My older sister is a villainous rich girl

Not to mention the victims, who are also students of Qingxi, whose parents, once they know the truth, will be more eager than anyone else to demand the quick death of the guy who dragged their children into hell.

But what Richard said does make a lot of sense.

The city guards only produced this evidence after killing someone, and there was no prior information leaked during the investigation and trial of the poisoning case at the horse farm. Such irregularities are hard not to arouse suspicion.

Is it because... you don't want him to reveal any secrets?

According to the investigation results that Lawrence had previously told him, the middleman, Peggy, only happened to know about the commission from the old equestrian club and was greedy for the commission. So he found another classmate, Boris, who had a decent academic background but was heavily in debt, to take on the job as an executor. He then helped him obtain the invitation to Marseille and take advantage of the opportunity to make his move.

Hmm, could it be that Boris was one of those so-called "friends" who was first tricked and then blackmailed with debt, just like the records say?

Wayne suddenly spoke up and asked, "What about Boris, the direct perpetrator who poisoned the horses? I have something to ask him."

Richard, who was about to say something more to Bulwer, paused, startled.

However, Bulwer didn't seem too concerned about the direct offender who should have been punished the most severely, and simply replied truthfully: "He's already in jail and will face four months in prison and will have to pay some money to the victim."

“Then I want to see him. Arrange for someone to take me to the cell where he’s being held.” As he spoke, Wayne glanced at Richard again.

"As for the discussions and investigations with you all here, I'll leave that to Richard for now."

He could also tell that Bulwer seemed intent on delaying or obstructing something. Rather than staying here arguing with Richard, he figured it was better to split up and perhaps make some unexpected discoveries.

Although Bulwer still seemed reluctant, he had no reason to refuse.

After a moment's thought, he turned to another adjutant and gave him a wink: "Dennis, you take Young Master Wayne to ask him some questions. Remember to 'protect' Young Master Wayne's safety!"

Richard had originally intended to travel with Wayne, but he quickly understood after receiving a subtle hint from Wayne's eyes.

He stopped paying attention to Wayne's movements and chose to stay behind to actively attract Bulwer's attention.

"—Lord Bulwer! Please answer my question directly: why did you kill the prisoner before he was convicted?"

The tense atmosphere in the conference room gradually faded away from Wayne, who was then locked inside.

Wayne turned his head and looked at the serious-looking adjutant beside him.

"Your name is Dennis? How many years have you been working for the city guard?" It sounded like a casual question from a teenager out of curiosity.

The adjutant answered methodically, "Yes. I've been working here for six years."

The two left the headquarters building, exchanging questions and answers along the way, passing several security posts. When they finally arrived at the entrance to the prison, which wasn't too far from the headquarters, the adjutant could no longer contain himself.

"There are far too many things you want to know! Please forgive me for refusing to answer." After saying this, he remained silent.

Wayne smiled and didn't press the matter further, instead scanning the prison.

To be honest, even as Ekos, he had never actually set foot here before, so he wasn't familiar with the terrain.

Generally speaking, there should be some secret rooms set up on the lower level of ordinary prison cells to imprison important people, right?

However, with another secret prison in the palace, the city guards could only be considered one of the less important alternative detention facilities.

After showing his token and explaining his purpose to the guards, Wayne was led by his adjutant and several prison guards. As he walked, Wayne silently memorized the route and the general distribution of the surrounding defenses.

Although the place looks quite clean, there is a lingering, unpleasant smell.

They didn't go very deep into the area; they simply turned four corners, went down a flight of stairs, and walked a dozen steps to reach their final destination.

Through a specially made railing, Wayne saw Boris, whom he had met once before at the horse farm.

But now, Boris just sat on the ground with a blank and dejected expression, not even looking up when he heard the noise outside.

"Clang—" The adjutant slammed his hand on the railing, making a dull thud. "Boris, a distinguished guest has something to ask you!"

Boris was taken aback upon hearing this unexpected notification.

