My older sister is a villainous rich girl

However, based on some clues he had gathered, he had already guessed that this king might not be the ideal, wise ruler he envisioned. So, he wasn't too surprised when the guard revealed some of the inside information.

Prince Richard's situation, however, does not seem to be as one of unparalleled favor as outsiders might imagine.

"Are you confident that the guard won't reveal the secret?" Wayne asked.

He picked up the cup that Ge Li had placed beside him and poured himself some tea. Ge Li glanced at him speechlessly, but didn't say anything more.

“If he were a smart man, he would know that if he dared to betray me, he would not have a good end,” Goethe said.

Wayne smiled calmly.

"But there are always exceptions. A person blinded by greed is devoid of reason."

He was willing to betray the king for the money offered by Geli; given time, it would likely be easy for others to obtain information about Geli from him.

Although he doesn't know Ge Li's identity yet, once he needs him more often, some details will inevitably be noticed.

Judging from the guard's arrogant demeanor just now, he didn't take a young girl like Ge Li seriously at all. The reason he was so haughty before and so obsequious afterward was only because he had been taught a lesson by me, and he probably saw Ge Li as a representative of some important figure.

This is not a good outcome for Ge Li.

"Don't worry, I won't give this person an important position." Goethe understood what Wayne was worried about.

“I have thoroughly investigated his family background and am prepared to retaliate at any time. If he just takes the money and does the work without worry, then we will be fine.”

Wayne did not ask what she meant by "preparations for a counterattack".

“Actually, you don’t need to think about why Minister Franz is loyal to His Majesty the King,” he said.

"As the finance minister personally appointed by the king, these are things he should do."

Ge Li frowned. "I didn't say he shouldn't work for His Majesty—but there was absolutely no need to go this far."

To what stage?

Wayne suppressed the slight doubts that had surfaced in his mind and sat down to listen quietly.

“Throughout the entire capital, countless ministers indulge in pleasure every day…” Ge Li sighed softly, placing his hands on the table.

"When I was a child, I was very proud that my father was different from those pot-bellied, short-sighted nobles."

“As far back as I can remember, every single day I saw my father busy with work. He only needed a word or a document to decide the fate of many people.”

—In the heart of the young girl, Ge Li must have greatly admired her father.

Wayne found himself feeling a little sore, and he hummed in response through his nose.

As she spoke, she bit her lower lip.

"But as I grew older and learned more, it seemed that everything I knew before had changed."

She said in a complicated tone, "Now, I would rather he didn't have such a strong ambition for his career, and didn't have to work so hard to handle complicated official duties."

"Because I suddenly felt... that these things seemed meaningless."

Hmm, are you confused about Franz's approach?

In fact, Wien could more or less consider this issue from Minister Franz's perspective.

“At least your father also got his reward, so perhaps for him, this choice wasn’t so bad.”

In fact, given Franz's stingy yet shrewd nature, he probably would have quit long ago if he hadn't been able to obtain substantial profits.

"Haven't you noticed that it was precisely because of his ambition that the Edgeworth family's wealth grew so rapidly?" Wayne asked calmly.

As his future father-in-law, with whom he was likely to have a direct confrontation, Wayne had naturally taken note of Minister Franz's style of doing things.

He truly deserves the title of the kingdom's richest man, getting involved in almost every business that can generate real money, regardless of its merits.

It has to be said that this is a very special ability.

Generally speaking, investing is the fastest way to squander one's fortune. Yet, he managed to expand his family's power to an unprecedented level without any major incidents. From this perspective, Minister Franz's foresight can even be considered quite remarkable.

To get to this point smoothly, it would be impossible without solid and powerful support behind the scenes.

"—It is precisely because of the need to expand his family's power that he inevitably has to try to please the king," Wayne said. "I won't comment on whether this deal was worthwhile or not, but in Franz's mind, the equation of exchange is clearly valid."

Ge Li warned impatiently, "You're being rude! Don't you dare call my father by his first name!"

“…Yes, Father-in-law.” Wayne readily changed his address.

She stared at him wide-eyed, wanting to curse but unable to utter a word.

Wayne, seeing that he had the upper hand, decided to stop and ignored her reaction.

"Furthermore... if he were truly so loyal to His Majesty the King, how could he have planted an informant in the palace so early on?"

Once there's one, there will be two; no one can be sure exactly how many spies he's planted in the palace.

Franz clearly did not trust His Majesty the King completely; behind the apparent loyalty, the two were merely exchanging favors.

Thinking of this, Wayne's mind started to wander.

Could we try to win over Minister Franz first?

However, it seems that he hasn't had a fundamental conflict with the king yet, making things difficult to manage.

However, this does not stop him from first trying to sow discord in front of Ge Li.

"You two are really bold. Even the Winchester family, which rose to power through force, isn't this arrogant," Wayne retorted.

Ge Li argued illogically, "It is precisely because my family knows some inside information that we would not do anything to harm His Majesty the King that we are not greatly involved; but if it were your family, the situation would be different."

Good heavens, would you dare say that again in front of the king?

“What difference could there be? If discovered, the king will still punish them severely to uphold his dignity.” Wayne took another sip of tea.

