My older sister is a villainous rich girl

Although Herbert had already mentioned these points, Wayne asked again to avoid any surprises.

“Yes.” Herbert nodded vigorously.

Tsk, should we say this person is stupid or smart?

A half-baked bard is practically useless. No wonder he seemed to come from a respectable family; he managed to escape so easily.

By the way... since you're from Stuart, you should know something about the situation there, right?

Wayne casually struck up a conversation with him.

"I've heard that the Stuart Kingdom's system isn't like Lornes's, where the order of succession to the throne is established early on. Instead, the throne is passed down based on the princes' governing abilities. In your opinion, who is most likely to succeed as the next king of Stuart?"

"what?"

Herbert looked at the other person with a complicated expression, as if he hadn't expected them to bring up the issue.

After a moment of silence, he replied, "If you ask me, the first prince is more likely to succeed to the throne."

"Hmm, why?" Wayne pressed.

According to what his senior Raphael had told him, the competition between the first and third princes of the Kingdom of Stuart had reached a fever pitch. But even he, his own brother, couldn't discern which side had the greater advantage.

But Herbert's opinion seemed quite certain.

Chapter 461 It's so hard to be a handsome guy

"Because—he is more cunning and has greater control over the forces behind him."

Herbert, looking somewhat somber, took a large gulp of wine.

He was the only one drinking at the table. He was cautious when he first sat down, but as he drank more and his emotions rose, many distracting thoughts arose, diverting his attention from the present moment.

The first prince of Stuart is thirty years old this year.

Even for children from ordinary families, this age would be considered old enough to support the household, let alone a prince of a nation, who would certainly be no exception.

As the eldest prince, and given Stuart's custom of delegating some government affairs to adult princes to hone their abilities, the first prince had built his own team early on and was constantly accumulating advantages.

If he were the only one with outstanding abilities, then the position of crown prince would be well-deserved.

However, the third prince, who was four years younger than him, was not to be outdone. Relying on his parents' love and his own intelligence, he also raised an equally matched camp, and even showed signs of overtaking them.

In Stuart today, almost all his ministers have been courted by the two princes.

The more the king wavered, the fiercer the fight between the two princes became, to the point that they no longer cared about their brotherly bond.

As Wayne listened to Herbert's intermittent complaints, he matched what Herbert said with the clues he already knew.

Adult princes have the right to participate in political affairs... So it's not entirely impossible that Raphael suspects his injury was caused by his own brother.

Based on Herbert's account, Stuart's domestic resources have been almost entirely divided up by the two more advantageous princes. With Raphael about to graduate and return home, who would willingly relinquish the spoils they've already gained?

It's perfectly normal not to want him to return to China.

The methods used were indeed quite ruthless.

Given the power of the Stuart royal family, it's entirely understandable that they could organize such a professional assassination team composed entirely of mages. If Raphael hadn't reacted quickly, he might have been killed on the spot.

Judging from the subsequent handling, it becomes even more suspicious.

The Kingdom of Stuart sent additional personnel under the pretext of caring for Raphael, but the envoy Simon and his entourage not only neglected Raphael's health, but also somehow gained the king's trust and interfered in the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Lornes.

It seems like they have ulterior motives.

And everything that happened afterward just proved this conjecture to be true.

They colluded with Duff... and perhaps many more lurking in the shadows, and plotted to bring Bulwer into the game. In their minds, the best outcome would be for a rising official like Bulwer to break completely with the old aristocracy to which Chapman belonged, thus alienating the king, caught in the middle, from his own confidants.

In this way, those outsiders had an opportunity to take advantage of them.

If Chapman hadn't been conveniently brought down by his own actions, perhaps they wouldn't have been able to carry out their schemes so quickly.

Deliberately targeting one's own side seems more like a tactic to confuse the situation.

Or rather, it's simply catering to their preferences.

By openly antagonizing the Winchester family, one gains a natural advantage, easily gaining the approval of those dissatisfied with the Winchester family. Of course, if one's family is foolish enough to willingly become a target, there's no loss for them.

Just like the words he used to persuade Franz that day in the Edgeworth garden.

The Kingdom's finance minister, who had initially been very resistant to him, softened his stance when Simon hinted at using the Winchester family as scapegoats.

Currently, with Bulwer's temporary departure creating a power vacuum, Simon can't focus on his own affairs for the time being, so he's just spreading some harmless rumors. But if the opportunity arises, they certainly won't hesitate to act.

After all, if Raphael hadn't died, just as they had guessed, it would have been a huge loss for them.

From this perspective, it's quite possible that he completely ruined their assassination plan, thus incurring the wrath of the Wincher family and seeking revenge...

All the fragments gradually pieced together in his mind to form a clear and complete picture, and Wayne opened his eyes again from his meditative state.

Across from him, Herbert had already passed out drunk on the table.

After paying the bill, Wayne threw him back into the room.

The so-called "pigman" that Ekos caught was just another guy posing as a pigman that she had been lying in wait for.

In order to escape punishment, he will likely confess all the wrongdoings committed by his ancestors during interrogation by the city guards. As for what to do after the city guards discover that many of the "pigmen" are imposters, that depends on how the current officers in charge plan to handle it.

What I need to do is use my undeniable strength to completely dispel the criminals' idea of ​​using this to escape punishment.

Arrest one if one appears, arrest one hundred if one hundred appears.

And we will never let these guys get away with it.

—And from then on, no one ever dared to impersonate a pigman again.

Even though the city guards are inactive, I've already joined them. Should I just continue to drift along and rot away like this?

Wouldn't that be a waste of his almost unsupervised authority within the city guard?