When he discovered Wayne standing outside the door, a complex expression of worry and joy flashed across his face, and he hurriedly scrambled to his feet.

"You, you..."

He was unaware of what was happening outside, and he felt both hopeful and apprehensive about Wayne's arrival.

Chapter 595 Cats and Dogs

“Boris, as a member of Qingxi Academy, you have committed such a disgraceful act and been arrested. I am here to visit you on behalf of the academy.”

Standing outside the cell, Wayne asked in a deep voice without changing his expression, "Do you have any objections to the verdict in the case itself?"

Boris's expression immediately turned complicated upon hearing this.

"I never expected... that even after I did something so shameful, the academy would still be willing to listen to my opinion. But I have nothing more to say; this punishment is what I deserve."

Boris had only one thought: thank goodness he wasn't expelled from the academy; so what if he lost his reputation?

As long as he can retain his status as a Qingxi student, he can find odd jobs after his release from prison. Even if he has to work harder, he can always earn some money to pay off his debts.

"—I heard you've racked up a lot of debt because of playing poker? Will you be able to pay the compensation owed to the victim, Jonia, on time?"

Boris was deeply ashamed upon hearing this question.

“My parents didn’t know about this before, but now they can’t hide it anymore. I don’t know where they got the money to pay off the compensation first. As for the other debts… I’m afraid we can only pay them off slowly later.”

Even with his noble status, he dared not default on his debts.

No, rather, it's precisely because they are nobles that they have so many weaknesses that can be exploited, making it impossible for them to be as uninhibited as those who have nothing.

"Hmm, so you owe Peggy money too?"

Wayne asked in a calm voice.

"……Yes."

Although Boris didn't understand why he wanted to find out these things, he still told him everything in detail.

"However, the amount I owed him wasn't too much, and it wasn't money I lost in a card game. It was just that I couldn't pay my deposit to play, so he lent me some money temporarily."

At this point, Boris hesitated.

He secretly grumbled, realizing he'd acted so recklessly because he'd believed Peggy's assurances that nothing would go wrong. At the same time, he thought Peggy probably only gave him this assignment so he could pay off his debts quickly…

From this perspective, he may not have intended to harm himself; perhaps he simply mistakenly believed that the plan had a high probability of success.

After being caught, he implicated the other person without saying a word, making him go down in jail with him. Isn't that incredibly disloyal?

He hesitated for a moment.

"Young Master Wayne, I don't know... I don't know Pei Guitar..."

"he died."

Wayne clearly saw Boris's eyes widen suddenly, as if he couldn't understand what he had just heard.

"He He……"

Boris stammered for a long time, unable to utter a single complete sentence.

Wayne sighed and said with emotion, "You have to pay the price for doing wrong! The evil deeds that Peggy committed have reached a point where even paying with his life wouldn't be enough to pay for them."

After saying that, he stared at Boris meaningfully.

However, Boris's eyes were filled with terror. He cried out in panic, "How could this be? We only poisoned the civilians' horses! And... and we didn't even succeed..."

His first reaction was that it was flawless, and he couldn't see any flaws.

It seems this person genuinely didn't know what Peggy had done.

Therefore, Wayne's words became more straightforward.

"You probably don't know this, but Peggy often invites others to participate in gambling under the guise of friendship and takes a cut of the profits."

"The more gambling debts the people he brought there owed, the bigger his commission would be."

He spoke these facts with a look of deep sympathy.

Boris paused for a moment, then exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't it to introduce my friends to me as well?"

"What's your relationship with him? Why would he introduce all his friends to you?" Wayne asked in return.

"Besides, are those guys really his friends?"

The cell fell silent.

After a moment of silence, Boris murmured to himself, "I understand!"

"No wonder he always seems to have a lot of money, even though he doesn't have any business income, and he spends lavishly when he goes out with his friends..."

