City of Blankness

Grandet knew that Iver was busy, so after the conversation, he politely excused himself and left.

Objectively speaking, Grandet's existence helped Iver solve many problems.

Gray-Green clearly knew a little about Grandet's background. And the troublesome and cunning Iver displayed during his negotiations with the "Mr. Gold Coin" prevented her from testing Iver further. This saved both sides time and energy.

Unlike Grandet's large orders that involved core national policies, Ms. Gray-Green's demands were quite simple.

She simply hoped that Iver would become the new president of Lloyd's's, thereby stabilizing the Avalon merchants whose minds were beginning to stir.

—Lloyd's's is a business association whose members are all businessmen. And businessmen have no loyalty whatsoever.

Once they have confirmed that Lloyd's's is being targeted by higher authorities, those businessmen will not hesitate to abandon Lloyd's's.

But that doesn't mean they won't reunite. They'll simply regroup around a different group and form a new business alliance... perhaps with a new name, like the "High-Rise Society" or the "Prince Society."

It might happen openly, but more likely it will happen covertly.

But in essence, these organizations are all the same. Different small groups will inevitably try to compete for the right to speak, which will bring instability and change to the environment—to be fair, businessmen who already have resources will certainly want to maintain stability as much as possible.

At this juncture, if Iver, as Minister of Everything, were to become president of Lloyd's's, it would undoubtedly send a very friendly signal to these businessmen: the Round Table Hall might not actually want Lloyd's's to dissolve, but rather hopes to get involved and get a share of the profits.

Businessmen all share the same logic. They're not afraid to haggle or ask for more; they're only afraid of you not even wanting to talk.

Iver had already joined Lloyd's beforehand; the Moriarty Family had been in business for generations, and his adoptive father James Moriarty, was a high-ranking executive at Lloyd's's. He was undoubtedly the best choice.

For Iver, this wasn't a bad thing either.

Rather than letting those rats gather and cause trouble in corners you can't see, it's better to keep them safe and sound right in front of you.

With Gray-Green as his agents, Iver was finally able to exert influence over the gangs in Lloyd District.

For these gang members who live in the mud, the decrees issued by the high and mighty Round Table Hall are basically useless. If you don't intend to kill them all like Tudor III, the "Hanging King," you have to rely on channels that these gang members approve of to control them.

Besides, they have other important uses for Iver.

If possible, Iver even wanted to help the Gray-Green expand their influence. Ideally, he would unify all the underground gangs in the country.

—These gangsters will come in handy when Grandet sends his "Construction Team" to Avalon to build the railway.

People know their own situation, and locals have their own rules. Building a railway is a good thing for the whole of Avalon in the long run, and it's beneficial for the troll Construction Team to come and work for free. However, it may not be without hostility and obstruction from the local people.

After all, trolls are too ugly, and Avalon is too conservative. Residents of some remote towns don't understand the significance of the railway, and the construction of the railway will inevitably pass through many residential areas, requiring Avalon to purchase and redeem much of the land and houses... Grandet certainly won't pay for this part.

If someone were to realize the necessity of the railway for Avalon at this point, some ill-intentioned individuals would inevitably try to raise prices, extort extra benefits, or even collude with entire villages to repeatedly inflate the price, or take money from the Stibnite Person Iris People to destroy the railway. And in such matters, it's actually not easy for Avalon to directly send officials to resolve them.

Previously, these acts of violence were handled by the Bureau of Supervision. But precisely because of this, many people are terrified of the Control Yuan officials and harbor strong hostility towards the Bureau of Supervision.

Whether it's intervention, protection, or surveillance, these gang members are far more useful than the Bureau of Supervision. Information also spreads much faster than through official channels; many matters that Iver and Isabel cannot handle themselves can be left to Ms. Gray-Green to resolve.

If she has connections to launder money, it's tantamount to giving local gang members a chance to start anew. In Avalon is about to have many legitimate jobs, this is a very useful incentive.

Gray-Green was a smart person. Without Iver having to explain repeatedly, she quickly understood what she needed to do and what she could gain from it.

