My older sister is a villainous rich girl

All they heard and saw were the ridiculous things their parents did to maintain the pomp and circumstance of aristocratic social interactions.

Even though they are so poor that they can no longer afford this honor, they still keep weaving gorgeous curtains to hide their predicament.

Tragically, his status as the son of an earl prevented him from expressing his own desires to others.

“Alik! How can the Earl’s son play with the mud on the ground like those commoners!” The mother was struck as if by a heavy blow.

"Arik! You should spend more time with the children of other noble families and pay more attention to the important matters being discussed in the capital!" The father was furious.

They hoped that they could change their family's impoverished situation and revitalize their clan.

I did it.

As the lord of the city, he now holds great power.

In this city, you can do almost anything you want.

Thus, he finally had the ability to achieve his wish.

The adorable dolls that we once longed for can now be collected as many as we want, and no one dares to say anything about it anymore.

He piled up those dolls in his study, letting them witness his great achievements.

But it still couldn't satisfy them.

That's not enough.

He thought about it.

Day after day, he received more and more bribes, and his basement was filled with rare and exotic treasures from all over the world.

But that's still not enough.

The money wasn't coming in too slowly, so he started looking for other ways to make money, using all sorts of methods to plunder.

As the looted wealth grew, he would count his treasures over and over again before going to sleep each night, as if he were sleeping with a mountain of gold and silver as his pillow.

I'm happy, but... but it's still not enough.

He cleared out his once-cherished item from the long-abandoned house.

Among them was a small doll covered in dust.

Its face, pieced together from scraps of fabric of many different colors, was very ugly.

But he had secretly sewn it stitch by stitch.

At that time, every minute of his time and all his hobbies were strictly controlled, and he could only do things that were "beneficial for expanding his network among the nobility".

He could only use the scraps of cloth he could find to secretly make the doll little by little, according to the cute doll he had imagined.

When he saw it again, Alek was overjoyed.

It was like meeting a long-lost friend; at that moment, he rediscovered that indescribable sense of excitement and satisfaction.

He personally cleaned it and made a top hat and bow tie for it.

The doll, now dressed much more handsomely, was, in Alec's eyes, the most adorable of all his collection, despite its still hideous face.

He carefully placed it in the display case, wanting it to keep him company along with the other generic dolls.

but……

Some madman from who-knows-where dared to manipulate its body and make it betray itself!

To this day, he has still not been able to find the doll again!

Thinking back to what happened that night, Alec felt his reason was about to be overwhelmed by anger.

His anger made him unable to tolerate being surrounded by these cute dolls any longer.

He felt as if they were laughing at him loudly: Look, this person can't even protect what he loves most.

—This person is ridiculous.

Looking at the ashes left after the flames had burned away, Alec clenched his fist.

These dolls are proof!

He would capture that arrogant assassin and inflict the same punishment upon him as a tribute to his fallen dolls.

The Earl thought to himself silently.

"Lord of the City... Lord of the City..." The steward approached anxiously.

The butler opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it again and glanced at the maids around him.

Alec waved his hand. "Go down."

The maids withdrew in response.

"How's the investigation going?" he asked calmly.

Just to be on the safe side, he also sent someone to investigate the background of these guys in the Wincher family.

Chapter 284 Wayne's Secret Move

He had no personal relationship with the Duke of Winchester, and knew nothing about the personalities of his children.

In fact, he has not been active in the elite circles of the capital for many years.

Although he was the absolute ruler of the city of Costa, in the eyes of those people, he was at best a slightly larger ant.

What he had to do was minimize his presence under the scrutiny of those important figures to avoid attracting unnecessary attention.

Therefore, apart from having heard some rumors about Miss Chris in recent years, he knew nothing about what these people would do.

Hopefully, they really are the good-for-nothing playboys that the young lady is rumored to be.

However, the words that came out of the butler's mouth were contrary to what he had expected.

"Wayne Wincher is an exceptionally talented magical genius and is said to be the Wincher family's designated successor. At the same time, he also handles interpersonal relationships at the academy very well, and has close relationships with Prince Richard and Prince Lawrence."

The steward relayed all the information he had gathered to Count Alec.

Alec's expression turned serious. "It's not easy to maintain good relations with both princes at the same time."

The conflict between the two princes was no secret to those who were interested.

If we really had to divide people into camps, I might be considered one of Prince Richard's supporters. I even prepared a gift for him when he was admitted to the main campus of Seiki Academy.

It wasn't for any other reason than to curry favor with a certain group of nobles.

