When Sherlock entered the room, he subconsciously raised an eyebrow.
He saw at first glance that there was too little food on the table and too much of it had been eaten.
Avalon is different from Star Antimony. The knight-founded country of Avalon does not advocate the virtue of frugality. Here, holding a banquet is an honor - and if the food and wine are almost finished, but the banquet is far from over, it will be considered rude.
The reason why the guests need to leave early is because the host has prepared too little food. Therefore, when the guests realize that they are almost done eating, they will deliberately eat less to save face for the host.
So this can't be the first round of meals. It should be the second round.
Similarly, if finishing the meal is considered rude, then replacing the meal and serving a second round of food is a way of showing respect and retaining the guest. The implication is: "I have served you another fresh and hot meal. Isn't it a bit rude for you to leave now?"
"…Good evening, Mr. Sherlock."
Isabel was the first to speak: "Nice to meet you."
—Why are you suddenly happy
Sherlock was a little confused, but there was still no mistake in etiquette.
"The Silver Crown Dragon is above."
He did not dare to raise his head and look at the princess. He knelt on one knee respectfully, put one hand on his chest, and bowed his head in a knight's salute: "Your Highness, I wish you all the best."
"Please stand up, Mr. Sherlock."
Isabel made a crisp sound.
Only then did Sherlock dare to stand up and greet Janice who was still sitting at the table and Aiwass who was sitting in a wheelchair.
Janice smiled and nodded in response. As Aiwas was unable to move, Lily, who was standing behind him, bowed slightly and returned the greeting.
Soon, Sherlock stood up and noticed Princess Isabel's slightly drunk face with his sharp eagle eyes.
—Did you drink so much
He was a little surprised.
It seems that Master Janice attaches great importance to Mr. Aiwas.
Otherwise, she should have stopped the princess from drinking too much. According to etiquette, important people usually don't drink too much at a banquet, but only take a sip or two out of courtesy. If you finish one glass and then add more wine, it will seem too intimate and take the banquet too seriously.
And this in itself is a political signal.
If Master Janice thought Aiwass was an unimportant guest, she would signal Isabel to keep her distance.
But now it’s probably not just a matter of drinking one or two cups.
Look at the two empty wine bottles on the table... The three of them actually drank two bottles of wine
The servants in the Temple of Silver and Tin would definitely sell this information. Sherlock knew... some of them were connected to a minister or a knight family. Sometimes, he would buy some information from them himself.
That is to say.
By tomorrow morning at the latest, the information that Princess Isabel favors Edwards Moriarty will be delivered to the desks of several ministers.
Young and promising...
When Sherlock thought of this, an idea suddenly popped up in his mind:
…speaking of which.
Her Royal Highness had played the role of little Aiwass’s mother in the ceremony before… Could it be that she hasn’t finished the role yet
"Speaking of which, Mr. Sherlock. I heard that you and Chief Inspector Edward went to handle some cases? Did you eat in the evening? Why don't you sit down and eat something?"
“… I don’t dare.”
Sherlock quickly and politely declined.
But he still symbolically took a piece of bread in his hand to indicate that he accepted the food given by the princess.
He knew that it was already Her Royal Highness's rest time and she must have finished her meal. He didn't dare to ask Princess Isabel to eat with him because of his own reasons.
If his father knew about this, he would probably give him a beating.
Thinking of this, Sherlock suddenly saw the little princess's slightly raised mouth corners and realized that she might have drunk a little too much.
…Now I’m afraid I’m just making fun of myself.
Before in the dream, as the only experienced senior in the team, I scolded the naive "Lulu" several times.
Basically, he was the only one who had the say, and she had no room to refute. But now in reality... in the Temple of Silver and Tin, the positions of the two were completely reversed.
There's nothing we can do about it.
After all, it was she who took the initiative to expose her identity...it was no wonder she was so stupid.
But Sherlock soon ran into trouble.
If it were just the princess and Master Janice, he could have spoken directly. By the way, he could have reminded Master Janice about the "fox" who looked a little dangerous and mysterious.
…But, Aiwass is still here.
Although Sherlock is optimistic about Aiwass, he cannot take the initiative to disclose Princess Isabel's private information in front of outsiders.
After all, this was something only he and Isabel knew.
If he said it here, does that mean he would leak or even sell the little princess's personal information outside? Sherlock is loyal to Queen Sofia, so he would never do something that would harm the royal family.
…But here comes the problem.
Sherlock has always been a man of his word, so how does he explain his motive for investigating the Sweater Brotherhood
So Sherlock thought about it and came up with a way of answering that only Isabel could understand:
"I accidentally learned from a gentleman who is not very reliable the gathering point of a gang of stranglers in Lloyd's District."
Sherlock hinted in a deep voice, "They may be related to the mastermind behind the Pelican Bar. I thought it would be risky for me to go alone, so I invited my friend Edward Moriarty to go with me."
"So, what are the results of the investigation?"
Aiwass suddenly interrupted, looking very interested in the topic.
