While I was still having breakfast, I suddenly heard the news that someone was coming to visit.
"Who is it? Don't you have an appointment?"
The Minister of Trade suddenly frowned. Since his servant said "someone", at least it was not the ministers or big businessmen who often came to his home - they were already familiar with them, and they would at least know them when they came to report.
Say the other person's name.
This made Drost feel something was wrong.
——And soon, this premonition came true.
"It's me, what?"
Before anyone arrived, a cheerful and loud voice came from afar: "Do I need to make an appointment to enter your home?"
The other party ignored the servant's interception and walked straight in.
It's Meg the Great Arbiter!
Droste suddenly broke into a cold sweat.
He doesn't have to be afraid of Queen Sofia, because she does have a good temper and is also a very sensible person... Her Majesty the Queen is good at compromising, but she is not always compromising. She can stabilize a chaotic situation and glue together the disintegrated forces.
In Avalon, where tyrants are prevalent, she is a rare wise king.
But that old woman Meg is unreasonable.
And as the great arbiter, she can really deal with herself.
Not to mention herself as a minister, if she is dissatisfied with the queen, she can also ask for another king from the royal family. Of course, this is only a theoretical power. Let alone her, the great arbiters of the past dynasties have basically never used it.
.
It is precisely because Meg has so much power that she is unwilling to use it to avoid suspicion.
Because she didn't want people to think that she could control the queen and the top officials in the Round Table Hall... Drost knew that the old lady was very concerned about reputation. This was her only shortcoming... that was good face.
As a result, Meg has not been to the Round Table Hall for a long time.
Because she doesn't like meaningless wrangling. And in the Round Table Hall, it's normal for a bill to be dragged out for several months. After all, they are not in a hurry.
This kind of slow-paced life will make her feel itchy all over - according to Meg's style, she can't wait to read the bill and force everyone to express their opinions on the spot, not allowing abstention, and implementing it immediately after the vote is completed.
However, of course it is impossible for others to do this. This kind of matter is very involved and affects everyone, every family, and every faction differently. It cannot be dealt with so easily. Any proposal to change the status quo will incur some
Some people are satisfied, but some people are dissatisfied. They need to go through complicated alliances, compromises, and transfer of interests to pass.
And in this process, this is the moment when they gain profits from it.
If you pass bills based on intuition too much and maintain fairness evenly, you will offend everyone in the end - because people will always remember the bills that are not good for them more clearly than the bills that are good for them.
Old Mrs. Meg was born as a commoner in the countryside and rose from the supervisory bureau system to the arbitration hall. She didn't understand these twists and turns at all.
She is too fair to understand politics.
"Your Excellency the Grand Arbiter..."
Drost immediately put down his knife and fork, wiped his hands and stood up respectfully.
But Meg, who was short and only reached his chest, just patted his round belly unceremoniously and mocked: "You are already as fat as a pig, Charles. How long have you not exercised?"
"Remember when you were also a member of the team? Can you still run now?"
Charles Droste and Meg are of the same age. They are both classmates who graduated from the Royal University of Law. It’s just that they belong to different departments. Meg is a supervisor’s school, while Droste graduated from a law school.
That faculty.
They fought for different schools and were once fierce rivals on the court - for Meg, who was too short, Charles, who was tall and strong, was a strong opponent. In general, he was as thin as a stick.
Among the same lawyers, Charles was one of the few men who exercised regularly and had a muscular body.
And now...
The muscles of his limbs were loose and loose, and even had dark lines like lightning and wrinkles. There was not much hair on Drost's round head, and even his temples and scalp were full of fat.
The once deep-featured, upright face now looked old, fat, and ugly. When she saw him moving his body awkwardly, Meg almost laughed. But her laughter reached her throat, but
It can't be sent out again.
"——How did you become like this?"
Meg frowned.
"You are old enough, Your Excellency the Great Arbiter..."
Charles smiled helplessly: "The physical vitality of the fourth level and the fifth level are completely different. Besides, I failed several times before being promoted to the fourth level... I am already too old to die.
.”
"Ah."
Meg sneered: "So you just let yourself become a pig? Your brain is also covered by lard, right? You dare to hang out with the people of Noble Red, right?"
"Hey, you can't say that..."
The Minister of Trade quickly said: "Didn't the Inspectorate's report prove my innocence?"
"Yes, they say you are innocent, but I don't believe it."
