The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1063: Chapter 82: The Two Wings of the Dynasty_2

But it turned out that there was no such possibility.

Arthur feigned a look of slight surprise, first turning the handgun over to look at the dark barrel, then looked up at the laughing faces opposite him.

“Mr. Victor, would you mind explaining to Sir, he seems to be in the dark.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Victor, I shouldn’t have laughed, but seeing his face as if resigned to death, I just couldn’t hold it in.”

Victor cheerfully tipped his hat to Arthur: “Brother, I must say, it was my fault to have doubted your identity as a Knight before. At least judging by the scene just now, you were quite brave and intelligent. You tricked them into putting down their guns, but planned to shoot first?”

The detective agency employees posing as Royalists also dropped the act and joked: “Sir, you really are the quintessential Middle Ages English Longbowman.”

Arthur slowly regained his composure upon hearing this, then took out a match to light a cigar, as if trying to calm his nerves.

Not only did he smoke himself, but he also offered the cigar box to Victor, nodding slightly to signal him to take one.

Victor reached out for a cigar, but before his hand touched the box, he felt as if his nose hit a wall, and with a bang, his nosebleed burst out, stars swimming before his eyes.

Arthur punched Victor on the nose, then casually slipped the cigar box back into his jacket pocket, took a puff, and said: “Mr. Victor, it seems you’ve forgotten quickly. You just said I have not only courage but also wisdom, fully embodying the essence of an English Longbowman. How dare you, after playing me, reach out for my cigar?”

Victor, clutching his bleeding nose, took two steps back.

The detective agency employees, seeing this, were about to step forward to help their boss regain face.

But Victor quickly raised an arm to stop them: “It’s alright, I owed him that. Taking a punch to unravel a doubt, it was worth it.”

Arthur stuck his cane into the floor tile gap, leaned against the carriage, and said: “Please explain to me, did you take the wrong medicine today, hence coming up with a script too dramatic even for a Paris theater to joke with me? Otherwise, this is not just a matter of one punch.”

Victor took a handkerchief from his pocket, wiped his nose blood, and explained: “Don’t be annoyed, brother, this is also part of the investigation. I told you already, in Paris, you can’t trust anyone. Based on this point, I designed this act. I took a punch, you clarified your identity, that’s a happy ending for all.”

“What do you mean?” Arthur asked: “Do you think I am in cahoots with the Royalists?”

“I’m sorry, brother, although I regard you as a friend, there is precedent from your Government in joining With the Vorm and the Brittany Royalists.”

Speaking of this, Victor paused: “Moreover, I had plenty of reasons to suspect you. After the explosion case that day, you were the only one who chased after the assassin. I later calculated the distance from Kaidao Sai Mansion to the location where the assassin was captured. The time you spent chasing the assassin greatly differed from the usual time required. Of course, considering you chased him into the alley, it might be understandable if you took a big detour during the pursuit and wall-climbing, so I can understand some differences. However, the assassin you caught that day was not among the ones who planned the explosion, that much I can confirm.”

“Oh?” Arthur raised an eyebrow and said: “Mr. Victor, I heard Alexander say that the assassin personally admitted he was a Royalist.”

Victor winked at Arthur: “Brother, are you really dumb or just playing dumb with me? I recall we discussed which people’s words are not believable before. You said there are two kinds of testimonies not to believe: one from the pimps eager to redeem their cash cows, the other from the police. Once in the station, the police can get whatever testimony they want from the criminals. Never mind admitting he is a Royalist, they could even make him admit he is Christ reincarnated, the only difference being how long the beating lasts.”

Arthur did not refute Victor’s words, not because he wanted to cover up for the Royalists, but because as an old London cop, he really couldn’t argue against this truth. If he did, it would only arouse further suspicion from Victor.

“Of course, I know this principle. But weren’t you involved in the interrogation? If there were doubts, why didn’t you bring them up earlier?”

In response, Victor played coy with Arthur: “Brother, please forgive me. Although it sounds unfair to you, at that time, I couldn’t fully trust you, so I released some false information. If you indeed had ties with the Royalists, you might become careless due to this information, and that would make it easier for me to spot flaws.”

Upon hearing this, Arthur couldn’t help but feel a chill in his heart.

One must admit, Victor’s habit of fully committing to his act is really hard not to fall for. No wonder he managed to single-handedly lower the crime rate of Paris by forty percent.

If Arthur hadn’t received the information about a traitor from the Royalists and kept his wits while facing Victor’s trick today, he might really have fallen for it.