[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-lord-of-mysteries-starting-as-a-reader":3,"chapter-lord-of-mysteries-starting-as-a-reader-lord-of-mysteries-starting-as-a-reader-chapter-627":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Lord of Mysteries: Starting As A Reader",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1553054,2017,"Chapter 627: Responses from All Sides","lord-of-mysteries-starting-as-a-reader-chapter-627",627,"\u003Cp>West Borough, Intis Embassy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The confidential secretary, who deliberately sported a small mustache seemingly in imitation of Roselle, knocked on the office door of Special Envoy Mr. Owen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sir, Duke Negan has been assassinated! The attackers were a 'Desire Apostle' and... and Baron Larry!\" The secretary rushed through the report, paying no mind to the envoy's displeasure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What?!\" The envoy immediately stood up. What shocked him wasn't Negan's assassination—after all, that had been part of their organization's long-decided plans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What troubled Mr. Owen was that Larry had shown up at the scene and had played a major role in the operation...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a brief pause to collect his thoughts, Owen asked urgently, \"Was Larry captured? Or killed on the spot?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No... Word is he escaped in front of the Mandated Punishers...\" The secretary didn't dare hide anything and briefly summarized what he had learned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He escaped even under such circumstances? Did some higher being interfere?\" Envoy Owen fell into thought for a few seconds before asking again, \"What about the 'Desire Apostle'?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That part's still unclear... But from what I've gathered, it looks like he was silenced by some other force.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The incident had only just occurred, so for the secretary to have obtained this much information already was proof of his competence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Owen paced around the room, muttering to himself, \"I might've fallen into George III's trap...\" Then he gave a command:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Immediately send someone to deal with Bianca. We can't let the Loen side get hold of any evidence that we supported Larry.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, Mr. Envoy.\" The secretary acknowledged, then hesitated slightly before adding, \"But if this really was a trap set by the Loen side, then it's likely they already have some evidence... After all, there were other agents helping Larry—not just Bianca...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And... it might already be too late for Bianca...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That doesn't matter... If the others are caught, we can completely deny them,\" Envoy Owen said coldly with a sneer. \"If Bianca can't be silenced in time, and Loen insists on an explanation, we can hand over Sari to take the fall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"With his status as Chief Martial Officer, his long-standing work relationship with Bianca, and his 'suspicious' friendliness with the Conservative Party nobles in Loen... he has the capacity, and he can bear the responsibility... can't he?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"After all, Intis isn't ready yet—we can't fall out with Loen now. That would make Feysacveryhappy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"For the sake of our great homeland, this sacrifice is necessary... I believe Mr. Sari will be willing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, a strange gleam flashed in Owen's eyes, and he gave the secretary a meaningful look.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I understand... I'll make sure Mr. Sari becomes 'willing'...\" the mustached secretary replied. Then, almost in a daze, he murmured, \"After everything's done... I'll make myself 'disappear'...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good.\" Envoy Owen closed his eyes. \"Don't worry about the Sari family's political influence back home. I'll work with the Sauron family to suppress them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The secretary seemed to have forgotten what he had just muttered. His heart was full of excitement and anticipation—after all, Mr. Sari was his main competitor for the ambassador position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, just before leaving, he couldn't help but voice the doubt in his heart: \"Since the entire assassination might've been orchestrated by the Loen royal family... why not expose this secret?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Even if we don't have concrete proof, it could still cause mass panic and deeper chaos among the Loen people...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Envoy Owen simply shook his head without answering, silently thinking to himself:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because that is not the choice of this era...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>.....\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thisisthe choice of the era...\" Duke Negan's blonde secretary, Lockhart Siacam, told himself with eerie calm after being interrogated by the Mandated Punishers and the Machinery Hivemind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, without rush or resistance, he returned to the room arranged for him by the authorities and obediently accepted the outcome of being temporarily placed under house arrest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching the secretary enter the room, Ikanser, a steward of the Church of Steam, finally turned to the \"Mysticism Magister\" Stuart, who had participated in the interrogation alongside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What do you think? Could he be the mole?