Chapter 369
Her Majesty the Queen’s Lifespan Nears Its End
Twilight.
Glass Island, Silver and Tin Hall.
“I say, Sophia, you’re not nervous at all.”
A crisp, childish voice echoed in the Queen’s chambers. Lixia sat at the foot of the bed, swinging her legs and munching on a bright red apple. Her tail swept the blanket on the bed listlessly, creasing it one moment and smoothing it out the next.
The Queen, lying in the blanket, didn’t reply. Compared to a month ago, she looked noticeably older. Her eyes were swollen to the point where she could barely open them, and her spirit seemed much more dejected. She simply unfolded the freshly knitted sweater in her hands, admired it for a moment, then carefully folded it and placed it on the head of the bed.
“Sophia?”
Seeing her old friend remain unresponsive, Lixia turned her head with dissatisfaction towards the silent old woman. “I’m talking to you! Didn’t we already know that Miss Alistair is Lily Drost? Now that Charles has kicked the bucket, why don’t we just announce her identity? Would the Drost family dare to object?”
“—They’d better not. The former Minister Dross isn’t ‘dead’ yet.”
Janice’s voice suddenly chimed in. From a landscape painting of a seaside in summer hanging in the chamber, Janice, dressed in a white gauze skirt and wearing a straw hat, sat leisurely in the shade of a parasol, peeling grapes slowly and deliberately, casually remarking, “And Eivass would probably prefer this method of handling things.”
The information about the former Minister Dross’s assassination was still kept confidential. In other words, he was still alive in the social sphere. He was merely secretly imprisoned, occasionally divulging critical information—which could at any moment become leverage to deal with someone. This was because he knew far too much.
It was precisely for this reason that Eivass, as the Minister of Affairs, was jointly attacked by those old fogeys. In their eyes, the inauguration of the new Minister of Affairs, Eivass, and the arrest and imprisonment of Minister Dross were not two separate events. They were one and the same.
Although the Ministry of Affairs was directly under the royal family, the Queen was nearing her end. With the new Queen Isabel unable to hold the fort, the actual power the Ministry of Affairs would ultimately wield was uncertain.
—However, if one added the “evidence” continuously being leaked by Minister Dross, the situation would be different. The combination of these two held sufficient deterrence.
“Therefore, they desperately want to weaken Eivass’s power. Even if his inauguration cannot be obstructed, at least they must prevent the expansion and actions of the Ministry of Affairs.” Janice explained slowly, “Even if this piece of information wasn’t present, they would have found some other excuse to attack. Rather, this is an opportunity for Eivass—because this matter occurred too early and too cleverly, making it impossible for those knights to continue their secret machinations. They didn’t want to miss this excellent opportunity, so they had to act prematurely with incomplete preparations. And since they are in a hurry, there will inevitably be flaws.”
“Oh… because we all know that in reality, there is no such person as ‘Alistair.’ And Eivass is even less likely to be entangled with Star Antinomy… is that what you mean, Janice?” Lixia also realized. But she was still somewhat confused. “Then why is Sophia acting as if this is real?”
Queen Sophia’s attitude seemed very anxious—she had issued an order to the Inspection Department to prohibit this matter from being reported “before it has been verified.” This order itself would spread within the circles.
“Silly thing…” Sophia looked at her vibrant and energetic old friend, who was like a little girl, and struggled to open her eyes, sighing, “Isn’t it the same as before…?”
“Before?” Lixia blinked. But she quickly realized what Sophia was referring to.
—Just like when the royal family was cursed in the past.
Queen Sophia particularly favored the tactic of feigning weakness—or more accurately, she liked to set traps as soft as honey, leading the enemy to believe their plan was proceeding smoothly, thus luring them deeper. Then, at a critical juncture, when the enemy could no longer withdraw, she would counterattack.
If the “Shadow of Avalon” ritual had not been tampered with, Sophia’s plan would have been completely feasible. The revival of the founding king Lancelot I, whose strength was comparable to an Apostle in the Shrine, returning to his peak physical state. Whether it was the combat ability of the ancestor himself, the suppressive power of the Sixth Tier Path of Authority on his subordinates, the noble prestige of the founding monarch among the populace, the deterrent force against foreign enemies, and the political influence that made his policies unstoppable—all of these could have directly led to Avalon’s rebirth from the ashes.