"Very smoothly. It is indeed the gathering place of a group of stranglers called the 'Sweater Brotherhood'. We also found a batch of alchemical bombs."
"So," Aiwass said with a smile, "that 'unreliable gentleman' seems to be quite reliable after all."
Sherlock remained silent for a moment before adding, "However, after a brief interrogation, they themselves did not know that it was a bomb. They just took the money and looked after the goods for others.
"I suspect their mastermind is connected to the customs. This is because this batch of bombs came through the customs through formal channels. Edward and I went to check it out this afternoon. This batch of goods has formal signed orders and inspection labels."
The detective with black curly hair and a lazy expression seemed very confident at this moment: "This is very important information and a key breakthrough.
"Following this clue, we immediately got the logistics batches and arrival time of the remaining bombs. If we continue to investigate, we can find all the acceptance personnel of the customs department on that day from this time.
"Your Highness Isabel, I can even say that the case has now been solved. The remaining work is just repetitive and unskilled investigation work."
He did not hide it from Aiwass because there was no need.
The other party involved in this case is Aiwass's elder brother. He is not the type who follows the rules. If Aiwass asks, he will definitely tell.
"… In addition, Your Highness Isabel, the identity of the Bone Sculptor has been basically confirmed, but the investigation of the Fox has not yet begun."
Sherlock asked respectfully, "Should we go find the bone sculpture or the fox first?"
He hasn't written the report yet.
But when he writes the report and hands it over to the Queen, the Queen will most likely let him refer to Her Royal Highness's opinion... After all, this also involves Isabel's own advancement ceremony. Only she and Sherlock know what happened inside. With the Queen's wisdom, she will definitely not interfere.
When that time comes, I will still have to ask Isabel for her opinion when I conduct my own investigation - it would be better to ask now and give myself some initiative.
"Go find the bone sculpture. We need to eliminate the unstable elements that may endanger Avalon as soon as possible. I will support your investigation. If there is any link that requires a signature, you can come to me."
Isabel thought for a moment, glanced at Aiwass, and answered vaguely: "As for Mr. Fox's matter... we can put it aside for the time being."
Aiwass blinked.
Isabel began to have some doubts at this moment.
But the answer she gave surprised Sherlock a little - he really didn't want to find the "fox", so he deliberately said that the identity of the "bone sculpture" had been almost locked in. He hoped to use this method to induce Isabel's decision.
After all, in his opinion, Isabel was quite obsessed with her "Mr. Fox".
—Is it because of Aiwass
If so, that would be great.
Compared with the cunning "fox" with unclear identity and smooth talk, he had the impression that Aiwass was smart and decisive, modest and polite. In addition, he also respected his professor Moriarty - his math grades were relatively poor at the time, and thanks to Professor Moriarty's tutoring, he was able to maintain his position as the head until graduation.
Thanks to Professor Moriarty's guidance, Sherlock realized that his true talent lies in the path of wisdom. He did not really agree with the principles of the authoritarian path, but his strict control of his will and his behavior of leading others inadvertently fit the authoritarian path.
And the way he met Professor Moriarty was through his friend Edward.
He is the only good friend Sherlock has made in college.
Therefore, there was some personal feelings involved in his evaluation of Aiwass.
"When you go, be careful on the road."
Janice asked, "Do you have a dagger, Sherlock?"
"Yes," Sherlock replied, "Edward brought me one."
Many spells in the Path of Authority require this dagger to be used. This is because this dagger is the identity symbol of Avalon's law enforcement officers, and it represents "law". In a sense, its essence is actually a limited edition staff of the Path of Authority that can be used as a melee weapon.
Edward carried two swords when he went out, not because he wanted to wield two swords, but because one of them was for Sherlock to use for self-defense.
Shylock is not an inspector, but merely an advisor. He does not carry a sword.
He refused to enter the legal system of Avalon, so most of the magic he learned would be unusable. Those who are unwilling to obey their superiors and do not follow the order will be deprived of their power - this is also the characteristic of the authoritarian path.
"That is not bad."
Janice nodded and said to Aiwass, "I will send someone to deliver the painting to your house later. Don't take it. It will be very dangerous - at least Sherlock will definitely not be able to keep it."
"What painting?"
Sherlock was startled when he heard this, and subconsciously asked back: "I think it's still okay."
He is at least a lawyer who has barely reached the fourth level, and not someone that any petty thief can mess with.
"It's the Golden Dawn."
Aiwas, who was sitting in a wheelchair, spoke softly and answered in a gentle voice: "I had a very pleasant conversation with Master Janice, so she decided to give this painting to me."
Sherlock was stunned for a moment and suddenly startled.
There was a clear look of shock on his face, and the incomprehensible reality made his mind go blank for a moment.
— "Golden Dawn"?!
Can this kind of national treasure-level artwork be given away as a gift just because we “enjoyed the conversation”? !
… Young and promising, young and promising!
Sherlock didn't know how he should comment, so he could only repeat it in his mind.