Chapter 1 Are You Here to Arrest Me?
"Yes, hello... I'm Inspector Haena, who was scheduled to be here yesterday... to investigate the attack on Mr. Aiwas Moriarty."
A young girl in her twenties, dressed in a blue and white uniform, was standing nervously and at a loss in front of the gate of a manor, holding her wide-brimmed hat.
Her brown curly hair was tied back in a ponytail, her nose was high, and her lake-blue eyes were filled with panic as if she had messed up something.
"...S-Sorry, the District Supervisory Bureau has an impromptu supervisory meeting...There was another warehouse explosion in White Queen yesterday. Traces of fire spirit were detected at the scene, and it's suspected that a demonologist was involved. I think it might be the wanted criminal who attacked Mr. Aiwass the day before yesterday!"
As Haina spoke, her voice gradually became smaller and smaller: "So, so..."
"—So you took it upon yourself to attend that supervisory meeting that you weren't actually required to attend, and were late for... two hours and twenty-three minutes?"
The old man's solemn and aged voice echoed from the other side of the iron gate. It was a long, drawn-out tone, the elven accent unique to the people of the capital.
He snapped the jeweled pocket watch in his hand shut, put it back against his chest, and stared at Haena seriously.
Standing opposite Haena was a tall, thin elderly elf wearing a butler's uniform.
The wrinkles on his face reminded people of tree bark, and his dark green eyes were more like a wolf than a lake.
The old elf seemed nearly two meters tall, his hands behind his back, like the ghostly shadow of a dead tree cast in the moonlight at night. His back, straight and motionless, like a pine tree, was filled with a powerful oppressive force.
Although Haena was actually a trainee inspector who hadn't yet graduated, she was still a quasi-official inspector who had passed the graduation assessment early and was ready to receive the Queen's honors at any time. She only wore the trainee badge now because the griffin assigned to her was still on its way to deployment.
Logically speaking, she shouldn't be so afraid of a housekeeper.
But the old man in front of him was different.
Because this old elf butler was his instructor.
Although he followed the ancient covenant and served the Moriarty family as a butler since the founding of the country... at the same time, he was the Inspector General who stepped down eighty years ago.
"—I thought you would be even later, Miss Haena."
The old butler, hands clasped behind his back, spoke in that elf-like voice that always gave Haina a hint of arrogance, "Master Aiwass was attacked by a demonologist the day before yesterday and remained unconscious until last night. But when he heard the Supervisory Bureau was coming to ask some questions, he cooperated and voluntarily gave up going to the Glass Steps Sanatorium. He simply took some medicine and, despite his frail body, waited for you by the stove for two hours. I also waited for you at the door for two hours."
"It's almost dark now. If you're any later, you might as well just wait until tomorrow. Since it's already tomorrow, I don't think there's any need to rush this week of recuperation. According to the rules of the Supervisory Bureau, cases with signed warrants must have a result within a week of filing. Given Ms. Haina's good manners, which allowed her to graduate early, she should be able to find the demonologist without any problems."
"Since the criminal has been arrested, why bother poor Master Aiwass? You should go back. I will explain to Mr. Kent."
Kent was the director of the White Queen District Supervisory Bureau. Even if Haina became a regular employee, Kent would still be three levels higher than her.
If the old housekeeper's tone hadn't been so sarcastic, she would have run away immediately and left this troublesome matter to her superiors. But the problem was, she was still a senior student.
Although she can be said to be a big shot in school, she hasn't graduated yet after all.
She didn't have enough social experience to discern whether the old man was seriously suggesting this or was simply mocking her. But her intuition told her that if the old man hadn't intended to do this, she would have been foolish enough to run away. She was afraid that she would have been in real trouble.
“…I’m really sorry.”
So Haina could only bow her head and apologize: "I will also apologize to Mr. Aiwass."
In any case, I had already made an appointment for the meeting, but I was late for so long without informing him in advance... I was indeed at fault.
She looked at the iron gate that separated her from the old man, and her thoughts began to drift subconsciously again.
The large black hollow iron gate was only decorated with low-key thorn patterns... It didn't look like a famous family.
In fact, Professor Moriarty—the adoptive father of the man implicated in this incident, Edwards Moriarty—was indeed a low-key, steady, wise, and knowledgeable man. He had been a teacher at Haena University, teaching astrology, astronomy, and advanced mathematics.
He inherited the Moriarty Chamber of Commerce, owned three museums, and even funded the construction of the only planetarium in White Queens. Despite his wealth, he quietly pursued his studies at university. He even funded numerous orphanages and adopted many orphans, truly a remarkable and benevolent figure.
The captain had specifically warned her when she arrived that the Moriarty family was not only wealthy but also a founding family with elves serving them. Although the head of the family, Mr. James, had a gentle personality, she still had to be cautious.
According to the rules, any direct participant in a demonic incident, once out of danger, must immediately be escorted to the local supervisory bureau wearing a Discipline Lock and undergo a psychic examination by the Chief Inspector. Only after their innocence is confirmed will they be sent back to the hospital or sanatorium.
This is because the identities of the ritual host, ritual participants, ritual instructors and sacrifices in demonic rituals cannot be simply distinguished by the identity of the victim being "injured or not".
