Chapter 1040 Everything is calculated
——The Fifteenth Rebellion.
Whether it's the quantity in front or the verb in the back... in any other country, this would be a world-shaking event, causing countless people to panic. And intuitively, it feels like these two words shouldn't be put together at all.
But only in the case of irises does it feel so appropriate.
Not only does it not feel out of place, it even sounds a bit funny.
"--good.
In response to Aiwass's words, the old man known as "Ice Heart Master" simply smiled with satisfaction and calmly admitted, "You guessed right, Aiwass."
Not only did Aiwass's speculation resonate deeply with him... even the word "grandfather" sounded so pleasant to his ears. This solemn and cold old man, who gave off an apathetic and indifferent vibe, now seemed like a normal old man with a touch of kindness.
"Hey, father...?"
Anne, standing beside him, opened her eyes wide in disbelief: "Why...why do we have to do that?"
Her emerald eyes were a different color from Aiwas's dark blue eyes.
As a young lady who had studied abroad in Avalon, she was distinctly different from the other Iris people—she didn't even dare to utter the word "rebellion." For an Iris person who dared to curse the parliament in the streets, this could even be considered cowardice.
"Irises are almost reaching their limit these days."
The old man said bluntly: "If we continue like this, our country will become a laughing stock in the international community. At this point, there are not many effective measures left."
"this……"
Anne and Arsène were speechless.
Sherlock laughed out loud.
His laughter was soft and subdued, but it was very clear in the room because the room was extremely quiet except for the crackling of the fireplace.
The old duke didn't even look back at Sherlock. Instead, he shifted his gaze from Anne to Aiwass, and his tone became calmer: "Besides... time isn't running out, right?"
"……time?"
Anne murmured again.
"really."
Aiwass nodded gently: "Troubled times are coming... The Fallen Angel will not be the last Angel to descend, and the Path of Transcendence will not be the only path to be unlocked."
"...How did you know that?"
Yasen couldn't help but ask his expensive father-in-law.
"Hmph," the old man snorted coldly, "Think about it... If only the Path of Transcendence was freed, the Sand Clock would have already taken action against the Transcendents. He wouldn't allow any one Path to dominate the others... That's against the principle of balance."
"But now the angels of the Sand Clock are silent and have no reaction. I know this will definitely not be the end.
"At the very least... the Celestial Officials from the nine paths will have to descend in turn. Let's not even talk about whether the Celestial Officials from the Path of Beauty and the Path of Love will descend upon Iris, turning it into something like Star Antimony before... Even if they landed somewhere else, the current equilibrium between the two factions in Iris would be disrupted. Wouldn't that just as likely lead to chaos? Think before you speak, Yasen!"
The old duke scolded his son-in-law Yasen.
Obviously, he didn't expect Anne to make any correct, crucial decisions, but he did have high hopes for Yasin's abilities. That's why the old man never reprimanded Anne when she asked the same question, but whenever Yasin asked something he shouldn't have, the old man would immediately criticize him.
Aiwass praised: "I didn't expect that you could see this without knowing anything about the situation in the dream world..."
"Hmph...it's nothing."
The old man closed his eyes slightly and said: "When you grow up, you will understand that everything in this world is ultimately just a matter between people.
"Even those almighty, immortal gods are, at their core, nothing more than specialized 'humans'... Whether they are celestial officials or pillar gods, they are drawn to the essence of the source river and bound by the principles of the Tao. Predicting the intentions of these superiors who can determine the course of history is actually easier than predicting the intentions of mortal emperors... because the former have clear behavioral logic, while mortals themselves don't know what they want, their minds are always chaotic.
"—I am right, Your Holiness."
"Indeed."
Aiwass crossed his fingers on his knees, leaned back on the sofa with his legs crossed, and struck a rather unruly pose.
He didn't correct the "former pope" but simply nodded slightly and said, "Your understanding of the gods is very accurate. Pillar gods are beings with only one type of affinity, while celestial officials have many more. But they also have demands..."
“Anyone who has demands can be exploited.”
The old man continued slowly: "Anything that is expected can be predicted."
"That's right."
Aiwass nodded. "Predicting the future is incredibly difficult. Even the best astrologers and prophets can still predict the future, and placing too much faith in such things can only harm you. But as long as we understand the Pillar God's purpose, we know the direction of the future."
This is just like the nobles and officials in the mortal world.
They certainly couldn't predict the future, but they could gauge the king's personal preferences and the interests of officials within the court. Knowing the direction of these "powerful individuals" indirectly gave them a glimpse into the future.
"So... Father is saying that we need to take away Iris's power?"
Anne frowned slightly. She still couldn't understand why this was happening. "Will Iris Flower get better if we take power?"
"Of course not."
The old man said calmly: "The problems are there. It doesn't matter who comes."
"That……"
"—But we can eliminate the things that cause problems."
The old man's words were cold: "For example, the Son of the Moon."
And Yasen suddenly understood something: "I understand, that's why... the family is cooperating with the Hawkeye organization!"
He was once a member of the Hawkeye organization.
According to Hawkeye's principle of "leaving the organization without permission is considered treason," he should have been executed long ago by Hawkeye's "Discipline Enforcers"—assassins specialized in pursuit, one-on-one combat, and counter-stealth. They were assassins who specialized in executing assassins. Even a fourth-level assassin could single-handedly defeat a fifth-level assassin, and they were a crucial component of Hawkeye's cohesion.
Only when people realize that the "rules" can be guaranteed to be enforced will they believe in and abide by the "rules".
It was because of the Duke of Vendôme's connections that he was able to continue living.
Now, it is probably because of the Duke of Vendôme's permission... that he can obtain the "Blade of Separation of All Things"!
Thinking of this, Yasen looked at Sherlock who was drinking tea slowly.
He suddenly understood why Sherlock was not afraid.
The old duke had understood everything long before Shylock's letter was mailed. The old man's intelligence far exceeded his own expectations, so much so that the code that Yassen had previously thought the old man might not know or understand had probably been deciphered before it was even mailed.
That's probably the case... Even if the Duke of Vendôme himself couldn't understand it, there were other capable people in the Duke's Palace. They couldn't crack the secret of the Third Rebel, but that didn't mean they couldn't understand the code in a letter.
However, because Sherlock saved the old man's face and did not choose to tear his face apart and ask for help directly... the old duke also chose to give Sherlock a favor and decided to let him go. So after that, he was able to get the dagger he had been asking for for a long time - it was because the old duke felt that "the time had come" that he finally gave it to him!
Thinking of this, a hint of fear appeared in Yasen's eyes.
Only now did he realize why the process of obtaining the dagger was so smooth for him, and why no one came to hunt him down even when he was dreaming... It was because of the old duke's permission.
The old duke wanted to release Sherlock, but since Sherlock's letter had already been sent, if he let him go directly, it would seem as if he was afraid of Sherlock; he needed a stepping stone, so letting Yasen go to the dream world to find Sherlock was a very appropriate thing to do.
On the other hand, his failure to stop Yasen from going deeper into the dangerous dream world was also a punishment for him for "betraying his family" and "acting arbitrarily"!
He tried to release an important prisoner held by his family, which was undoubtedly a betrayal to his family; and when he was about to enter the dream world, he had not investigated how to enter the dream world from other people's dreams, nor did he know the specific information about the dream world. This was arrogant, ignorant and frivolous.
Everything is within the old man’s calculations!
(End of this chapter)
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