My older sister is a villainous rich girl

"He colluded with the rebels and was arrested and imprisoned in a jail behind the city."

"Perhaps that's why the guards misunderstood your identities..."

At this moment, Tasia, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: "Excuse me, may we go and visit them?"

Alek's gaze shifted to Tasia.

"And who is this?" His tone held just the right amount of doubt.

Wayne casually introduced them to each other, "This is Tasia Louis, our classmate."

This city lord is so incompetent; he didn't even bother with the most basic identity check.

But then again, if he were so sharp-witted, we probably wouldn't have had to come knocking on his door.

Although he still didn't really understand, Alek pretended to suddenly realize something, let out a long "Oh," and nodded.

“We came here specifically to meet that friend,” Wayne said.

He deliberately used euphemisms to conceal most of the information, leading Alec to mistakenly believe that Horace was very important to them.

“So, I have to ask you a very serious question: Did that baron... really collude with the rebels?” he asked slowly.

Alek's attitude clearly wavered.

But after hesitating for a long time, he finally insisted: "I have found conclusive evidence."

“Otherwise, I wouldn’t have sent people to arrest him directly,” Ali said. “Therefore, I’m afraid I cannot provide you with the opportunity to visit him.”

Alek adopted a businesslike attitude.

It's as if the person who wanted to give away the extravagant gem just now wasn't me.

“Count Alec, we have traveled a long and arduous journey. Surely you wouldn’t let us return empty-handed?”

Wayne threatened, "If you insist on making us unhappy, then we'll just have to make your future days less pleasant too~"

When a person with no moral compass suddenly starts talking about fairness, there is only one reason:

This matter was profitable for him.

It seems that Count Alec would not gain anything from preventing them from meeting Horace, so it would obviously bring him considerable harm.

Alek's complexion was not good.

“I have treated you all with great respect out of respect for the honor of the Winchester family, but... there should be a limit to how much you can go on a tangent.”

He put on a show.

“The young ones are still too young to understand the evil of the rebels.”

"I advise you to stay in the academy and receive a few more years of education from your teachers. Once you're adults and have a position, then you can worry about these adult matters."

The speech was quite blunt.

It seems that Horace is related to his own vital interests.

In fact, allowing Horace to meet with them could potentially cause him significant losses. That's why he was willing to offend both himself and Chris to stop it.

“You probably don’t quite understand what you’re facing right now…” Wayne smiled.

"How do you know that we are not following Father's instructions on this trip?"

Chapter 278 Lodging

Wayne's words were quite meaningful.

Fortunately, Chris and Tasia remained calm and did not show any surprise.

Under his deliberate misleading influence, Alek couldn't help but begin to have doubts.

"Could it be Duke Elliott..."

As if he had thought of something, his expression shifted.

However, he didn't finish his sentence; he abruptly stopped halfway through.

There was a moment of silence.

After skillfully threatening with the stick, Wayne smiled and pulled out a carrot. "Actually, we just want to verify something that our friend did many years ago."

Wayne inquired, "Lord City Lord, you wouldn't intentionally obstruct the Wincher family's important affairs, would you?"

The implication was that they had come for other reasons and didn't care what clues Alek might have.

Although invoking the Duke's name had a somewhat arrogant and domineering feel to it, it was undeniably very effective.

Alek's attitude has softened.

“I can make an exception and let you see him. But a thief who has committed such a serious crime will never be let off easily.”

that's enough.

"Let's get started now, without further ado." Wayne gestured with his chin toward the door.

"Uh...guests, why don't you rest for the night? Let me host a welcome dinner for you all. Tomorrow I'll have Horace freshen up and then bring him to the city lord's mansion to greet you."

He implied, "The prison is filthy and chaotic, which may spoil the manners of our guests."

Wayne thought for a moment and said, "Staying for one night is fine, but in any case, we need to see a living person tomorrow."

“Alive, understand?” Wayne stared at him.

—Don't give me any nonsense like the person involved suddenly falling ill or dying unexpectedly in their cell.

Alek had a light sheen of sweat on his forehead, and his tone was somewhat embarrassed, “I understand, I understand… of course it’s a living person.”

He arranged rooms for Wayne and the others to stay in the city lord's mansion.

