Miss Witch's Forbidden Book Secret

"No! Absolutely not!" Holly's face was flushed red from the cold wind, and she quickly refused.

She might accept it for other things, but if the target is Durant—she shouldn't accept the money under any circumstances.

Holly held a grudge about it.

Seeing this, Tia stopped trying to persuade her, gave Holly some money for the journey, and then continued back to the police station with Scarlett to wait for an opportunity.

As the rain poured down on the umbrella in the darkness, Holly caught a chill. The temperature in Mistmoon City was already unstable, and with the heavy rain, her face flushed, but she remained surprisingly calm.

Under the flickering light of the streetlamp, broken by the thunderstorm, the large dog emerged from her shadow, its tail like a fox's tail darting to Holly's ear as if to warn her:

"Holly, there are some things I don't recommend you do. You're not ready to get involved in those things yet."

Holly clutched the dozen or so gold shields Tia had given her tightly in her palm.

To be honest, the travel expenses were a bit too generous. Holly turned her face away, not wanting to talk to the big dog, but she honestly said, "Dog, I don't want to be a child anymore."

"And then she becomes a rebellious teenager who drinks, gets tattoos, and beats up old people? Holy crap, Holly, you shouldn't be involved in this. What does this have to do with you besides Durant?"

"Durant is related to me, you dog."

Holly carefully stuffed the money into the little cloth pocket while holding the umbrella. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Dog, fear and retreat are not shameful things, but fear of hope is terrible."

The shadow was silent for a moment, then quickly retreated into Holly's shadow, while the big dog muttered profanities:

"Damn, Holly, how the hell did you say something so philosophical? But you're right, let's do it!"

.............

On the other side, the rain outside the window gradually subsided, and Isaac stood outside the conference room with two of his men, their hearts pounding with excitement.

Clementine is awesome!

He had only whispered a few words in Clementine's ear, and in just over two days, Lord Durant approved the secret document ordering the cessation of the bombing operation. Once the bombing operation stopped, Willie would be much easier to deal with!

That's why he didn't even bring many of his men with him, and rushed to the First Precinct for a meeting.

His goal was to remove Willie from his position immediately!

A subordinate stood close by and reminded him, "Inspector, shall we go in now?"

"Is everyone here?"

"Well, when we notified them, they said they were all there. But Chief Willie wasn't there."

Isaac waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about him, as long as the superintendents are all here."

But as soon as he entered the meeting room, Isaac sensed that something was off.

More than a dozen police superintendents who were in charge of the demolition operation stood up and looked at the chief of the second precinct.

Isaac felt uncomfortable being stared at and coughed, saying, "All colleagues! Please sit down."

No one responded.

Suddenly, a hand patted his shoulder.

"Director, you don't look well."

Weasley had been standing behind the door for a while, then quietly moved closer, placing his hand firmly on Isaac's right shoulder. The rain pattered softly outside the window, and the conference room was silent, everyone staring at Isaac with varying expressions.

The two superintendents took a deep breath, closed the door, and blocked their way out.

Isaac jumped in fright and quickly said, "Maybe I haven't been sleeping well these past few days. Are you Weasley? Don't worry about that... Let go, I'm here for a meeting, what are you planning to do!"

Chapter 246 Brigitte's Dilemma

Early the next morning, at the First Precinct of the Castle District Police Station in Fogmoon City, in the Police Headquarters Office.

Willie puffed on his hookah with a sense of unease, the smoky vapor from the heated fruit paste billowing into his mouth through the pipe, creating a cloud of white mist.

The rain outside the window continued to patter incessantly. Dark clouds covered the area, obscuring any sunlight. This was typical of Fogmoon City; the rainy season began in June and July, bringing not only fog but also heavy rain, and the weather was unpredictable, fluctuating between hot and cold.

Boom boom boom!

Willie frowned and shouted, "Come in!"

As soon as the door opened, it was exactly as expected.

The white-haired Frynn Bonaparte walked in with an annoying smile, and the guard with his sword glaring at him was even more irritating.

Tia slept well last night after learning that Isaac had been captured by the First Division, and even went deep into Laurel Forest to summon a few crows.

Unfortunately, the shrike didn't come. It ran off to the Empire to steal wine and got injured. Whether it was an accident or intentional, Tia tacitly allowed it to dive into the deep sea to recuperate.

As a result, the unfortunate crow encountered turbulent currents as soon as it entered the deep sea, and was badly injured by the seawater, almost unable to find its way home.

Tia's thoughts were interrupted by Willie's complaint.

