407. Chapter 399: Keep Pretending

The entire process, from the moment Iver's reply was placed in his briefcase to its arrival at the Privy Council Minister who were meeting in the Round Table Hall, took no more than twenty minutes.

Camelot Minister gasped and felt a buzzing in his head after just one glance at the reply.

My blood pressure is rising!

Iver didn't use Isabel's signature; instead, he signed his own name directly.

But in reality, there is no essential difference.

After all, this was a document submitted to Her Majesty the Queen according to procedure, and Isabel was not currently on Glass Island. According to Avalon's rules, such matters should be delayed until Isabel returns before a formal approval can be given.

Iver wasn't the Minister of the National Seal, so theoretically he had no right to look at these documents.

He not only read it, but also made no attempt to hide it, openly signing his name to make the approval on behalf of the Queen —without a doubt, Queen Isabel granted Iver the authority of the Minister of the National Seal.

In theory, it is indeed possible for Minister of Everything to do such a thing.

He can be temporarily regarded as a minister in any department, provided he has direct authorization from the Queen.

But it wasn't until he saw this reply that Camelot Minister finally understood one thing—

Queen Isabel has indeed been sidelined by Minister Moriarty! Before this, Camelot Minister was actually a little unsure... Was Isabel's behavior so abrupt and unusual because her previous actions were all a facade, or was someone instructing her to do so?

In other words...

Is that Minister Moriarty a favorite of the young Queen, or a powerful minister who manipulates the entire Avalon behind the scenes?

Now it seems that it is probably the latter.

But how should I put it...

Camelot Minister, on the contrary, breathed a sigh of relief.

He also watched Isabel grow up from a young age.

If all of this was just Isabel's performance, and that her true nature was that of a cold and rational strong person, then that would be far too hurtful... It's like telling you clearly, "I've been on guard against you all along, but now I don't have to pretend anymore."

Now it can finally be confirmed that this was nothing more than remote command from Minister Moriarty, who acted like a puppeteer.

However, on the other hand... it wasn't the cunning Her Majesty the Queen outmaneuvered them. These old fogies, even combined, were still struggling to compete with the younger generation from afar.

Camelot Minister remembered Iver's always squinting, gentle smile; he looked like a cunning Fox.

He felt a chill run down his spine.

Iver only eighteen years old this year...

In Camelot Minister's eyes, he was still just a child. His grandsons were much older than Iver.

... So it is said.

My own stance...

Camelot Minister pondered silently, then closed the letter he had just read and put it back in his briefcase. He straightened his posture, listening to the chaos and noise in the Round Table Hall, and remained silent with his eyes narrowed.

"Is Minister Moriarty still unable to get out of bed?"

The surrounding ministers protested, "His Majesty has already left, what excuse does he have for claiming to be unwell?"

Then, ambiguous laughter echoed from the Round Table Hall.

"Probably because she's shy."

"It's also possible that he was frightened yesterday; I heard the murder scene was quite gruesome."

Someone casually remarked, "Or maybe young people just feel they can't connect with us."

"Don't think like that," someone chuckled softly, seemingly explaining gently, "Maybe it's because Little Iver knows he's just a minister without a department, so he simply doesn't come to the meeting. After all, a minister is ultimately just a nominal position."

"So, he's quite polite. He doesn't ask for things that aren't his."

"After all, he is an adopted son of the Moriarty Family, so it's normal for him to be more sensible than his peers."

"Sigh, he's practically the head of the family now. Even His Majesty has to address him as Moriarty, Knight..."

One after another, seemingly friendly but actually malicious voices rang out from all directions.

This is basically the atmosphere in the Round Table Hall when Her Majesty the Queen is not present.

Rather than serious state discussions, they were more like casual chatter or arguments in the streets. If it weren't for the chief knight's intervention, they would be fighting several times a week.

Even with the chief knight's suppression, there are always knights who have formed feuds in the Round Table Hall and decide to duel every year.

"--quiet!"

