Chapter 399 Pretend, and then pretend
The process of delivering Aiwass's reply from the time it was put into the briefcase to the time it was handed over to the Privy Councilor who was meeting in the Round Table Room took no more than twenty minutes.
The Minister of Camelot took a deep breath and felt something buzzing in his head as soon as he opened and glanced at the reply letter.
Blood pressure, blood pressure is rising!
Instead of using Isabel's signature, Aiwass signed his own name directly.
——But in fact, there is no essential difference.
After all, this was a document submitted to Her Majesty the Queen according to procedure, and Isabel wasn't even on Glass Island at the moment. According to Avalon's rules, such matters would rather be delayed and formal approval would have to wait until Isabel returned.
Aiwass was not the Lord Chancellor of the Great Seal, so logically he had no right to see these documents.
Not only did he read it, he did not even hide it and signed his name on behalf of the Queen to approve it. There was no doubt that it was Queen Isabella who granted the authority of the Minister of the Great Seal to Aiwass.
In theory, the Minister without Portfolio can indeed do this.
He may be temporarily regarded as Minister of any department, so long as he has the Queen's direct authority.
But it was not until he saw this reply that Minister Camelot finally understood one thing—
——Queen Isabel has indeed been sidelined by Minister Moriarty!
Before this, the Minister of Camelot was actually a little unsure... Is Isabel's behavior so abrupt and abnormal because her previous behavior was a disguise, or is someone teaching her to do this?
In other words...
It was Minister Moriarty. Was he the young queen's favorite, or the powerful official who controlled the entire Avalon behind the scenes?
Now it seems that it is probably the latter.
But how to say it...
The Minister of Camelot breathed a sigh of relief.
He also watched Isabel grow up.
If I say that all that happened before was just Isabel's performance, and that her nature is that cold, rational, and strong, then that would be too hurtful... This is equivalent to telling you clearly that I have been wary of you before, but now I don't have to act anymore.
And now it can finally be confirmed that this is just a remote command from Minister Moriarty, who is like a string manipulator.
But, on the other hand… it wasn't the thoughtful Queen who had plotted against them. Even if these old folks were to compete with the youngsters from a distance, it would still be very difficult.
Minister Camelot remembered Aiwass's gentle smile, always with narrowed eyes. He looked like a cunning fox.
He felt a chill down his spine.
Aiwass is only eighteen years old this year...
To the Minister of Camelot, he was still just a child. His grandsons were much older than Aiwass.
...That being said.
My own position...
Minister Camelot pondered silently as he closed the letter he had read and placed it back in his briefcase. He sat upright, listening to the chaos and noise in the Round Table Hall, his eyes narrowed as he remained silent.
"Is Minister Moriarty still unable to get out of bed?"
The ministers around him complained in dissatisfaction: "Your Majesty has already left, what excuse can he have for saying he is not in good health?"
Then, ambiguous laughter was heard from the Round Table Hall.
"Maybe I'm shy."
"Maybe he was frightened yesterday. I heard the murder scene was pretty brutal."
Someone casually said, "Or maybe young people just feel they can't have anything to talk about with us."
"Don't think so," someone else chuckled, seemingly explaining gently, "Perhaps little Aiwass knows he's just a minister without a department, so he simply didn't come to the meeting. After all, being a minister is just a nominal position."
"In that case, he's quite polite. He won't ask for something that's not his."
"After all, he is the adopted son of the Moriarty family. It's normal for him to be more sensible than his peers."
"Well, I'm already the head of the family. Your Majesty should also call me Sir Moriarty..."
Voices that seemed friendly but were actually malicious rang out from all directions.
This was basically the atmosphere in the Round Table Room, where Her Majesty the Queen was not present.
Rather than serious discussions of state affairs, these discussions were more like idle chats or arguments on the street. If it weren't for the Chief Knight suppressing them, they would fight several times a week.
Even with the Chief Knight's suppression, there are always knights who make enemies in the Round Table Hall and decide to duel every year.
"--quiet!"
