My older sister is a villainous rich girl

"Enter."

A deep, resonant voice came from inside.

Mrs. Cherry pushed open the door and gestured to Echoes and Bulwer in an inviting manner.

The moment he opened the door, Wayne scanned the entire room.

It was larger than he had imagined, and the furnishings inside showed that it was specifically designed for receiving guests.

A calm-looking middle-aged man sat behind his desk, his gaze lingering on Aikos for a second before he stood up.

"This must be Miss Aikos, right?"

He greeted them in a tone that was hard to discern in emotion, then walked to the sofa closer to the door and gestured for the two guests to sit down.

The moment Wayne saw the middle-aged man, his brows furrowed deeply.

This man was none other than George II, the supreme monarch of the Kingdom of Saint Loens.

However, that is not actually his real name.

Rather, it was a title he inherited after ascending the throne, in honor of his father, George I.

Although Wayne had not dealt directly with him in the past few years, he had seen the king several times at some large celebrations or banquets.

Even if a king's power is not so great that he can do whatever he wants, any slight movement around him can still trigger a political storm.

Wayne fell into deep thought, pondering what the private meeting between "Echoes" and His Majesty the King in this manor truly meant.

"This is my true master—His Majesty the Great King of the Kingdom of Saint Loens," the middleman, Bulwer, introduced.

He seemed to feel absolutely no psychological pressure as he uttered these nauseating compliments.

At this moment, George II took the seat of honor without hesitation; Bulwer deliberately walked around to the side and sat opposite him.

Seeing this, Wayne casually sat down on the nearest guest sofa.

Mrs. Cherry personally poured them three cups of tea, then quietly withdrew, leaving them space to discuss their business.

“Bulwer has recommended Miss Echoes to me many times, saying you are a rare talent. It’s just a pity that I only recently had some free time to get away from those annoying ministers.” The king chatted with Echoes as if they were old friends.

Wayne had no choice but to emphasize again, "Just call me Exos."

Damn it! Should I reveal that Aikos is a man?

The kingdom's friendly smile faltered for a moment, but the experienced man quickly masked the slight embarrassment.

“Alright.” He asked casually, “By the way, how old are you, Aikos? You look only a little older than my twin sons.”

Wayne: Alert.jpg

Could this guy be up to something shady?

He pretended to be like those powerful, solitary, and eccentric magicians, putting on an arrogant demeanor and brazenly ignoring the king's attempts to be friendly.

"No comment." The tone was icy.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was extremely tense.

Seeing that the two were really unable to continue their conversation, Bulwer quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

"Lady Aikos is not very good at handling personnel matters, please do not take offense, Your Majesty."

Although the king himself was not particularly powerful in magic, he was nominally the supreme ruler of all noble magicians in the kingdom and could theoretically issue royal decrees to mobilize all the nobles in the country to fight for him.

In terms of status alone, his dignity was equivalent to that of the kingdom, and could not be offended.

even--

From the moment of his coronation, His Majesty the King has been divine.

Of course, this is a theory promoted by the church.

After being crowned by the archbishop, it meant that the king had been chosen by God and had become one of His favorites, thus gaining the protection of the King of Kings.

With Bulwer offering a way out, George II took the opportunity to back down, covering up the awkward conversation with a hearty laugh.

After that, Wayne maintained his aloof attitude and didn't say anything, mostly just listening silently to the King and Bulwer's conversation.

Bulwer gave George II a very detailed report on his work plan over the past period of time.

Under his clear and organized explanation, George II's interest was rekindled, and his slight displeasure disappeared.

If we can recruit a mage of Aikos's strength, losing face a little is nothing.

“Very good, you have done well,” the king praised.

Thus, thanks to Bulwer's efforts to turn the tide, the meeting generally yielded a positive result.

The guests and hosts enjoyed themselves immensely.

After imagining what kind of achievements he could make with the help of many talented people, the king seemed to finally realize the passage of time.

“It’s getting late,” he said.

Bulwer understood immediately and rose respectfully, saying, "Yes, Your Majesty."

"It's getting late, and we've unknowingly disturbed your rest. So, Lady Exos and I will take our leave now."

After the king made a few perfunctory attempts to persuade them to stay, he let them leave.

"Cherry, see my two beloved ministers off," he instructed.

A few moments after the group left the room, he held the now-cold tea and leaned against the window, peering downstairs through the crack.

Although Aikos didn't quite cooperate with his courteous attitude, these were actually minor details.

All she needs to do is put in the effort.

These days, it's not easy to find a great mage in the capital who doesn't have a pre-defined faction.

Since the transmission of magical knowledge is almost exclusively among the nobility, the personal relationships and grudges accumulated with each generation of power, naturally forming a complex and intertwined web of connections between various families, which even caused him, the king, a great headache.

It's one thing for nobles to engage in open and covert struggles.