The Grand Guardian, with a stern face and displeased expression, rang the bell in front of him.

His voice echoed throughout the Round Table Hall, and the knights fell silent once more.

They didn't actually know Iver, and naturally had no grudge against him. They simply felt that Iver's position as minister was too easy, and also that both Queen Sofia and Queen Isabel had shown Iver obvious favoritism, so they felt somewhat resentful.

For most knights, Isabel's choice of Iver Moriarty, a younger new Minister of Everything, as her sole "team" was tantamount to admitting she had no helpers or confidants. This was, in fact, a very humble attitude, meaning, "Everything is negotiable; I just need support."

That's why they were so puzzled after Isabel attended that Round Table Conference and displayed an unusually tough stance.

... But soon some clever people suddenly realized that those who were speaking up to mock Iver at this moment were almost all ministers and knights from the High-Rise Faction.

However, the Chocolate Faction Ministers, led by Camelot Minister, remained unusually silent throughout.

So they all gradually fell silent.

The only ones left who continued to loudly proclaim their support for Lloyd's were the High-Rise Faction knights who were close to Lloyd's's —few of them were ministers, and most were honorary knights from the Arbitration Hall.

In Avalon, anyone who reaches the Fourth Level the Path of Authority automatically becomes a knight, whether by joining the Arbitration Hall or staying in the Court of Justice. This is why they are the most numerous faction of commoners. They have little real power; they only have access to the Round Table Hall. They are also the knights most easily lured away by Lloyd's's financial incentives.

The high-ranking, powerful ministers of the Chocolate Faction, without exception, all looked visibly grim today... even fearful.

Others may not know, but they all do.

Just yesterday afternoon, during a small meeting at the Chocolate Faction, Minister Griffiths displayed clear and obvious hostility towards Iver. Few ministers are not shrewd and calculating—everyone else sensed something amiss and therefore cautiously refrained from engaging. They simply watched Griffiths's performance.

At the time, they thought it was a trap sent by Iver! But not even a day had passed... just yesterday evening, Griffiths was assassinated.

— Meanwhile, Iver himself, who was originally "unwell" in the Round Table Hall, suddenly appeared in this news as a "helpful passerby".

"You're fucking enthusiastic!" the knights thought to themselves.

You never leave the Silver and Tin Palace —you're either at 14 Ronin Street, at the Moriarty Manor, at the Silver and Tin Palace, or at the Royal Law University. Iver rarely eats at places where other ministers gather... and he inexplicably invited a young reporter he had no prior connection with to dinner.

That reporter wasn't even a superhuman!

There's definitely something wrong here—although they can't explain why and have absolutely no evidence, the strong sense of incongruity makes them afraid to say a word and they can only remain silent.

After the morning's routine meeting ended, these elite ministers gathered again at Camelot Minister's home.

Camelot Minister simply showed the ministers two replies in silence.

"Look, everyone."

Camelot Minister sighed.

The first letter was a reply written to him yesterday by Iver in Isabel's name, with Isabel's signature at the end; the second letter was an order from Iver that Lily had written on his behalf and had just delivered to him.

After the ministers read it, their expressions became complicated.

On the one hand, there were "whistleblowers" within the Chocolate Faction, and on the other hand, there was a sense of awe and even fear towards Iver.

"... I actually have a question."

The Minister of Education looked at the reply in his hand, his expression serious and grave. "Did Her Majesty really write this reply herself?"

Clearly, Isabel is now completely under Iver's control. Therefore, it's possible that this letter was written by Iver.

"It doesn't matter."

Camelot Minister stated frankly, "Even if His Majesty wrote it, Minister Moriarty would certainly have seen it. In other words, Minister Moriarty must already know what Minister Griffiths said. That means... when Minister Moriarty saw Minister Griffiths's corpse, he already knew about his hostility towards him and his adopted sister."

"And now he demands to investigate this matter personally—I strongly urge everyone to distance themselves from this as much as possible. Minister Moriarty is by no means the kind of incompetent man who only argues with us in the Round Table Hall; he is a far more ruthless character than 'that Prince.'"

