"Calm down, Miss Hood."
Horatio appeared calm and composed, neither humble nor arrogant, trying his best to stabilize both their emotions.
Even if he were to kill the young lady in front of him right now, he wasn't confident he could escape. The best course of action was to de-escalate the tense situation as much as possible.
The girl narrowed her eyes, her brilliant emerald eyes fixed on Horatio's azure ones, and her thumb released the safety.
"Do you have anything else to say, Horatio Cochrane?"
"Let's first find the record of that honor. You don't think I could just conjure up an Adamantine Ring out of thin air, do you?"
The Female Hunter-Duke didn't speak. Horatio quickly and rationally thought, swallowing hard.
After a brief, suffocating few dozen seconds, the girl's expression changed as if she had a different face.
Farida raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "Of course, I was just testing you. People are most likely to show their true colors when their guard is down."
Horatio breathed a sigh of relief, and fresh beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, which he had just wiped.
[I almost forgot this girl had undergone Adeptus Arbites lie detection training. What a trick, it felt so real.]
The girl pushed the safety back on.
"My father was indeed very unhappy for a while. Although he didn't tell me what happened, I knew what was going on from the newly added second-place honor trophy.
Initially, I thought the first place belonged to my uncle, until one day when I visited his house, I found he had the third-place bronze cup. Later, they put all these trophies away."
The girl cleared her throat.
"Later, I heard that a newly promoted captain named Thomas Cochrane was thriving in the Gothic fleet. People gave him many nicknames, such as 'Naval Genius' and 'Sea Wolf.'
However, this person has been out hunting rogue warships for years, constantly on a warship, and has no property in Abyss Port.
Moreover, the surname Kirkland is not uncommon in Abyss Port. I've met dozens of people with that name, and some even deliberately changed their surname to Kirkland. So, if you are truly a descendant of Lord Captain Thomas Cochrane, then a genetic comparison is indeed necessary. Let's go."
Horatio followed the girl out of the study, and before leaving, he restored everything to its original state, as if only a gentle breeze had passed through, not a person.
"Miss, you had a communication just now." As the two walked up the stairs, Lina was already waiting at the door outside the bedroom. As soon as she saw her young lady, she quickly greeted her.
"Who?"
"They only said it was the Adeptus Arbites. They didn't tell me what it was about, only that you should call back later. I verified the communication code; it is indeed from the Adeptus Arbites."
"I understand."
"The meal is ready, Miss."
"Thank you. Please prepare a blood sample test tube."
"Yes, Miss."
Lina opened the door for the two of them, then immediately went to carry out her mistress's task.
Farida walked to the sofa, motioning for Horatio to sit opposite her.
On the coffee table were several dishes of luxurious food: fragrant Basil Grox cub ribs, fresh and delicious fruit wine from Saloman chicken, exotic fruit ice cream, and colorful rainbow juice.
The Female Hunter-Duke's demeanor was more elegant than before. In Horatio's words, she was 'putting on an act.'
Her legs were tightly closed and angled, and she sat upright in front of Horatio, holding a teacup, and took a small sip of juice. Then she tasted two bites of ice cream, and then elegantly and gracefully cut the steak, truly exuding the strong flavor of a noble young lady.
Just as Horatio was about to reach for the cutlery, she stopped him.
"Blood draw on an empty stomach, Mr. Kirkland, please bear with it for now. I'll also have someone conduct a blood test on you to see if your body is normal after living in the Lower Hive for a long time."
She straightened her back, smiled, tilted her head slightly, and winked, her tone quite playful, with two cute little canine teeth faintly visible.
This was the first time she had addressed him as Mr. Kirkland, and the pronoun had changed to 'you' (formal), as if teasing Horatio by letting him enjoy the true treatment of an upper-class person after achieving a phased success.
Horatio wisely leaned lazily on the sofa, not replying, just smiling faintly at the beautiful girl in front of him, waiting for her personal maid to come and draw blood.
"Normally, when nobles dine at the table, leaning back on the chair is not allowed. Many people, including myself, when we were young, had butlers use a special chair that could insert a blunt knife into our backs to learn or correct our posture."
"Of course, before the meal, a server will bring you a basin of water to wash your hands, and there will also be warm, damp towels nearby for you to wipe your hands. Don't forget to use them, or use them to wipe your mouth.
It's just a pity you won't be able to enjoy them today. If you are truly a member of the Kirkland family, the next time you officially visit my home, I will arrange all of these for you."
While waiting for Lina to retrieve the blood sample test tube, Farida smiled and told Horatio many rules regarding noble dining etiquette.
"I just realized, you actually talk quite a lot." Horatio said with a smile, teasing her.
"You should pray to the God-Emperor to bless you so that you can use this knowledge in the future. That way, the favor you owe me will have its value."
"And it will appreciate quite a bit." Horatio interjected.
The Female Hunter-Duke snorted, said nothing more, and elegantly pierced a piece of steak with a shiny silver fork, putting it into her small mouth. Juice overflowed from the corner of her lips, but she quickly dabbed it clean with a handkerchief held up by her index finger.
Knock knock — a knock came from outside the door.
"Miss." Lina's voice came from outside the door.
"Come in, Lina."
The personal maid pushed the door open in response, holding a transparent test tube in one hand and a disinfectant alcohol wipe in the other.
"Begin." Farida smiled at Lina.
"Forgive my intrusion, sir."
"Thank you for your trouble."
The maid gently wiped Horatio's left elbow joint with the disinfectant wipe, then placed the flat side of the test tube against the vein.
Soon, Horatio felt a stinging sensation like an ant bite in that area, and instinctively bit his lip. Dark red blood continuously gushed into the test tube, quickly filling it halfway.
When the test tube was three-quarters full of blood, Lina gently moved the test tube away. Horatio immediately felt a refreshing sensation at the wound, and all pain was gone.
In fact, the test tube automatically processed the wound, which was quite intelligent.
"Send it to the Navy Department for analysis via family messenger for DNA comparison."
"In that case, wouldn't the Master…"
"I will explain it to him later. Please do it as soon as possible."
"As you wish, Miss." Lina removed the empty dishes and then left the room with the blood sample.
"How long will it take to get the results?" Horatio took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, asking seriously.
This was a matter of life and death, so he couldn't be negligent.
"If it's a request from our Hood Family, it will probably be very quick. The officers of the Navy Department will work overtime to prioritize your blood sample comparison and notify me of the results as quickly as possible."
"Thank you very much, Miss Hood." Horatio nodded slightly, sincerely expressing his gratitude.
[Hmm~ This guy looks grateful, not bad~]
The Female Hunter-Duke raised her small and delicate upturned nose, lifted the corners of her mouth, and fanned herself with a small lace folding fan, which she pulled out from unknown where, humming proudly and leisurely:
"Hmph~ The Imperial Navy is a closely united entity. If you are truly the descendant of a fallen Navy officer, helping you with this small matter is nothing to our Hood Family."
[Sister, don't pop the champagne for me at halftime!]
"So, how will the matter with the Adeptus Arbites be resolved? They've already come looking for you, so it's best to be careful." Seeing the Female Hunter-Duke getting a bit carried away, Horatio picked up his teacup and took a small sip, reminding her not to forget the main issue.
Upon hearing Horatio mention the Adeptus Arbites's call, Farida rubbed her temples in distress, giving him a resentful glare, as if saying, 'Why are you bringing up such a buzzkill topic during dinner?'
"I'll call them back to see what it's about. You don't say anything."