At that critical moment, it would have brought about a satisfying and resounding victory—and their side would have been the righteous invaded party. It would have showcased their military strength to the powerful nations, instilled strong confidence in the populace, and conveniently eradicated those corrupt knights. To achieve this goal, it was naturally best that political desires were as low as possible. Otherwise, it might even lead to the division of Avalon.
Therefore, Isabel, who could inherit Sophia’s reformist will, was the best successor. Isabel’s lack of political understanding and the issue of Path of Authority Adaptability could also be perfectly resolved. This was because she only needed to stand with her ancestor, thereby clarifying the objectives for those subordinates who were confused about whether to obey the modern monarch or the founding monarch.
Queen Sophia had calculated everything. The only thing she hadn’t calculated was that the ritual by the wise wizard Merlin himself had gone wrong—she had trusted Merlin too much. This completely disrupted her entire plan, even making her feel lost for a time. Only when Merlin personally explained to her where the problem lay and advised her to abandon the plan… did the breath she had been holding finally release. From then on, her physical condition deteriorated day by day. She became visibly weaker at an alarming rate.
Compared to her approaching death, her will and thoughts became clearer. The events of the past kept replaying in her mind. Sophia was not becoming senile; instead, she was gradually sorting things out. —This was not a losing battle, nor a dead end, but precisely the moment to break free.
Now that the information had been stolen, and they appeared incapable of doing anything but issue warnings, their posture was exactly the same as when they were cursed in the past. Just as they hadn’t allowed Meg to seal off the entire city for a thorough investigation during the curse, Sophia was again refraining from deploying Lixia for “physical rumor-busting.”
“They won’t miss this opportunity; they will definitely provoke Eivass…” Sophia seemed extremely listless, speaking weakly. But compared to the period of confusion before, she now appeared much more resolute. The old Queen said in a slow, soft voice, “It looks like a handle, but it’s actually full of flaws… After this matter is dealt with, no one will dare to provoke them… Then I can leave with peace of mind…”
Seeing that the old woman had to pause for breath after every sentence, Janice in the painting directly added, “Eivass is still young, and the child is still young and ignorant. It’s understandable that Eivass might ‘go a bit overboard’ when retaliating. Although he is a priest, even honest people can get angry. After all, such obvious hostility is displayed; can’t he be allowed to get angry?”
“…That makes some sense. After all, that brat isn’t someone to be trifled with. Now that you mention it, I’m quite looking forward to it… But you haven’t communicated with Eivass yet, have you?” Lixia raised an eyebrow and jumped off the bed. “How about I go to Eagle Cape Village and inform him of the situation, so he can be on guard when he returns? I’m also a bit curious about my disciple’s living environment. I can ride a gryphon; it’s quite fast to go and come back.”
“There’s no need for that.” Janice chewed on the grapes in the painting and said elegantly, “He has already returned. He’s chatting with little Isha right now. I’ll have him come over in a moment.”
“…That’s good…” Hearing that Eivass was about to arrive, Queen Sophia’s lips curved slightly, and she muttered softly, gradually falling into a state of dazed consciousness.
Not far away.
Also in the Silver and Tin Hall, in Isabel’s bedroom.
Eivass was happily sharing the sights and sounds of his trip with Isabel. Yes, Eivass had no immediate intention of investigating the missing letter. He wasn’t Sherlock, after all. As Edward had said, whether Alistair was a spy or not wasn’t important—similarly, whether Eivass eventually found the letter wasn’t very important. Even whether Alistair existed or not wasn’t important.
—Conversely, confirming the attitude of the Queen and those “Great Generation” powerhouses towards this matter was the most crucial.
Seeing that time was getting late, Eivass hinted to Edward to send Captain Camus back first. The few of them agreed to meet again tomorrow morning to formally begin the investigation. After Camus left, Eivass went to the Royal Palace immediately. To Eivass’s slight surprise, Isabel had guessed he would come and had already changed into the pure white evening gown she always wore for family banquets. However, Eivass quickly realized that the “Golden Dawn” card camera in their home must have alerted Janice, who then informed Isabel.
But after sharing his travel experiences, Isabel, who had initially been excited and happy to see Eivass, showed a look of worry instead. The first sentence she spoke after that made Eivass pause:
“It’s just a thought, I’m not very sure… But, Eivass, your Path tendency… has it become noticeably skewed?”
