Iver's Investigation

News of Her Majesty the Queen's coma quickly reached the Round Table Hall.

Meetings in the Round Table Hall were suspended, and almost all the ministers remained at home. The Grand Guardian returned at the last minute, Eye of Avalon was activated around the clock, overlooking the entire Glass Island. The Glass Staircase Newspaper also ceased publishing controversial news.

A storm is brewing.

A strange solemnity and silence enveloped the entire Avalon.

At this crucial moment, no one dared to take any spying actions.

This also gave Iver room to maneuver.

At nine o'clock the next morning, Captain Camus, unaware of what had happened, arrived at the Moriarty Manor on time.

Edward couldn't possibly stay home every day—he was already a very busy man, and now, at this crucial time, he was even busier. Therefore, he was greeted only by Iver.

Because this matter involved classified information, Iver didn't want to cause trouble for Lily or create any unforeseen complications. Therefore, he didn't bring Lily along this time.

This causes Iver's shadow to ripple. With a little attention, one can notice that when Iver walks, his shadow leaps like flames.

After all, Iver's Shadow Affinity level hadn't reached level three yet, so he couldn't perfectly contain the Shadow Demon. Lily usually kept it safe. Now, the Shadow Demon had become stronger after receiving the Shepherding Method, and its presence had become even more noticeable. Even Captain Camus had noticed Iver's shadow.

He hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

But seeing Iver's serious expression, he wisely swallowed back the doubts he hadn't yet voiced.

Now he's in such deep trouble, and he can't find Sherlock to help him. If he doesn't handle it well, he might be completely ruined.

It wasn't just about his career... because this matter directly involved Iver Moriarty, the future head of the Founding Family and a minister trusted by the future Queen. This matter would likely only shake his power, without affecting his already acquired position Minister of Everything. In other words, he had essentially put this young minister in a position of power and control.

Young ministers like Iver are even more intimidating than other senior ministers.

Because he is so young—he hasn't even graduated from school yet, and he has never worked in a government department before. And if such a young man gets carried away with passion... no one knows what he might do, no one is sure. He certainly won't be careful in using his power, because he acquired it so easily, and naturally he won't cherish it much.

I'm not afraid of seasoned veterans, I'm afraid of naive newcomers.

One reason he would turn to Edward was because Edward was his old classmate. They had both studied at Milton University in their youth, after which Edward went on to study at the Royal Law University, while Captain Camus, who had become a "Hunter" Path of Adaptation, chose to join the army.

A more important reason is that Edward is Iver's brother.

If Edward were to investigate this matter, and if nothing comes of it, Iver would show some leniency when retaliating against him...

...perhaps.

Now, with Iver, the person involved, willing to take over the investigation personally, and Captain Camus even more eager—it's better for them to investigate together but not find anything than to honestly report back to him, "Sorry, we messed up."

Although the problem wasn't solved, at least the negative impact was effectively reduced! Under these circumstances, even if Iver had allegedly contacted "Miss Aleister" herself, Captain Camus would have ignored it! However, he couldn't understand that Iver actually didn't want to find out "why the letter was lost." He came merely to make a statement—this incident directly involved him, and it would be strange if he did nothing.

In other words, Iver came here intentionally to reveal that "Shadow Fiend is following him".

The situation is completely different now than it was in the past.

Previously, Iver had to carefully conceal his identity as Demon Scholar, without revealing the slightest bit of it.

Now, the high-ranking officials of Star Antimony, Iris, and even the Round Table Hall of Avalon have gone to great lengths to create a perfect story chain, turning Miss Aleister into a real person... Wouldn't it be a waste for Iver not to make good use of this? — Don't ask, the answer is Miss Aleister is spying on me. Ask further and it'll be that I'm being threatened and controlled.

You can just say how tragic it is and that's it.

This is a top-tier agent of the Stibnite Person. What's wrong with me, a lowly Second Level priest, weak, pitiful, and helpless, being coerced by her? Isn't that unreasonable?

Iver followed Captain Camus all the way to his mansion.

His home wasn't far from the Moriarty Manor; it only took a short carriage ride to get there.

Captain Camus's house is a three-story building, but calling it a villa is a bit of a stretch.

It had no garden or backyard, just a small house, even smaller than 14 Ronin Street. Other houses were right next door.

He lived in Legal Square, also known colloquially as "Gallows Square." Specifically, it was located at the intersection of the White Queen District and Lloyd District, in a transitional area connecting the two districts via Lloyd Prince's Avenue.

