Chapter 59
Young and Promising
When Sherlock entered the room, he subconsciously raised an eyebrow.
At first glance, he saw that the food on the table was too little, and too much of it had been eaten.
Avalon, unlike Star Antinomy, did not advocate the virtue of frugality among its knights. Here, hosting a banquet was a display of honor—and if the food and wine were almost completely consumed while the banquet was far from over, it would be considered rude.
It was because the host had prepared too little food that the guests had to leave early to end their engagements. Therefore, when guests realized they were almost finished, they would intentionally eat less to save face for the host.
So, this could not be the first course of the meal. It should have been the second.
Similarly, if finishing the food was considered rude, then removing it and serving a second course was a sign of importance and a request to stay. The implication was: “I’ve prepared a fresh, hot meal for you again, wouldn’t it be rude of you to leave now?”
“…Good evening, Mr. Sherlock.”
Isabel was the first to speak, “It’s good to see you.”
—Why are you suddenly so happy?
Sherlock was somewhat confused, but his manners remained impeccable.
“The Silver Crown Dragon protect us.”
He dared not look up and meet the princess’s eyes. He knelt respectfully on one knee, placing a hand over his chest, and bowed his head in a knight’s salute: “Your Highness, Princess, I wish you all the best.”
“Please rise, Mr. Sherlock.”
Isabel’s voice was clear and pleasant.
Only then did Sherlock dare to stand up and greet Janis, who was still seated at the table, and Eivass, who was in a wheelchair.
Janis responded with a smile and a nod. Eivass, whose movements were hindered, was gently bowed to and returned the greeting by Lily, who stood behind him.
Soon, Sherlock, now standing, his sharp, eagle-like gaze swept over and noticed Princess Isabel’s slightly flushed face.
—Had she drunk that much wine?
He was somewhat surprised.
It seemed that Master Janis valued Mr. Eivass quite highly. Otherwise, she would have stopped the princess from drinking too much—in terms of etiquette, important figures generally didn’t drink much at banquets, only taking polite sips. If they were refilled after finishing a cup, it would appear overly familiar and show too much importance placed on the banquet.
This in itself was a political signal. If Master Janis considered Eivass an unimportant guest, she would have signaled Isabel to maintain distance. But now, it seemed to be more than just one or two cups. Looking at the two empty wine bottles on the table… had the three of them drunk two bottles of wine?
The servants of the Silver and Tin Hall would certainly sell this information. Sherlock knew… some of them were connected to certain ministers or knight families. Sometimes, he himself would purchase information from them.
In other words.
By tomorrow morning at the latest, the information that Princess Isabel favored Eivass Moriarty would be on the desks of several ministers.
Young and promising…
As Sherlock thought this, a sudden idea struck him:
…Speaking of which.
Previously, the princess had played the role of Little Eivass’s mother in the ritual… Could she still be in character?
“Speaking of which, Mr. Sherlock. I heard that you and Chief Inspector Edward went to handle some cases? Have you eaten dinner? Why don’t you sit down and have something.”
“…I dare not.”
Sherlock quickly declined politely.
However, he symbolically took a piece of bread and held it in his hand, indicating that he had accepted the food offered by the princess. He knew it was past the princess’s usual rest time and that she had certainly already eaten. He would not dare to let Princess Isabel accompany him for a meal because of his own needs. If his father found out about this, he would probably get a good scolding.
Thinking of this, Sherlock suddenly noticed the princess’s slightly upturned lips and realized that she might indeed have had a bit too much to drink.
…It seems like she’s deliberately teasing me now.
Previously, in the dream, as the only experienced senior in the group, he had reprimanded the naive “Lulu” several times. Basically, he was the one doing all the talking, and she had no room to retort. But now, in reality… here in the Silver and Tin Hall, their roles were completely reversed.
There was nothing that could be done. After all, he was the one who had proactively revealed his identity… he couldn’t blame her.
But Sherlock soon found himself in a difficult situation. If it were just the princess and Master Janis, he could have spoken his mind freely. He could also have reminded Master Janis about the “Fox” gentleman, who seemed somewhat dangerous and mysterious.
…But Eivass was still here. Although Sherlock thought highly of Eivass, he could not spontaneously disclose Princess Isabel’s private information in front of an outsider. This was, after all, something only he and Isabel knew. If he were to reveal it here, would it imply that he would also leak, or even sell, the princess’s personal information outside? Sherlock was loyal to Queen Sophia, so he naturally could not do anything that would harm the royal family.
…But here’s the problem. Sherlock, who had always spoken his mind directly, how could he now explain the motivation behind his investigation into the Sweater Brotherhood?
So Sherlock thought for a moment and came up with an answer that only Isabel could understand:
“I learned from a rather unreliable gentleman about the gathering point of a group of stranglers in the Lloyd District.”
Sherlock said in a deep voice, implying: “They might be related to the mastermind behind the Pelican Bar. I considered it too risky to go alone, so I invited my friend Edward Moriarty to accompany me.”
“Then, what were the results of the investigation?”
Eivass suddenly interjected, appearing very interested in the topic.
