Chapter 988
Man-made Fear
Just in case, Eivass handed Sherlock’s letter to Mycroft.
Now that the Grand Judge of Avalon had retired due to old age, Mycroft, as the Privy Council Minister, had essentially become the Great Duke, second only to two in Avalon.
Mycroft had gradually adapted to his new job and no longer complained to Isabel every day about how busy he was.
This wasn’t because he had adapted to the intensity of the work, but rather because he had found a group of trustworthy young people and gradually transferred key powers to them.
In other words, Mycroft had now built his own team and clarified a new management system – its efficiency was at least much higher than during the tenure of the Old Queen. Mycroft was thus not so busy anymore.
He returned to his “The Barrel Club” to quietly read and study with fellow enthusiasts of the Twilight Path, occupied with his own matters. Here, no one was allowed to talk to others, let alone inquire about or pay attention to what others were doing… this applied even to Mycroft, the Privy Council Minister.
Upon seeing the letter Sherlock had sent to Eivass, he was slightly stunned, then suddenly looked up at Eivass.
This man, who resembled a plump seal with a serene smile, a handlebar mustache, a round head, and a penchant for patting his belly, leaped up from the sofa in an instant, grabbing Eivass and rushing out.
As they left the club’s door, he spoke at an incredibly rapid pace as if his speaking ban had been lifted, “I’ll stop talking about other things for now – I assume you already know what problem Sherlock has encountered? Otherwise, you probably wouldn’t be looking for me at this time…”
“Indeed.”
Eivass nodded, “I believe he’s likely being held at Duke Vendome’s mansion. They probably want him to uncover some case’s truth… You don’t even need to think about it, it’s probably some big scoop involving the former royal family of Iris Flower or the current parliament.”
Mycroft tugged Eivass along, his short, thick legs moving quickly as he rambled on, speaking in extremely fast yet clear, somewhat difficult-to-understand complex sentences:
“As you know, Iris Flower is theoretically a territory ‘co-ruled by four dukes’ – it was originally pieced together by the Grand Duke of Iris Flower, Duke Vendome, Duke Beaufort, and Duke Harcourt. Later, the Grand Duke of Iris Flower established the kingdom, but even so, the other three dukes retained the rights to recruit troops and mint currency.
“And as is widely known, Iris Flower’s ‘Thirteen Uprisings’ are basically a humorous serial drama – it’s already the fourteenth uprising now – although those mobs beheaded the King of Iris Flower during the third uprising, the ‘Third Rebellion,’ confiscated nobles’ territories and titles, and by the way, plundered some outer regional minor nobles’ manors and private wealth… however, the legacies, lineages, powers, and wealth of the three great dukes were all unaffected.
“According to the investigation results of the Inspection Department’s intelligence bureau, this uprising was actually controlled behind the scenes by the three great dukes, which is why they didn’t suppress it earnestly – that ‘hot-blooded youth Louis Sois’ who was the first to storm the royal palace, capture the entire royal family of Iris Flower, and forcibly push them all onto the guillotine that day, silently disappeared after the new citizens’ council was established.
“Now, Iris Flower officially has no nobles – even if the former noble families survived the ‘Fourteenth Uprising,’ they cannot publicly declare themselves ‘Viscount So-and-so’ or ‘Count So-and-so.’ But the three great dukes are the exception. Because they truly have their own armies… even the council controlled by the Child of the Moon doesn’t dare to clash with them. From this perspective, Iris Flower has actually become a new nation co-ruled by the three great dukes…
“The three great dukes each have their own completely independent, fully staffed extraordinary armies that are not commanded by the state; they have their own territories and can establish new laws within their territories as needed. Although citizens’ councils are symbolically established in these territories, the council members are basically composed of people sent by the lords. It can be said that this is essentially a state within a state in Iris Flower.
“If Sherlock’s investigation ran into danger or touched upon something forbidden, it could only be from here – Duke Vendome was a staunch royalist back then, so the possibility of them being involved in the ‘Third Rebellion’ is the lowest. The fact that they are conducting private investigations suggests that the pressure most likely comes from the other two families… because even if the council itself is unfavorable to Sherlock, Duke Vendome can protect him…”
Mycroft spoke nonstop as he ran, conveying secret information that Eivass either knew or didn’t know.
Although he had never been to Iris Flower, he understood its complex political situation like the back of his hand – he even knew how much Eivass understood. He had gradually discovered all of this by observing the conversations and chats between Eivass and Isabel, as well as Eivass’s opinions on policy pronouncements.
“…But if that’s the case,” Eivass asked softly, “it seems there’s no need for kidnapping or silencing him.”
“That’s why I believe there must be a bigger secret hidden within. Perhaps even the extermination of the Iris Flower lineage is related to it – that might have been a mere facade, not the purpose itself…”
Mycroft’s legs looked short, but he ran astonishingly fast. He pulled Eivass and soon arrived at the apartment Sherlock had previously rented.
He greeted the landlady familiarly, got the spare key, and went upstairs. Eivass also smiled and exchanged a few pleasantries with the enthusiastic landlady before following.
“Didn’t Sherlock move back in with you?”
Eivass asked, confused.
