Chapter 104: The Hanging King Tudor III
"...Haina-senpai?"
Aiwass was a little surprised: "Is it such a coincidence?"
He knew that Haina came from a small place, and it was probably a town with not very developed business.
The best evidence is that she doesn't know how to put on makeup and has basically no knowledge of skin care and dressing.
Haina's popularity among so many classmates was entirely due to her solid foundation. Her daily attire consisted of a light brown shirt and a brown leather vest. Her only jewelry was a leather wristband embroidered with a diamond pattern.
——Not to mention girls, even boys wouldn't dress like this these days. It looks more like a mercenary or explorer exploring remote areas hundreds of years ago.
But unexpectedly, his biological father Julio was also from that place.
"It's not a coincidence..."
Sherlock's eyes were dull, and his face was even pale. He staggered to the table and rummaged through the honey jar. "Where's the honey...?"
"Are you hypoglycemic, Sherlock?"
Mrs. Mina was the first to react. She poured Sherlock a cup of slightly warm black tea and then added several spoonfuls of honey.
Sherlock drank it all in one gulp, exhaled deeply, and then slumped down in a chair. The others remained silent, their heads raised, and stared at him silently, motionless.
It took him a long time to recover.
Sherlock leaned back and subconsciously reached for his breast pocket—there should have been a pocket there, containing his cigars or cigarettes. But he found nothing.
"Why are you all looking at me like that?"
As if to ease the awkwardness, he said it coldly.
Seeing this familiar attitude, Aiwass was sure that he was really well.
"I suppose you would like some hot brandy, Mr. Sherlock?"
Bishop Mathers asked.
"Thank you very much," Sherlock, who usually doesn't drink, surprisingly didn't refuse at this moment. "If it's okay, please give me some more cookies."
Just a cup of honey black tea could only wake him up, but it was not enough to put him into his usual high-intensity thinking state.
Madam Mina nodded: "I'll get it right away."
"Bishop," the man with messy black hair asked in his dreamy, light voice, "Do you smoke?"
"Thank you, I don't smoke."
Bishop Mathers calmly replied, "And you shouldn't smoke either. Illumination's healing isn't completely without side effects. It burns away the pain within you, filling it with only false light. Your body needs to function on its own to replenish and restore its losses."
"I know, damn it. I mean...never mind..."
Sherlock was a little annoyed, his words still a little confusing: "I can drink, but I can't smoke. This doesn't make sense..."
"Of course," Bishop Mathers' voice, rhythmic and cadenced like reciting scripture, sounded. "Actually, the main reason is that I don't like people smoking. Especially in my home—I'm very sensitive to the smell of smoke and it makes me sneeze."
"Well, I respect your custom, Your Excellency... Thank you, Madam Mina."
Sherlock took the biscuit from Madam Mina.
Mina explained softly, her voice gentle, "The wine is heating up, eat some cookies first."
"Thank you," Sherlock said softly, "I'm fine now. Consuming too much sugar in a short period of time can make you dizzy."
While chewing his biscuits, he slowly explained to Aiwass, "I've investigated you and Haena before. She came to the Royal Law University to attend classes because she knew your grandfather before.
"Your grandfather's name was Jacob. He was a little-known poet, but he also wrote fairy tales and novels. Long ago, he was a local reporter for The Cow and the Harbor, a newspaper published in Pastoral Bay County. During his time as a reporter, Jacob came into contact with many extraordinary people. He even personally witnessed the founding of the predecessor of Noble Red."
"Noble Red?"
Hearing the familiar term, Aiwass frowned slightly and repeated in a low voice.
Sherlock scoffed subconsciously. "You might not believe this... The original Noble Red Society was just a gathering of illegal transcendents who had transcended the Dao, where they gathered to keep each other warm. Back then, they weren't called that. They were called the 'Scaleless Hand,' meaning 'those without armor.'"
"Her Majesty Sophia had not yet ascended the throne at that time, and the king was still Tudor III."
As he spoke, his tone gradually became sharper and clearer: "He was known as the 'Hanging King'. The most famous product of the Tudor III era was 'Gallows Square'. The entire square was filled with people who had been hanged, and there were many more gallows than there are today.
