Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 482: Meeting, Planning, and Streetlight

"What? Tonight?"

Dorothy nodded, her gaze somewhat dissatisfied as she looked at him:

"Yes, Shard, tonight. You'll need to prepare seriously. Even though Lecia is very familiar with you, you still need to show the right attitude. She can't linger outside for too long, His Majesty the King is furious because of the Sax Cavendish incident, and now nobody wants to provoke his displeasure."

"What should I do?"

Shard wasn't just happy to finally be able to meet Her Highness the Princess in Tobesk City, he was even more pleased to be able to get rid of the four one-shilling printing plates he was holding. Having those things in his possession, he always felt like he might be turned into a criminal at any moment.

"Time is of the essence, how should I arrange it?"

"I knew you wouldn't know what to do, but it's okay, I've already made arrangements for both of you."

The carriage started off towards Saint Delan Square, and Dorothy took out her notebook, which had the schedule:

"You go straight home now, change into some clothes you don't usually wear. Wear gray gloves on both hands, and pin any random animal brooch to your chest as a token. At six fifty, wait at the alley next to the Prophet's Society. When the carriage bearing the falcon crest stops, jump on immediately. You must be quick, the carriage will only stop for five seconds."

"Is Lecia on the carriage?"

"Oh, Shard, please shut your mouth, time is pressing, don't interrupt me."

Dorothy appeared somewhat agitated:

"The carriage will head east, then turn south, stopping on a street at the edge of the University District and Tobesk Southern District. You'll leave the carriage, walk around the neighborhood twice through the alleys, and at seven forty, enter the nearby Red Flame Restaurant. I've already reserved a private booth for both of you, Lecia will be waiting for you inside."

"You've reserved for us..."

"You can eat and talk at the same time, but remember, the opera at Tobesk Grand Opera House starts tonight at nine. I've already booked tickets for both of you."

"You've reserved for us..."

"After the opera starts, try not to leave the booth to avoid being seen. After the performance ends at half-past ten, Shard, you need to be a gentleman. You can take Lecia back to Saint Delan Square for a while, to discuss topics of interest, or you can take her directly back to Silver Cross Avenue. I've already booked a four-wheeled hired carriage for you both from the Opera House. The coachman is one of Lecia's people, so rest assured."

"You've reserved for us..."

"Lastly, you must remember to get Lecia back to Yordle Palace before midnight, otherwise..."

"Otherwise will Lecia turn from a Princess into a Cinderella?"

Shard suddenly interjected.

"What fairy tale are you talking about? Shard, we are pressed for time."

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Dorothy waved her hand, motioning for Shard to shut his mouth:

"The Royal Guards who take over the night shift at Yordle Palace appear at twelve ten. Lecia can only control the guards on the first half of the night, so she must return before midnight."

Having said that, she tore a page off the notebook very roughly and thrust it into Shard's hands. The paper listed not just the schedule but also points of caution, as well as reminders about Lecia's preferences from Dorothy.

The golden-haired girl looked at Shard very seriously:

"Additionally, I believe you certainly haven't prepared a gift for welcoming Lecia back to Tobesk, oh, gentlemen nowadays are always so careless. But don't worry, I sent a letter yesterday and ordered a bouquet from 'Mary Jane's Flower Shop' near Saint Delan Square for you. It should be delivered by the time we return to the square. You can take one flower to meet Lecia, or you can give it to her after the opera when you take her back to the square."

"For me..."

Shard finally couldn't help but interrupt her:

"Dorothy, aren't you coming with us?"

He looked at the girl in front of him, Dorothy's mouth curled into a smile, but when her eyes met his, there seemed to be a hint of sadness:

"I've told you, I can't be in close contact with Lecia, not even make eye contact from afar. Rather than just follow you around from a distance, it's better I do not appear tonight. It's better for both of us."

"But..."

"Don't use a but, Shard, I can do anything for you both, it's alright."

She seemed to recall something, her face flushed slightly, and she tossed her hair:

"Lecia is me, and I am Lecia. I won't mind this. Moreover, Lecia is covering all the expenses for tonight, including that bouquet, and I left it under the name of Lecia's personal Maid. Shard, have fun tonight," she said cheerfully, truly seeming not to mind.

The carriage traveled smoothly, but the clip-clop of the horse's hooves and the noise of the streets outside in the evening made the silence inside the carriage feel somewhat eerie.

Dorothy pushed open the window, and a warm wind carrying a burnt smell immediately surged in.

She turned her head to gaze at the densely packed tall chimneys towering in the distance. Billowing black smoke spouted towards the sky, creating the unique skyline of Tobesk City, the City of Steam—a symbol of this era.

