Miss Witch's Forbidden Book Secret

She looked at Ms. Bernice beside her and asked politely, "Excuse me, who is this lady?"

"Ha! You've come at the right time. This is the Cabinet's Foreign Minister, Ms. Bernice! Ma'am, you should get to know her too. This is Tia Sulph, whom Roman personally recommended to me. The one next to her is Marshall's junior, Elvira."

Volume 1: Chapter 120 I Have a Good Candidate

"Good day, ma'am."

"Good day, young ladies."

Ms. Bernice was much friendlier and more amiable towards the two young men, unlike the complaining expression she had shown towards Albert.

Albert joked, "Madam, you are completely two-faced!"

"Yes, yes. After all, these two children are different from you. They still have some morals and conscience! That's why I say the retirement age should be adjusted! Give young people more opportunities. Albert, go and see Parliament. You can't even sit at the table if you're not over 40! I'm 95 years old and still serving as Foreign Secretary!"

"Live and work until you die."

"I'm going to fuck your mother to death, that bastard who gave birth to a child without an anus!"

Ms. Bernice was furious. Sequence level and supernatural powers had limited effects on prolonging life, and there had been no progress in her promotion to Sequence 2. If nothing unexpected happened, it would only be in the next few years before she returned to the embrace of the Seven Gods.

Even so, the royal family shamelessly begged her to stay for a few more years. The meaning was quite clear. Due to the trade frictions in recent years, the royal family and the parliament have always regarded the empire as a potential enemy. If a war broke out, she would be a key step.

What could be done? Anzu only had so many Sequence 3s, and if she didn't do it, no one else would.

Not only for Anzu, but also for herself. The unsheathed blade was the path to war and unrest. If a large-scale war broke out, perhaps she could be promoted to Sequence 2.

This is also the fundamental reason why Bernice has not been so angry as to spank Queen Elizabeth.

Bernice's anger subsided a lot. She looked at Tia and asked doubtfully, "Was little Sulfu recommended by that kid Roman?"

Tia said, "Yes, ma'am. I'm currently at the Newlon Port Suppression Bureau, managing it for the Sir."

"Trustee? That kid Roman didn't choose Vanessa?" Bernice looked at Albert and said in surprise, "I really don't understand this."

"Ma'am, there's a lot you don't understand."

Albert smiled and said, "Sulph single-handedly thwarted the Twin Snakes' conspiracy. And you remember the issue of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' funding you mentioned a while ago, right?"

"I know that for sure... Wait, what's the connection here?"

"This is a huge deal. After Sulph thwarted the Twin Serpents' plan, she eradicated the local cultists. The Lawrence Security Group currently being auctioned is her achievement. After the auction, 30% of the Lawrence Group's shares will belong to the royal family, and this income will be used to offset the rental costs of the Silver Castle. In other words, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will save a significant amount of money."

"Father of all things! Little Sulfu, you are really my lucky star."

Bernice's eyes instantly became friendly when she looked at Tia. After all, this was real money being given away, so it was necessary to be friendly.

She sighed, "Albert, once you have this extra money, speed up the negotiations with Iris. If nothing unexpected happens, they'll probably go to war again."

"Want it again?"

Albert was stunned for a moment, and Tia and the red-haired ball who was almost curled up into a ball also pricked up their ears.

Bernice said, "It's not a civil war. It's being instigated by the Empire. The Empire has long coveted the iris market and its vast pool of alchemical talent. The royalist faction of the Alchemical Society has already declared a break with the Society, calling itself the Mithril Hermitage. You should know this."

Albert nodded, not caring that Tia and Vera were still listening.

"Now the Hand of Transformation has also merged with the Mithril Hermitage. Originally a splinter group from the Alchemy Society, the Hand of Transformation has bases in various countries across the continent. Their naval forces are formidable, and they can even go head-to-head with the Iris Navy. The Empire has now resolved Iris's weakest point, its naval forces. Their army is already quite strong, and if nothing unexpected happens, in a few months they'll likely be supporting the reconstruction of the so-called 'Iris Kingdom' and engaging in a foreign war."

"sure?"

"The prophet from the Tianfang Empire's Palace of Wisdom is an old friend of mine. They recently used a half-finished destiny star map to predict that war is almost inevitable. I'm also on the Unsheathed Blade Path, and I have a vague feeling that their direction is correct."

Tia and Vera pricked up their ears.

They had both been witches of the Palace of Wisdom in their nightmares. They were indeed quite curious about this organization.

Albert frowned and said, "Is their star map working properly?"