Looking back at the still brightly lit hotel in the night, Wayne adjusted his mask and quickly left.

In a room inside the hotel.

Herbert cautiously opened one eye and, seeing that the room was empty and there was no suspicious man in sight, immediately breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Phew~ That was close, I almost lost my innocence! Being a handsome guy in this world is just too hard—"

If Wayne heard what he was saying, he would most likely turn around and beat him up, turning him into a real pig's head.

……

Baptiste Chamber of Commerce.

Lina was absentmindedly processing the documents in the Chamber of Commerce, her gaze fixed on a blank sheet of paper for at least two minutes.

She only snapped out of her daze when someone spoke to her.

"Hey, Lina!" A girl about her age excitedly showed her the newspaper she was holding.

"The 'pig-man' that's been circulating in the capital has been caught! That's wonderful!" she exclaimed happily.

"Ah... um."

Unlike the other person's joyful expression, Lina seemed preoccupied.

Perhaps sensing that something was wrong with her, the girl asked, "What's wrong, Lina? Didn't you say before that you hoped the pigmen would be caught soon? Why do you look so pale?"

"...No, I just didn't sleep well last night," Lina said, trying to cover it up.

Chapter 462 The Highly Respected Echo

After encountering the "pigman" that night, she did indeed go to report to the patrol guard, just as the gentleman had instructed.

However, after spending more time than expected and finally finding the guards, before he could even explain his purpose, most of the guards left due to other unforeseen circumstances. In the end, only two of them remained to accompany him back to the scene.

If that were all, it wouldn't be a big problem. However, when she led the two guards back to the dark alley, the "pigman" and the masked hero she had mentioned were nowhere to be seen.

The two guards, who were already reluctant to come along, flew into a rage and berated themselves without any explanation.

She only learned the next day that the commander of the city guard had been in trouble.

On one hand, she didn't know the whereabouts of the masked hero and the pigman; on the other hand, Lina didn't know how to convince the city guards that she wasn't lying.

Hesitating and hesitating, several days passed just like that.

Is the pig-man you caught now the same one you met that night?

And where is the hero who saved him at this moment?

Many unspeakable thoughts were swirling in Lina's mind.

She longed to see the masked hero she had met that night again.

“Now that the pigman has been caught, the city guards should be trying him soon, right?” the girl beside her guessed. “His crimes are so heinous, they might even hang him publicly…”

Within the Kingdom of Lornes, this is considered one of the highest levels of punishment openly, reserved for those who are extremely wicked and heinous.

For those who have not been personally harmed, their curiosity takes over after learning that the villains have been brought to justice, in addition to fear and worry.

"Lina, shall we go and take a look too?" the girl urged, leaning closer.

“Hmm…” Recalling the descriptions of executions she had heard since childhood, Lina expressed her disapproval from the bottom of her heart. “What’s so interesting about those kinds of scenes?”

"Hehehe~ Are you scared?"

"Who's scared?!" Lina forced herself to suppress her fear and said nonchalantly, "Go when you have time."

……

"President Modric, I have some great news!" A senior employee of the publishing house walked into the office, unable to hide his joy.

Today, the increasingly successful Leaf Publishing House is no longer the quiet and deserted place it once was.

By continuously selecting and cultivating valuable talent, this place has, to some extent, become an important organization that can influence the direction of the capital.

"What news?"

Modric casually replied while flipping through the paintings he had received from submissions from various places.

During this period, he focused his work on the preparation of the pictorial magazine. Although he was forced to take up the position of president of the publishing house due to financial reasons, his love for painting remained unchanged.

This project is the biggest reason why I've been able to stay and work here.

What could be more wonderful than endlessly selecting paintings that match one's own tastes?

"The city guards have agreed to an exclusive interview with our Royal Capital Morning Post. We will publish a special report on the whole story of the 'Pig Man' case! As a major case that everyone in the royal capital is paying attention to, it is sure to generate a lot of buzz," Barto said excitedly.

Upon hearing this, Modric couldn't help but look up from his desk.

"Hmm? Why did you agree so easily this time?"

Ever since the big boss Chris suddenly decided to add a legal education column, the entire publishing house has gone to great lengths to find out the details of related cases.

A boss can casually utter a single sentence, but his subordinates end up running themselves ragged.

Inviting people to meals or giving gifts is relatively simple, but often, after spending money, the other party simply dismisses them with a "It's confidential, no comment" statement.

But clearly, they wouldn't be so tactless as to inquire about sensitive information; they just wanted to know more about ordinary cases that would attract attention and fill up the space on the page.

After all, relying on just a few well-known old cases is not enough to keep this legal education column going.

If the publishing house hadn't made so much money, it probably wouldn't have been able to sustain such extravagance for so long.

"I don't know..."

Barto didn't think much of it after receiving the news.

"Right, maybe it's because the city guards have been in a bit of a mess lately, so they're not in the mood to bother us for the time being?" he guessed.

These people, whom the big boss Chris calls "journalists," are constantly gathering information from all sides through various means. They, as professionals, are well aware of many inside stories that outsiders don't know.

However, some sensitive content cannot be published.

This internal review was only implemented at the strong request of the second boss, Young Master Wayne.

"That's true... I was originally thinking of suggesting that His Excellency the Duke organize a meeting to develop personal relationships with some of the city guards, which would also make things easier for the publishing house..."

Modric muttered to himself, "It seems better not to rush into doing this kind of thing."

Seeing Barto still staring at him expectantly, Modric snapped out of his daze.

"Alright, do a good job! The boss and I will never let down those who work hard."