My older sister is a villainous rich girl

Bulwer wasn't surprised that he didn't recognize Ekos; he simply asked with a puzzled tone, "What exactly is your identity? This magical ability... is very strange."

He frowned in thought, as if searching his memory for all relevant details.

“You can think about it slowly by yourself after I finish talking about the important matter,” Wayne interrupted his thoughts without hesitation.

I don't have that much time to waste here.

"There are rumors circulating that you suddenly went mad and killed Chapman's relatives. Is that true?" he asked bluntly.

However, Bulwer was stunned for a moment when faced with this question.

"I...I don't know."

"Tsk, what do you mean 'I don't know'?" Wayne was very dissatisfied with his explanation. "Killed is killed, not killed is not killed, which one is it?"

Chapter 444 Is it him?

Realizing that the other party had not infiltrated through His Majesty the King's arrangements, but through another method of infiltration, Bulwer felt much more at ease.

"I was indeed in a somewhat disoriented state at the time..."

He truthfully recounted what had happened to him to Aikos.

"Hmm. While tracking down the pigmen, you were lured into that house and then lost consciousness?" Wayne pondered.

If it weren't Wayne standing here, but some other third party who didn't know the inside story, they would probably easily think that Bulwer was lying.

But Wayne understood that he had no reason to lie to him.

His first suspicion fell on the guard who had come to inform Bulwer.

"You've never seen that guard who delivered the message before?" he asked.

Guided by Wayne, Bulwer recalled what had happened the night before and couldn't help but show a hint of hesitation.

"Although I don't recognize them, I wasn't sure I would remember what all the city guards looked like... Besides, many of the lowest-ranking patrol guards were mobilized for the search, some of whom I may not have met since I took office."

He didn't really suspect the guard, because as an ordinary civilian, it was impossible for him to have such audacity.

Moreover, the guard did not flee in fear, but stayed behind as one of the eyewitnesses.

Bulwer knew that this situation was very unfavorable to him.

"May I ask, what is His Majesty's attitude toward this matter?" he asked somewhat nervously.

What he really wanted to ask was why His Majesty the King had not yet come to see him.

Being locked up here without receiving any news made him suspicious that the king had discovered something or no longer trusted him.

“I suspect he still sides with you,” Wayne said meaningfully, “but he also sides with Earl Chapman.”

Lord Bulwer, who accepted bribes from Chapman and was in charge of the security of the entire capital... Did he really not know what smug things Count Chapman was doing behind the scenes?

Bulwer frowned. "Weren't they said to be just cousins? Besides, there hadn't been any previous reports of a close relationship between them."

To cultivate good relationships with the high-ranking officials in the capital, Bulwer had put in a lot of effort beforehand. He knew the intricate relationships between the various families like the back of his hand.

Wayne recounted the story that Duke Elliott had told him.

“Sometimes, not interacting on the surface doesn’t mean you can just stand by and watch the other person die,” he said.

“If Chapman really didn’t care about that family’s life or death, His Majesty the King wouldn’t have been giving you the cold shoulder all this time.”

According to Wayne's guess, it was probably because the king believed that Bulwer was innocent, but was also reluctant to let him go because of Chapman, that he seemed so hesitant in his decision.

After hearing Echoes's analysis, Bulwer was already more than half convinced.

He frowned and muttered to himself, "In that case, I have to prepare for both possibilities."

Before this, he was worried that someone might have found something to use against him, but judging from the information brought in by Eco, things had not developed to the worst possible point.

“Lady Echoes, could you do me a favor?” Bulwer turned to him and asked, “Please pass on a message to Mrs. Cherry; I introduced you to her once before.”

Wayne remembered the noblewoman who was passionate about painting.

"Hmm, what are you trying to say?"

……

After leaving the place where Bulwer was imprisoned, Wayne continued to meet with Dief as planned.

The situation was somewhat different from what he had expected. Although Dave looked rather haggard, he did not appear panicked or restless.

In contrast, it was Wayne's appearance that frightened him.

From Bulwer's account, Wayne already knew that Dave had deliberately lied about his appearance that night, making it appear as if he had accidentally bumped into the "Pigman."

However, Wayne did not expose Dief's lie in front of Bulwer.

"What? After using my connections to get close to a big shot, you don't even recognize your benefactor anymore?"

Although the mask obscures the face, it's easy to tell from the tone of voice that the other person is unhappy.

When the cloaked figure reappeared, Dave was completely stunned for a moment.

"How...how did you get in?" he asked.

“Heh, you don’t need to worry about that,” Wayne replied coldly.

He stretched out his right hand toward Div, and the surging magic instantly became tangible.

Dave felt an invisible giant hand gripping his neck, making it hard for him to breathe.

It was as if with just a slight twist, he could lose his life right there.

The shadow of death loomed once more, and his eyes were filled with despair.

After giving him a slight scare, Wayne released him, restoring his ability to move freely.

"Hoo-ha...ha..."

Dif collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.

“I ask, you answer,” Wayne said coldly.

