My older sister is a villainous rich girl

He stared at the queen in disbelief, as if he were seeing this woman for the first time in his life.

"What...what did you say..."

The queen glanced at him with a very complicated expression.

But her tone no longer contained a trace of tenderness.

“You were just a guard who used to serve me. We never made any promises or had any personal relationship. Lambert... you attacked my son first and then assassinated my husband, and you still have the nerve to tell me it was all just to make me happy?”

Faced with her loud questioning, Simon's eyes widened in fury, and he struggled frantically.

"No, no, that's not it... Ahhh..."

The nobles, who were already keeping a certain distance from each other, subconsciously spread out a little more.

Just as he was howling incessantly, Richard's gaze suddenly sharpened, and he abruptly drew his sword and thrust forward—

The sharp blade sliced ​​through the skin, and scalding blood splattered onto the prince's magnificent robes.

Under the gaze of countless people, some surprised and some terrified, he slowly sheathed the still blood-stained Cold Light sword.

The prince, who was always so perfect as to seem unreal, had an expression that was indistinct in the shadows.

"Lord Simon attempted to assassinate the King and slandered the Queen... His crimes deserve to be punished."

The audience was silent.

……

The banquet, fraught with twists and turns, quickly came to an abrupt end.

Richard's unexpected move even surprised the king.

No one cared about the outcome of the banquet anymore. Although the king gave a perfunctory warning that the news should not be leaked, it was obvious to anyone that such a shocking event could not be kept secret.

However, what attracted more attention than the old-fashioned gossip about the King and Queen was Richard's sudden thrust of his sword.

"Don't go to sleep when you get home. Wait for me in the study."

"After being reunited with his children," the Duke of Elliott said solemnly.

Wayne and Chris naturally understood what he meant and nodded obediently.

Unlike their grand entrance and dazzling displays of style, everyone left in a hurry, as if they were afraid of staying any longer.

Chris sat in her own carriage, her mind heavy with worries.

“Wayne…” She seemed to want to say something, but didn’t know where to begin.

Wayne took her hand and comforted her, "Don't be afraid, and don't worry too much. Richard can handle these things."

Frankly, even he didn't expect Richard to solve the problem in such a violent way, which was a huge contrast to the impression the prince usually gave people.

However, he believed that Richard was confident.

“Sigh…” Chris sighed deeply, hugged Wayne’s arm, and leaned softly against his shoulder.

"Why do you think they've become like this..."

Was the question directed at the King? The Queen? Or Richard?

Wayne said uncertainly, "Perhaps it's just fate playing tricks on us."

He gave a seemingly universal answer, but it was actually just a bunch of nonsense.

Tonight, although Simon died by Richard's sword, many secrets about him remain unsolved.

The uproar caused by this incident... probably won't end so easily.

Chapter 493 This is the rhythm of adding fuel to the fire.

Duke Elliott was busy taking a series of countermeasures and did not return to the mansion with his family. Wayne and Chris waited in his study for quite some time.

Just as Chris was getting sleepy leaning against Wayne, Elliott finally returned, looking exhausted.

“Next, the relationship between Lornes and Stuart will become delicate.” As soon as the study door closed, Elliott began his analysis without any hesitation.

With no outsiders in the room, he spoke much more directly.

"But what's even more delicate is the relationship between Prince Richard and His Majesty the King."

Wien, understanding the implication, asked, "What exactly is the King's attitude towards Prince Richard?"

The king's ruthless treatment of the queen at the banquet essentially confirms that he had no feelings for her and practically wanted to get rid of her. This inevitably puts Richard and Lawrence, as her sons, in an awkward position.

If the Queen were to be convicted of such an unforgivable crime of treason, how could Richard possibly escape unscathed, whether from an emotional or economic perspective?

What's more... the king even said in public, "He plotted to kill me so that you could take the throne," which was a very hurtful statement.

If Richard's position as crown prince hadn't been so secure, and if the king hadn't had no other children besides his useless half-brother, a palace coup would probably have been imminent.

However, the information Elliott revealed surprised Wayne greatly.

"—In fact, His Majesty the King has more than just these two princes."

Wayne jolted awake and abruptly looked up.

Elliott spoke in a nonchalant tone, uttering words that could stir up a bloodbath: "His Majesty has an illegitimate child outside the marriage, who should be seven or eight years old by now, right?"

Upon hearing this explosive news, Wayne was speechless.

Chris, standing nearby, also appeared quite shocked.

“No wonder!” she murmured. “So it makes sense that the king said those things in anger when Richard contradicted him…it was just because he was fearless.”

"Not many people know about this, so don't spread it around."

Elliott gave a special reminder.

Instead of sitting in the main seat behind the desk, he sat down next to Wayne and Chris, making it easier to talk to them.

"After so many years of father-son relationship, His Majesty the King's feelings for Prince Richard are not entirely absent, but they are complex."

He pondered for a moment and said, "From what I know... they are probably both proud and wary of it."

“Worried?” Chris asked, slightly puzzled.

“After all, he’s a king accustomed to ruling by his own power.” Elliott curled his lips slightly, seemingly mockingly. “He’ll feel uneasy if his son is too outstanding.”

“Competitive spirit is not something that exists only among princes; even the king himself is not immune to it.”

"Seeing his son, with such exceptional talent, grow up day by day, establish good relationships with the sons of various powerful families in the capital, and gain increasing power with the support of many nobles... how could His Majesty, who felt he had not yet had enough of the taste of power, not have some other thoughts?"