The first great guardian rang the bell in front of him with a stern face and an unhappy expression.
His voice echoed throughout the Round Table Hall, and the knights fell silent again.
They didn't actually know Aiwass, so naturally, they had no grudges against him. They simply felt that Aiwass had had it too easy as a minister, and that both Sofia and Isabel had shown him obvious favoritism, which made them feel a little unbalanced.
To most knights, Isabel's choice of Edwards Moriarty, the new Minister without Portfolio, who was younger than herself, as her sole "team" was tantamount to admitting she had no helpers or confidants. This was actually a very humble attitude, meaning "everything is negotiable, I need people's support."
That was why they were so confused after Isabel attended that round table meeting and showed an unusually tough attitude.
...But soon some smart people suddenly realized that those who were mocking Aiwass at this moment were almost all ministers and knights from the High Building Faction.
However, the ministers of the Chocolate Faction, headed by Minister Camelot, remained unusually silent.
So they all gradually kept quiet.
The only ones who were still shouting like clowns were the high-rise knights who were close to Lloyd's - there were not many ministers among them, and most of them were honorary knights from the Arbitration Court.
In Avalon, anyone who reaches the fourth level of the Path of Authority, whether joining the Court of Arbitration or remaining in the Court of Justice, automatically becomes a Knight. Consequently, this faction is comprised primarily of commoners. They possess no real power, merely access to the Round Table. They are also the knights most easily lured by Lloyd's financial sedition.
All the powerful ministers of the Chocolate Faction, who were high up in the world and came from noble backgrounds, all looked visibly ugly today... one could even say they were afraid.
——Others may not know, but they all know it clearly.
Just yesterday afternoon, Minister Griffith had expressed clear and obvious hostility toward Aiwass during a small gathering at the Chocolate Pie. Few ministers are without their shrewdness—the others, sensing a sense of discomfiture, cautiously avoided responding, simply watching Griffith's performance.
At that time they thought that this was someone sent by Aiwass to fish!
But not even a day had passed... Griffith was assassinated yesterday evening.
——And Aiwass, who was originally "unwell" in the Round Table Room, suddenly appeared in this news as a "helpful passerby".
You're so fucking enthusiastic!
The knights thought to themselves.
You usually never leave the Silver and Tin Palace—you're either at 14 Ronin Street, Moriarty Manor, the Silver and Tin Palace, or the Royal Law University. Aiwass rarely dines at places like these where other ministers gather...and he even inexplicably invited a young reporter, with whom he had no prior contact, to dinner.
That reporter isn't even a transcendent!
There is definitely something wrong here - although they can't explain why and there is absolutely no evidence, the strong sense of incongruity makes them dare not say a word and can only remain silent.
After the morning's routine meeting, these elite ministers gathered again at the Minister of Camelot's house.
Minister Camelot simply remained silent and presented two reply letters to the ministers.
"Take a look, everyone."
The Minister of Camelot sighed.
The first was the reply letter that Aiwass wrote to him yesterday in the name of Isabel, signed with Isabel's name at the end; the second was Aiwass's order written by Lily on his behalf and just handed to him.
After the ministers circulated it, their expressions became complicated.
On the one hand, it was because of the existence of "informers" within the Chocolate Pie, and on the other hand, it was because of the admiration and even fear of Aiwass.
“…I actually have a question.”
The Minister of Education looked at the reply letter in his hand with a serious and solemn expression: "Your Majesty's reply letter... is she really the one who wrote it?"
It was obvious that Isabel was now completely controlled by Aiwass. So it was possible that this letter was written by Aiwass.
"It doesn't matter."
Minister Camelot said frankly, "Even if it was written by His Majesty, Minister Moriarty would have certainly reviewed it. In other words, Minister Moriarty must have known what Lord Griffith had said. That is to say... when Minister Moriarty saw Lord Griffith's body, he already knew of his hostility toward him and his adopted sister."