"It's a semi-finished product. It breaks down every time it's used. It's said that the materials used in modern times are artificial brainware, not real living human brains, and have almost no spirituality. Therefore, not only will it break down every time it's used, but it will also kill at least one Sequence 4 prophet, and bury two Sequence 6 prophets."

Albert breathed a sigh of relief. The Palace of Wisdom's destiny chart was no secret. Prophets had long sought to find a unified model for predicting the future, but to no avail. The closest they came was using the brains of three million people, a move that directly led to the fall of the Mecca Dynasty, when the rebels destroyed the chart.

But the Iris Republic's problems remained troubling. Anzu, an isolated island nation, couldn't accommodate a unified, powerful continental empire. They had to intervene and give the newly born Iris Republic a boost.

But the problem is that Iris has had a lot of friction with Ansu before, coupled with the recent civil war, and the fact that the Ansu people have been confined by order for a long time and are prone to rebellion when they leave their homeland, the number of people that Ansu has planted and can use in Iris is quite limited.

The Empire is slightly better, but the Empire's hierarchy is quite strict, and the upper class is almost entirely composed of nobles who value bloodline, making it difficult for Ansu to infiltrate.

Albert turned to Bernice and asked, "Madam, do you have any solution?"

Bernice looked as if she had seen a ghost.

"Albert, you're asking me for a solution? The little money the cabinet and the royal family give to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can't even afford to support spies. Ten of them rebelled against you, and now you're asking me for a solution? Are you crazy?"

"Ahem..." Albert glanced at Tia awkwardly. Tia immediately pretended not to hear and pointed at Vera with a booklet in her hand.

Vera asked curiously, "What kind of book is this?"

Tia read the title of the book: "Despicable Ways, Chapter 3, How to strike a balance between maintaining a standing army and reducing military spending..."

The black-haired girl shut her mouth.

She remembered playing a big strategy game in the past. When there was no war, the military budget was reduced to the lowest level. Then, suddenly war was declared and the military budget had not been increased. The morale of the army was so low that it was like a trap for the enemy.

Albert smiled and said, "Madam, we can think about it again, such as giving a little more money now..."

"No matter how much money you spend, it's useless. If nothing unexpected happens, the Empire will tighten immigration inspections and enter a state of martial law next month. Are you saying that in a month I can find you someone who can rise to the top, steal intelligence, and remain loyal to Anzu? You're not dreaming, are you?"

Bernice snapped her fingers, and with a bang, she hit Albert's head from a distance.

Albert said helplessly: "If that's the case, can we just watch the Empire go to war like this? We have to think of a solution, right?"

"There's no solution! Instead of thinking so much, why not just go alert Iris and mobilize the army!"

Albert still hesitated.

He feared another foreign intervention, where the royal family would be torn apart by the rituals of the king's passage before the enemy and Ansu were defeated. For example, King George, who died suddenly after declaring war, was the first to be torn apart by the rituals of the king's passage.

He rubbed his forehead and said, "We know nothing about the Empire right now, and directly mobilizing the military wives (23ling4) would probably be even worse. Madam, can you really not find even one person?"

“I can’t find…”

Tia raised her hand and said, "Ma'am, Your Highness, if you really want to talk about it, I might have someone who can help me."

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

Volume 1: Chapter 121: So Sleepy

It is now impossible to expect Silver Castle to find a spy.

As one of Iris's clients, Silver Castle was known for being a traitor. Since it was all treason, the people of Iris would rather sell it to the Imperial Inquisition than to Silver Castle.

This can be attributed to Silver Castle's foreign policy, which is purely a vulgar move. No, it's not even a vulgar move. This must be the move of an eagle.

In the living room, Tia said to Albert, "If Your Highness really needs a spy, then I have a suitable candidate, and as long as the money is enough, I can ensure his absolute loyalty."

Albert said with interest: "Tell me in detail."

Bernice was also intrigued. She looked at the black-haired girl with doubts for a few times, but didn't say much. She just nodded and agreed, "Child, since you have an idea, tell me now."

The woman didn't hold out much hope.

It's not that I underestimate young people, it's just that the Iris people are fickle. If you're looking for a one-time deal, they're definitely the best trading partners. But hiring an Iris person to do your job... forget it. Free people are never enslaved.

They even kill the king for fun, let alone their employer. If they get upset one day, they can just kill their employer and sacrifice it to the gods...

Tia said, "The Iris people are indeed difficult to trust, but not all of them are like that. If he has some lofty goal, and Your Highness can give him the opportunity, he will stand firmly on Ansu's ship—at least until his goal is achieved."

