Spider's Foot

Iver rose from the sofa and addressed the Princess by her name: "Isabel..."

His face showed a mixture of anxiety, surprise, and a realization. "Has something happened over there...?"

" —Iver!"

Isabel didn't answer. Instead, with a sob escaping her lips, she threw herself into Iver's arms and hugged him tightly.

She wrapped one arm around Iver's waist and the other around Iver back, grabbing Iver long hair that fell down his back. She buried her face in Iver's chest, greedily inhaling his breath. The girl, who had been trembling, calmed down at a visible speed.

Iver reached out and hugged Isabel, putting his arm around her shoulder.

After a long while, Isabel, her voice muffled by sobs, buried her face in Iver's arms and cried out, "I don't want to marry Stibnite Person!!"

"—Save me, Iver! You're all I have now..."

Her voice was incredibly sincere, carrying an intense sense of disgust and resistance, as well as a deep trust and yearning for the sense of security that Iver provided... It was truly powerful.

Isabel didn't explain what happened at all. But that's precisely what makes it feel so real.

Such intense and powerful emotional output is precisely her forte.

And what she was saying now was exactly what she had wanted to say to Iver, or what she had said to Iver before.

That acting, so convincing yet so convincing, made Shafiya believe without hesitation that Isabel and Iver were truly in love.

Even if James hadn't discovered Iver's identity beforehand, he could only tell that the two of them were indeed secretly developing a relationship and were an unknown underground couple.

—In that instant, Shafiya felt relieved. She had confirmed that the Moriarty Family was indeed an ally.

If Iver has a very high chance of becoming Prince, then the Moriarty Family indeed has no motive or position to betray the royal family.

Because Professor Moriarty is undoubtedly a smart man, and also a businessman.

Since Iver and Isabel are truly lovers, if he were to hand Isabel over now, it would result in a huge and irreparable loss... and even then, he would not gain the trust of his new master.

If the Round Table Hall wants to hunt down Isabel, it can only be to silence her and solidify her identity as the "fake Isabel."

Iver has developed genuine feelings for Isabel, and unless Iver is silenced, the possibility of him betraying Iver in the future must be considered.

Therefore, unless the professor also cuts off Iver and abandons the opportunity that would have made Iver Prince... he will definitely stand on their side.

Whether the professor was aware of or approved of the relationship beforehand, he has no choice now.

—In just a moment, Shafiya found a breakthrough in the current situation.

At this moment, the professor simply looked at the two of them meaningfully, with an undisguised smile on his face.

Seeing the two being so intimate, he watched them with great interest and anticipation, as if he had witnessed something amusing.

Shafiya approached and whispered the rest of the story to Isabel: "Minister Drost Droste poisoned the Queen, and the Stibnite Person found a double for Isabel beforehand, intending to impersonate her and marry the Stibium Prince. The Round Table Hall is now in complete chaos... We escaped."

"... Oh my God."

Professor Moriarty exclaimed in surprise.

For a moment, his tone made Shafiya wonder if he was being sarcastic or sarcastic.

However, James's face quickly darkened, and his attitude returned to seriousness. "How many Fifth Level did the Stibnite Person bring?"

Professor Moriarty didn't ask silly questions like "Is this true?" or inquire about the specific situation in the Round Table Hall. Instead, he skipped over a lot of logic and went straight to asking the most crucial question.

"Two."

Shafiya stated very clearly. "One of them is Leo Karl, Lieutenant General... the incarnation of the Balrog."

"The other one was an old man on the Path of Twilight. He was wearing the black robes of the Necromancy Academy and should be a member of the Black Path."

"Earl Karl was acquainted with the Earl Leipzig Earl Leipzig was a prominent figure."

When Professor Moriarty gets serious, he becomes so reliable.

He placed his hands in front of him with his fingers interlaced, like a spider pressing its web-weaving legs together.

The old man calmly and quickly analyzed the situation. "One person from the Red Side, plus one from the Black Side. Queen Louise is one of the Red Side's 'daughters,' Child of the Moon of at least the Fourth Level. She can also be considered a Fifth Level being hiding her strength, and she will most likely be carrying a divine artifact."

"If we consider Queen Louise as the representative of the Star Antimony Royal Family, then a balance is achieved among the three... Do you know what that means?"

"... They're wary of each other? Is this conspiracy a collective decision by Star Antimony?"

Shafiya wasn't very sure and gave a vague answer.

She is actually very intelligent. But at this moment, her mind has not yet fully cooled down from the anxiety.

Being appointed as the Grand Adjudicator indicates that she is the most skilled at intelligence processing among the several Fifth Level powerhouses.

