Miss Witch's Forbidden Book Secret

Brigitte smiled and said, “I’m just in business. The authorities are doing a terrible job in this regard; those alchemists have absolutely no experience in governing a country. But coincidentally, there’s one here, and one downstairs. It seems to me like a very lucrative business. And the situation with the Iris is worse than ever before. My uncle, Archon Lost, and the other clan leaders believe that unity and stability are more important than anything else.”

"Therefore, whether the authorities like it or not, they must take some steps to unite. In this way, the nobles will have room to return to the stage. But they certainly cannot be allowed to participate in decision-making directly as nobles; the best way is through parliament and political parties."

“The royalists need an idol, don’t they? If there’s no king, where does the word ‘royalist’ come from? That’s what Marn wants to do, and he thinks you’re perfect for the position. Coincidentally, I think so too.”

Tia sensed something was wrong. "Couldn't you have chosen someone from your own country? Whether from a legal standpoint or simply from the perspective of blood ties, you could have persuaded me more by picking a shepherd from the countryside than me."

"A native? No—that's what I thought before too. But the more I observe you now, the more I feel you're born for this."

Brigitte's eyes seemed to burn with a ghostly green flame, and the more she looked at Tia, the more pleasing she became.

No wonder Marn specifically chose her. This Miss Funina uses the charm ritual on her as if it were her own limb, as if it had become a supernatural ability!

In other words, she's a born succubus!

This is simply the perfect choice to make a political pet!

Moreover, she is an Anzuese—in the past, Anzuese were indeed disliked, but times have changed. Now that Anzuese aid has arrived and the alliance has been established, choosing an Anzuese is actually a plus.

If the goal is to gain the favor of foreign powers.

Besides, the iris has produced foreign kings before, and it also has a political tradition.

Scarlett looked left and right, then removed her hand from the scabbard, looking somewhat bewildered.

This isn't the story she imagined!

She imagined the wicked tycoon Brigitte would commit a heinous act against Commander Sulph, and then the valiant Scarlett would engage in a bloody battle with her there.

So, sir, you've become the king of irises!

Is this script really correct?

"Excuse me for being frank, but I find it difficult to agree."

Tia had no particular thoughts about being tied to the rickety, dilapidated house of Iris, which looked like it could be kicked down with a single kick.

Although she was forced to stake her deal with Ulrich by protecting the Iris Flower, in exchange for the cooperation of his two students, to prevent a split, it didn't mean she had to become queen!

This is worse than the king of a country being beheaded every few days; why would she want to run into such bad luck...?

Brigitte said, "I know this must be a difficult decision for you. But please hear my offer first..."

Before the words "quote" were even finished, a shocked shout suddenly came from downstairs, abruptly interrupting Brigitte's invitation.

The melodious strains of the orchestra behind the curtain abruptly turned into cheerful instrumental music.

Brigitte looked displeased and immediately told Nogi to go out and check the situation.

The nobles were stunned and unsure what to do, all looking at the glass in the distance that was falling from their hands and shattering with a "bang".

The adjutant, Codd, dropped his wine glass, his whole body convulsed violently, and bright red blood flowed from his eyes and ears as he collapsed to the ground.

Chapter 223 The Mystery of Marn

The moment Cod fell, the many nobles at the banquet felt a chill run down their spines, realizing that something terrible was about to happen.

The young man's death was clearly due to poisoning, as evidenced by the color of the blood flowing from his mouth and ears. It started as bright red blood plasma but quickly turned black, a typical sign of poisoning.

Moreover, the death occurred very quickly, which strongly suggests that it was a deliberate act of poisoning.

The nobles who attended the banquet were all intelligent people, and for a time, everyone was in a state of panic. No one knew what was going on, especially since the source of Codd's poisoning was unclear, and no one knew when he was poisoned. What was even more alarming was that no one knew where the murderer was.

No one can be sure whether the killer will choose them as the next target.

Upon discovering this unexpected incident, Brigitte immediately halted her negotiations with Tia and summoned Nogi, asking with a furrowed brow, "How much longer until the police arrive?"

Nogi said respectfully, "I've already called, and the police said they'll be here immediately... Miss, would you like to leave first...?"

Where is Marn?

Brigitte suddenly asked a question that left Nogi completely baffled.

Nogi answered truthfully, "Not found."

“No. If Marne isn’t here, and I leave too, no one will be able to control the situation. Have the area sealed off immediately. In the name of the Montellima family, no one is allowed to leave the banquet hall until the police arrive.”

Brigitte acted decisively, immediately ordering Nogi to deploy men to seal off the banquet hall. But this alone was clearly insufficient to quell the panic among the guests.

Especially since the people present were a group of nobles who valued their lives, and who had experienced a day of civil war just six months ago, they were all like frightened birds.

After realizing what had happened, Tia also left the private room, with Scarlett following closely behind.

