People around who recognized Miss Carina naturally also saw the interaction between Shade and the Duchess. Before this, no one had ever seen the Duchess in such a posture in public, so people were concerned about it.
The rumored story of the Duke and his lover made him a little more convinced.
The two of them did not linger among the crowd of magicians, but continued to walk in the courtyard. The witch took Shade's arm and softly introduced him to the big names attending this private banquet. She looked very happy, even more so than before.
Shade was more relaxed and happy than he had ever been since he had known her.
They tried the snacks on the table together, walked in the garden together, and greeted familiar people together. The red-haired lady even watched Shade play two games of Rhodes with others, but this time there was no gambling.
Anything. While Mia was away, they also fed the pure white pet cat raised in Count Willard's manor. Carina smiled and guessed, what would happen if the cat in Shade's house knew that he had done such a thing?
What will happen?
"This should be considered a date, right?"
When we were watching the night sky together on the terrace on the second floor of the manor, the witch suddenly asked. Shade put the wine glass on the railing and held the railing with both hands:
"Of course."
"I almost understand Lesia's passion for you. This is really good."
She also put down the wine glass in her hand and gradually moved her face closer to Shade. Under the lively chatter in the courtyard downstairs and the ambiguous gas light on the terrace, the two people under the moon got closer and closer until they kissed each other.
.The cold but shi/lu/lu kiss didn’t last too long, and Carina took the initiative and gently pushed Shade away.
They turned around and looked behind them together. They saw Agelina wearing a sky blue dress standing at the door of the terrace. They didn't know whether they should disturb her. Behind her were four or five aristocratic ladies that Shade had never seen before.
They were excitedly talking about the scene in front of them in lowered voices.
"Good evening, Agelina, did you have a good time?"
The witch asked with a smile, and then said to Shade without waiting for Agelina's answer:
"I'm going to touch up my makeup and take care of the necessary social interactions before the outdoor dance begins. Tifa and the others should already be waiting for me in the lounge to meet guests. You and Agelina first
Let's go together, and I'll come find you again when the dance starts."
She raised her hand and wiped Shade's lips, then stepped towards Agelina. She patted her shoulder lightly before greeting Agelina's friends. The young aristocratic ladies responded to the duchess in panic.
polite, and then watched her leave with brisk steps.
After Agelina drove away her group of chattering and giggling friends, she entered the terrace and stood with Shade.
She held her hands together and didn't know what to say, but Shade found the topic first:
"Good evening, Agelina. Did you have a good time at the party? I watched the magic show over there and it was fun. I've always been curious, don't you have a so-called 'court jester' in your family?"
The little princess had a smile on her face:
"When I was a child, I always thought we would have it, but then my mother told us that those eunuch attendants can't perform magic or get through fire rings... Good evening, Shade, I thought you would first
Asked why my sister didn’t come."
She mustered up the courage to directly call Shade by his name. Of course, this was also related to the fact that there was no third person here besides them.
Shade shook his head:
"Your Highness, I still understand the most basic social etiquette. Besides, it is very impolite to ask one girl in front of another girl."
He looked at Agelina and asked:
"Do you need me to compliment your outfit? This dress really suits you."
Agelina then generously lifted the hem of her skirt and turned it around, smiling so that Shade could see all the details of her dress. Then she quietly asked him:
"Shad, I heard from my sister that you promised to help her collect intelligence in the Green Lake area, right?"
Shade didn't expect her to ask this question, but he nodded anyway:
"Yes, this seems to be very important to Lesia."
"So are you optimistic or pessimistic about this negotiation?"
Her Royal Highness the Princess asked again. It could be seen that she was not trying to forcefully create a topic, but was really interested in it.
"It's hard to say whether we are pessimistic or optimistic, but I don't think the negotiations will go smoothly."
He told Agelina that he met Captain Rades when he passed the border in the Green Lake area, and what he saw and the conflict in that country tavern, Her Royal Highness the Princess's eyes almost sparkled when she heard:
"It's really exciting, I mean, the negotiation itself is creating conflict."
"Yes, I'm even worried that the conflict between the north and the south in the Green Lake area will cause problems first before the war breaks out in the Pantanal. Because of the development of the two cities, there are many conflicts there... It's hard to say.
."
Shade shook his head cautiously, drank all the wine in the red wine glass, and then frowned because he drank too much. Agelina covered her mouth and smiled like a lady:
"I didn't expect you to lose your temper like this."
