Chapter 150
Moriarty Family
After Lily retrieved the wheelchair and returned to No. 14 Ronin Street with Eivass and Yulia, she poured them tea.
She then began to recount the events she had just experienced… and the “family secret” bestowed by Oswald.
“The guardian of the Dross Family…” Eivass murmured, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the wheelchair. This was a habit he had when he began to think seriously.
He intended to find a way to kill Minister Dross.
And his guardian was indeed a troublesome issue.
These Elven guardians from Avalon were once Pope’s Guards. It could be said that each of them was an elite among elites.
The most troublesome aspect was that they were all good people, and the face of the Church… Furthermore, they were proof of friendship between the Church and Avalon, and the actual connection of their friendship.
This made Eivass hesitant to resort to any malicious or underhanded methods to assassinate them.
It would surely escalate the situation. It might even elevate “Minister Dross’s Death” to an international level, making the situation uncontrollable by Eivass and completely deviating from his experience and predictions for the future.
It would be best if that old fat Dross died quietly.
But fortunately… judging by Lily’s account, that old gentleman seemed to have some dissatisfaction with Minister Dross.
And after Lily left the Inspection Department, the old butler Oswald had warned her that she might be in danger.
He also explained in detail to Lily some of the rules held by the guardians sent by the Church, and the essence of the Moriarty Family.
In simple terms, they guarded not the family head, not Avalon, nor the Queen or descendants. They didn’t even guard the family itself, but only “the continuation of the bloodline.”
Only the Moriarty Family was an exception—because they had adopted heirs from the beginning.
Among the twenty founding families, only the Moriarty Family sought talented individuals from commoners to adopt as heirs to inherit the family business, and this had been the case for generations. They represented “the possibility of change.”
“According to Mr. Oswald, the Apostle Modred, the origin of the Moriarty Family, was himself an adopted son,” Lily told Eivass and Yulia.
Modred actually had a wife and children, and two sons at that.
But Modred also selected an adopted son and passed on his skills to him. After he sublimated into an Apostle, this adopted son inherited his position.
Lily continued, “Later, Modred’s two biological sons stepped forward to oppose him. But they made a mistake… they colluded with the remaining Giants. Later, his adopted son found them and personally slew them both.”
From then on, that adopted son changed his surname and became Moriarty.
He was Avalon’s first Moriarty—Constantine Moriarty.
“He was a noble knight, and because he personally killed his adoptive father’s two children, he was unwilling to let his own children inherit the Moriarty surname and estate. He felt that doing so would be akin to usurping his adoptive father’s inheritance.”
Lily recounted Oswald’s words. “From then on, the Moriarty Family could only be passed down to adopted sons.”
“So that’s how it is…” Eivass murmured.
This might be why there were no portraits of ancestors left in the family.
Because the appearance of each generation of Moriarty differed, and they did not wish for their adopted sons to know this early on, thus regarding themselves as the legitimate heirs of the Moriarty Family—in that case, it would lose the meaning of recruiting adopted sons.
Immediately after, Eivass realized something else. “Isn’t this the Lloyd Society?”
The inheritance mechanism of the Moriarty Family, except for being less bloody, was exactly the same as that of the Lloyd Society’s president!
This should be a secret that only the next generation’s head could know when a succession occurred within the family.
Oswald now telling this secret to Lily, Eivass’s personal maid… This likely meant he had prepared himself for the possibility of never being able to find his professor again. In that case, Eivass would be the legal heir of the Moriarty Family.
“Mr. Oswald’s intention should be for me to negotiate with the Dross Family in the name of the Moriarty Family head, and to protect you,” Eivass said, narrowing his eyes slightly and speaking softly. “From this perspective… I have a new possibility.”
“That is, Minister Dross might not have actually intended to kill you. That old man was probably waiting for me to seek peace with him and beg for your release.”
“What?” Lily was stunned.
Eivass opened his eyes and said calmly, “Let’s retrace our steps. First, let’s clarify the logical premise… that is, he genuinely believes ‘Mr. Gray’ is from the Lloyd Society and is a disciple of Madam Gray Green. In other words, the assassination commission he issued is real, but also a ‘whim’.”
“Then the first possibility is that he wanted to kill you as revenge against me. Because the incident that put Minister Dross in danger was related to me; it was my deduction that linked the assassinated secretary to the smuggling case. And he happened to be assassinated by the Iris Kingdom, which is why Minister Dross was investigated by the Inspection Department.”
That was why Diomedes appeared at the Inspection Department.
“But if we deduce from this outcome, another possibility arises. He wanted me to realize that he had already sent someone to assassinate you, meaning he didn’t care whether Mr. Gray’s assassination was successful, only that it be carried out quickly. There’s no such thing as guarding against a thief for a thousand days… so as long as I can’t find concrete evidence of him commissioning the murder, as long as he continues to invest money, you will always be in danger.”
“He is waiting for me to beg him. Judging from his relationship with the Lloyd Society, he should already know that the Professor is likely dead. Then I am the next Moriarty Family head. If I, as the primary aggressor, am forced to stand with him, the crisis faced by the Dross Family is very likely to be resolved.
“And if I fail to protect you, it can serve as a hysterical deterrent. Even if everyone knows he doesn’t have long to live, no one would dare to provoke a dying beast for fear that it might bite back. In this way, he might also find an opportunity to catch his breath.”
Eivass sighed. “That old man has some tricks up his sleeve. Fortunately, Mr. Oswald provided crucial information, and I wasn’t led into a trap.”
Yulia had been informed by Eivass earlier about the possibility of her foster father’s death, so she wasn’t overly surprised by this.
But she noticed something else. “Is that Minister Dross… your enemy, brother?”
“He is our enemy,” Eivass corrected. “He is Lily’s biological father, yet he hired someone to kill her mother. Now he wants to kill Lily. And his goal should be to strike at me through Lily.”
Upon hearing this, Yulia’s gaze turned fierce.
But she looked like an angry, bristling kitten glaring at someone, not scary at all.
Yet, she unhesitatingly uttered a dangerous question. “Then will you kill him, brother?”
“Yes,” Eivass said, gently stroking Yulia’s head as comfort. “So I’m thinking… how to bypass Mr. Diomedes’ interference and protection, and kill Minister Dross.”
“He himself should not be weak. As a primary Law Master, he should at least be Fourth Tier. But if the battle drags on, it might attract Diomedes. Even if Diomedes himself has no good feelings towards Minister Dross, he will do his duty to protect him.”
Eivass had a way to kill him quickly—the Shadow Demon would be an excellent tool and excuse.
The problem was… how to separate them?
Minister Dross was afraid of death. He almost always had his Elven butler with him. If it wasn’t necessary, he wouldn’t even go out.
He clearly knew he had many enemies, so he was cautious. He basically relied on his secretary to conduct negotiations.
Eivass couldn’t think of a good solution to this problem for the moment.
However, he needed to lay the groundwork for the Shadow Demon as soon as possible.
When would those assassins from the Lloyd Society arrive?
Eivass was already getting impatient.
The Butterfly of Illusory Flames he had just obtained was perfect as a countermeasure for “Eivass”!
After that, he could enter a state of feigned death… and then go on a killing spree.
Just then, Eivass’s phone suddenly rang.
Eivass answered it. “This is Eivass Moriarty.”
“I’ve called you six times… Where have you been today?”
The person on the other end of the line, who couldn’t help but complain from the start, was York Hermes of the Lloyd Society.
