When the plot-skips players into the game world

Chapter 600: Chapter 18 The Spider’s Legs Chapter 600: Chapter 18 The Spider’s Legs Aiwass rose from the sofa and directly called the princess by her name, “Isabel…”

An expression that revealed a mix of anxiety and surprise, yet as if he had realized something, crossed his face, “Has something happened over there?”

“— Aiwass!”

Isabel didn’t answer; instead, with a cry close to a sob, she threw herself into Aiwass’s arms without hesitation and held him tightly.

With one hand she embraced Aiwass’s waist, the other grabbed his back, clutching the long hair that fell there.

Her face burrowed into Aiwass’s chest, greedily inhaling his scent; the trembling girl visibly calmed down at a remarkable speed.

Aiwass lifted his hands to return the embrace, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

After a while, Isabel, still with a muffled cry buried in Aiwass’s embrace, said loudly, “I don’t want to marry someone from Star Antimony!!

“— Save me, Aiwass!

You’re all I have now…”

Her voice was incredibly sincere, laced with strong revulsion and resistance, as well as trust and longing for the sense of safety that Aiwass provided…

It was truly impactful.

Isabel hadn’t elaborated on what exactly had happened throughout the ordeal.

Yet, it was precisely because of this that her plea felt utterly genuine.

Such intense and vigorous emotional output was her forte.

And the words she spoke were precisely those she once wanted to say to Aiwass, or had said to him before.

That nearly flawless performance convinced Lady Shafiya, without a doubt, of the sincere feelings between Isabel and Aiwass.

Even if James had not uncovered Aiwass’s true identity beforehand, he could only deduce that the two indeed were in a secret romance, unknown to others.

— In that instant, Lady Shafiya let down her guard.

She affirmed that the Moriarty Family truly were allies.

If there was a great chance for Aiwass to become the Crown Prince, then it logically followed that the Moriarty Family had no motive or standing to betray the royal house.

After all, Professor Moriarty was undoubtedly a clever man, and also a businessman.

If Aiwass and Isabel were a real couple, then if he handed over Isabel now, he would incur a tremendous, irrevocable loss…

And even then, he would not earn the trust of a new master.

If the Round Table Hall wanted to kill Isabel, it could only be to silence her and validate the identity of the “fake Isabel.”

Since Aiwass had genuine feelings for Isabel, unless they killed Aiwass as well, they must consider the possibility of Aiwass’s future betrayal.

Therefore, unless the Professor also cut off Aiwass and forwent the chance to make him Crown Prince…

he would certainly stand by their side.

No matter whether the Professor was aware or in agreement with this relationship beforehand, he had no choice now.

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

At that moment, though, the Professor was merely looking at them with a significant, unshrouded smile on his face.

As he saw the closeness of the pair, it was as if he had seen something interesting, watching them with great interest and anticipation.

Lady Shafiya approached and quietly supplemented the events for Isabel, “Minister Drost poisoned the Queen, and the people from Star Antimony found a substitute for Isabel ahead of time, ready to replace her identity to marry the Prince from Star Antimony.

Now the Round Table Hall is in chaos…

We escaped from there.”

“…

Oh, my goodness.”

Professor Moriarty exclaimed in astonishment.

His tone, for a moment, made Lady Shafiya wonder if he was being sarcastic.

However, James quickly grew serious and returned to a solemn demeanor, “How many from the Fifth Power Level did the people from Star Antimony bring?”

Professor Moriarty didn’t ask any foolish questions like “Is this true?” or inquire about the specific situation at the Round Table Hall, but instead skipped many logical steps to ask a crucial question.

“Two.”

Lady Shafiya said clearly, “One of them is Leo Karl, a Major General of the Army…

the incarnation of the Flame Demon.

“The other is an old man from the Path of Dusk, wearing the black robe of the Necromancy Academy; he must be one of the Black Chancellors.”

“Count Karl has a good relationship with Count Leipzig, and Count Leipzig is one of the Red Chancellors.”

When Professor Moriarty got serious, he became so reliable.

With his fingers interlaced in front of him like a spider about to weave its web, the old man calmly and swiftly analyzed the situation, “One person is from the Red Chancellor’s side and another from the Black Chancellor’s side.

Queen Louise is one of the ‘daughters’ of the Red Chancellor, at least from the Fourth Power Level as the Son of the Moon.

She can also be considered a hidden Fifth Power Level, likely accompanied by a Divine Artifact.

“If we consider Queen Louise as representing the Star Antimony royal family, then these three parties have reached a Balance…

Do you understand what this means?”

“…

They keep each other in check?

This conspiracy is a collective decision of Star Antimony?”

Lady Shafiya replied uncertainly, her answer unclear.

She was actually quite clever.

But at that moment, her mind had not fully cooled down from the anxiety.