She immediately went downstairs and, before the scene was cordoned off, found Codd lying on the ground. Two professional doctors from the Montreal family had just been brought over from the bathhouse to examine the victim.

But the situation was too urgent, and neither of the two doctors understood what was going on.

I could only do a quick check. Although Cod was severely poisoned, he wasn't completely dead yet. This was mainly due to his superhuman physical abilities and the fact that the young man's path wasn't that of the empire's mainstream kings, but rather the Oak of the Earth.

Oak is the path of life and continuation, which gave Cord a slight resistance to the toxins and prevented him from dying completely, but at this moment, he was definitely on the verge of death. His poisoned appearance even made Scarlett feel a little alarmed.

The two doctors were also helpless—no matter how wealthy and extravagant the Montreal family was, they couldn't possibly build a hospital inside the theater, and the nearest hospital was more than ten minutes away from the theater.

After Tia arrived, Scarlett immediately checked her over.

There is no evil aura. In other words, the victim's near-death experience is not caused by a curse.

"Is this poisoning?"

"You guessed right. Our initial assessment is that it's some kind of alchemical poison; normal poisons wouldn't take effect in such a short time. We didn't find a wound, so the killer must have mixed it into the drink. There's no doubt this was a premeditated poisoning, but we currently lack the necessary equipment..."

"Phew, I understand. Please step aside, ladies!" Tia stepped forward, glanced at the cup, and immediately declared, "Scarlett, use the holy blood from the cup."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Tia summoned a messenger to bring a glass and clean water.

Scarlett, as if waking from a dream, drew her sword and wiped the back of her hand, setting up a ritual of feeding Cord with holy blood in a cup to prolong his life.

The two doctors asked in surprise, "Are you from Ansu?"

The blood of the saint in the cup is a specialty of the Anzu Holy Church and the Anti-Suppression Bureau.

While they were trying to prolong Cod's life, his sudden poisoning and near-death experience was already eye-catching, but Scarlett's arrangement of the holy blood in the cup attracted even more attention.

The ritual of the Holy Blood in the Cup is so iconic, just as the release of the Hand of Transformation instantly identifies an alchemist from the Iris Flower clan. Once the Holy Blood in the Cup is prepared, anyone with a modicum of knowledge can immediately recognize it as an Ansu person—and most likely from the Ansu Holy Church or the Anti-Extermination Bureau!

What was originally a perfectly good banquet turned into an uproar when a sudden poisoning incident occurred, followed by the appearance of Ansu people. The nobles attending the banquet looked at Tia and Scarlett with fear and suspicion.

Although it's highly unlikely that a murderer would commit such a contradictory act as killing and then saving someone, the sudden appearance of two foreigners at this tense moment clearly made the atmosphere even more tense.

But in this tense moment, the nobles were shocked to see Brigitte walk to the crime scene and seem to know the two foreigners very well.

When Tia saw Bridget arrive, she asked, "Has the identity of the poisoned person been confirmed?"

"He is Marn's second-in-command, Cord."

"Marn's second-in-command? What about Marn himself?"

"Not found yet."

This is very strange. Marn himself was not present the whole time, while his deputy, Codd, suddenly became poisoned and was on the verge of death.

Brigitte, instead of panicking, looked at Cord with a deeper meaning and said, "This is an opportunity."

"What opportunity?"

"Your chance to shine. Look how perfect this is: poisoning, chaos, a mess, and then a hero arrives to save everyone from disaster. It's a bit unexpected, but with a little planning, it can be quite a show."

"Brilliant."

"What do you mean?"

Brigitte didn't understand; she was completely driven by self-interest.

The two couldn't agree on what to do, and Tia didn't explain. Instead, she stared at Brigitte with a playful expression: "Did you arrange this?"

Before Brigitte could answer, she shook her head and looked at the two doctors, saying, "Save him first. Take this gentleman to the nearest hospital immediately."

The two doctors stood at attention, touched their chests, and said, "We salute you!"

After saying that, Tia beckoned to Scarlett and said, "Scarlett! Come with me!"

The police mobilization in the Observatory district was much faster than Tia had anticipated. Scarlett had only been using the holy blood in her cup to keep Codd alive for three to five minutes when a clattering sound was heard, and a large group of people rushed into the banquet hall, causing gasps of surprise inside.

However, these were not all the gentlemanly police officers commonly seen in the Iris Police Department, dressed in tuxedos and carrying police knives. Of the thirty-odd people, only about ten were police officers; the rest were all burly, well-organized knights, all wearing knight helmets, silver-white classic armor, and carrying hand-and-a-half swords and alchemical bombs at their waists.

This iconic, retro-inspired style of equipment, like holy blood in a cup, makes its identity instantly recognizable.

The Silver Knight of Saint Engard!

In fact, Brigitte's alarm call came at just the right time. The Knights of St. Engard had only recently been stationed in the Observatory district, and it was clear they couldn't possibly form a separate army. The Knights had too few members, so few that they were destined to serve only as a deterrent force and for suppressing internal unrest.

