Moriarty Family

After retrieving the wheelchair, Lily took Iver and Yulia back to 14 Ronin Street Iver poured Yulia tea.

She began to tell them about what had just happened to her... and the "family secret" that Oswald had given her.

"The guardian of the Drost Family..."

Iver muttered to himself, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the wheelchair. He made this small movement whenever he started to think seriously.

He was trying to find a way to kill Minister Drost.

His guardian is indeed a somewhat troublesome problem.

These elven guardians of Avalon were once the Pope Guard. Each one could be considered an elite among elites.

The most troublesome part is that they are all good people and the face of the Theocracy... at the same time, they are proof of the friendship Theocracy and Avalon, and the actual link between the two countries' friendship.

This made Iver less inclined to use any despicable or underhanded methods to assassinate him.

This will definitely escalate things. It might even push the "Death of Minister Drost" onto the international stage, making the situation out of Iver's control and causing the future to completely deviate from his experience and predictions.

That fat old man, Drost, would be better off dying quietly.

But fortunately... according to Lily, the old man seemed to have some dissatisfaction with Minister Drost.

After Lily left the Inspectorate, the old butler Oswald warned Lily that she might encounter danger.

He also explained to Lily in detail some of the rules held by the guardians sent by the Theocracy, as well as the true nature of the Moriarty Family.

Simply put, what they are protecting is not the head of the family, Avalon, the Queen, or their descendants. It's not even the family itself, but merely "the continuation of the bloodline."

The Moriarty Family was the only exception—because they had adopted a foster care system from the very beginning.

Of the twenty Founding Family, only the Moriarty Family sought out talented adopted sons from among the common people to inherit their businesses, and they did so generation after generation. They represented "the possibility of change."

"According to Oswald, Mordred, the apostle who is the originator of the Moriarty Family, was himself an adopted son."

Lily spoke to Iver and Yulia.

Mordred actually has a wife and children, and two children in total.

But Mordred also chose an adopted son to whom he passed on his skills. After Mordred ascended to the position of Apostle, this adopted son succeeded him.

Lily said, "Later, Mordred's two biological sons stood up against him. But they did something wrong... they allied themselves with the remaining Titans. Later, his adopted son found them and personally killed them both."

After that, the adopted son changed his surname to Moriarty.

He was the first Moriarty of Avalon — Constantine Moriarty.

"He was a noble knight who, having killed his adoptive father's two children with his own hands, did not want his own children to inherit Moriarty's name and property. He felt that doing so would be like usurping his adoptive father's estate."

Lily repeated Oswald's words, "From then on, the Moriarty Family could only be passed down to adopted sons."

"So that's how it is..."

"Iver murmured."

This may explain why there are no portraits of ancestors kept in the family.

Because each generation of Moriarty looks different, but they don't want their adopted sons to know this early on and thus consider themselves the rightful heirs of the Moriarty Family —in this way, the purpose of recruiting adopted sons is lost.

Then, Iver realized something else. "Isn't this Lloyd's's?"

The Moriarty Family's succession mechanism, except for being less bloody, is almost identical to that of the Lloyd's's chairman! This is a secret that the next head of the family can only know when a succession occurs within the family.

Oswald is now telling this secret to Lily, Iver's personal maid... which likely means he's mentally prepared for the possibility of not finding the professor. In that case, Iver would be the rightful heir to the Moriarty Family.

"Oswald probably means that he hopes I, in the name of the Moriarty family head, will negotiate with the Drost Family to protect you."

Iver narrowed his eyes slightly and said softly, "Thinking about it from this perspective... I have a new possibility."

"That means Minister Drost might not actually want to kill you. That old man is very likely waiting for me to beg for peace and plead for you."

"What?"

Lily paused for a moment.

Iver opened his eyes and said calmly, "Let's start from the beginning. First, let's clarify the logical basis... that is, he did believe ' Mr. Gray ' was from Lloyd's's and was a disciple of Ms. Gray-Green. In other words, the assassination commission he issued was real, but it was also a 'sudden whim'."

"Then the first possibility is that he wanted to kill you as revenge against me. Because the incident that put Minister Drost in danger was related to me, and it was my reasoning that connected the assassinated secretary with the Smuggling Case. And he just happened to be assassinated by the Iris Flower Kingdom, which is why Minister Drost is being investigated by the Inspectorate."

That's why Diomedes appeared in the Inspectorate.

"But if we follow this line of reasoning, then another possibility emerges. He wants me to realize that he has already sent someone to assassinate you, which means he doesn't care whether Mr. Gray's assassination is successful or not, he just wants him to carry out the assassination as soon as possible. There's no reason to guard against thieves for a thousand days... So as long as I can't get concrete evidence that he commissioned the murder, as long as he continues to invest money, you will always be in danger."

"He's waiting for me to plead with him. Judging from his relationship with Lloyd's's, he probably already knows the professor is most likely dead. That means I'm the next head of the Moriarty family. If I, as the primary attacker, am forced to stand with him, the crisis facing the Drost Family could very well be resolved."

"And if I fail to save you, then this can serve as a hysterical deterrent. Even if everyone knows he doesn't have much time left, no one dares to provoke a dying beast, for fear that he might bite back. In this way, he might also find a chance to catch his breath."

Iver sighed, "That old guy has some tricks up his sleeve. Luckily, Oswald provided crucial information, otherwise I would have been tricked."

Yulia had been told by Iver that her adoptive father might be dead, so she didn't react much to the matter.

But she noticed something else. "Is that Minister Drost... my brother's enemy?"

"They are our enemies."

Iver corrected, "He's Lily's biological father, yet he hired someone to kill her mother. Now he wants to kill Lily too. And his purpose is probably to use Lily to attack me."

Upon hearing this, Yulia's gaze immediately turned fierce.

But she was like a puffed-up Little Cat staring at people menacingly, not scary at all.

But without hesitation, she uttered the dangerous question, "Then, brother, are you going to kill him?"

"Yes," Iver simply patted Yulia's head to comfort her and said softly, "So I'm thinking... how to bypass Mr. Diomedes ' interference and protection and kill Minister Drost."

"He himself should be quite strong as well, at least at the Fourth Level as Law Mage. But if the battle drags on for too long, it might attract Diomedes. Even if Diomedes himself doesn't like Minister Drost, he will still do his duty to protect him."

Iver had a way to kill him quickly—Shadow Fiend was a good tool and excuse.

The problem is... how do you separate them?

Minister Drost was terrified of death; he took his Elf Butler with him almost everywhere he went. He wouldn't even leave the house unless absolutely necessary.

He was clearly aware that he had offended many people. Therefore, he was very cautious in his actions and basically relied on his secretary to negotiate with others.

Iver couldn't think of a good solution to this problem in a short time.

However, he needs to lay the groundwork for Shadow Fiend as soon as possible.

When exactly will those Lloyd's's assassins arrive?

Iver was already impatient.

The Paradox Flame Butterfly he just acquired is perfect as a means of retaliation for "Iver"!

After that, he can enter a state of suspended animation... and then go on a killing spree.

Just then, Iver's phone rang.

Iver answered the phone, "This is Iver Moriarty."

"I called you six times... Where did you go today?"

The person on the other end of the phone who couldn't help but complain was York Holmes of Lloyd's.