In fact, this kind of miscellaneous work is not her job. Even if she suspects that there are poisonous fans in the letter, dealing with poisonous fans' letters is a compulsory course for Shadow Lion students.
But maybe it was because she had accumulated too much power, or maybe... Shadow Lion agents often saw Xia Yibing but rarely saw her, and felt that she was surrounded by a sense of mystery. They dared not act rashly in front of her.
After dispersing the others, Hitzfeld directly opened the letters with an ice needle. He found no signs of poison in the letters.
Their contents were also very ordinary. Most of them were letters written by Film to his friends and former subordinates. They were letters between elderly people communicating with each other on personal relationships. He did not mention his intention to rebel in these letters.
But Hitzfeld noticed one letter was unusual.
It was a pure black envelope, and she immediately noticed how special it was. The color and appearance looked as if it had been roasted in flames, and when she opened it, she found an invitation.
[I am very honored to inform you that you have been qualified to participate in the next exhibition. And considering your special contribution to the exhibition, you are allowed to recruit a new companion to join this exhibition.]
[We believe in your choice.]
"Oh...?" Hitzfeld narrowed his eyes slightly, feeling that there was a thread connecting many clues.
Obviously, there is a high possibility that Film decided to "incite" Grace to rebel because of this letter and invitation.
It was not just that the cult struggle disgusted him, nor was it just that he felt insecure because he realized that the royal family might launch an investigation into the entire Wayne in the next period of time. The whole thing should be as she expected, directed by someone - there was someone behind Film, or an organization was instigating him to do this, and even guiding him to "recruit new people" to replenish fresh blood for the organization.
From this perspective, his position in this organization is not low.
Hitzfeld looked down at the invitation again.
For an organization like this - an organization whose ultimate goal is most likely to be rebellion - recruiting new members is a huge risk.
Everyone knows that the secret police are omnipresent, and they would like to turn into flies and mosquitoes to hide under the beds of nobles to eavesdrop. The fact that Film can get such a privilege is enough to show that he is in a high position, which means that he is likely to know key intelligence.
Thinking of this, she became more energetic and decided to start interrogating this person as soon as possible.
The agents made room for her, and the interrogation was tentatively set in Film's bedroom.
This is because his physical body is now lying on the bed in the bedroom. Although he is wearing formal clothes and shoes, he has not woken up yet because his spirit has been frozen by her.
When Hitzfeld went in, she found that someone had taken care of everything for her - Film's limbs were tied up with chains. The chains were so heavy that she suspected that Film would be crushed to death. She quickly had some of them removed, leaving only the parts that bound his limbs.
Then she thawed one of the ice sculptures, and the old man on the bed immediately opened his eyes.
He wanted to struggle up at the first moment. He had undoubtedly realized how much disaster it would bring to him if his words were overheard and exposed, but it was too late... He found himself tied to the bed, and the man he had looked down on not long ago was sitting beside the bed, staring at him.
From time to time, there were noises of people walking and dragging furniture outside the room. Where were his servants? They should have been taken away by now...
Thinking of his possible fate, Film's eyes became increasingly dim, and he finally spoke in a hoarse voice that matched his age: "Before you start the real interrogation, detective, I want to know where I went wrong."
"You have no right to know."
Hitzfeld didn't give him a good face.
She would not tell him the truth about Grace just because she won this round. In so many stories, the protagonists have fallen because of this... This behavior is too unprofessional.
"Too."
Firm smiled, "Then ask, what do you want to know?"
"How long have you been working for them?" Hitzfeld looked him in the eye. "And who they are, where they are, and what the exhibition means."
"So many questions..." Film coughed violently.
He originally looked quite old, and the exposure of his conspiracy made him look haggard and listless. Some of his chronic illnesses, which he had been holding on to for a long time, could no longer be suppressed.
If left alone, Hitzfeld was sure that he would die of old age in a few days.
"I'm afraid I can't remember exactly how long it was."
Firmin murmured, and it took a lot of effort to hear the sound.
"When he first contacted me, I didn't think I would agree... but who can say what will happen in the future? This is what he said to persuade me at the time. I only understood his meaning not long ago and finally made up my mind to follow him."
"Following whom?" Hitzfeld said impatiently, "Is it Earl Dodge?"
"You should have found the invitation, right?"
Film coughed and smiled at her.