Shard also looked outside:

"Dorothy, if I can find a way in the future, a way for you to meet, to look at each other, to touch..."

"Then, you will become our..."

This sentence was almost a murmur, and Shard didn't catch the last word clearly.

The evening breeze swept through the streets, making the pedestrians feel a chill, signaling that autumn was on its way. The same wind brushed across the girl's face at the window, causing her golden hair to sway with it.

She did not look at Shard, and Shard couldn't see her expression. But the loneliness of the most familiar person being so close, yet perhaps never being able to touch or even make eye contact in a lifetime, Shard, watching her solitary figure, surprisingly felt that he could relate.

[Outlander, is this like you and me?]

Her voice suddenly appeared in his ear. Shard started, then folded the notebook page he held and stuffed it into the pocket of his black coat:

"I didn't say anything."

After the carriage stopped at Saint Delan Square, Dorothy didn't get out. Instead, she reiterated to Shard not to miss the time before she took the carriage and left.

The feeling of a girl arranging a meeting with another girl for him felt bizarre to Shard.

However, since it was already arranged, he wasn't going to stand her up.

Though the appointed time was six-thirty, Shard arrived at the alleyway next to the Prophet's Society at six-ten to avoid being late.

He had a gray glove at home as a token, but finding an animal brooch was really a challenge. Eventually, in the bedroom desk of the late Detective Sparrow, he found a brass brooch in the shape of an eagle's head, which did bear a resemblance to some national emblem from his homeland.

Standing motionless in the alleyway would be too conspicuous, so Shard also bought a newspaper from a street child selling them.

He had hardly unfolded the newspaper and hadn't even finished reading the front-page headline about His Majesty the King's speech when he suddenly heard someone calling his name:

"Mr. Hamilton, what are you doing here?"

It was Mr. Yadis Stan, the local chairman of the Prophet's Society. Vice-President Mark and two other gentlemen Shard did not recognize accompanied him. They seemed to be heading for drinks after work:

"I'm... on a detective's errand, I'm meeting someone."

Shard half-truthfully said, hoping these gentlemen wouldn't linger here.

"Work is truly hard, even having to meet with someone during dinner time."

Vice-President Mark sighed, and the other gentlemen also seemed sympathetic towards Shard's profession. Vice President Stan, however, had a favorable impression of Shard from the last case he helped solve, "The Injury of Princess Angelina."

Casually taking out a shilling coin and flipping it, Tobesk's most famous Prophet smiled and reminded him:

"Mr. Hamilton, my Divination shows that if you wear your glove inside out, switch the newspaper in your hand for the 'Threepenny Gazette', and then hold a red rose in your hand, you will encounter tremendous luck during the meeting."

Because of the Prophet's accurate prediction regarding the "Knight" last time, Shard had great faith in him. After bidding farewell to the group, he found a newsboy on the street and bought another newspaper, then got a red rose from a girl selling flowers.

He had a bunch of flowers at home, but to prevent them from being eaten by the cat, Shard had placed them in the basement. Considering it too much trouble to fetch them, he was now incurring an expense. But if it was for the sake of luck, he thought it probably worth it.

After buying the flower, Shard continued standing at the alleyway, holding the newspaper and the rose. The evening on Silver Cross Avenue was exceptionally lively. There were almost no raggedly dressed poor from the Lower District to be seen, whether the gentlemen hurrying along the street or the nobility leaving Yordle Palace by carriage. Everyone looked so polished and so confident.

If Tobesk City was the core of the entire Old Continent's north, then Silver Cross Avenue was the very heart of Tobesk City. The essence of civilization converged here, and those living nearby also enjoyed the dividends brought by the Kingdom and the times.

If one merely observed the streetscape here, the era would undoubtedly appear to be the most advanced, civilized, and stable. But for the Outlander familiar with this city, he was well aware that the essence of civilization could not be judged by its glossiest scenes.

"Civilization, eh~"

With a sigh in his heart, a Glimmer suddenly twinkled beside him.

Shard turned his head to see that above the lamppost at the alley's entrance, a warm yellow glow flickered a few times. With a light pop, the light fully brightened.

Clusters of light ignited from afar to in front of him and then from in front of him into the distance, lighting up along the street one by one. The Glimmer illuminated the cobblestone road beneath everyone's feet and brightened every person there.

No one stopped at this scene; a few would glance at the gas street lamp beside them and smile.

Only the Outlander's eyes widened as he looked up. It was his first time in this era at night to witness gas street lamps lighting up, illuminating the city.

This ordinary scene, yet like a hammer, struck Shard's heart fiercely.