The stars, but they become the gray wind

In the coffin was the body of Prince Edward, whose appearance had been rearranged by the undertaker after his death.

As the solemn royal bands on both sides played funeral music, the funeral of Prince Edward, a member of the royal family, officially began.

(The chapter number was wrong, so I corrected it slightly.)

Chapter 65: Smoky Steam World: Checking the information, will be updated later

I am looking up some information that will be helpful for the subsequent plot. I will update it an hour or two later. I promise I won't delay it.

Chapter 66: Hints from the Riddler and Who is Suitable to Take Care of the Child?

At the funeral filled with a solemn atmosphere, Charlotte stared absentmindedly at the coffin in the center of the church that contained the body of her so-called brother.

Several nobles and politicians from the Kingdom of Albion who were attending the funeral were whispering to each other.

"Prince Edward is dead. It is almost certain that His Royal Highness Richard will inherit the throne, right?"

"What are you talking about? Isn't Mary's succession line higher in name only?"

"But didn't she even attend the funeral?"

"It is said that Her Majesty the Queen was unable to attend the funeral due to illness."

"His Royal Highness Richard quelled the rebellion in the New World, so he is the most suitable heir to the throne."

"But the Duke of Normandy still controls the kingdom's politics. Even if we all support His Royal Highness Richard's ascension to the throne, he will definitely not agree."

"No matter what, who inherits the throne will determine our future, so we must carefully observe and choose sides."

Charlotte listened silently to the whispers coming from the kingdom's nobles and politicians attending the funeral, with a sad look on her face. At this moment, she noticed that Richard, who was standing opposite her, looked at her with an unfathomable expression. Charlotte couldn't help but recall the threatening invitation Richard made to her outside the Queen's bedroom not long ago.

.........

A few days ago, in the corridor outside the Queen's bedroom, Richard extended his hand to Charlotte in front of him and invited her in a threatening tone.

"Charlotte, which side are you going to choose?" Richard asked Charlotte in front of him with a malicious smile.

Charlotte's attention was not on Richard in front of her, but on the burly man with an Indian face who had a loaded pistol and a sharp axe hanging on his waist behind her.

"Don't worry about him. He is my most trustworthy subordinate. Although he is sometimes too straightforward, which is also a shortcoming, but..." Richard said as he clenched the fingers of his right hand except the thumb and index finger, made the thumb and index finger into the shape of a pistol and pointed it at Charlotte in front of him.

"But... bang!!!" The sudden "bang" that came out of Richard's mouth scared Charlotte.

"But... he is very good at hunting. Once he sets his sights on a prey, he will definitely eliminate it completely. That's why I recruited him as my subordinate." Richard looked at Charlotte, who was frightened in front of him, and smiled pleasantly.

"Brother, what do you mean by asking me which side I should choose?" Seeing that the situation was not good, Charlotte decided to continue pretending to be stupid in front of Richard in front of her.

"Of course I mean it literally, my sister. Do you want to hide behind high walls and be content with the status quo, or abandon the old order and work hard to create a new world?" Richard stared at Charlotte with sharp eyes under his glasses.

"It's okay to give me an answer later." As Richard spoke, he walked step by step to Charlotte's side.

"But... I don't have much patience." Richard glanced at his sister, who had long been regarded as a vase by the royal family, with a threatening tone and a hint of fear on her face.

.........

The perspective turns back to the present. Charlotte, wearing a black veil, feels the depressing atmosphere in the church and becomes increasingly depressed.

But what even Charlotte and the cunning Prince Richard did not notice was that a pair of eyes were staring at them from an unnoticed corner of the church.

Standing in an empty corner of the church hall with an optical invisibility field on, Carlisle coldly observed all the guests attending the funeral in the church. These guests attending the funeral were basically either nobles and dignitaries in the kingdom or diplomats from other countries who came to attend the funeral out of political etiquette.

Almost everyone who attended the funeral had their own agenda, whether it was figuring out which heir to support and which side to support after Edward's death, or seeking personal gain amidst the political turmoil within the kingdom, or perhaps they were politicians hoping to gain more power from this turmoil.

