“Don’t come back to Delarion in the future.”
Shad stood by the wooden gangplank, speaking to the two figures in the night. However, he did not refuse their attempt to pay him; this was what he deserved.
“I originally thought about charging you 100 pounds in total, but 60 will suffice. You still need to find new jobs and continue studying art; there will be plenty of times when you'll need the money.”
“Sir, I truly do not know how to thank you.”
Mr. Felinga spoke amidst the night, finally handing the sewer blueprints to Shad. He would never return in his lifetime; these blueprints were useless to him now.
“Sir... I do not crave forgiveness, truly, I am loyal...”
Though she was speaking to Shad, Miss Brown was actually looking at Princess Margaret behind him. The Princess stood in the shadows where the lights of the ship could not reach.
Miss Brown’s voice choked up, leaving her unable to speak. Seeing this, Shad urged them
“Go, go quickly. It wasn't easy getting here, don't let it...”
Suddenly, a large expanse of light appeared in the distance. Shad snapped his head around to see a group of people carrying kerosene lamps approaching their direction. Leading them seemed to be Director Anlos.
Others on the pier also looked toward the group approaching along the riverside street.
“MI6! The one leading them seems to be...”
The maid behind the Princess whispered. Princess Margaret instinctively looked at Shad, her fair face emerging from beneath her cloak.
“Don’t worry,” Shad said in a low voice, then immediately urged
“Miss Brown, Mr. Felinga, get on the ship first.”
He then turned and walked toward the approaching group.
“Your Highness, stay here and do not move. Leave everything to me.”
He took off his hat and trotted off the pier. Mr. Felinga immediately boarded with his luggage, while Miss Brown, standing at the rear, turned back one last time to look at the silent Princess.
“I’m sorry.”
Margaret of Anjou kept her head lowered and said nothing. Miss Brown bit her lip before finally being pulled up the wooden stairs by Mr. Felinga.
On the other side, Shad had already approached the group. The leader was indeed Director Anlos. Several men behind him attempted to raise their guns, but Director Anlos, recognizing Shad, stopped them.
“Oh, what are you doing here?”
He did not call Shad by name. Shad waved to his superior and walked forward two steps with him so they could speak privately.
Shad lowered his voice and pointed toward the figure of the Princess on the pier.
“Mr. Anlos, has something happened?”
Without waiting for Director Anlos to explain, Shad continued
“That person over there, Margaret of Anjou—I accompanied her out for some fresh air. We... well... she asked me out.”
The middle-aged man looked at Shad suspiciously. Shad gave an embarrassed smile.
“Alright, she has a batch of smuggled goods that need a final verification on that ship—local tobacco. Walking with me was just something done on the side.”
“It seems you've done a good job with His Majesty's task.”
Director Anlos looked toward the hooded figure on the pier from a distance. With Shad's reminder, he realized it was Princess Margaret. Of course, at a time like this, pretending not to see was the best choice.
“Nothing much is happening tonight, though a defecting agent has returned to Tobesk. We suspect she has connections with the Grey Gloves.”
He did not suspect that Shad or Princess Margaret would help the former maid; the former had nothing to do with the matter, and the latter was even the victim.
“Do not stay outside for too long tonight,” Director Anlos said. “I am leading men to search along the river; after all, it's unlikely she would try to leave by train.”
“Why would you personally lead the search for such a matter?” Shad asked curiously. Director Anlos was a high-ranking official of MI6; he generally did not participate in direct operations.
“It is the end of the year, after all. MI6 has to undergo His Majesty's evaluation and year-end bonus assessment.”
He sighed, looking exactly like a middle-aged man struggling for his livelihood.
“So I need to show some performance. It is the end of the year, and His Majesty is watching from Yodel Palace.”
Shad nodded in understanding. “It's not easy for anyone.”
Director Anlos patted Shad on the shoulder.
“Princess Margaret leaves next week, so your mission has one week left. I hope that damned Grey Hawk shows his face.”
He waved to the others behind him.
“To the next pier.”
The group turned and continued their search for other vessels downstream.
Shad bid farewell to Director Anlos. After confirming the group had gone far enough, he returned to the Princess by the pier in the darkness.
“It's all clear,” he said softly. Although Princess Margaret was curious about how Shad had convinced the MI6 agents to leave, she did not ask.
After taking on the final two passengers, black smoke billowed from the cargo ship's funnel. Following a long blast of the whistle, the ship slowly pulled away from the pier, sailing into the darkness downstream.
Princess Margaret remained silent throughout, and only after the ship had vanished into the distance did she stand on the pier and ask Shad softly
“Detective, are you not surprised that I appeared here?”
“Why should I be? I imagine you wanted to see her leave with your own eyes, as a way of saying goodbye to that unpleasant experience in your life,” Shad said. He finally breathed a sigh of relief. A day of rushing about was exhausting; aside from a map and sixty pounds, he had gained nothing, yet he felt quite pleased.
“Are you not happy to see Miss Brown board the ship and leave?”
“I am somewhat happy, but I also feel as though I am saying goodbye to my naive self.”
