When the plot-skips players into the game world

Everyone has been poor before; no one wants to return to the bitter days of the past. If sponsorships were cut off now, no one would live well. Obviously, there's another way to ensure everyone gets enough to eat—by reducing the number of "upper echelons" sharing the profits to a sufficiently low number.

Therefore, the problem isn't actually the merchants who control the powerful Knights, but rather the Knights themselves. These corrupt Knights fear not the merchants, but other Knights—their similarly corrupt comrades.

The nobles of the Irisflower People face the same problem.

The First Rebellion and the Second Rebellion were complete failures. In this world where extraordinary power is monopolized through knowledge, it is difficult for transcendent individuals to emerge among the purely impoverished commoners.

They cannot obtain the Codex Book to initiate inheritance on their own, nor can they learn a complete theoretical system from a dedicated teaching institution. Even if they are lucky enough to become transcendent individuals, they have no money to conduct the promotion ceremony—in fact, they might not even know what the promotion ceremony requires.

In such circumstances, rebellion from the commoners is impossible to succeed. No matter how grandiose it is, transcendent individuals can easily suppress it.

"——But the situation of the Third Rebellion was different because their Monarch had died."

"...I understand now!"

Upon hearing this from Aiwass, Annie widened her eyes and blurted out, "Because they were frightened!"

"Exactly."

Sherlock nodded, calmly and leisurely lifting the black tea, "It's precisely because the nobles do not know who the mastermind behind this incident is... Who could bypass the Hawkeye Organization and the posts of the three Dukes, break through the Royal Palace, massacre the Forbidden Army, capture all the Royal Family members, and execute so many Fourth Level transcendent individuals."

As he spoke, he pinched his throat to make a disgusting voice: "'Who on earth could make a move of such magnitude?' 'Even the King was killed, how could we resist?' 'This isn't a rebellion initiated by commoners, but a coup instigated by some big shot for dictatorship!' 'If we stand in the way, we're likely to be eliminated too!'"

"——And thus, they were terrified."

Saying this, Sherlock couldn't help but let his lips curl into a mocking smile.

Because this matter was simply too interesting—at least for him, an Avalonian. It was truly entertaining. This was also why the more he investigated, the more he indulged in it.

Though he was half coerced and half deceived into this investigation, he found the case absolutely fascinating. Not only because of his curiosity but also because this case was truly intriguing and appetite-whetting.

If it weren't rather inconvenient to disclose this to outsiders, he would have definitely called reporters to publish this story.

"...You mean," Annie said incredulously, "these nobles... were they actually scared to death by themselves?"

"That's exactly right."

Sherlock made his conclusion from his investigation: "From the very beginning, there was no 'mastermind.' The nobles quickly surrendered, accepting the confiscation of their properties. And the rapid surrender of these other nobles made those who had not yet surrendered even more frightened.

"It's like when soldiers on the battlefield collapse out of fear, more get trampled to death by their comrades or lose direction in chaos than those actually killed. Other than the very few who engage in battle, the rest have no clue what really happened. They are merely swept away, unable to act even if they wanted to come forward.

"——This was a dramatic rout."

"...But," Annie still found it hard to understand, "wasn't there at least one person who stood up? During the time of the Third Rebellion, it wasn't just the nobles' properties that were taken, right? So many people were hung, kidnapped, and sold into Parthia as slaves... It's impossible that they would rather accept such fates without daring to take action, right?"

Even among a herd of swine, there should be at least one particularly brave pig.

Among so many people, was there truly not even one daring to resist?

"...Of course, that's impossible."

Sherlock's gaze deepened, his mocking smile somewhat restrained as he looked toward Old Argon.

His words were cautious yet harmonious and meaningful: "I believe this is the reason the Duke asked me to investigate this matter."

"——It was us."

Argon spoke: "The ones who executed those rebels came from our three families.

"The prototype of the Hawkeye Organization, the 'Stonemason Brothers,' had close ties with those civilians, and they also infiltrated the ranks of the Third Rebellion... Thus, it cannot be said that there were no transcendent individuals among them.

"The Minister of Military Affairs, Duke Hacourt, at the time ordered the army not to move. He said it was an order from Your Majesty—the army of the Iris Flower cannot point towards the Irisflower People. Therefore, even if they killed Your Majesty, they did not deploy the army to suppress the rebellion.

"And I was responsible for making those nobles whom His Majesty hated suffer in the chaos. Annie, what you mentioned earlier... Those nobles who were hanged, kidnapped, and sold... If you investigate carefully, you will find they were nobles who had committed grave mistakes but were shielded by power, or those who defied the monarch's orders and acted recklessly."

The old man's tone was calm, slow, leisurely, yet full of ruthless determination: "This was not under Your Majesty's behest... But when I realized the entire Royal Family could be killed without a whisper... it was more likely that we had a traitor among us.

"In that case, what I have to do is to send all those who deserve to die to their deaths—for at least on the grand table of the new government, there will be no plate or cutlery left for them.

"—I don't know who the traitor is, but I can at least ensure that those most deserving, most unworthy won't enjoy a shred of power. Even if they participated in the rebellion, they won't gain any benefit from it.

"And I... am not particularly good at political struggles. I don't know if they have formed some alliance of interests in the darkness; no one has invited us anyway. However, suitably enough, our family's network is quite good. So many people are willing to lend a hand... perhaps because everyone is fed up with those people."

"You are saying..."

Annie widened her eyes.

"That's right, Annie," the old man calmly rubbed a massive ring on his hand, "the ones doing what you mentioned... are our family."

"Royal power is not just a sword, it is also an umbrella. And what it shields is not just the populace... More often, it is these nobles at the very center of the umbrella. When this umbrella falls, they are the first to be affected."

"I noticed something very subtle."

Aiwass, upon hearing this, lightly laughed.

He pointed out the detail: "Those nobles who do not follow the King's orders are often the least favored by the people. They are the ones who deliberately engender poverty and famine to trouble the Swan King."

Though it appears coincidental, it is subtly quite reasonable.

—What kind of audacity does one need to defy even the King's orders! A person who dares to bully the King, would he not bully the people beneath him?

"Yes," the Old Duke nodded, "this is precisely retribution."

"Then..."

Arsene couldn't resist his curiosity and asked, "What did the Duke of Bofu'er do?"

Although the three dukes are each like a nation within a nation, their specific powers and classifications are somewhat different.

Duke Hacourt, also known as "Wolf Duke," is a pure military man; while Duke Hacourt is called "Ice Heart Duke," the Hacourt Family has a significant influence over the arts world—which means he basically indirectly controls all high-level Transcendents of the Path of Beauty, and holds shares in national theater troupes and theaters.

The Iris Theater Troupe that goes to perform in Avalon receives investment from the Hacourt family.

As for the Duke of Bofu'er, he controls financial power.

"The composition of the 'Civic Council' was proposed by Duke of Bofu'er."

The Old Duke slowly said: "The new government of the Iris Flower was organized under his arrangements... speaking of how 'even the best order is worse than chaos,' he urgently demanded the end of the rebellion. I actually suspect him the most."

"Isn't it good that we can now prove everyone is innocent?"

Annie was very perplexed.

"It's very simple..."

And Aiwass spoke, voicing the thoughts of the Old Duke: "Because what Grandfather actually wanted was a war. A 'purifying war' to resolve all of Iris Flower's accumulated issues. That is why he is desperately searching for a 'culprit.'

"—If I'm not mistaken, he intends to overthrow the Civic Council."

"To initiate the fifteenth rebellion of the Iris Flower."