Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 496 - The Cost of Eavesdropping

After bidding farewell to Old Man John, who seemed to have leisurely days, Shard hurriedly took a carriage to Feather Quill Street with gifts in tow. By the time he arrived to see Dorothy, Luviya had already come.

Dorothy, attending the banquet at Yordle Palace as a guest, was dressed in formal dance attire. The sky-blue gown that matched her golden hair was stunning. Luviya, on the other hand, was going to Yordle Palace as an employee of the Prophet's Society, so she wore the society's relatively plain black gown trimmed with silver.

After Shard complimented them on how beautiful they looked, the delighted ladies asked him to wait in the living room for a while, as they needed some more time to finish dressing in the bedroom.

So Shard made himself some tea in the kitchen and sat down on the couch to wait. Dorothy's apartment seemed even more disheveled than in the morning. Clothes, sashes, and shoes were scattered everywhere, and a makeup case with a mirror took up most of the coffee table.

Finding himself with nothing else to do, he decided to formally learn "Psychic Shockwave." The study of this Arcane Technique didn't require complex ritual materials; all that was needed was a Mind Crystal, and then...

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Shard pinched his right index finger's ring with his left hand, closed his eyes, and gently twisted it to rub the Mind Crystal on it with his fingertips.

At the same time, he whispered the oddly pronounced Spell Words in his mind and used his spiritual power in the darkness to sense the objects in front of him.

Suddenly frowning, the Spirit surged towards his right index finger. Shard stretched out his finger and pointed forward, channeling the invisible spiritual force through the ring to amplify it into the air.

"Old Man John really didn't deceive me."

He smiled as he opened his eyes and examined the jewelry on his finger, sensing through the use of Arcane Technique just how smoothly his Spirit flowed through it:

"The craftsmanship of Study of Alchemy really can make big money."

With that thought in mind, he reached for the teacup he had placed on the coffee table earlier and comfortably leaned back on the couch.

As he sipped his tea and looked around, his ears could pick up the golden-haired Miss Writer and the brown-haired female Prophet quietly exchanging opinions about styles of shoes and patterns of stockings.

They thought Shard couldn't hear them, but "Echo of the Past" has the passive effect of enhancing one's hearing, and with Shard's enhanced physical condition, he could hear these subtle sounds.

"Speaking of 'Echo of the Past', I wonder what kind of sounds I would hear if I used this Arcane Technique here..."

Out of boredom, the teacup-holding Shard came up with this idea. Of course, he knew that eavesdropping in someone else's home was extremely impolite, and this behavior was bordering on criminal.

Laughter from "her" reached his ears, probably mocking Shard's thought.

"Right, better not be so impolite."

The Outlander thought to himself and settled back, letting his body completely rest on the soft couch. The couch in Dorothy's home was somewhat softer than the one Detective Sparrow had left behind; probably Mia would like the couch here.

Shard sipped his tea and then heard the two ladies in the bedroom moving from the choice of stockings to the selection of waist-cinching skirts, discussing some topics that were not suitable for Shard to hear.

"Hmm... I'll just listen to the sounds from the past instead."

So, to avoid hearing the current sounds, Shard on the couch decided to use that rather impolite Arcane Technique.

He took another sip of tea, activated the technique, and then heard Dorothy's voice loud and clear:

"Luviya, once you're done with the card game matters, you must dance with me."

Dorothy and Luviya have always had a good relationship. This conversation must have taken place not too long ago, meaning Shard's actions, while impolite, didn't constitute an invasion of privacy.

Now feeling more at ease, he took another sip of tea, and then Luviya's voice followed:

"Of course, no problem. It's just a pity that I have the chance to attend such a banquet but cannot freely move about like you. Dorothy, you're really lucky to have met Princess Angelina through detective stories."

Although the invitation came from Lecia, it was in the Little Princess's name. Hearing this, Shard couldn't help but speculate about the relationship between Princess Angelina and Lecia. A few days ago at the Opera House, Princess Angelina Cavendish seemed somewhat fearful of Lecia.

Luviya was still speaking:

"Dorothy, that dress of yours really is wonderful."

"Oh, this one? It's a custom handmade dress from Lady Rhine, do you know how much gold this dress costs?"

Dorothy's voice didn't state a number, suggesting she gestured with her hands instead.

"But the price is still acceptable; the dress is indeed beautiful."

Luviya continued to praise, and Shard, holding his teacup, nodded in agreement; the sky-blue dress he had seen earlier was truly beautiful.

Luviya spoke again:

"However..."

She paused, seeming hesitant to continue.

"What's wrong?"

Dorothy asked curiously, and Shard heard the sound of her rifling through the wardrobe.