She seemed somewhat melancholy.
A smile curled at the corner of Shad's mouth.
“Furthermore, you successfully gave Miss Brown something she will feel guilty about for the rest of her life. She will be just like you were for the past eight years—unable to ever forget what she has done.”
Hearing Shad say this, a smile finally appeared on the face beneath the hood. Shad continued
“As long as you are happy, my rushing about today was not in vain.”
He stretched in front of the Princess.
“So, Your Highness, will you still mind eating red cabbage in the future?”
The Princess looked at him reproachfully.
“Of course I will. No matter how you put it, that vegetable tastes terrible.”
She looked at the nearby Shad, paused, and then said softly, “Thank you.”
“Why thank me?” Shad asked back, then waved his hand. “Your Highness, I actually have a purpose as well. Could you help me contact Sir Prisha? Around Sunday afternoon, I hope to meet him at my home. Additionally, there will be a Ring-wielder friend of mine. Please tell him that I am a Ring-wielder, and that I am looking for a Ring-wielder with the power of the moon, and that you recommended him.”
“No problem. However, I will come along as well; otherwise, the Sir might not necessarily agree.”
She hesitated for a moment.
“One more thing, Shad. From now on, I allow you to call me by my name directly.”
The Princess's eyes gazed at Shad. Shad hesitated, feeling the winter river wind brush against his cheeks.
“Very well... Margaret?”
The Princess smiled again.
“I return to my country next week. I didn't expect to meet a friend like you during my visit to Tobesk. I think I might know why that Duchess is so fascinated by you.”
Shad offered no comment on this. Making a gesture of invitation, he left the pier with the Princess and her maid, walking toward the streets lit by gas lamps.
The moon was full and the stars were sparse; the winter city was so peaceful. Princess Margaret did not wish to discuss Miss Brown. When Shad escorted the Princess to her carriage, she hesitantly asked him a question
“Why exactly did you help them? Don't tell me it was truly for those 60 pounds. With your power, you could earn that amount far more easily doing anything else.”
“Why does helping others need a reason?”
Shad tapped his chest and said with great conviction
“If I must give a reason, I helped many people during the autumn, and they later helped me in the mountains when I encountered danger. This made me realize that doing a good deed occasionally isn't bad. Moreover, as a knight of Delarion, I actually possess some knightly spirit.”
“But your actions are damaging the interests of Delarion,” the Princess said softly. She looked left and right, confirming no one was watching, and then lightly kissed Shad on the cheek.
“Then, Knight, this is your reward.”
Having said that, she slipped into the carriage. Without even saying goodbye to Shad, she ordered the driver to depart.
Only Shad remained, holding his cheek and watching the carriage disappear down the street.
“Do girls of this era all like to express gratitude with a kiss?”
【Perhaps this is a treatment reserved only for you.】
“She” whispered with a light laugh in Shad's ear.
“But she touched me directly. Why didn't she notice that there's something wrong with me as a man?”
【Her witch power is even less than expected. It seems that Miss Sylvia never intended for her to have any connection with the Witches' Council from the very beginning.】
Shad smiled, shoved his hands into his pockets, and kicked a pebble by his foot, watching it bounce into a nearby alley.
“I should go home too. Mia is waiting for me. After a whole day of bustle, I need to rest.”
He turned and walked in the opposite direction, his stride carrying an indescribable lightness.
“She” whispered softly in Shad's ear, the thin moonlight illuminating his way home
【The Sixth Epoch, 1853, deep winter, the Month of Slumber. The curtain of civilization slowly unfolds for you. Standing on the soil of the Old Continent, you have come to understand and familiarize yourself with the struggle between the two great kingdoms of human civilization. The Princess sings softly on the stage, the King sits upon the throne overlooking the land, secret agents traverse the city, and the laughing Duchess's thoughts remain unknown. My dear outsider, desire weaves a great web, power casts a scepter, money piles up skeletons, and fate composes poetry. The kingdoms are in your hands; war and peace shall be decided by you. Because of your arrival, this era has become more interesting. And you—what kind of future do you anticipate?】
“Why say such things at a time like this? Did I complete some difficult achievement? You've always only spoken in this tone after I've finished something major.”
【You are now connected to the princesses of both nations simultaneously. This is enough to influence the situation of human civilization, for both possess immense ambition. Tonight, you touched an anchor of civilization.】
“She” answered gently with a smile in Shad's ear.
“And why do you make me sound like some conspirator behind the scenes of the kingdoms, plotting to overturn the world?”
Shad complained softly in his heart, turning once more to look at the carriage that had already gone far.
“According to you, it sounds like I can influence two kingdoms whenever I please. When did I acquire such power?”
“She” only chuckled, but under Shad's repeated questioning, she asked back
【Outsider, do you wish to possess such power?】
Shad looked up at the hazy moon in the sky.
“Pursuing power is far too tiring. I'll stick to pursuing strength.”
【You have heard that knowledge is power, but is strength not also power?】
Shad shook his head and walked toward home.
(End of Chapter)