Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Having bid farewell to Baron Lavende and his friends for the time being, Shard followed the servant up the staircase. The first and second floors mimicked the style of grand ballrooms, but upon reaching the third floor, it transitioned into a very ordinary corridor with rooms on either side.

Miss Galina and the maid Tifa were waiting for Shard in the study near the staircase. Shard found that this Witch seemed to have a preference for finding people to talk to in studies.

"Good evening, Miss Galina."

This time the meeting was face-to-face, rather than through a door. The red-haired Duchess sat behind the desk in her chair, while Miss Tifa Servet, her personal maid, stood by her side. The Duchess was dressed in a black-and-white evening gown, looking even more beautiful than the last time they had met.

Since she was dressed this way, Shard guessed that she would also make a public appearance later on.

"Good evening, Detective."

She motioned for Shard to sit wherever he pleased.

The conversation did not start immediately; Miss Galina curiously sized up Shard before she spoke:

"It's quite unexpected that you know Lecia."

"Who? Oh, Princess Lecia Cavendish, yes, I... I know her."

Not having grasped the full situation, he could only continue along with the conversation.

"Congratulations, Detective, there's a big surprise waiting for you tonight. Want to guess what it is?"

Miss Galina asked, Shard sitting on the sofa, his mind suddenly flashing back to what Mr. Anlos had mentioned in the morning. Before Shard needed to guess, Miss Galina revealed the answer:

"A knighthood that hasn't been conferred for centuries is about to be granted once more."

She spoke softly, then watched with satisfaction as confusion and surprise manifested on Shard's face:

"A knighthood? For me?"

This surprise was indeed something Shard had not anticipated; a title of knighthood did not fit into the context of the Steam Age.

"Yes, a knighthood. Originally, Anlos and I did argue on your behalf, but it was only for the Draleon Honor Knight Medal. Unexpectedly, you also know Lecia, who wrote back specially. She was very clever not to write directly to His Majesty the King, but to Queen Diana, and then had the Queen persuade the King, so the knighthood is yours."

She spoke with a sigh, then inquired with a teasing tone:

"Tell me, Detective, what is your relationship with my niece?"

This form of address made Shard take a moment to sort out:

"That... we're friends."

It must have been Miss Luisa who wrote to Princess Lecia, leading the Princess, who was on her way back from an overseas visit, to write letters advocating for Shard's title.

This once again made Shard realize just how close the female writer and the Princess were. The favors he owed the blonde lady were mounting.

"Friends?"

Not only did Miss Galina seem unconvinced, even Miss Maid's smile suggested disbelief, but fortunately, they didn't probe further:

"In any case, congratulations, Detective. I have already received the news ahead of time that you've been awarded the title of 'Knight Rejed.' Of course, it's just a title without a landed estate, meaning it's merely an honor and cannot be passed on to your descendants. But compared to the honorary medal, a knighthood is a very high form of praise."

"Rejed" is a small town under the jurisdiction of Tobesk City; in the past, a knight's title often implied a small piece of land, hence the association with a place name.

Seeing that Shard had yet to react, Miss Galina added:

"Let me think, with this title, in the future when introducing yourself, you could call yourself... 'Hamilton of Rejed.' Oh, doesn't that sound nice?"

"Very nice..."

Shard nodded, not feeling particularly attached to the honor, as he wasn't from this era and didn't have a deep emotional connection to concepts of glory. Moreover, a knighthood was just a title, without any Gold Pounds to take:

"Miss Galina, this title... does it have any benefits?"

This was what he was really concerned about. The Duchess behind the desk had anticipated this question from Shard:

"The title itself is an honor; you can be considered nobility... the lowest level of nobility, but at least not a commoner. With this, if you can make another contribution to the Kingdom, the difficulty of being directly ennobled will be greatly reduced."

"No, I meant, does the title itself come with..."

He twiddled his fingers somewhat embarrassedly; Miss Galina was no stranger to Shard's way of thinking, so she wasn't surprised by his concern:

"No, knights of the past even had to periodically remit part of their land's taxes to the Kingdom. However, if you are in need of money, during the award ceremony later, aside from the title, there seems to be a royal reward as well..."

She turned to the maid:

"What exactly is being given? In our era, no one has ever witnessed such a knighthood ceremony..."

"The Draleon Honor Knight Medal, and a Knight Longsword symbolizing status. Since the Kingdom has not granted a knighthood for so long, this sword was retrieved from storage as an antique. The value of the Medal is immeasurable since no one has ever sold one, but the antique Knight Longsword definitely won't be appraised at less than 100 Pounds...