When two intelligent people are spared the trouble of testing each other, their efficiency becomes very high. When Iver finished talking with Gray-Green, it wasn't even long before noon.

Afterwards, Iver returned to the Silver and Tin Palace to rest for a while, and took a bath and changed into a new set of clothes.

Although his wound had healed, there was still blood on the collar of his clothes. Isabel might worry if she saw it, so it was better not to tell her at all.

After changing his clothes, Iver went straight to Isabel's bedroom to wait for her return. They arrived almost simultaneously; Iver's hair was still slightly damp when Ligeia hurriedly brought Isabel in.

"It's been a long time, Your Her Majesty the Queen. Please have some hot black tea first."

Iver looked up and said softly.

It wasn't lunchtime yet, and he was calmly sipping his warm black tea. When he saw Isabel, still dressed in her formal attire, enter, he poured two cups for both Isabel and Ligeia as well.

This tea contains a touch of ginger, a generous amount of sugar, and bergamot essential oil personally blessed by Iver. It's less of a tea and more of a potion; just drinking it is enough to restore some energy.

Lily took the glass teapot, which was low on tea, from Iver to get more tea.

Isabel didn't drink tea. After removing her crown, she somewhat disregarded her image and sat directly opposite Iver, slumping wearily onto the table. Her arms were crossed, just like someone resting during a break between classes.

"How does it taste, Ligeia?"

Iver watched as Ligeia was about the same height as him while sitting, downed her tea in one gulp and casually teased, "Would you like some milk?"

Ligeia casually remarked, "If I could, I'd like to add some beer."

"Why not give it a try? It might taste great."

Iver encouraged Ligeia: "Add some oranges and ginger, and cook it with the beer, or red wine would also work; or add some mint and ice to the beer and black tea, I think they might taste pretty good."

"You're right," Ligeia seemed genuinely interested. "I'll go try it in a bit—would you like to drink it if I make it?"

"It's not impossible."

Iver chuckled, "Go prepare some drinks, we'll bring Her Majesty the Queen along. She looks quite tired, it would be perfect for her to have a little wine and then take a sweet afternoon nap."

"If His Majesty is going to drink it too, I'll have to be a bit conservative with the ingredients I prepare... Lily, come help me!"

Ligeia smiled and left Isabel's bedroom, leaving Iver and Isabel a private space to talk alone.

Iver watched her hurried departure with Lily and shook his head slightly.

Sometimes, even Iver wasn't quite sure whether Ligeia's emotional intelligence was high or low.

Looking at Isabel, who was lying motionless on the table as if asleep, Iver reached out and gently stroked her head. He felt the warm, soft strands of hair brush against his fingertips like smoke, but Isabel did not react.

"Thank you for your hard work, Isabel."

Iver looked at Isabel, who was lying quietly on the table like she was dead, gently shook her shoulder, and then said softly, "Be good, drink your tea first... then go change your clothes."

"... Iver."

Isabel's muffled voice came from her arm. "This is the first time in my life I've been allowed to leave Glass Island."

"I know," Iver said softly.

"I thought I would be very excited..."

As Isabel spoke, she looked up. She covered her face with her hands, supporting her forehead.

She wasn't crying, but she looked exhausted. Not from lack of sleep or overwork, but from feeling immense pressure for the first time.

Iver handed her the tea, and Isabel finally put her hand down and accepted it.

She drank the tea, which was no longer too hot, in two gulps, and felt a little better.

Isabel placed the empty teacup back on the tray and suddenly asked, "Have you ever been anywhere outside of Glass Island, Iver?"

Iver said calmly, "You know I just got back."

"Yes. Sherlock has been there, Meg ... Ligeia has been there, and the teacher is a world traveler...but none of you told me that the place outside of Glass Island is like this..."

Isabel paused abruptly.

"Desolate?"

Iver tried to piece together the word for her. "Savage? Backward? Poor?"

"-- [blank]."

Isabel kept shaking her head, but then suddenly blurted out.

This is a metaphor that belongs only to her.