My older sister is a villainous rich girl

"Wait, wait, did you bring my drink?" He raised his voice a little, forcibly separating the two brothers.

The attendant, who seemed completely oblivious to what was happening, immediately replied, "It's already being prepared and will be delivered in a moment. I happened to run into His Highness Richard, so I had to lead the way back for His Highness."

Wayne was about to say he was thirsty to divert everyone's attention, but Lawrence angrily said to the servant, "Why didn't you come back and ask me first?"

"You should know that you are my trusted follower, not his!"

He vented his anger on the servant with a sophistry, and Richard and Wayne's expressions turned sour.

“I ordered him to bring me here,” Richard said coldly. “He has no right to refuse my orders.”

"Ha, what a joke." Although he said that, Lawrence was not laughing at all. "As a servant, he can't even do the most basic thing of loyalty to his master. I don't think I'm worthy of such a servant. If you want him, I'll give him to you."

Lawrence shoved aside the servant standing at the door and strode away without even glancing at Richard.

Richard's face flushed slightly as he tried to suppress his anger.

But that was only because of anger.

Wayne sighed inwardly.

Well, forget about getting back together, it's like the sky is falling the moment we meet.

He reached out and helped up the servant who had bumped into the corner of the wall and looked pained. "I'm sorry, Lawrence isn't in a good mood today. He's not usually like this... Perhaps I'm partly to blame."

From the very beginning, things didn't go as planned.

The attendant smiled wryly and said, "No, he's always been like this."

Chapter 527 It's not that I can't have it

Those who are used to being high and mighty may not realize that even those at the very bottom, no matter how insignificant, will eventually accumulate resentment to the point of being unbearable.

Moore has gone all in.

"Your Highness Richard!" He decided to take this opportunity to naturally switch allegiance to this renowned crown prince.

“Although I, Mor, am just a servant of lowly status, I have always done my best to handle all the matters assigned to me by my master… But Prince Lawrence is eccentric and aloof, and he often scolds his servants and will not listen to any advice. Now he has developed a grudge against me. If I return alone, I will certainly not have a good end!”

Instead of getting up as Wayne helped him, the unassuming servant collapsed at Richard's feet.

He dared not touch the prince's body directly, and could only press the prince's head tightly against the ground.

"Please accept me, Your Highness! I will dedicate my life to serving you!"

Perhaps because he was too excited, his voice trembled and carried a hint of sobbing.

Wayne's outstretched hand froze in place.

Just when he felt he was getting used to life in this world, he would always encounter new and shocking situations.

So he silently withdrew his hand.

Chris couldn't stand it any longer and questioned, "You mean Lawrence will punish you when you get back?"

"..."

That was indeed what he meant, but he didn't dare to say it outright.

However, even if he said nothing, his silence itself was the best indictment.

Wayne immediately realized the problem intuitively.

Richard couldn't just agree to that! Otherwise, he would be openly turning Lawrence's close associates against him, which would be no different from a formal declaration of war for the two brothers whose relationship was already strained.

Richard probably noticed this too; his anger gradually subsided, and his gaze toward the servant became deep and unfathomable.

There was no other way but to step in myself.

"How about this!"

Wayne said in a gentler tone, "Don't think of Lawrence as so bad. Come back to Duke Winchester's mansion with me first, and I will take good care of you."

"If he really refuses to let you go, I'll just take you from him and then secretly give you a sum of money to set you free."

No matter what, he was Lawrence's good friend. As long as he could come up with a plausible excuse, not many people would care. This was completely different from the sensitivity of Richard taking action himself.

"Then let's do as Wayne says."

Before the servant could say anything more, Richard made the decision immediately.

As he spoke, he looked at Wayne and said, "I have other important matters to attend to, so I'll leave this to you."

Sensing the entrustment in his tone, Wayne nodded.

"rest assured."

As a result, her efforts to mediate not only failed to bridge the gap between Richard and Lawrence, but seemed to have actually deepened the rift between them.

Back home with Chris, Wayne sighed deeply.

No matter what kind of relationship it is, it's easy to get angry with the other person, but it's very difficult to make up with them.

"I thought that after everything they've been through, it was time for them to calm down a bit."

He was reflecting on whether he had been too presumptuous.

“Perhaps none of us have considered why Lawrence himself is so resistant. If this problem isn’t resolved, it will be difficult to achieve a decisive breakthrough by relying solely on Richard’s aloof and condescending goodwill,” Chris pondered.

“Actually, I can probably understand Lawrence’s feelings a little,” she suddenly said.

"Hmm?" Wayne was slightly surprised.

"Because of the fear of being taken away, they desperately protect what they can keep."

