Chapter 551: Hobert is a good staff member
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Actually, lunchtime had already passed, and Hobert had only been sitting in the lounge for a few minutes when a servant invited him to Alice's dining room.
The princess's dining room was about the same size as the one used in Earl Hobert's mansion, but much more exquisite.
The oil paintings hanging on the walls were much higher quality than those Hobert had hanging in the Earl's mansion hall. One of them looked familiar to Hobert, and he only remembered it after taking a closer look. It was a piece from the art exhibition he had seen with Audrey before.
At the time, neither he nor Audrey had purchased any works from that art exhibition. Audrey didn't because she already had a considerable collection and had excellent painting skills, and there wasn't any piece in the entire exhibition that she particularly liked, so she didn't buy anything.
Hobert simply didn't want to waste his money.
After he sat down, the servant immediately served the dishes and poured Hobert a glass of aperitif.
"Please change it to coffee or juice," Hobert smiled. "I'm still working."
The servant was slightly stunned, but nodded and changed it to juice for Hobert.
"I heard you're usually quite frugal?" Alice, sitting in the main seat, suddenly asked, "Even the dining process is very simple."
Hobert suspected that his eating habits were probably already known throughout the noble circle, but Alice was being polite, not saying he was stingy, only that the "process was simple."
He said, "Yes, Your Highness."
Then he joked, "Maybe I'm not used to the extravagant life that an Earl should have yet."
"If you were the same as other Earls, it wouldn't be interesting," Alice suddenly asked with an aloof expression, "Do you think my leg ring looks good?"
The word "good-looking" was about to come out of Hobert's mouth, but he barely "hit the brakes": "The situation was urgent at the time, I didn't notice."
Truthfully, it wasn't just good-looking, it was also very sexy.
And if he were a leg person, he would probably have already fallen. Alice's legs were indeed impeccable.
Hobert thought to himself: No wonder leg rings later had some other meanings. It's really because they have a special meaning among ornaments.
Then he realized that it was very strange for the princess to ask such a question, and he had to deal with it carefully.
Alice suddenly smiled: "Liar."
Hobert pretended not to hear. No matter what he answered at this time, it would bring endless trouble in the future.
He was also a little helpless: I'm just being a bodyguard for a day, I don't want to be labeled as a 'princess's male favorite' in the noble circle in the future.
Alice was, after all, a princess, and did not continue the topic, but talked about her assassination: "Tonight, I'm going to attend a ball. I think you should have received an invitation too. Do you think there will be another assassination attempt against me then?"
"It's hard to say." Hobert didn't say anything like he would definitely protect the princess, but smiled and said, "The key is that I know nothing about the assassin."
"In any case, thank you very much for your rescue today," Alice smiled. "I have prepared some gifts for you, and they will be sent to your Earl's mansion later."
Hobert did not refuse: "Thank you, Princess."
Next, Alice began to inquire about the witch's abilities. Hobert did not hide this, after all, he also regarded the Demoness Sect as an enemy. In this regard, he was willing to provide some help to Alice.
After dinner, Alice went back to take a nap for a while, and then invited Hobert to the garden for tea, and then took a walk with Hobert in the garden, not allowing any servants to follow.
"You dance very well," Alice suddenly said, "We can dance another dance tonight."
Hobert smiled and said, "That's my honor."
"You probably can't imagine how pathetic it is to be a princess of Loen," Alice changed the subject again, "Watching my dearest brother die, but I can't do anything about it."
Hobert didn't say anything, and he didn't want to comment on it.
And he had roughly guessed that Alice was talking to him alone because she wanted him to investigate Edessak's case.
This was something he would never agree to!
Who knew that Alice would change the subject again: "You and Audrey seem to be friends?"
"Yes." Hobert was a little strange, what exactly did Alice want to say: "We met when I 'left' Backlund."
"Aren't you very curious why I'm talking so incoherently?" Then Alice answered herself, "Because my conversations are always being eavesdropped on, and even written words can be 'eavesdropped' on.
"But according to reliable information I have obtained, the Sealed Artifact that is eavesdropping on our conversation from a distance has a drawback.
"As long as you constantly change the topic, you can effectively avoid this eavesdropping ability. The person holding this Sealed Artifact is too far away from us and cannot discover this, and will only think that we are not talking at this time."
Hobert was slightly stunned: Are you sure that the other party doesn't know about you getting this information? If the other party deliberately let you get this information, or already has a new response, then our changing the topic is just acting for ourselves to see.
If that's really the case, the other party is similar to 'screen peeking' and should be laughing at this time, right?