"Humph, everyone who came to this funeral was thinking about how to gain greater benefits from the upcoming turmoil and chaos. As for those who came to express their sincere condolences, I'm afraid you can count them on one hand."

"Hmph, just like the saying goes, a beast in human clothing, dressed in a suit and tie, looking like a decent human being. So-called politics is nothing more than this." Carisi looked at the funeral in front of her and all the people participating in the funeral with contempt.

"Okay, I've always known that you hate politics, but your evaluation is a bit too derogatory." Yuki's voice came from the communication channel of the thought network.

"First of all, let me correct one thing: what I hate is not politics itself, but the shameful things and methods in politics that can never be brought to the table."

"As for why I belittle these guys so much, it's because they are all traitors who say one thing in public and another behind the scenes. This is the kind of people I hate the most." Carlisle added seriously.

"Well, I understand that... But to be honest, with your style, I thought you would have shot Richard to death that night."

"I'm actually surprised you didn't choose to pull the trigger that night."

"I'm not such an irrational person. If I had pulled the trigger and killed him at that time, it would only have caused more trouble. What I want to do is to nail this guy to the pillar of shame in history forever and make him a historical joke laughed at by future generations. Isn't it more interesting than just killing him directly?" Kalisi Xiangqi Lingwu Si镏坝旗袂女 said with a sense of evil taste.

"Looking at your plan, are you planning to turn Richard into a historical joke like a certain transport captain, forever laughed at by future generations?"

"That's right, as the saying goes, when we were little, we laughed at Baldy Jiang. When we grew up, we laughed at Baldy Jiang based on our own cognition. When we were old, we chatted with the younger generation and laughed at Baldy Jiang. After we were buried, we won the resurrection match and continued to laugh at Baldy Jiang. I think Richard also has the potential to be the transport captain of the current era. Since he is so eager to show off, let's nail him to the pillar of shame in history." Carisi smiled happily.

After returning from the funeral, Charlotte, with a heavy heart, took Anjie into the spy base and saw the familiar purple-haired figure sitting on the sofa in the spy base.

"Why are you here?" Anjie looked at Carlisle, who was sitting on the sofa with a relaxed look on her face, with a wary look.

"Ms. Anjie, please don't be so heartless. I came here with good intentions, just to remind you."

"Oh, a reminder? What do you want to remind us?" Anjie still couldn't trust Carlisle, the girl who made her feel puzzled.

"Just consider it a friendly warning," Carlisle replied with a smile.

"First of all, don't believe any nonsense Richard says." Carlisle noticed that when she said this, Charlotte's expression behind Angela changed slightly.

"Secondly, protect Mary. By the way, please pay more attention to the little princess's physical and mental health. This is very important."

"Third, and most crucially, be careful of the Duke of Normandy."

"Okay, that's all I want to remind you. As for whether things can develop in the direction you hope for, it depends on your own luck." After saying this, Carlisle stood up from the sofa, looked at Charlotte behind Anjie meaningfully, and then strode towards the main gate of the base.

"Hey... wait! Explain to me what these three reminders mean. Don't just leave three reminders and run away without knowing the reason!" Dorothy wanted to stop Carlisle, but Carlisle was not someone Dorothy could stop. As she quickly walked out of the main gate and entered the blind spot of Dorothy's sight, she teleported away at the corner outside the main gate.

"Tsk! He ran too fast. I couldn't even catch his shadow. How on earth is this guy better at running away and hiding his tracks than us professional spies?" Dorothy, who returned to the base from outside, was obviously still a little unconvinced.

.........

A moment later, after Dorothy had temporarily put aside her concerns about Calisi's ghostly presence, Charlotte, now preoccupied, recounted her experiences of the previous few days.

"You mean, the Duke of Arkham killed the First Prince?!" Dorothy asked in shock as Charlotte recounted the conversation full of one-sided threats between her and Richard outside the Queen's bedroom a few days ago.

"Although it's not said so bluntly, but... it's almost explicit." Wu Yiqi lowered his head as he spoke to Charlotte.

"This is bad. If it's all true, then it's not something we can do. We have to report it to the control room," Dorothy suggested seriously.

