Whispering Verse

Margaret said, and told Shade the specific time and place of the wedding banquet. This is a bit like the wedding banquet of sister Lesia that Shade attended at the end of autumn. The banquet will last almost the whole night. There is nothing that anyone has to do. People just need to enjoy this beautiful moment. Just moments.

The wedding banquet of a princess can be fun, not to mention the wedding banquet of a noble daughter in a "remote country". And it is said that this kind of banquet is also a good opportunity to have an affair.

"I'm going to visit the Masons tomorrow morning. This time it's a formal visit, so I won't go with you tonight."

Margaret said, then asked Xiang Shade with a smile:

"What, do you want to take other female companions with you?"

"I'm just looking for Oxenfurt, there's no need to bring a female companion. Besides, you know, I don't want anyone around me to come into contact with him, he..."

Shade looked at Margaret seriously. Before confirming the identity of the devil, it was best not to say anything about it:

"It's really dangerous, so when your people are conducting preliminary investigations with the Gray Gloves, they should never come into direct contact with him."

Shade didn't want to stay long at the stranger's wedding banquet, or even plan to eat there, so he and Margaret had dinner together before setting off for the manor where the wedding was held.

That is the Mason Manor located in the west of the city. Since Randall Valley City originated in the east of the city, the nobles who own manors in the west are generally considered to be emerging nobles. This is the type of person who is looked down upon within the local noble group.

One party is the daughter of Baron Mason, and the other party is Margiela Henriques, the eldest son of the declining baron family. Although they both come from baronial families, they are not consistent in terms of status. The woman's father, Baron Mason, runs the banking industry and is a very wealthy aristocrat. But Shade also heard from Margaret that the two young people had grown up together and had a deep relationship, so the elders would allow Miss Mason to get married immediately after she returned from studying art in Willondale.

Shade also expressed his blessing to such a marriage.

Although invitations will still be sent out for such a lively banquet, in fact, anyone can attend the banquet as long as they can send their blessings and dress decently. Shade also prepared a gift for this, which was a strange stone sculpture that he bought at a souvenir shop on the roadside when riding from the city. This is a specialty of the Randall Valley.

And when he saw the silhouette of the manor along the country road, the lively banquet had already begun.

"Hopefully I don't waste too much time."

He was thinking, after all, Oxenfurt Manor is located in the east of the city, and this is the west of the city. If he wastes too much time, he won't be able to get the statue today.

After successfully entering the manor, I discovered that even though it was winter, tents were still set up in the courtyard, with colorful flags hung between the tents. Banquet games were held inside, or long tables filled with food were set up for the guests. People enjoy themselves.

Laughter and clinking of glasses were heard one after another, and the banquet seemed to have reached its most lively moment.

If you ask anyone casually about the whereabouts of Prince William of Anjou, you will definitely not be able to find out. After the attack on the prince, this may even be considered to have ulterior motives. So Shade went directly into the manor house, thinking that the prince who was talking to the businessman should be in the best lounge.

But after searching around, I found young men and women fooling around, people doing illegal transactions, and even a young woman crying alone, but I didn't find the prince.

Shade could only go from indoors to outdoors again, and finally found William Anjou and Stone Oxenfurt in the back garden.

The groom accompanied the most distinguished guest out of the barn. At this time, bursts of laughter broke out in the barn, and no one knew what was going on.

Shade happened to meet a group of them head-on. William Anjou was no longer impressed by the "John Watson" who played Rhodes at Count Granger's banquet, and he had changed into other clothes. , so he was not recognized immediately. And Stone Oxenfurt, who was tall and burly and looked more like the prince's bodyguard, saw Shade at a glance.

He whispered to the prince, then left the group and walked towards Shade.

The two of them watched His Royal Highness leave together. Shade was surprised to find that among the attendants following the prince, one of them was a ring warlock, probably around three rings. There was absolutely no way this was a ring warlock from the Church, which would only send out its own team when members of the royal family were clearly under attack from supernatural forces.

Therefore, at this time, Xia De could only understand that for his own safety, His Highness hired a ring warlock who was short of money as a bodyguard.

"I really didn't expect to see you here. Who asked you to come?"

After the others left, Oxenfurt said, and the two walked to talk under a bare tree without leaves. This was a higher position in the backyard of the manor. Because there were no activities arranged nearby, there was no kerosene lamp lighting. , seems extremely dim.

