A rational fraction in Dedekind's Continuity and Irrational Numbers

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How did Dedekind derive/discover the rational fraction $\frac{x(x^2 + 3D)}{3x^2 + D}$ used to elegantly prove that there is always a greater rational in the lower class, or a lesser rational in the upper class when the [irrational] cut is formed by rational numbers whose squares are less than or greater than a positive integer that is not a perfect square?