Chapter 464 Droste's Past
"Mr. Diomedes!"
When the square-faced serious elf heard Aiwass's voice, he thought for a moment that he was hallucinating.
After he turned around, he helplessly confirmed that it was Aiwass who was walking towards him.
"Your Excellency, what are you doing——"
Diomedes felt a little angry for a moment.
—I clearly told you, “Don’t go out, don’t go out, don’t go out!” Why did you still come out in broad daylight and even come straight to me!
This was already a hint to Moriarty and his son, telling them that "Charles Droste planned to kill Aiwass" and warning Aiwass not to give him an excuse during this period... No, that was no longer a hint.
That's already clear!
They obviously agreed very well!
If someone has to come to me for something, can't I let that old man Oswald come to me?
He was not familiar with Aiwass, and he passed the message to them, partly because he disliked Minister Droste, and partly because of his long-term friendship with Oswald.
The two of them graduated from the same class of the Papal Guard, were close friends who had known each other since childhood, and had been stationed together in a foreign country for a full four hundred years.
Among this group of Pope's guards who serve as guardian elves, only the two of them knew each other before they were transferred.
If one of them was a female elf, they would probably have a grandson's grandson by now.
Diomedes was basically certain that as long as Aiwass stayed at home obediently, even if the Star Antimony people completely controlled Avalon and Droste would most likely not dare to attack him.
Charles was taken care of by Diomedes since he was a child, and he was familiar with his character.
He was a coward now. He had become accustomed to this and would not take action unless he was sure.
——It is completely opposite to Charles back then.
Diomedes thought.
When Diomedes went to Avalon on the Pope's orders to protect the bloodline of Dagonite, he was still a thin and timid teenager. When Charles was born, he was not as old as he is now.
Charles was at his most endearing when he was a teenager.
Back then, he was optimistic, cheerful, and sociable. His features were deep, his spirit was dignified, his speech was clear and powerful, and he always had a smile on his face. Even when faced with setbacks, he would never be depressed.
At most, I will be depressed for a while, and then I will smile, cheer myself up and cheer myself up again.
During that time, Diomedes was always a little depressed.
Because at that time, his partner in Avalon died.
When he was still a student, he had known Diomedes, a handsome old man. When he died of old age, Diomedes looked only slightly older.
His will was depressed for a long time, and every day when he had nothing to do, he would silently look through the old photos.
Those years were the years when he aged the fastest.
It was by watching the young Charles, who always encouraged him and cheered him up after failure, that Diomedes gradually recovered.
So Diomedes once had a good impression of Charles.
Charles was a heartthrob when he was a teenager.
He tied his long, flaxen hair into a ponytail. He played cricket and soccer, and even honed his horsemanship with the intention of pursuing polo. His academic performance was also strong, achieving a second-level mage status by his sophomore year. Combined with his founding family background and his outgoing and passionate personality, he had numerous girlfriends during his university years, sometimes switching as many as three a week.
Although he was a lawyer, Charles was always keen on exercise. He would get up at 5 o'clock every day to do morning exercises. Although he was a playboy, he did not drink or stay up late. His interests were sports, food and women - things that brought him pleasure.
When he inherited the position of Patriarch, he was only thirty-eight years old. By then, he had already reached the Fourth Energy Level, becoming Minister of Trade and hailed as one of the most promising Transcendents to reach the Fifth Energy Level. He had also been married for many years, and his wife had given birth to three children. The eldest was almost adult.
But from then on... for some reason, he suddenly started drinking. And then he became an alcoholic.
He had lost his habit of morning exercises long before he became a minister, when he was a special legal advisor to the Ministry of Trade. As for the ball games he once loved, he had not touched them since he graduated.
The young man full of vitality and passion in Diomedes' eyes slowly disappeared without a trace.
He even began sending Diomedes to do some of the dirty work—assassination, theft, surveillance. Diomedes didn't know if the other guardian spirits had done similar things, but it was his duty to obey the master's orders and protect him. He only offered a few words of advice when he had nothing else to do...
At first, Charles would listen to Diomedes' advice politely and respectfully; then, as he gradually realized his power, he stopped accepting all advice, but still remained respectful. Later, he began to argue with himself, but still took Diomedes' words seriously and grudgingly corrected his behavior.
—Until the day Diomedes caught Charles insulting his daughter, Thalia Droste.
He was completely disappointed with Charles.
From then on, Diomedes no longer discussed these things with Charles.
Charles also noticed this - so he no longer called him "Mr. Diomedes", but called him by his name; no longer asked for his advice, but directly ordered him to do something.
The once innocent and passionate young man gradually became shrewd and sinister. His career path to power never moved again, and his once strong and energetic body was now filled with fat. Charles, who had always believed in law and justice upon graduation, eventually committed crimes such as contracting murder, accepting bribes, smuggling, and rape under the ravages of time...
——At this point, Charles even became a traitor and regicide.
You know, it was Queen Sofia who appointed him as Minister of Trade!
The man known as "Minister Droste" is now a completely different person.
Everything about him had changed. The only two things that remained unchanged were the bright smile that always graced his face and the burning desire in his heart.
——Therefore, Diomedes would deliberately do things beyond Droste’s orders.
For example, he handed over the illegitimate daughter, who Droste might want to murder, to Oswald for protection in advance; for example, when Droste forgot to ask him to destroy the evidence, he never reminded him.
These are all foreshadowings he carefully left behind, one after another.
Maybe they will never be used, or maybe Droste himself will suddenly remember them... But there is a chance that they can destroy Charles Droste, liberate Diomedes, and give him freedom and a new master.