"Normally, hanged prisoners were supposed to be hung in public after their death, but in the Tudor era, there were sometimes not enough hanged prisoners - those hanged that day were taken down to make room for the next.
"At that time, other forms of capital punishment had not yet been abolished, and hanging was just one of many forms of capital punishment. According to the laws of Avalon, the death penalty required the signature of the king or queen to be carried out. The laws enacted by Tudor III were extremely harsh. Stealing more than fourteen red candles at a time could result in the death penalty - a number that was not even enough to cover one white crown.
Because this threshold is so low, many judges will alter prisoners' testimonies, raising the theft amount to 13 red candles and 9 bronze hourglasses to prevent too many executions. Ironically, this threshold only results in ten days of detention. Once the thief's detention period ends, the judge will immediately send them back to prison to make up the missing amount—essentially, splitting the original theft amount into multiple prison terms."
"That's true."
Bishop Mathers nodded. "There was a joke that was popular when I was a kid: A thief was told by the judge, 'You will be sentenced to eleven days' imprisonment.' The thief burst into tears and said he didn't want to die, and asked the judge for mercy. The judge asked in confusion, 'It's only eleven days' imprisonment, it shouldn't be that serious, right?'"
"And then?" Aiwass asked with interest.
By the time he was that age, he no longer heard the joke.
The bishop smiled and continued in a vivid manner, "The thief said, 'You must have just taken office. As everyone knows, our King can only count to ten. If he exceeds ten, he will be so anxious that he will kill people.' There is also a joke about a bishop and a king: The bishop advised the king that we should make friends and eliminate our enemies. The king nodded."
"'Thank you for your teachings. I have always followed this path, and today I have no enemies,' the king said devoutly. 'I have killed all those who came before me.'"
"...Sounds like a tyrant."
Aiwass commented sharply.
His words were actually against the rules of Avalon. However, among those present, Sherlock was the only one who had walked the path of authority and did not hold any official title, so no one had any objections.
Sherlock even nodded in agreement, saying, "So we praise Her Majesty Sophia. The many policy reforms she implemented after ascending the throne have greatly eased the tension in Avalon. Conversely, it is precisely because of people's dislike for the old king that they enthusiastically support Her Majesty the Queen."
"Without such a foundation, the political resistance Her Majesty would have to face would have been enormous if she had wanted to carry out so many reforms in a short period of time."
“But even so,” Bishop Mathers added, “there was still much resentment against the Crown.”
"The Noble Red Society is a product of that period."
Sherlock said as he reached out and took the hot wine from Madam Mina.
"Didn't I recall you saying 'never drink', Sherlock?"
Aiwass raised his eyebrows.
Sherlock nodded. "I don't take alcohol as a drink; it only damages my brain. But when I'm feeling down, I'll drink a glass of hot brandy. I take it as medicine."
"I guess you had a headache this morning? This should be a good treatment. I added a lot of apple juice, cinnamon powder, ginger slices, and lemon peel. In addition to being refreshing, it should also dispel the cold. You caught a bit of a cold yesterday..."
Madam Mina said softly, "If it were stewed a little longer, it would probably taste better. But it should taste good now."
"Praise you, Mrs. Mina."
Sherlock bowed his head solemnly in thanks, smiling as he complimented her cooking: "I could smell the aroma from a great distance away. Whoever marries you must be very lucky."
"Indeed, I was lucky to be able to pursue Mina."
Bishop Mathers smiled complacently and said, "Now I am very happy every day... I really hope it can continue like this."
Aiwass then asked, "What happened next, Sherlock? How did those spontaneous organizations of civilian supernatural beings become Noble Red?"
"It seems you already know that the Noble Red Society is backed by the Star Antimony people... And I guess Edward didn't tell you who the Noble Red Society's top leaders are. So I'll tell you on his behalf. You should know this by now."
Sherlock raised an eyebrow, took a sip of hot cider and said softly, "Your grandfather Jacob was a ritual mage who transcended the Tao. He was once a member of the 'Scaleless Hand'."
"--What?"
Hearing this, Aiwass suddenly opened his eyes wide.
"Is that so?"
Bishop Mathers was also surprised: "Curse Mage... I haven't heard of this profession in a long time."
(End of this chapter)
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