"—This means that the other two parties have a chance to profit from this, Ms. Shafiya. But the traitors of Avalon can only be loyal to one side, so we certainly still have a chance."

Professor Moriarty spoke without any facial expression, yet this gave him a powerful and reassuring presence.

"So don't be too nervous, ma'am. The situation isn't as bad as you think."

His words carried a inflammatory quality, abruptly shifting the topic in another direction. "Although the Moriarty Family occupies a marginal position within the Founding Family system, we are not weak. With the Round Table Hall now almost entirely controlled by Lloyd's, the Moriarty Family, with its ample financial resources, is the only Founders' Founding Family completely unaffected by or controlled by Lloyd's London."

"—Do you know what this means?"

Shafiya did not answer; she simply shook her head, signaling Professor Moriarty to continue.

The professor slowly said, "Although you haven't gone into details, I think there must have been some turmoil in the Round Table Hall. Now, those knights who were completely loyal to the royal family in the Round Table Hall have probably all been killed... because they were a minority and would be attacked by everyone."

"However, it is absolutely impossible for Star Antimony to offer all the traitors sufficiently generous benefits—you may not be aware of Star Antimony's financial situation, but I can say with certainty that they simply cannot afford that price."

"In other words, Xingti must be supporting certain ministers and Lloyd's executives to set the pace and create a 'trend' that will coerce others into joining in."

"...Yes," Shafiya nodded seriously, "I think it is Minister Drost."

Although she couldn't be certain that Drost was the one who poisoned the Queen, because she couldn't discern the specific methods he used, Minister Drost's reaction when the Queen collapsed was certainly suspicious. Even if he wasn't the one who carried out the poisoning, he was definitely someone who knew about it.

"Very likely, ma'am."

Professor Moriarty nodded slightly. "As far as I know, Minister Drost has acquired four manors and a Viscount Territory in Star Antimony."

"... Why didn't you say so sooner?" Shafiya was momentarily shocked and furious, and a silver-gray flame ignited in her eyes for a moment.

But before she could say it, Shafiya swallowed it back.

Anyway, questioning them now is pointless; it will only push away valuable allies.

Looking at Shafiya's expression, Professor Moriarty clearly guessed what she was thinking.

He didn't explain why he hadn't said anything, but instead said directly, "Diomedes just left before you arrived. He wanted to lure Iver out to murder him, but I scared him away."

"This could only be an order from Drost —because Iver wrote to Isabel, warning her. Apparently, that letter was intercepted and fell into the hands of Minister Drost."

"You should have just seen him leave Moriarty Manor. You should be able to tell that his coming here at this time is definitely not to discuss anything good with me. Therefore, we are definitely not allies. I believe you can see that I am telling the truth."

"...really."

Shafiya nodded guiltily. "I got carried away, I'm sorry."

Iver looked at his adoptive father with some astonishment, his surprise undisguised. "How did you know...?"

How would I know you wrote a letter?

Professor Moriarty interrupted Iver directly, a gentle and composed smile on his face, "You hang out with that Sherlock kid every day, how could I not know what you're thinking? He's my most prized student."

"Your relationship with Her Highness the Princess... I don't think there's much to say; it's obvious to anyone with eyes. I will definitely side with Iver, and therefore the Moriarty Family will side with Her Highness the Princess... or rather, the future Her Majesty the Queen. Please share your thoughts with us."

The first half is undoubtedly the truth.

In this timeline, Iver has no wariness of his adoptive father, and his every move is completely under Professor Moriarty's observation and surveillance.

The following sentence was clearly a setup he made to help Iver conceal his identity.

Path of Authority have a natural resistance to lies. For Shafiya, who can discern lies solely through intuition, she can only be left to misunderstand... and clearly, the professor is adept at this.

Like Iver., he was an expert in the art of lying the truth.

After the professor laid out such a preamble, Shafiya could only conclude that Iver and Isabel's relationship had existed for a long time and had already been exposed, which Professor Moriarty had noticed.

Since Iver and Isabel were already lovers...

Shafiya hesitated for a moment.

Without further hesitation, she revealed the secret of the "Shadow of Avalon" ritual.

Although this is top secret... at this point, the ritual is either about to be completed or it will completely fail.

There's no point in hiding it anymore.

To complete the Shadow of Avalon Ritual, she needed Professor Moriarty's support, and therefore, she needed to demonstrate sincerity. She couldn't possibly continue to hide the truth at this point... that would be utterly foolish, practically treating Professor Moriarty like an idiot.

He certainly couldn't be a fool.

Therefore, Shafiya chose to treat people with sincerity.