He muttered a few words in a barely audible voice, then quickly raised his voice to pledge allegiance to Wayne: "I can identify him, and those who made me owe a huge gambling debt of two thousand pounds. Please convey my grievances to the lords of the city guard. I, Boris, and my family are all eternally grateful to you!"

The slight guilt I felt towards Peggy just moments ago vanished completely in the blink of an eye.

The adjutant, who had been standing beside Wayne listening, couldn't help but look at him strangely.

This was exactly the result the city guards had hoped for... Once Peggy's crimes were settled, the reason for his death would become irrelevant.

In this way, the city guards were at most negligent in their duties, but in the end, they could not be considered to have done anything wrong.

Could it be that this young master Wayne is actually here to help Lord Bulwer?

“No, no, no, that’s not the point.” Wayne shook his head.

“Think about it, Peggy is someone who has ‘extensive connections’ in the gray areas.”

"However, he was forcibly killed by the city guard for a very ridiculous reason."

He smiled. "The reason is that Peggy, who was sentenced to three months in prison, wanted to escape."

What comes to mind from this known information?

Boris, still somewhat bewildered, said, "Is it someone in the city guard... who doesn't want him to get involved in more trouble?"

Lieutenant Dennis could no longer remain silent and couldn't help but interrupt their conversation.

"That's utter nonsense! How could anyone in the city guard do such a thing? Given the many secrets he's involved in, wouldn't it be perfectly normal for him to try to escape in a panic, out of fear of being exposed?"

"But can he escape?"

Wayne turned to look at Dennis.

It seems this adjutant also knows some inside information.

"That's the first question. He's not some nobody who can just change his name and go off to live a carefree life elsewhere... He's a nobleman with a name and a surname. He may be able to run away, but his family can't."

Although in the eyes of the real upper echelons, these people are not much different from cats and dogs.

"Second question. Even in the academy, he wasn't some top student with exceptional magical skills, otherwise I would have definitely heard of him; so where did he get the confidence to escape from the heavily guarded city guard?"

Perhaps to save space, he was imprisoned in a standard-sized cell, which would indeed make it easy for him to "escape".

Just getting out of the cell doesn't mean he can truly leave the prison.

Since Peggy was admitted to Seiki Academy, she must have normal thinking ability and shouldn't be unable to understand such a simple thing.

Chapter 596 You... are you the big shot who changed my destiny?

"Leaving aside the procedural issues of starting a search only after conviction and imprisonment... based on the clues we have so far, I have every reason to suspect that some people in the city guard want Peggy to shut up immediately."

After saying that, Wayne looked around.

"As prisoners with similar charges, I imagine his cell shouldn't be far from here?" he asked. "Lieutenant Dennis, why don't you take me there to see it?"

Dennis stood frozen in place, his expression stiff.

But in the end, he still did not yield. "Lord Bulwer has not given his permission, so I cannot grant your request..."

"Oh? So you're not actually being held in one of these ordinary prison cells?"

Wayne then asked Boris, "Have you heard anything about Peggy since you got here?"

Boris, who was completely bewildered, shook his head abruptly.

"The guards rarely talk openly about the other prisoners. I only overheard that a group of prisoners sentenced to death would be executed today, and I know nothing else."

“Young Master Wayne!” the adjutant said with extreme displeasure. “You’ve come here to inquire about Boris, so please don’t cause any trouble!”

Tsk, nomenclature is nomenclature, and reality is reality!

Wayne's true intentions were not what they seemed, and he didn't care whether his adjutant would have any objections.

That's right, he was taking advantage of the fact that since he was already standing there, the guards were almost unlikely to use force against him without orders from their superiors.

The time it takes for Bulwer to react is their precious period of reconnaissance.

“That may be true. But don’t forget, in the beginning I was only representing Qingxi Academy, a third party, to investigate whether the city guard had mishandled the situation,” Wayne said coldly. “If Lieutenant Dennis goes to great lengths to obstruct me, wouldn’t that be an admission that you are also deeply involved?”