The people living here are in a rather awkward position in a way. Because people in White Queen District don't consider Legal Square to be in White Queen District, and people in Lloyd District's don't recognize this place as Lloyd District's.

For the former, even the most expensive houses here are far less than half the price of those in the White Queen District. Besides, it would be too frightening to open the door and window every day and see a row of fresh or half-rotten corpses hanging not far away.

Elsewhere, there are terms like "mountain view room," "lake view room," and "sea view room"—but here, it's more like a "mountain view room."

It sounds really cool.

For the latter, these large, detached houses with white brick walls are clearly the style of the White Queen District. They are obviously not on the same level as the working class in Lloyd District's. First of all, the people living here are somewhat wealthy, and most of them are not proper knights and cannot afford to hire so many butlers and servants, so their families are not large. It is also far from the nearest Bureau of Supervision and is not on the griffin patrol route.

For these very reasons, houses in Legal Square are very easy to burglarize.

Although the location isn't great, the interior decoration is quite nice.

As soon as Iver entered, he saw a woman in a yellow dress. She looked to be in her early thirties, with fair skin, a tall figure, and a good demeanor. However, her appearance was relatively ordinary. She had slightly high cheekbones, small eyes, and a large mouth.

She appeared very well-mannered—she bowed politely upon seeing Iver. She wasn't overly flustered or nervous, nor did she say anything about Iver's youth. Clearly, she had known Iver would be there.

"This is my wife."

Captain Camus introduced himself somewhat awkwardly, "There aren't many people in my family. Besides my wife, there's only Mrs. Harry. She's our maid, cook, and also the housekeeper."

"And what about Mrs. Harry?"

"Iver asked."

"She took leave a week ago. She said she was going back to her hometown to attend her son's wedding."

Captain Camus replied.

"Are you sure she wasn't on Glass Island when it happened?" Iver asked.

Although he wasn't really there to investigate, Iver felt he couldn't go too far. So he proceeded with the questioning as per procedure.

"Yes, I'm sure, Minister Moriarty."

The captain stated definitively, "We sent a telegram to her hometown, and she responded very quickly. In any case, we can be certain that Mrs. Harry herself was in her hometown at that time—and still is."

"Mrs. Harry has taken care of our family for many years. In order not to cause her any trouble, I specifically asked her to come back later..."

"I think you should bring her back sooner, Captain."

"Iver said calmly."

"... Do you suspect her?"

"No."

Iver shook his head. "But since she's been working for your family for a long time, it's much easier for me to ask her for information than to ask you two. After all, you're a naval officer, and your wife—"

"She is a teacher."

Captain Camus quickly replied, "A high school teacher."

Iver nodded. "Yes, a teacher. I imagine she's not usually home, so if anyone comes to visit, Mrs. Harry will know. So she'll definitely have to come back."

"Then I'll call her back right away!"

Camus answered without hesitation.

He adjusted the brim of his hat and hurriedly prepared to leave.

"Don't be so flustered."

Iver reached out and pulled him back, giving a warning that was neither too harsh nor too mild. "Besides, I haven't finished asking yet."

"—Since Tai Yi ago, were you and your wife the only ones at home when the incident occurred?"

"No, I was home alone at the time."

Captain Camus explained to his wife, "She only returned last night; I saw her after I came back from your house."

"—Let me tell you, my dear. It is like this, Your Excellency Minister Moriarty."

Mrs. Camus explained somewhat nervously, "Our school has an event going on recently... a trip to Bagpipe Town for the Children. You're a pastor, you should know about it..."

"A church school?"

Iver asked in return.

"Right."

Mrs. Camus nodded.

She added, "We came back together on a bus... There were some parents on the bus besides the Children."

Iver suddenly asked, "Do you know Vivian?"

Mrs. Camus paused for a moment, then confirmed, "Vivian Mathers?"

"Yes. Do you know who the parent who accompanied her is?"

"Is that her mother?"

Mrs. Camus said uncertainly, "But it could also be her sister. She looks quite young. She also looks like a pastor...maybe a bishop. Because I saw our Teacher Aino, had a lot of respect for her—she's a teacher of Ordinary Theology, a real 'pastor'."

Upon hearing this, Iver knew that she must have indeed gone to Bagpipe Town.

Because the person who accompanied Vivian on her trip to Bagpipe Town was Maya Mathers, an instructor of Prayer Studies at Iver.

This kind of thing can't be faked. Iver can confirm it with Meiya.

Ms. Maya is a bishop, meaning she possesses at least Third Level, and possibly even Fourth Level. For such a powerful being, it would be impossible for Mrs. Camus to slip away alone right under her nose.