"Bonaparte! I've done exactly as you said, arrested Isaac, and now what?!"

Tia was pacing in her office when her little boots suddenly stopped. She stood still and said leisurely, "Wait."

Willie's eyes widened instantly, and he shouted in dissatisfaction, "Wait?! You're telling me to keep waiting at this point? You might as well tell me to wait to die!"

"Aren't you Iris Flower people all full of martial spirit? Why are you just waiting to die?"

"Bonaparte! Are you underestimating me?!"

Willie slammed his sword on the table and drew it with a whoosh to show Tia.

Tia glanced at her and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Damn it! I forgot you're from Ansu." Willie looked utterly defeated and bluntly said, "The elite cavalry sabers of the Third Cavalry Regiment of the Northern Legion of the Kingdom, the kind that's seen blood! Never seen them before, have you? The Third Cavalry Regiment is gone now, these are real gems!"

"I've never seen this before. Let me use it."

Tia didn't stand on ceremony at all, took the cavalry saber, brandished it a couple of times, and praised, "It's a fine saber, Chief!"

The knife is indeed good, but not exceptionally good.

Ansu's cavalry saber is of slightly better quality than Iris's cavalry saber—but it's much more likely to draw blood.

"I told you it was a good knife. They weren't even planning to give it to me when I retired... Wait, why are you wearing it on your waist?!"

"Lend it to me for two days, I need it right now."

Tia laughed, "Anyway, with your figure, you probably won't be able to bring out much of the knife's potential. Scarlett, hold this for me."

Miss Scarlett, who had been standing there dreaming, suddenly woke up and quickly took the cavalry saber.

That's really true!

Willie looked dejected, waved his hand dismissively about the knife, and lay back in his chair to continue puffing on his cigarette. "And then what? Isaac's been arrested, and now we're just waiting for the warrant to be issued, and we're all just waiting to die?"

"Of course not. Waiting is not waiting to die, but waiting for the right opportunity. Tomorrow, you continue to have the police carry out the demolition operation. The purpose of those imperial spies is very clear: that batch of potions. If the potions want to get in, they can only do so through the port area and the observatory adjacent to the port area, and then through the castle area."

"Next, we'll focus our inspection on the observatory and port areas. Inspectors Richard and Ridley are both funded by the Montreal family, and they will cooperate with our operation."

Willie asked in surprise, "Bridget from the Montreal family, why is she helping you so much? You gave her to her?"

The bureau chief was clearly aware of the young lady's quirks.

That's what they said—

Tia corrected, "They are partners."

"It's all the same. You know that in your heart!"

Willie didn't bother arguing about that. "But the problem now is how to deal with Durant, in case he deploys the city guards..."

"Will not."

Tia immediately rejected the idea, wiping the water stains off her cane with a towel. Her smile grew even sweeter as she explained, "If the city guards are mobilized, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will really be in a panic. Right now, everyone's bottom line is to avoid civil war."

"So you mean...?"

Tia stood up, leaning on her cane, and beckoned Scarlett to prepare to leave with her. She said clearly, "We don't need to kill him, just arrest him. Searching for spies is our objective, and it's also a pretext to lull him into a false sense of security."

"Now we need to strike with two fists. Isaac's arrival already shows that Durant is aware of our danger, but he probably doesn't know our true purpose yet. We need to eliminate him completely before he realizes the real danger."

Willie remained silent, then said quietly, "Arresting a consul without an investigation order from the Ministry of the Interior, without special permission—isn't that still a civil war? It's practically a rebellion..."

"No. I have some expertise in the Iris Code, and we are dealing with traitors now, so we must act expediently in this urgent situation."

"Of course, the key is to do a good job of public relations afterward. The Montreal family will help. As long as it's fast and thorough enough, it won't count as a civil war. A failed one is called a rebellion, while a successful one is just a revolution."

She had no intention of actually instigating a rebellion within the Iris Party—such a movement would be absolutely unpopular within the Iris Party, at least for now.

However, getting rid of Durant is also important; without it, they can't fully focus on catching spies.

This also requires an opportunity; they can't just storm into the city hall and arrest people directly, that would cause a huge uproar.

It would be best to hold a meeting or something.

—And hopefully Mr. Durant will be like Director Isaac, forgetting to bring anyone to meetings.

Last night's arrest was downright ridiculous. Chief Isaac was so naive; he only brought two people with him, and they were apprehended on the spot before any real fighting even started...

Tia led Scarlett through the door and instructed, "It will be difficult for me to appear in person this time, but I will arrange for the church's priests and knights to provide assistance. Oh, and there will also be witnesses and evidence from the Montelli family."

