arrange your other plans for this Monday in advance."

"I will definitely go. Yes, for the sake of resolving the Red Butterfly, I will definitely go."

Xia De nodded, and the old witch showed a relieved smile:

"Xia De Hamilton, actually, the teacher is also looking forward to meeting you."

"Then, farewell."

"Farewell."

Miss Aurora asked Xia De to wait in the courtyard first, and when dancing with a lady of such status, Xia De naturally chose to put on a mask. Doing so did not seem out of place among the guests attending the banquet, as many people wore masks to dance, and even more young men and women did so.

Xia De waited for a full twenty minutes, and only after the bonfire dance had already begun did he finally wait for Miss Aurora.

She had changed out of that slightly cumbersome formal gown and was now wearing a black and white dress with an amazingly thin waist. Not all women were suited for this style of dress, but for a witch with extraordinary charm, all clothes suited them.

Miss Aurora also wore a mask, and after taking Xia De's extended hand, the two entered the bonfire dance venue. The central courtyard of the square-shaped castle was quite large, and dozens of bonfires were divided into four areas, with bands playing beside the bonfires in the middle of each area.

Witches seemed to be very good at dancing; even wearing beautiful black patent leather high heels, Miss Aurora's dancing skills were much more proficient than Xia De's.

Both were wearing masks that covered the upper half of their faces, so their expressions could still be seen. Under the moonlight, beside the bonfire, Xivi Aurora's face was flushed red. She looked exceptionally happy at this moment, leading Xia De to dance slowly to the sound of the orchestra, and even introducing this famous piece of music called "Heart of the Schluch Lake" to Xia De amidst the slight crackling of the bonfire.

"Actually, I sometimes envy Miss Jia Lin Na."

She rested her head on Xia De's shoulder as the two danced lightly to the beat.

"What?"

"She always seems to be able to get what she wants. Although her seat corresponds to 【Balance】, I always think that she is actually favored by 【Fate】."

The witch whispered in Xia De's ear. Xia De naturally knew that Miss Xivi Aurora had a high level of favorability toward him. Where this favorability came from, he hadn't figured out yet, but his feelings would definitely not be wrong.

"The only man who can approach us, with a good appearance, a kind nature, and outstanding abilities, and who can even play a major role in the Council's pursuit of the Chosen. Apart from the fact that you are only a low-ranker for now, I really can't think of any other shortcomings you have."

Listening to Miss Aurora's words, "she" laughed in Xia De's ear; this was probably mockery.

"But why was it Miss Jia Lin Na who met you first?"

The long-haired brown witch asked, and then unexpectedly, she suddenly kissed Xia De's ear. As Xia De's face flushed red, she left Xia De's shoulder and signaled that it was time for Xia De to move.