When the plot-skips players into the game world

Chapter 613: Chapter 26 Drost is Very Relieved Chapter 613: Chapter 26 Drost is Very Relieved Although Drost had previously known that “Aleister Crowley” was the daughter of an earl…

or perhaps even the earl’s grandmother,

he was still stunned by the noble beauty of “Miss Crowley” when he returned.

Her skin was pale, and she was even taller than Drost, with long, straight hair that was as black as night and as smooth as a waterfall, giving off a damp sensation.

She sat with her legs crossed in the same spot Aiwass Moriarty had just been sitting, supporting her cheek with her hand and resting with her eyes closed.

At that moment, Miss Crowley was wearing a low-cut black and red gown that Antimony nobles would don only for evening banquets, a silver-inlaid black crystal cross dangling at her chest.

The black stockings on her legs were relatively thick, yet her legs in the black, knee-high boots appeared slender and strong.

Drost could vaguely make out two lines of silver alchemical script vertically written on the front of her stockings…

but he couldn’t understand the specific meanings, so he took them to be some sort of decoration.

Such an overbearing nobility was startling.

It was as though she were the Queen of Avalon, and he was but a subject granted an audience with the queen.

“…

Miss Crowley.”

Minister Drost respectfully knelt on one knee and performed a knightly salute, but since he had become quite spherical, it looked somewhat comical.

—He hadn’t even been this respectful to Queen Sofia in years.

“Oh, you’re back?”

Miss Crowley cracked her eyes open slightly.

A pleasant and teasing smile appeared on her lips.

Her pupils were a disturbing crimson, glittering with dangerous red light.

In that instant, Drost knew…

why she appeared so young but gave off a feeling of being practiced and dangerous.

—She was not only an amber artisan but also a noble Son of the Moon!

Furthermore, as “Crowley,” she was also one of the inheritors of the Demon clan.

The Black Chancellor, the Red Chancellor, and the Demon Family.

The three combined into one.

It was a concentrated representation of Antimony’s power!

Drost was inwardly alarmed and solidified a thought: This could definitely not be a disguise of Aiwass Moriarty.

So he suppressed the idea that had just surfaced in his mind.

—When he had gone up to look for something earlier, something felt off…@@novelbin@@

but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what.

It was as if he had overlooked an important detail.

Yet, for the life of him, Minister Drost couldn’t remember what it was that he had forgotten…

there was only a faint, barely noticeable doubt in his heart: Could it be that he was Aiwass, simply bluffing?

After all, Aiwass had not demonstrated any tangible transcendent power, displaying only significantly superior intelligence compared to his own.

And intelligence of that sort could be delegated to others.

Thus, he entertained an improper thought: Could it be that these pieces of information were actually the result of Sherlock’s investigations, and Aiwass was just using them to play a role.

Then, had he found a way to circumvent the Flame of Truth’s detection?

Drost’s speculation had no evidence.

Or maybe he just couldn’t let go…

and was trying to find a reason not to hand Diomedes over to “Aiwass.”

But when he returned and truly saw “Aiwass” who had become Miss Crowley, Drost’s earlier conjectures seemed so empty, void, and ridiculous.

…

If she was unreservedly returning to her true form, what more was there to say?

To be able to replace someone else’s identity so quietly without fear of being exposed, the real Aiwass Moriarty likely died long ago.

In other words, from some point on, the current “Bishop Moriarty” had already been Miss Crowley.

If she could replace Aiwass, she could replace him as well.

From that perspective, how many more people in Avalon had been replaced by them?

Just thinking about it made Drost shudder uncontrollably.

It was the fear that one’s own existence and entire life to this point could be easily stolen away without anyone noticing.

Drost was well acquainted with Professor Moriarty.

He was a very clever and somewhat dangerous fellow.

He often appeared out of nowhere and was on good terms with some odd characters.

Outside of his identity as a university professor, renowned scholar, wealthy merchant, and major philanthropist, he was also a “crime consultant” for the Lohar Society.

The Lohar Society, which straddled the line between merchant alliances and underground gangs, managed to never completely infuriate the Hall of Silver and Tin, thanks to the guidance of Professor Moriarty.

It wasn’t just sponsorship of knights—if they were merely affluent, they would instead be endlessly extorted by the knights.

It was because they managed to remain above the line, keeping up a façade of innocence, while bringing new order to the Lohar District…

that the Supervisory Bureau found it difficult to interfere with the Lohar Society’s sphere of influence.

They couldn’t afford to lose control of the Lohar District if the Lohar Society were gone.

As the main labor area of the Royal Capital and poor district, in addition to the Port District, the relationships in the Lohar District were intricately entwined, with many problems potentially creating a domino effect.

