"Yes, hello... I am Inspector Haena, who was scheduled yesterday... to investigate the attack on Mr. Aiwas Moriarty."
A young girl in her twenties, dressed in a blue and white uniform, was standing nervously and at a loss in front of the gate of a manor, holding her wide-brimmed hat.
Her brown curly hair was tied into a ponytail at the back, her nose was high, and her lake blue eyes were full of panic as if she had screwed up something.
"… Sorry, the District Supervisory Bureau has an impromptu supervisory meeting… There was another warehouse explosion in White Queen yesterday. Traces of fire spirit were detected at the scene. It is suspected that a demonologist was involved. I think it might be the wanted criminal who attacked Mr. Aiwass the day before yesterday!"
Haina said, her voice getting smaller and smaller: "So..."
"—so you took it upon yourself to attend an oversight meeting that you weren't actually required to attend, and you were late for... two hours and twenty-three minutes?"
The old man's solemn and aged voice sounded from the other side of the iron gate. It was a special tone with a long tone, the elven accent unique to the people of the capital.
He snapped the jewel-encrusted pocket watch in his hand shut, put it back against his chest, and stared at Haena seriously.
Standing opposite Haena was a tall, thin elderly elf wearing a butler's uniform.
The wrinkles on his face were reminiscent of tree bark, and his dark green eyes were more wolf-like than lake-like.
The old elf looked nearly two meters tall, with his hands behind his back, like a ghostly shadow of a dead tree in the moonlight at night. His upright, motionless back, like a pine tree, was filled with a strong sense of oppression.
Although Haena was actually a trainee inspector who had not yet graduated, she had passed the graduation examination with full marks and was an official inspector who could be awarded the honor by the Queen at any time. She was wearing the trainee badge now only because the griffin assigned to her was still on the way to deployment.
Logically speaking, she shouldn't be so afraid of a housekeeper.
But the old man in front of him was different.
Because this old elf steward was his instructor.
Although he followed the ancient covenant and served the Moriarty family as a butler since the founding of the country... at the same time, he was the Inspector General who stepped down eighty years ago.
"—I thought you would be later, Miss Haena."
The old butler put his hands behind his back and said in the elf voice that always gave Haina a sense of arrogance: "Master Aiwass was attacked by a demon scholar the day before yesterday and was in a coma until last night. But when he heard that the Supervisory Bureau was coming to ask some questions, he cooperated and took the initiative to give up going to the Glass Steps Sanatorium. He just took some medicine and waited for you by the stove for two hours with his weak body, and I also waited for you at the door for two hours.
"It's almost dark now. If you're late, you might as well just wait until tomorrow. Since it's already late until tomorrow, I don't think I'm in a hurry to rest for a week. According to the rules of the Supervisory Bureau, for cases with signed warrants, a result must be given within a week of filing the case. With the good manners of Miss Haina who graduated with full marks, I believe she will be able to find the demonologist smoothly.
"Since the criminal has been arrested, why bother poor Master Aiwass? You should go back. I will explain to Mr. Kent."
Kent is the director of the White Queen District Supervisory Bureau. Even if Haina becomes a regular employee, Kent is still three levels higher than her.
If the old housekeeper's tone wasn't so sarcastic, she would have run away right now and left this troublesome matter to her superior. But the problem was that she was actually still a senior student.
Although she can be said to be a big shot in school, she hasn't graduated yet after all.
She didn't have enough social experience to tell whether the old man was seriously proposing this or was just mocking her. But her intuition told her that if the old man didn't intend to do this, she would be in trouble if she ran away like a fool.
"… I'm really sorry."
So Haina could only bow her head and apologize: "I will also apologize to Mr. Aiwass."
Anyway, I had already made an appointment in advance, but I was late for so long without informing him in advance... I was indeed at fault.
She looked at the iron gate that separated her from the old man, and her thoughts began to drift subconsciously again.
The black hollow iron gate was only decorated with low-key thorn patterns... It didn't look like a famous family.
In fact, Professor Moriarty, the adoptive father of Aiwas Moriarty, the person involved in this incident, is indeed a low-key, steady, wise and knowledgeable good man. Professor Moriarty was also a teacher at Haena University, and his subjects were astrology, astronomy and advanced mathematics.
He inherited the Moriarty Chamber of Commerce, owned three museums, and even funded the construction of the only planetarium in White Queens. He was so rich, but he just studied quietly in college. He even funded many orphanages and adopted many orphans. He can be called an amazing and kind-hearted person.
When they came, the captain had specifically reminded her that the Moriarty family was not only rich, but also a founding family with elves serving them. Although the head of the family, Mr. James, had a gentle personality, she still had to be more careful.
According to the rules, any direct participant in the demon incident must be escorted to the local supervisory bureau wearing a discipline lock as soon as possible after they are out of danger, and undergo a mental examination by the chief lawyer. They will be sent back to the hospital or sanatorium only after they are confirmed to be innocent.
This is because the identities of the ritual host, ritual participants, ritual instructors and sacrifices in the demonic ritual cannot be simply distinguished by the identity of the victim being "injured or not".
Since the sacrifice survived, it means that the ritual was generally a failure. Although the sacrificed sacrifice may not die, it is usually killed to silence the witness. Therefore, when there are injured instead of dead, the injured person may not be the sacrifice, but may be someone related to the ritual.
