Whispering Verse

After bidding farewell to Father John, who seemed to be leisurely every day, Shade hurried to Quill Street in a carriage with gifts. And when he saw Dorothy, Luvia had already arrived.

Dorothy went to the Jodel Palace as a guest at a banquet, so she wore a formal ball gown. This sky blue dress that matches her long blond hair is very beautiful. Luvia went to the Yodel Palace as an employee of the Prophet Association, so she was wearing the relatively simple black silver-edged female clerk uniform dress of the Prophet Association.

After Shade complimented them on how beautiful they were, the two very happy ladies asked Shade to stay in the living room for the time being. They still needed some time to go to the bedroom to sort out their clothes.

So Shade went to the kitchen to make tea and sat on the sofa to wait. Dorothy's apartment looked even messier than when she arrived in the morning. Clothes, skirts, and shoes were scattered everywhere, and most of the coffee table was taken up by a makeup box with a mirror.

I happened to have nothing to do, so I planned to formally learn [Psychic Blast]. Learning this thaumaturgy does not require complicated ritual materials, as long as you get the spiritual crystal, and then...

Shade pinched the ring on the index finger of his right hand with his left hand, closed his eyes, rotated it slightly, and let his fingertips rub the soul crystals on it.

At the same time, he whispered strange-sounding mantras in his heart, using his mental power to perceive the scenery in front of him in the darkness.

Suddenly he frowned, and his spirit rushed to his right index finger. Shade stretched out his finger and pointed forward, and invisible spiritual power entered the air through the amplification of the ring.

"Father John really didn't lie to me."

He smiled and opened his eyes to look at the jewelry on his finger. Only by using thaumaturgy could he feel how smoothly this ring affected the flow of his own spirit:

"The craft of alchemy can indeed make a lot of money."

Sighing in his heart, he reached out to pick up the teacup he had just placed on the coffee table, and then leaned comfortably on the sofa.

Holding the teacup and looking around, I could hear the blond writer and the brown-haired prophetess whispering opinions on the styles of shoes and stockings.

They thought Shade couldn't hear it, but [Echoes of the Past] had the effect of passively enhancing his hearing, and coupled with his enhanced physical fitness, Shade could hear such subtle sounds.

"Speaking of [Echoes of the Past], I wonder what sounds can be heard if this magical technique is used here..."

Because he was too bored, Shade, who was holding the tea cup, suddenly came up with this idea. Of course he knew that eavesdropping in someone else's home was very impolite, and he also knew that such behavior was close to a crime.

"Her" laughter came to my ears, probably laughing at Shade's idea.

"That's right, it's better not to be so rude."

The foreigner thought to himself, letting his center of gravity fall back and his body completely lean on the soft sofa. The sofa in Dorothy's house is softer than the sofa left by Detective Sparrow. Maybe Mia will like the sofa here.

Shade took a sip of tea, and then heard that the two ladies in the bedroom had changed the topic from the choice of stockings to the choice of waist skirts, and thus discussed some content that was not suitable for Shade to listen to.

"Well... I'd better use the echoes of the past to listen to the sounds of the past."

So in order not to hear the current sound, Shade on the sofa decided to use that very impolite thaumaturgy.

He took another sip of tea, turned on the thaumaturgy, and then heard Dorothy's voice very clearly:

"Louvia, after you finish your business at the card game, you must dance with me."

Dorothy and Luvia have always had a good relationship, and this conversation should have happened not long ago, which means that although Shade's behavior is impolite, it is not considered prying into other people's privacy.

Now he felt relieved and took another sip of tea, followed by Luvia's voice:

"Of course there is no problem. It's just a pity that I finally have the opportunity to attend such a banquet, but I can't move around as you like. Dorothy, you are so lucky. You actually met Princess Agelina through a detective story."

Although Dorothy's invitation was given by Lesia, it was in the name of the little princess. Hearing this, Shade couldn't help but start to speculate about the relationship between Princess Agelina and Lesia. When they were at the opera house a few days ago, Agelina Cavendish was obviously a little afraid of Lesia.

Luvia is still talking:

"Dorothy, your dress is really nice."

"Oh, this one? This is a handmade custom-made dress from Mrs. Rhine. Do you know how much gold this dress is worth?"

Dorothy's voice did not say the number, but she probably made a gesture with her hand.

"But the price is still acceptable and the dress is really beautiful."

Luvia continued to praise, and Shade nodded while holding the teacup. The sky blue dress she just saw was indeed beautiful.

Luvia spoke again:

"but......"

She hesitated to speak.

"What's wrong?"

Dorothy asked curiously, and Shade heard her rummaging through the clothes rack.

