In the Summer without cooling tools, the feeling of being cooped up indoors was not good.
Today was another good day; the first ten days of the thunder moon already felt like the heat of mid-Summer. Although the outside of the house was open, even opening the windows could not allow the wind to circulate, and he also had to worry about the City's fog affecting his health. The Outsider was not accustomed to such a life, and his efficiency in reading was reduced due to his irritable mood.
But fortunately, he had mastered a new Miracle. As the temperature continued to rise closer to noon, Xia De finally decided to actively try to cool down the room.
Seeing Mia sprawled on the study desk, unwilling to move, he got up and brought the household basin and bucket, placing newspapers under these containers. Then, he closed the study door and shut the windows, pulling the curtains tight.
As spirit energy activated the elements, and the elements influenced reality, snowflakes fell from the ceiling, landing in the basin and bucket. A small portion slid off the edges, but due to the presence of the newspaper, they left no trace on the study floor.
Even though it had just started snowing, seeing this scene already made him feel much cooler.
"Meow~"
The cat watched the snowing study with narrowed eyes. Taking advantage of Xia De's inattention, the entire cat suddenly leaped from the desk and then plunged into the bucket. It probably just wanted to play in the snow.
Mia let out a "scream" and thrashed around in the bucket. By the time Xia De rescued the cat from the bucket, it had no interest in those white things anymore. Probably, at least for several tens of minutes.
Because he was not in good spirits, he only read on and off throughout the day, or looked through the Detective reports left by Sparrow Detective. He treated those past investigation reports as Detective novels.
He went out for lunch and, uncharacteristically, took a nap after returning home. When he woke up, his head felt much clearer, and the headache he had upon waking that morning had almost completely disappeared.
He returned to the study, reading books while it snowed, preparing for the exam at the end of July. At three in the afternoon, the sound of a bell finally came from downstairs.
Xia De looked out from the living room window and saw a carriage parked in front of his house, knowing that this was the servant Miss Jialinna had arranged to teach him.
Duchess Jialinna's personal maid, Tifa, naturally couldn't come specifically for this task. Therefore, arriving at Saint Delan Square Six by carriage were an Old Tailor and a female apprentice carrying a metal toolbox, and an etiquette teacher with a white wig and old-fashioned court attire, along with his young attendant.
The Old Tailor and apprentice came to measure Xia De for clothes and then simply tailored the already made formal wear. The etiquette teacher was to teach him some speaking skills to prevent him from doing anything he shouldn't.
The clothes were fine, but the conversations and rules among nobles were truly cumbersome. Xia De knew how cumbersome and boring this whole thing was when he was in his hometown, but it was only that afternoon that he realized he had greatly underestimated the annoying extent of noble etiquette.
By the time the sun set, Xia De barely escaped the tedious etiquette lessons and put on the black formal suit made by the tailor and apprentice.
Another carriage stopped at the entrance of Saint Delan Square No. 6. This time, it was Miss Jialinna's personal maid, Miss Tifa Servett.
"Miss Servett."
Xia De walked out the door and stood on the steps to greet the maid, adjusting his slightly tight collar as he spoke. He rarely wore such restrictive clothes in his hometown. He had complained a little to the Old Tailor just now, and the Old Tailor "threatened" that men now wore stockings as a fashion. So he shut up.
The black-haired maid was a little surprised:
"You actually know my surname. It seems you, Detective, have some skill."
Actually, Xia De had heard Miss Louisa mention it.
"Miss asked me to pick you up. You get in the carriage behind."
The single Duchess's personal maid, of course, could not share a carriage with an unfamiliar man. Miss Tifa Servett pointed out the location of the carriage to Xia De, and she saw the orange cat peeking out from behind Xia De.
Normally, Mia would not voluntarily leave the house, nor had it ever rushed out when Xia De opened the door. It noticed that the woman in the carriage was paying attention to it, so it let out a "meow~" and then quickly hid behind Xia De's legs.
This made the black-haired maid smile, and then she asked the Detective, who was taking out his keys to lock the door:
"Confirm, did you bring that card?"
"Yes."
Xia De patted his chest, waved to the cat in the house as a farewell, and then closed the door.
"Alright, let's go now. After the rhode cards game, there's a salon hosted by the Duke. You don't have to worry about being hungry, Hamilton Detective, get in the car. I hope you can help Miss win tonight's gamble."
The location of this match was not Tobesk's aristocratic club or Old Duke Lux's country estate. The match was arranged at Duke Lucas's mansion in Tobesk South District.
Nobles and wealthy people in Tobesk usually lived in the southern and eastern parts of the City, with nobles preferring the south. However, the South City and Central District are generally considered the most prosperous areas of the Northern Pearl, while Tobesk's University District is curved in a ring shape, sandwiched between the South City and the Central District.
After a section of uphill road, the carriage slowed down and finally stopped at the entrance of Duke Lucas's residence in the City. The mansion was surrounded by a courtyard, and a middle-aged man dressed as a Butler had already brought the servants to wait in the dim night.
The maid Miss got out of the carriage first and exchanged greetings with the Butler. As Xia De, wearing a black bowler hat, got out of the carriage, Miss Tifa Servett happened to introduce tonight's main character to the Butler. The Butler, who had a very strong Tobesk accent, expressed his respect to Xia De.
He followed the Old Butler and the maid Miss, accompanied by a team of servants, through the not-so-large courtyard towards the mansion. He had expected to see Miss Jialinna first, but unexpectedly, after passing through the somewhat deserted mansion entrance hall, he went directly to the second floor and met the group from the Prophet Association.
"The guests have arrived and are waiting in the banquet hall on the third floor. Oh, Mr. Dawn, it hasn't been this lively here in a long time."
The Old Butler exclaimed, opening the door for Xia De. The people inside turned to look at the door. Xia De hadn't met most of the Prophet Association group, but he immediately saw Vice President Mark. Mr. Mark smiled and shook hands with Xia De, then took Xia De's deck for appraisal, ensuring that all cards used in tonight's match were genuine.
"Oh, ancient fairy tale - match girl and Coldwater Port City of Northern City? In just a few days, Mr. Hamilton, you've acquired so many new cards?"
Mr. Mark said happily. Seeing rhode cards they hadn't seen before always excited enthusiasts.
