OBS Chapter 3321 Reunion of old friends
Chapter 3321 Reunion of old friends
Chapter 3321 Reunion of old friends
Grand Duke Lagersen is fifty years old this year, which is considered old in today's era. He is a wealthy old man with a big belly, wearing a black silk hat, holding a golden metal cane, and has two very interesting white mustaches.
As the host of the banquet, he said a few words before the banquet began, but did not mention "peace and development". He just said that he hoped everyone would like the scenery of the Principality of Lagersen and that it was a blessing to be able to gather together under the current tense situation.
Grand Duke Lagersen was quite capable. Through his speech, Shade found that the old man seemed to really want to mediate the conflict between the two countries to reduce the possibility of war. Although his chances of success were not high, it did not prevent Shade from respecting him.
As expected, Margaret's brother, Prince Samuel, also showed up here. Shade saw him from a distance but did not approach him. On the contrary, the prince of Delarion, whose name Shade did not remember, seemed very low-key, probably because he knew that this trip to the island would not produce any results.
As Miss Reinhardt's male companion, Shad gave the witch enough face, which made Miss Reinhardt feel a little embarrassed. After all, she took the initiative to invite Shad, but it was Shad who helped her.
So she planned to wait until the last dance session of the banquet to dance with Shade, but in the middle of the banquet, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley invited her and several other noble ladies who graduated from the same school to have a private chat. This was a reunion of the "sisterhood" of the past. So Shade was very tactful and temporarily stayed away from them with a glass of wine, which made the witch feel even more embarrassed.
"Claire, you have your eyes glued to the back of Mr. Watson."
The Marchioness joked, then lowered her voice and asked with a smile:
"Tell me the truth, where did you find such a young, handsome and capable man? I don't think he is a writer who travels around after becoming wealthy. He has undergone a full set of aristocratic etiquette training, and when he looks at everyone here, he has a subconscious sense of contempt. If I'm not mistaken, this is the descendant of a great noble family in Delarion, right?
There may be no inheritance rights, but that kind of temperament cannot be concealed."
The witch then retracted her gaze:
"I didn't expect him to be like this. I mean, we just happened to meet and he helped me a lot. It was just luck."
"Luck? Fateful meeting? When we were in school, we loved reading this kind of books."
【Want to play cards? 】
As Shade turned his back to the two ladies and left, he suddenly heard the voice of "her". Of course, this was Shade's original plan. Whenever he went to a place, he liked to look at the decks of local players. This was the principality where the Prophet's Association was headquartered, and he had always wanted to find someone to play cards with.
But since "she" asked this, the stubborn stranger was of course unwilling to admit it:
"Of course not. I'm going to stand on the terrace and get some fresh air."
As he spoke, he took a glass from the champagne tower nearby, and then really walked towards the terrace. "She" smiled lightly, which made Xia De feel that it would be better for him not to play cards right away.
It was still the middle of the first month of the lunar calendar. After pushing open the glass door, the temperature difference between indoors and outdoors could be clearly felt. There were not many people on the terrace, so Xia De stood in a corner and looked up at the snow-capped mountains under the stars:
“In this drama that has already begun, is this snowy mountain really just serving as a stage?”
He took a sip of the champagne in his hand and placed the glass on the balcony railing. He glanced to the side and blinked in surprise.
He turned his head and looked carefully at the middle-aged man in military uniform who was standing not far from him and drinking from a glass of wine. The latter was originally enjoying the night view, but when he noticed Xia De's gaze, he also turned slightly and looked at Xia De:
"Sir, what can I do for you? Hmm? You are..."
He seemed to recognize Shade at this time, but he didn't dare to confirm it completely because of the slight difference in appearance. Shade knew that there were many ring warlocks here tonight, so he only used the witch's eye shadow. This strange alchemical item had little effect on acquaintances.
"it's me."
Shade smiled and said:
"Major Rades, why are you here?"
At this moment, Captain Eight Guns, who had finally confirmed Xia De's identity, also showed a surprised expression. He quickly put down his wine glass:
"I wanted to ask that question, too! It's been a long time since we last met. I was going to visit you at the end of the year, but my fleet received an order to escort the negotiation delegation from the vicinity of the Kingdom of Islands to the coast of the Kingdom. This was still confidential at the time, so I didn't write it in the letter."
The two men smiled and shook hands warmly. At the end of the Green Lake incident, Captain Rades, through Shad's introduction, cooperated with MI6 to actively detonate the conflict between the two countries, created a bloody conflict and caused the negotiations to fail. The people on both sides of Green Lake thus had a reason to evacuate, allowing the church to prepare for the final battle.
