My older sister is a villainous rich girl

Wayne found it somewhat amusing. "That's what I was planning to do too. But before that, we need to address the possibility that they might be being abused at home."

Upon hearing the word "abuse," Chris's expression changed.

She also remembered Roy's earlier statement that the servants would tie up his sister.

“It’s hard for us outsiders to get evidence of this kind of thing, isn’t it?” she asked with some concern. “And if outsiders bring this up, given the attitude of the Marquis and Marquis of O’Neill, it might provoke more resistance from them than concern for the children.”

Wayne nodded in agreement.

"You're right, so we have to take a roundabout approach."

……

Marquis O'Neill, having shaken off the day's fatigue, returned home.

Before that, he had already sent his wife and two children home.

The longer they stay outside, the greater the chance that those two brats will cause trouble, so he has always been reluctant to let them be out in the public eye for too long.

However, as the children grew older and reached the age where they had to interact with other noble children, and with his last hope shattered, he had no choice but to reluctantly accept the reality that the family business would eventually pass to these two children.

Is it lamentable that the Shaquille O'Neal family, whose ancestors' glory has shone upon them to this day, is finally facing its end in the next generation?

He had no confidence that these two children would shoulder the great responsibility of carrying on the family legacy.

I'm afraid that if they were intimidated even slightly, they would panic and hand over all their family wealth and ancestral property...

At this moment, Marquis O'Neill felt the effects of the alcohol kicking in, and his head was throbbing unbearably.

He walked into the hall, clutching his head, and saw his wife sitting on the sofa.

"Are the children all asleep?" he asked casually.

However, the lady did not answer, but instead pressed her aggressively, asking, "Where have you been gallivanting off to again?! Didn't you say you'd be back after Marseille?"

"I've been waiting for you here all night, look at the time!"

Hearing her barrage of questions, O'Neal closed his eyes for a moment, looking utterly weary.

"I just had a couple of drinks with my friends. It's a rare opportunity to get together with some old friends and strengthen our friendships. It's a serious matter for our whole family!"

He staggered to the other side of the sofa and sat down, feeling his back covered in cold sweat, sticky and uncomfortable.

"Didn't you want me to pay more attention to the children's future? How can I take care of them without the help of friends?" he said, his voice tinged with anger.

Mrs. O'Neill was speechless after being countered by his reasoned and well-founded arguments.

After a moment of silence, she spoke again.

“I’ve had enough,” she said.

“I’m fed up with the feeling that I’m the only one who gave birth to the child, and that I’m the only one who deserves the punishment.”

She glanced at Marquis O'Neill on the sofa with disgust.

At this moment, he was slumped over like a lump of mud, completely unrecognizable from his former strong and handsome appearance.

She regretted more than once why she had fallen for this man's pursuit and persuaded her parents to agree to the marriage, only to find herself jumping into a fire pit.

Only God knows how much of a blow it was to him that his two children were both mentally challenged!

But the culprit remained completely unaware, leading her to believe it was all her fault...

Upon hearing the word "retribution," the veins on Marquis O'Neill's forehead throbbed.

His face contorted in rage, and he roared furiously, "What did you say?! What retribution?!"

"I am doing this to serve the King!"

Chapter 585 Do you really think so?

After shouting those words, O'Neal seemed to calm down a bit, and his gaze towards his wife froze for a moment.

Mrs. O'Neill didn't get the other meaning from it.

"I know you are being loyal to His Majesty, but does His Majesty acknowledge your contributions?"

“Aside from the reward you received for your military achievements back then, everyone’s eyes have been on Duke Wincher!” Lady O’Neill said resentfully. “Today, Duke Wincher’s child is the president of the Lily Society at Clearstream Academy, but what about your child?”

"—Your child is an idiot!"

"Enough!" O'Neal stood up, his face flushed.

He was angry and in pain, but there was nothing he could do but pace anxiously back and forth in the hall.

“Is that enough? I’m going to continue!” Lady O’Neill also stood up. “You think you’ve done so much for the kingdom, but what have you gained besides this empty title?”

"Your child isn't even allowed to attend school!"