If the sacrifice survived, it meant the ritual had generally failed—although the sacrificed victim might not die, they were usually killed to silence him. Therefore, when someone was injured rather than dead, the injured person might not be the sacrifice, but could also be someone involved in the ritual.
But this rule is now invalid.
Director Kent, like a blind man, completely ignored the clues within reach. It was only when the old butler contacted Director Kent and scheduled a meeting today that he suddenly remembered. Furthermore, when she arrived, the Inspectorate refused to even assign her a lawyer, leaving her alone as a trainee inspector without a griffin, armor, or sword.
Such an obvious cover-up...
Haina felt that even if this matter was really related to Aiwass, she probably couldn't take him away.
But because of such a big fuss, she actually felt that... maybe this matter was really related to the other party.
...That's great.
He was clearly just an adopted civilian orphan. It was only by sheer luck that he was favored and adopted by a professor. Now, he's become a powerful figure that the Supervisory Bureau can't touch...
Standing at the door, Haina was lost in thought, thinking with a sour feeling.
But at this moment, the iron gate suddenly opened slowly.
She looked up in surprise and saw the old man's face, which was still expressionless, but inexplicably seemed less angry.
The old elf looked at her silently, then walked back slowly with his hands behind his back.
Haina was stunned for a moment before realizing that she was being asked to catch up.
So she hurriedly put on the hat she was holding in her arms and hurried to follow. But after taking a few steps, she remembered to turn around and close the door. But when she turned around, she saw that the door of the manor had closed by itself.
Not only that, there were even bright runes lighting up from the inside of the ordinary iron door.
The sunlight slanted, the evening breeze died down, and Haina felt as if something invisible was enveloping the area, changing the atmosphere of the manor.
"I don't mean to cause you any trouble, Miss Haena."
Although the old elf was clearly walking ahead of him, the old man's much gentler voice rang out accurately in his ears: "But when you make an agreement with someone, you must abide by it. The time you agreed to meet must be the time you meet, no need to bring it forward or postpone it. Yes, the consequences of breaking the rules in school may not be so severe, but the school also does not have griffin knights patrolling the streets, no lawyers with armed knights regularly reviewing the tax accounts of various companies - no inspectors like you who can directly arrest suspicious individuals.
"Everyone in this country values 'rules.' The Inspectorate, the Courts of Justice, and the Court of Arbitration safeguard not only the will of Her Majesty the Queen, but also the many rules established by Parliament.
“I will forgive you this time, and I will not tell Mr. Kent about your mistake—I will say that you arrived on time, but after learning what happened, you stayed for two cups of tea and some snacks.
"But it's because Master Aiwass is kind-hearted. When you were an hour late, I had already decided to call the Inspectorate. It was Master Aiwass who stopped me. He said that you have to give people a chance... No matter what excuse you find, you have to meet in person first."
The old elf spoke slowly, and it took him a long time to reach the gate of the manor.
The next moment, his voice lowered slightly, but still rang clearly in Haina's ears: "Although Avalon does not have the so-called 'nobility' of other countries, the descendants of the founders are equally noble. Without the sacrifice of those twenty founders, everyone would die - even the queen must respect the descendants of the founders.
"I sense your sincere apology, so I'll forgive you for breaching your promise. But please consider carefully whether you've offended anyone or stood in their way... As I said, this is an oversight meeting, and your attendance is not required."
Hearing this, Haina was suddenly stunned.
At this time, the old man who had walked to the door turned around gracefully and bowed slightly to Haina: "Please follow me, Miss Haina. The young master has been waiting for a long time."
Only then did he put on the butler's mask to greet the guests.
His previous attitude was more like that of an instructor facing an unmotivated student.
Haina, with her mind in a mess, followed the old elf into the living room.
The touch of the soft carpet beneath her feet startled her, and she looked up to ask if she needed to take off her shoes—but the old elf's calm demeanor made her unsure. So, she could only follow behind with trepidation, feeling the sudden warmth of the fire in the winter.
Only then did she realize that she had made an old man wait at the door for two hours on a winter evening.
Filled with guilt and shame, she didn't know how to speak.
Even the suspicion towards Aiwass was strangely diluted in this confession.
So she met the somewhat bohemian Edwards Moriarty.
He was currently sitting in a wheelchair with a blanket covering his legs.
That pale, frail face was devoid of any color, and he looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, yet his appearance was completely different from Professor Moriarty's handsomeness.
He was dressed in pure white fluffy pajamas, looking as if he had just stepped out of the shower. His smooth platinum hair reflected the warm light of the fire. He was reading quietly and attentively by the fire, his delicate face holding a gentle expression... reminding her of a poet and the roaring fire in her hearth.
That beautiful scene looked like a painting. Haina subconsciously opened her eyes wide.
But at this moment, the boy heard something and turned around nimbly while pushing the wheelchair.
It was only then that Haina noticed that he was sitting in a wheelchair.
...Is this the price of being attacked by a demonologist?
She didn't know when it started, but she instinctively rejected the possibility that the demonologist was Aiwass.
The boy looked over, his deep blue pupils like the sea.
"Ms. Haena."
It was a clear voice that gave people a sense of dignity, a gorgeous voice that matched her appearance.
Compared to his frail face, his voice was more energetic and polite: "Hello, nice to meet you.
"—Excuse me, are you here to arrest me?"
(End of this chapter)
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