When the plot-skips players into the game world

As Isabel walked back with Aiwass and Yulia, she couldn't help but feel a bit anxious.

——Why do we still have to meet the parents!

Isabel's previous calmness and composure disappeared instantly under Aiwass's sudden move.

For a moment, Isabel felt like she was no longer the Queen of Avalon but had become that schoolgirl who had just recently become an adult.

"Aiwass, Aiwass…"

Isabel lowered her voice, asking with a mix of anxiety and curiosity: "Your mother… isn't she…?"

Few people knew better than Isabel about the misfortunes that had befallen Aiwass's parents.

Because the first time she met Aiwass, it was during the promotion ceremony where they each played the roles of Aiwass's parents.

She had guessed the fate of the original Annie Alexander from her script brief and task requirements back then—ambushed by the Hook Demon and assassinated.

The necessary task that Isabel received was to protect Little Aiwass's survival, and it didn't include "staying alive." She also had an odd task, which was to go to Execution Square.

At that time, she was still a naive newcomer, not as familiar with the promotion ceremony as she is now. If it were the present Isabel, she would only need one look at those tasks to vaguely realize what kind of plot she might face, what strategy she should choose, and what the outcome of the role she played in the original history would be.

This actually means, in the original timeline, it was Aiwass's parents who went to Execution Square, putting Little Aiwass there—there were too many people there who could dilute the blur effect of a weak curse, preventing the Hook Demon from pinpointing them through the curse. If things escalated, it would immediately attract the Inspector's arrival, and with the crowd's number, there was no worry about Little Aiwass starving in a corner either. Then, they diverted the Hook Demon themselves, saving Aiwass with their lives.

Another possibility is they left Little Aiwass at the church where they initially were and then went to Execution Square to divert the enemy… but the result was the same. In that promotion ceremony, "death" itself was one way to complete the task.

And it's exactly because Aiwass's parents died in that assassination attempt that he went into the orphanage funded by the Moriarty Family, met Yulia, and subsequently was raised by James Moriarty.

So now… where did his mother come from?

Could it be that Aiwass found his mother, who had turned into an Angel Envoy, in the Dream Realm and took her away?

Isabel was nervous, and Yulia was equally so. After all, she had always believed herself to be Aiwass's closest relative as his sister… but now suddenly there's a closer relative?

Yet when the two anxious girls followed Aiwass into the reception room of the Hall of Silver and Tin, they unexpectedly found the room rather crowded.

Aside from Sherlock, who was the initial purpose of Aiwass's trip, Edward, Aiwass and Yulia's brother, had also returned with them. Next to the table were two men and a woman Yulia didn't know… an elderly man with silver hair and green eyes exuded an authoritative presence, a beautiful noblewoman in her thirties who seemed well-educated, and a handsome man with deep features.

Though the age didn't match, Isabel recognized at a glance—the aristocratic woman was the mother of Aiwass, whom she had played in a dream!

Her mind instantly became overwhelmingly confused: How is Aiwass's mother still alive? Why is she here in Iris Flower? Who is the man beside her? Why hasn't she come to Aiwass all this time? Catch the formatted version at M|V|LEM_PYR.

And the woman clearly heard the footsteps too, lifting her head to look at Isabel.

Isabel noticed a mix of amazement, joy, satisfaction, and a trace of strange confusion and timidity in her eyes. The two of them exchanged glances for a moment, resulting in neither speaking first, maintaining an awkward silence.

"Hello…"

After about two seconds of silence, Isabel softly greeted.

A bizarre phrase suddenly popped into her mind:

——Are you also Aiwass's mom?

Isabel was shocked, shaking her head quickly to swallow back the sentence that almost slipped out.

Then Aiwass introduced for her: "This is Annie de Vandom, the third daughter of the Duke of Vandome.

"And this is Isabel. Isabel Du Lac, my lover."

...The Duke of Vandome's third daughter? Not "my mom"?

Isabel paused for a moment, dumbfounded.

And although Yulia didn't know much about the situation, she had sensed something from the expressions of the few around. Therefore, she wisely remained silent, standing obediently behind Aiwass.

At this moment, Aiwass suddenly gave a mischievous grin, adding: "You can also call her Lulu."

No no no, this is not okay, not okay, not okay…

Isabel became visibly flustered all of a sudden.

——Don't talk about me having been your mom in front of your mom! That kind of thing, no!

This was the second most embarrassing thing for Isabel.