Diomedes acted very secretly, thus never being discovered. Droste would still entrust him with the most important tasks, as he had become extremely suspicious. Only the guardian spirit would never betray him, and he must protect his life and safety as much as possible and complete his orders 100%.
Just like now—when Charles wanted to silence Aiwass Moriarty, he alerted their whole family in advance.
According to Diomedes, there was no way that Xingbi would give Charles much benefit.
Because Star Antimony was deeply divided, and both held power, the benefits they gave Charles—those lands and titles—were actually equivalent to asking the three parties to pay the price together.
One party proposed a plan to have the other two parties pay together to accrue merit to the party proposing the plan. This was simply impossible. It was impossible for them not to drag their feet. Even if they didn't reneged in the end, the benefits would most likely be reduced... or they would be assassinated to avoid paying.
This also means that Charles will definitely not have a high position in the new government of Avalon.
On the other hand, James Moriarty, the head of the founding family, a senior leader of Lloyd's, one of the wealthiest businessmen in Avalon with an extremely good reputation in the public eye, and a world-class scholar with monographs in mathematics, astronomy and other fields, would become the target of the Star Antimony people's intensive efforts to win over.
There is no comparison between Charles, the loser, and James.
As long as the Star People take over the power of Avalon through the fake queen, Professor Moriarty will be immediately reused.
By then, Aiwass would be absolutely safe.
Therefore, if Charles wanted to kill Aiwass, he had to kill Aiwass before the Star Antimony people took control of Avalon, in the darkness when the order of Avalon completely collapsed.
As an Inspector, Edward had no priority in the succession, and since Yulia had passed away, Aiwass was Professor Moriarty's future successor. Charles absolutely lacked the ability to cause Aiwass, the sole heir to the Moriarty family, to die without his knowledge. Therefore, if he attempted to kill Aiwass, Professor Moriarty would undoubtedly discover it.
That means offending the other party.
Now, letting Diomedes try to kidnap Aiwass was his last bit of courage. As long as Diomedes brought back old James's firm attitude, Charles would back down.
As a bishop with a bright future, Aiwass will certainly not forget this hatred and will keep it in mind... He will become a thorn in Charles's eyes, making his master unable to sleep or eat.
When Aiwas gains more power in the future, he will be able to reveal the evil of the Star Antimony people and expose Charles' crimes.
In the process of getting along with Charles reluctantly, Diomedes also learned Charles's smooth acting skills and the skills to hide his true thoughts. Although his face showed regret, Diomedes was actually quite satisfied with the result.
...But at this time, Aiwass came up on his own.
This directly disrupted Diomedes' plan.
But when he looked at Aiwass at this moment, he was about to get angry, but suddenly he was stunned.
He vaguely caught some information from Aiwass's eyes and expression.
"Please take me there, Mr. Diomedes."
Aiwass placed his right hand on his chest and saluted, saying politely and respectfully, "Let me talk to him. Don't worry, I won't risk my life.
"I am confident enough... after listening to what I say, he won't come to kill me. Or rather, he can't kill me."
——He can't kill me.
Despite being a fragile pastor, Aiwass's words revealed such confidence.
“You are…”
After hearing what Aiwass said, Diomedes gradually understood something: "Do you want to save someone?"
Aiwass had obviously guessed that Minister Droste had murderous intentions towards him—which meant that Aiwass had realized that the letter he had sent to Princess Isabel had been intercepted by that person. Because only through this channel could Minister Droste have murderous intentions towards Aiwass, whom he had never met before and was completely unfamiliar with.
And based on this...
As expected.
What Aiwass said next was exactly the same as what Diomedes was thinking: "Yes, I not only want to survive, but I also want to save Sherlock as well.
"I guess the missing Sherlock should be with him. Minister Droste wanted me to go so much because he wanted me to make a breakthrough and pry Sherlock's mouth open.
"—In that case, I'll tell him what he wants to know. If you need a hostage, let me take it. I'll replace Shylock... He's long since severed ties with the Hermes Family, so let Minister Droste release him to the Theocracy. As long as he doesn't come back, there's no need to kill him, right?
"Killing two people and offending two families is only a bad idea. Now I choose to take a step back and submit to him - I use Professor Moriarty's support, the friendship of the future 'Moriarty', the information he wants to obtain, the evidence he wants to destroy... I use these things to exchange for our lives - especially for Sherlock's life.
"Since Minister Droste claims to be a businessman, let him take a look and see if this deal is worthwhile."
Aiwass said clearly.
It was just like Professor Moriarty's rhetoric that had persuaded Grand Inquisitor Shafiya. He created an atmosphere of "nothing is a loss," a friendly atmosphere that put him at ease, and then made him think, "What if I agree with him?" and think along the lines of Aiwass's words.
Minister Droste didn't want to offend Professor Moriarty, but he also wanted to clean up the mess. Aiwass came in person to try to mediate, which was the solution Minister Droste could accept the most.
Diomedes did not want the two righteous and innocent young men, Aiwas and Shylock, to be killed. He hoped that they could serve as witnesses to record Minister Droste's crimes.
——This is called learning and applying at the same time.
Although his rhetoric is a little more immature than Professor Moriarty's.
But Diomedes had been persuaded by Aiwass.
Since Diomedes can accept this result, and he also believes that Minister Droste can accept this result...then this plan must be feasible.
So Diomedes stopped trying to dissuade him and took Aiwass to the Temple of Silver and Tin.
It doesn't seem like kidnapping, but more like a journey together.
(End of this chapter)
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