My older sister is a villainous rich girl

Chapter 678 Return to Lornes

A week later, Wayne bid farewell to the papal procession.

Compared to the grand procession of people who traveled with a long line of carriages and horses, the group returned with only a few scattered carriages, making them appear much more dejected.

The Vatican's guard only symbolically sent two bishops to escort them, supposedly to perform their duties at the Royal Cathedral, so they traveled together with Wayne.

Wayne glanced one last time at the crowd but didn't see Tasia. Instead, he saw a reluctant Camille and Alex standing next to her, who had been giving him the cold shoulder all this time. His mood instantly soured, so he gave up and headed home without looking back.

In the monocular telescope's view, that familiar figure gradually disappeared.

On the top floor of a tower standing in another direction, a girl had been sitting there gazing into the distance for a very long time.

After a long silence, a heavy sigh echoed from the tower.

……

"Wayne! You're finally back!"

The sound came from afar.

To Wayne's surprise, the first person to greet him was not the Duke and Duchess of Chris and Elliott, but Prince Lawrence, whom he had not seen for a month.

"I knew you'd pass through here!"

His smug expression remained unchanged as he rode a tall horse, beaming with joy: "I specially brought your little black dog and my great general to pick you up early this morning. How about that? See how good I am to you! Aren't you very touched?"

His loud voice made Wayne's head buzz, and the horse named "General" snorted in response.

"Oh God, I am so moved!"

Contrary to his seemingly playful and exaggerated tone, Wayne was genuinely touched.

This intersection wasn't even within the capital's designated area; even on horseback, it would take over an hour to travel there. Although he had been informing his family of his journey along the way, it wasn't easy to accurately estimate the exact time, and he had no idea how long Lawrence had been waiting there.

The carriage slowly came to a stop.

Although the seats have been improved and are soft and comfortable, being in such a cramped space, barely half the size of a bed, for a long time can still cause back pain. After sitting in the car for several days, Wayne was also itching to stretch his muscles, and Lawrence's appearance was just what he needed.

"Lawrence and I will go first. Remember to take my dog ​​back to the Duke's mansion!"

He casually left a message for the convoy, first patting his black horse's head reassuringly and bumping heads with it to show affection, then leaping onto his horse and galloping away.

Lawrence laughed heartily and followed suit.

The wind that swept through the woods also brushed past his hat brim and his hair, leaving him far behind. Perhaps it had been too long since he had seen his master, for Xiao Hei was exceptionally excited as he raced along, head down, charging forward with all his might.

After galloping for a while, Wayne finally felt much of the frustration in his chest dissipate, and then he pulled on the reins and gradually slowed down.

"Little Blackie, you must have once longed to gallop freely across the vast plains, but in my hands, you're stuck in the stable every day. I'm such an unworthy master," he lamented.

Lawrence, who caught up with him, scoffed, "You're not a horse, how do you know it doesn't like a life where it doesn't have to do anything and just sits around eating for free?"

"..."

Actually, he was just saying that casually.

For all living things, freedom is always something very important. Although Tasia is not by his side now, thinking about it again, the fact that she is simply going to a wider world and can have a more wonderful life in the future is not without comfort.

Lawrence lowered his voice at the opportune moment, inquiring as if he were a thief: "Ahem, Wayne, has Tasia really become the Pope?"

Wayne glanced at him.

"Yes."

Lawrence was quite excited. "That's wonderful! I have a good relationship with His Holiness the Pope at the academy, so we should keep in touch. I... oh no, I mean our Kingdom of Lornes! With Tasia's help, our prestige among the nations will surely rise!"

Ha, how naive.

The current Vatican is controlled by the chief cardinal. If Tasia could reclaim the supreme power of the Vatican from the cardinals, her personal connections might still be useful, even without considering whether Tasia, given her personality, would show favoritism to her old friends.

Besides, when did you become "quite close" to Tasia?

“Before she secures her position as Pope, the kingdom must provide her with full support from the outside world,” Wayne said in a deep voice. “Right now, Tasia doesn’t have her own power base in the Papacy, so it will be difficult for her to fight against those old foxes who run the Cardinals.”

Lawrence was startled, snapping out of his reverie about the future.

“That makes sense… No wonder Richard looked so serious when he received the news. I heard that his father was furious about it in the palace.”

