Chapter 386
Detective Watson’s Investigation
Eiv did not leave the Silver and Tin Hall at midnight but stayed there.
Isabel had prepared a room for Eiv a long time ago. And those things Eiv had burned while reading the Grimoire of the Morning Crow before had already been replenished.
After all, there would likely be many people outside the Gryphon Bridge tonight mourning. Some people from the Round Table Hall would surely come to block him.
Eiv did not want to encounter people from outside, so it was best not to cause trouble for himself.
The next day, the national morning newspapers reported the death of Her Majesty the Queen.
Avalon had over three hundred newspapers with names. Some were legitimate, and some were not so legitimate. But regardless of their original reporting style, today they all had to report the death of Queen Sophia and the succession of Queen Isabel.
Amidst these reports, which were mostly similar, some newspapers would also feature the Magic Painting drawn by Janis.
Although only the Glass Steps Herald in Avalon could accommodate Magic Paintings, Master Janis’s painting skills were perfectly suitable for use as photographs. Therefore, these Magic Paintings were specially transcribed into negatives and distributed to major newspapers on Glass Island.
Newspapers in remote areas would receive them two days later. Or they could wait until the state funeral a week later to publish them.
At this moment, on a street in the Metropolitan Area near Garden City, a young man wearing a yellow trench coat and a brown beret was in his “Watson Detective Agency,” diligently reading the newspapers spread across his desk—some were old newspapers, and of course, there was the Glass Steps Herald, which he had paid a considerable sum to acquire today.
Andre Watson, biting on his pen, stared at the newspapers spread before him, lost in thought, with a brilliant blue light flowing in his pupils.
He was a detective.
Of course, he was not as famous as Sherlock. But he was considered outstanding.
The Metropolitan Area was the most prosperous and most populous part of Glass Island. It was not as dangerous as the Lloyd District, nor was it like the White Queen District, where almost every case involved important figures.
It was simply busy—busy because of the sheer number of people.
Because of this, Mr. Watson was often invited by the local Inspection Bureau to help solve difficult cases. As a mage of the Path of Wisdom, his mind was much more useful than those of the Law Masters and Supervisors.
After all, there was only one Sherlock. And the major cases of Glass Island could not be solved by him alone.
But at the same time, Andre Watson had another identity… or rather, two other identities.
In fact, he was a spy from Star Antimony. He came from the First Special Operations Unit of the Star Antimony Army.
This unit also had another alias: “Secret Chamber.” It was primarily responsible for intelligence gathering and processing.
It was called by this name because before its regularization and numbering, it was originally an unnamed secret chamber. Members of the early “Twelve Keys” used it for intelligence exchange and plotting. And now it was Star Antimony’s espionage and counter-espionage department.
But besides this, Andre had another identity.
He was the child of a high-ranking mage from the Daffodil Duchy and a Child of the Moon.
Although the high-ranking mages of the Daffodil Duchy had now sworn allegiance to the King of Star Antimony, there were, of course, seeds of restorationism sown among them. And he was one of them.
From this perspective, Andre could be considered a double agent—on the one hand, he served the Star Antimony people, lurking within Avalon; on the other hand, he served the Daffodil people, stealing Star Antimony intelligence and sending it to the Mage Tower.
—The Star Antimony people might not be unaware of his ulterior motives. Or rather, it would be strange if those mages simply surrendered to Star Antimony without any resistance. But in the face of the general trend, their attitude itself was not important. As long as Star Antimony could continue to exist stably, such thoughts would naturally lose their roots after a few generations.
Perhaps it was for this reason that he was dispatched to Glass Island.
A rear area far from Star Antimony and the Daffodil Duchy, and yet filled with many Law Masters capable of detecting lies. And as a member of the “Secret Chamber,” he actually knew no important intelligence that could be traced back to headquarters—this was the unique secrecy style of the “Secret Chamber.” The secrets held by each person were fragments, and only by decrypting and piecing them together could the truth be revealed.
It was already difficult for him just to survive in Avalon.
