Chapter 387
Daji would also be considered part of the ‘Great’ generation, wouldn’t she?
The position of Minister of Affairs, which could be considered high or low in power, was suddenly appointed not long before the Queen’s death, clearly with the intention of stabilizing the regime.
Simply put, it was to prevent the new king from being too willful, so they chose the exceptionally talented Eivass to check and assist her.
According to the political theory Andre had learned from Star Antimony, Isabel, as the new monarch, would naturally contend for authority with Eivass, who represented Queen Sophia’s confidante. Even if Eivass were actually helping her, she would have to suppress him; otherwise, her authority would be clearly lower than Eivass, who had the approval of two queens. As a monarch, this was unacceptable.
At the beginning of her reign, there would be an additional powerful minister she could not control—especially since this minister was young enough. This was a very dangerous signal. If she couldn’t control him, Eivass’s power could snowball, potentially leading to the entire regime being overthrown. It was even possible that she herself would be ruined in the end.
However, Queen Isabel did not distance herself from Eivass, nor did she suppress him. To the contrary, she displayed an unprecedented closeness, and in the group photo, only Eivass was included. This attitude must have had some political significance! A painting of a new monarch’s succession typically included their entire team of confidantes. When Queen Sophia ascended the throne, she was even younger than Isabel, but her painting featured six people—including the later Grand Arbitrator Meg and the Grand Guardian at the time. This team later became Queen Sophia’s capable assistants in implementing various reform policies.
But with only one person… the message was clear. “Besides Eivass, I trust no one.” In other words, the ministers from Queen Sophia’s era were to be purged!
“…But why isn’t Queen Isabel afraid that Eivass will betray her?” Andre murmured, lost in thought. Unless…
The “Minister of Affairs” was not authorized by Queen Sophia at all, but was a decision made by Isabel when she was still a princess! Based on Miss Crowley’s own account, she met Eivass three years ago, definitely before Isabel… and at that time, Eivass was merely the second son of his family. While the status of a scion of a founding family was already high… according to the important intelligence Andre had gathered, the Moriarty Family was composed entirely of adopted sons. There was only one successor per generation, and the rest were stripped of the Moriarty surname. Because of this, over the years, there had been no collateral branches vying for the family fortune.
Therefore, as long as Eivass did not inherit the Moriarty Family, he would only be “Eivass” without a surname. Miss Alistair Crowley could easily bring him back to Star Antimony!
But it would be different if Eivass were appointed Minister of Affairs. As a minister of the royal lineage, Miss Crowley, whose identity was precarious, would be suspected simply by approaching him. And after her identity was exposed, she would have to reveal herself and appear friendly towards Avalon to distance Eivass from the incident. This would also cause trouble for her family and prevent her from continuing to stay in Avalon… After all, she was from “The Secret Chamber,” and any contact with Eivass, a confidante of the Queen, would put Eivass in trouble.
Thus, Isabel’s simple move forced Miss Crowley to either harm Eivass or leave him.
“What aggressive tactics…” Andre’s expression turned solemn. Simply to secure Eivass, the meticulous Queen Isabel, by granting him the title of Minister of Affairs—a position with no real power, no department, and no staff—directly drove Miss Crowley away from Glass Island! And Eivass, targeted by the Round Table Hall, would become her excuse to purge the Round Table Hall!
Combining this with previous intelligence, his psychological profile of Isabel now undoubtedly painted her as an iron-fisted queen who was adept at hiding, cruel and decisive, aggressive yet calculating. Andre had investigated many times. Isabel’s classmates all said she was quite timid and reclusive at school, cute like a small animal, and would even run away upon seeing strangers—but looking at Isabel now, where was that fragile, easily bullied impression?
Recalling carefully, Eivass’s appointment as Minister of Affairs coincided precisely with the death of another prince, his sole competitor for the throne, who was cursed to death! It was also after that, and after all of Isabel’s siblings were assassinated, that she immediately became normal. Could a person’s nature change in just one or two months? Of course not. So, it must have been a disguise. A state of self-imposed isolation to avoid interacting with others!
Why avoid interacting with others? It was certainly out of fear of encountering the “eyes” around her! Those eyes from Star Antimony, Iris Kingdom, and the Round Table Hall! Furthermore, according to Andre’s investigation, Isabel showed great affection towards Eivass the first time they met. Clearly, they had known each other for a long time. Coincidentally, Eivass had disappeared for several months after graduating from middle school. Upon his return, he seemed familiar with Isabel. Isabel even lent him a villa under her name—calling it a loan was essentially giving it away. It was obvious that during that unaccounted for period of several months, Eivass had been with Princess Isabel! And at that time, Eivass had already known Isabel and sworn allegiance to the Crown Princess of Avalon. It was also after that that Eivass suddenly began to appear in newspapers repeatedly!
“It all adds up now!” Andre exclaimed excitedly, clapping his hands. “Everything makes sense!”
The Famous Detective Sherlock Holmes, who knew all of this, was taken away by Eivass one night and never returned. He had previously asked Andre to investigate the Moriarty Family, learned from him the secret that the Moriarty Family consisted entirely of adopted sons, and obtained some incriminating information about James Moriarty. Perhaps it was because Sherlock knew something he shouldn’t have, leading to his murder by Moriarty!