At this point, he suddenly became mocking: "My father once wanted me or Richard to use marriage to bring Tasia into the royal family, but he watched as the duck in the pot turned into a swan and flew away. He must have been furious."

“I don’t think His Majesty will let this little quirk influence his final decision,” Wayne said.

The king on the throne today is cold-hearted and ungrateful, but he is a competent political creature.

“That’s true. He immediately sent a large delegation with gifts to offer his congratulations.” Lawrence was dismissive of the king’s reaction, completely unaware that his intention to cultivate a relationship with Taciara was much the same as his own.

"Is Bishop Willard still in the Royal Cathedral?" Wayne suddenly asked.

"Huh? I didn't notice, but it seems like I haven't seen him for a while now." Seeing Wayne's thoughtful expression, Lawrence realized, "You mean, he went back to the Vatican too?"

"Probably. We'll stop by Tasia's house and the Royal Cathedral on our way later."

……

"really."

Tasia's house was already deserted.

The room was tidied up very well, so it seemed like they hadn't left in a hurry.

Wayne walked easily to Tasia's room, opened the drawer under the desk, and found that the teddy bear that used to lie there was gone.

Only then did he seem to truly feel the loss of someone, and he let out a long breath.

In this cramped space, he once talked with Tasia about the past and the future. In this ordinary corner, he once listened silently to her every breath as she finished her homework at the table.

These memories, with her departure, have become secrets that no one can ever pry into again.

Chapter 679 So you like this one?

"Vinn! Look what this is!"

Wayne looked over at the sound and saw Chris holding a rabbit that was baring its teeth and claws and struggling incessantly.

"Uh... what is this...?"

He had been back in the capital for several days, but did not return to Qingxi Academy for classes immediately. On the surface, Wayne asked for leave because he needed rest, but in reality, with Duke Elliott's tacit approval, the academy's chairman, Harold, took him to meet with a number of officials who privately wanted to inquire about the current situation of the Papacy.

The Kingdom of Lornes was determined not to miss this opportunity of the papacy change and wanted to place more people into the Papacy.

Among the delegation sent by His Majesty the King to offer congratulations were several skilled individuals secretly trained by the royal family. They would take the opportunity to get close to Tasia and secretly pledge their allegiance to her, thereby becoming her hidden force within the Papacy. Everyone could see that Tasia was isolated and powerless within the Papacy, so it was only natural that they would want to take advantage of her.

However, even if she accepted the olive branch extended by King Lornes, it would only be a case of using one tiger to devour another. If she accepted this favor, she would inevitably be constrained by the Cardinals on one hand, and suffer from the constraints of the Lornes royal family on the other. She had a long way to go and could only proceed cautiously.

But if I wanted to help her, I did have a way.

After all, although His Majesty the King was not of one mind with him, his princes were quite close to him. Lawrence had been jumping around these past few days, boasting to everyone he met that he and Pope Tasia were bosom friends, that they were best buddies, and that no matter what he needed, Tasia would definitely help him out of their past friendship.

Wayne wasn't oblivious to the suspicion that other officials had about Lawrence, but he chose to fuel the flames and endorse Lawrence and Tasia's "strong friendship."

"--That's true. We were very good friends at Seiki Academy and often went out to play together. Ah, looking back now, those were truly carefree and wonderful days. I really miss them."

His immediate goal was to promote Lawrence to a key position in the Kingdom of Lornes in handling papal affairs. On the one hand, he wanted to give him something productive to do, so he wouldn't be bored and cause trouble for him and Richard all day; on the other hand, he could use Lawrence to influence the Kingdom's future decisions regarding the Papacy.

A win-win situation.

His plan was quite effective. After hearing the news from Wayne, officials offered their advice, and the king, with some skepticism, tentatively selected Lawrence as one of the Papacy's liaisons. Of course, for now, it was just a nominal appointment.

As a result, Lawrence suddenly became very busy, and Wayne finally got some real free time.

So, on a breezy afternoon, under Chris's delighted gaze, Wayne offered to accompany her on a picnic in the countryside.

Although it was called a picnic, all the desserts were actually prepared in advance at the Duke's mansion.

All Wayne and Chris had to do was take them by carriage to the open lawn by the lake in the suburbs, find a good spot to spread out a picnic blanket, sit down, open their lunchboxes, and eat.