His Star Antimony origin could not be concealed at all, and a person who appeared out of nowhere was more easily exposed. And as the relationship between Avalon and Star Antimony deteriorated year by year, the pressure he endured there grew greater.
It took him a long time and effort to gain the trust of the Inspection Bureau. And in recent days, he had begun to feel suspicious glances. Even after the former Trade Minister Dross was arrested, he was investigated by the Inspection Department.
At that time, he thought he was about to be discovered.
Fortunately, the spell cast on him by his father was reliable enough.
The reason he was able to infiltrate the “Secret Chamber” was due to the protection of his parents—and he was sure he had not been discovered, otherwise, he would have been executed or imprisoned long ago.
When Andre learned of the story of “Miss Crowley,” he was quite moved.
Of course, he did not know the identity and mission of his colleague. This was to prevent betrayal.
But that piece of information was too real.
Although he had been in Avalon for many years, he could not remember if the Crowley family had such a third daughter—but now, thinking carefully, that vague memory seemed to tell him that “it seems there was.”
And he felt great sympathy and resonance for “Miss Crowley.”
—In a sense, he and Miss Crowley were in the same predicament.
He was now one of Star Antimony’s most important spies, obligated to gather vital intelligence for Star Antimony, yet at the same time, as a Daffodil person, he was contemplating how to betray Star Antimony; Miss Crowley was a pure-blooded Star Antimony person, yet due to that forbidden love, she also wanted to betray Star Antimony.
As a member of the “Secret Chamber,” he knew what kind of resistance and crisis Miss Crowley would face in her country. Although after her capture, Star Antimony would surely exchange her back through spy trading… her parents and her family would bear immense pressure because of it!
Even as the daughter of an Earl, she had to pay a price.
Her family would soon pay the price, and she would have to repay those prices for her family.
It was precisely because their positions were similar and they resonated with each other that Andre developed hostility towards the male protagonist of the story, “Eiv Moriarty,” while also feeling curious about his charm.
So, out of curiosity, he investigated.
—The result was that Eiv was a playboy!
In middle school, he was already flirting with girls every day, even causing girls to argue and fight over him;
His girlfriends changed weekly, from his thirty-something female teacher to his classmate’s elementary school sister, all showing him unusual enthusiasm in public;
Even the two girls who fought eventually reconciled, became friends, and tried to dispel the rumors’ impact by refuting them—
After graduating from middle school, his legs seemed to have been broken by the brother of one of his girlfriends, forcing him into a wheelchair. Afterward, he had intimate relationships with everyone from the university student council president, his female teacher, to Princess Isabel.
“…Such a philandering man is certainly not a good match, Miss Crowley!”
Just as Andre was worrying about the colleague he had never met, he received the news of the Queen’s death.
After looking at his usual newspapers and seeing a photo of Eiv and Queen Isabel, he immediately purchased the Glass Steps Herald featuring the Magic Painting! He then gathered all the newspapers and intelligence related to Eiv and began a joint analysis.
Andre repeatedly watched the Magic Painting hundreds of times and extracted crucial intelligence from it—
When Eiv placed his hand on Isabel’s shoulder, the young queen showed no resistance or aversion. She turned her head and looked up at Eiv, with clear joy in her eyes.
After Eiv removed his hand, Queen Isabel even took half a step to the side.
A normal person might think she wanted to maintain distance. But Andre observed Isabel’s shoulder and arm, confirming that her arm shifted slightly backward when Eiv removed his hand.
What did that mean?
It meant she had taken the initiative to touch Eiv’s hand!
And after that, Eiv placed his hands behind his back—perhaps a gesture of “avoidance”?
The half-step Isabel moved aside made Eiv’s presence behind her less conspicuous.
It was as if they were standing shoulder to shoulder. Not like a monarch and subject, but more like a married couple posing for a photograph.
Combining his previous analysis of Isabel’s desire for aggression, Andre boldly reached a conclusion:
Isabel chose to have Eiv accompany her alone for a photograph precisely when the scandal between Eiv and Alain was at its peak, intending to snatch Eiv away from Miss Crowley!
