Pastor's Tantra

Dusk.

Isle of glass, palace of silver and tin.

"Let me tell you, Sophia. You really aren't nervous at all."

The clear girl's voice sounded in the queen's bedroom.

Ligeia sat at the end of the bed, dangling her legs and chewing on a red apple. Her tail kept sweeping the quilt on the bed, sweeping out the wrinkles and smoothing them out again.

The queen lying under the quilt did not answer.

She looked obviously older now than she did a month ago. Her eyes were swollen to the point where she could barely open them, and her spirit seemed to be much depressed.

She just spread out the newly knitted sweater in her hand, admired it for a while, then folded it carefully and put it on the bedside.

"Sofia?"

Seeing that her old friend did not respond, Ligeia turned back to look at the silent old lady dissatisfied: "I'm asking you a question!

"Don't we all know that Miss Aleister is Lily Droste? Now that Charles has lost his temper, why don't we just announce her identity? How dare the Droste family object? Can’t do it?”

"——It's best not to. Former Minister Drost is not dead yet."

Yanis's voice suddenly came.

In a painting depicting a summer seaside scene in the dormitory, Yanis, wearing a white gauze skirt and a straw hat, sat leisurely under the shadow of a parasol, peeling grapes slowly and casually saying: "And... Wentz should prefer this approach."

Information about the murder of former minister Drost remains secret to this day.

In other words, he is still alive on a social level. He was just being held secretly, and from time to time he would spit out some key information - and these things could become a handle against someone at any time.

Because he knows too many things.

It is precisely because of this that Aiwass, as a minister without charge, was jointly attacked by those old guys.

In their view, the inauguration of the new Minister Aiwass and the arrest and imprisonment of Minister Drost are actually not two different things.

But it's the same thing.

Although the ministry is directly under the royal family, the queen is seeing her end soon.

With the new king Isabel unable to hold up her position, it is still unclear how much real power the Ministry will ultimately have.

——However, if you add the "evidence" that Minister Drost spits out continuously, the situation will be different.

The combination of the two is a sufficient deterrent.

"So they are eager to weaken the power in Aiwass' hands. Even if his inauguration cannot be interfered with, at least they must prevent the expansion and actions of the Ministry of Ignorance."

Yanis explained slowly: "Even if this piece of information does not come, they will think of other excuses to attack. Rather, this is an opportunity for Aiwass - because this matter came too early , and it was so clever that the knights could not continue to prepare the conspiracy secretly.

"They don't want to miss this excellent opportunity, so they can only attack in advance without complete preparation. And since they are anxious, there will inevitably be loopholes."

"Oh... because we all know that there is actually no such person as 'Aleister'. And it is even more impossible for Aiwass to be related to Star Antimony... Is that what you mean, Yanis?"

Ligeia also reacted.

But she still didn't understand: "Then why does Sophia act as if this is really the case?"

Queen Sofia's attitude seemed to be very nervous - she issued an order to the Inspectorate prohibiting the matter from being published in the newspapers "without verification." And the order itself will spread in circles.

"Stupid thing..."

Sofia looked at this lively and energetic little girl-shaped old best friend, reluctantly opened her eyes and sighed: "Isn't it the same as before..."

"Before?"

Ligeia was stunned for a moment.

But she soon realized what Sophia was referring to.

——Just like when the royal family was cursed in the past.

Queen Sofia particularly likes the tactic of showing her enemy weakness - or more accurately, she likes to lay traps as soft as honey to make the opponent think that her plan is going smoothly, thus luring the enemy deeper. Then at a certain key node, when the opponent is unable to escape, he will counterattack.

If the "Shadow of Avalon" ritual had not been tampered with, Sophia's plan would be completely feasible.

The founding king Lancelot I, who was comparable in strength to the apostles in the temple, was resurrected and returned to his peak in physical form. Whether it is the fighting ability of the ancestors themselves, the repressive power of the authoritarian path of the sixth level on the subjects, the lofty reputation of the founding monarch among the people, the deterrence of foreign enemies, and the unfailing political influence of implementing policies, all can be directly Let Avalon rise from the ashes.

