Chapter 464
The Past of Drost
“Mr. Diomedes!”
When the solemn elf with a square face heard Eivass’s voice, he first thought he was hallucinating.
After he turned back, he helplessly confirmed that Eivass was indeed walking toward him.
“Lord Bishop, what is this—”
Diomedes felt a hidden anger brewing within him.
“I explicitly told you, ‘Don’t go out, don’t go out, don’t go out!’ Why did you still openly come out and find me directly!”
This was not just an implication to the Moriarty Father and Son, telling them “Charles Dross plans to silence Eivass” and warning Eivass not to give him an excuse during this period… no, it was no longer an implication.
It was a direct statement!
They had promised so well!
If there was something he absolutely had to discuss, couldn’t Oswald, that old eccentric, have come to him?
He wasn’t familiar with Eivass. He conveyed the message to them partly because he couldn’t stand Minister Dross, and partly because of his long-standing friendship with Oswald.
They were both Pope’s Guard from the same graduating class, close friends since childhood, and had been stationed in a foreign land together for four hundred years.
Among this batch of Pope’s Guard serving as guardian spirits, only the two of them knew each other before being transferred.
If one of them were female, they would probably have great-grandchildren by now.
Diomedes could generally confirm that as long as Eivass stayed home, Dross would likely not dare to act against him, even if the Star Antimony people completely controlled Avalon.
Charles was someone Diomedes had watched over since childhood, and he was familiar with his personality.
He was a coward now. He had developed a habit of being overly cautious; he wouldn’t act if he wasn’t completely sure.
“Completely opposite to Charles back then.”
Diomedes thought to himself.
Back then, when Diomedes was ordered by the Pope to guard the bloodline of Dagot in Avalon, he was still a thin and timid youth. Charles was not as old as he was now when he was just born.
When Charles was a teenager, it was the time he was most likable.
He was optimistic, cheerful, and sociable. His features were deep, his demeanor righteous, and his speech clear and powerful. He always wore a smile on his face, and he would never become dejected even after facing setbacks.
At most, he would become dejected on his own for a while, then he would put on a smile, cheer himself up, and regain his spirit.
During that time, Diomedes was often melancholic.
Because his partner in Avalon had passed away then.
He had met Diomedes, who was a handsome middle-aged man, when his partner was still a student. When his partner died of old age, Diomedes was only slightly aged.
His spirit had been down for a long time, and when he had nothing to do, he would quietly look through old photos every day.
Those few years were the years he aged the fastest.
It was by watching the young Charles, who always cheered himself up and regained his spirit after failures, that Diomedes gradually recovered.
Therefore, Diomedes had a very good impression of Charles back then.
Charles in his youth could be said to be a heartthrob.
He tied his long, curly, flaxen hair into a ponytail. He played cricket and football, and he had even trained his equestrian skills to enter the sport of polo. His academic performance was also good; he became a Second Tier Law Master in his sophomore year. Coupled with his background from a founding family and his cheerful and passionate personality, he had many girlfriends in college, sometimes even three a week at his fastest.
Although he was a Law Master, Charles was always passionate about training. He would wake up at five every day for morning practice. Although he was a playboy, he didn’t drink or stay up late. His interests were things that brought him pleasure, such as sports, gourmet food, and women.
When he inherited the position of patriarch, he was only thirty-eight years old. By then, he had already reached the Fourth Tier and had become the Trade Minister, hailed as one of the Extraordinary individuals most likely to touch the Fifth Tier. He had also been married for many years, and his wife had given him three children. The eldest was even close to adulthood.
But it was from then on… for some reason, he suddenly started drinking. And then, he became an alcoholic.
Even before he became a minister, when he was a specially appointed legal advisor for the Ministry of Trade, his habit of morning practice had already disappeared. As for the ball sports he once enjoyed, he hadn’t touched them since graduation.
The vibrant and passionate youth in Diomedes’s eyes slowly disappeared at some point.
He even started assigning Diomedes to do dirty work—assassinations, theft, surveillance. Diomedes didn’t know if other guardian spirits had done similar things, but it was his duty to obey the patriarch’s orders and protect him. He would offer a few words of advice when he had nothing else to do…
At first, Charles would listen to Diomedes’s advice politely and respectfully. Later, as he gradually realized his power, he stopped accepting all advice but still maintained decorum. After that, he started arguing with him, but still valued Diomedes’s words and grudgingly corrected his behavior.
—Until the day Diomedes witnessed Charles insulting his own daughter, Talia Dross.
He was completely disappointed in Charles.
From then on, Diomedes stopped discussing these matters with Charles.
Charles noticed this too—so he stopped calling him “Mr. Diomedes” and started calling him by his name; he stopped asking for his advice and instead directly ordered him to do things.
The once pure and passionate youth gradually became cunning and insidious. His professional level in the Path of Authority never moved again. His once strong and vibrant body was now full of fat. Charles, who had faith in law and justice upon graduation, had eventually committed many crimes such as hired murder, bribery, smuggling, and rape under the ravages of time…
—To this day, Charles has even become a traitor and a regicide.
One must remember that it was Queen Sophia who had put him in the position of Trade Minister back then!
The man known as “Minister Dross” was a completely different person from his past.
Everything about him had changed. The only two things that remained unchanged were the cheerful smile he always wore and the burning desire in his heart.
—Therefore, Diomedes would intentionally do things that Dross did not order.
For example, he would preemptively hand over an illegitimate daughter whom Dross might want to murder to Oswald for protection; for example, when Dross forgot to have him destroy evidence, he would never remind him.
These were all meticulously left clues by him.
