Chapter 987 Letter from Sherlock Hermes
"Dear Mr. Moriarty:
"I have received your letter from a while ago. Rest assured, I have not forgotten our agreement: I will return promptly to attend your wedding to Her Majesty the Queen and the coronation of Queen Isabella I on May 22nd. I expect to arrive at Glass Island before the 20th."
"I'm still living in the Duke of Vendôme's estate, and it's wonderful here. All my worries are unnecessary. I just couldn't suppress my damn curiosity, and while helping my friend investigate—you know, the one I told you about before—I accidentally delved into some rather tense areas.
"There are too many specific events involved to describe them all in this letter. I'll tell you in detail when we meet. All I can reveal now is that it involves the former Iris Royal Family.
"While investigating this matter, I stumbled upon a secret you could never imagine, yet one that is deeply relevant to you. Please forgive me for keeping it a secret, as I desperately want to witness the surprise and curiosity on the face of the respected God Slayer—"
"Incidentally, your heroic feat in defeating the Fallen Angels has spread throughout Iris. You'd have no idea how much the people of Iris love you. Sixteen theaters are now rehearsing plays like 'The Brave Aiwass' and 'The God-Slayer Pope.' Your famous black robe has even been recreated by the skillful hands of a tailor, and it's now a bestseller. I don't even dare to admit I know you, as that would surely bring a swarm of your fans to the Duke of Vendôme's estate. But spare me."
"We've only been apart for less than half a year. It's really hard for me to imagine how that little fox in a wheelchair could have become such a remarkable figure. It makes me feel very complicated... I can only say that Ms. Aleister taught her well.
"I haven't been able to contact any of the friends you asked me to. But fortunately, I don't need their help. The investigation here is progressing smoothly, so there's no need to worry about my safety.
"The case I'm currently handling has reached a critical juncture. I need to focus on the leads I have in the coming days, so I won't elaborate further here. If you write to me, I'm afraid I won't be able to process your letter in a timely manner, so please don't reply.
"Give my regards to Her Majesty the Queen, my friend, and give this letter to my brother Mycroft.
"—your faithful Sherlock Hermes."
Aiwass flipped through the letter sent by Sherlock and read out every sentence in a rhythmic manner.
Isabel sat on the bed in her pajamas and carefully examined the postmark on the letter.
She was a little puzzled. "A letter dated May 12th...but it's already the 19th. Is it so slow to arrive?"
After Aiwas finished reading, he shook the letter in his hand and flicked the letter paper lightly.
"—what do you think, Isa?"
"I feel like...something seems a little off."
Isabel pondered, "I sense a subtle dissonance, a discord. But I can't quite put my finger on what's wrong..."
Her intuition told her that there was something wrong with the letter from Sherlock, but a closer look revealed that it seemed perfectly normal.
Aiwass smiled and said, "That's why he sent it to me instead of you. Sherlock was just worried that you didn't notice it... He was calling you stupid. You must teach him a lesson when he comes back."
As he spoke, Aiwass shook the letter and his expression became serious: "In fact, this is a letter asking for help."
"...A letter asking for help?"
Isabel frowned slightly and sat up in bed: "Should we send troops to rescue?"
She didn't ask Aiwass how he knew that—because she knew Aiwass would never joke about such a thing.
Aiwass shook his head. "There's no need to be so exaggerated. Let me explain it to you from the beginning..."
"He received a letter from his friend Arsène de Vendôme asking for help and went to handle the case. He and I agreed to contact him at Mr. Maurice Leblanc's café. If we want to write a letter, we should send it there...right?"
"Yes," Isabel nodded. "So I sent the letter to this address this time. It started as he said—'Mr. Hermes, the hard-working man.'"
It's already mid-May and Sherlock hasn't returned yet.
Isabel was somewhat anxious—she planned to write a letter to urge the matter.
