Chapter 19 The British Government from Heaven

  "Miss Ludwig, I think I've shown sufficient sincerity."

  "Utmost sincerity? Then those who didn't have any sincerity at all must be really pitiful."

  Ludwig shook his head pitifully:

  "I am seventeen years old this year, a minor - but given that my parents are not around all the time, the contract I signed is indeed legally effective."

  MacArthur placed his fingertips on his cheekbone, with his middle finger resting beside his lips, a habitual listening posture.

  He rarely uses this pose, especially when the other party is still a seventeen-year-old minor.

  "But the problem is, when I hold the contract and want to find you to fulfill your promise but you break it, who will take care of me? Can I find a lawyer, a law firm to help me? Can I let the judge accept my appeal?"

  She said calmly, "No, no one will listen to me because it is not legally effective - this contract itself is against the law, sir. Surveillance requires police authorization, and according to contract law, a contract that disguises an illegal purpose with a legal form is invalid."

  Macrophage's smile on his face didn't fluctuate at all due to Ludwig's words.

  "Law is the tool of the privileged class, and every word and relationship between words in law is the most elusive thing - as long as I need it, flowers can bloom even in the gaps between words."

  His tone was calm and unhurried, with no hint of self-awareness that he was corrupting young minds.

  "Miss Ludwig, my lawyer serves not only me personally but also handles other government business; you needn't worry that he would notarize a contract with no validity - at least on the surface, he still needs his reputation —"

  Ludwig felt that Ma Ke's aura was simply bursting - is it really okay to use privilege so openly?

  "As for the approval from the police station, it's just a phone call away."

  "In that case, I'm even less willing to cooperate with you."

  Ludwig's smile showed no signs of displeasure.

  She felt that ever since she had entered this room and spoken her first words to MacIvor, she had been growing more precise.

  Even drinking tea is so exhausting, it's hard to think clearly...

  Brother, can't you play happily?

  "You're someone who can trample the law underfoot, and with just a casual fabrication of a crime, you could send me to prison... What kind of medicine did I eat wrong that I dared to cooperate with you?"

  There was finally a hint of sarcasm in her tone:

  "People can't do business with someone much taller than themselves, that's the most basic principle - let alone, in history, the British haven't done a few things like killing the donkey after unloading the mill."

  MacArthur looked at her and raised an eyebrow: "After you graduate, are you planning to enter the government?"

  Ludwig: “……No.”

  Is this her channel suddenly jumping to some other station?

  "What a pity." McRoft said without showing any sign of regret:

  "There are as few people in this world who have self-awareness as there are those with wisdom - you may not be clever, but you can accurately see your own position, which is a necessary quality for politicians."

  Ludwig: Are you flattering me?

  I didn't feel like I was being praised at all...

  "Thank you, but I think I'm even less inclined to work for the government now - I'm just not smart enough."

  MacArthur did not press the issue further and instead asked:

  "You previously stated that Sherlock is a fundamentally noble person - I'm curious how you came to this conclusion, as in my view the Holmes family is congenitally lacking in this trait."

  Brother Mai, I think you are also a very self-aware person...

  Ludwig replied without the slightest hesitation.

  These words had been swirling in her mind since she watched Sherlock Holmes years ago.

  "He is sincere and not hypocritical; he has done many praiseworthy things - although he himself does not think so, but never boasts about it; so many people dislike his overly sharp personality, yet he never changes his nature because of this... let alone his moving dedication to the truth."

  Macfarlane paused for a moment: "It's really rare, I never thought that in my lifetime, I would hear such high praise of Sherlock from someone else."

  Ludwig furrowed his brow at McTavish's tone:

  "Why can't he? You're always saying that he's not living in the real world, and I occasionally tease him about it too - but to me, Sherlock Holmes is the one who's most alive."

  When you love Venus, her broken arm is also beautiful.

  When you adore Holmes, all his pride and unreasonableness are charming.

  She continued, "People live without a goal because there are too many additional values that disturb their vision - but isn't Sherlock Holmes an exception? No matter how much ridicule and misunderstanding he receives from others, he always does what he wants to do, doesn't he?"

  "Sherlock's excellent appearance has brought him countless admirers, but none of them can withstand his terrible personality and sharp words."

  Macrophage looked at Ludwig's eyes with deep pity:

  "He was used to women like the camellia, who had no world but their own narrow one, and he despised them - so if he heard your words, Miss Ludmilla, you would probably not be able to leave Baker Street."

