My older sister is a villainous rich girl

The light enveloped Horace's body, and after a while, he suddenly turned to the other side and coughed violently.

Tasia withdrew her hand, stood up, and took a small step back.

“Horace, can you hear me?” Wayne asked again.

Horace now seems to have finally regained some consciousness.

After his cough finally subsided, he looked up at the three people in front of him and murmured in disbelief, "God... am I dreaming?"

Wayne had no interest in listening to his thanks to the gods. "You're Horace, the one who was made a baron and then stripped of his title?"

After a brief moment of surprise, Horace's expression immediately became excited.

Even after being treated by Tasia, the broken bones still couldn't heal in such a short time.

He could only struggle to kneel on the ground, pleading in a mournful voice: "Although I do not know your identities... but you were able to escape from that dark and sunless prison and have such miraculous healing magic, you must be very, very important people."

He spoke very quickly, as if someone was chasing him from behind, afraid that he wouldn't be able to explain his situation clearly in time.

Before Wayne and the others could even ask anything, Horace rattled off his entire ordeal in a rapid-fire manner.

"I...I want to expose the heinous crimes of Lord Alec!"

Horace said in a trembling voice.

Wayne and the others paused, exchanging glances.

According to Horace, he was framed and lost his noble status because he refused to compromise his principles.

And it all started when he inadvertently discovered the city lord's shocking secret—

That city lord was secretly raising bandits to pretend to be a rebel army, and then pretending to send troops to suppress them.

Finally, they went so far as to use the corpses of innocent civilians as evidence to report to the capital in order to gain military merit and rewards.

Chapter 282 Please

Wayne listened to his accusations without expression.

Now, upon hearing such a thing again, he no longer has the initial shock he once felt.

Some things, you hear about in the news the first time, but by the nth time, you've become accustomed to them. What replaces that is only a sense of helplessness at the predictability.

But Tasia and Chris had obviously never been exposed to these things, so they were particularly indignant.

Chris frowned deeply. "It's not far from the capital, and caravans travel back and forth frequently. How could he be so audacious?"

Although she was angry, her first reaction to Horace's account was skepticism.

It's no wonder she didn't believe it.

Miss Chris, who lives a life in the capital that ordinary people can only dream of, is well protected by the Duke and his family.

As long as she doesn't look out the window, those filthy things will never be able to break through the castle's defenses and be laid bare before her eyes.

Wayne sighed.

“As long as there are people in the capital willing to help him cover it up, it’s actually very easy to hide this kind of thing,” he said with feeling.

Even in the same world, even in the same story.

Depending on your perspective, you will see vastly different scenery.

Horace regarded Tasia as his savior, and his gaze towards her was filled with reverence. He didn't know if telling these strangers about what had happened would make any difference, but he couldn't find a better option.

When he discovered the city lord's secret, he immediately backed up the evidence he had and hid it in a safe location. He had no intention of getting involved, but he did hesitate about whether to expose the whole thing.

This matter involves more than just one or two people.

However, before he could make a real decision, the city lord made his decision first.

First, they stripped him of his noble status, then fabricated charges against him and imprisoned him. After they had him under control, they tortured him to extract information about the whereabouts of the evidence he possessed.

Horace refused to speak because he knew that revealing the evidence would mean losing his last bargaining chip and certain death.

However, the guards had clearly intensified their torture of him last night.

Rather than trying to extract evidence, it seemed more like... an attempt to render him unable to speak again.

Before falling into a coma, Horace was filled with despair, as if he were shrouded in a thick, dark cloud, unable to see the sun.

However, when I regained consciousness, I was enveloped in boundless light, and a warm and comfortable feeling spread throughout my body.

An unprecedented sense of peace and tranquility washed over me, as if all my shackles had been removed.

He seemed to realize something in a daze.

Could it be that Ali lost his patience for a moment and became much more brutal in his interrogation because he didn't want him to reveal the secret to these people?

He was afraid that if he didn't seize the opportunity before him, he would never be able to tell the truth again.

“That’s right. It’s precisely because he has powerful backers that he dares to act so recklessly,” he said. “I have irrefutable evidence of his atrocities, as well as a list of people with whom he has engaged in bribery. As long as we can submit these to His Majesty the King, we will surely be able to expose the numerous serious crimes he has committed over the years!”

...Good heavens, with this thing in hand, no wonder Ali refused to let you out no matter what.

“We are the children of the Duke of Elliot Winchester.”

Wayne identified himself directly: "I am Wayne Wincher, this is Chris Wincher, and that is our classmate, Tasia Louis."

As he spoke, he kept a close eye on Horace's expression.

Don't waste all that time only to find out that your family and this parasitic city lord are in cahoots; that would be a disaster.

