Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Shard had planned to say goodbye to Mr. Anlos, but then he remembered something that had been on his mind all afternoon:

"Has Mrs. Cook's child been found?"

Miss Tifa Servet, the maid standing by, heard the question and smiled, shaking her head. Detectives sure are such people, while Mr. Anlos was momentarily stunned:

"Who is... oh, that middle-aged woman? Yes, she was found. The police raided that alley and found three missing children. The woman you mentioned burst into tears on the spot. The search for more children is still ongoing, and it's Tobesk's biggest case this summer.

With the few people arrested this time, there will definitely be answers."

"That's really great."

Shard breathed a sigh of relief. He had even been shot while searching for that child, and it would have been really awful if he hadn't found her.

Although Mrs. Cook could not likely offer him a substantial reward, the immense sense of satisfaction Shard derived from this matter was enough to compensate for the time spent.

"Hamilton, you..."

Mr. Anlos was about to leave, but before he opened the door, he turned to look at Shard. The middle-aged man smiled at him, the most genuine smile during their encounters:

"I'm not some counselor for the young, but people like you are rare indeed. I've heard about it; you just met that woman today and decided to help her... Agents don't need compassion, luckily you're not an agent."

He nodded at Shard:

"You're a fine young man, with a bright future. I'll contact you if needed, and take care to recover at home these days. If necessary, send a letter directly to that place."

With that, he left without looking back. His steps were much lighter compared to when he had entered.

Untill 7 PM, Shard was still waiting. Fortunately, the people here had prepared dinner for him and specially arranged a dining spot. During this time, Miss Tifa Servet stayed close to Shard but did not join him for the meal.

Shard also tried inviting her to sit down together, but the maid only smiled and shook her head.

On their way back to the waiting room from the makeshift dining room, they brushed past a group of middle-aged gentlemen with strange accents. They were complaining about waiting all day without being summoned; it seemed King Larus III was indeed very busy.

Shortly after returning to that waiting room, someone else came to visit Shard. This time it was Queen Diana and Miss Galina. The Queen was about the same age as the King, much older than Miss Galina. Although Queen Diana was a beautiful woman herself, she seemed a bit plain next to Miss Galina.

This made Shard once again sense the abnormal charm of the Grand Witch.

The Queen had come specifically to express her gratitude to Shard. She was very kind and spoke softly. She first inquired about Shard's health, then talked about his work, and even apologized for his long wait here.

This was a wonderful woman, both as a wife and as a queen. Besides verbal thanks, before leaving, she also removed the ruby ring she was wearing on her finger and gave it to Shard, even saying with a smile that she heard Shard liked Roder Cards, so she planned to find a precious Roder Card to thank him.

Miss Galina did not leave with Queen Diana but continued to sit on the long sofa across from Shard. Shard hesitated and looked at her:

"Was it you who told Queen Diana that I like Roder Cards?"

"Yes, it was me. Is there something wrong with that?"

The Duchess asked, her slender neck appearing even whiter against the backdrop of her court dress.

Shard wanted to refute that he did not like Roder Cards, but stopped himself before the words came out. A valuable Roder Card was also worth money, and now it made no sense to dispute this:

"Well, indeed, I do like Roder Cards."

He toyed with the ruby ring in his hand. Although it was a gift from the Queen and could not be sold off easily in the near future, just having such an item made him feel wealthy.

"See, I knew you would like it."

The radiant beauty with red hair spoke, then tilted her head toward the window. Because the gas lamps and crystal chandeliers inside were too bright, the refraction from the glass nearly turned it into a mirror, reflecting the three people in the room.

A slight smile touched her lips, her fair skin contrasting starkly with her well-defined, rosy lips:

"Back to the matter at hand, did you really just happen to run into the bullet? You probably do not know that about 200 paces behind you stood a Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer from the Sun Church. I did not sense anything amiss, neither did he... how did you manage it?"

She looked at Shard with probing eyes, a hint of a smile on her face. Shard himself, reflecting on his morning's experiences, felt a mix of relief and amusement:

"The Twenty-Sided Die of Destiny."

Miss Maid Tifa Servet nodded in agreement:

"Yes, I was temporarily keeping some relics for the detective, and indeed, this was among them."

Entering the Yordle Palace required a body search, and even though Shard had saved the queen, he was searched, so Tifa was temporarily holding onto his assorted possessions. To avoid trouble later, Shard had specifically explained the ambiguous effects of those relics.

"You are really bold, that does make sense," Galina tapped her chin with her finger, and Shard realized that this was perhaps their first face-to-face formal conversation.

Talking through a door to Miss Galina had always felt pressurizing since he could not see her, but talking face-to-face felt less nerve-wracking. Galina Cavendish's approachable demeanor was nothing like what Shard had imagined.

"Detective, you did very well today, I won't go on with my praises. I can assure you that you will receive at least a Draleon Honor Knight Medal this time," she said.

Shard thought about the divination that took place at the Prophet's Society and arched his eyebrows.

"You think that's not enough? A Medal of Honorary Knight is awarded a maximum of 20 times a year, and the last time it was given to someone without a title was fifteen years ago. It's a very high honor," Miss Galina said, as Shard shook his head and leaned back a bit more comfortably in the couch.

"I don't really value that."

He was destined to leave the civilized world and head to the Saint Byrons Integrated Academy in the Far North, where these honors, while not useless, played a minimal role.

"You will gradually find that some tangible honors can make life a bit simpler. In the past era, a Medal of Honorary Knight was almost equivalent to being part of the knight class, it's a pity that there are no knights now," the duchess said somewhat regretfully, but then seemed to recall something amusing:

"But if you can earn some more merits, I might be able to secure a title for you."

"Is that possible?" Discover hidden stories at empire

"For me, it's more than simple," she said, tapping lightly on the armrest of the single-seater sofa, her tone turning a bit more serious:

"However, detective, I hope you will be more cautious next time. That dice you mentioned is not some toy. I rarely hold someone in such high regard; don't prove me wrong by betting your life."

Shard knew this was a warning for him. Having gone through this incident, he had come to the same understanding as when he had allowed the Box of Darkness to go out of control:

"Miss Galina, I dare not control fate anymore."

He stressed the last few words, and that expression seemed to surprise the Grand Witch in front of him:

"Hm... good that you understand. I always feel like you have other stories."