Ge Li's eyes flickered, and he was somewhat swayed by what he said.

But she was still unwilling to show weakness in front of Wayne. "Hmph... Anyway, even if you're unwilling to help me, my family has ways to deal with it."

“What are you saying? Of course I’ll help you,” Wayne replied without hesitation.

Chapter 479 Thank you for the compliment

Rather than letting Ge Li encounter trouble in the future and have to take risks to find someone else to solve it, it's better to let her remember to come to me when she has difficulties.

Anyway... I'm actually quite easy to please.

"Regardless of what you and your father-in-law think, a huge upheaval is likely to erupt in Wangdu next." After thinking for a moment, Wayne still revealed some information.

"Your family should hope you don't happen to be in this situation at this critical juncture. Just try to avoid making mistakes rather than seeking merit."

Ge Li was taken aback. "What incident?"

"Can't you feel it? That Lord Simon is preparing to make a big splash." Wayne stroked the smooth surface of the cup in his hand.

Upon hearing the envoy's name, Ge Li frowned.

He continued, "And that day when I went to your house... to deliver the evidence, I happened to find your father talking to Simon. The two of them were in the dark, and it was obvious they weren't talking about anything aboveboard."

Seeing that he dared to speak ill of his father to his face, Ge Li couldn't help but puff up his cheeks.

However, Wien had no liking for Minister Franz and would not spare him any respect; the only remaining bit of respect he had for him was because of his status as Goethe's father.

"Don't let yourself get dragged down and all your hard work go to waste," he warned.

Unlike Chris, who was always prepared to be exiled abroad and had even made several copies of the filing, this was different.

If the Edgeworth family had suffered that level of punishment, Miss Gehry, who always valued family honor above all else, probably wouldn't have been able to accept it at all.

"Understood." Ge Li's mood was somewhat low.

To her dismay, she found herself understanding her father less and less. At the same time, she herself was becoming increasingly unfamiliar to her father.

But is this man, who is entangled with her, someone she can trust?

He would occasionally be exceptionally gentle in addressing his oversights, but he had also threatened the safety of his entire family with extreme ferocity.

Such a person—

Sometimes I want to love him properly, and other times I wish he would just die.

Feeling uneasy under Ge Li's unwavering gaze, Wayne felt a chill run down his spine.

"What? Darling, are you captivated by my handsome looks?" he joked, trying to sound casual.

To everyone's surprise, Ge Li extended his little finger and gently beckoned to him.

As if drawn by invisible threads, Wayne's body tensed, and he involuntarily moved closer to her.

She brought her ear to her lips, parted her pearly teeth slightly, and chuckled mockingly, "You? You'll have to wait until your next life to charm me."

Wayne wasn't angry and simply pulled her into his arms.

"Hmm... doesn't that mean we'll be together in the next life too? Okay, okay, I accept your invitation." He looked helpless.

Ge Li originally wanted to give him a good beating, but ended up getting angry at him instead.

“You’re absolutely shameless,” she couldn’t help but say.

“I think so too, thank you for the compliment,” Wayne replied shyly.

Since the time we spent together was so precious, and we've already finished the important business, it's time to do something "unconventional" next.

The small cubicle in the private room ultimately brought Wayne a different kind of joy.

……

Three days later.

Seonggye Academy.

"Wow~ It's a tie for first place!" The students who had gathered around discussed excitedly.

The results of the final exams were prominently displayed on the honor roll, but the first place was filled with two names.

For the first time, Wayne caught up with Tasia's unchallenged ranking.

—It seems she was inevitably affected.

Wayne sighed inwardly.

He wasn't happy with the outcome.

"Ah, what a pity..."

Beside her, Chris looked up at the top of the list and sighed in agreement.

Wayne said speechlessly, "Hey, have you forgotten I'm still standing here?"

Even if it's the truth, don't say it so loudly. In front of everyone, where will I put my face?

Hearing Wayne's protest, Chris seemed to realize that there was a living person beside her looking at her with resentment.

"Hahaha... I mean, Wayne has made great progress in this exam! Well, he deserves praise!" She awkwardly forced herself to change her words, and even stood on tiptoe to reach out and pat Wayne's head.

Hmph, don't think that such a low-level tactic as a head pat will work on me!

Wayne pressed his advantage, asking, "So, what kind of reward could there be?"

"Eh?"

Chris, who had never imagined that she would be the one to give the reward, was stunned.

"You didn't even think about it, did you?" Wayne asked suspiciously, his expression full of dissatisfaction. "Was praising me just empty words?"

"Of course not!" Chris said guiltily.

"You'll find out when we get home."

Seeing that Chris had indeed taken the bait, Wayne subtly revealed a knowing smile.

This carefree life, where I can flirt with my girlfriends every day, is more to my liking...

"That's right!"

In a moment of panic, Chris quickly changed the subject. "Let's go look for Tasia; we haven't seen her at all."

Wayne had no objections and followed Chris away from the crowd.

After wandering around for quite a while, the two finally found Tasia sitting alone on a bench in the garden at one end of the corridor.

"Tasia!"

Chris called out from afar, then happily jogged over to her.