"I'm just not good at drinking...drinking actually doesn't do any good."
The seventeen-year-old red-haired princess nodded slightly and asked in a low voice:
"Shad, do you want to go to the lounge over there and let's talk about the Green Lake negotiations? My father and mother thought that I didn't understand anything. There are many things that Sister Lesia and the others cannot know, but I have actually heard about them.
Yes. Maybe you will be interested in this, after all, no one usually talks to me about this."
Shade hesitated for a moment. In this kind of open banquet, girls usually invite men to go to the lounge together, which is some kind of tacit social understanding. Because he has to take into account Lesia's feelings, he is not sure what this means.
.And Agelina, who saw his thoughts, patted Shade on the arm:
"Shadow, what are you thinking about?"
She pursed her lips and pretended to be angry, which made her already young face look even more delicate:
"I really want to talk to you about the Green Lake negotiations, otherwise I will let you take me down there. After all, this is a rare occasion where my sister is not around."
The lounge at the banquet is actually public. Count Willard has vacated the rooms on the left side of the first floor so that tonight's guests can rest or talk. The lounge that Miss Carina mentioned just now is actually the Earl's
She has special treatment in the study room.
Shade and Agelina then returned to the first floor. At this time, the banquet was getting busy, and all the lounges were temporarily unused, so they chose one at random.
Agelina really wanted to talk to Shade about Green Lake. She heard a lot of news in Yodel Palace that was not convenient for the public to disclose, such as His Majesty the King's bottom line on border disputes and the impact of the new trade route.
trade expectations, and the location and specifications of subsequent railways to be built.
This information comes from casual chats, so it cannot be 100% confirmed, but it is still of great reference value. It was only at this time that Shade learned that Agelina is actually quite sensitive to politics, and her views on the relationship between the two countries
, and the prediction of the future economic situation and domestic conflicts are not much inferior to Lesia, who has been exposed to government affairs all year round.
"But no one wants to talk to me about this. They all think that I am a good-looking flower vase. Except for my sister, most people think that I should wear a beautiful dress and hang out in those afternoon tea parties or naive girls' salons all day long.
Here, or with a fake smile, you can seduce those stupid noble boys, just like in the palace novels, and engage in human relations stupidly."
Her Royal Highness the Princess lamented and did not hesitate to tell Shade this fact. So while she was about to write the expression "Come on me now" on her face, Shade burned the note paper that had just been used to calculate domestic grain production.
While saying:
"You are very talented, and the Cavendish family's genes are really... I mean, doesn't Lesia value you very much?"
The little princess looked at Shade with even sadder eyes:
"But the problem is that Sister Lesia is too strong. Even if I have some talents and talents, I can't compare with her. She doesn't really need my help, or in other words, the helpers around her are enough. Sometimes
, I don’t want to gain too much, I just..."
Shade finished the second half of the sentence for her. He could understand Agelina's thoughts:
"I want to be recognized by people, or be praised a little bit, instead of being treated like a little girl who hasn't grown up."
The little princess blinked, her face slightly red:
"Do you have the power to read minds?"
"not yet."
"Then you are really good at understanding girls."
"Don't say that, it will make me look like a dissolute man."
Shade said hurriedly, and Agelina laughed again. She poured tea for Shade, while she rested her hands on the sofa and swayed her legs under her skirt:
"It feels really good to talk to you. You are a very magical man. It is not accidental that my sister and aunt like you. Knight, you really seem to have stepped out of a story."
She tilted her head and looked at Shade. The lipstick color on her pink lips was different from that of Lesia and Carina:
"Xia De, do you know how to appreciate vases?"
Shade, who was holding the tea cup, felt that this was a strange question:
“Antique or modern porcelain?”
【Think about this more carefully.】
"She" reminded with a chuckle.
"neither."
The princess still tilted her head and looked at him, her eyes filled with a strange emotion:
"It's this vase in front of you. Do you think I'm beautiful?"
At this moment, Shade miraculously did not feel any violation or embarrassment, as if the conversation should have ended here. And Agelina's words were also very generous, as if she was really talking about the vase.
[The girls of the Cavendish family are indeed very powerful.]
"She" chuckled in Shade's ear, and Shade recovered from the surprise in his heart:
"I don't like to use objects to describe girls. It's very rude."
"Knight, you just have to answer the question honestly: Am I beautiful?"