He was referring to Lloyd Prince two hundred years ago.

Isn't this your problem?

Someone sarcastically questioned Camelot Minister.

After all, they were a very small society, with only a dozen or so members, all of whom were elites—less than a fifth the size of the High-Rise Faction. They undoubtedly considered each other partners. And for such a small group to have a leaker—would naturally make the others feel betrayed.

If Camelot doesn't handle this well, it will undoubtedly affect his position within this small group.

But Camelot simply scoffed without fear. "So what? This undoubtedly demonstrates our loyalty to His Majesty and Avalon."

"If we hadn't noticed something was wrong and reported it immediately, do you know what we would have faced if this had been discovered first?"

He was referring to the demonic magic circle in Minister Griffiths's basement.

Camelot Minister's words tied himself to the non-existent "whistleblower"—and at the moment, no one dared to admit that they were the whistleblower, nor did anyone dare to admit that they were not.

The former means betraying the alliance, while the latter means betraying the Queen.

Upon realizing Camelot Minister's two-pronged strategy, the man's expression changed, and he immediately understood why Camelot Minister dared to directly admit to his leak.

Old Camelot was quite frank, saying directly, "I advise you all—I mean, those who haven't written to His Majesty before—to apologize. You're all old men now, so I won't say any more."

"But," the Minister of Justice sighed softly, "Should we apologize to His Majesty, or to Minister Moriarty?"

"—Be careful what you say, Lord Carter."

The Minister of Defense glanced briefly at the youngest minister present, besides the deceased Griffiths, and reminded him, "Mr. Griffiths, he said those words and then he died."

He replaced "Qing" with "Mr." without leaving a trace. Qing is the honorific title given to knights in Avalon, which is equivalent to the knight of Star Antimony. Only the knights who enter the Round Table Hall can be called "lords".

The Minister of Justice immediately stopped talking.

He was indeed afraid of Iver was unreasonable and would flip the table.

What's even more terrifying is that Iver did it flawlessly—

Everyone knows he did it, but he left no trace.

Could such a method really be conceived and carried out by an 18-year-old student who has no parents and whose elders have all disappeared?

"It doesn't matter who the letter ended up with; what matters is whether we took that stance. After all, Mr. Griffiths was assassinated after consulting with us; and Iver Moriarty has a very clear alibi—even if he unusually arrived at a restaurant he had never been to before and invited a journalist he had never met to dinner, the Arbitration Hall can confirm that he is not involved in Mr. Griffiths's murder."

The Minister of Defense remained calm and composed, as if he had also been involved in writing the letter to report the matter, "In that case, the matter becomes—why is Griffiths of the Linked Star Antimony so close to us? So, just in case... I, along with Lord Camelot, urge you all to bow your heads and admit your mistakes first."

"If I didn't write a letter the first time, I could say it was because I didn't realize it yet, but if I don't write a letter now... then it's a matter of attitude."

The Minister of Justice's expression changed, and he looked around, only to find that almost everyone had adopted the same posture.

Everyone's expression relaxed, and smiles appeared in their eyes.

—It was as if they were all staunch loyalists who wrote to Isabel at the first opportunity, while she was the only one who didn't write.

But the Minister of Justice was certain that some of these colleagues were just putting on an act. Even if they realized something was wrong with Griffiths, it was impossible that everyone would immediately choose to write a letter to report him.

Keep pretending.

But he couldn't do anything about it; after all, he was the first to jump out.

"Indeed, you are right."

Minister Carter sighed and muttered, "Are all these people from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs traitors? How many have been arrested already? I remember the Minister of Maritime Affairs also came from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It's really one after another... Those who have been to Star-Anti are connected to the Stibnite Person, and those who haven't been to Star-Anti are also connected to the Stibnite Person..."

He was speaking when he suddenly remembered that the Minister of Education also came from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs —before becoming the Education Secretary, he was a secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary, and was transferred by the Queen to this field in which he had absolutely no experience.