At that time, it will bring about a hearty victory at the most critical moment - and our side will still be the just invaded party. Show your military strength to powerful countries, give the people strong confidence, and then directly eradicate those corrupt knights.

To achieve this goal, it is natural that the lower the political desire, the better.

Otherwise, it may lead to the split of Avalon.

Then Isabel, who can inherit Sophia's willingness to reform, is the best successor.

The problem that Isabel does not understand politics and is not adaptable to the authoritarian path can also be perfectly resolved. Because she only needs to stand with her ancestors and clarify the goals of those ministers who are confused about whether to obey the modern monarch or the founding monarch.

Queen Sofia has it all figured out.

The only thing she didn't calculate was that there was something wrong with the sage Merlin's ritual itself - she trusted Merlin too much. This directly disrupted her overall plan and even made her confused for a time.

It wasn't until Merlin personally explained to her what the problem was and advised her that it was best to give up on this plan... She finally let go of the anger she had been holding on to.

Since then, her physical condition has deteriorated day by day. It became decadent at a speed visible to the naked eye.

But compared with the approaching death, her will and thoughts have become sober.

Things from the past kept popping up in her mind.

Not only was Sophia no longer confused, but she gradually came to understand the situation.

——This is not a defeat, let alone a dead end. And that's when the situation breaks down.

Now that the information has been stolen, they seem to be unable to do anything but issue warnings... They are exactly the same as when they were cursed.

Just like when the curse was made, Meg was not asked to directly ban the entire city and investigate. This time Sofia still refused to let Ligeia go out to "physically refute the rumors".

"They will not miss this opportunity and will definitely provoke Aiwass..."

Sophia looked particularly lethargic and could hardly speak.

But compared to the previous period of confusion, she now looks much more determined.

The old queen spoke slowly and softly: "It looks like a handle, but in fact it is full of flaws... After this matter is dealt with, no one will dare to provoke them... I can leave with peace of mind..."

Seeing that the old lady had to take a breath after saying a word, Yanis in the painting simply added directly: "Aiwass is a young man, the child is still young and not sensible yet. When Aiwass fights back, he will 'go a little too far' It’s reasonable. Although he is a priest, honest people can also get angry. After all, with such obvious hostility on display, why can’t people get angry?”

"...It makes sense. After all, that kid is not a bad guy. I'm quite looking forward to it...but you haven't communicated with Aiwass yet, have you?"

Ligeia raised her eyebrows and jumped out of bed: "How about I go to Yingjia Village and tell him the situation so that he can be on guard when he comes back? I happen to be a little curious about my disciple's living environment. . I can go there on a gryphon, and the trip back and forth is quite fast."

"That's no need."

While chewing the grapes in the painting, Yanis said elegantly: "He has come back. Now he is chatting with little Isa.

"I'll just ask him to come over later."

"……fine……"

When she heard that Aiwass was coming, the corners of Queen Sophia's mouth slightly raised, she murmured in a low voice, and gradually fell into a state of confusion.

Not far away.

In the Palace of Silver and Tin, in Isabel's bedroom.

Aiwass was happily sharing what he had seen and heard on this trip with Isabel.

Yes, Aiwass had no immediate plans to investigate the missing letter.

He is not Sherlock after all.

As Edward said, it doesn't matter whether Aleister is a spy or not - similarly, it doesn't matter whether Aiwass finds the letter in the end. It doesn't even matter whether there is Aleister or not.

——On the contrary, it is most important to confirm the attitude of the queen and those "big-name" powerful people on this matter.

Seeing that it was getting late, Aiwass hinted to Edward to send Captain Camus back first. Several people agreed to meet again tomorrow morning to officially start the investigation.

After Camus left, Aiwass immediately went to the palace.

What surprised Aiwass was that Isabel had guessed that he would come and had already changed into the pure white dress commonly used for family dinners in advance.

However, Aiwass quickly realized that it must be the "Golden Dawn" brand camera at home that reported the message to Yanis. That's why Isabel got the news from her teacher.

But after sharing her travel experiences, Isabel, who was originally excited after meeting Aiwass, turned worried.

The first words she said later made Aiwass stunned for a moment:

"Just an idea, I'm not sure...

"But, Aiwass, your path tendency...has there been an obvious deviation?"