Whispering Poems

Chapter 1146 Respective gifts and Shade's bonus

Of course, Mia was probably the only unhappy creature.It didn't like places with too many people, so it huddled under Xia De's coat, only exposing a small cat's head to breathe the air. It looked like a cat growing in the center of Xia De's chest.

The Prophet Association was also crowded with people because of today's event, so after obtaining Xia De's consent, the coachman let him down 200 meters from the entrance of the association.

After paying the fare, Xia De walked forward while looking at the Silver Cross Avenue at the end of the year.He suddenly felt the cat in his chest getting hot, and then realized that it was the badge that was getting hot.

Mia also felt the temperature, so while Xia De's chest was squirming, Xia De turned to look behind him, and he saw the familiar carriage coming here.

Even the carriage of the Duchess can only slowly pass through the crowded crowd.Because it is not easy to talk on the street with people coming and going, Shad originally planned to greet him from the window if Miss Galina noticed him. After all, she will visit the Place Sainte-Terraine this afternoon.

But after the carriage stopped, the red-haired witch who was "recovering from a serious illness" actually got out of the carriage.She wore a silver-white long dress that Xia De had never seen before, and a bright red lady's coat on her upper body, which matched her hair color very well:

"Miss Galina, are you feeling better? I heard that you have recovered, but I haven't visited yet."

"It's better, but the nose is still a little uncomfortable."

The witch was supported by her personal maid, Tifa, while pretending to be weak, there was a clear smile in her eyes.

"Then go back to the carriage, it's really cold today."

Xia De said very seriously, playing his role well.The Duchess of Saladir nodded slightly, and then kissed Xia De's side face without any concealment on the street with people coming and going, and the smile in her eyes became more obvious:

"Happy New Year's Eve then, my .knight."

She turned and returned to the carriage. When Tifa helped her into the carriage, she still winked at Shade, not knowing what it meant.The carriage quickly drove away from Xia De, but Xia De could already imagine how quickly the news of the Duchess kissing her lover's side face on the street would spread to the entire city.

"She definitely did it on purpose."

Xia De touched his face, and then requested:

"Help me take a look, is there any lipstick mark left on the face?"

"She" laughed in Shad's ear, but still pointed out the location that needed to be wiped for Shad.

As soon as he entered the Prophet's Association, the sound of people talking loudly about the release of the first series of Rhodes next year, as well as the promotional posters posted on the notice board on the side of the gate, broke into Shad's ears and eyes together.

In the new year, the Prophet Association will release cards of the [Hibernation and Spring] series around February to celebrate the end of the year.This is a completely new themed Rhodes deck, so it's getting a lot of buzz.

Those who recognized Xia De also greeted him loudly, and asked if he was here to participate in the noon finals.

"Oh, of course, I am looking forward to who will sit with me at the final poker table!"

While Xia De smiled and greeted the familiar people in the association, Vice President Mark also came down from the third floor after hearing the news, and led Xia De out of the lively lobby on the first floor:
"The [Natural Disaster Blizzard] that you asked the Association to restore has been repaired, and it's just for you."

Mr. Mark led the way in front, then sighed softly:

"This year is finally over. 1853 feels so fast."

"Quick?"

Xia De asked curiously. After leaving the first floor, the corridor on the second floor with the divination room was much quieter.

The middle-aged man nodded and said with emotion:

"When you first met Ni, you didn't understand the Rhodes card, and even planned to sell [Founding Silver Moon]. Now you not only have a special rule card for almost a quarter of the deck, you even won the card of the players in the big city. The overall champion won five cards of the [Founding] series. And all of this has only happened in half a year from the midsummer to the present, isn't it fast?"

Xia De smiled, and he admitted that at least this time, the smile was a self-satisfied smile.

There was no suspense in the Rhodes game at noon. The last one in the 1853 Rhodes Competition in the Tobysk area was Viscount Chekhov from the Katyn Rhodes Club.

He was wearing a red coat and white bloomers, and he was no stranger to Shad.The two faced each other once in the Rhodes card game at the wedding banquet in the early winter of Lakeview Manor, and this time facing Shad again, Viscount Chekhov also maintained a strong fighting spirit and a strong competitive spirit.

The game adopts the rule of three rounds and two wins, and each round is divided into five rounds, and the victory is calculated based on the number of wins, losses, draws and busts.

In the end, of course Shad won the victory, and Viscount Chekov was not bothered. Instead, he warmly invited Shad to play cards at the Katynen Club where he was when he had time.

But in fact, besides playing cards, this kind of dedicated Rhodes aristocratic club is more for social and political purposes.

