My older sister is a villainous rich girl

This inconspicuous corner is not located on the route students usually pass by, and almost no one would come in to disturb it unless they specifically look for it.

Perhaps that's why Harold felt comfortable bringing himself here.

Sitting in his recliner, Harold commented without any hesitation, "His Majesty the King is far too arrogant."

If outsiders were to hear this extremely offensive remark, Harold would likely get into some trouble.

But he had no inhibitions in front of Wayne.

“Even if we broaden the scope to all members of the royal family throughout history, Richard can be considered one of the most talented geniuses, showing extraordinary talent from a very young age.”

The chairman sighed, "I still remember the scene when His Majesty the King invited me to be his private tutor and I first met this prince in the palace."

"He was surrounded by people, but there was not a trace of arrogance in his eyes. Even though he didn't know my identity or purpose at the time, he showed me, a stranger, full of kindness and respect."

Wayne listened quietly to his story and then raised his own questions at just the right moment.

"But Richard told me that you refused to be his private tutor?"

Is this how one should behave when they have such a good first impression of him?

"Ha... He even told you that?"

Harold readily admitted it. "That's right, I immediately declined His Majesty's invitation after that meeting."

Wayne couldn't help but look at him with a "Are you seriously ill?" gaze.

However, this time Harold didn't keep them in suspense and spoke his concerns very frankly.

"Because... as he grows up, he will definitely try to accumulate his own strength. And I don't have enough confidence to provide him with strong support, especially since I must prioritize the interests of the academy."

“If I were to become his teacher, the entire Qingxi Academy would probably become a stepping stone for his advancement.”

"The struggles he's going to get involved in can't be won off with just verbal support. If one day he wants to take control of the entire academy, agreeing to his demands would mean the academy's independence would be completely destroyed; refusing him, on the other hand, might plant a seed of resentment in his heart."

Wow, you've got a really long-term vision.

But what seemed like a long-term plan back then is now a reality.

Did they foresee the current conflict and therefore proactively avoid potential problems...?

“If we don’t want to be constrained, we must carefully maintain the academy’s delicate relationship with the royal family,” Harold said calmly. “In a sense, we are just partners, not subordinates.”

For a moment, Wayne's grievances were palpable.

'Are you planning to find other partners someday?'

The chairman suddenly laughed and said, "If you still don't quite understand, just think of the academy as another type of family power."

"Your Winchester family isn't really willing to dedicate everything to the Maysfield royal family, is it?"

Wayne's expression immediately fell silent.

He's right.

Once a person controls a large enough force, it becomes difficult to tolerate being taken away by outsiders.

This is the hidden, unspoken selfishness that everyone harbors beneath the facade of harmony between the monarch and his subjects in the Kingdom of Lornes.

"As he grew older, Prince Richard, with his intelligence, developed his own insights into many things."

Harold spoke in a gentle, conversational tone, as if he were telling a story.

However, the story itself doesn't contain much warmth.

"However, His Majesty the King often arrogantly disapproves of His Highness's ideas. He always imposes his own will on Prince Richard... Perhaps in his mind, before becoming father and son, even the prince is first and foremost just his subject."

"When Richard was still young, the conflict between the two sides was not so obvious, and the disputes always ended with Prince Richard having to accept them in the end. However, this situation obviously could not be maintained for long."

"This incident was actually just the result of their argument..."

It's unclear whether Harold found it laughable, but there was always a faint smile in his eyes.

"The two were arguing? Is it related to that horse race?" Wayne seemed to understand something.

"Yes."

"His Highness Prince Richard is indeed very outstanding... but reputation is something that requires the manipulation of certain people behind the scenes." He said this with a slight smile.

"To be honest, His Majesty the King may not have had any malicious intent at the beginning. He just did what he always did, tacitly allowing his confidants to arrange an occasion that would make Prince Richard even more famous."

Ah this...

Wayne was at a loss for words.

"But Prince Richard was no longer willing to accept this arrangement that he had become accustomed to."

Harold revealed the crux of the conflict. "Perhaps what truly angered His Majesty the King, rather than the right or wrong of the matter itself, was Prince Richard's sudden confrontation with him."

"Peggy, the city guards, Qingxi Academy... they are just tools the king uses to teach his increasingly arrogant son a lesson."

No wonder Richard is so insistent on getting to the truth behind this incident.

He probably originally thought that all of this was his effort to break free from the king's control.

But with Peggy's death, all his efforts instantly became a joke.

It's like racking your brains to play chess with someone, finally gaining a slight advantage, only to have the other person flip the chessboard over.

“Prince Richard is still too weak in front of His Majesty the King,” Harold shook his head with regret.

“Continuing to make a fuss about this case will not lead to anything. Moreover, other charges against Peggy have been brought up, and speaking up for him no longer has any moral high ground.”

Indeed... the city guard's current attitude is to obscure the problems in their handling of the case, and then use other cases involving Peggy to argue that he is not a victim, but a criminal who should be executed.

That's the logic.

But why does it just feel so unpleasant?

Wayne frowned and said, "Since there's no point in dwelling on this, what use would it be even if we obtained the evidence?"

"Use?" Harold said meaningfully, "Well, it's used to catch people out of their own way."

"Stepping outside the perspective of their father-son rivalry, what His Majesty the King himself was thinking after doing something like this and then being discovered is no longer important," the chairman said, crossing one leg. "What matters is how others who know the truth will view him."

"Fame can certainly be manipulated, but what kind of fame will the person who manipulates it gain?"

"His Majesty clearly does not realize that he is using a double-edged sword."

Chapter 601 Don't even think about suppressing me with a head pat.

