Chapter 368: Chapter 368 Unrest in the Kingdom_1
"Contamination?" Aiden’s interest was piqued by the topic.
"If Your Excellency is interested, why don’t you use your own intelligence network to find out?" However, Abigail chose that moment to abruptly change the subject.
Aiden thought for a moment, then spoke, "Are you being coy? Or do you not wish to speak?"
"I’m somewhat hesitant to disclose it. I already have a rough plan for obtaining the sole authority of ’life’, and I’m not sure whether Your Excellency might become a variable in my plan—for better or worse. Personally, I actually find Your Excellency to be trustworthy..." Abigail raised her hand and pointed at Aiden," but reason tells me that one’s position doesn’t always align with personal preferences. Even though I have some rapport with Your Excellency, that doesn’t guarantee our positions will always remain aligned."
"It seems you still don’t trust me much," Aiden said with a chuckle, spreading his hands.
He understood what Abigail meant. Abigail was worried that if he knew too much about the sole authority of "life", it could interfere with her plan—although they had no conflict at the moment, it did not mean they would never stand on opposing sides in the future.
Unlike Qiqimora, who was fervently chasing divinity and sole authority, Abigail, who was already nearing that authority, seemed unusually composed. Qiqimora would proactively cling to Aiden and trade with him in pursuit of that authority, while Abigail did not insist on leveraging this external force, and thus was much more cautious.
"You’re not the type to lay all your cards on the table either, are you?" Abigail said, pausing before adding, "In this regard, we do get along quite well."
Aiden was momentarily taken aback, then after a few seconds of silence, Abigail laughed softly, and Aiden, understanding the sentiment, joined in with a knowing smile.
They were both the type to cautiously withhold information about themselves, but they could "frankly" confront this situation. This reserved honesty was the foundation of the peculiar trust they were building.
"To be honest, I do genuinely want to owe you a favor so that you can lend me a hand later," Aiden said, shaking his head somewhat regretfully.
"If Your Excellency truly intends to help, shouldn’t you prepare a ’surprise’ for me outside of my plan?" Abigail said at an unhurried pace, "After all, when a gentleman presents a gift to a lady, it’s the thought that counts."
"What an exacting lady you are," Aiden said with a squint.
Abigail had made herself quite clear: without her knowledge, take care of the obstacle to obtaining the authority of "life", seize that authority, and then use it as leverage to coerce her—it was only in this way that Abigail would be willing to take the risk to assist him.
"However, for you right now, Qiqimora might be a better bet than me. After all, your relationship with her has developed rather steadily," Abigail noted with a smile.
"Enough with the teasing," Aiden sighed, "As mentioned earlier, the likelihood of her succeeding... is really low. And even if she obtains the sole authority, ascending to be the ruler is another matter altogether."
Ascension to rulership is no easy task; while the sole authority frequently changes hands among mortals, true rulers are few and far between.
"Indeed, I’ll contact Qiqimora again tonight, after all..." Abigail paused, "The Gistas Empire is not so peaceful these days."
"Are you talking about the conflict in the south?" Aiden recalled a political news piece he had read in the newspaper, "It doesn’t seem to be much of an issue, right? The conflict is just between two minor countries, and it seems like the Gistas Kingdom is just covertly manipulating one side... It’s just that as a consequence, a bunch of refugees have poured into the southern Gistas, and they can’t be managed."
"Not that, something else. Are you not aware? The King of Gistas passed away suddenly last month, and then, the Prince ascended the throne..." said Abigail.
"Isn’t that the natural course of events?" Aiden remarked.
He had read the news but didn’t pay much attention to it. The birth, aging, sickness, and death of royalty and their succession to power don’t hold as much appeal to the common people as their scandalous news does.
"But there was a bit of a mess during the accession. It’s said that a powerful minister produced a last will of the King, proclaiming there was another unknown heir..." Abigail continued.
"An unknown heir? Are you suggesting... a bastard child?" Aiden was somewhat surprised.
"Precisely," Abigail nodded.
This really had turned into a tabloid story... He’d have to look through the papers of the past few days again.
However, Aiden’s surprise was not so much about the tabloid news itself as it was about Abigail’s attitude toward it.
"You’re actually interested in this kind of thing?" Aiden asked with a somewhat teasing tone.
"It’s because this matter isn’t completely unrelated to the witch gatherings. I do occasionally take an interest in political news," Abigail explained, "Now, the secret police directly under the Gistas royal family are running rampant, and the Heretic Inquisition is under a lot of stress..."
"I can understand the secret police catching political criminals, but what do political issues have to do with the Heretic Inquisition?" Aiden frowned.
"Because it might involve political assassination," Abigail reminded, "As a former Heretic Inquisitor, you should understand, right?"
"Ah!" Aiden suddenly realized.
Succession to the throne and the struggle for national power often reached a life-and-death intensity that typically involved some political assassination. And the notorious assassins in the trade often had one or two tricks involving black magic for killing, so the most suitable unit for preventing and catching these assassins would be the Heretic Inquisition.
In Aiden’s prison, they were holding the most notorious killer from the streets of the previous years, and it was the autonomous state’s Heretic Inquisition that had caught her.
"In any case, Gistas is not very peaceful at the moment, and many witches who once resided in Gistas have fled to the Empire and Nidhogg," Abigail said.
"No matter how unstable the situation, it won’t affect Qiqimora," Aiden waved his hand dismissively.
With Qiqimora’s powers, capturing her would be as difficult as it could get. Even if by some off chance she was captured and thrown into a dungeon, she could easily escape using her powers; after all, even before Aiden obtained the Wordless Code, she had free rein in and out of the Rose Iron Prison.
"That’s true," Abigail concurred, "But with the situation turning out like this, would that professor holding the Hand of Obliteration stay in Sunset City?"
"That’s hard to say, given that the information from the Smile Scale is a bit dated," Aiden shook his head, "Even if he’s not there anymore, at worst, it’s just a wasted trip."
