Chapter 1334: Chapter 55: Swan King: Truly Baffling

“—-But I don’t quite understand… why rebel now? Isn’t the Hawkeye Organization supposed to be your ally?”

At this moment, Aiwass spoke softly, breaking the silence that had once again enveloped the room: “And now the Prime Minister of Iris Flower…

“…isn’t he the leader of the Hawkeye Organization?”

“What?!”

“Ah?”

Arsene and Annie were stunned.

As Irisflower People, they themselves didn’t know about this.

Or rather, precisely because they are Irisflower People, they are blinded by being insiders–the assassins of the Hawkeye Organization have assassinated quite a few members of the current ruling party, the Giant Tree Party!

“I knew it…”

Sherlock sighed, putting down the teacup in his hand: “This must be the thing Edward was unwilling to tell me before.”

“But you had already guessed it.” Aiwass laughed.

“That wasn’t a guess.”

Sherlock asked Aiwass in return, “Do you remember the time you were assassinated by the ‘Bone Sculptor’?

“At that time, the Prime Minister of Iris Flower could have easily shifted the blame onto the Hawkeye Organization, thereby suppressing their power in the public sphere. The Hawkeye Organization often assassinates various great artists, wealthy merchants, parliamentarians, and officials, which in Iris Flower’s social environment gives them natural grassroots support.

“And for a person in power, such an organization means ‘instability.’ But now, he finally has the chance to suppress it, and even find a way to use the opportunity to suppress it further… Thus, this incident is not a political crisis for him at all but rather a boon. However, he has muddied the waters at the cost of significantly shortening his political life.

“If this time, there might have been some interest exchange between him and the Hawkeye Organization–then the assassination at the Pope election site is definitely news he couldn’t suppress. Even if Iris Flower’s relationship with the Holy Nation isn’t great, that’s the Elf Country under Star Antimony’s influence… No matter what, the oppressed Iris Flower couldn’t possibly provoke such a giant. Even the slightest irritation to the Holy Nation spells disaster–and this incident certainly meets the ‘irritation’ standard.

“But when I arrived at Iris Flower, almost no newspapers were discussing this. I checked past newspapers and found none available–they say there was indeed news reporting at the time, but it was mostly glossed over. There was no follow-up reporting… In other words, this news was suppressed.

“—-What audacity. This implies Iris Flower’s assassin organization has even assassinated members of the Avalon Royal Family, the previous Pope of the Holy Nation–and the current Pope. Yet, such an organization has still not been cut off in the name of justice by the Prime Minister.

“Anyone with a bit of intelligence should know what this means, right?”

Sherlock sighed, “I had tried to confirm with Edward. But he just glossed over it… He spoke at length, and I listened for a long time, but I didn’t hear any useful information. I have to admit, he’s becoming more and more like a qualified Avalon civil servant.”

Aiwass chuckled, “Good, good…”

Then the Old Duke explained, “What I have prepared is not the ‘Fifteenth Rebellion’–but the Sixteenth.”

“The Son of the Moon is going to make a move?”

Aiwass raised his eyebrows.

“To be precise, it’s the ‘Health Party’ that’s going to make a move.”

The old man said.

“When is the next election in Iris Flower?”

Aiwass was somewhat surprised, “Can’t they wait for that long?”

—-Undoubtedly, history has shifted again.

According to his understanding of the “plot,” such things shouldn’t happen in this version of Iris Flower.

Although the Hawkeye Organization entered the picture in the 4.0 version… until then, the ruling party of Iris Flower was still the Giant Tree Party. That is to say, the Health Party lost in the election next year. By then, Iris Flower was still a parliamentary system, and the Old Duke hadn’t launched what is known as the “Sixteenth Rebellion.”

Even though Aiwass didn’t know what kind of governmental system he wanted to establish specifically–considering the old man’s dissatisfaction with the absurd “Third Rebellion incident,” it seems he’s inclined towards restoring the monarchy.

“Next February.”

Annie softly spoke from the side, “They might truly not be able to wait…”

“—-War, such matters, require preparation in advance.”

Saying this, the old man glanced at Aiwass, and calmly said, “If mobilization is issued only a few weeks, or even a few days before, winning could only be considered a miracle. Everything — materials, tactics, strategy, wartime systems, and the propaganda content presented to the public, all require meticulous preparation.

“Those Sons of the Moon can’t hold back any longer–they’ve been preparing for a long time and have connected with various countries, their rebellion is imminent… and what we have to do is precisely to suppress the rebellion.

“—-If we can place the responsibility for the Third Rebellion on these Sons of the Moon, we can say that all of this is a conspiracy by the Sons of the Moon to seize royal power and turn the populace into blood packs. It’s because of their deliberate actions that Iris Flower is so unhappy; they successively beheaded kings, hung nobles, and exploited the people. From the outset, they never regarded themselves and humanity as one family… if so, it would be good.”

The Old Duke sighed wistfully, “If that’s the case, then we can usher in a happy outcome for everyone.

“As long as we kill these Sons of the Moon, Iris Flower’s economy will recover. The youth of Iris Flower won’t be so chaotic and frenzied, all those absurd organizations and vile ideologies can be swept out altogether! Return Iris Flower to our traditional past and let Iris Flower become pure once more!”

The national flag of Iris Flower features four iris flowers in total.

One is white, and three are yellow–White Iris Flower’s language of flowers is innocence, while the Yellow Iris Flower’s language means ‘everlasting friendship,’ and also signifies ‘victory.’

That’s the relationship between the Royal Family and the three Dukes.

But Sherlock only said coldly, “Truth is truth–even if a lie can satisfy many, it can never become truth.”

“—-That’s not necessarily true.”

Aiwass suddenly said, drawing everyone’s attention to him.

Sherlock’s expression changed as he realized something.

—-This experience, he had gone through too many times. Effort pale in comparison to Talent, this ability akin to foreseeing the future…

Just how does he know these secrets…

As expected, Aiwass said, “I happen to know another thing–the Swan King, transformed into a Phantom Demon, is likely under the control of those Sons of the Moon now.

“As far as I know, the almost farcical successive rebellions in Iris Flower… are results influenced by the power of a certain Phantom Demon. The Third Rebellion was the ‘script’ he had written. He was originally going to ascend to godhood from this script…

“Except that the Swan King himself is likely bewildered… as to why this drama hasn’t ended yet.

“—-Because right now, that never-ending script is being rewritten, thereby manipulating the reality of Iris Flower.”