My older sister is a villainous rich girl

Otherwise, she wouldn't have rushed to see Richard after seeing the letter concerning his safety, disregarding her other busy affairs.

Having clearly realized this, Bulwer couldn't help but feel disappointed.

“I’m not joking, I really am a man.” An invisible “well” shape gradually appeared on Wayne’s forehead.

"Okay, okay... I understand what you mean. From now on, I will treat you as a man." Bulwer's forced smile was more like a grimace.

Giao!

Wayne was having a bit of a headache.

"So, what exactly is this emergency concerning Prince Richard?" he demanded. "You wrote so vaguely before, are you still planning to keep it a secret now?"

In the message that Bulwer sent him, Wayne saw this message and that's why he decided to show up.

He had suggested to Richard that he create an opportunity to cause conflict with the outside world, so that Lawrence would take the initiative to speak on his side... In this way, perhaps a new change could be brought about in the relationship between the two brothers.

After all, people tend to remember those they have helped more vividly, and rarely remember who has helped them.

This is not a denigration, but a description of human nature.

Richard, however, said he had a ready-made opportunity to take advantage of and told me to wait for his news.

After subtly reminding him a couple of times, Wayne realized that Richard still hadn't taken any action. He didn't want to keep urging him, but he was genuinely worried.

That's why, although he didn't really want to meet Bulwer, he still came after reading the entire letter.

"cough……"

Bulwer glanced at the doorway and lowered his voice, saying, "Prince Richard has clashed with His Majesty the King, and His Majesty has secretly ordered me to mobilize a special operations team to monitor Prince Richard's movements."

He succinctly revealed a secret that would shock everyone in the entire kingdom.

When Wayne heard this, his pupils contracted involuntarily.

When did this happen?

Richard has been behaving as usual at the academy lately, showing no signs of having encountered any mishap.

"Just yesterday morning."

Bulwer sat down on a chair nearby and quietly recounted the scene of the king suddenly summoning him.

“It was still dark when the royal servants came to my residence and took me to a villa in the suburbs… There, His Majesty the King personally received me and issued this top-secret order.”

The king summoning his confidant and ordering him to secretly monitor the crown prince was hardly a good sign.

Bulwer, the "confidant" who received this order, was even more uneasy about it.

"Why did you tell me this?" Aikos's deep voice was hard to decipher.

“Ha, although I have served His Majesty for many years, I am not his pet dog after all…” At this point, Bulwer’s voice sounded slightly lost.

"If Prince Richard's coronation brings a better life to the people... then why shouldn't I switch sides and serve the other?"

The well-insulated room fell silent for a moment.

After a long while, Aikos finally spoke again—

"What you want is for him to bring a better life to the people, or a better life to yourself?"

Chapter 561 Even if he is your friend

Bulwer was once another stray dog, accustomed to competing with wild dogs for food every day.

Although he now wears expensive clothes and has cleaned himself thoroughly, the marks left by the past still occasionally surface to remind him of the kind of life he went through.

To strive for a better life for the people?

That's definitely what he wants.

Because, in the past, he was one of the objects represented by that light and airy word "the people".

But... this by no means means that he wants to go back to that past when he had nothing.

"Can't these two things be achieved at the same time?" Bulwer smiled faintly.

Wayne also gave a chilling laugh.

"So, you want me to tell Prince Richard this secret, and also do you a favor?"

When Richard's hardship comes to an end, with this favor already done, the prince, who has always had an excellent reputation, will probably not mind continuing to rely on him, this shrewd and pragmatic pawn.

Bulwer smiled wryly and said, "There's no need to say it so clearly."

He did have this idea in mind, but his main considerations were based on Aikos's position.

In order to maintain his current power and to ensure he could make greater contributions to the common people in the future, Bulwer was determined to side with the victor. And now, in his view, if Prince Richard and His Majesty the King were to fall out one day, whoever could win over Echoes would have won a significant advantage.

—There is no one in the entire kingdom who can rival Aikos.

If such a divine being were standing right in front of you, and you still didn't know what choice to make, wouldn't that be incredibly unwise?

After all, compared to immense wealth and power, personal feelings are insignificant.

“You know my origins,” Bulwer said.

"Whatever choice you make, I will stand by you."

Whether she sees herself as an annoying admirer or a sycophantic lackey, as long as Aikos takes care of her a little at crucial moments, she can naturally become one of the winners.

This is the real purpose behind his revelation of his true feelings.

Aikos tapped her fingers unconsciously on the table, remaining silent.

"Oh, right."

After a long silence, he suddenly spoke.

"Aren't you curious about Norman Laird's whereabouts?"

Bulwer's expression hardened.

Aikos seemed oblivious to his unusual reaction and continued casually, "After meeting you that night, he shouldn't have appeared in public again, right?"

During this meeting, not only did Bulwer want to test him, but he also wanted to test Bulwer.