  "He was indeed clever enough to support his own pride, and his bad temper was because he didn't care about these trivial etiquettes. Rather than saying he didn't understand human relationships, it's better to say that he saw through them more clearly than ordinary people."

  "She turned up her nose in disdain. 'If there's a woman who would ignore his good qualities because of his so-called bad character, then she's a fool - Sherlock Holmes only needs one good quality.'"

  Macrov looked back at the queen's portrait hanging on the wall and smiled with pleasure.

  The picture is indeed very exquisite, Queen Victoria's eyes are just like real ones.

  Perhaps it was the relation of Mcroft's gorgeous lighting, although it was a church's stiff style, Ludwig could see the flavor of flowing eye waves in the queen's dead fish-like eyes.

  MacRae: "Sherlock should hear your words, he must be very happy."

  "If he could hear me, I'd like to tell him that if he puts his eyeballs in the jam jar again, I'll spread that stuff directly on his toast."

  Ludwig said with great regret, "Unfortunately I won't tell him that because it's completely useless - Mr. Holmes, is there still a stubborn bloodline in the Holmes family?"

  "It seems so."

  MacRoff's hands were clasped together and rested casually on his knees, the small black umbrella beside him gleaming with a cold light.

  "Now things are simple - I am Sherlock's brother, and you are Sherlock's friend. I ask you to help take care of my younger brother, just out of a brother's concern - we don't even need to sign a contract."

  Ludwig looked at the smiling McRoberts for a while, and finally sighed: "Sorry, I still refuse."

  MacTavish sat there, smiling blandly, but Ludwig felt a crushing sense of oppression.

  "I wish I could hear a..."

  "A reasonable reason, Miss Ludwig, you understand Sherlock's power and also know how much influence he will have on England in the future..."

  Ludwig interrupted him and asked a completely unrelated question:

  "Do you know what is the shortest book in the world?"

  Ludwig's unexpected question clearly raised Macfadden's suspicions.

  "He pondered for a moment before saying, 'An English menu?'"

  "...I would very much like to agree with your answer, but unfortunately, in the eyes of the British, perhaps the shortest book in the world is the heroic history book of the French."

  MacArthur said with a smile, "That's just an innocuous joke between the two countries and doesn't affect the friendly relations between them."

  That's enough of your nonsense, junior high school boy!

  "...does Mr. Holmes know how the British view the fact that the French gave the Statue of Liberty to America?"

  MacArthur's expression didn't change, still maintaining a dignified and elegant smile, but he didn't make another reckless response.

  Ludwig continued: "Because the goddess of victory only raised one hand - in order to mock French soldiers who always raise both hands to surrender."

  She looked polite and courteous, but what she said was anything but polite.

  "I am moved by your loyalty to England, but I think you have been overlooking one thing."

  She gave MacRoft a faint smile with sarcasm:

  "As you said, your brother is likely to cause harm to the future of England - but the key thing is, I'm a Frenchman, what's it to me?"

  MacRoffert was indeed a seasoned politician in the political arena, he not only didn't get angry at Ludwig's attitude but instead nodded his head in approval.

  "Not bad, just like the Battle of Waterloo, if the pound depreciates, the exchange rate of the franc can still rise a bit."

  Ludwig didn't seem to notice him: "As for what you said, I'm your brother's friend...I think you overestimated our relationship, Mr. Holmes is unlikely to consider humans with an IQ lower than Einstein as his friends..."

  She continued smiling and said:

  "...and I'm also unlikely to consider someone with an IQ higher than Einstein's as my friend - being able to be roommates is already unexpected, sir, I don't ask for too much."

  She concluded in a cold tone: "After all, there is no friendship between us. I praised him, but it was just based on objective evaluation - so what does his future have to do with me?"

  She stood up and glanced at the wall clock:

  "My reason is like this, time has already been a bit late, if there's nothing else, I think I should leave."

  MacRae sat calmly on the sofa, saying quietly only when she turned around:

  "Miss Ludwig, as I said earlier, your value is entirely dependent on your utility to Sherlock."

  Ludwig didn't turn around, she just tilted her head to the side, revealing a pair of pure black eyes that resembled Egyptian obsidian, so dark they seemed to pull people into their depths.

  "Are you threatening me? What are you trying to say? Might makes right, politics is might, might is politics?"

  She smiled, as she had every time under the bar lights, her lips curling up with a thousand charms.