But thinking about Alice's usual performance, she should have repeatedly confirmed this life-threatening matter.
Then Hobert smiled helplessly: "Then let's talk about some coherent topics."
He felt a big "danger" character was floating above his head, and the next conversation must be very dangerous.
It's not that being eavesdropped on is dangerous, but that he will be very dangerous as long as he knows those things.
"You are a very special noble," Alice changed the subject again, "Before you, no noble dared to look me in the eye when dancing with me, they didn't even dare to keep their eyes on my face."
Several times Alice also felt that her thoughts were very strange, but she was sure that since then, Hobert had gradually become special in her eyes.
Hobert sighed: "It's okay."
After all, it's not like you're that ugly, why wouldn't people look at your face?
"Actually, I know why I was targeted," Alice said, "My investigation has made breakthrough progress. In the past few years, the Demoness Sect has been secretly transporting a large number of slaves to Backlund. Most of these slaves come from the Rorsted Archipelago, and many come from your fief, Longtail Island.
"But after arriving in Backlund, these slaves don't know where they went."
Hobert didn't say anything: I don't know if you believe it? Actually, I know more.
"I heard that you were married once in Feynapotter?" Alice asked, "Why haven't you brought your wife to the ball?"
"My wife doesn't like such occasions," Hobert replied.
"Another thing I can be sure of is that Edessak's death is greatly related to the Demoness Sect," Alice continued to tell her investigation results, "As far as I know, Edessak's beloved Trissy seems to be still alive, and she should know a lot of inside information.
"Also, I heard that she is very special to the Demoness Sect, and so special that she seems to be related to the Primordial Demoness."
Hobert was slightly stunned. He didn't expect that Alice had indeed investigated a lot of key information. Perhaps it was because she knew about Trissy's relevant information that the Demoness Sect was determined to assassinate her.
Alice then changed to another topic: "In this case, your wife is very happy. She can not attend such occasions if she doesn't like them."
Hobert smiled and said, "I can still give her this kind of freedom."
Alice, who was walking in front, stopped, looked back at Hobert, her eyes were a little complicated, took a deep breath and said, "The next investigation may be difficult to continue.
"I found that the royal family is deeply cooperating with the Demoness Sect and the Aurora Order. Although I don't know the purpose of the cooperation, the cooperation project has received the support of the entire royal family."
Hobert was a little helpless and still didn't comment on this topic.
"In this world, no matter how high your status is, you always have to do things against your will," Alice said, "Sometimes I even hate myself for being a princess, or hate the conservative atmosphere of the entire Loen, which makes some of my ideas impossible to express, and can't even be expressed in my expression or eyes."
Hobert scratched his chin, always feeling that Alice's words were meaningful.
Alice sighed: "I'm not interested in the royal family's conspiracy. I just want to know who killed Edessak. I just want to kill that person and take his head to Edessak's grave to pay tribute."
Hobert saw a trace of exhaustion in the princess's eyes, but he still didn't say anything.
"So I said, your wife is happy," Alice returned to the topic of his wife, "She can not attend the ball if she doesn't want to. In my opinion, this is a kind of happiness."
Hobert smiled and said, "Sometimes, this world is not that complicated. Don't do things you don't want to do. Who can't be willful?"
Then he waited for Alice to entrust him to investigate Edessak's case. He was ready to refuse outright and would not leave Alice with any illusions.
But this time Hobert miscalculated. Alice did not entrust him to conduct the investigation, but smiled and said, "Many people have died in the investigation of Edessak's cause of death. Don't worry, I won't entrust it to you.
"I'm telling you this today just because I simply hope that someone knows my investigation results."
She touched her neck, which still had red marks: "Being on the verge of death twice today made me suddenly feel a strong sense of fear of death.
"The first thing I thought of after escaping danger was to let others know about my investigation. If I really die, someone will know my true cause of death.
"It's not that I hope you will avenge me, but I don't want to be used like Edessak after I die, even if someone knows why I died."
This made Hobert slightly stunned. Alice's impression on him was similar to Ethel's, both of whom were "political monsters", but Ethel was more aggressive, even to the point of preparing to compete for the throne.
Alice, in addition to the nobility she showed, was much more peaceful, but the two people's unscrupulous behavior to achieve their goals was quite similar.
It wasn't until Ethel showed anger when she left Jeffrey Town after attending Hobert's wedding that Hobert felt that she was a person of flesh and blood.
And just now, when Alice said she was afraid, he also felt that this was a living person, not a high-level puppet cultivated by the royal family.
Although he was filled with emotion, Hobert would certainly not be impulsive and participate in this matter.