After that, Captain Rades was transferred from the army to the navy with the help of Carina, and even became a major from a "captain". This was a huge breakthrough for a civilian officer of his age who had no family support.
Therefore, Shade hadn't seen Major Rades for half a year. Meeting a friend at the foot of the snow-capped mountains so far away from Tobesk was a great surprise to both of them.
Shad first met him because of the "Gun of Kindness" at Lakeview Manor in Tobesk, and after meeting him again at Red Water Camp in Fort Midhill, Shad helped him survive the Battle of the Dead at Fort Midhill, and then helped the then-captain seize the opportunity during the negotiations at Green Lake, until they met again at this time.
From the summer of 1853 to the beginning of the month of 1855, Major Rades was one of the few ordinary people friends of Shade besides Professor Manning.
The major told Shade about his experiences in the past six months, and said with a smile that life in the navy was very different from life in the army. Finally, he mentioned that the fleet was now stationed in the Falling Star Bay, and he would probably have to stay in the Principality of Lagsen with the fleet until the end of the talks between the two countries.
Strictly speaking, "Major" is not a very high-ranking officer, but it has entered the ranks of senior officers. Now Major Rades is in charge of the "White Pearl" ship in the fleet. This ship is famous because a sailor once fished out a large pearl from the sea.
In addition, Major Raddes is now also helping MI6, so it can be said that he has a bright future now that he has reached middle age.
He knew that Shade was a transcendent. Thinking of the ghosts of Midhill Castle and the strange legends of Green Lake, the middle-aged officer looked around and asked Shade in a low voice:
"You appear here, don't you?"
Xia De nodded cautiously:
"Something is indeed happening locally. So if it is not absolutely necessary, do not go near the snowy mountains. If you encounter any weird things related to 'snakes', do not get close to them casually. But now things are just beginning to emerge, so there is no need to be too nervous."
But Major Rades immediately thought of another thing:
"The fleet arrived at the Falling Star Bay this morning. Our sailors said they saw a mermaid from afar. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Shade shook his head:
"No problem. I've seen mermaids around here too."
He breathed a sigh of relief:
"I have heard many legends about mermaids from sailors in the navy. Also, after arriving here, a brand new steam engine on our ship suddenly stopped working. The mechanic checked it over and over but couldn't figure it out. No, this shouldn't be a rare situation."
He said jokingly:
"Steam technology is becoming more and more complex. To ordinary people who have not learned professional knowledge, the new miniaturized compressed steam engine is no different from magic. The mechanic on our ship once said that in the future, people may have to pray before repairing those complex machines, hoping that there will be no problems."
The two friends who hadn't seen each other for a long time had a lot to talk about. Shad was curious about the situation near the Kingdom of the Islands, while Major Rades was worried about the attitude of the Yodel Palace towards the war between the two countries.
In the "peaceful times" before 1853, he was involved in a border conflict and attempted suicide to avoid being captured, which earned him the title of "Captain of Eight Guns", so he understood what war was like better than most soldiers. The major even said that he had nightmares two days before the ship was about to arrive at Falling Star Bay, and he dreamed of the "Gun of Kindness" again.
Only this time, the gun succeeded in killing him in his dream. However, the major should consider this a nightmare caused by his own anxiety. Because he has been in frequent contact with relic bullets recently, [Gun of Kindness] Xia De has been carrying it with him. He can ensure that the gun is still in a contained state and nothing has happened.
Having a good chat with Major Rades, Shade gave up the idea of looking for locals to play cards. But after talking about the blizzard that covered most of the Old Continent before the end of the year, the two of them also talked about the topic of Rhodes cards - it was impossible for men to not talk about this when they got together.
Sailors and seamen don't have many ways to entertain themselves on the sea, so playing cards is naturally the best choice for leisure. During the past six months, Major Rades has really honed his card skills on the ship.
His deck thus gained several special cards, all contributed by his colleagues. Even though he was far away at sea, he heard that Shade's deck had several more cards from the "Original" series.
The two then exchanged decks and appreciated each other's cards. Xia De just felt that he was really lucky tonight.
Since everyone had taken out their decks of cards, Shade suggested finding a place to play cards while continuing to chat. Major Rades happened to have the same idea. He attended the banquet only because all the senior officers on the ship were invited, and he didn't actually have much to do:
"But don't you have anything to attend to at the party?"