He recounted events from many years ago as if casually mentioning an anecdote. "Back then, His Majesty the King did not enjoy the same widespread recognition as Prince Richard does today."

At that time, the king was just a carefree teenager.

He has great artistic talent, but that is merely an insignificant embellishment to his position as crown prince.

The previous king happened to be a man of great martial prowess and imposing presence, so he looked down on his love of drama and painting, believing that indulging in those things was a waste of time and energy, and practically forced him to stay in the academy every day to study magic.

While a king doesn't necessarily have to be the most skilled magician in the country, sitting in such a prestigious position, having weak magic power is indeed a significant and undeniable flaw.

If the previous king had not had only this one biological son, and if all the major families had reluctantly accepted him, it would be hard to say whether this prince with extremely ordinary qualities would have been able to successfully inherit the throne.

"In a way, perhaps what happened today was foreshadowed long ago," Elliott said with a touch of melancholy. "Like the Queen, His Majesty the King also opposed this social gathering."

"However, under pressure from many sides, he quickly gave in."

"At that time, the former king was genuinely pleased about this, believing that he had finally grown up and was able to shoulder his responsibilities..."

Elliott shook his head halfway through his sentence. "But from what I can see now, he's only suppressing his discontent for the time being. When he thinks the time is right, he won't be able to hold back any longer."

Wayne listened to his story in silence, feeling inexplicably heavy-hearted.

So, was it the previous king who sowed the seeds of this series of consequences? If it weren't for that war, perhaps Lornes wouldn't have needed to form an alliance with his neighbor, and later wouldn't have needed to use marriages of his children and even the upbringing of his grandchildren to gradually solidify bilateral relations...

No, we cannot use our own ideas to speculate about the people of that time.

The first king's initial intention was partly to use the war to rebalance domestic power and to win over a group of new nobles to protect him.

Driven by such thoughts, the future of one's children or grandchildren becomes a relatively distant concern. Without the foundation he laid, the current king, with his somewhat lacking abilities, might very well become a puppet of the various nobles.

Now, to some extent, each of them has indeed become a puppet.

However, they are merely puppets manipulated by power.

"So... is it what the King actually wants, to cause Richard some harm or suppression?" Wayne guessed in a low voice.

Perhaps this is some kind of jealousy? Jealousy of one's own son?

Wayne suddenly felt something was absurd.

“Who knows?” Elliott said noncommittally. “But if he really didn’t want Prince Richard to get hurt, there were many ways to handle this privately. Instead of tearing away the facade of marital harmony and father-son harmony in the royal family in the most unforgiving way.”

"Although Prince Richard eventually took control of the situation and the Queen's punishment was temporarily postponed, after this public conflict, their family can never go back to what it was before," Elliott made a very certain judgment.

Under the pressure of the situation, Richard's sword strike might have brought the king a different kind of experience.

Whether it will make him suddenly realize the need to consider his son's feelings, or make him more suspicious of his successor, is hard to say.

“Prince Richard will likely find an opportunity to meet with you soon to probe our family’s stance,” Elliott said, looking at Wayne.

"—Tell him that the Wincher family will fully support his decision."

Wayne was startled.

Good grief, this is really stirring things up.

Chapter 494 shouldn't be difficult.

Is it really not uncommon to overthink things by giving such a signal at this time?

Could it be that—

I never imagined you were such a treacherous duke!

“It’s just giving him a final guarantee.” Seeing the surprised look on Wayne’s face, Elliott explained nonchalantly. “After all, Richard has been groomed as a crown prince for so many years. Even a king wouldn’t just give up on him like that.”

Wayne could probably understand what he meant.

To put it bluntly, it's about placing an early bet and currying favor with Richard.

“I also think it’s better to stand on Richard’s side, but given the current situation, how should we respond if the King puts pressure on us?” Wayne pondered.

"Of course he can say what he wants, we'll do what we want."

Elliott stated matter-of-factly, "The more His Majesty needs our strength, the less likely he is to strain relations with us. While he is unlikely to approach the two of you, if he does, you can simply pass the buck to me and say you are unaware of the situation."

...That's quite a perfunctory response.

It must be said that the king's actions this time were a major miscalculation. Although he successfully thwarted Simon's conspiracy, it made many people realize the discord within the royal family.

This was undoubtedly a very heavy blow to his personal prestige.

If he could do it all over again, he would never choose to launch an attack when Richard was present.

But the key to life being full of surprises lies in the fact that what will happen in the future is unknown to everyone.

It took more than an hour for Elliott to frankly explain his family's next plans, and he also comforted Chris, worried that she might be frightened by what she had seen that night.

Chris simply shook her head and said nothing.

After the conversation ended, Elliott seemed to still have many things to deal with. He told the children to go back to their rooms and rest early, but he himself stayed in the study.

After closing the door, Wayne turned to look at Chris behind him.

Standing by the window in the hallway, she stared blankly at the soft moonlight outside, as if she had something on her mind.

Wayne sighed inwardly, stepped forward, and gently touched her hair.

"Are you suddenly finding yourself unable to sleep again?" He accurately guessed her thoughts.

Hearing him say that, Chris looked up at him.

Her slightly furrowed brows seemed to hold a multitude of unanswerable questions.

"I have a feeling... Wayne, you don't seem to think that what happened today is that serious."

So it was already figured out?

Although Richard's actions were also beyond his expectations, the current situation is largely under control.

Wayne thought for a moment and said, "It is certainly serious, but it's not to the point where we can't handle it at all."