The first would probably be exposing that she once called Aiwass "dad" in front of her own father…

Though she was shaking her head frantically in her mind, she didn't show it, instead exhibiting a slightly awkward yet composed smile.

It was the old man, previously reading and having tea, who showed interest, raising his head: "From 'Lulu's Magic Flute'? That's nice."

Aiwass smiled and whispered to Isabel, "The fairy named Lulu who wrote 'Lulu's Magic Flute' was a fairy friend of an ancestor of the Vandome family. The first person to perform this play publicly in human society was someone from the Vandome family."

This is also the reason why the Vandome family holds the profession of "flutist".

However, hearing this, Isabel had already begun to understand part of the story.

— Aiwass's mother was a noble from the Vandome family?

The Duke of Irisflower, Vandome?

Even Isabel, who wasn't very politically savvy, knew the Duke's transcendent status in Irisflower.

...But if that's the case, why did she change her name to Annie Alexander to marry Aiwass's father in Avalon? He was a genuine commoner, merely a new priest without even the means to buy property on Glass Island, living only in the countryside.

A love story between a Duke's daughter and a poor young man?

Could it be that she survived because the Duke of Vandome stepped in?

But if that's the case...

Isabel looked at Aiwass with some hesitation.

She had always been careful to notice that Aiwass never referred to "Annie" as his mother in front of her. Therefore, Isabel didn't know how to address her.

She worried that Aiwass didn't acknowledge this mother. If she changed her address too soon, it might seem like she was forcing Aiwass to take a stance.

"It's like this..."

Annie seemed to have mentally prepared herself on the way.

In front of her "biologically related" son and his fiancée, who was to marry him the next day, she finally told her story and shared her life.

It was meant as a reminder—or a warning.

"I once went to study abroad at Avalon during my university years. To learn art."

In a soft voice, Annie said, "The reason I didn't stay in Irisflower was that I was burdened with a political mission..."

—This was actually an expected matter.

Those present showed no reaction to this.

After all, Irisflower is the Land of Love and Beauty, with art being a national craft for centuries, far more esteemed than Stibnite's alchemy. For Annie, the child of the Duke of Vandome, to study art in Avalon... the value of this is akin to a literary family going to study Chinese language and literature in the West, or an American going to China to learn business English.

It seems that apart from the ease of exams, the experience was likely futile.

"It was during the cold war between Irisflower and Avalon," the Old Duke interjected, "when Her Majesty Sofia consulted me on a matter.

"She had a child whom she adored who was interested in art and hoped to secure a marriage with a truly reliable noble from the artistic community to foster their relationship. This could also be considered an alliance between Avalon and Irisflower... joining the Avalon Royal Family could ease the increasingly tense international situation and allow both countries to regain a cooler stance, so I agreed.

"The Avalonians didn't want war, nor did the Irisflower people. I taught Annie the Avalon language and gave her psychological counseling, advising her on how to deal with the knightly-minded stone-hearted people in the Royal Palace... but shortly after Annie went to Avalon, she informed me of something.

"—That was, the Prince who had already set a marriage contract with her had secretly married his private tutor. Moreover, this was something nearly everyone in Avalon knew. At the time, I was furious, considering it an insult from Avalon. So, I called Annie back and prepared for war.

"At that time, I had Hawkeye dispatch an assassin to poison and kill a royal heir of Avalon as revenge.

"However, Annie became rebellious... she refused to return.

"What followed was the famous battle—the Ten-Day War. During that war..."

The Old Duke paused with a sigh, "The army defeated by Miss Meg was led by me. We rapidly crushed Avalon's navy. It was Irisflower's most elite, yet Miss Meg repelled us single-handedly. Everyone lost their will to fight, yet no one perished."

Hearing this, Isabel's eyes opened slightly wider.

She realized... if history had taken a different course, she understood who Annie's husband should have been.

She also realized something else...

—Because the Old Duke hadn't mentioned something.

That was what happened after the Ten-Day War ended—

"When Irisflower's parliamentarians clearly realized that they couldn't defeat Avalon, which had Meg... they initiated another plan under the secret influence of the Sons of the Moon, who are skilled at curses.

"Initially, the purpose of this plan was presumably to reduce Hawkeye's high-end assassins, using power to force them into Avalon to die continuously. But it was unexpectedly discovered that Avalonians were particularly inept at defending against curses... so the plan shifted, targeting Avalon's Royal Family. Later, the Stibnite people also realized this and added fuel to the fire.

"The plan's name was 'Coronation Eclipse'.

"—Which the Avalonians referred to as the 'Royal Curse'."