After leaving the "secret room" and returning to the classroom, Wayne was still pondering the information he had received from the chairman.

Contrary to his imagination, the place was not a secret realm containing a vast collection of books. It looked like just a private activity room for the chairman.

What he referred to as "secrets involving light and dark magic" was actually just a personal notebook left behind by a former school chairman.

Although it was quite different from what he had imagined, Harold did keep his promise and readily lent him the notebook.

The only requirement is—

"You must not take it out of this secret room."

So Wayne had no choice but to sit in his room and read through the notebook until almost the end of the school term.

Perhaps I should be thankful that its thickness isn't excessive?

Fortunately, the legacy left by that unknown predecessor did answer some of his questions.

[Assuming that the five common magical attributes in the mortal world are set at Tier 0, light magic and dark magic would be at Tier 1, which is superior in form and structure. They are two attributes that mutually restrain each other, yet also attract each other.]

The methods used to awaken dark magic are extremely malicious and can distort the magician's will. It has been linked to numerous heinous incidents resulting in heavy casualties, and has therefore been listed as a forbidden art by the Church.

[Through accepting numerous awakened individuals of light magic over the centuries, the Church's research achievements in these two special magics far surpass those of other factions. However, more than a decade ago, the Central Holy See seemed to have encountered some kind of upheaval; the Holy See's only surviving light magician perished, the specific cause of which remains unknown...]

Since then, there has been no news of any new light magicians appearing.

[If any new light magicians appear in the kingdom thereafter, I, their successor, must enroll them in the academy before the church takes action.]

When he saw this, Wayne couldn't help but cast a strange look at Harold.

If you think about it carefully, it's true that Qingxi Academy opened a lot of back doors for Tasia, but weren't they all because of other people's feelings?

Even Tasia's admission was only granted because of Bishop Willard's recommendation; the academy was clearly just going along with it throughout.

At that moment, Harold seemed to know what he was thinking and explained, "Some things are less likely to arouse suspicion if you let others take the initiative. I just happen to be lucky; there's always someone to lend a hand when I want to do something."

Such a farcical argument left even Wayne speechless for a moment.

In another sense, isn't his own appearance just another manifestation of Harold's good luck taking effect?

When I first started reading the notes, I was glad that they weren't too long. But after I finished reading them in the blink of an eye, I gradually became dissatisfied with how little useful information there was.

……

"Wayne, what did the chairman ask you to do today?"

In the classroom, Chris saw Wayne finally return and walked up to him with a hint of resentment. "I haven't seen you all day."

"It's nothing, just a chore that takes a bit of time."

Back in his seat, Wayne put the untouched books he had taken out that morning back into the drawer without saying another word.

On this trip, he stumbled upon a secret he hadn't intended to know, and was probably even labeled as colluding with the academy behind his back.

But for me, this might not necessarily be a bad thing.

Just as Harold needed his help, he could also use this opportunity to blackmail him in return.

With the principal's support, many future plans will be much easier to implement.

Chris said "Oh".

"By the way, your Teacher's Day proposal has already been released by the school council in the name of a joint document."

She told Wayne the news that had been the talk of the day with great interest, her tone full of delight. "I heard that some teachers are even secretly talking about you behind your back, hahaha."

"Huh? How did they find out so quickly!" Wayne exclaimed in feigned shock. "Tell me, did you secretly sell me out?"

“How could that be!” Chris laughed with a hint of schadenfreude. “How could I betray you? After all, my sister cares about you so much, right?”

tsk...

To be honest, I didn't feel much pity for Wayne. Usually, when I'm with Chris, I'm more like a teasing friend who likes to joke around with each other.

Moreover, she often takes the initiative, in order to show that she really is the innocent little brother who is like a wronged little wife in the original animation.

"It's because the school council stated it in the first paragraph of the announcement—it was proposed by Wayne, the president of the Lily Club." She leaned closer to Wayne and asked, "So, don't you feel honored?"

"These important documents need to be archived. Perhaps a long, long time from now, someone will dig you out of the history books and commemorate your contributions to the teaching profession."

Wayne: ...

Well, hopefully the image I leave behind in this world won't be too bad.

Seeing Wayne's complicated expression, Chris laughed again: "But you don't need to worry about anything! Although a few teachers are unhappy with your project, most of the students are more than happy to support it. They all say that your brain is probably constructed differently from ordinary people—"

“Wait, is this really a compliment?” Wayne asked with great skepticism.

“Of course,” Chris nodded firmly. “Oh, everyone just admires your creativity!”

Wayne was embarrassed by her showering him with compliments.

"Actually, I was inspired by you, Chris, to suddenly come up with this idea..." he said shyly. "If we're really going to assign credit, Chris deserves the most credit."

"Oh, not at all, you're much better!"

The two of them suddenly started praising each other.

But after only a couple of compliments, the two stopped at the same time, looked at each other, and burst into laughter.

"Please stop making fun of me," Wayne said somewhat helplessly. "Why don't you help me organize the performance? We can start registering now, according to the plan."

"Did any teacher speak to you about this before I came back?"

“How is that possible!” Chris crossed her arms and leaned against his table.

"If I had the title of 'member of the program preparation working group,' perhaps some people would be willing to come and talk to me. But the process is unclear right now, so even if someone really wants to sign up, they're probably still observing."

Her implied meaning reminded Wayne.

"You're right, we should definitely get the preparations done first." He approvingly tried to pat Chris on the head, but she easily dodged him because he had taken too long to get ready to stand up.

"Hmph, don't even think about suppressing me with a head pat!" She covered her head, quite pleased with her quick reflexes.