"Report...Report?! But...do we really need to say this?" Beat, concerned for Charlotte's safety, glanced at her worriedly.

"The third-in-line heir hinted that he had directly murdered the Crown Prince, and he even threatened the Princess to join his side. This is really not something we can intervene in, right?" Dorothy explained the seriousness of the current situation word by word.

"If that's the case...it seems...that's not wrong?"

"Suppose, if you report to the higher-ups and the control room asks you to join forces with Prince Richard, what are you going to do?" Qianshi expressed the worst possibility to everyone present.

"If the higher-ups really give the order, then we can only obey it. After all, we are spies." Dorothy also said that she would be powerless at that time due to this possibility.

"I... have always had a wish in my heart, that is to remove the high walls that exist in this country, whether they are the walls of discrimination caused by the gap between rich and poor, and status, or the London Wall that has caused countless families to be separated. I want to eliminate these walls! But what brother Richard did is really..." Seeing that everyone present was silent, Charlotte finally raised her head and spoke to everyone after thinking for a long time.

"Isn't that acceptable?" Dorothy continued.

"If Princess really wants to be queen, the most direct way is to get rid of the people above her and other competitors. You don't think you can get power without using dirty means, do you?" Dorothy asked seriously, looking into Charlotte's bright eyes.

"Even if that's the case... I still want to end this endless conflict and remove the walls." With firm confidence and purpose, Charlotte looked into Dorothy's eyes and answered the key question Dorothy asked.

"Hmm... I get it. If possible, I certainly don't like bloody and dirty methods. The most important thing is that if I do that, I won't be able to have a nice glass of wine after the mission."

Dorothy burst out laughing as Charlotte looked at her with such determination.

"Dorothy...thank you..." Charlotte thanked Dorothy with relief as she looked at Dorothy who had decided to help her to the end.

"You actually decided based on your appetite. Why don't you just make it clear at the beginning? Can't you stop beating around the bush?" Qianshi scolded Dorothy for her words that seemed to change her expression from beginning to end.

"We can't possibly team up with someone who'll do anything to achieve their goals, right? I'm just trying to confirm this!"

"Anyway, let's put the matter of the Duke of Arkham aside for now. Let's make a report after the control room has found out the details," Dorothy suggested to Charlotte.

"okay."

In the conference room of the intelligence organization's control room, several senior executives gathered again to discuss the current situation.

"The assassination incident happened twice in a row. The kingdom is truly in turmoil."

"Since the prisoner refuses to show up, why don't we claim him? Maybe it can even boost the morale of the people." The major, who has always been radical in his views and actions, suggested this.

"Ridiculous! It's nonsense. Even if it can really boost people's morale, if a war really breaks out, the diplomatic and trusting relations established between the Republic and other countries will be reduced to zero." 7, who was sitting next to the major, criticized mercilessly.

"The report says that because of the death of the First Prince, a factional struggle has begun within the kingdom supporting different heirs. Isn't this also an opportunity for the Republic?" Dolly Shope, who was sitting next to L, reminded.

"Since the revolution, the Republic has been walking on thin ice. The higher-ups require us to make good use of the spies within the royal family and report the situation in a timely manner." L, who had been listening to the opinions of his subordinates in silence, suddenly spoke.

"Are you talking about the Principal Team? Shouldn't we wait and see at least until the situation returns to calm?" 7 carefully dissuaded L from his decision.

"The higher-ups are very concerned about the balance of power within the royal family. Now that we've lost the bishop, an important intelligence officer, we have no other more suitable candidates. Pass the order on." L took a puff of the lit cigar in his hand and issued new orders to everyone present.

"Yes."

"By the way, Yuki, I have something to ask you?" In a villa in central London, Carlisle suddenly asked Yuki, who was leaning on the sofa and playing the game console.

"what's up?"

"Are you good at comforting people?" Carissa asked suddenly without thinking.

"Ah?" After hearing this, Yuki moved his eyes away from the game screen in front of him and looked up at Carlisle who asked the question.

"Probably the image of a caring older sister who's good at comforting others. How are you in this regard?"

"Well... I'm not some caring older sister who's good at comforting people, but why are you asking this all of a sudden?"

