Chapter 494
Not long after the deal was struck, Charles, still within the halls of the Order of the God of Order, received a message from Pope Aiergema.
Qiangyin had gone off the deep end, dispatching people to seal off every church belonging to the Order. Even the personnel within the Vatican were not allowed to come and go freely; they had to undergo inspections and registration by the Sword of the Queen.
The reason? They had discovered that members of the Pleasure Society had infiltrated Ansu City, intending to cause massive destruction...
It was wise not to use terms like "subversive" or "source of chaos" that had soft connections to the Pleasure Society.
Qiangyin's lockdown allowed Charles to breathe a little easier.
This proved that her theory was correct.
Qiangyin could be killed in the simulation...
The flames of the past could still burn away the grudges of reality.
All of this... just needed to wait until the morning of the next day.
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PS:
193 (overdue) - 3 (extra) = 190 (overdue)
The updates have been a bit slow these days, and there was a small bug that affected the reading experience, sorry about that.
To ensure a good reading experience and narrative continuity, I’ll continue with 10,000 words tomorrow; otherwise, I’ll face the consequences.
It’s the end of the month, so I shamelessly ask for some free monthly tickets and recommendations.
Good night!
Chapter 259: Charles's Punishment (10,614 words)
"I know everything... you can't hide anything from me..."
In the nighttime of Windsor Palace, a familiar scene unfolded in the underground collection room.
Qiangyin's face was dark, having left a half-dead Lafayette behind, he pushed open the door to the collection room and headed upstairs.
As he reached the brightly lit hall, a musician in formal attire approached him, bowing slightly to report, "Your Excellency Qiangyin... we couldn't find Lucy Xilufa. It seems she just left on the latest freight train out of the city, bound for... Blis City."
"She took all her loyal followers and subordinates with her."
This Lucy Xilufa was definitely up to something.
Blis City... by the time they catch up, she might have already boarded a ship to leave...
Why, why did she know I would investigate her, even before I did? Her reaction was too quick...
Qiangyin's expression darkened further, the bloodied symbols on his face making him look particularly terrifying.
He no longer had the heart to tend to the wounds on his face and body... Lafayette had betrayed him; he had no one left he could trust to help him.
Abandoned by all, Qiangyin truly embodied that phrase at this moment.
"Did she have any contact with anyone before she left?" Qiangyin asked, his face stern. His tone was no longer as relaxed as before. "Don't tell me you didn't check..."
Hearing Qiangyin's blatant threat, the already trembling musician swallowed hard and stammered, "The people close to Lucy Xilufa are basically her loyal followers, and they were all taken with her... We're expanding the search area..."
"This will take some time, Your Excellency Qiangyin..."
The musician's response did not anger Qiangyin; instead, it calmed him down, allowing him to think.
That Lucy, who claimed to have killed the "Key Person"... could she be the Key Person?
If she really was the one who had forced him to the brink of death so many times, would she act in such a way, fleeing with her family in tow?
It was possible, but the likelihood was low.
"Send the Sword of the Queen to pursue her," Qiangyin said slowly, lowering his head to look at the musician before him. "The rest of you maintain the lockdown..."
Qiangyin intended to investigate each organization one by one... even if it meant offending all of them, he didn't care.
The Dedton Group, where Lucy worked, would be the first target of the search.
He would pin the label of collusion on them and see how the other churches and organizations reacted...
...
"You can't treat me like this! Do you know who my father is?"
At the entrance of the Order of the God of Order, a noble lady wearing a beige hat clutched her handbag tightly, angrily arguing with the guards at the door.
In the scuffle, the noble girl was pushed to the ground, the dust staining her long dress.
Behind the armored knight, an elderly man resembling a butler, who was leading a horse-drawn carriage, approached with a furious expression, shouting, "Soldiers, this is too rude! Our lady is just here on business! She isn't even a believer of the Order of the God of Order!"
The armored knight of the Royal Cavalry turned back, casting a cold glance at the old man. The two soldiers in military uniforms beside him raised their Type 741 single-shot rifles, the dark muzzles aimed at the approaching butler.
"We're merely following the Queen's orders," the knight in red and gold armor spoke slowly, resting his hand on the revolver at his waist. "Please don't make this difficult for us."
It wasn't until a "detective" from the Order of the God of Order helped the young lady up and persuaded her to return to the church that the tense atmosphere finally eased.
Such chaos was erupting everywhere that had suddenly been sealed off... The most chaotic was undoubtedly the hotels and casinos under the Dedton Group, where many noble families were trapped inside like commoners, their status seemingly irrelevant.
The entire western district seemed to have descended into a chilling atmosphere; even the number of pedestrians at night had significantly decreased, creating a sense of impending storm.
Inside the Parliament, chaos reigned as members waved copies of the "Bill of Rights" and "Army Regulations," denouncing the military action as a violation of freedom, listing behaviors that contradicted the "Rebellion Act" and "Martial Law."
But after just a few gunshots, the dissenting voices in the Parliament fell silent. Some didn't even realize before becoming corpses that the "victory" over royal power achieved two hundred years ago was merely a promise made by someone.
...
"Insane."
Listening to the reports from his subordinate members, Charles furrowed his brow in his study, taking a long time to give a neutral assessment.
When he had seen his daughter return earlier, he had felt a sense of disbelief, as if living in a dream. But now, Qiangyin's actions brought him back to reality.
At the same time, he recalled the expressionless letter that Aivina had handed him. He hadn't finished reading it, and Aivina didn't leave until he agreed; only then did she return to the room she hadn't been in for years.
These two counterintuitive events happening simultaneously made it hard for Charles not to connect them.
He picked up the letter again, re-examining its contents... changing the lunch venue, bringing someone into Vitalis Palace—these were all very simple matters.
But in the current situation, what should have been straightforward had become somewhat tricky.
Qiangyin was clearly searching for someone, and making these unusual moves at this time would undoubtedly raise Qiangyin's suspicions.
He was on the edge of some conspiracy whirlpool, and his daughter Aivina might even be a witness. The person mentioned in the letter, whom he needed to bring to Vitalis Palace, was definitely connected to Qiangyin's frenzied actions.
Charles set the letter down, deep in thought.
Aivina had absolute trust in that person... She had even used the Saint's Relic of Substitution in front of him, proving that her mind was not under any control.
But Aivina couldn't provide more information; she only requested that he must do this.
Was this matter about life...?
Charles sat at his desk, scanning the second-to-last sentence of the letter, and sighed softly.
He picked up pen and paper, beginning to write a letter.
The lunch venue could indeed be changed, but it couldn't be Windsor Palace... that place was too closely associated with Qiangyin, making it easier to raise his suspicions. Even Cecil Palace wouldn't do.
The best and least suspicious place was right here, his own residence.
He began to write, drafting a letter to the Queen. Only after finishing and sealing it did he look out the window and sigh.
Changing the banquet location was something Charles could manage, and asking him to bring people to Vitalis Palace was also a simple task.
But there was no strong evidence to prove that this matter would go off without a hitch, no way to guarantee he wouldn't be dragged into the center of some conspiracy.
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