“That’s right,” Mycroft replied, “but he didn’t take all his materials with him. Sherlock is like a squirrel; he always likes to bury his nuts in various places. The difference is, he’s a bit smarter than a squirrel. So, even if one of his nuts is stolen or lost, he can always find backups elsewhere or place encrypted files in different locations so they can’t be deciphered… Oh, found it.”
Mycroft said this while searching for documents among the dusty bookshelves.
He quickly found a file bag. The outside was labeled “Speculation on the ‘Third Rebellion Case’.”
Upon opening it, there were no documents inside.
Or rather, there were only a few thin pieces of paper. They looked like pages torn from a book, and they were even of irregular sizes. There were also traces of notes, with scribbles and strange numbers.
“F147,” “D32,” “C90.”
On the three pieces of paper, there were these three numbers respectively.
Eivass pondered, looking at Mycroft, “Are these… pages?”
Mycroft also frankly stated, “Precisely. With Sherlock’s memory, just seeing one page from a book is enough for him to recall the entire content immediately. Therefore, the information he left behind is actually the content from the following: ‘Hrasal Empire – From Peak to Decline,’ page 147, sixth line; ‘A Little Soldier,’ page 32, fourth line; ‘On Fear – A Theory of Cyclic Deterrence through Curses and Rituals,’ page 90, third line – a very simple puzzle key, even you would quickly guess the truth upon seeing it – I mean no offense, sir.”
“…No wonder he wanted me to find you.”
Eivass suddenly understood, “So now we need to find those books?”
He really found the right person!
“Will we be able to find his real information by cross-referencing this code?”
“No need,” Mycroft shook his head and calmly replied, “because I also remember the content of those books. I knew at a glance that he hadn’t left behind any particularly valuable information.
“The information Sherlock left behind is:
“‘The public worship of demons has made the imperial people less fearful of demons. The previous excessive fear has instead paralyzed their early warning capabilities against real crises, yet this worship itself has generated new dependencies.’
“‘He was so afraid that he pulled the trigger all the way, emptying the gun in one go.’
“‘It was that fear that sharpened the imaginary blade and made ordinary words poisonous, and this is the original curse.'”
“…The commonality is ‘fear,’ isn’t it?”
Eivass mused, “Could it be that people suddenly killed the entire royal family of Iris Flower because of a莫名 appearing fear…?
“Does the frequent occurrence of uprisings in Iris Flower indicate that this fear has never subsided?
“Is this fear man-made?”
With a broader perspective, he was vaguely grasping something.
When fear is mentioned, it points to Blood Heavenly Envoy and Shadow Heavenly Envoy. The fact that the Dukes, at the pinnacle of secular power, would go mad like this and dare not release him after knowing Eivass’s strength and his acquaintance with Sherlock… it’s likely an event involving the power of Heavenly Envoys.
However, that doesn’t seem like something that would happen in Iris Flower.
The position Blood Heavenly Envoy was pulled down from was the Daffodil Duchy; the position Shadow Heavenly Envoy was pulled down from should have been Avalon.
Could it be that with the collapse of the Shadow of Avalon ritual, the future has shifted again?
“That I don’t know,” Mycroft said with a sigh as he looked at the documents. “I think he also went to Iris Flower to investigate because he was curious about the truth behind this matter. Compared to the letter from his friend, I believe this was his true motive.
“Since this matter might involve a Heavenly Envoy… for Sherlock’s safety, I hope you won’t cause too much commotion when you go to rescue Sherlock. It’s best to conceal your identity – rescue him first, and then display your power.
“…The death of the Fallen Heavenly Envoy, while instilling awe in people towards you, has also sown seeds of rebellion – the possibility of rebelling against God. If people think too highly of themselves, they go mad; if people stay mad for too long, they will head towards destruction. I don’t care whether those madmen live or die, I am only worried about Sherlock’s safety.”
“I understand.”
Eivass nodded solemnly, “In that case, whether by boat or by gryphon, I might be discovered. If that happens, he might do something irreversible under his anxious and frenzied state of mind… To avoid this, I plan to pray to Merlin to send me directly there.”
He didn’t say anything like, “Actually, even if something happened to Sherlock, I could still revive him.”
The conversion rate of the Sin Eater Beast wasn’t a negative status but rather a “countdown to godhood,” so the progress wasn’t reset after revival. He was still 15% away from turning into a deer.
But even if Eivass had enough conversion rate, he wouldn’t say such impolite words anymore.
Life and death inherently carry weight. Reviving someone casually is equivalent to killing them casually in terms of “arrogance” and “pride,” both of which treat another person’s precious, one-and-only life as a consumable.
Eivass might have done such things when he first obtained this power, but he had long since sobered up… This was absolutely not something to be praised or publicized.
He finally understood why Master Amber never publicized his ability to revive people… because merely knowing about it would make those who fought hard to survive feel like their efforts were ridiculous. Undermining someone’s will to live was no different from killing them.
Miracles – these are never things that should be advertised.
Therefore, Eivass only said, “I will bring Sherlock back completely unharmed, Mr. Mycroft. Please wait – I’ll change my clothes and hairstyle and then set off, teleporting directly to Iris Flower.”
“I’m counting on you, Lord Eivass.”
Mycroft sighed, somewhat helplessly but full of trust, “He’s my only brother… please.”
“Coincidentally, I don’t have many friends either, seems like he’s the only one,” Eivass replied calmly, “I was even counting on him to attend my wedding.”