Therefore, the knights of the Order were assigned to the police force. In the event of a security incident, the police could request the Knights Commander to deploy the Order's knights.

They calmly and methodically raised their swords high to signal, separating the crowd and forming two rows that divided the banquet hall in two, leaving a passageway.

Following closely behind in the passage was Richard, the police inspector of the Observatory District, who was wearing a tailcoat and white gloves.

The police inspector looked to be in his thirties, with dark brown curly hair. Beneath his tightly furrowed brows, a pair of dark eyes immediately swept around, his sharp gaze landing on several nobles, sending chills down one's spine.

But this sharp gaze didn't last long before the white-haired girl approached from afar, leaning on her cane, and spoke in a voice that shook the soul: "Inspector, please find Marn Cullen immediately!"

Chapter 224 High-End Prey

Based on her intuition from nearly a year of service at the Newport News Police Station, Tia quickly identified several suspects.

First, there are Marn Cullen's creditors. Marn Cullen is notorious in Mistmoon City because he has many enemies due to his past losses in fundraising. Based on this motive, his creditors are entirely capable of murdering him.

But assuming the creditor really wanted revenge on Marne, now that Marne is gone, taking revenge on this young adjutant would be completely superfluous, serving no purpose other than wasting his own time and increasing the risk of exposure.

The missing Marne could also be the murderer, but there's a lack of motive. Why would Marne poison her own adjutant for no reason?

Even Brigitte is a suspect, but the motive of deliberately creating an "accident" to make her stage a good show and become the "monarch" is too far-fetched. Moreover, through her contact with Brigitte, Tia can tell that she would disdain doing such a thing.

If such an unexpected event were to occur, she would certainly not hesitate to take advantage of it. However, barring unforeseen circumstances, the proud Brigitte would not intentionally create one.

But in any case, Marn is of paramount importance.

Marn's sudden return from the Empire to the Iris was already shrouded in mystery, and his sudden attempt to gather royalists to form a political party only added to the confusion.

Tia chewed on the clues and key information about Marn.

Of course, it's also possible that Marn's return to the Iris was part of an Empire conspiracy, and that Kord was actually a spy sent by the Empire. Marn wanted to escape the Empire, so he killed Kord and then either fled or faked his death to get away.

But everything has to wait until we find Marn first—she still needs to collect her debts.

Tia, along with Scarlett, asked Inspector Richard to immediately search for clues about Marne.

Richard was initially quite opposed to this request; he was the police inspector, and who was this white-haired guy?

Unexpectedly, even Brigitte endorsed this little white-haired dwarf—the Montreal family was a well-known name in Mistmoon City, so Richard had no choice but to reluctantly accept it.

But to be honest, after carefully listening to Tia's requests and orders, he actually felt that the white-haired dwarf actually had quite the demeanor of a leader. Whether it was commanding and issuing orders, he was quite professional and accurate.

It's rare to find a layperson giving advice to an expert when the needs are unclear.

This surprised him greatly.

He was selected after the One Day Civil War and had been a police inspector for half a year, but this "Furyn Bonaparte" whom he had never heard of before seemed to have much more experience than him!

Unbelievable!

One team of silver knights took control of the banquet hall, while the remaining police and knights immediately launched a thorough search of the Sparrowtail Grand Theater, scrutinizing everyone meticulously.

Meanwhile, in the restaurant outside the theater.

As Cameron, sitting in his chair, removed his hat with three peacock feathers from the beef cubes on his plate, and the moment he put it on, the short hair of the shadow behind him turned into long hair.

Cameron has a beautiful face and delicate features. Her flaxen ponytail is draped to one side, and her pupils are gentle and warm. Sitting here, she looks more like a noble lady having a meal, and it is impossible for anyone to associate her with a killer assassin who is good at using poison.

She calmly held her knife and fork, and felt a pang of emotion upon hearing the footsteps of the Silver Knight outside.

Surprisingly, the police station in the Observatory District actually has some merits; they grasped the key points immediately.

But she clearly remembered that the police chief was a young man who had only recently taken office and had previously solved cases entirely by brute force.

Was it the Knights who made the move, or was there someone else with exceptional skill?

Sitting in the restaurant, Cameron was completely unrecognizable. Based on her extraordinary abilities, she could be a man, a woman, an old person, or a child. Her appearance could change at will, and she could become anyone she wanted.

This is the power of the unsheathed blade, derived from the substitution and transformation of alchemy. When the transformation of alchemy reaches its extreme, completely losing its own subjectivity, it reaches the realm of the unsheathed blade: "change," "alteration," "chaos," and "disorder."

As a Sequence 6 Unsheathed Blade, Cameron's purpose in attending the banquet was to kill.

There are two targets: one is the Imperial man, Corde, and the other is Brigitte, the eldest daughter of the Montreal family.