Fortunately, Horace's eyes lit up with ecstasy the moment he heard the name Elliott.

It was clear that at that moment he truly felt he had been saved.

He had been facing Tasia's body, but he subconsciously moved towards Wayne and the others.

“Since they are the children of Duke Elliott, this matter should not be difficult for you!” he said happily. “I can tell you directly where the evidence is. Please be sure to hand it over to the Duke, and he will surely uphold justice!”

He seemed never to have doubted whether Elliott would collude with those people.

To actually trust a high-ranking nobleman at the top of the food chain like that...

It's unclear whether he was being overly naive or genuinely confident.

Perhaps it was because Duke Elliott's usual conduct was so impeccable that even Wayne couldn't determine his inclinations.

“I can continue to pretend to be unconscious and be kept in their custody to lull Alec into a false sense of security. At the same time, I hope that the young masters and ladies will return to the capital as soon as they obtain the evidence, lest he resort to any means necessary in his madness,” Horace said with a very serious attitude.

“But… if he finds out, your life could be in danger,” Tasia said with some worry.

If they leave, no one can be sure what Alek will do after he knows his crimes have been exposed.

Horace is now just a commoner; killing him is hardly more difficult than stepping on an ant. He has absolutely no chance of protecting himself in the face of Count Alec's revenge.

Upon hearing this, Horace paused for a moment, then smiled wryly and said, "This risk is inevitable. I only hope that you can find reinforcements as soon as possible and bring Ali to justice."

After these words were spoken, an awkward silence fell over the room.

...This basically confirms the death flag.

With their lives intertwined, Tasia couldn't very well press him about his magical awakening in such a pressing situation. She looked at Wayne and Chris.

After a moment's thought, Wayne tapped the armrest of his chair and said, "We can help you with this by handing the evidence over to Father. But... we can't guarantee that the outcome will be satisfactory."

He had already made up his mind.

His words sounded somewhat reserved, but Horace did not show any disappointment.

"That's enough."

Despite his disheveled appearance, he managed to bow to them. "I... am deeply grateful."

Aside from being unable to move his legs, his movements were extremely precise.

You can still vaguely see a trace of his extraordinary spirit when he was in high spirits.

Chris bit her lower lip, her eyes filled with sympathy.

However, she didn't say anything.

Horace used concise and rapid language to inform them of the location where the evidence was hidden and how to make contact.

"I...can I ask you all for another favor?"

Horace's tone was somewhat embarrassed, probably because he felt he had caused too much trouble for others.

“If it’s not too difficult,” Wayne said calmly.

Chapter 283 Ugly Doll

"I... I would like to ask you all, if anything happens to me... please help me by passing on a message to my neighbor's daughter."

As he spoke, a blush crept onto his cheeks.

"—I have always admired her."

The volume wasn't loud, and there was no sense of relief as if I had finally mustered up the courage.

Instead, there is a faint sense of regret.

All the reverie and longing are contained in these few words.

That affection seemed to be overflowing.

Almost the instant Wayne heard it, his features scrunched up.

Damn it, why do you have to force me to watch this?! Bro, if this happened in modern times, you'd get beaten up, you know?

Oh right, I'm not single anymore.

Thinking of this, he calmed down instantly.

“Okay,” he said.

Some things can be said but not done; some things can be done but not said.

What Wayne didn't say was that, according to his real plan, Horace should still have had the opportunity to express his love to the girl in person.

Meanwhile, Chris and Tasia were deeply moved by Horace's genuine emotions.

“We will definitely convey those words!” Chris promised solemnly.

Horace gave a faint smile. "That's good."

……

At the other end of the city lord's mansion.

In an open space, a large pile of pink dolls was stacked haphazardly.

At this moment, Count Alec's face was as gloomy as if the sky were filled with dark clouds.

The dolls that he had treasured just a night ago are now broken and incomplete.

They leaned together, missing limbs, like a small mountain.

"Burn it." He uttered those two words coldly.

The maids who were attending him did not dare to question him about his sudden act of cutting up all the dolls, just as they did not dare to discuss the fact that the city lord had such a strange hobby of collecting cute dolls.

Two maids stepped forward and evenly sprinkled the oil on the dolls.

Then, throw the lit torches into the middle of them.

With a muffled "thud," flames surged up like a tidal wave, engulfing all the dolls.

The flickering firelight was reflected in Count Alec's eyes.

He felt that the anger in his heart was also dancing wildly along with the menacing flames before him.

I like dolls. I like cute things.

Is this a mistake?

He doesn't think so.

But if you don't have the ability, you can't have them.

Bathed in the flames, he seemed to have returned to that dark, rainy day.

He was born into a fallen family that had the airs of nobility but possessed nothing except for the title he could inherit.