"How much padding did you put on it? Why is it so big?"

"Ahem!"

Shade coughed violently on the sofa. He placed the tea cup on the coffee table tremblingly, stroking his chest and lowering his head. Because the tea was sucked into the trachea, his whole body trembled with discomfort.

"Shadow, what's wrong?"

Hearing the noise outside, the two ladies in the room immediately asked.

"No, cough, it's nothing, I was choked."

He stood up while coughing violently:

"Borrow the bathroom."

Then he walked quickly to the bathroom, and the sound of coughing in the middle showed that he was really choked.

"Really, why are you so careless?"

Dorothy complained in the bedroom, and Shade learned a simple and universal truth through this incident——

There must be a price to pay for eavesdropping on what others are saying.

"Ahem!"

Listening to the laughter in his ears, he held the sink in the bathroom and patted his chest. But to be honest, Shade was still very curious about the next sentence of that conversation and how Dorothy responded.

The girls finished cleaning up for another half an hour. Shade went out one step ahead and found an idle four-wheel taxi at the intersection of Quill Street and Seminary Boulevard. He asked the driver to wait at the door of Building B, No. 221 Quill Street, and then The three of them headed to Yodel Palace together.

Luvia wanted to meet up with other members of the association, so she got off the car in advance at the entrance of the Prophet Association. Shade jumped out of the carriage first, and then, under the gaze of Dorothy who stuck her head out of the carriage window, he stretched out his hand to Luvia and helped her get out of the carriage.

"Then we'll see you at the party later!"

Luvia smiled and waved to Shade and Dorothy. The black iron-colored gas street lamp beside her made the girl with makeup look even more beautiful than before.

The gas street lamps on Silver Cross Avenue have a unified style. The top of the black street lamp pole, the wrought iron metal gas lamp shells bent into complex patterns are highly staggered. The glass covers of the three gas lamps are imprisoned inside the iron frame shell. The interior of the gas lamps is connected to the gas pipes of the street lamp poles. . Although it can't compare with the shape of gas lamps in noble houses, its relatively simple and simple appearance will not damage the reputation of the central street of the steam capital at all.

After bidding farewell to Luvia, Shade and Dorothy were unable to continue forward in the carriage, because in the middle of Silver Cross Avenue where the gas streetlights gradually turned on, in order to prevent the carriage from blocking the road, private carriages could go forward, but rental carriages Not allowed to go any further.

So Shade and Dorothy had no choice but to get off the carriage in advance. There were actually many guests like them. After all, not all nobles had private carriages.

Just after paying the fare, Shade heard someone calling his name.

A four-wheeled carriage with a black carriage slowly stopped on the street, and Director Anlos poked his head out of the window;

"Good afternoon, Shade. Come up quickly and let's go in together."

Director Anlos also had his hair styled today and was wearing a formal dress, but the style was relatively simple and there were no decorations. If you don't know his identity, you will never be able to connect this ordinary-looking man with no characteristics to the director of MI6.

"convenient?"

"What's the inconvenience? Oh, this lady is..."

"My companion tonight, Miss Dorothy Louisa."

Shade introduced that Director Anlos suddenly realized:

"I know this name, the lady who serialized detective stories in the Daily Steambird, and your stories are also very popular in our department. Oh, I knew that Detective Hamilton was Shade!"

"Dorothy, this is my friend, Mr. Duck Anlos, who works in logistics management in the Royal Army."

Shade gave a brief introduction and winked at Director Anlos, meaning that his identity was not revealed.

Director Anlos smiled and nodded:

"Come up together, I will take you in. Now entering the Yodel Palace requires handing over weapons and even a simple body search. This is too troublesome. If I take you in, you don't need to be offended by those unreasonable servants."

In addition to Mr. Anlos, there was also a lady who was about the same age as him and slightly plump in figure. This should be the female companion of Director Anlos, but not Mrs. Anlos. Shade heard that his boss was still unmarried.

"Do I need to hand over my weapon then?"

The cautious search was probably because Prince Sax broke in with a gun not long ago. Shade's normal revolver can be turned into a toy, but the [Gun of Goodness] is still on him.

"No, no need. I am also armed, and we can guarantee your loyalty."

Director Anlos said. He sat next to his female companion, face to face with Shade, and lowered his voice slightly:

"The matter at the Opera House was settled last Saturday. Your Highness Agelina spoke highly of you and praised you very much in front of His Majesty and the Queen. If you are lucky tonight, you might be able to get the favor of Your Majesty again. Opportunity to be summoned.”

"That's really my honor."

Even so, Shade had no interest in meeting Larus III.

Compared to boring middle-aged men, Shade is more interested in the girls around him and the Rhodes cards.