Being appointed as the Grand Adjudicator meant she was the most skilled in handling intelligence among the few Fifth Power Level mighty ones.

“——It means that the other two parties both have the opportunity to profit from this situation alone, Lady Shafiya.

However, the traitor from Avalon can only be loyal to one side, so we still have a chance,”

Professor Moriarty spoke without any expression on his face, but this lack of emotion paradoxically filled his words with persuasiveness and a sense of security.

“So there’s no need to be too nervous, my lady.

The situation isn’t as bad as you think.”

His words carried a provocative force, suddenly shifting the topic to another direction: “Although the Moriarty Family is on the fringe within the system of the Founding Families, we are not weak.

With the Round Table Hall almost completely controlled by the Lohar Society, the Moriarty Family, having ample financial resources, is the only Founding Family that is neither controlled nor influenced by the Lohar Society.

“——Do you know what this implies?”

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

And the professor slowly said, “Although you have not spoken in detail, I surmise that there must have been turmoil within the Round Table Hall.

By now, those Knights completely loyal to the royal family are likely to have been completely slaughtered…

because they are a minority and would be attacked by everyone.

“But Star Antimony could certainly not afford to give all the traitors ample benefits — you may not be aware of Star Antimony’s economic situation, but I can assert they simply cannot pay that price.

“That means, on the side of Star Antimony, there must have been support for individual ministers and the higher ranks of the Lohar Society, using them to set the tone and create a ‘trend’ to coerce others.”

“…Yes,” Shafiya nodded solemnly, “I believe it is Minister Drost.”

Although she could not be certain that Drost was the one who poisoned the Queen Consort, because it was not apparent what methods he had used, his reaction when the queen collapsed must have been amiss.

Even if he was not the executor of the poison, he was most certainly privy to it.

“It is very likely, my lady.”

Professor Moriarty nodded slightly: “To my knowledge, Minister Drost has acquired four manors and a viscounty in Star Antimony.”

…Why didn’t you tell me earlier?

Shafiya was momentarily enraged, a silver-grey flame igniting in the depths of her pupils.

But before the words could leave her mouth, Shafiya swallowed them back.

Anyhow, questioning now would be pointless and would only serve to push a valuable ally away.

And seeing Shafiya’s expression, Professor Moriarty clearly guessed what she was thinking.

He did not explain why he hadn’t spoken earlier, but instead directly said, “Just before you arrived, Diomedes had just left.

He wanted to lure Aiwass out and kill him but was directly frightened off by me.

“This can only be an order from Drost — the reason is that Aiwass wrote a letter to Isabel, warning her.

Clearly, the letter was intercepted and ended up in Minister Drost’s hands.

“You should have seen him leaving Moriarty Manor just now.

Thinking about his visit here at this time, it certainly would not be for any good purpose with me, so we surely cannot be allies.

I trust, my lady, that you can see I am speaking the truth right now.”

“…Indeed.”

Shafiya nodded with a sense of guilt: “I got worked up, my apologies.”

Aiwass, however, looked at his foster father with astonishment, his surprise not hidden in the slightest: “How did you know…?”

“How did I know you wrote a letter?”

Professor Moriarty interrupted Aiwass’s question, his face revealing a gentle and composed smile: “You and that boy Sherlock are together every day, could I not know what you are thinking?

He is, after all, my most accomplished student.

“Your relationship with Her Highness the Princess…I don’t think there’s any need to speak of it, as those with clear sight can naturally make it out.

I will definitively stand by Aiwass, and thus the Moriarty Family will stand by Her Highness the Princess…or should I say, the future Queen Consort.

Whatever ideas you have, you might as well share them with us.”

The first half was undoubtedly true.

In this world timeline, Aiwass had no guard up against his foster father, his every move under Professor Moriarty’s observation and surveillance.

And the latter part was obviously his cover-up to help Aiwass maintain his identity.

The Path of Authority has a natural resistance to lies.

For Shafiya, who could discern lies based just on intuition, she could only be left to misconstrue…and clearly, the professor was adept at this.

Just like Aiwass, he was a master at the art of lying with the truth.

With the professor’s elaborate prelude, Shafiya could only assume that the romance between Aiwass and Isabel had long existed and was exposed, under Professor Moriarty’s watchful eye.

And since Aiwass and Isabel had long been lovers…

Shafiya hesitated for a moment.

Then, without further hesitation, she directly spoke of the secret of the Ceremony of Avalon’s Shadow.

Although it was highly confidential…by now, the ceremony was either about to be completed or was doomed to total failure.

There was no point in hiding it any longer.

To complete the Ceremony of Avalon’s Shadow, she needed Professor Moriarty’s support, thus she needed to show sincerity.

She could not choose to hide the truth at this point…that would be too foolish, akin to treating Professor Moriarty as a fool.

Of course, he could not be a simpleton.

So Shafiya chose to treat him with sincerity.@@novelbin@@