He just said: "Your Highness, your purpose is too clear, at least your opponent completely knows your purpose.
"It's better to do nothing for a while. One is to paralyze the other party, and the other is to look for better opportunities.
"Then your positions will change. You know their purpose, but your purpose is temporarily hidden. Maybe you can take some initiative."
Alice was slightly stunned, thought for a while and said, "If you weren't an Earl now, I would have recruited you as my staff!"
She suddenly smiled: "As you said before, some things are so simple!
"I finally understand Emperor Roselle's saying: People in the game are always easily confused by their opponents, and the bystanders around the chessboard clearly understand the thoughts of the two chess players."
Hobert was slightly stunned: The authorities are confused, the bystanders are clear?
Alice then asked, "What do you think of the tea you just drank?"
Hobert nodded: "It tastes good."
"I'll send you some later."
The two chatted casually for a while. Alice had some affairs to deal with, and Hobert was finally able to go to the lounge to rest.
Looking at Hobert's departing figure, Alice suddenly thought of some novels she had read when she was relaxing.
At that time, she also thought that some descriptions in the novel were ridiculous, but since dancing that dance in the palace banquet hall on April 1, she knew that some people were really special.
Alice had never had this feeling before. It was a completely new experience for her, but she soon sadly discovered that she couldn't do anything, and could only watch Hobert joke with Audrey and the others.
In the evening, Hobert and Alice took a carriage to Earl Vincent's mansion to attend the ball. When he got out of the princess's carriage first, Vincent, who was standing at the door to greet guests, was stunned and didn't know whether he should go up to greet them for a while.
Hobert knew something was wrong when he saw Vincent's expression: We're just going the same way, don't think too much, and don't spread rumors!
Then he smiled and shook his head. He wondered what other nobles would think when they heard that he and Princess Alice shared a carriage to attend the ball. Would everyone follow his example and eat very simply every meal?
Hobert smiled as he helped Alice out of the car in a gentlemanly manner. He wasn't afraid of any misunderstandings, because they would know after a little inquiry that he had the task of protecting the royal family today.
After Alice got out of the car, Vincent reacted: "Your Highness, your arrival has made this banquet more solemn."
Alice maintained her usual noble demeanor: "No, it's just that you have prepared it carefully."
Vincent smiled slightly: "Please come in, I have specially prepared strawberry cream pudding for you."
"It's really something to look forward to." Alice walked inside, saying to Hobert beside her, "Earl Vincent is a gourmet, especially his estate-grown strawberries, which are red and sweet."
Vincent watched the two enter, feeling that something was off, until he greeted two more guests and suddenly realized: Princess Alice's tone was very amiable tonight! There wasn't that feeling of rejecting people from a thousand miles away. Uh, or rather, her tone was very amiable when speaking to Hobert.
On the other side, Hobert didn't take it seriously. Strawberries? What's so great about them?
He remembered strawberry picking festivals in some places where you could eat your fill for very little money, and they even gave you a pound or two to take home.
After chatting with Alice about this topic for a while, Hobert realized that people in this era had not yet fully domesticated strawberries, the reason being simple: because there was no plastic film, strawberries were difficult to grow on a large scale.
If you wanted to grow strawberries, you had to build a glass greenhouse!
So the price of strawberries was very high at this time, and only nobles could afford them.
This gave Hobert another reason to develop the plastics industry as soon as possible.
Seeing the dazzling array of food in the banquet hall, Hobert finally understood why Alice said Vincent was a gourmet.
In his memory, only during the court ball on April 1st was there such an abundance of food, and the key was that every dish was delicious.
For example, Hobert didn't used to like lamb chops very much, but he didn't expect them to be made so delicious.
In addition, Hobert had pigeon meat for the first time in Backlund, as well as crispy on the outside and tender on the inside roast suckling pig, delicious venison, and swan meat, which was relatively precious to nobles. Dishes like foie gras and steak were second-class foods at this banquet.
Moreover, Earl Vincent knew how to match the food very well. Shrimp, crab, fish and other seafood were interspersed among the dishes, as well as fresh vegetable salads, especially the fruits at the banquet, which even Alice praised repeatedly.
For example, pineapples, which were not very valuable in Hobert's memory, were shipped from the Rorsted Archipelago and stored in cold storage until early summer, still fresh and juicy. Pineapples at this time of year were not something ordinary people could afford.
What Hobert found peculiar was that red and juicy watermelons were also regarded as very good fruits by the nobles. Hobert clearly remembered that he used to eat half a watermelon in a morning.