"You don't have to ask these questions... Detective... I know you have a way to attend the exhibition. I sincerely recommend you to go and have a look..."
Hitzfeld didn't say anything, but she instinctively noticed that Film's eyes had changed when he looked at her.
No longer was there a sense of defensiveness and hatred, nor was there the feeling of relief after waking up.
Instead, it gradually became tainted with a hint of madness, as if some fanatical belief had finally seen hope at this moment. She seemed... to be regarded as such by Film?
etc--
Her heart skipped a beat, and she remembered the invitation. It did ask Film to recruit new members...
"You are more suitable than Grest...the Earl."
Firm changed the way he addressed her and stretched out his hand as if he wanted to touch her.
"Please believe me, I am not doing this out of sheer selfishness... I am doing this for my children... for other people... for the people..."
"The royal power really cannot be abused like this... Then the crown should not exist... Let it return to the quagmire... Let it be submerged by the will of the people..."
"Let's go to the exhibition...Count."
"You will see there the dream he weaves for everyone..."
"The name of the dream is 'Republic'."
Chapter 70 The So-called Republic
An hour later, Xia Yibing hurried to the scene.
She was already very fast, but it was raining and she couldn't go full speed.
Hitzfeld did not leave. She knew that Xia Yibing would catch up with her as soon as possible. She could not leave before informing her of the intelligence obtained from the interrogation. It could be regarded as a handover between the Operations Department and Shadow Lion.
"Aisun!"
With a wet head, Xia Yibing strode into the room. The first thing she saw was Firm lying peacefully on the bed, with his lips tightly pursed and his eyes closed.
"He's dead?" The woman frowned. She didn't rush here just to see a corpse - of course one of her main purposes was to see people. Knowing that Hitzfeld was fine, she felt half relieved.
Hitzfeld saw that she was "relieved" and couldn't help laughing and said, "You think I'm the 17-year-old me..."
The 17-year-old girl had just arrived in this world and lacked knowledge and awe of everything. Most importantly, she had no power and could not even control her own soul.
But it's different now. Whether it's the spirit called "Dead Bone Ice Needle" or the "Flesh and Blood Spell" that relies on the existence of blood species, she has too many ways to deal with danger if she doesn't take action to use the authority of the "Mysterious Lord" to control the power of the evildoers.
To be frank, if the situation really reached a point of no return, she would still resort to mechanical means.
Count Xieyang, Count Xieyang... Alwin gave her this title not just for show. She was really authorized and qualified to temporarily mobilize a Xieyang into space when the country was in crisis and use its power to wipe out everything.
"Where's Daryl?" Xia Yibing looked around, very satisfied that the follower was not there, but she still asked out of habit.
"It's a waste for her to follow me. I let her go to the White Shadow Palace."
"Nian Lun actually trusted her." Xia Yibing frowned, "Is Alvin playing tricks on her...?"
Otherwise, how can you say that people are mean... Although Daryl belongs to their side, and Alwyn is willing to accept her protection because he trusts them and it is beneficial to them, but it is not a good thing for a king to trust others too much. Xia Yibing felt worried about this again.
"Don't worry about it." Hitzfeld pulled her to sit down and wiped her wet hair with a dry towel. "Let me tell you the information I found first."
She described everything Film said before his death, emphasizing the so-called "republic".
"Republic? What's that?" Xia Yibing felt that this matter was increasingly bizarre and strange. "How dare he say that he is not acting out of selfish interests? How dare people who openly trample on order for their own benefit say that they are doing it for the people?"
"It's very simple." Hitzfeld decided that he needed to explain the matter in detail to Xia Yibing, "The ultimate goal pursued by Film and his group is to force Alvin to abdicate."
"impossible!!!"
"I mean it."
"I mean they can't do it!" Xia Yibing was still unable to hide her excitement. She almost suspected she was hallucinating: "Where do they get the confidence from?"
Just as she had complained to Pusiangsi before, even if this group of people had hope, it was only "a glimmer of hope", and this "glimmer of hope" all relied on "secrecy", that is, no one else was aware of their conspiracy, and they raided the palace unexpectedly, and there was a slight possibility that they could succeed.
But what is the reality?
Wayne's current local defense is mainly divided into three parts, namely the Flint Knights from the parish, the Violent Law Enforcement Department headed by Shadow Lion, and the Ash Legion that is likely to be wandering outside the city.