"And as it happens, I know one. He's the great inventor of irises, Marne Cullen."

Tia patted Vera's hand and asked her to pour her a cup of tea.

After clearing her throat a little, Tia continued, "Marn came to Newlon Port before, wanting to sell his walkie-talkie telephone."

"That great inventor? I've heard of him." Albert was a little surprised that Tia knew so much about this great inventor. He said, "But I need to correct one thing."

"Mahn Cullen's actions weren't sales pitches. They were probably part of his extraordinary power. They were probably related to the popularization of technology. He was just too eager for quick success, so his methods were more like fraud than sales pitches."

Tia understood.

No wonder I ran into them. It turns out that enemies often meet. One is a scammer and the other is a debt collector. Isn't it a case of meeting on a narrow road and confronting each other?

“But it’s a really good investment.”

Albert became interested, stroking his chin and smiling, saying, "The royal family can open a joint venture with him in the name of Silver Castle, and then promote his invention in Ansu."

"Like, what, what telephone?"

Tia said, "A walkie-talkie is much more efficient than today's phones. My family doesn't have a phone installed yet, Your Highness. It's quite troublesome to communicate with the police and the church on a daily basis. Besides, Silver Castle and Newlon Port aren't too far away. With a little technological advancement, cross-regional calls should be possible."

"For Eleanor's sake, I think it's necessary to install a telephone in my house. But since it's for communicating with Her Royal Highness, I think it's best to leave it to the royal family."

Albert choked suddenly.

Love is waiting for him here? All this talk turned out to be just a way to get a phone for free...

Albert said speechlessly, "Let's talk about the phone call later. But how do we contact this great inventor? We can't send someone to turn Iris upside down, right, Sulph?"

"That's definitely not necessary."

"Well, there were some minor issues on the scene, and he returned home before the fundraising was completed... just one day before the Republicans started the civil war."

She paused and added, "He is a key figure in the Alchemy Society and a royalist. I think, Your Highness, with his fame, it won't be long before he can be brought to court."

"Wait! Wait! You mean he said he was dying?!"

Albert felt outrageous.

What good is a dead person?! Isn't that just nonsense?

But Bernice understood what Tia meant, and her eyes lit up as she said, "Going to court is good!"

Albert came to his senses, and before he could speak, Bernice said:

“Albert, mobilize some manpower quickly!

"When this great inventor appears in the newspapers, we will rescue him from prison and send him to the Empire!"

No matter how good or bad your hands are, they cannot compare to Tia's small hands.

With just one move, Tia surpassed more than ten years of efforts of Ansu's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Vera didn't understand what was going on, but she saw His Royal Highness the Prince and the cabinet ministers suddenly looking at Tia and her with approval.

The red-haired young woman was stunned.

What are you guys talking about? Why are there small groups?

Can you take me with you?

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

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

Fortunately, this awkwardness didn't last long.

After a while, Bernice immediately set off to mobilize the staff at Iris and keep an eye on the newspaper news.

The power of the Unsheathed Blade contained "conspiracy." Since the Iris Republicans opposed the chaotic situation they had just encountered, they had to minimize the influence of the Unsheathed Blade and eliminate all conspiracies.

The advantage of this approach is that everything will be put on the table, with no hesitation; even if they want to punish Maan Kulun, they won't do it in secret, but will bring it to light. This gives Ansu a lot of room to maneuver.

Not long after Bernice left, Eleanor arrived.

She had slept too late and the maid didn't dare to wake her up. She had just gotten up - because Tia had written to her a few days ago saying that she needed her help in carving a doll, Eleanor had reread the books on carving techniques that she hadn't read for a long time, and would practice carving every night to get familiar with the feel.

She was carving a doll's face last night and didn't go to bed until midnight, so she is now in a daze.

At this moment, Albert saw that his sister had woken up, so he reached out and patted the sofa beside him.

But once a person's mind becomes confused, it's easy to make wrong judgments, and they don't even notice it, and it feels completely normal. Just like a mentally ill child, the logic in their brain is chaotic and self-consistent.

Eleanor rubbed her eyes, feeling sleepy. She glanced at the people sitting on the sofa and sat down next to Tia.

Albert's hand, which was hanging in the air, froze and he grasped the teacup awkwardly.

This is really strange!

I rarely see Eleanor sleeping like this! What was she doing last night?

Eleanor squinted her eyes: "I'm so sleepy."

Tia felt a little strange, but she didn't ask any more questions. Instead, she asked with concern: "Why don't you go to sleep first?"