Meg crossed her arms, leaned against the cabinet and sneered: "The Inspectorate's report must be accurate? I only believe in my eyes and my heart. So what if I don't have to report it?"
"You are being unreasonable..."
Drost defended helplessly.
He shouted: "Diomedes!"
His elf butler appeared silently at the door.
"Why," Meg said rudely, "you want to fall out?"
"Don't dare, Your Excellency the Great Arbiter."
Diomedes bowed respectfully and said in a deep voice: "The Drost family will not fight you under any circumstances."
"Can you speak on behalf of the Drost family?"
Meg smiled and said, "Is that okay with you, Mr. Diomedes?"
Seeing that neither of them said a word of defense, she clicked her tongue, feeling a little bored.
She did come here deliberately to cause trouble.
But this one is like a marshmallow that falls down with just one punch... which makes people feel boring.
And forget about Drost, the bastard, Diomedes also goes with him...
"[Tell me], Mr. Diomedes," Meg ordered, "has Charles Droste ever collaborated with Noble Red?"
Diomedes showed a trace of struggle on his face, but Meg said "Huh?", and a silver-white ring suddenly formed in the old elf's eyes, and blurted out: "Yes, Mr. Droste and Secretary Rafe
Act as a medium to contact Noble Red..."
"Where can I contact you?"
"The initial contact point was at the Pelican Bar. Later, Mr. Iwass Moriarty destroyed it and changed it to the abandoned chemical plant in Lloyd's District, which was later destroyed by Edward Moriarty."
"oh."
Meg narrowed her eyes: "Is this why he targeted Aiwass?"
"I have no idea."
Diomedes replied.
"Then you say it yourself."
Meg squinted her eyes and looked back at Drost, and ordered: "[Say everything]."
Her pupils reflected a silver ring like a lunar eclipse, and when it reflected in Drost's eyes, it directly turned into a mark that corroded her thoughts.
He was unable to resist Meg's words, so he could only say it out: "I'm just doing business, buying some contraband from Noble Red, and then selling it to people in need in this country..."
"What are the specifics? [Continues], and your accomplices - who is your superior?"
"That is, alchemy bombs, firearms, and some alchemy raw materials..."
When he said this, his expression suddenly changed.
But he couldn't control his mouth and could only continue: "The person who is contacting me now is the vice president of Lloyd's of Boca. We have been friends a long time ago. He was killed during a murder and dismemberment.
Diomedes bumped into him, so I had a handle on him; he is now a judge because I sent Diomedes to get rid of his rivals..."
"Oh, so he owes you? [Tell me what's on your mind]."
"Yes, I have controlled him since then. He thought we were a cooperative relationship, but in fact I just wanted to use him. In other words, I think Boca is more suitable to manage Lloyds than Lloyds.
.Because Lloyd wants to usurp the king's power, but I don't think it can be done, and I can't let that giant bastard do it; and Boca just wants merchant privileges, this is a more feasible plan..."
"Okay, I understand."
Meg nodded and said calmly: "Now that the situation is clear, come with me. I think this will be enough to lock you up for at least a few years.
"——Or do you want me to catch you personally?"
"...No need."
The silver-white halo in his pupils faded, and Droste smiled bitterly.
He never expected that he would be directly captured by Meg.
But that shouldn't be the case... When did she act so radically?
He didn’t even read the report from the Inspectorate, and he didn’t convene a meeting of the Arbitration Hall. He went straight to arrest people based on his own ideas... Is this a case of taking advantage of the gun?
Or……
"What are you thinking about?"
Suddenly, after he relaxed, Meg attacked again: "[Tell me what you are thinking about now.]"
"I'm wondering, are you going to die now?"
Drost blurted out: "Logically speaking, you are usually dissatisfied with everyone, but since you can't understand, you choose not to touch it and ignore it. You are only responsible for matters within your own responsibilities - that is, the main affairs of the Arbitration Hall. Then
It is to determine the punishment for the big shots involved in the case.
"I think this is because you don't know the impact of your actions, so you choose to maintain the status quo to be on the safe side. But now you have suddenly done something radical. People who know you should know that this is not your habit.
…”
"Is it so obvious?"
Meg smiled and said disapprovingly: "That's because I underestimated you - your observation skills are still good.
"But don't talk about that kind of thing. Go to the Supervision Bureau for a while first, and I'll go talk to His Majesty about you. How about [you go by yourself]?"
"As commanded."
A ring lit up under Drost's pupils, and he said so.
Diomedes on the side just remained silent and said nothing.