Not to mention the Shadow Lions and the Ash Legion, the Flint Knights include five Golden Knights, who come from regular shifts.
Like the Golden Knight Frick they knew, he was previously affiliated with the Blackwood Diocese, but was transferred to the Wayne Central Diocese for a while before being transferred to South Xinze.
The guarding force of the White Shadow Palace is more mysterious. They can be called the king's personal soldiers. And don't forget, there has always been a hidden factor called the Tree People.
Just like the vast gardens and the trees along the roadsides in the palace.
Right? No one knows whether they are real trees or tree warriors pretending to be trees. And the most important point is that the king himself is not weak. It is impossible for a mortal to control the mechanical sun to smash the evil god.
So this is the fact - listing all these factors, Xia Yibing couldn't figure out which one these rebels could deal with?
It is highly likely that they cannot deal with any of them, so why do they talk about rebellion and why do they think they can win?
This was the most absurd thing to her. She even wondered if Hitzfeld had made a mistake in his investigation, because how could someone be so stupid... Even if those nobles were dissatisfied with their current situation, there was no need for them to come and die.
"I have the same doubts as you." Hitzfeld was relatively calmer. She pressed Xia Yibing down on the chair and prevented her from getting up. While fixing her hair, she said, "But don't forget the crown. Film emphasized the existence of the crown."
To be honest, Hitzfeld had suspected that the "crown" that Film mentioned was not a real object, he was just describing an image.
Because the phrase "let the crown return to the mire" was so deja vu... She couldn't help but think of a secret letter that French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte wrote to his lover before he ascended the throne.
Yes, although she had read far fewer serious books in her previous life than in this life, she happened to have read The Biography of Na Huang.
Napoleon also mentioned the "crown" in his letter, which was probably a sentence like "the crown has fallen into the quagmire, and I want to pick it up." Combined with the national conditions of the French Republic at that time, the two contrast, it seems that the "crown" is equal to "feudal monarchy", and the "quagmire" refers to the "people's republic."
Is this the meaning of the existence of "the light of salvation"?
Since they have such a name, let’s assume that they are really aiming to “save the world”... Why do they think that a republic is better than a monarchy for the country today?
Yes, she had the same doubts as Xia Yibing, and because she knew more and had a deeper understanding of the "Republic" - after all, she had learned about the history before and after the French Revolution from various channels, so her confusion and puzzlement were even deeper.
"If they are serious, then we have to stop looking down on them."
Xia Yibing still felt irritated.
But there was a young girl massaging her shoulders and scalp. Her gentle little hands served her very attentively. Her anxiety was mostly relieved, and she spoke more coherently.
It’s a very simple truth: if you think the other person is committing suicide and he or she really does it, then you can no longer think so.
We have to assume they have nothing to fear.
Assume they have some unknown means of ensuring victory.
Could it be that crown?
Or is it some other hidden threat... such as a gray fog evil god who is good at bewitching people?
As she thought about it, she looked at Firm on the bed.
"How he died."
"Maybe he died of old age."
"Death of old age?"
"His body is actually quite weak." Hitzfeld whispered, "The teacher said that he requires some medicine... and supporting treatment before he is willing to see me. He is not deliberately making things difficult for me, but he really needs those things."
Basically, it means that there is a thought supporting it, so this candle-like body can still hold on.
Then he found out that his plan had been exposed and there was no hope for his future, so he died right after giving his last words.
Thinking of this, Xia Yibing couldn't help but purse her lips.
An ideal that I would rather die than not achieve... the Republic.
She was still unwilling to affirm this so-called way of salvation, but she also became increasingly confused as to why people with such awareness would become enemies.
"Can you tell me what a republic is?"
She whispered to her angel for help.
It was a word he had never heard before, but Hitzfeld...from the tone of her voice, it was obvious that she had knowledge and understanding of the concept.
"It's very simple." Hitzfeld thought for a moment and decided to give examples from the simplest to the most complex. "What is ruling Sara now?"
"Of course it's the kingship."
"Divide the royal power into many parts and give them to different people, who exercise the so-called royal power, while retaining the existence of the king. This can be said to be a compromise republic."
"Are you crazy?" Xia Yibing was extremely shocked.
Is royal power dispersed?