But this rule is now invalid.
Director Kent was like a blind man, completely ignoring the clues that were within his reach. It was only when the old butler took the initiative to contact Director Kent and made an appointment for today's meeting that he seemed to "suddenly remember" this matter. And when she came, the Supervisory Bureau didn't even assign her a lawyer to accompany her, and only allowed her, an apprentice supervisor, to come alone without a griffin, armor, or sword.
Such an obvious cover-up...
Haina felt that even if this matter was really related to Aiwass, she might not be able to take him away.
But because of such a big scene, she felt that... maybe this matter was really related to the other party.
… so good.
He was just an adopted civilian orphan. He was lucky enough to be favored and adopted by the professor. Now he has become a big shot that the Supervisory Bureau cannot touch...
Haina was standing at the door in a daze, thinking something sourly.
But at this moment, the iron gate suddenly opened slowly.
She looked up in surprise and saw the old man's face was still expressionless, but inexplicably she felt that he was not as angry anymore.
The old elf looked at her silently, then walked back slowly with his hands behind his back.
Haina was stunned for a moment before she realized that this was asking her to catch up.
So she hurriedly put on the hat in her arms and hurried to follow. But after taking a few steps, she remembered to turn back and close the door. But when she turned around, she saw that the door of the manor closed by itself.
Not only that, there were even bright runes lighting up from the inside of the ordinary iron door.
The sunlight was slanting, the evening breeze had stopped for a while, and Haina had a vague feeling that something invisible was covering this area, changing the atmosphere of the manor.
"I don't mean to cause you any trouble, Miss Haena."
Although the old elf was walking in front of him, the old man's much gentler voice sounded accurately in his ears: "But when you make an agreement with someone, you must obey it. You must meet at the agreed time, no need to advance or postpone it. Yes, the consequences of breaking the rules in school may not be so serious, but there are no griffin knights patrolling the streets in the school, no lawyers with armed knights regularly reviewing the tax accounts of various companies - there is no supervisor like you who can directly arrest suspicious elements.
“Everyone in this country values ‘rules’. The Inspectorate, the Court of Justice, and the Court of Arbitration guard not only the will of Her Majesty the Queen, but also the many rules established by Parliament.
"I will forgive you this time, and I will not tell Mr. Kent about your mistake - I will say that you arrived on time, but after learning about the situation, you stayed for two cups of tea and some snacks.
"But this is because Master Aiwass is kind-hearted. When you were an hour late, I had already decided to call the Supervisory Bureau. It was Master Aiwass who stopped me. He said that you have to give people a chance... No matter what reason you find, you have to meet first."
The old elf spoke slowly, and it took him a long time to reach the gate of the manor.
The next moment, his voice was a little lower, but it still rang clearly in Haina's ears: "Although Avalon does not have the so-called 'nobles' of other countries, the descendants of the founders are equally noble. Without the sacrifice of those twenty founders, everyone would die - even the queen must respect the descendants of the founders.
"I feel your sincere apology, so I will forgive you for breaching the contract. But you might as well think carefully about whether you have offended anyone or blocked someone's way... As I said, this is an inspection meeting that you don't need to attend."
Hearing this, Haina was suddenly stunned.
At this time, the old man who walked to the door turned around gracefully and bowed slightly to Haina: "Please follow me, Miss Haina. The young master has been waiting for a long time."
Only then did he put on the butler's mask to greet the guests.
His previous attitude was more like that of an instructor facing a disappointing student.
Haina, with her mind in a mess, followed the old elf into the living room.
The touch of the soft carpet under her feet startled her, and she looked up to ask if she needed to take off her shoes - but the old elf's calm attitude made her unsure. So she could only follow behind with trepidation, feeling the sudden warmth of the fire in the winter.
Only then did she realize that she had made an old man wait at the door for two hours on a winter evening.
Filled with guilt and shame, she didn't know how to speak.
Even the suspicion towards Aiwass was diluted in this confession.
So she met Edwards Moriarty, who had a reputation for being a somewhat bohemian man.
He was currently sitting in a wheelchair with a blanket covering his legs.
That pale, frail face was completely bloodless, and he looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, but his handsomeness was completely different from that of Professor Moriarty.
He was wearing pure white fluffy pajamas, and looked like he had just come out of the shower. His smooth platinum hair reflected the warm light of the fire. He was reading a book quietly and attentively facing the fire, and his delicate face had a gentle intention... It reminded her of a poet and the fire rising in the fireplace at home.
That beautiful scene looked like a painting. Haina subconsciously opened her eyes wide.
But at this moment, the boy heard something and turned around nimbly while pushing the wheelchair.
It was then that Haina noticed that he was sitting in a wheelchair.
… Is this the price of being attacked by a demonologist
She didn't know when it started, but she instinctively rejected the possibility that the demonologist was Aiwass.
The boy looked over, his deep blue pupils like the sea.
"Ms. Haena."
It was a clear voice that gave people a sense of dignity, a gorgeous voice that matched her appearance.
Compared to his frail face, his voice was more energetic and polite: "Hello, nice to meet you.
"—Excuse me, are you here to arrest me?"