After all, Sherlock was a mutual friend of hers and Aiwass, one of Isabel's very few friends, and even a witness to her and Aiwass's first meeting. She hoped that Sherlock could attend the wedding no matter what.
Her letter was mailed on May 10, and Sherlock's reply was mailed on May 12. When she received the letter, it was already the 19th - only three days left from the time Sherlock said, but he still hadn't returned.
He called his proud curiosity "damned curiosity," and said the matter involved the old royal family, but he didn't mention the name of his friend—Monsieur Arsène de Vendôme, son-in-law of the Duke of Vendôme. He currently lives at the Château Vendôme, which means he's still investigating the matter and it hasn't been concluded.
"The phrase 'Ms. Aleister was well-educated' is the key. Although most people believe that Aleister is my old lover, a Moon Child from the Hellassar Empire... Aleister is just a false identity for myself. You know this, and Sherlock knows it too. He said this deliberately, and the implication is clear - his letters are being monitored.
"In other words, he's currently under someone's control. While he can receive mail normally, he believes it will be censored if sent. Therefore, he hasn't mentioned those 'secrets unknown to outsiders,' which is also a hint to me.
"And the sentence 'I haven't contacted any of the friends you asked me to contact yet' is even more important.
"Because there are only two friends I asked him to contact... One is the assassins from the Hawkeye faction whom he himself rejected. Because the problem his friend encountered this time might be related to Hawkeye. And the other one..."
At this point, Aiwas's eyes became deep: "It's Brother Edward."
"...Sir Moriarty...he's an ambassador."
Isabel was shocked: "Does the Iris people dare to attack him?"
"I guess he wouldn't dare, especially after knowing how powerful I am..."
Aiwass smiled slightly, but there wasn't much of a smile on his face. "After all, they also played a role in the war against the Fallen Angels. But Sherlock is another story."
"He said that if we weren't allowed to write to him, he wouldn't reply either - this was actually just an excuse for why he couldn't reply for a while. He also told us to give this letter to his brother, just to prevent me from noticing the problem.
"In other words, the entire process of writing the letter, as well as the completed letter, must have been under surveillance. They didn't take action against Sherlock, presumably because they had something to ask of him. However, they chose to 'imprison him,' which means this matter likely involves some crime or secret... most likely an attempt to silence him afterwards."
"When he said 'I don't even dare to say I know you,' the hidden message was actually 'he hasn't told anyone else that he knows us.' This is probably to prevent him from being immediately silenced. Because if he revealed his unusual closeness to the important figures in Avalon, his captors would have to consider the risks of this."
"...Then will my writing to him harm him?"
Isabel was startled and a little worried.
Aiwass shook his head. "On the contrary, you might have saved him. Because as the Queen of Avalon, you have personally inquired about this matter, and clearly know his whereabouts and situation. You also asked him to reply to the letter. In order to prevent you from getting suspicious, Sherlock had the opportunity to send us a letter.
"In other words, they no longer have the chance to 'cleanly and quietly get rid of Sherlock.' Although I don't know what they plan to do next... but it's nothing more than transforming him into the Child of the Moon, or using drugs to control him."
"So what do we do now?"
Isabel blurted out: "Why not send troops?"
Ever since the Fallen Angels, Isabel seemed to have developed a certain dependence on sending troops.
She truly realized how powerful the Griffin Legion was, and instantly felt more confident.
“No need.”
Aiwass shook his head slightly. "Sherlock said, 'You'll never guess how much the Iris people like you,' and 'I'll tell you in detail after we meet.' This is actually hinting at me... He wants me to go there in person, preferably quietly."
He narrowed his eyes and spoke in a calmer tone, "Originally, I wanted to dig out the family sword before the wedding... but now it seems that it might take a few days. I hope there won't be too much bloodshed before the big day...
"——I want to see who dares to touch my friend."
Chapter 1 update is here!
Chapter 2 will be posted before 6pm~
(End of this chapter)
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