In order not to disturb them after being separated for so long, the guards and maids kept a distance.

As it turns out, Chris somehow managed to get her hands on a white rabbit, which she hid in the car the whole way, only taking it out now.

“My new pet!” she shared a funny story that happened while Wayne was away. “You know what? One night I suddenly missed you and couldn’t sleep, so I went to the garden to look at the moon and daydream. This silly rabbit suddenly jumped out of the bushes, and the dark shadow startled me.”

"So, as punishment for scaring me, it has now lost its freedom and can only be a plaything in my hands! Hmph!"

She put the rabbit down and patted its head.

It had probably resigned itself to its fate. As long as Chris didn't poke it roughly, it would stay obediently in place, occasionally twitching its nostrils as if trying to identify the smell of food.

Hmm? There's a hidden meaning in your words.

Wayne laughed and said, "Say that sentence again."

"It startled me?"

"Further ahead."

"..."

But Chris didn't speak, nor did she look up at him.

Not getting the reaction he expected, Wayne's mocking expression gradually faded.

"I'm sorry, I might have gotten a little carried away."

"Hmph, I'll allow you to be smug for a little while now," she said, sounding aggrieved.

"...Stop rubbing the rabbit's head, it's going to start smoking if you keep doing that."

Her continuous rubbing of the rabbit's head suddenly froze, and she finally couldn't help but glare at him fiercely.

“I received a letter from Tasia. She apologized to me because everything happened so suddenly, and she couldn’t say goodbye to me in person.” Chris said with a touch of melancholy. “I wonder if she’s adjusting well to life at the Vatican.”

Wayne remained silent.

But Chris didn't want him to get away with it.

"So, you went to the Vatican, and besides losing Tasia, did you gain anything else?"

What did we gain?

“It is said that the former pope originally arranged to meet me before I returned to Lornes, but unfortunately he did not make it to that time.” Wayne sighed. “I did meet with the chief cardinal, the papal steward Elfman Diabat, and he even said he would welcome me to join the papacy in the future.”

"You wouldn't actually become a missionary because of those people's hype, would you?" Chris became wary.

“Well, actually, when you think about it, the Holy See is really quite nice. The academic atmosphere there is very strong, and the towering magic towers are magnificent and majestic…” He listed all the advantages of the Holy See that he could think of and praised them. Just as Chris was looking at him with teary eyes and her expression was about to break down, Wayne suddenly changed the subject.

"But missionaries can't get married, and I'm not at that level of thinking yet."

Chris finally couldn't take it anymore and threw the rabbit hard in his face.

“Hey! A lady shouldn’t act so rudely in public.” Wayne laughed. “Chris, I know you’ve missed me these days, and I’ve missed you too.”

"You're always laughing and joking when others are serious, it's really annoying!" she said bitterly.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to make you happy."

Perhaps I'm just afraid of the silence that follows, so whenever the atmosphere starts to get serious, I can't help but want to break the silence.

"However, thinking about it carefully, I am often quite unreasonable, and maybe I am quite annoying without realizing it sometimes? So let's call this even."

“Chris, this kind of hesitation and indecisiveness isn’t like you. It’s okay if you’re a little domineering towards me,” Wayne comforted her.

"Oh? So you like this one?" She glanced at Wayne.

"Well, it's not that bad."

Chapter 680 is definitely driven by personal grudges!

Wayne and Chris spent a peaceful afternoon.

The warm sunlight bathed the young boy and girl, creating a sense of déjà vu. Their long-awaited reunion wasn't dramatic; instead, it carried a touch of melancholy, like a gentle breeze rippling across a calm lake.

However, accidents always happen unexpectedly.

Just as Wayne thought the day would pass in this rare tranquility, the carriage accidentally collided with Finance Minister Franz's carriage on the way back and broke down on the spot.

When Minister Franz stepped down from the carriage, his serious expression betrayed his exhaustion.

In an effort to find new sources of revenue for the kingdom and make up for the financial deficit, he personally went to the southwestern region of Lornes to inspect the tax collection these days, but the scene he saw along the way was far from optimistic.

What he witnessed was not that taxes were not collected from the people, but rather that such a barren land could still pay such a heavy tax burden.