“It went smoothly. It was indeed the gathering place of a group of stranglers called the ‘Sweater Brotherhood.’ We also found a batch of Alchemical Bombs.”
“It seems,” Eivass said with a smiling face, “that the ‘rather unreliable gentleman’ is quite reliable after all.”
Sherlock did not commit to this, and after a moment of silence, he added: “However, after a simple interrogation, they themselves did not know what the bombs were. They were merely paid to guard the goods.”
“I suspect their mastermind has contact with the customs officials. Because this batch of bombs came through official channels from customs—Edward and I specially investigated this afternoon, and this shipment had official signatory documents and an inspection-passed label.”
The detective with black curly hair and an often languid expression looked full of confidence: “This is very important information, a crucial breakthrough. Following this clue, we immediately obtained the logistics batch and arrival time of the remaining bombs. If we continue to investigate, we can use this time to ascertain all the receiving personnel from the customs department that day.”
“Your Highness Isabel, I can even say this—this case is now solved. The remaining work is merely repetitive, technically undemanding investigation.”
He did not hide anything from Eivass because there was no need. The other participant in this case was Eivass’s elder brother. He was not the type to stick to rules, and if Eivass asked, he would definitely tell him.
“…Also, Your Highness Isabel. The identity of ‘Bone Sculpture’ has been largely locked down, and we haven’t started investigating ‘Fox’ yet.”
Sherlock respectfully asked, “Should we go after Bone Sculpture or Fox next?”
He had not yet written the report. But once he wrote it and submitted it to the queen, she would likely ask him to consider the princess’s opinion… This matter involved Princess Isabel’s own Advancement Ritual. Only she and Sherlock knew what had happened. With the queen’s wisdom, she would certainly not interfere. At that point, he would still need to consult Isabel for her opinion during his investigation—it would be better to ask now and retain some initiative.
“Let’s go after Bone Sculpture. We need to eliminate potential troublemakers who could endanger Avalon as soon as possible. I will support your investigation. If any part requires a signature, you can come to me.”
Isabel thought for a moment, glanced at Eivass, and vaguely replied, “As for Mr. ‘Fox’… we can put that aside for now.”
Eivass blinked. Isabel was now vaguely suspicious.
But her answer surprised Sherlock. He had indeed not wanted to go after “Fox,” which was why he had deliberately said that “Bone Sculpture’s” identity was almost locked down, hoping to guide Isabel’s decision in this way. After all, in his opinion, Isabel was quite fixated on her “Mr. Fox.”
—Is it because of Eivass?
If so, that would be for the best. Compared to the cunning “Fox,” whose identity was unclear and who was good with words, he had an impression of Eivass as intelligent and decisive, humble, and polite. Furthermore, he greatly respected his professor, Moriarty—his math grades at the time were not that good, and thanks to Professor Moriarty’s tutoring, he was able to maintain his top student status until graduation. It was also thanks to Professor Moriarty’s guidance that Sherlock realized his true talent lay in the Path of Wisdom. He did not truly endorse the principles of the Path of Authority, but the way he rigorously controlled his will and led others’ actions unintentionally fit the Path of Authority.
And the way he met Professor Moriarty was through his friend Edward. Edward was Sherlock’s only close friend in college. Therefore, his evaluation of Eivass was somewhat colored by personal feelings.
“Be careful on your way when you leave,” Janis said, “Do you have a short sword with you, Sherlock?”
“Yes,” Sherlock replied, “Edward brought me one.”
Many spells on the Path of Authority required holding this short sword to be used. This short sword was a symbol of the identity of Avalon’s law enforcers; it represented “Law.” In a sense, its essence was a short sword that could be used as a melee weapon, a special edition staff for the Path of Authority. Edward brought two swords when he left, not because he wanted to dual-wield, but because one was for Sherlock’s self-defense. Sherlock was not an inspector, merely an advisor. He did not carry a sword. If he refused to enter Avalon’s legal system, then most of the Law Spells he learned would be unusable. Those who refused to obey superiors and follow order would be stripped of their power—this was also a characteristic of the Path of Authority.
“That’s good then.”
Janis nodded and said to Eivass, “I’ll have someone deliver that painting to your home later. You two shouldn’t carry it. It’s too dangerous—Sherlock certainly wouldn’t be able to protect it.”
“What painting?”
Sherlock was startled by this and subconsciously asked, “I don’t think there’s a problem with it.” He was, to some extent, a Law Master who was barely at the Fourth Tier, not someone easily provoked by petty thieves.
“It’s ‘The Golden Dawn’,” Eivass replied softly from his wheelchair, his voice gentle, “Master Janis and I had a very pleasant conversation, and she decided to give me this painting.”
Sherlock froze for a moment, then was suddenly shocked. His face clearly showed astonishment, and the incomprehensible reality made his brain go blank for a moment.
—”The Golden Dawn”?!
Was a national treasure-level artwork like this something that could be given away just because they had a “pleasant conversation”?!
…Young and promising, young and promising!
Sherlock didn’t know how to evaluate it and could only repeat it in his mind.
