Shrunk by the Fairy Queen, Iver narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the blue Gem Bird, which was about the same size as him.
--Fate.
Fate again.
Not long ago, Lord of Scales and Feathers had told Iver about his fate—as a lamb raised in captivity by the Shepherd, protected and tended only for the final feast. The resistance he could offer was to leave the sheepfold and die to the beasts in the Dark Forest, inflicting an unbearable loss upon the arrogant Shepherd...
Going back a little further, Cardinal Loki had also been something of a riddle-speaker.
So Iver spoke, half calmly and half sarcastically: "Cardinal Loki chose the heir destined to inherit his fate. He chose you, and you rebelled. And now, Father... you say that my arrival is fate.
"Am I the heir you chose? Or am I merely... a key?"
At this, the Gem Bird was evidently somewhat surprised.
He looked at Iver in astonishment, seemingly unable to understand where Iver had learned these secrets.
Professor Moriarty, however, did not deny Iver's words.
"Looks like you know quite a lot..."
Bird James sighed.
A heavy sigh emerged from its sharp beak. "But some things still aren't suitable for you to learn too early."
"Why?"
"Because knowledge is poisonous."
The bird replied, "I'm not talking about curses that pollute the mind... Rather, there are some things that, once you know them, will guide your actions afterward. From that perspective, how are they not worms that can control the mind by existing in the form of 'secrets'?
"For example, you know that I'm here, and you know that 'Moonlight' can enter the Fairy Kingdom. That's why you came here to find me—so how is that not me controlling you and bringing you here? If I say