"And now he demands to verify this matter himself—I urge you to distance yourself from this matter as much as possible. Minister Moriarty is by no means an incompetent person who only argues with us in the Round Table; he is a more ruthless character than 'that prince'."
He was referring here to Prince Lloyd of two hundred years ago.
“Isn’t that your problem?”
Someone asked Minister Camelot in a sarcastic tone.
After all, they were a very small group, consisting of only a dozen or so members, all elite, less than one-fifth the size of the Gaolou Clan. They undoubtedly considered each other their partners. And within such a small group, a leaker had appeared—naturally, it would have made the others feel betrayed.
If Old Camelot doesn't handle it well, it will undoubtedly affect his status within this small group.
But Camelot simply scoffed fearlessly, "So what? This undoubtedly demonstrates our loyalty to His Majesty and Avalon."
"If we hadn't noticed something was wrong and reported it immediately, if this had been discovered first, do you know what we would have faced?"
What he was referring to was the demonic magic circle in Minister Griffith's basement.
Minister Camelot's words tied the non-existent "whistleblower" to himself - and now no one dared to admit that they were the whistleblower, and no one dared to admit that they were not the whistleblower.
The former means betraying the alliance, while the latter means betraying the queen.
After realizing the Minister of Camelot's double-edged strategy, the man's expression changed, and he immediately realized why the Minister of Camelot dared to directly admit his act of leaking the secret.
Old Camelot was also very frank and said directly: "I advise everyone - I mean, those who didn't write before should also apologize to His Majesty. You are all old men, so I won't say more."
"It's just that," the Attorney General sighed, "should we admit our mistakes to His Majesty, or to Minister Moriarty?"
"—Be careful with your words, Lord Carter."
The Minister of Defense glanced at the youngest minister besides the deceased Griffith and reminded him, "Mr. Griffith, you're gone after you said that."
He subtly changed "Mr." to "Sir." Mr. was a respectful title for knights in Avalon, equivalent to Sir. Only knights who entered the Hall of the Round Table could be addressed as "Mr."
The Attorney General also stopped talking immediately.
He did have a fear of the unreasonable and table-turning Aiwass.
What's even more terrifying is that Aiwass did it perfectly -
Everyone knew he did it, but he left no trace.
Is this kind of method really something that an eighteen-year-old student who has no parents and all the elders in his family have disappeared can think of and do on his own?
"It doesn't matter who the letter ended up in the hands of. What matters is whether or not we showed this attitude. After all, Mr. Griffith was assassinated after consulting with us. And Edwards Moriarty has a very clear alibi. Even if he unexpectedly arrived at a restaurant he'd never been to and treated a reporter he'd never met to dinner, the arbitration tribunal can confirm that he had nothing to do with Mr. Griffith's murder."
The Minister of Defense remained calm and composed, as if he had a hand in writing the letter of complaint. "So, the question becomes—why is Griffith of the Star Link so close to us? So, even if it's just to be on the safe side... I join Lord Camelot in urging everyone to admit their mistakes."
"If I didn't write the letter the first time, I could say it was because I didn't react in time, but if I don't write a letter now... it's just an attitude problem."
The Attorney General's expression changed and he looked around, and found that almost everyone was making the same gesture.
Everyone's face became relaxed, with smiles in their eyes.
——It was as if they were all loyal subjects who wrote letters to Isabel at the first opportunity, and she was the only one who didn't write a letter.
But the Attorney General was certain that some of his colleagues were pretending. Even if they realized that something was wrong with Griffith, it was impossible for everyone to write a letter to report it immediately.
Pretend, and continue to pretend.
But he had no choice, who made him jump out first?
"Indeed, you are right."
Minister Carter lowered his head and sighed, unable to help complaining, "Are all those from the Foreign Office traitors? How many have been arrested? I remember the Lord High Admiral also came from the Foreign Office. It's really one of them... Those who have been to Star Trek have connections with the Star Trek people, and those who haven't been to Star Trek also have connections with the Star Trek people..."