It was all thanks to the Montreal family's help, Bonaparte, you really gave it to her!

Willie exhaled a puff of hookah smoke, feeling both envious and disgusted, and cursed, "Damn it! It's bullshit nepotism!"

But as soon as she stepped across the threshold, she saw Superintendent Weasley rushing towards her in the corridor with a grim expression.

Upon seeing Tia, Superintendent Weasley's expression darkened, and he said in a low voice, "Lord Bonaparte, something unexpected has happened."

Weasley glanced around the office, making sure only Furnessa, Scarlett, and Director Willie were inside, before carefully entering and closing the door behind him.

He said, "Something happened to the Montreal family."

Weasley was Willie's old subordinate. His tone, expression, and the way he had just closed the door made Willie stop smoking, a sense of unease creeping into his heart.

Willie said in a deep voice, "The problem is serious."

Weasley looked at Tia and said, "Miss Bonaparte, the following news may be somewhat heavy. Please understand."

"On her way back to the Palace of Fontainebleau from the Grand Theatre of the Sparrow's Tail, the auxiliary engine of the carriage she was traveling in exploded, and Lady Brigitte was seriously injured and died."

Chapter 247: Far from King Rude, very close to the Ouroboros.

Weasley's words startled Tia.

Tia had anticipated that the Imperial spies would tamper with the carriage, but she hadn't expected that their target wouldn't be her, but rather Brigitte Montreal, who hadn't openly participated in the bombing operation.

Moreover, the fact that Brigitte could be blown up is absurd in itself.

The auxiliary turbine used in the Iris Flower carriage was not the kind of large boiler with a capacity of tens of cubic meters and extremely high pressure that was found on steamships. The auxiliary turbine was smaller in size and had lower pressure, and its steam output was also very limited when fueled by wood.

The primary source of damage from this small turbine is the flying metal fragments from the boiler explosion and the high temperature of the steam; its explosive power is at most equivalent to a few kilograms of high explosives. A Sequence Six transcendent being, using ritual and spiritual premonition, has every opportunity to avoid it.

Weasley explained the specifics.

"—Miss Bonaparte, here's what happened. Miss Brigitte boarded the carriage at noon and was immediately attacked by a bomb attached to the bottom of the carriage. The bomb disposal experts from the Observatory Police Station assessed that there were at least fifteen kilograms of RDX and at least one kilogram of alchemical mixture attached to the bottom of her carriage."

"Razorkin..."

Tia had a vivid memory of this high explosive and pressed for details, asking, "What are the ingredients of the alchemical concoction?"

Weasley said, "It's uncertain, but there's a large amount of mercury and some antimony. The purpose of the mercury seems to be to produce mercury vapor, and the purpose of the antimony is unclear, but its purity is very high. Inspector Richard suspects that it was the work of the Transformation Man."

Willie took a drag of his hookah, his gaze hardening, and said, unsurprisingly, "It's the Antimony Sorcerer of the Hand of Transformation, isn't it? They are indeed adept at these kinds of underhanded tricks."

Antimony—Tia had heard of it. As an important achievement of alchemy, antimony was considered a versatile material second only to the Philosopher's Stone.

This material was originally created by alchemists of the Empire and was known as "Star Antimony" because of its radiant appearance. After it reached Iris, it was adopted by the Alchemy Society and gave rise to a major school of Displacement Scholars, which is what Willie referred to as "Antimony Sorcerers".

There isn't much difference between antimony sorcerers and substitution scholars. The only difference is that substitution scholars are skilled at the transformation between the four elements and the three elements, while antimony sorcerers unify these substances and elements within the framework of antimony, using antimony as the substrate for material transformation and ritual arrangements.

Even so, Brigitte's sudden death still had a significant impact on Tia.

After the attack on the Sparrow's Tail Theater, Brigitte must have been on high alert, not to mention that she is a Sequence 7 Seer and shouldn't be easily killed by an explosion.

Tia suddenly asked, "Is Nogi still alive?"

Weasley, puzzled, said, "The carriage seemed to be heating up the boiler before it officially departed when the explosion occurred. Miss Noge was getting off at the theater to get Miss Bridget some hot honey ginger tea, which saved her from the blast. However, she witnessed the explosion when she returned from the theater with the wine, and she was still somewhat traumatized and emotionally unstable."

Willie, on the other hand, suddenly realized what Tia meant.

Scarlett vaguely realized how things were going and gripped the cavalry saber that Tia had just thrown to her tightly.

That's right.