Lady O'Neill unleashed all her pent-up resentment on the Marquis O'Neill.

If it weren't for this man dragging her down, she should have had a happy and fulfilling family instead of worrying all day about what incomprehensible things her children had done... For many years, out of guilt towards the O'Neill family, she had been trying to correct her children's behavior so that they could at least eat, sleep, and use the toilet normally. But what had this man done?

He just watched coldly, and even... wanted to find another woman to have another child.

Mrs. O'Neill was already disheartened.

"Fine, do whatever you want. Your child won't have anything to do with me anymore," she said.

"I just wanted to tell you what that young master Wayne Winchester said to Roy in the stands today, and he even told me that he is Roy's friend. Maybe you could try to get on his good side."

After saying that, Mrs. O'Neill seemed unwilling to see him again, and walked away with a long face.

O'Neal paused, his pacing halting. "Roy's... friend?"

……

As the economic, political, and cultural center of the Kingdom of Lornes, the capital city is home to numerous powerful and influential figures.

It could be said that even a dog on the street could have some connection with the gentlemen of those wealthy and powerful families.

However, even in places where nobles are so common, marquises are not people that ordinary people can talk to.

On a peaceful afternoon, a carriage bearing the crest of the Winchester family drove into the Marquis O'Neill's mansion.

The carriage gradually came to a stop, and a handsome young man with bright, sparkling eyes stepped out of the carriage.

At the entrance of the mansion, Marquis O'Neill greeted them with a smile.

"Welcome! Our O'Neill family hasn't received guests in a long time. If there's anything lacking in etiquette, please forgive us, President Wayne," Marquis O'Neill said politely.

Wayne was somewhat flattered.

Although he had asked his butler to announce his arrival beforehand to avoid any offense from his uninvited arrival, he truly hadn't expected Marquis O'Neill to be standing at the gate to greet him. Even though, as the heir to the dukedom, his future title would inevitably be higher than O'Neill's marquisate, he wasn't even a baron yet...

At most, he would only receive the title of "Honorary Knight" bestowed by the king.

If it were a low-ranking nobleman praising himself like this, he could understand it; but for even a marquis to do so was rather alarming.

"Ahem, Marquis O'Neill, there's really no need for that..."

Wayne declined shyly, sensing that the other party had ulterior motives.

Marquis O'Neill personally led Wayne into the reception room and gestured for him to sit down. Only after seeing that Wayne was seated did he walk over and sit down on the other side.

"After graduating from Qingxi Academy, I served as the captain of the vanguard under the previous Duke Wenche... Even today, those passionate memories of fighting on the front lines still occasionally intrude into my dreams."

He looked wistful, as if reminiscing about the past.

Unfortunately, the person in front of him was not his former comrade-in-arms, but a junior named Wayne. His attempt to reminisce about the glorious past was somewhat like talking to a brick wall.

Fortunately, after so much practice, Wayne's basic social skills have improved significantly, preventing awkward silences.

"Yes! As children of military aristocrats, regardless of family background, we must go through a period of practice in order to better inherit the glory of our ancestors. My father often talks to us about his past military life at home."

After finding common ground, the two finally started chatting more warmly, and the atmosphere was no longer as awkward and unfamiliar as when they first met.

Finally, it was Marquis O'Neill who couldn't hold back any longer and asked the other party's purpose: "I wonder what brings President Wayne here today?"

Wayne smiled and held up two fingers.

“There are two in total,” he said.

"Firstly, it was to visit my new friends Roy and Vivian."

Marquis O'Neill's expression relaxed slightly upon hearing this. "It's wonderful that President Wayne is willing to befriend them! I can call them over right now."

"No rush." ​​Wayne reached out to stop him from getting up.

When he stopped him, Marquis O'Neill hesitated for a moment.

Wayne pretended not to notice his worry and continued talking.

"The second thing concerns the cause of the two children's illnesses."

Upon hearing his words, Marquis O'Neill's expression changed.

"Ha, hahahaha..." He forced a laugh, then said with feigned ease, "It's just that I wasn't lucky enough."