So Carter nodded and apologized. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean you. It was just an exaggeration."

The Minister of Education, however, showed no anger whatsoever; instead, he merely smiled wryly and said, "It's not too much of an exaggeration."

"Are there really so many traitors in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who favor the Stibnite Person?"

Camelot Minister was somewhat curious.

"Oh, that's not it..."

The Minister of Education thought for a moment and then cautiously added, "I mean, not entirely. At least part of it leans towards Iris."

"Standing on the side of the Iris People is a minor matter; standing on the side of Star Antimony is a major matter."

The Minister of Defense casually remarked, "After all, the Iris and we can now be considered allies."

"What?" Camelot noticed the detail. "Is there something to it?"

The Minister of Defense hesitated for a moment, but quickly sighed, "Never mind, you'll find out soon enough anyway."

"Remember how much benefit the Iris People ceded to us before?"

"Yes," the group exchanged glances and looked around before Camelot Minister cautiously asked, "Is there any explanation?"

"The Iris People have requested that we send a griffin unit to be stationed in Provence."

The Minister of Defense replied.

Provence —that's a border city right next to the Stibium Kingdom.

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions became tense.

Camelot Minister confirmed, "Stationed? Under what pretext?"

"Anything will do. Queen Sophia's proposal is a friendly visit— Provence is currently preparing to host the ' New Year Knight Celebration. Let's go under that pretext."

The Minister of Defense paused for a moment, then explained, "But after we go there, we won't be coming back for the time being."

"What does the Iris People want to do?"

Carter frowned. "They want us to defend the city for them? The Griffin Legion isn't good at defense—is this really not a trap to ruin our Griffin Legion?"

"No," Camelot pondered for a moment, then squinted and said, "I don't think so..."

He keenly sensed that the Iris Flower Kingdom must be planning something.

Their overtures to Avalon and their voluntary concessions of interests can only be explained under one circumstance.

That means they intend to wage war against Star Antimony.

To avoid being attacked from both sides, it is necessary to establish good relations with Avalon in advance.

Camelot pressed further, "Does His Majesty know about this?"

"... Her Majesty Sophia knows," the Minister of Defense replied, "Grand Guardian knows as well."

"Her Majesty Isabel should also know."

Old Camelot tapped the table and slowly replied, "Write to the Silver and Tin Palace now and inform His Majesty of this matter."

"But now..."

Her Majesty Isabel was not present; only Minister Moriarty was in the palace.

The Minister of Defense realized what he had said as soon as he spoke.

The point is to let Minister Moriarty know.

... Could the events of Lloyd's Day be repeated in this day and age? The Minister of Defense gave old Camelot a deep look, then nodded slightly. "I understand. I will write to the Silver and Tin Palace now."

On the other side...

Iver had already brought Lily to Griffiths Manor, which had been sealed off by the Arbitration Hall, in a perfectly legitimate manner.

Although he was Searching for Evidence, he was not accompanied by anyone from the Bureau of Supervision or the Inspectorate— the Grand Arbitrator Ligeia, was personally following behind him.

"Hey kid," Ligeia, somewhat curiously, "What are you looking for?"

Iver smiled slightly and answered honestly, "Of course it's good stuff."

"Let me warn you first, the Arbitration Hall, the inspectorate, and the Bureau of Supervision have already searched this place three times. Are you sure you can still find anything good?"

"I'm sure."

Iver said slowly, "Some things can only be discovered when the right people are nearby."

If it truly exists here.

Iver added in his mind.

At this very moment, the Eye Demon has returned to Star Antimony.

"It's been confirmed, Master..."

It trembled through the air and answered with absolute certainty, "' Aleister's' true identity is Duchess Bayard Viennes Emil Zola Bayard."

Today's chapter is a two-in-one!

It's still because of my cold... I'm dizzy and writing slowly. I just finished writing, so it's a bit slow. Sorry, meow.