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After several collaborations—and jointly suffering public humiliation at the hands of Arrodes—their relationship had grown considerably close... though Stuart was reluctant to admit it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I didn't sense any signs of him lying... But he might have some special means to bypass my 'Mysticism' abilities.\" Stuart pondered for a moment before continuing, \"Still, my intuition tells me there's something off about him... After all, in our previous battle, while I may have made mistakes in coordination... the fact remains that he blocked my spell.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In that case... it's safest to ask Arrodes,\" Ikanser suggested after some thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as he finished speaking, although Stuart remained unfazed, the Mandated Punishers and Machinery Hivemind members standing behind them all instinctively took a step back in unison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Noticing this, Ikanser sighed helplessly. \"I wasn't tellingyouto ask... What are you afraid of?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You seem less fearful of it today?\" Stuart observed with a smirk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Arrodes seems to be in a good mood today. Just now, a 'Red Glove' asked it about the whereabouts of the 'Desire Apostle,' and it didn't ask any overly unreasonable questions.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, Ikanser gazed at the silver mirror in his hand and stroked its surface three times with his right palm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a brief two-second pause, he took a deep breath and solemnly asked:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Respected Arrodes, my question is: In the past few months, has Lockhart Siacam had any secrets he wouldn't want others to know?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The surrounding darkness suddenly thickened, and ripples of water-like light spread across the silver mirror's surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, a series of images emerged within the mirror:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Lockhart arranging for someone to monitor Miss Audrey Hall's accounts.—Lockhart meeting with a disguised individual, their face deliberately concealed, in a café.—Lockhart discussing something with a butler-like figure...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the scenes were silent, they were enough to show that this secretary from MI9 did indeed have some suspicious activities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why not just ask whether he's the mole?\" Stuart asked as he observed the images.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Previously, he had mostly used 'Mysticism' to invoke Arrodes' power. Though he had suffered greatly at its hands, he wasn't fully aware of its limitations in answering questions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Because if you ask a simple 'yes or no' question, it will inevitably give a definite answer. He was an MI9 agent planted beside Duke Negan—heistechnically a mole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And if we ask things like 'Did he participate in the assassination?' or 'Did he betray the Duke?' the answers would likely be vague or misleading, making them highly unreliable!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Furthermore, asking such questions would increase the difficulty and risk of both the punishment and the response significantly!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I suspect that Arrodes dislikes straightforward 'yes or no' questions. It prefers to give prophecies or visions, like certain forms of divination.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A 'living' Sealed Artifact, huh...\" Stuart sighed, nodding in understanding. He took a moment to organize his thoughts before analyzing, \"First, we need to identify the two people Lockhart met in the images...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As for Miss Audrey Hall... I personally don't think she has anything to do with this case.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ikanser agreed with the reasoning and was just about to respond when the images in the mirror suddenly vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In their place, blood-red words slowly formed, one after another:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Have you ever had feelings for 'Mysticism Magister' Stuart?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ikanser froze, utterly dumbfounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, the members of the Machinery Hivemind and the Mandated Punishers all turned their gazes toward him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some looked surprised.Some looked horrified.Some looked intrigued.Some looked as if they had just figured something out...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Stuart, his expression became unfocused. He had never imagined that even someone as \"fearless\" as himself could still fall victim tothis kindof torment...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Arrodes hates being asked 'yes or no' questions, but itlovesasking them itself!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1305,"2026-06-06T07:27:11.284Z",1,"novelbin.me","160e9a849115075dff68a15aa7a2d5fda2c903e82f3f5fd696b300b2ac028135","lord-of-mysteries-starting-as-a-reader-chapter-628","lord-of-mysteries-starting-as-a-reader-chapter-626",1326,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Flord-of-mysteries-starting-as-a-reader-cover.jpg"]