But it's best not to sell it, it's a matter of honor."

Miss Maid knew Shard well too.

"I won't sell it,"

Shard said, already calculating how much more money he needed to repair his third floor without affecting his quality of life.

"Rejed's Hamilton... That's a strange way to put it,"

he sighed to himself.

"Knight novels often have such titles, whereas in reality, it's rare for people to refer to themselves in that way anymore. After all, the age of knights has ended, yet people seem to think that the spirit of knighthood still exists,"

Miss Galina said, but the opinion expressed in the first half of her sentence wasn't entirely accurate because nobles with a fief could indeed refer to themselves that way. For example, as Miss Galina's domain is the County of Saradiel, she could call herself "Saradiel's Cavendish."

"Knight Spirit? No, I do not possess that spirit,"

Being among acquaintances, Shard didn't need to hold back. The incident on Wednesday noon had simply happened because he was in the right place at the right time, and it didn't cause him any significant detriment.

"You can't say your perspective is wrong, but people always struggle to assess themselves correctly,"

Miss Galina retorted.

"Who said the last part?"

Shard asked curiously, thinking it might be a sentence left behind by some literary giant of this world.

"I did,"

the Witch replied while fiddling with the golden fountain pen in her hand.

Now that he had received rewards and payment, it was natural for Shard to take some interest in the development of the case. Mr. Anlos had previously said that it wasn't a person from the Grey Gloves, but there had been no follow-up:

"Speaking of which, Miss Galina, has the background of the assassin who attempted to kill the Queen been uncovered?"

"The investigation has concluded,"

the Duchess said, shaking her head with a regretful expression.

"Do we know who sent the gunman?"

Shard asked, and then saw the Maid standing next to Miss Galina shake her head slightly at him.

"Of course not. Detective, I know you're curious why the investigation wasn't continued. The reason is that MI6 didn't dare to delve any further,"

"What do you mean?"

Miss Galina just smiled and remained silent, while the Maid behind her spoke up in her stead:
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"The Royal Family specifically requested the Circle Sorcerers from the True God Church to protect Yordle Palace, yet they found no suspicious individuals. However, Queen Diana faced an attack immediately upon her first public appearance in days; it seems as if the attacker knew about the danger near Yordle Palace, and there were no guards from the True God Church with the Queen when she went out.

The coincidence is a bit too convenient."

Shard was shocked. As an Outlander who'd seen similar plots back home, he quickly made a startling conclusion under the tone of conspiracy theories and whispered in a hushed voice:

"Is it... the King? To frame Carsonrick and provoke a war so as to fulfill his ambition to unify the Old Continent?"

Miss Galina and the Maid both laughed:

"Oh, how could you think that? Of course not."

Miss Galina said with a laugh, shaking her head and putting down the pen:

"Nobody wants to continue to wage war now, including our King. MI6 found out that it was one of his disappointing sons... Detective, you should know that in recent years, with the succession of heirs coming of age, thoughts regarding that crown... And besides, Queen Diana is not the current King's first wife, and among the princes and princesses, only a few like Princess Lecia are...

the others are not all her..."

The Duchess paused and winked at Shard:

"Do I need to say more?"

"No, no, not at all,"

Shard immediately shook his head, not wanting to get tangled in such matters:

"That information alone is enough to make me think of complex court politics that outsiders would never understand, or the clichés of those lurid court romance novels. These matters have nothing to do with me; please make sure I stay out of them."

He meant what he said; court politics were not something a newly arrived Outlander could or should get involved in, and there was nothing to gain from it either.

"It's good you understand to be cautious. I don't want to deal with it either. Though, you actually read lurid court romance novels?"

She looked at Shard with mild surprise, but in fact, Shard had only flipped through the relics of Sparrow to determine which book was the supposed "code book."

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's get back to the main subject. I called you here not just to inform you about the knight title. You see, the ceremony of granting a knight's title is quite complicated; do you understand those rules?"

Miss Galina asked again, but her tone seemed to have shifted slightly. After the talk about the gunman, her mood seemed to sour.

"I don't know them."

"Well, go learn them an hour before the King arrives. I think it will be too late if the King's Ceremonial Officer has to give you an emergency lesson then."

She waved her hand at the Maid behind her, who then proceeded to lead Shard out.

But Shard stayed put, looking at Miss Galina, who gave him a puzzled look, knowing he had something more to say.