Are you here to arrest me?

"Yes, hello... I'm Hai Na, the inspector who made an appointment yesterday... here to investigate the attack on Mr. Iver Moriarty."

A young woman, dressed in a blue and white uniform, looking to be around twenty years old, stood nervously and helplessly in front of the gate of a manor, holding her wide-brimmed hat.

Her brown curly hair was tied into a ponytail behind her, and her nose was high and straight. Her lake-blue eyes were full of panic as if she had messed something up.

"...S-sorry, the district inspectorate had an emergency inspectorate meeting... another warehouse explosion occurred in the White Queen District yesterday, and traces of Fire Essence were detected at the scene, suspected of involving a Demon Scholar—I think, it might be the wanted criminal who attacked Mr. Iver the day before yesterday!"

Hai Na's voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, "S-so..."

"—So you took it upon yourself to participate in an inspectorate meeting that you weren't actually required to attend, and were late... two hours and twenty-three minutes?"

An old, stern voice sounded from the other side of the iron gate. It was a special intonation with a drawn-out sound, a unique elven accent of the royal capital.

He snapped shut the jewel-encrusted pocket watch in his hand, put it back in his chest, and stared sternly at Hai Na.

Standing opposite Hai Na was a tall, thin, elderly elf dressed in a butler's uniform.

The wrinkles on his face were reminiscent of tree bark, and his dark green pupils were closer to those of a wolf than to lake water.

The old elf looked nearly two meters tall, and his hands-behind-his-back posture resembled the ghostly shadow of a withered tree in the moonlight. His straight, unmoving spine was filled with a powerful pressure.

Although Hai Na was actually an apprentice inspector who had not yet graduated, she had, after all, passed the graduation examination ahead of schedule and was a quasi-official inspector who could receive the Queen's knighthood at any time. She was wearing an apprentice badge now only because the griffon assigned to her was still en route.

Logically speaking, she shouldn't be so afraid of a butler.

But the old man in front of her was different.

Because this old elven butler was her instructor.

Although he had served the Moriarty Family for a long time since the founding of the country, in accordance with ancient agreements, as a butler... at the same time, he was also the Grand Inspector who retired eighty years ago.

"—I thought you'd be later, Miss Hai Na."

The old butler put his hands behind his back and said in an elven tone that always gave Hai Na a sense of arrogance, "Young Master Iver was attacked by a Demon Scholar the day before yesterday and remained unconscious until last night. But when he heard that the inspectorate was coming to ask some questions, he very cooperatively took the initiative to give up going to the Glass Stair Sanatorium. He just took some medicine and waited for you by the fireplace for two hours with his weak body, and I waited for you at the door for two hours.

"Now it's almost dark, if you were any later, you might as well just be late until tomorrow; since you're already late until tomorrow, I don't think there's any rush for this week of recuperation. According to the rules of the inspectorate, cases with signed letters of appointment must have a result within a week—with Miss Hai Na's good cultivation that allows her to graduate early, she should be able to find that Demon Scholar smoothly.

"Since the criminal has already been arrested and brought to justice, why make things difficult for my poor Young Master Iver? You might as well go back, I'll explain things to Mr. Kent."

Kent was the director of the White Queen District Inspectorate. Even if Hai Na became a full inspector, Kent would still be three levels higher than her.

If the old butler's tone wasn't so sarcastic, she would run away immediately and leave this troublesome matter to her superiors. But the problem was, she was still a senior in college.

Although she could be said to be influential in school, she hadn't graduated yet.

She didn't have enough social experience to discern whether the old man was seriously making such a suggestion or just mocking her. But her intuition told her that if the old man hadn't originally intended to do so, and she just ran away like a fool, she would probably be in real trouble.

"...I'm really sorry."

So Hai Na could only lower her head and apologize first, "I will also apologize to Mr. Iver."

In any case, she had made an appointment in advance, but was so late without saying a word... she was indeed at fault first.

She looked at the iron gate that separated her from the old man, and her thoughts began to wander subconsciously again.

The black openwork iron gate was only decorated with low-key thorn patterns... it didn't look like a famous family.

In fact, Professor Moriarty—that is, the foster father of Iver Moriarty, the person involved in this incident—could indeed be described as a low-key, steady, wise, and erudite good person. Professor Moriarty was also Hai Na's teacher at the University, responsible for subjects such as Astrology, Astronomy, and Advanced Mathematics.

He inherited the Moriarty Merchant Guild, owns three museums, and even the only planetarium in the White Queen District was built with his funding. Despite being so rich, he quietly pursues academics at the university. He even sponsors many orphanages and adopts many orphans, making him a remarkable and kind-hearted figure.

When she came, the captain had specifically instructed her that the Moriarty Family was not only wealthy but also a founder family served by elves. Although the head of the family, James, was gentle, she should still be cautious.

According to regulations, any direct participant in a demon-related incident must be taken into custody with Precept Locks and sent to the local Supervisory Bureau for a Law Master's mind examination as soon as they are out of danger. Only after confirming their innocence will they be sent back to the hospital or sanatorium.

This is because the identities of the ritual host, ritual participants, ritual instructor, and sacrifices in a demonic ritual cannot be easily distinguished simply by whether they are "injured" or not.

If the sacrifice survives, it means the ritual has largely failed—the sacrificed victim may not necessarily die, but they are usually killed to silence them. Therefore, when there are injured people instead of dead people, the injured person may not necessarily be the sacrifice, and there is a significant possibility that they are related to the ritual.