If Norman Laird had other ways to pass on messages privately, then I would have to clean up the mess for my family as well.

Bulwer lowered his gaze, concealing the fear and unease in his eyes.

"...He hasn't shown up for a long time. I don't know his whereabouts, and I dare not ask."

But at the same time, his mind was screaming – it really was Aikos who killed him!

He could barely hide the astonishment on his face.

Looking at Bulwer's uneasy expression, not knowing where to put his hands, Wayne chuckled.

“Very good,” Aikos warned. “Don’t ask or inquire about things you shouldn’t know.”

"That way you can live longer."

The words faded away. And the figure that had been sitting opposite them just moments before also vanished.

Bulwer let out a sudden sigh of relief and slumped back in his chair as if he were completely exhausted.

……

"Huh, teacher?"

Tasia was pleasantly surprised to see her teacher sitting at the table, waiting for her.

But then she became a little nervous.

"Teacher...didn't we agree to meet tomorrow?" she asked, a little ashamed.

Because she has been spending more time researching at the library and the Royal Cathedral lately, she hasn't finished the homework assigned by her teacher, Ms. Echo, today.

Compared to the numerous assignments at Qingxi Academy, this amount was quite easy to complete. Tasia had originally planned to cram in the evening, but unexpectedly, the teacher arrived a day early...

Wayne had no idea that Tasia was feeling guilty about her homework; he just happened to be passing by and decided to check on her.

"After what happened last time, did anyone bother you?" he asked.

Perhaps because they had made prior arrangements with the city guards, Darcy's body was disposed of quietly before he and Tasia returned that day.

This incident did not have a significant impact on the capital; unless one was directly involved, they would not even hear about it. Meanwhile, the surrounding residents continued their ordinary lives as usual.

Tasia shook her head.

"No one came looking for us, it was as if nothing had happened..."

Tasia seemed quite regretful when she spoke of it.

“I still remember the scene when I first met senior Darcy… At that time, I really thought he was a very kind senior.”

Upon hearing the keyword "gentle," Wayne paused for a moment.

If Tasia had said those words to Darcy directly earlier, he might have been immediately killed by the plot and deeply moved, thus abandoning his evil ways and embracing the light.

Unfortunately, the plot has changed drastically since then, so he has been running headlong down the dead end of opposing the main characters...

It's a bit pitiful.

In my next life, I'd rather not be a supporting character in a world where the protagonist's halo is too bright; there's no future in it.

Tasia sighed.

"Can dark magic really make a person lose themselves and become a completely different person?" she asked, puzzled.

Echoes raised an eyebrow.

"What? Have you been researching dark magic lately?"

"what……"

Tasia realized her slip of the tongue and quickly tried to salvage the situation: "I was just curious about what the church called the 'source of evil.' After all... I possess light magic, and one day I'll have to contend with dark magic, won't I?"

Her tone was somewhat melancholy.

Clearly, she did not expect that day to come.

“The source of evil, huh?” Wayne frowned as well.

As far as he knew, dark magic did indeed require extremely evil methods to alter the attributes of an ordinary mage. Perhaps it was essentially a form of corruption? However, he had never witnessed it firsthand, so he couldn't be certain.

"No matter what others say, just trust your own judgment," he said.

"If you really have to fight against dark magic... don't hold back, even if he is someone you know, or even your friend."

Chapter 562 Parting and Reunion Are Inevitable

Wayne solemnly warned her.

He didn't want to see Tasia get hurt because of a moment of weakness, even if it meant she had to become his enemy.

If she were surrounded by people who wanted to exterminate everything related to dark magic... in that kind of environment, Wayne would prefer that she prioritize her own safety.

Tasia paused, taken aback.

"Teacher, what is your opinion on dark magic?" She suddenly wanted to hear the other person's opinion.

After learning that Wayne was involved with dark magic, Tasia was very worried about her good friend's future.

Based on what she knew, if the church members found out about this, they probably wouldn't care that Wayne hadn't yet shown any signs of corruption, and would instead try to "deal with" him without any justification.

Everyone there was telling themselves: Beware of dark magic; the mission of light magic is to eradicate all darkness. But Wayne… he's clearly not a truly bad person.

Before the church members find out about this, Tasia wants to find a way to secretly eliminate this potential threat for Wayne.

As long as his secret of harboring the "seed" of dark magic remains unrevealed, and he does not convert the earth magic within him into evil dark magic, then this secret can be hidden forever.

—As the only living light mage, this is something only I can do.

Echoes did not give a direct answer to Tasia's question.

"If I dislike someone, it will only be because of the mistakes they have made, not because of their identity or attributes," he said candidly.

"The same applies to dark magic."

Upon hearing this, Tasia seemed to breathe a slight sigh of relief.

“You saw it yourself that day, the scene of Duke Elliott talking to that dark mage.” She chose her words carefully. “To be honest, teacher, the Wayne they mentioned is my good friend…”