Since the Supervisory Bureau operated on a system of accountability, where officials were held responsible for their own decisions, no one dared to address the issues in the Lohar District.

Additionally, the dominion of Lohar Society over various major gang organizations, through their ruthless yet covert methods, brings a deterrence factor…

as well as an omnipresent and pervasive infiltration capacity, which has allowed the Lohar Society to become a well-known grey power for the past few decades.

All of this is thanks to the personal guidance of Moriarty.

Although the Lohar Society had existed for two hundred years, after the death of Prince Lohar, it began to gradually lose control.

It wasn’t until the young Moriarty came into contact with the Lohar Society that he was able to reintegrate it into his own resource network.

Furthermore, in Glass Island, and even in Avalon…

if someone makes a grave mistake, or finds themselves in a situation with no way out, they might be guided to come into contact with Professor Moriarty.

And the Professor always provides careful guidance, patiently and generously offering resources and strategies to perfectly solve their problems.

He himself would take no action, simply providing a suggestion, perhaps some money, or writing a letter of introduction for them.

But he always helped them perfectly solve their problems.

In some sense, the lofty reputation of Professor Moriarty on Glass Island stemmed from this.

Those he had helped were scattered the length of Glass Island…

the vast majority of them not significant figures, but rather unremarkable minor characters.

The Professor never demanded loyalty as a promise from them, nor did he seek any form of payment, and he even eschewed the need for any promise of future repayment…

he simply wanted a tenuous form of “friendship”.

It was as if helping to solve their problems was the very thing he wanted to do.

—What use is that?

Even more so for notorious criminals, it seemed even more illusory.

Drost always sneered at this.

In his eyes, “friendship” that couldn’t ensure binding was as fragile as a chain made of straw.

Yet even so, he couldn’t help but admire Professor Moriarty’s keen observational skills, clever mind, and steady approach to dealing with the world from the bottom of his heart.

If the other party were willing to become a detective, he would certainly surpass the young man of the Hermes family.

For this reason, when Drost accidentally discovered that his illegitimate daughter was working as a maid at Moriarty Manor…

he found it very troublesome.

If she had been with someone else, Drost could’ve easily had a hitman kill her and that would be the end of it.

But it was because of Professor Moriarty’s intimidation that Drost hesitated to act.

He had to design a trap to make her leave Moriarty Manor voluntarily, to make her “disappear”.

Drost also had someone impersonate his illegitimate daughter, whose name he had forgotten, to flee and leave traces and evidence.

He arranged for “her” to be ultimately killed by another wanted criminal to silence “her,” and then he also had that criminal killed.

In order to kill her, he had to kill two more people.

This was just to kill a maid in Moriarty Manor.

That was the extent of Drost’s apprehension of Professor Moriarty.

If only Professor Moriarty would disappear too.

Sometimes Drost thought so as well.

If Professor Moriarty were not in Glass Island…

he would have much freedom in his actions, and wouldn’t need to liaise with the Antimony people so cautiously.

Because he had no idea how many people Professor Moriarty might have planted beside him.

At times, he even suspected that “Diomedes” had also accepted the friendship of Professor Moriarty.

Now seemed to be a good opportunity.

Minister Drost thought darkly.

Even such a Professor Moriarty had not realized that his son had been silently replaced by this woman…

—Perhaps using Diomedes as bait, to make this fake Aiwass fight against Professor Moriarty would be a good idea.

The portly Minister Drost, obsequious and flattering, said, “Miss Crowley, let’s sign the contract now.”

“You seem rather eager.”

Aleister smiled at him with a twinkle in her eyes.

…

For some reason, Drost saw in the woman’s smile somethin reminiscent of Professor Moriarty.

It must be an illusion, he thought.

“This binding contract is signed under the witness of the Nine Pillar Gods, with the Silver-Crowned Dragon of the covenanting gods as the pledge.

The contract shall be effective immediately upon establishment.

“The party of the first part is Charles Drost.

The present-day successor of the Drost Family, one of Avalon’s Founding Families, recognized by Queen Sofia as Minister of Commerce, and the master of the Guardian Spirit Diomedes.

“The party of the second part is designated by Valentine VII as Aleister Crowley, recognized by Earl Crowley of the Antimony Kingdom as his third daughter.

Known by the identity and appearance of Aiwass Moriarty, or as Baroness Vinesse Emile Zola Beyard…”

As Miss Aleister’s voice rose and fell, Minister Drost scribbled furiously on the desk.

—This is a contract signed for the Silver-Crowned Dragon.

She wouldn’t lie about this, would she!?

Minister Drost felt very reassured.