Whispering Verse

Of course, little Mia was probably the only unhappy creature. It didn't like places with too many people, so it huddled under Shade's coat, only exposing its small little head to breathe the air. It looked like there was a cat growing in the center of Shade's chest.

The Prophet Association was also crowded with people because of today's event, so the coachman, after obtaining Shade's permission, dropped him two hundred meters away from the entrance of the association.

After paying the fare, Shade walked forward while looking at the Silver Cross Avenue at the end of the year. Suddenly, I felt that the cat on my chest was getting hot, and then I realized that it was the badge that was getting hot.

Mia also felt the temperature, so while Shade's chest was squirming, Shade turned around and looked behind him, and sure enough he saw a familiar carriage heading here.

Even the Duchess's carriage could only move slowly through the crowded crowd. Because it was difficult to talk on the crowded street, Shade originally planned to greet Miss Carina from the window if she noticed him. After all, she would be visiting St. Teresa Square this afternoon.

But after the carriage stopped, the red-haired witch who had "recovered from a serious illness" actually stepped out of the carriage. Today she wore a silver-white dress that Shade had never seen before, and a bright red women's coat on her upper body, which matched her hair color very well:

"Miss Carina, are you feeling better? I heard that you have recovered. I haven't visited you yet."

"It's better, but my nose is still a little uncomfortable."

The witch was supported by her personal maid Tifa, and while pretending to be weak, there was clearly a smile in her eyes.

"Then get back in the carriage quickly. It's really cold today."

Shade said seriously, playing his role well. The Duchess of Saladir nodded slightly, and then on the crowded street, she kissed the side of Shade's face without any concealment, and the smile in her eyes became more obvious:

"Happy New Year's Day then, my... knight."

She turned around and returned to the carriage. When Tifa helped her get into the carriage, she didn't forget to wink at Shade, not knowing what it meant. The carriage quickly drove away from Shade, but Shade could already imagine how quickly the news of the duchess kissing the side of her lover's face on the street would spread throughout the city.

"She definitely did it on purpose."

Shade touched his face and asked:

"Check for me, is there any lipstick mark on your face?"

"She" laughed in Shade's ear, but still pointed out the areas that needed to be wiped.

As soon as he entered the Prophet's Association, the sounds of people talking loudly about the release of the first series of Rhodes cards next year, as well as the promotional posters posted on the notice board on the side of the gate, broke into Shade's ears and eyes.

In the new year, the Prophet Association will celebrate the end of the year and release the [Hibernation and Spring Rebirth] series of cards around February. This is a new themed Rhodes deck, so it's getting people talking.

People who recognized Shade also greeted him loudly and asked if he was here to participate in the noon finals.

"Oh, of course, I'm looking forward to who can sit with me at the final table!"

While Sha De smiled and greeted people he knew well in the association, Vice President Mark also walked down from the third floor after hearing the news, leading Sha De out of the lively lobby on the first floor:

"The [Natural Disaster·Blizzard] that you asked the association to help repair has been repaired and is just for you."

Mr. Mark led the way, and then sighed softly:

"This year is finally coming to an end. 1853 feels like it went by so fast."

"Fast?"

Shade asked curiously. After leaving the first floor, the corridor on the second floor where the divination room was located was much quieter.

The middle-aged man nodded and said with emotion:

"When I first met you, you didn't understand Rhodes cards and even planned to sell [Original Silver Moon]. Now you not only have special rules cards for almost a quarter of the deck, but you have even won the big city player The overall championship, and got five [Original] series cards. And all of this only happened in more than half a year from midsummer to now. Isn’t it fast?”

Shade smiled, and he admitted that at least this time, it was a smile of satisfaction.

There was no suspense in the Rhodes competition at noon. The last person to come to the end of the 1853 Rodes competition in the Tobesk region was Viscount Chekov from the Katinen Rhodes Club.

He wore a red coat and white bloomers, and was no stranger to Shade. The two had played against each other once during the Rhodes game at the wedding banquet in Lakeview Manor in early winter, and this time facing Shade again, Viscount Chekov also maintained a strong fighting spirit and a strong desire to compete.

The game adopts the rule of best of three games, and each game is divided into five rounds. Victory is calculated based on the points of winning, losing, drawing and exploding cards.

In the end, it was natural that Shade won. Viscount Chekov was not worried. Instead, he warmly invited Shade to play cards at his Katinen club when he had time.

But in fact, in addition to playing cards, this kind of specialized Rhodes noble club is more for social and political purposes.

