Xia De stood up and bowed slightly to the half-open door before following the Black-haired maid named Tifa out of the room.
Miss Tifa had no intention of conversing with Xia De. The two silently found Mr. Neate, who was waiting at the second-floor stairwell. The maid directly told him,
“Give this gentleman 30 pounds, in cash.”
After receiving the nervous man's affirmative reply, the maid turned and went back upstairs. Mr. Neate bowed slightly and only dared to straighten his back after the maid had completely left. Xia De had wanted to ask him what kind of noble "Miss Jialinna" was, but seeing his demeanor, he decided not to ask.
Mr. Neate led Xia De directly to the club's accounting office and personally crouched in front of the brass-colored safe. He rotated three sets of eighteen small gears in total, opened the safe, and retrieved the money for Xia De.
It should have been 30 pounds, but Mr. Neate gave Xia De 50 pounds. Although the number 20 was small, the Outsider, who had been in this world for two weeks, clearly knew the purchasing power of that money.
“There’s no receipt for reimbursement this time.”
Xia De immediately reminded him, but the latter shook his head:
“This is a small token of the club's appreciation. You… may enter and exit the club freely from now on; you will always be welcome here.”
He probably understood something from the fact that Miss Jialinna's personal maid personally led Xia De to collect the money.
Xia De then asked curiously,
“I know The Lady is not the owner of this club, and only comes here occasionally. So, when you give her 50 pounds, is it considered a loan?”
“A loan?”
Mr. Neate looked at Xia De in surprise, as if he had heard an incredible word:
“It is our honor that The Lady deigns to visit us. For her to ask us for money is simply like an angel bestowing a blessing!”
“Being a noble is truly great,” Xia De muttered to himself.
After receiving this large sum of money, he did not immediately return to his current employer, Miss Iluna. Instead, he chatted with Mr. Neate for a while to stall for time, hoping his employer's investigation would go smoothly.
By the time he returned to the specially prepared reception room, nearly an hour and a half had passed since Xia De left. When he pushed open the door, he was worried that the brown-haired Sorceress hadn't returned, but fortunately, she was already sitting at the tea table, holding a book and drinking tea.
“Please make yourself at home,” Mr. Neate said from outside the door, bowing slightly before closing it.
Miss Bei Ya Si immediately put down her book, intending to speak, but the experienced and cautious Detective raised a finger to silence her. He carefully stood by the door, listening to the sounds outside, and only relaxed after confirming that Mr. Neate had walked away.
“Hamilton Detective, you are truly reliable. It was absolutely the right decision to hire you this time.”
Miss Bei Ya Si praised him, while Xia De, looking somewhat tired, sat down on a single sofa to the side:
“I think you might have misunderstood something, but I am indeed very reliable.”
“I didn't expect you to have such powerful social connections. Just now, when I excused myself to go to the washroom, everyone in the club bowed when they saw me.”
A girl from the Church had probably never received such treatment.
“My social connections… Speaking of which, do you know Miss Jialinna? She must be a very powerful great noble.”
Although Miss Bei Ya Si knew that Xia De went to see The Lady, she was different from Schneider and the other three; she didn't know that The Lady was a Ring術士, so she could reveal this matter.
“Miss Jialinna?”
Miss Iluna Bei Ya Si thought for a moment:
“Jialinna is not a very uncommon name. If it involves nobility, then there are many possibilities. When I was training at Black Stone Security Company, there was a specific course introducing contemporary noble families, but without further conditions, it’s difficult for me to know who this is.”
Xia De recalled the details from just now:
“A very influential great noble, no older than 30. She said she admired me, and her influence is enough to affect the Church.”
Immediately, Xia De noticed the distrust in the eyes of the girl opposite him.
“I swear by God’s name, I absolutely did not lie,” he immediately said, and this method of swearing was very consistent with the habits of a Church Ring術士:
“If that’s the case…”
Miss Bei Ya Si frowned, then looked at Xia De with some surprise:
“Detective, then you really did come into contact with an extraordinary noble. There is only one person who fits these conditions: Galina Cavendish, the youngest sister of the previous Delarion King Larus II, and the aunt of the current King ‘Fire-Leaper’ Larus III, who holds the title of ‘Duchess of Saladill’. Detective… I will absolutely not increase the fee for this employment because you have such social connections.”
Xia De's mouth slightly opened. He had read about this Duchess in the newspapers. Duchess Galina Cavendish was a true and powerful Duchess; Saladir County was her fief. This Duchess had only recently traveled here from her fief, reportedly to celebrate the King's birthday.
The Tobesk Morning News and Kingdom Morning News had reported on this for several consecutive days, and Xia De, new to this world, had marveled at it for quite some time.
The current King Larus III is 45 years old this year, while Miss Jialinna is no older than 30; the royal family's generational relationships are quite interesting.
“Are you surprised? You don’t even know who this is, do you?”
Miss Bei Ya Si asked, and Xia De quickly shook his head:
“I forgot to ask you just now, how is your investigation going? After such a long time, there shouldn't be no clues, right?”
Miss Bei Ya Si was successfully distracted by the Detective. She put down her teacup with some worry:
“I found a clue. Something unusual happened in the third room on the left side of the first-floor staircase, but I couldn't get in; there were too many people on the first floor.”
This clue was consistent with the one provided by Miss Jialinna. Since Miss Bei Ya Si had also investigated it, Xia De didn't need to state it himself.
“I remember that room also seemed to be a reception room, but it was a bit noisy because it was too close to the main hall, so it only received less important guests.”
He stood up, signaling to Miss Bei Ya Si that she could follow him:
“I still have some… pull here. I think we can go in and take a look.”
“Detective, I truly didn’t misjudge you.”
The brown-haired Sorceress smiled and stood up:
“If we truly gain something this time, I won’t be stingy with the reward.”
Xia De also smiled, reaching to cover his chest. Inside his outer jacket pocket was an envelope, and inside the envelope was 60 pounds in cash (Note). This money was enough for him to buy a decent small manor in the distant Tobesk countryside:
“As for the reward, we can discuss that later.”