Even between rulers and ministers, once each other's bottom lines are thoroughly tested, the sense of awe and respect is lost.

This is also why he preferred to appoint officials from lower social backgrounds.

These people, in order to advance their careers, are far more shrewd and persuasive than the nobles who are born into high positions.

Instead of... if things don't go his way, he would often join forces with other nobles to force him to submit by citing various old kingdom precedents.

Watching Lady Cherry chat with Echoes downstairs for quite some time before finally seeing the two off to their carriage, George II curled his lips into a cold smile.

Chapter 237 Chris: Shock! Is Aikos a time traveler?

Finally free from Mrs. Cherry's entanglement, the carriage door closed, and it slowly drove away from the exquisite manor.

Wayne breathed a slight sigh of relief once the building's shadow disappeared from sight.

He really felt that the woman was a bit too enthusiastic, making it hard to handle.

“So, the person Mr. Bulwer wants to introduce me to is… His Majesty the King?” Wayne frowned.

After all that suspense, is that all?

To prevent their conversation from being heard by the outside world, he had used magic to isolate the space inside and outside the carriage.

Bulwer paused for a moment, then chuckled and said, “That one doesn’t need the word ‘introduction’… The one I really want to introduce is that lady.”

“If…something happens to me in the future, there are some things you can ask Mrs. Cherry to handle,” he said evasively. “She is also…one of our people.”

"..."

Good heavens, I'm just speechless!

At this moment, Wayne's expression was extremely complicated.

So it turns out even the king's mistress was an undercover agent! Is there no love or trust left in this world?

“If that’s the case, why not just assassinate him?” Wayne said. “As a mistress, she should have plenty of opportunities, and besides, His Majesty’s ability to protect himself is not strong.”

Bulwer shook his head.

"She has only just begun to gain George II's trust. Such an important role should be reserved for more crucial moments to maximize its effectiveness."

“And even if His Majesty dies, there will still be a successor…” he said in a low voice.

"Not only will it not solve the problem, it may actually make things more difficult."

That's true.

Almost everyone believed that Richard would become a qualified and wise monarch in the future.

—Wait a minute, isn't this clearly saying that the father is not as good as the son, and that it was easier to slack off under the rule of George II?

If the king were sitting here now, he would probably be so angry that he would jump up and smash the skull of this traitor.

So Wayne gave a perfunctory smile.

“Isn’t that good too?” he said.

"I've heard that the Crown Prince is a good successor. If he can bring peace and prosperity to the people, why sacrifice so many lives in vain?"

Hearing his words, Bulwer was slightly taken aback.

“But… if that prince really does ascend the throne, how much can he change?” Bulwer murmured.

His voice was so soft it was as if he were talking to himself.

"I only hope that in the future, no one in this world will be born lowly. Every ordinary person can receive a good education, have their own pursuits, no longer be confined by hunger and cold, and not live like a walking corpse."

“That’s really too difficult,” Wayne said, pouring cold water on his idea with a blank expression.

"Even if it takes a hundred years, we still won't reach the state you described."

In fact, such a wish sounds simple, but if it were to be fully realized, it might be even more difficult than humanity undertaking interstellar travel.

Bulwer smiled and said, "Even if it can't be completely realized, it's good to get a little closer to that kind of world."

Seeing his resolute attitude, Wayne said no more.

"but--"

Bulwer took a deep breath before continuing, "These desires are considered outrageous and should not even be considered by the powerful nobles of the kingdom."

"Therefore, it is necessary... to have no nobles."

His deep voice faded into the night wind.

……

After a long day, Wayne returned home.

He pulled Aikos's black robe back under the bed and collapsed onto the bed, feeling utterly exhausted.

The annoying things kept piling up, and suddenly I had a feeling that a storm was brewing.

How long can my seemingly peaceful life last?

Looking at the empty ceiling, he tried hard to think about the differences between the original plot of the animation and the current one, and helplessly found that it had been completely changed.

If things continue like this, the original plot will probably serve as a very minor reference.

Thinking about the things that might happen in the future, he slowly closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

the next day.

Wayne was surprised to find that Chris was behaving very strangely today.

Not only did she eat only two bites of breakfast without tasting it, but she also almost forgot to bring her homework when she left the house.

"Chris, what happened?" Wayne asked with concern.

In the carriage, she still seemed somewhat absent-minded.

Hearing Wayne's voice, she seemed to snap out of her daze, staring blankly into Wayne's eyes, and then burst into tears.

Wayne's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly sat down opposite her, reaching out to wipe away her tears.

"What's wrong? What happened?" he said gently, trying to comfort her. "Tell me what happened, and we'll figure it out together."

Chris pushed his hand away and threw herself into his arms.

She sobbed, feeling utterly wronged, "That Aikos... Aikos, she..."