Chapter 1037 Swan King

It wasn't unusual for a child to call himself the Swan Knight.

For Iris, the "Swan Knight" identity is like Spider-Man, Batman, or Superman, who hide their identities behind suits. It's the embodiment of mystery, justice, and invincibility. It's perfectly natural for children to be unable to shake the aura of "I'm actually a mysterious hero who can't reveal my true identity."

But as an adult, he still firmly believes that he is the Swan Knight, which is somewhat related to "The Return of the Dragon King".

And for a prince—or even a king—this was even more outrageous.

At the same time, he was a handsome man with an exceptional temperament. His beauty and grace made him stand out among his brothers and sisters, and anyone who glanced at him would inevitably notice him first—a true manifestation of his exceptional talent for beauty. The entire Iris royal family was endowed with the legacy of beauty; they were no ordinary people, and any one of them would evoke a frenzy of pursuit and admiration.

But they seemed so ordinary in front of this "Swan Prince".

This prince possessed an extraordinary sensibility and intuition, and when he was only a teenager he was able to offer extremely sharp criticisms of masterpieces of art; despite his beautiful and charming appearance, he was indifferent to sex.

When he was beheaded, he had left no offspring, just like the Swan Knight parting with his wife on their wedding night... Even though he was married, he was still the "Virgin King."

This is undoubtedly an artist who is eccentric, gentle, beautiful, pure, elegant, and crazy.

The perfect creation of the Twin Mirror, the embodiment of the Apostle of Beauty.

The only problem was that he became a secular king.

Some people worship him fanatically, but many more envy him. Endless malice constantly attacks him.

Politics is the art of compromise, but this proud Swan King refuses to compromise—he always responds to others' malice with the most radical attitude. He is also overly sensitive, and can understand the other person's true intentions and true feelings just by seeing their face, eyes, or hearing their voice.

If the Swan King senses ill will in someone, he will immediately turn hostile: he will have a giant flower placed before the visitor so that he doesn't have to see their face. If he realizes they are taking advantage of him, he will improvise a sharp and poignant poem and give it to them as they leave.

If anyone asked him to do something unjust, he would immediately turn away; even if other nobles or even his own relatives asked him for favors, he would turn his door away and not even see them. He would rather write poetry in his room or sing on the balcony... like a canary trapped in the palace.

To him, most people are boring. Only the purest ones...artists or children can arouse his interest.

Because of this, his enemies increased in number. Almost all the nobles were deliberately resisting his orders, and almost all the officials were delaying his policies - either because they did not want to do so or because they did not dare to do so.

The government's efficiency was getting slower and slower, or rather, the nobles' efficiency in "targeting the monarch" was getting higher and higher. Finally, the fire of poverty finally ignited the petals of the iris, causing it to wither and die.

This overly noble king was completely incompatible with his nobles. He was unwilling to dirty his hands with dirty deeds, and was even unwilling to execute anyone—not even ministers who openly opposed him. He still hoped to influence people to change their decisions through speeches, songs, and poems.

"It's as if he doesn't live in reality, but in a fairy tale."

Sherlock said slowly.

This monarch seemed to believe that if he spoke words of truth that moved people, the wicked would repent and the good would be inspired. His worldview was completely different from others... like Don Quixote, lost in his own fantasy. Perhaps it wasn't that he couldn't see the real world, but rather that he didn't want to see it.

"Under the guidance of public opinion, the people, not knowing who to put the blame on, gave this monarch a new nickname: the Mad King.

"—But even so, people still loved this eccentric monarch.

"Because he was like a true knight. After taking office, he almost abolished all taxes in the country and even tried to solve cases seriously like a king in a fairy tale. After he was assassinated three times by assassins disguised as criminals, this entertainment activity was abolished by his queen.

Later, he tried to go undercover, investigating corruption and corruption in various places—but he had few close associates, so all his "secret travels" were essentially staged. Wherever he went, he only met actors, and he was keenly aware of hypocrisy, so after a few attempts, he lost interest.

"—After the people of Iris rebelled twice, only to be suppressed... the mad king suddenly had a crazy idea."

Sherlock sighed slightly when he said this.

It was a sigh of regret, as well as disapproval and regret.

"He believed that a popular rebellion against the nobility would only be met with brutal repression. He himself was powerless... He didn't know how many loyal people he had, so he planned to use this method to 'test' them.

"It's like a common plot in opera—for example, in a drama about a family inheritance, the head of a family fakes his own death to reveal who his truly filial son is; or the monarch fakes his own death to determine who his loyal subjects are. He wants to find out who among his own people is truly trustworthy by faking his own death.

"—and therefore he sought to direct this rebellion against himself."

Hearing this, Aiwass couldn't hold it in any longer.

Mainly because he and Sherlock both faked their own deaths...

When I heard this, I felt inexplicably ashamed.

"I remember... you said that Xi Tiansi was behind this matter?"

Aiwass asked, "Is this the part?"

"That's right, Xi Tiansi is the second driving force behind this."

Sherlock nodded. "The three dukes all knew this was just the monarch's scheme—they all learned the truth from Xi Tiansi. If the dukes attempted to seize power, the Mad King would be powerless to resist. Therefore, the three Grand Dukes, who always maintained a neutral attitude and possessed a kingdom within a kingdom, were the most reliable... Conversely, without their consent, the rebels would never have been able to reach the capital. After all, Iris's military and security powers were essentially in the hands of the three Grand Dukes.

"And precisely because of this... they didn't take the rebellion seriously. The nobles couldn't imagine their monarch would take such a dangerous action—so even though some heard about it, they still refused to believe it. But regardless of whether they believed it or not, they were playing the role of loyal subjects, trying to stop the rebellion to demonstrate their loyalty and tease their monarch... but it was all a complete sham, shouting loudly but without any real effort.

"In the end, because no one put in any effort, the rebellion actually succeeded. That 'hot-blooded young man Louisoix' simply captured the Swan King and beheaded him.

"Later, the young man mysteriously disappeared. No one knew which faction he belonged to... Iris lost its monarch without anyone being prepared. And those nobles who had been shouting so loudly were also eliminated by the increasingly fanatical crowd. This time, the Grand Dukes still did not take action, and the people did not dare to take action against these dukes who truly controlled the legions.

"——The question is, who does this young man who suddenly appeared belong to?

"Some believe he's descended from one of the three Grand Dukes, others believe he's one of Hawkeye's men, some believe he's a blood slave of the Moon Child, and still others believe he's a foreigner... perhaps a spy for Star Antimony. Because of this man's existence, the three Grand Dukes are wary of each other to this day... and all those investigating this young man have mysteriously disappeared.

"This is the matter that His Excellency the Duke has entrusted me to investigate."

Sherlock gave the full account of what had happened.

Update completed meow!

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(End of this chapter)