"How much padding did you use? It looks so big."

"Cough cough!"

Shard coughed violently on the sofa, trembling as he placed the teacup on the coffee table and hunched over, holding his chest. The tea had gone down the wrong pipe, causing his whole body to shake uncomfortably.

"Shard, what's wrong?"

Upon hearing the noise outside, the two ladies in the room immediately asked.

"No, cough cough, it's nothing, I just choked."

He said, coughing violently as he stood up:

"Excuse me, I need to use the washroom."

Then he quickly walked toward the bathroom, his coughing along the way making it clear he really was choked.

"Really, how can you be so careless?"

Dorothy complained from the bedroom, while Shard learned a universally simple truth through this incident—

Eavesdropping on others' conversations always comes with a price.

"Cough cough!"

Listening to the laughter around him, he leaned on the washbasin, patting his chest in the bathroom. But honestly, Shard was still very curious about the next part of the conversation and how Dorothy had responded.

It took the ladies another half-hour to get ready. Shard left the house first and found an available four-wheeled cab at the corner of Feather Quill Street and the shaded path of the Divinity Academy. He instructed the cabby to wait in front of 221B Feather Quill Street, and then the three of them set off for Yordle Palace together.

Luviya was meeting with other members of her society, so she got off early at the entrance of the Prophet's Society. Shard jumped out of the carriage first, then reached out a hand to help Luviya down from the carriage, under the watchful eye of Dorothy, who was peering out the carriage window.

"So we'll see each other at the banquet later!"

Luviya waved goodbye to Shard and Dorothy with a smile, her made-up face looking even more radiant than usual under the coal-gas street lamp's black iron glow.

The gas lamps along Silver Cross Avenue were uniform in style, with black lamp posts on top that twisted into complicated decorative patterns of iron metal gas lamp encasements, their heights varied. Three glass covers of the gas lamps were imprisoned within the metal frameworks, connected to the gas pipes running through the lamp posts. Although not as ornate as the gas lamps in noble homes, the relatively simple and rustic appearance did not diminish the reputation of City of Steam's central streets.

After bidding farewell to Luviya, Shard and Dorothy couldn't continue on by carriage because rental carriages were not allowed to proceed further down Silver Cross Avenue, which was becoming lit with gas lamps to prevent congestion.

Thus, Shard and Dorothy had to get out of the carriage earlier than expected. There were many guests like them who didn't own private carriages after all.

No sooner had Shard paid the cab fare than he heard someone calling his name.

A four-wheeled carriage with a black cabin slowly stopped on the side of the street, and Director Anlos poked his head out from the window:

"Good afternoon, Shard. Come on, let's go in together."

Director Anlos had also groomed his hair today and wore formal attire, although simpler in style and with little ornamentation. Without knowing his status, one would never be able to associate this man with ordinary looks and no distinguishing features with the director of MI6.

"Is it alright?"

"What's the inconvenience? Oh, this lady is..."

"My companion for the evening, Miss Dorothy Louisa."

Shard introduced her, and Director Anlos suddenly realized:

"I know that name. The lady who serializes detective stories in the 'Steam Bird Daily,'" he said. "Your stories are also very popular in our department. Oh, I know, Hamilton Detective, that's Shard!"

"Dorothy, this is my friend, Mr. Dark Anlos. He works in logistics management for the Royal Army Troops," Shard said simply, winking at Director Anlos to signal not to reveal too much.

Director Anlos smiled and nodded:

"Climb aboard, I'll take you in. Right now, entering Yordle Palace requires one to surrender weapons and even undergo a simple search. It's very cumbersome. If I take you in, you won't need to be insultated by those unreasonable servants."

There was another person in the carriage besides Mr. Anlos—a lady of similar age to him, slightly plump. She must be Director Anlos' companion for the evening, but not Mrs. Anlos. Shard had heard that his superior was still unmarried.

"Then do I need to surrender my weapon?"

The cautious search was probably because of the recent incident with Prince Sax bringing a gun into the palace. Shard's regular revolver could transform into a toy, but the "Spear of Kindness" was still on him.

"No, there's no need. I'm carrying a weapon too, and we can vouch for your loyalty," Director Anlos said. He sat beside his own companion, opposite Shard, and lowered his voice:

"The incident at the Opera House last Saturday has concluded. Her Highness Angelina has given you high praise, and spoke very well of you in front of the King and Queen. If you're lucky tonight, you might get the chance to be summoned by His Majesty."

"That would indeed be an honor."

Although he said this, Shard had little interest in meeting with Larus III.

Compared to the mundane middle-aged man, Shard was far more interested in the lady by his side and the Roder Card.