"Because next we might have to provide some psychological counseling to a child."

"Are you planning to...find a caring older sister for Mary who can enlighten her?"

"Bingo! You guessed it right! For a little girl like Mary, who has been lacking the love of her family for many years, if we can arrange for her to have an intimate big sister who can accompany her at any time, help her solve her problems and confide in her, we can solve the problem in a more perfect way." Carisi snapped her fingers and said confidently.

"Hmm... let me think about it. Charlotte fits the bill, but she's often busy handling various spy duties, so she can't always be with Mary. Also, I'm not good at this, and you certainly aren't either... Renlong, and her hot-tempered older sister isn't suitable for childcare. After all the thinking, it seems there's only one suitable candidate among us."

"So...Aze!!!" Carlisle and Yuuki shouted in unison.

(Sorry, it took me a while to find the information, which will be used in the subsequent plot. I hope you can give me more rewards and subscriptions. Thank you all readers!)

Chapter 67: Aze, the confidant big sister to the little Loli?

With a whoosh, a slender dart pierced into the dartboard hanging on the wall. A burly man with an Indian face leaned against the wall beside the dartboard, glanced at the dartboard beside him with his peripheral vision, and then turned his gaze to Richard, who was sitting on the sofa not far away and threw the dart with a smiling expression on his face.

"You seem to have something to say to me?" Richard asked, looking at his subordinate leaning against the wall with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Is it about Charlotte? Are you unwilling for me to reveal the plan to Charlotte?" Richard said as he picked up another dart from the newspaper on the table.

"You should kill her." The man with an Indian face said without mercy.

"You can't really do it in that kind of situation, can you? Besides, this is a power play. If some accidents happen, wouldn't that be kind of fun?" Richard said nonchalantly with a grin on his face, and then casually threw the dart he had just been playing with.

With the sound of glass breaking, the dart that deviated from the aim directly smashed a light bulb diagonally above the Indian man leaning against the wall, and several small pieces of glass fell on the Indian man's shoulder.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm not in a good condition right now." Richard apologized heartlessly to his men not far away, and rubbed his shoulder that had been shot before.

"How should I put it? Right now, the old fox who only wants to control my grandmother is our biggest opponent." Richard, squinting his eyes, picked up a dart on the table and stabbed it hard into a portrait on the cover of the newspaper in front of him. The portrait in the black and white photo on the newspaper that was pierced by the dart was the Duke of Normandy.

.........

In the palace, in the Queen's bedroom, the Queen lying on the hospital bed was talking to the Duke of Normandy beside the bed with a sad face.

"Oh... It's so embarrassing that an old guy like me can't even say goodbye to my grandson."

"No matter what, Your Majesty, your health is the most important thing." The Duke of Normandy, who was standing beside the bed, comforted the queen who was frowning on the bed.

"First of all..." The Duke of Normandy wanted to continue, but the Queen on the hospital bed interrupted him.

"Lately, I can't even walk on my own... I can only lie in bed all the time. I think I won't live long."

"What I care about most are the children I leave behind and this country." The Queen said to the Duke of Normandy beside her bed in a tone almost as if she were making arrangements for her last wishes.

"About this matter..." After hearing the Queen's words, the Duke of Normandy's expression became more serious than ever.

"You are one of the people I care about, Will..."

The Queen looked at the Duke of Normandy with a kind gaze, and when the Duke of Normandy, who usually had a stern face, heard the Queen call out the nickname that almost no one would call him by in normal times, his expression changed slightly.

"You are sometimes too smart. If the time really comes and I am no longer here, I will leave everything to you." The old and frail queen solemnly instructed the Duke of Normandy who was lying beside her bed.

"I understand." The Duke of Normandy nodded silently.

—(5) Yi Qizhen Mio Qilun

In another room of the palace, Mary was copying a passage from the textbook in front of her according to the instructions of her private tutor. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Olivia, who was waiting nearby, stood up from her chair and went to open the door.

Olivia showed a slight surprise when she saw who was behind the door, then stepped aside to let Charlotte and Beata enter the room.

"Sister!" Mary happily greeted the kind "Sister Charlotte" when she arrived.