Hearing Li Qi's cold voice, Claudia realized something as well.
She thought of the struggle between the Traditional Faction and the Reformist Faction, and of the Reformist officials' views on the nobility. She immediately replied:
"...The nobles who hold no official positions... That's how it is."
"Is that so? But at the last ball, I saw quite a few important figures from the city hall."
There was a hint of meaning in Li Qi's tone.
Claudia explained:
"That was because Father hosted that ball to welcome you to Kefiser. The balls afterward... were hosted by the children of those noble families."
"Don't they have anything better to do?"
Li Qi asked coldly in return.
Claudia replied helplessly, "You can't expect a group of nobles without any real positions to stay peacefully at home. Because of the actions of those above them, many positions are no longer held by nobles. With nothing to do at home, they can only find ways to entertain themselves."
Claudia's words sounded as if she were making excuses for the nobles, but Li Qi could faintly detect a hint of provocation in them.
It seemed Claudia also looked down on this group of spoiled young nobles who knew nothing but eating, drinking, and having fun every day.
After taking a slight breath, Li Qi stopped looking at Claudia, picked up the book again, and said:
"Forget it. It has nothing to do with me. In any case, unless necessary, don't invite me to balls anymore. Also... how are things on the Shipu Federation's side?"
"Father has already contacted a border official from the Shipu Federation. They are currently negotiating."
"Please hurry."
Li Qi urged her softly.
Unless the issue of entering the Shipu Federation was resolved, Li Qi could only remain in Kefiser City.
There was nothing wrong with staying here, but the problem was that he was currently disguised as a little girl.
To be honest, Li Qi had disliked his current identity from the very beginning. Now that he was trapped here, he liked it even less.
The key issue was the way noblewomen dressed in this era.
Those beautiful lady's dresses looked lovely, but wearing one was practically like wearing an instrument of torture!
Especially the corset!
Every time it was laced up, Li Qi felt as though he could barely breathe.
So all he wanted now was to break free as soon as possible.
Seeing that Li Qi had once again immersed himself in his book, Claudia did not intend to continue inviting him.
However, before leaving, Claudia seemed to think of something and suddenly said:
"Oh, right. Another noble came last night. I heard she was a famous adventurer and was quite well known among the noble young ladies. She seems to know you, and kept asking why you hadn't gone..."
"Hmm? An adventurer? She knows me?" Li Qi looked up with a frown. "What's her name?"
"Amy Mendes. I believe she is the Young Lady of Viscount Mendez's family in the Royal Capital."
Claudia gave the woman's name.
Hearing this familiar name, Li Qi put down his book and began thinking seriously.
After a while, he asked Claudia:
"The ball I was invited to today... will this woman be attending as well?"
"Yes. I heard she plans to tell her own adventure stories, so most of the noble young ladies are going to the Tea Party she is hosting."
"Interesting."
A spy who knew she had already been exposed, yet had not fled—instead, she even dared to openly attend a Tea Party among noble girls.
Was she simply bold, or did she have nothing to fear?
Besides, hadn't she noticed that her belongings had already been switched?
Li Qi stroked his chin as he pondered. After a while, he said to Claudia:
"Get ready and wait for me. I'll be there soon."
Regardless of what that spy was thinking, Li Qi intended to meet her.
After all, unless something unexpected happened, that spy should also be trying to leave the Shipu Federation. She might have her own way of "smuggling" across the border.
Noble young ladies interacted far more often than noble men did.
And compared with their "daily activities"—such as going out for an outing, hunting, or making plans to visit some tavern at the drop of a hat—
The activity noble young ladies held most often was a Tea Party.
Or, more accurately, afternoon tea.
A newcomer had arrived?
Have some afternoon tea together.
Someone had fallen in love?
Come have some afternoon tea.
Want to share an interesting book? Or preparing to leave on a long journey?
Then let's have afternoon tea together!
Only after disguising himself as a noble girl did Li Qi learn that Uno's afternoon-tea culture was so popular among noble girls.
But precisely because of that, Li Qi did not have to worry about being unable to meet Amy.
She was sure to be at one of the Tea Parties hosted by the noble young ladies.
And that was exactly how things turned out. When Li Qi arrived at the Tea Party as agreed, he immediately saw Amy surrounded by several girls.
Amy was very tall. Compared with the Uno girls, who were generally in the mid-one-sixties in height, Amy was at least one meter seventy.
As a result, Li Qi spotted her in the crowd at a glance.
Likewise, Amy saw Li Qi.
Their gazes quickly met, and Li Qi saw a trace of surprise and curiosity in Amy's eyes.
She was probably surprised by Li Qi's appearance.
Since he was not going out, Li Qi's outfit was much lighter than what he had worn on the train.
Although he was still wearing a lady's dress that represented his status and displayed noble etiquette, he was not wearing a sun hat. His long, slightly wavy dark-golden hair fell over his shoulders, while his thin bangs covered his forehead.
He was not wearing a veil, so his features—slightly altered by makeup and disguise—were visible before Amy.
Amy had never seen what Li Qi looked like. Perhaps that was why she was surprised.
"Miss Angela."
Amy's surprise lasted only a moment. She quickly recovered and greeted Li Qi with a smile.
Li Qi looked at her in astonishment.
His supernatural ability activated, and Li Qi saw the Magic Cylinder she wore on her person.
That woman hadn't noticed that her belongings had been switched? Had she not even checked them?
Li Qi realized that Amy probably had not discovered that her blueprints had been replaced with something else.
Could she really be that careless...? Wait, could it be that she couldn't open the Magic Lock herself either?
Li Qi found the thought strange, but on the surface, he merely offered Amy a faint, polite smile and greeted her:
"Hello, Ms. Amy."
"Oh my, I didn't expect Miss Angela to come as well. You came for Miss Amy too, didn't you?"
Upon seeing Li Qi arrive, a noble young lady in a blue dress with curly twin tails lightly covered her mouth with her hand and feigned surprise.
She was the hostess of this afternoon tea.
Glora, the second daughter of Viscount Salmon, was also the leader of this city's Lady's Circle.
She had hosted nearly all the afternoon teas over the past few days.
In terms of rank, the Salmon Family stood higher than Li Qi's current Angulo Family.
But in terms of official position, the Salmon Family was subordinate to the Angulo Family. As a result, Glora's attitude toward Li Qi was fairly cordial.
Although her words were occasionally somewhat sharp, she knew where to draw the line and never made Li Qi dislike her.
Lifting the hem of his skirt, Li Qi gave Glora, the hostess of the gathering, a slight curtsey before saying:
"I heard that Miss Amy was a famous adventurer, so I came to take a look."
"I see. It seems Miss Angela likes adventures too. We thought you didn't like going out."
Glora said this with a smile.
Li Qi replied softly, "I don't really like going out, since I'm rather shy around strangers. But... stories are still worth hearing. I like listening to stories."
"Then Miss Angela has come at just the right time. Miss Amy was about to tell us about her adventures."
As Glora spoke, she looked toward Amy.
Amy also smiled. Her eyes lingered undisguisedly on Li Qi as she said:
"Yes, I was just about to tell a story about... a Down-and-Out Adventurer and a Mischievous Young Lady."
Before you continue