According to another piece of intelligence, Eivass personally took a document and had the Gryphon Minister of Avalon affix their seal. That could only be an authorization letter.
“…Wait.” Andre’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. Eivass himself couldn’t ride a Gryphon; what would he need the Gryphon Minister’s authorization for? Thinking of this, Andre was horrified. Queen Isabel was clearly making some arrangements now, but he couldn’t connect these events at all! They seemed too scattered, almost like coincidences. But was that possible? It was impossible. She could deliberately hide her talents to evade the curses of the Iris people, and now she could hide her plans beneath a series of seemingly coincidental events.
The old newspapers and intelligence related to Eivass integrated in his mind, constantly sparking associations, which he then rejected one by one.
The newspapers repeatedly reported that Eivass was kidnapped and attacked multiple times by Noble Red and their demons… After Eivass became a member of the Lloyd Society, the president of the society who attempted to usurp the throne was suddenly investigated by the Inspection Department and eventually secretly executed… Without using the Inspection Department, Minister Dross’s spy identity was inexplicably uncovered, and a living suspect was captured… The Iris Kingdom inexplicably admitted to the assassination and curses against the Avalon Royal Family and paid a huge price… A Crown Lord’s divine attendant, capable of using “Word Spirit,” appeared out of nowhere, seemingly only eight or nine years old but possessing Fifth Tier power—either possessing Dragon blood or being a dragon in human form… On the eve of Queen Sophia’s death, bypassing the Round Table Hall meeting entirely, an old minister suspected of being a Star Antimony spy was executed using “Death Curse,” and several ministers were arrested and imprisoned… The Minister of Affairs, with no subordinates and no departmental affairs to handle, had a secret document personally authorized by the Gryphon Minister… Upon obtaining intelligence about Alistair Crowley being a Star Antimony spy, she inexplicably announced it to the public and publicized it widely… Mobilizing the Avalon people to foster a sense of superiority and confidence over Star Antimony…
Andre felt a chill run through him. The past intelligence rapidly connected in his mind. Detective Andre suddenly had a bold yet plausible idea— “Avalon is preparing for war and is using violent means to forcibly stabilize domestic affairs! Queen Isabel intends to send the Gryphon Legion for an aerial attack on Star Antimony, and the Iris people have already allied with them!”
Should this information be sent back… His expression changed repeatedly, and he finally made up his mind. He would not send it to Star Antimony, but to the Mage Tower first! The political situation in Star Antimony was chaotic. If it were a war initiated proactively, it would be fine, but if it were a passive invasion, it might trigger internal division. The offensive strength of Avalon’s Gryphon Legion was too high, and Star Antimony still lacked countermeasures against Gryphons—meaning that if the Mage Tower suspended research on “anti-Gryphon weapons,” the Star Antimony people would have no resistance against the Gryphon Legion… But he was ultimately just eyes, not a brain. He had no authority to think… Therefore, Andre planned to send the intelligence to the Mage Tower first, and then see their opinion on whether to forward it to Star Antimony to prepare for war in advance.
The capital of Star Antimony was south of the Iris Kingdom, not directly adjacent to Avalon. If they wanted to wage war against Avalon, they would need to borrow the ports of the former Black Hawk Duchy to launch a surprise attack. But if the Iris people and Avalonians formed an alliance, Avalon could completely hide the Gryphon Legion within Iris territory and launch a surprise attack on them! With the Gryphon’s speed, an attack from the south of the Iris Kingdom would take less than an hour to reach the capital of Star Antimony.
“Is war… coming?” Andre murmured softly. His expression became heavy and solemn. If this intelligence was true, then the Daffodil Duchy had to rebel first. After all, Daffodil was in the northeasternmost corner of Star Antimony, east of Avalon, and very close to Avalon. If Avalon, in fear of their mage legions, deployed some forces to the eastern front, it might drag Daffodil into the battle, forcing them to bleed for the Star Antimony people.
So, the problem now was: when exactly would the Avalonians launch a large-scale invasion? If they misjudged the timing, their rebellion could very well be suppressed!
“I can only continue to observe Minister Moriarty!” Detective Andre’s expression was solemn, prepared to sacrifice his life for his country.
On the other side, inside the Silver and Tin Hall, Eivass was helping Isabel comb her hair. Isabel was about to go to the Round Table Hall to preside over her first meeting.
“Is this how it’s styled?” Eivass asked uncertainly. “Are you sure, Lily?” Lily replied coolly from the side, “That’s right. Then coil it up and thread it through here…” Isabel still seemed uneasy. “Aren’t you going to the meeting, Eivass? You could come…” “I know I’m qualified,” Eivass chuckled. “But I want them to ask me to come.” “…Then, what about me?” “Like this, Isabel,” Eivass suggested. “If you don’t know how to respond, just give them a cold look and say, ‘I’ll consider it.’ Then write down the question. After you ask me when you get back, give a formal response the next day.” “Will that be alright…?” “It will be fine, trust me,” Eivass reassured her.
But he felt something was amiss. It felt like a form of regency behind a curtain. Did Sherlock really say it back then? Was he really going to be a vixen sed? However, Eivass soon calmed down. Screw it, what was there to be afraid of. He was a Great Duke! Undoubtedly, a type of the ‘Great’ generation! And it sounds authoritative too!
Nearly seven thousand words updated, the update is complete, meow~ Kitty is going to lunch!