Chris walked to her desk and gently stroked her paintings.

"But no matter how much you like something, if you judge that you might lose it... you will be the first to abandon it."

"After all, only in this way can I salvage my fragile self-esteem—it's not that I can't get it, it's just that I don't want it."

"That might be the only thing I can control."

Wayne listened quietly, without saying a word.

Is that how you feel too?

Wayne didn't voice his own thoughts, but he was certainly curious about Chris's opinion on the matter.

"Do you think that if Lawrence's pride isn't repaired, his relationship with Richard can't possibly improve?"

Although they were both time travelers, Chris and he had very different views on many things.

He felt that sometimes he could understand her, and sometimes he couldn't.

“We can’t say for sure, but it’s definitely a very crucial factor,” Chris said. “And Lawrence also hinted at it.”

"hint?"

"That is, he knew that you and Richard were friends for many years, but he still chose to maintain close contact with you."

She said with certainty, "Perhaps he initially convinced himself to take action by reasons such as wanting to poach Richard's friends or gain more support from the nobility, but this is a window he left for himself in his subconscious."

"After you become friends with him, you will definitely try to speak well of Richard in front of him, and naturally you will also speak well of Richard in front of him. Over time, you will be caught in the middle between the two of them, becoming a bridge for communication between them."

...After what you said, I'm in a terrible dilemma.

"That's certainly true," he muttered to himself.

Lawrence never made any demands that he, as his friend, should distance himself from Richard in the future.

Of course, even if he brought up such a childish idea, he would reject it.

Her analysis made a lot of sense, and Wayne was largely convinced.

"But I've already tried to communicate with him, and he's clearly softened his attitude towards Richard a lot in front of me. Why does he still get angry when we meet in private?"

"That's because what he cares about most is still not being met."

Chris was unusually calm today.

“He wanted to heal himself, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t easily forgive the person who had caused him so much pain, even though it wasn’t actually Richard’s fault.”

"So he could only become a source of negative energy, sensitive, irritable, and easily angered, in order to vent the pain he had accumulated."

she says.

"—So, it's normal to be disliked by the people around you."

The thing I care about most...

"What Lawrence cares about most is probably the lack of parental love he received from his parents."

The reason he constantly argues with and compares himself to Richard is because he has long lacked external affirmation, which has led to a somewhat distorted mindset.

Wayne felt this was a bit tricky.

No, "tricky" is far from enough to describe it; it should be described as hopeless.

If the king were a loving father like the Duke of Eliot, perhaps there would be hope. But given the current situation, such a hope is simply unrealistic.

Chapter 528 There's Always a Way to Overcome Difficulties

Chris made the same judgment as him.

"Some people will never realize their mistakes unless they are truly retaliated against... so it's better for us to approach it from other angles."

Undoubtedly, Lawrence is clearly not capable of retaliating against his father, and Richard, as his elder brother, would probably not stand idly by and watch such a thing happen.

"Do you really want to help him?" Chris turned around and stared at him intently.

Wayne pondered for a while.

"Yes, I want to help him."

With a certain conviction, he gave a firm and affirmative answer.

He understood why Chris had asked the question so earnestly again.

Sometimes, helping someone is not an easy thing, and you may not even get their gratitude in return.

This time, he wouldn't hold a grudge against Lawrence for not appreciating his efforts, because this was exactly what he wanted to do.

A slight smile appeared on Chris's lips.

"If it's you... you should be able to keep your promise, right?"

—Whether it's how they treat other friends or how they treat me.

"Of course!"

Wayne assured him firmly.

……

Lawrence finally realized that something was probably wrong with him.

He didn't want to go out or see anyone again.

A burning desire to do something spurred him on, but his hands and feet were numb, sluggish, and unresponsive. He felt as if he were being constantly scorched by invisible flames, like a pancake being tossed and turned.

—I did nothing wrong.

This was the only thing he could firmly believe in.

He also wanted to be a prince loved by everyone, a child loved by his parents, and a social butterfly who could make many friends.

But I can't do it.

Before he could improve, he was already considered by everyone to be nothing more than a failed example to highlight how excellent others were.

“Prince Lawrence, now that you’re back, you should observe how Prince Richard handles affairs…”

"If it were Prince Richard, he would never be as willful and reckless as you!"

They were clearly servants under his command, yet they acted like Richard's henchmen, constantly making things difficult for him.

Wherever I go, the first thing I feel after others learn my identity is their suspicious gaze.

It's as if anyone has the right to judge whether they are a qualified prince, whether they are worthy of being Prince Richard's brother...

If that's the case, does it really matter what kind of person you are?

Oh well, whatever.