The prizes of the Rhodes Card Competition at the end of the year are far less generous than those of the "Big City Players", but the prize of 200 pounds is quite attractive compared to other city-level events.

After receiving the bonus and accepting people's congratulations, Xia De did not go to Luvia, but talked with Vice President Mark for a while, and then planned to have lunch. Miya couldn't wait at this time.

Just after leaving the Prophet Association, he saw Director An Luosi standing under the gas lamp opposite the association, holding a newspaper and looking at him, so Xia De pressed his hat and walked over with his head bowed.

The carriage came just at this time, stopped for ten seconds and then started again, but at this time the two gentlemen had disappeared.

"I know you will come to participate in the Rhodes Card Competition, so I came here to wait for you."

After taking off his gloves, Director An Luosi in the carriage cut the long story short, and handed Shad a note with the time of tomorrow afternoon handwritten in blue ink:
"Your Majesty wants to see you tomorrow, which is one o'clock in the afternoon on the end of the year, about 10 minutes."

He specifically emphasized the time point, and the outsider frowned slightly. He had read a saying in the newspaper that on the morning of the New Year's Eve, the king would deliver his annual speech at the Yodel Palace, and then there would be no public activities for the whole day.But in fact, on the day of the end of the year, the king will meet with many people in private, and those who can see His Majesty the king on the last day of each year are all big figures in the kingdom's political circle, or people who have a very close relationship with the royal family.

Probably seeing Xia De's doubts, Director An Luosi added another sentence:
"It's for commendation. You did a good job during the visit of Princess Margaret of Anjou. Although you failed to catch the grey-headed eagle, you at least established a good relationship with that princess, which is very important to the kingdom. At the end of this year, the awards will be publicly awarded, probably in the middle or late January, and you will be rewarded at that time. Besides, His Majesty will give you some rewards tomorrow, after all, the content of your mission cannot be made public."

Xia De nodded knowingly, and Director An Luosi added in a low voice:
"In addition, His Majesty will probably give you a new mission to maintain long-term contact with Margaret Anjou. If necessary, he will arrange for you to take a temporary vacation to Willendale. Miss Galina also knows this. I told you in advance You, you get ready."

Xia De nodded again. Carsonrick's royal heirs are not as many as Leiziya's brothers and sisters. Among the two princesses and two princes, one of them will inherit the throne.Among them, Margaret, who was able to visit De La Rion on behalf of the kingdom, seemed to have a little hope on the surface, so "Fire Leaper" Larus III was very fond of the relationship established by Shad.

"I see."

He nodded slightly, and Director An Luosi handed him an envelope:
"MI[-]'s year-end award."

"MI[-] also has a year-end bonus?"

Xia De asked with a surprised smile, but still reached out and took the envelope.

"Why can't MI[-] have a year-end bonus? Are we an illegal department?"

Director An Luosi was very strange, and then explained:

"You have completed many difficult tasks this year, so the amount of the bonus is relatively large. This is the amount I approved. After all, at the end of the year, the original budget must be spent. I will give you both the bonus and your salary this month. I won’t let you go to the municipal waste disposal management center alone, let’s have a good time.”

Xia De squeezed the envelope, a smile appeared on his face.Although the exact amount is uncertain, it is at least a few hundred pounds.

The prize money from the Rhodes card contest at the end of the year, together with the year-end bonus from MI[-], gave Xia De, whose savings had plummeted, confidence again.Although neither Rezia nor Miss Galina would be stingy with giving Xia De "pocket money", but outsiders still have some self-esteem.

Throughout the morning on Monday, Xia De did not stop in his footsteps, but after dealing with these matters, he mailed gifts to other friends in the city, and before the end of the year, he basically had nothing to do.

After having lunch with Little Miya at noon, I was ready to go home and wait for Miss Galina's visit in the afternoon.But not long after returning home, the bell downstairs was rang.Xia De thought it was a client or an acquaintance like Baron Lavender visiting, but he did not expect that there was an unexpected acquaintance standing outside the door:
"Captain Rudds?"

Wearing a neat army captain's military uniform, black boots on his feet, and a bottle of red wine in his hand, Captain Lades, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, unexpectedly appeared at the door of No. [-] Place Saint Teresa.

"Long time no see, Mr. Hamilton."

The former "Captain of Eight Guns" also greeted Xia De with a smile.

"Captain, aren't you stationed at the Red Water Camp in the windy trail of Mount Xical? Oh, please come in, I really didn't expect to see you before the end of the year."

(End of this chapter)