Prince Richard's social circle is much larger than that of Prince Lawrence.

However... although his social circle has expanded considerably, the Crown Prince's position is as solid as a rock, and his supporters are as numerous as carp crossing a river. They may not remember the kindness of an unknown nobody like himself.

Alek didn't expect him to exonerate himself.

“Indeed. Based on the information available, Wayne Wincher should be the true council member among them, possessing great magical power and a meticulous mind.”

The butler offered his assessment, then added, “As for Miss Chris, she is indeed always willful, capricious, and spoiled. But because she is Duke Winchester’s darling and is extremely favored in the family, most people would rather flatter her than dare to offend her.”

“Ha, someone who has everything from birth…” Alec muttered to himself with an ambiguous meaning, “How lucky.”

"The remaining one is Tasia Louise, who is currently ranked first in Qingxi Academy's class. It's said she has a very close relationship with Miss Chris," the butler said in a low voice. "But the most important point is—"

“She’s a commoner, and… she knows light magic.”

Alec was startled. "Could she be the legendary girl?"

Before this, he had only heard of such a person in the capital, but he did not know her name or appearance.

But almost immediately, he realized: "Light magic...light magic!"

The city lord shouted, "Are they meeting with Horace right now? Quickly! Send men to surround the city lord's mansion, don't let a single mosquito fly out!"

Damn it! I've had it too easy these past few years, and I've lost my most basic sense of vigilance!

He was extremely annoyed.

……

On Wayne's side.

Horace had made all the preparations; whether the plan would go smoothly depended on his luck.

He thought that since he had managed to persevere until now and had already seen a glimmer of hope, his luck couldn't be too bad.

“By the way, Mr. Horace,” Wayne said, “we hope that once you are out of trouble, you can help us complete a survey.”

Horace was taken aback by his words.

He then smiled and agreed, "Okay."

It seems that these young masters and ladies from the capital, although they are used to a life of luxury, are actually quite thoughtful.

I guess she's trying to keep herself from giving up in this way...

Wayne had no idea that Horace had secretly conjured up all sorts of heartwarming reasons for them.

To prevent Count Alec from reacting too quickly, they couldn't spend too much time with Horace in the reception room. Regardless of Alec's ultimate fate, he was still the powerful lord of the city at this moment, and they needed to stall for time.

This was a plan proposed by Horace himself.

However, Wayne already had other plans.

Now that the mysterious assassin has already appeared, it would be disrespectful to the city lord to simply leave without doing anything.

The doll I smuggled from the city lord is still safely in his pocket.

Thinking of this, Wayne smiled.

“Then let’s proceed as planned,” he said.

They didn't waste too much time. When the guards came in, they still saw Horace lying unconscious on the ground, and several distinguished guests sitting in the chairs with rather unpleasant expressions.

“Take him away,” Wayne said, rubbing his forehead and feigning disappointment.

The guards dared not say anything more. The two men stepped forward, lifted Horace up again, and respectfully took their leave.

After the guards left, Wayne stood up: "Let's go back and pack our things now, but we'd better not seem too anxious, or we'll arouse suspicion."

"understood."

Actually, Chris and the others only needed to organize some small items, but Wayne specifically asked them to dawdle for a while first.

After returning to his room, Wayne quickly locked the door and took the ugly doll out of his pocket. Since Horace had only just been taken away and wouldn't have gone far, he could save himself the extra time of searching for his target.

Now, he was beginning to appreciate that Chris hadn't agreed to his request to share a room with her before.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be as easy to deceive people as it is now.

After all, everyone can testify that Wayne stayed in his room the whole time.

This amount of time is more than enough for me to make a huge scene.

……

Horace closed his eyes.

The guards were not gentle; being lifted by them, I was tossed around like a tattered sack.

"As expected, the life of the nobility is so leisurely and carefree..."

He overheard the guards on his left grumbling, "Only they have so much free time, going wherever they want to play!"

Another guard couldn't help but warn, "Don't go around saying that! If the city lord hears you, you'll be in big trouble."

"Hmph, I'm not stupid, of course I won't say it to his face."

As if remembering something, the guard teased, "By the way, this one was originally a nobleman."

Horace felt his hair being pulled forcefully.

He obediently turned his powerless head in another direction.

Chapter 285 Wayne's Secret

Horace thought he was safe, at least until Wayne and his team obtained the evidence.

However, he was clearly oversimplifying things.

Before he could even leave the sprawling city lord's mansion, Alik arrived in a hurry with his personal guards, surrounding him and the guards who were carrying him.