Chapter 378: Everyone is talking about their own things
Glass Island, side hall of the Arbitration Hall.
The noble lady with long black hair was sitting elegantly and calmly on the interrogation chair.
Her hands were placed in front of her, her slender fingers interlaced, bound by silver-white triangular shackles of light. Her feet were also placed together, bound by the same triangle of light.
The gorgeous dress she had been wearing was obviously not suitable for this occasion, and had now been taken off and put away by Ligeia.
Aleister was wearing a black turtleneck sweater on the upper body, and only the pants and boots under the skirt were exposed on the lower body.
She was looking at the man in front of her with a half-smile. The blond man sat across from the interrogation table.
"Miss Crawley..."
Great Guardian George clenched his left fist, while his right hand held his left fist.
Before him stood an oil lamp, the wick burning with a brilliant, silvery-white flame that remained incredibly steady.
This is the "fire of truth" used to detect lies. It is expensive and stable.
If you tell a lie within the range of a light, the flame will tremble; the more false the lie, the more violently the flame will tremble.
This prop is only used in interrogations of "foreign nobles" like Aleister Crowley, who are of noble status and cannot use brutal means to directly obtain testimony.
His sharp Adam's apple slid up and down a few times, and he said in a deep voice: "Can I call you that?"
"Please, sir. You can just call me Aleister."
Aleister replied softly, his attitude unusually friendly, which made the Great Guardian feel a little relieved.
——He actually didn’t want to come.
George was well aware of Her Majesty's attitude towards the Queen.
He knew who this suddenly appearing "Ligeia" was, and whose lifespan had been extended. He also knew that this outstanding young man, Aiwas Moriarty, would become a key minister of Avalon. The sight of those old knights vying for fame and fortune was so ugly that he couldn't help but frown, and even considered causing trouble for the Queen's personally appointed Minister without Portfolio...
In this case, the Great Guardian's personal inclination in this incident is self-evident.
——But from another perspective, Aleister Crowley's identity as a spy certified by both Star Antimony and Iris made his stay or departure more difficult.
"You shouldn't have told those things to the reporters."
The Great Guardian said, half warning, half regretful: "There is no turning back now."
"It sounds like you want to protect me, Lord Guardian."
Aleister's mouth curled up slightly: "Come to think of it, I thought you were going to lock me up in the dungeon."
"No, because I trust you."
George answered firmly.
Such a decisive answer made Aleister a little stunned for a moment.
"Oh...can I ask why this is happening?"
"In fact, Miss Crawley, it was my suggestion that you were originally appointed as a royal spy."
The Great Guardian said calmly.
Hearing this, Aleister opened his eyes wide in surprise: "Is that so?"
"Yes. Because I can see that you and Noble Red are not of the same kind."
The Great Guardian whispered, "It all started after the arrest of former Minister Droste. The Noble Red took the Star Antimony people's money and wanted to rescue or eliminate Droste in order to preserve their intelligence network."
"Your act of assassinating Droste proved that you two are not of the same kind."
George's eyes were blazing: "I have always believed that words can be lies and evidence can be fabricated. Only the perspective and cognition hidden behind the actions can prove a person's position.
"Even if you truly are a Starling spy, you definitely don't belong to the same faction as the Noble Red. The fact that the Starlings are selling your information at this very moment actually proves their stance—no matter who you are or where you come from, they don't want you to remain in Avalon."
"...Oh, it was the time when the Supervisory Bureau was attacked."
Aleister recalled.
She laughed and said, "I almost forgot."
George nodded. "Yes, we even mistook you for Lily, Aiwass's personal maid."
"That's not wrong."
Aleister said lightly, "I do know Lily, and we have a good relationship. Before and after that incident, when I hid 'Evans Moriarty', Lily was with me."
The Great Guardian could keenly sense that what Aleister said was true. After all, he was a fifth-level transcendent of the Path of Authority, so he had this intuition.
But just in case, he still glanced at the light. The silvery-white flame was incredibly stable.
...Or rather, ever since he met Aleister, this young lady has never told a lie.
She possessed a calm demeanor, not one of forced composure or feigned innocence, but rather the composure of someone who, knowing full well that she had done nothing wrong, was completely unafraid of the power of authority to detect lies.
"You first appeared in the Pelican Bar when you saved Aiwass."
The Great Guardian wrote in his notebook as he asked, "Was it you that time too? Or did you dispatch the Shadow Fiend to save Aiwass from the Noble Red?"
"In fact, the Shadow Demon was following Aiwass at the time, hiding in his shadow."
Aleister chuckled and said calmly, "It's only because he was in a wheelchair that he wasn't discovered. You may not know that when you sit in a chair like a wheelchair with footrests, especially one that doesn't directly touch the ground, the shadow demon hidden in the shadows cannot be detected."
“…We really don’t know that.”
The Great Guardian nodded sincerely and wrote down these words, noting "supernormal knowledge" next to them.
"The special bullet with shadow damage he used to kill that bald woman with purple skin came from the power I drew from the Shadow Demon."
Aleister knew everything and volunteered, "However, Shadow Demon didn't take any direct action in that incident. He was only responsible for destroying some of the evidence."
"When did you first become acquainted with Edwards Moriarty, Miss Crawley?"
"Oh, that's too early..."
Aleister looked up, lost in memories.
She thought for a moment and answered affirmatively, "About three years ago."
——This refers to the time when she was drawn into the game “Ouroboros” by her screenwriter friend.
If we start counting from the time she awakened her past life memories, then it was indeed three years ago.
The candle flame flickered slightly for a moment, and the Great Guardian noticed it, but he did not ask directly.
He continued, "During middle school... what was the turning point?"
"A friend's recommendation," Aleister replied.
The Great Guardian's writing suddenly paused.
He looked up and repeated, "Friends?
"Who is he? What's his occupation? What's his name?"
"Oh, he's a screenwriter. Just an ordinary person, not a superhuman. Not a Star Antimony either."
Aleister smiled and said, "He spoke highly of Aiwass, so I became curious."
"man?"
The Great Guardian determined from the part of speech that the friend Aleister was talking about was a man: "What is your relationship with him?"
"We're roommates, I guess." Aleister said lightly.
The Great Guardian coughed lightly, realizing something. "Oh, my apologies... but I still have to ask, where does he live now?"
"I haven't seen him in ages, I don't think he's in this world."
Aleister said softly, "He has nothing to do with this matter. After all, he has never actually met Aiwass, and I didn't fall in love with Aiwass because of what he said. This was just an opportunity."
Her words were mixed with genuine sadness and nostalgia.
"...Well, my condolences."
The Great Guardian lowered his head, feeling his conscience condemned.
He just felt like a bad person for constantly questioning himself.
He reviewed Aleister's testimony. Aside from a few omissions regarding the time he knew Aiwass, but not much... the rest was completely true.
"One last question, Aleister."
The Great Guardian raised his head seriously and asked, "What do you think of Avalon? Do you harbor any ill will towards Avalon, Queen Sofia, Princess Isabel, Aiwas Moriarty, and his family and friends? Or do you harbor any intentions that are unknown to them and that might endanger their lives or property?"
This is the real question he wants to ask.
Now the queen was in a coma and unable to offer advice, and Ligeia's message was "You decide."
The Great Guardian pondered over and over again before finally deciding on this final issue.
He wanted to leave some room for both parties, at least to prevent good friends and collaborators from becoming enemies. That's why he didn't ask every question thoroughly.
Because the most important question is this last one.
——Are we friends?
(End of this chapter)
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