But these rules have now become ineffective.

Director Kent is acting like he's blind, completely ignoring this readily available clue. It was the old butler who took the initiative to contact Director Kent and scheduled today's meeting before he seemed to "suddenly remember" the matter. And when she came, the Supervisory Bureau didn't even assign her a Law Master, leaving only her, a trainee inspector without a griffin, armor, or sword, to come alone.

Such obvious protection...

Hai Na felt that even if this matter was really related to Iver, she probably wouldn't be able to take him away.

But because of such a grand display, she instead felt... perhaps this matter was really related to him.

...How wonderful.

He was just a commoner orphan who was adopted. Just because he was lucky, he was valued and adopted by the professor. Now he has become a big shot that the Supervisory Bureau can't touch...

Standing at the door, Hai Na was absent-mindedly lost in thought, feeling a little envious.

But at that moment, the iron gate suddenly slowly opened.

She looked up in astonishment, seeing the old man's still expressionless face, yet somehow feeling as if he wasn't as angry as before.

The old elf silently glanced at her, then walked back slowly with his hands behind his back.

Hai Na was stunned for a moment before realizing that he was telling her to follow.

So she hurriedly put on the hat she was holding in her arms and quickly followed. But after taking a few steps, she remembered to turn around and close the door. But when she turned her head, she saw the manor's door closing on its own.

Not only that, but bright runes lit up from the inside of the unremarkable iron gate.

The sunlight slanted, and the evening breeze paused slightly. Hai Na vaguely felt as if something invisible enveloped this area, changing the atmosphere of the manor.

"I'm not trying to make trouble for you, Miss Hai Na."

Although the old elf was walking in front of her, the old man's much gentler voice accurately rang in her ears: "But promises must be kept. The agreed time is the time to meet, neither early nor late. Yes, the consequences of breaking the rules at school may not be so serious, but schools also don't have griffin knights patrolling the streets, nor Law Masters who regularly review the tax accounts of various companies with armed knights—nor do they have inspectors like you who can directly arrest suspicious individuals.

"Everyone in this country values 'rules.' What the Supervisory Bureau, the Law Court, and the Arbitration Hall protect is not only Her Majesty the Queen's will but also the many rules established by the parliament.

"This time I will forgive you, and I will not tell Mr. Kent about your mistake—I will say that you arrived on time, but after understanding the situation, you stayed to drink two cups of tea and greedily ate some snacks.

"But this is because young master Iver is kind-hearted. When you were an hour late, I had already decided to call the Supervisory Bureau. It was young master Iver who stopped me. He said that people should always be given a chance... no matter what reason you're looking for, you have to meet first."

The old elf spoke slowly, taking a long time to reach the manor's entrance.

In the next moment, his voice lowered slightly, but it still rang clearly in Hai Na's ears: "Although Avalon does not have the so-called 'nobility' of other countries, the descendants of the founders are equally noble. Without the sacrifice of those twenty founders, everyone would die—even the Queen must respect the descendants of the founders.

"I sensed your sincere apology, so I will tentatively forgive your breach of the agreement. But you might as well think carefully about whether you have offended someone or blocked someone's path... As I said, this is a supervisory meeting that you don't need to attend."

Hearing this, Hai Na suddenly froze.

At this moment, the old man who had walked to the door turned around gracefully and bowed slightly to Hai Na: "Please come with me, Miss Hai Na. Young Master has been waiting for a long time."

Only now did he put on the mask of a butler to greet the guest.

His previous attitude was more like that of an instructor facing an unpromising student.

And Hai Na, her mind in a mess, followed the old elf towards the living room.

The feeling of the soft carpet under her feet startled her, and she raised her head to ask if she needed to take off her shoes—but the old elf's calm and natural attitude made her unsure. So she could only follow behind with trepidation, feeling the sudden warmth of the fireplace in the winter season.

Only then did she realize that she had made an old man stand at the door for two hours on a winter evening.

Filled with guilt and shame, she didn't know how to speak.

Even her suspicion of Iver was strangely diluted in this repentance.

Thus, she saw Iver Moriarty, whose reputation was somewhat dissolute.

He was sitting in a wheelchair at the moment, with a blanket covering his legs.

His pale, weak face was bloodless, and his appearance, no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, had a beauty that was completely different from that of Professor Moriarty.

He was wearing a pure white fleece robe, looking as if he had just taken a bath. His smooth, white-gold hair reflected the warm light of the fireplace. He was reading a book quietly and attentively in front of the fireplace, and that delicate face had a gentle intention... reminding her of a poet, and the fire rising in the fireplace at home.

That beautiful scene looked like a painting. Hai Na subconsciously widened her eyes.

But just then, the young man heard something and turned around nimbly, wheelchair and all.

And at this moment, Hai Na noticed that he was sitting in a wheelchair.

...Could this be the price of being attacked by a Demon Scholar? From some point on, she instinctively abandoned the possibility that "Iver is the Demon Scholar."

The young man looked over, his deep blue pupils like the sea.

"Ms. Hai Na."

That was a clear voice that gave a sense of nobility, a gorgeous voice that matched his appearance.

Compared to that weak face, his voice was more energetic and very polite: "Nice to meet you, hello.

"—Are you here to arrest me?"