“Two children in a row have developed intellectual disabilities. There could be many reasons behind this, but it can’t be attributed to just bad luck.” Wayne looked at him calmly. “To be honest, I came here specifically to verify some rumors I’ve heard.”

He knew that O'Neal might be wary of "curses," but for someone struggling in the mire of despair, even a straw offered to him would be something he would cling to desperately.

“If it is truly as the rumors say—” Wayne said slowly, “I believe the misfortune that has befallen your family is a consequence of the kingdom’s suffering and deserves additional compensation.”

O'Neal's expression froze for a moment, then his eyes lit up with excitement.

"You...you really think so?" He could hardly sit still, and even his address unconsciously became more respectful.

The kingdom's rewards for that war had already been settled, and Marquis O'Neill didn't know how to ask His Majesty for extra favors without making His Majesty think he was unreasonably seeking credit and thus completely enraging him.

But if the heir of the Duke of Winchester, the greatest hero of that war, admitted that his child was also wounded in the war, the opinions of the kingdom's noble circles would probably be different.

Chapter 586 Another Helper

Seeing that he could no longer maintain his composure, Wayne realized that the fish had taken the bait.

“However, the necessary premise is… that this is indeed the case.” He paused. “In fact, such misfortune could very well be caused by a family history of genetic diseases or some other reason.”

His words were ambiguous and unclear.

Marquis O'Neill couldn't hold back any longer. He straightened his back and lowered his voice.

"Since you're willing to show compassion for the O'Neal family, then there's no need for me to keep it a secret any longer..."

He carefully considered his choice of words.

"As you may know, it was my advance team that caught up with Archduke Laird the fastest as he was preparing to retreat through the deserted trails." He looked at the corner of the table with a complicated expression. "However, at that time, Archduke Laird seemed to have lost the will to continue living. Instead, he committed suicide in front of us in that forest full of leafless trees."

"Before he died, he looked at me and said: 'The Laird family's hatred will curse the bloodline of our enemies for eternity, until the enemy nation is completely destroyed...'"

Wayne sat attentively listening, his brow furrowing unconsciously.

"This is the truth behind the rumored 'curse of national destruction,' but at that time, we were so immersed in the joy of victory that no one paid attention to his dying words. Afterwards, the previous Duke Winchester quickly arrived with a large army, and after confirming his body, he arranged for us, who had been fighting fiercely for a day, to return to the camp to celebrate our victory."

At this point, Marquis O'Neill looked pained.

“At that time, I was not married yet, so naturally I didn’t take his words to heart… But everything that happened later made me believe that it must be the curse of Archduke Laird that came true for me!” His tone was extremely certain.

Wien remains skeptical about this for the time being.

Has anyone from the church come to see us?

After all, this kind of "curse" technique sounds even more bizarre than magic.

“I’ve invited everyone with a name in the Royal Cathedral, and I still occasionally invite priests to my home for ceremonies, but all these efforts have been in vain,” Marquis O’Neill shook his head.

“A bishop I was close to once told me privately that this was a congenital disease, something that couldn’t be cured by human intervention… that it was the sins I was carrying that were punishing me,” he lamented. “But if I am guilty, why doesn’t God’s punishment fall on me, but instead torments my children?”

He just couldn't figure it out.

"After much thought, I believe that only the war with the Principality of Milistan could have accumulated so much hatred that it could have given rise to such sins."

He let out a deep sigh of frustration. "But that was only because of orders..."

What he really wanted to say was that if the vengeful spirit of the Archduke of Laird were to seek revenge for the destruction of the country, shouldn't the most heinous criminals be His Majesty the King and the Duke of Winchester?

Back then, as a newcomer, I wasn't even a regular soldier; at best, I was just a squad leader. Why did this curse come at me so indiscriminately, simply because I happened to be the first one to appear?

When he first discovered Roy's mental abnormality, he still held onto a sliver of hope, but the subsequent blows forced him to completely doubt what Duke Laird had said.

—Isn't this the curse coming true?!

In the dead of night, he drank alone more than once, regretting why he had been so brave in battle when he was young and impulsive.