Seeing that Iver nodded, it seemed there were no other problems. So Captain Camus led Iver upstairs.

"When I came back that day,"

Camus led Iver upstairs to the study where the incident had occurred.

Compared to old James's study, Captain Camus's study was much smaller, probably only about six square meters. A desk about two meters long, a chair with a back, and two bookshelves took up most of the space. The lighting was good, though, with the transparent glass windows tightly closed.

One bookshelf was filled with various documents and files. The other was almost empty, with books occupying less than half of its space. The remaining space was filled with all sorts of miscellaneous items.

Iver even saw a plate of snacks. The pastries on the plate were completely dry and hadn't been touched, yet they hadn't been thrown away—it was winter, otherwise they would probably have attracted insects.

Captain Camus clearly noticed this.

He explained somewhat awkwardly, "These are the snacks I took when I went to the study three days ago... I just put the letters and things on the table and went out to get some tea and snacks. After all, Mrs. Harry wasn't home, and there was no one else around, so I had to get them myself."

"In just half an hour—maybe even less—just the time it took to make tea and find some snacks, when I returned to the study, everything on the table had been moved away. I was shocked, so I just put the snacks here."

Captain Camus smiled wryly, "After that, I was so busy looking for things that I had no appetite for snacks. When my wife came back, I wanted to preserve the scene, so I didn't let her clean up. I just kept the study door closed."

"You haven't left home, have you?" Iver confirmed.

"No, I was in the kitchen on the first floor when I was preparing tea and snacks. I could see the stairs from there, and as Third Level ' Hunter,' my senses are very sharp. I can confirm that no one has gone up the stairs or opened the door during this time... unless it's Fourth Level or higher assassin or some other profession," the captain said.

"Wait, the table has been emptied?"

Iver noticed a detail. "Wasn't it just that letter that was lost? What else was lost?"

"Yes, everything on the table is gone."

The captain confirmed, "The letter is in my suitcase. It's a leather briefcase with a lot of classified documents inside. My identification and service weapon are also in the suitcase, and my wallet and jewelry are on the table. But compared to 'that thing,' none of that matters anymore."

"... You took classified documents home?"

Iver raised an eyebrow. "If I remember correctly, those things shouldn't be allowed to be taken out of the office, right?"

"Yes..."

Camus knew he had made a big mistake, so he whispered, "That's the rule. But we usually take the documents home to work on, so we can leave work a few hours earlier."

"According to regulations, when handling documents in the Navy Department office, one must also wear light armor, carry a pistol and sword, and sit upright. Then, after finishing work each day, all documents must be sealed in a designated safe. That means working until 6 PM every day, which affects meals..."

"So we usually take the documents home to process them in our study. This way we can leave work early at 3 p. m., finish some before dinner, and finish some after dinner. Then we bring the documents back the next morning and seal them in the safe."

"Because everyone does it, it's become a habit."

"Where's the letter? Why didn't you put it in the safe with the rest of the letter, but instead brought it back?"

Iver asked indifferently, "This shouldn't require your approval, right?"

Captain Camus opened his mouth, then sighed and admitted, "Because I needed to make a copy of a document... that's why I know the contents of the letter, Your Excellency."

"Who told you to copy this?" Iver caught the key point.

"Adjutant to the Navy Department, Chief Secretary to the Naval Minister. His Lord Shelton."

The captain replied, "His request is reasonable—because the original letter needs to be handed over to the Arbitration Hall to prevent it from being lost, and also to compare intelligence and prevent its contents from being secretly replaced. Therefore, a copy needs to be made for record-keeping."

Did you copy it?

"Not yet."

The captain said with a pained expression, "I had just gotten home, and I hadn't even opened my suitcase..."

"So..."

Iver for a moment, then asked, "Have you ever used any rituals? Like a retrieving ritual or something?"

"No," Captain Camus affirmed. "Because it is of great importance, I haven't told anyone yet—and any failed divination or ritual could destroy the clues, so I intend to leave the original scene to Mr. Sherlock."

Iver chuckled softly upon hearing this.

What the captain means is that if your investigation makes it impossible for Sherlock to find anything, then it's not my problem.

but...

"It doesn't matter."

Iver's lips curled up slightly. "Let me give it a try."

Today's update is a combined two-part chapter, 5,000 words in one go! I've been a bit tired lately, so I'm taking a short break!

I'm not so tired that I need to take a break, so I won't. I'll just post a short transitional chapter. Also, thank you Ze Ze the three patrons who donated!

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