Oxenfurt crossed his arms. Shade always thought this was an insecure behavior. Shade himself looked at the people playing in the yard:

"Who asked me to come here? You asked me to find something, I found it, and you made me wait all morning in vain. Of course, I asked me to come by myself."

Shade replied, and then realized that Oxenfurt's question might have another meaning:

"But it was your old butler who suggested that I come to the city to see you."

Oxenfurt snorted, and Shade continued to add:

"I didn't say that I saw you to return the items. The reason for my visit was the statue. Your old housekeeper said that no one can touch the statue in your room without permission, so he asked me to come to you directly. I spent a whole afternoon searching in the city before I heard that you and William Anjou came to attend the banquet. It’s so relaxing~"

"You don't have to be angry with me. I didn't go to see you at noon today. Of course I have my reasons."

Oxenfurt said, extending his hand to Shade, but Shade did not hand over the badge:

"No, no, I can't give it to you now."

"What, do you want to regret it? Or do you want more reward?"

The burly man turned his head and said the words as if he were joking among friends, but the expression on his face was terrifying.

"Of course I'm not going back on my word, it's just that I want the statue in your collection, the statue of Edward Marcus, and I'm not kidding."

Shade also stared into his yellow eyes:

"You said you would eventually give me the news about [Creation·Earth], but how do I know whether what you said is true? Paying part of the deposit first will allow me to take action and be more motivated. This is a good deal. It took me a week to find the badge, Mr. Oxenfurt, you don’t want me to spend a year to find the last earring, right?”

The two sides looked at each other in silence for half a minute, then Stone Oxenfurt took the initiative to speak:

"The statue is a worthless thing. You can go to the manor to pick it up yourself tomorrow. But you must ensure that you find the third item before spring comes."

"Can."

Shade then nodded and reached out from his pocket to take out the "Kasenrik Third Class Combat Hero" badge:

"See if this is what you're looking for."

Stone Oxenfurt took it, lowered his head and glanced twice before nodding:

"Yes."

He still looked expressionless and serious. After checking it, he actually threw it to Shade:

"When you find the last earring, return them all to me."

Shade noticed that the first item, the black gemstone ring, was in his hand.

"I can keep it for you. But aren't you curious about how I found it?"

Shade shook the badge, and Oxenfurt shook his head:

"I hired you to help me find something, not to tell me stories. How did you find it, and what does it have to do with me?"

Shade smiled and put the badge back into his pocket:

"You are really a strange guy, but since I agreed to take over your commission, I won't lie. Please wait for my good news. I hope that the last sapphire earrings will not be hidden in an even weirder place."

As he spoke, he wanted to leave. Since Oxenfurt said he would go to his manor to pick up the statue tomorrow, he thought he could go home and rest today. Of course, it’s also good to say hello to Luvia before leaving.

But the man behind him stopped him again:

"John Watson, you're a ring wizard, right?"

Shade stopped and turned to look at him:

"Whether I am a Ringmancer or not, does it have anything to do with our commission?"

He imitated the other party's sentence pattern just now. Unexpectedly, instead of being angry, Oxenfurt thought for a while:

"It doesn't matter. I just want to warn you. Although I am an ordinary person, don't play any tricks with me."

Oxenfurt did not look at Shade, but at the crowd of people having fun in the lights.

"Can I understand that you are threatening me?"

Shade asked, who shook his head slightly and looked at the crowd with an interested expression:

"Would you be interested in staying for half an hour and watching a fun play with me?"

Shade wanted to have more contact with him, so he took out his pocket watch that he never used and pretended to check the time:

"If it's only half an hour, I think it's fine."

The two left together from under the tree, and not far away they saw His Highness the Prince, who was chatting and laughing with the groom Enriquez with a group of young girls.

The presence of the prince of Kasenlik in such a wedding banquet of a country aristocrat naturally made the girls attending the wedding very excited. But it seems that William Anjou is not very interested in this and only responds politely.

So Stone Oxenfurt walked over, and his mere appearance made the young girls stop talking excitedly in fear. Seeing that Oxenfurt took the initiative to talk to the prince again, as if he was his friend, they left wisely.

Just as Miss Lassers said, this man has a very bad reputation locally.