After chatting for a while, he learned that most of the watermelons at this time were not very sweet, and most of them had very little flesh.
Hobert then realized the importance of agricultural research. Fruits that were commonplace in his time were scarce here.
At the same time, Hobert realized that his understanding of this world was not detailed enough, and he only learned these common sense things today.
Or rather, he simply didn't have access to so many fruits in his previous life, so he didn't notice.
After the dance began, Hobert, who was already full, asked Alice to dance, which made many people look sideways, because they realized that before this social season, they hadn't seen the princess dance for a long time.
And this seemed to be Alice's second dance this social season, and the key was that both times were with the same person.
At this time, some noble ladies began to talk about how they saw Hobert and the princess come to the ball together today, and it was said that they were having a good time at the table.
Some squires felt that this might be a signal, and they had completely given up hope of marrying Hobert.
At about eight o'clock in the evening, Hobert handed over the button and charm to Klement in a corner where no one was paying attention. His task for today was finally completed.
Hobert stepped forward and said to Alice, "Your Highness, Mr. Klement is here."
Alice nodded slightly. She knew that she was surrounded by noble ladies. After Hobert's task was completed, he would not stay by her side. "Let's talk again when we have time."
Hobert smiled and nodded, then nodded to the other ladies as he left the ladies' gathering.
In the distance, he saw Georgina, who had also come to the ball, so he walked straight over: "Chief."
Generally, Georgina stayed alone at the ball. She seemed to know what Hobert wanted to say: "According to the regulations, official business is not discussed in public."
"Countess..." As Hobert spoke, he waved to the wine waiter. The moment he took a glass from the tray, it seemed that his hand slipped slightly, and the glass fell, spilling bright red wine.
Just as the wine was falling, Hobert suddenly "distorted" the direction of the wine's fall. The spilled wine actually drew an "L" shape, and some of it splashed on Georgina's evening dress.
Hobert's "performance" was very natural, and Georgina didn't even guard against it. When she realized Hobert's intention, she couldn't completely avoid it.
At this time, Georgina sighed: How could a demigod knock over a glass because of a slip of the hand? But Hobert's performance was so seamless that I didn't react for a moment.
Hobert couldn't help but grin, and quickly apologized: "Sorry, Chief, my hand slipped."
He said to the waiter: "Please prepare a private room."
This kind of situation was very common at balls. The waiter nodded slightly and invited them to a small reception room around the ballroom.
Georgina shook her head with a smile: It's really not a good idea to mention "regulations" to Beyonders of the "Lawyer" pathway.
Arriving at the small reception room, Hobert took the towel handed by the waiter, then closed the door and said: "I only knew halfway through the mission that the Queen took the initiative to borrow me.
"Why didn't the Chief tell me about this?"
Georgina opened Hobert's hand, snatched the towel, and bent over to wipe the wine stains on her skirt: "Did you think you were working at a newspaper? Wanting to publish all the news you know?"
"The nature of our work is confidential, and I will not allow anyone to violate this!"
Of course, Hobert knew the nature of MI9's work. In fact, the reason why he questioned Georgina was more to express his attitude.
Sometimes, it may be just because the other party said one less sentence that he would be in extremely dangerous situation.
In order to avoid such a thing from happening, of course, he had to warn the other party.
So Hobert spread his hands: "Of course I will keep it secret, but you should tell me some information in advance, otherwise I will think it is a betrayal!"
"If I said it, would you have taken on that task so readily?" Georgina threw the towel on the chair beside her: "If one day I tell you all the information that should and shouldn't be said, then, if nothing else, my condition should be very bad.
"We are colleagues, if you have a chance, save me."
This was to indicate that unless she lost control, she would definitely act according to the regulations, but after all, we are colleagues, I will give you some hints.
But because Georgina was his superior, and Hobert had a threatening tone just now, her tone was very bad, and after she finished speaking, Georgina left the reception room without looking back.
Hobert also followed out. He didn't care too much about Georgina's anger towards him. On the contrary, their conversation was very effective. Hobert expressed his attitude, and Georgina also explained her attitude.
After arriving at Audrey and Glaint, Audrey asked curiously: "Hobert, some people say that you and Princess Alice came in the same carriage?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Hobert suddenly discovered a very troublesome thing. According to the regulations of MI9, the content of his work today must be kept secret.
So: Why did you come to the ball with Princess Alice in the same carriage? And stay by her side all the time?
Hobert could only answer: Keep it secret, or guess.
Such an answer is a bit like "five thousand words are omitted here"!
Now he is a little worried about whether the things tonight will ferment?
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