The prizes of the Year-end Rhodes Competition are far less generous than those of "Big City Players", but the prize of 200 pounds is quite attractive compared to other city-level events.

After receiving the bonus and accepting people's congratulations, Shade did not go to Luvia. Instead, he talked with Vice President Mark for a while and then planned to go to lunch. Little Mia couldn't wait any longer.

Just after leaving the Prophet's Association, he saw Director Anlos standing under the gas lamp opposite the association, holding a newspaper and looking at him, so Shade pressed his hat and walked over with his head lowered.

The carriage happened to arrive at this time, stayed for ten seconds and then started again. By this time, the two gentlemen had disappeared.

"I knew you would come to participate in the Rhodes Tournament, so I came here to wait for you."

Taking off his gloves, Director Anlos on the carriage kept his words short and handed Shade a piece of paper, with the time for tomorrow afternoon written on it in blue ink:

"Your Majesty wants to see you tomorrow, that is, at one o'clock in the afternoon on the New Year's Day, about ten minutes."

He specially emphasized the time point, and the outsider frowned slightly. He had seen a statement in the newspaper that on the morning of the New Year's Day, the king would deliver an annual speech at the Yodel Palace, and then there would be no public activities for the whole day. But in fact, on the New Year's Day, the king will meet with many people privately, and those who can see His Majesty the King on the last day of the year are all important figures in the kingdom's political circles, or people who have extremely close relationships with the royal family.

Probably seeing Shade's doubts, Director Anlos added:

"It's for a reward. You did a good job during Princess Margaret of Anjou's visit. Although you failed to catch the grey-headed eagle, you at least established a good relationship with the princess, which is very important to the kingdom. ...The public awarding of honors at the end of this year will probably be in mid or late January, and you will be rewarded then. In addition, His Majesty will give you some rewards separately tomorrow. After all, the content of your mission cannot be public."

Shade nodded knowingly, and Director Anlos lowered his voice and added:

"In addition, His Majesty will probably give you a new task to maintain long-term contact with Margaret Anjou. If necessary, he will arrange for you to go to Willondale for a temporary vacation. Miss Carina also knows this. I will tell you in advance You, you prepare."

Shade nodded again. There were not as many royal heirs as Lesia's brothers and sisters in Kasenrik. One of the two princesses and two princes would definitely inherit the throne. Among them, Margaret, who can represent the kingdom to visit Delarion, seems to have some hope, so "Fire Jumper" Larus III is very fond of this relationship established by Shade.

"I see."

He nodded slightly, and Director Anlos handed him an envelope:

"MI6's year-end bonus."

"MI6 also has a year-end bonus?"

Shade asked with a surprised smile, but still reached out and took the envelope.

"Why can't MI6 have a year-end bonus? Are we an illegal department?"

Director Anlos was very surprised, and then explained:

"You have completed a lot of difficult tasks this year, so the bonus amount is relatively large. This is the amount I approved. After all, the original budget must be spent at the end of the year...The bonus and your salary this month, I I’ll give it all to you, and I won’t let you go to the city waste management center alone, so have a good holiday.”

Shade pinched the envelope and smiled on his face. Although I am not sure of the exact amount, it is at least several hundred pounds.

The prize money from the Rhodes Competition at the end of the year, coupled with the year-end bonus from MI6, gave Xia De, whose savings had plummeted, once again gained confidence. Although neither Lecia nor Miss Carina would be stingy about giving Shade "pocket money", the outsider still has some pride.

Xia De's footsteps didn't stop all morning on Monday, but after finishing these things and mailing gifts to other friends in the city, he basically had nothing to worry about before the end of the year.

After taking little Mia for lunch at noon, she was ready to go home and wait for Miss Carina's afternoon visit. But not long after returning home, the bell downstairs was rang. Shade thought it was the client or an acquaintance like Baron Lavender who was visiting, but he didn't expect that an unexpected acquaintance was standing outside the door:

"Captain Rades?"

Wearing a crisp army captain's uniform, black boots on his feet, and holding a bottle of red wine in his hand, Captain Rades, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, actually appeared at the door of No. 6 Saint Teresa Square.

"Long time no see, Mr. Hamilton."

The former "Eight-Gun Captain" also smiled and greeted Shade.

"Captain, aren't you stationed at the Red Water Camp on the Windy Trail in Xikal Mountain? Oh, please come in quickly. I really didn't expect to see you before the end of the year." Your latest reading progress is detected as "No. One Thousand One Hundred and One Chapter: Attack on a Blizzard Night"

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