He was halfway through his speech when he remembered that the Secretary of State for Education also came from the Foreign Office - before becoming the Secretary of State for Education, he was a secretary to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and was transferred by the Queen to this field in which he had no experience at all.
Carter then nodded and apologized: "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean you. It was just an exaggeration."
The Minister of Education, however, was not angry at all. Instead, he just smiled bitterly: "It's not too exaggerated."
"Are there really so many traitors in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who are sympathetic to the Star Antimony people?"
The Minister of Camelot was curious.
"Oh, that's not the case..."
The Minister of Education thought for a moment and added cautiously, "I mean, not entirely. At least some of it leans towards irises."
"Standing on the side of the Iris people is a small matter, standing on the side of the Star Antimony is a big matter."
The Minister of Defense casually grumbled, "After all, Iris and we can now be considered friendly allies."
"Why," Camelot keenly caught the details, "is there anything to say?"
The Minister of Defense hesitated for a moment, but soon sighed: "Forget it, you will know it soon anyway.
"Remember, the Iris people ceded a lot of interests to us before?"
"Yes," everyone looked around, and the Minister of Camelot asked cautiously, "Anything to say?"
"The Iris people have requested that we send a griffin force to Provence."
The Secretary of Defense replied.
Provence - that is the border city next to the Star Antimony Kingdom.
Hearing this, everyone's expressions became nervous.
The Camelot Minister confirmed, "Station? Under what name?"
"Anything is fine. Queen Sophia's proposal is a friendly visit—Provence is currently planning to host the 'New Year's Knight Celebration'. Let's go under that pretext."
The Minister of Defense paused and explained, "After I leave, I won't be coming back for a while."
"What does the Iris Man want to do?"
Carter frowned. "They want us to defend the city for them? The Griffin Legion isn't good at defense. Isn't this really a trap to harm our Griffin Legion?"
"No," Camelot thought for a moment, squinting his eyes and said, "I don't think so..."
He keenly realized that the Iris Kingdom must want to do something.
Their overtures to Avalon and their voluntary surrender of interests could only be explained in one way.
That is, they intend to go to war with Xingti.
In order to avoid being attacked from both sides, you need to make friends with Avalon in advance.
Camelot pressed the issue, "Does Your Majesty know about this?"
"…Her Majesty Sophia knows," the Minister of Defense replied, "and the Grand Guardian knows too."
"Her Majesty Isabel should also know."
Old Camelot tapped the table with his hand and slowly replied, "Write a letter to the Palace of Silver and Tin now and inform His Majesty of this matter."
"But now..."
Her Majesty Isabel was not at all, and only Minister Moriarty was in the palace—
The Defense Minister reacted as soon as he said this.
Just to let Minister Moriarty know.
...Is the Lloyd's experience of the past going to be repeated in the present?
The Minister of Defense looked deeply at Old Camelot, then nodded slightly. "I understand. I will write to the Temple of Silver and Tin now."
And the other side.
Aiwass has brought Lily and arrived at Griffith Manor, which has been sealed off by the Arbitration Hall.
Although he was searching for evidence, he was not accompanied by anyone from the Inspectorate or the Inspectorate—Grand Arbitrator Ligeia followed him personally.
"Hey, boy," Ligeia said curiously, "what are you looking for?"
Aiwass's mouth curled up slightly, and he answered honestly: "Of course it's a good thing."
"Let me remind you, this place has already been raided three times by the Arbitration Chamber, the Inspectorate, and the Supervision Bureau. Are you sure you can still find anything good?"
"I'm sure."
Aiwass said slowly: "Some things can only be discovered when the right person appears nearby."
If it really exists here.
Aiwass added in his mind.
At this moment, the Eye Demon has also returned to Star Antimony.
"It has been confirmed, Master..."
It vibrated the air and answered with absolute certainty: "The true identity of 'Aleister' is Baroness Vignes-Émile Zola Bayard."
Today is a two-in-one chapter~
It's probably because of the cold... I'm dizzy and writing slowly. I just finished it now, so it's a bit slow. Sorry.
(End of this chapter)
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