High-pressure tactics naturally have their advantages. For Dif, all his hopes and glory were based on the fact that he was still alive.

It can be said that the more he desired a high position, the more he feared death.

Although some inconsistencies were detected in Duve's account, by comparing his testimony with Bulwer's, it was still possible to reconstruct what probably happened at the time.

Just as Wayne thought, there is indeed room for manipulation by a third party.

If everything is planned in advance, one could even kill those people first and then frame Bulwer.

After all, the fact that only Bulwer's magical energy fluctuations remained at the scene was a result of post-mortem calculations. In reality, it's entirely possible that the victim was killed using conventional methods before that.

However, at the very moment he entered the room, Bulwer himself lost consciousness, so he had no recollection of whether he had made a move or not, and therefore had no way of judging what had happened.

If we infer the purpose from the outcome, then the other party's intention should be: to remove Bulwer from his post while making him and Chapman enemies.

In the current situation in the capital, who can benefit the most from this matter?

For some reason, Simon's image suddenly appeared in his mind.

Is it him?

According to the kingdom's old tradition, control of the city guard had never been placed under the name of a foreigner. This meant that Simon benefited the most from this upheaval.

If this wasn't just a whim of His Majesty the King, but rather something he intentionally orchestrated behind the scenes... then there's at least an 80% chance that Simon is a very problematic person.

Chapter 445 Conley's New Invention

After threatening Deaf again, Wayne left the palace.

Perhaps Dave still has some unspoken secrets, but those are no longer important. Wayne has already gotten a slight clue about the true identity of the mastermind behind the scenes.

Upon closer reflection, Chapman, as a close advisor, had always been someone His Majesty the King trusted.

Bulwer, as a key minister in charge of security, has always been a trusted advisor to His Majesty the King.

It can be said that the presence of these two people allowed the king to handle many matters satisfactorily without having to personally intervene.

Like the lackeys often found in aristocratic academies, these two were, in a sense, His Majesty's most loyal henchmen.

As a result, not only did his two most trusted lackeys fall at the same time, but they also developed an irreparable rift with each other, which was a huge loss for the king himself.

—Although it seems that Chapman was outmaneuvered by himself.

Given this, Simon might not necessarily be deliberately targeting his own side; in fact, his actions seem to indicate greater hostility towards the King…

wrong.

While he was hostile to His Majesty the King, it did not prevent him from being hostile to his own family.

Rather, this would make the situation they were about to face even more perilous.

If Simon was the one who had been stirring things up behind the scenes and linking the Earl Chapman incident to his own family, then everything would make sense.

What he will likely do next is to continue framing himself for the act of framing Bulwer, while he continues to stand by and wait for the opportunist to reap the benefits.

What exactly does Simon want?

Could it be that the real reason the Kingdom of Stuart sent him here was to turn the Kingdom of Lornes upside down?

With a hint of confusion, Wayne completed his last task and went to Mrs. Cherry's manor to deliver a message to Bulwer, finally ending his day's schedule.

Perhaps because she mistook Echoes for a woman, Mrs. Cherry even warmly invited him to stay in bed with her so they could whisper sweet nothings.

Of course, Wayne firmly rejected it.

Back home, Wayne wrote down the new clues he had gathered that night and sat alone at the table, lost in thought for a long time.

Neither Chapman, Bulwer, nor Simon were the innocent and naive teenagers at Seiki Academy, full of aspirations for life.

While the sons of nobles were accustomed to exploitation and the hierarchical system, their methods were actually quite straightforward because they didn't have many conflicts of interest in daily life. However, those who may have once been straightforward changed once they became political animals.

To achieve their goals, they will use any means necessary, as long as it works, it is one of their standard practices.

Wayne sensed danger.

……

"Teacher, have you figured out anything about the medicine I gave you?"

Wayne asked.

In Professor Conley's independent research room, all sorts of strange things and bottles and jars filled the workbench.

After just one day apart, Conley already had two thick dark circles under his eyes.

He looked up at Wayne with blurry vision.

"Ah, it's Wayne..."

After saying that, he mechanically turned his head back and continued to manipulate the strange material in his hand.

He looked as if he had been completely drained.

Even Wayne was startled by his zombie-like demeanor. "Teacher? Didn't you sleep well last night?"

"Well……"

He answered in a weak voice and slowly, "I didn't go home last night... I've been working overtime until now."

Goodness, he's so focused!

Wayne felt a rare pang of guilt. "I'm sorry, teacher. If it weren't for my strong desire to know the specific effects of each ingredient in this mysterious potion, you wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble..."

"Huh?" Conley looked puzzled.

“No, no, no, I’m not researching that new drug right now,” he denied. “I’m just continuing to improve my [latest enhanced health detector].

Wayne: ? ? ?

Seeing Wayne's speechless expression, Conley suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, the composition of your medicine has been analyzed."

He walked to the workbench on the other side of the research room, took out a document, and handed it to Wayne.

After disassembling it, you'll find a report filled with various technical terms.

“A very good idea. The inventor of this medicine can be called a genius,” Conley said. “Of course, he’s still a bit less talented than me.”