When the plot-skips players into the game world

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"— Be careful with your words, Lord Carter."

The Defense Minister cast a fleeting glance at the youngest minister besides the now-deceased Griffiths and cautioned, "Mr. Griffiths was the one who said these words before he was gone."

He subtly changed "Lord" to "Sir." "Lord" is a term of respect in Avalon for Knights and is equivalent to "Sir" in the Antimony Kingdom. Only those who enter the Round Table Hall can be addressed as "Lord."

The Minister of Justice immediately stopped speaking.

He had indeed developed a fear of Aiwass, who was unreasonable and prone to turning over the table.

And what was even more terrifying was that Aiwass's actions were flawless—

Everyone knew he was behind it, yet he left no trace whatsoever.

Could such tactics really be self-conceived and executed by an eighteen-year-old student with no parents or elders in his family?

"It doesn't matter who ends up with this letter in the end, what matters is whether or not we adopt such an attitude. After all, Mr. Griffiths was assassinated after consulting with us; and Aiwass Moriarty has a very clear alibi—Even though he unexpectedly arrived at a restaurant he had never been to, and had dinner with a reporter he had never met, the Supervisory Court can confirm he had no connection to the assassination of Mr. Griffiths."

With an unchanged expression and a calm demeanor, as if he also had a hand in writing the letter of denouncement, the Defense Minister said, "With that in mind, the question becomes—Why was Griffiths, who liaised with Antimony, so close to us? Therefore, just as a precaution... I, together with Lord Camelot, advise everyone to bow their heads and admit fault."

"It could be said that not writing the letter the first time was due to not reacting in time, but if we don't write now... that would be considered an attitude problem."

The Minister of Justice's expression changed as he looked around and realized that everyone seemed to be adopting this posture.

They all looked relaxed, with smiles in their eyes—

—As if they were all staunch loyalists who had immediately written to Queen Isabel, while he was the only one who had not.

But the Minister of Justice was certain that among these colleagues, there had to be some who were just putting on an act. Even if they realized something was off with Griffiths, it was impossible that all of them chose to report it right away.

Keep pretending, keep pretending.

But he was out of options, having been the first to speak out.

"Indeed, what you said is true."

Minister Carter sighed in resignation and couldn't help complaining, "Are all those from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs traitors? How many have been caught now? I remember the Minister of Marine also came from there. One by one... whether they have been to Antimony or associated with Antimony people or not, they are all related to Antimony people..."

He was halfway through when he remembered that the Minister of Education was also from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—Before becoming the head of the Education Ministry, he was the secretary from the Minister of Foreign Affairs' department, and he was called to this field where he had no experience by the Queen.

So Carter nodded in apology, "Oh, my apologies, I wasn't referring to you. It was just a hyperbolic way of expressing."

The Minister of Education didn't seem angry at all; instead, he bitterly smiled, "It's not overly exaggerated."

"Are there really that many traitors in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who are biased toward Antimony people?"

Minister Camelot asked curiously.

"Oh, not necessarily..."

After thinking for a bit, the Minister of Education added cautiously, "I mean, not entirely. At least part of them are biased towards the Irisflower People."

"Taking the side of the Irisflower People is a minor issue, but siding with Antimony is a major one," the Defense Minister offhandedly remarked, "After all, the Iris Kingdom can now be considered somewhat of an ally to us."

"What do you mean by that?" Minister Camelot caught on to the detail and asked sharply.

The Defense Minister hesitated for a moment but soon sighed, "Well, you'll find out soon enough anyway.

"Remember how the Irisflower People conceded quite a bit of their interests to us before?"

"Yes," the others glanced at each other, and Minister Camelot asked cautiously, "Is there an explanation for that?"

"The Irisflower People have requested that we deploy a Gryphon Legion to be stationed in Provence."

The Defense Minister answered.

Provence—that was a border city lying next to the Antimony Kingdom.

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Upon hearing this, the expressions of those present all tensed up.

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

"Any will do. Queen Sofia's suggestion is a friendly visit—Provence has been busying itself with organizing the 'New Year Knight Festival.' Let's use that as a pretext to go there," he said.

The Defense Minister paused, then explained, "But once there, we won't be coming back for a while."

"What do the Irisflower People want to do?"

Carter frowned deeply, "Do they want us to defend their city for them? The Gryphon Legion is not adept at defense—could this really not be a trap meant to ensnare our Gryphon Legion?"

"No," Minister Camelot pondered for a while, narrowing his eyes as he spoke, "I don't think so..."

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

Their gestures of goodwill towards Avalon, the proactive concessions of interests—it could all be explained by one situation.

They were planning to go to war with Antimony.

To avoid being attacked from both sides, they needed to make amends with Avalon in advance.

Minister Camelot pressed, "Does Her Majesty know about this?"

"...Queen Sofia knows," the Defense Minister replied, "And the Grand Guardian knows as well."

"Queen Isabel should be aware of it as well."

Old Minister Camelot stretched out his hand to knock on the table, responding slowly, "Write to the Hall of Silver and Tin now and inform Her Majesty of this matter."

"But right now..."

Queen Isabel was not even present, only Minister Moriarty was inside the royal palace—

The Defense Minister had just started speaking when he realized the implication.

It was intended for Minister Moriarty to be made aware of the situation.

...Could it be that the incidents of the past involving Lohar were to repeat themselves in this generation?

The Defense Minister gave old Minister Camelot a deep look but still nodded slightly, "I understand. I will write to the Hall of Silver and Tin right now."

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Aiwass had already arrived, openly and without concealment, at the Griffiths Manor, which had been sealed by the Arbitration Hall.

Although he was on the hunt for evidence, there was no one from the Supervisory Bureau or the Supervisory Court accompanying him—Grand Arbitrator Ligeia herself was following close behind.

"Hey, kid," Ligeia was curious, "what are you looking for?"

Aiwass's mouth curved slightly upwards, and he answered honestly, "Of course, it's something good."

"I should remind you, the Arbitration Hall, the Supervisory Court, and the Supervisory Bureau have already scoured the place three times over. Are you certain you can still find something good?"

"I'm certain."

Aiwass spoke slowly, "Some things can only be discovered when the right person comes near them."

If it truly exists here, that is.

Aiwass added in his mind.

At this very moment, the Eye Demon had also returned to Antimony.

"It's confirmed, master..."

The creature vibrated the air, answering with utter certainty, "The true identity of 'Aleister' is Baroness Vinesse Emile Zola Beyard." Explore new worlds at My Virtual Library Empire