Perhaps they would never be used, perhaps Dross himself would suddenly recall them… but they always had a sliver of possibility to destroy Charles Dross, to liberate Diomedes and give him back a new master.
Diomedes did it very discreetly, so he was never discovered. Dross would still entrust him with the most important matters because he had become very suspicious now. Only his guardian spirit could be trusted not to betray him, and he must protect his life as much as possible and complete his orders with 100% certainty.
Just like now—issuing an early warning to the entire family when Charles wanted to silence Eivass Moriarty.
In Diomedes’s opinion, the Star Antimony people would not offer Charles any significant benefits.
Because the Star Antimony people were severely divided and held power. The benefits they gave Charles—those lands and titles—were actually equivalent to making three parties pay the price together.
One party proposed a plan, and the other two parties paid together to accumulate merit for the party that proposed the plan. This was impossible by any means. It would be impossible for them not to drag things down. In the end, even if they didn’t renege, the benefits would likely be reduced… or he would be assassinated to default on the debt.
This meant that Charles would not receive a high position in Avalon’s new government.
Conversely, James Moriarty, as the patriarch of the founding family, a high-ranking executive of the Lloyd Society, with an excellent public reputation, one of Avalon’s wealthiest merchants, and a world-class scholar with treatises in fields such as mathematics and astronomy, would be the target the Star Antimony people would focus on courting.
Charles, the waste, was incomparable to James.
As long as they waited for the Star Antimony people to take control of Avalon through that fake queen, Professor Moriarty would immediately be heavily relied upon.
At that time, Eivass would be absolutely safe.
So if Charles wanted to kill Eivass, he would have to preempt the Star Antimony people’s control over Avalon and kill Eivass first in the darkness as Avalon’s order completely collapsed—
Edward, as Inspector, had no preferential inheritance. Yulia was already dead. Eivass was the future heir of Professor Moriarty. Charles was absolutely incapable of making Eivass, the sole heir of the Moriarty Family, die without anyone noticing. So, as long as he acted to kill Eivass, Professor Moriarty would definitely notice.
That would mean offending him.
Now, for Diomedes to attempt to abduct Eivass was his last act of courage. As long as Diomedes brought back Old James’s resolute attitude, Charles would falter.
And Eivass, as a bishop with a bright future, would certainly not forget this grievance and would keep it firmly in mind… He would become a thorn in Charles’s side, making his master restless.
When Eivass gained more power in the future, he would be able to reveal the crimes of the Star Antimony people and expose Charles’s transgressions.
In his reluctant coexistence with Charles, Diomedes had also learned Charles’s cunning acting skills and the technique of hiding his true thoughts. Although he appeared regretful, Diomedes was actually quite satisfied with this outcome.
…But at this moment, Eivass had come to him himself.
This directly disrupted Diomedes’s plan.
But as he looked at Eivass now, about to erupt in anger, he suddenly froze.
He vaguely perceived some information from Eivass’s eyes and expression.
“Please take me there, Mr. Diomedes.”
Eivass placed his right hand over his chest and bowed, saying politely and respectfully, “Let me have a talk with him. Please rest assured, I will not risk my own life.
“I am confident enough… that after listening to my words, he will not come to kill me. Or rather, he cannot kill me.”
“—He cannot kill me.”
Despite being a fragile priest, Eivass’s words exuded such confidence.
“You are…?”
Hearing Eivass’s words, Diomedes gradually understood something: “Do you want to save someone?”
Eivass had clearly guessed that Minister Dross had murderous intent towards him—this meant that Eivass realized that the letter he sent to Princess Isabel had been intercepted by that guy. Because only through this channel would Minister Dross develop murderous intent towards Eivass, whom he had never contacted before and was completely unfamiliar with.
And based on this…
As expected.
Eivass’s subsequent words perfectly matched Diomedes’s thoughts: “Yes, I not only want to survive, but I also want to save Sherlock.
“I guess the missing Sherlock is also with him. Minister Dross probably wants me to go there to act as a breakthrough to pry open Sherlock’s mouth.
“—If that’s the case, I’ll tell him whatever he wants to know. If he needs a hostage, let it be me. I’ll take Sherlock’s place… He has already severed ties with the Hermes Family. Let Minister Dross let him go to the Church. As long as he never returns, there’s no need to hunt him down to the death, is there?
“Killing two people to offend two families is only a last resort. Now I choose to back down. I will make amends on his behalf—I will use Professor Moriarty’s support, the future friendship of ‘Moriarty,’ the information he wants to obtain, the evidence he wants to destroy… I will use these things to exchange for both our lives—especially for Sherlock’s life.
“Since Minister Dross usually claims to be a businessman, please let him see if this deal is profitable or not.”
Eivass said clearly.
Just like how Professor Moriarty had persuaded the Grand Inquisitor Shafiya with his rhetoric. Creating an atmosphere of “no loss no matter what,” a friendly atmosphere that would make him relax, and then making him think “what if I agree” to follow Eivass’s words.
Minister Dross did not want to offend Professor Moriarty, but he wanted to resolve this matter cleanly. Eivass coming to reconcile in person was the most acceptable solution for Minister Dross;
And Diomedes did not want two righteous and innocent young men, Eivass and Sherlock, to be killed because of this. He hoped they could serve as witnesses to engrave Minister Dross’s crimes.
—This is called learning from experience.
Although it was still somewhat immature compared to Professor Moriarty’s rhetoric.
But Diomedes had been swayed by Eivass.
Because Diomedes could accept this outcome, and he also believed that Minister Dross could accept this outcome… then this plan was definitely feasible.
Thus, Diomedes no longer tried to dissuade him but led Eivass to the Silver and Tin Hall.
It didn’t look like an abduction; it looked more like they were traveling together.