Incidentally, Wayne's request to share a room with Chris was ruthlessly rejected by Chris.

As a result, Chris and Tasia lived together, while Wayne was left all alone in the next room, just a wall away.

Even after they closed the door and sat down again, Wayne couldn't forget the strange looks Count Alec and his butler had given him.

"Didn't we agree to go camping?"

Chris was also sitting at the table, propping her chin up with her hand, looking dissatisfied.

Everything was prepared and we set off with great anticipation, only to have it all fall through.

"There's nothing we can do; plans can't keep up with changes," Wayne reassured him.

Now, his anticipation for camping is not as great as it used to be.

After all... Chris wouldn't allow herself to sleep in the same bed as her.

It's better not to reveal this camp!

It was Earl Alec's evasiveness that piqued his curiosity even more.

After all, he's an earl and city lord. If he has something to hide that comes to my door, it would be a shame not to seize it after all the trouble he went through to entertain me.

Chris looked disappointed.

"Never mind, let's find another opportunity to go camping later..."

Wayne nodded. "Yes, next time for sure."

Chris's expression froze.

Meanwhile, Tasia's attention was not on camping at all.

"This city lord seems very afraid that Horace will have contact with outsiders." She also noticed something was wrong.

"Was that man really a rebel?"

"What if it isn't?" Wayne countered. "Tasia, are you going to save him?"

Tasia was taken aback.

“I… will do what I can,” she simply said.

……

In the middle of the night, Wayne quietly got out of bed.

He was very careful with his every move, afraid that even the slightest noise would wake the two people in the next room.

After listening to the girls' late-night chat for about two hours, he gained a new understanding of the soundproofing of the guest rooms in the city lord's mansion.

It's probably only slightly better than a tent.

However... it could also be because I was completely focused on eavesdropping.

wrong!

They definitely cut corners during construction! Absolutely!

The two girls over there probably noticed this too, and didn't discuss anything too in-depth.

They're either talking about rumors that a certain teacher seems to have gotten married, or they're talking about planning to go somewhere together sometime in the future.

At least, Wayne never heard a single word about himself.

Ugh! Is it so hard to casually compliment your boyfriend on how great he is?

It's supposed to be a movie for three people, so why can't I have a name?

Wait... to look on the bright side, although I didn't receive any praise, I wasn't criticized by her either, was I?

There's still hope!

Thinking about it this way, his mood immediately improved a lot.

Feeling much better, Wayne went to the toilet in the dark and then prepared to explore the city lord's study.

But when he came out of the restroom, he heard soft footsteps coming from one end of the corridor.

In the darkness, there was only a slow "tap, tap, tap" sound.

It has a very scary movie atmosphere.

In the quiet of the night, in unfamiliar rooms where temporary accommodations are held, or even in deserted public restrooms, these are all places where female ghosts are very likely to appear in movies and TV shows.

Wayne subconsciously became slightly more wary.

However, the footsteps grew closer, and the "female ghost's" true form finally appeared—

It's Tasia.

"Uh……"

Wayne greeted her somewhat awkwardly, "Tasia, you're here to use the restroom too..."

He regretted it as soon as he said it.

What kind of ridiculous lines are these?!

Seeing Wayne standing guard at the door, Tasia stopped, seemingly unsure how to respond to his unusual greeting.

After holding it in for a long time, she finally managed a barely audible "hmm".

“Ah, please…” Wayne quickly made way for him.

Just as he was about to leave, Tasia suddenly spoke up: "Wayne, could you please wait for me outside for a little while? I... have something I'd like to ask for your opinion on."

Under the light, her gaze was so pure, her eyes brimming with trust.

Being stared at like that, no one could bring themselves to refuse.

"……All right."

Wayne nodded and agreed to her request.

To show that he had absolutely no impure thoughts, he deliberately walked a little further away and stood by the window a few meters away.

Tasia smiled and quietly left.

The pale, silvery moonlight shone through the glass window and spilled onto the expensive carpet.

Although Wayne had previously harbored resentment towards the contractors who had cut corners in building the city lord's mansion, in terms of sheer quality, every inch of the decorations here unmistakably reflected the power of money.

It's not much different from the Duke's mansion.

Well... land prices in the capital are much higher after all.