My older sister is a villainous rich girl

"I rushed over as soon as I heard the news of your and Prince Lawrence's assassination." He explained briefly, then immediately asked, "Is this the gold that Earl Heap kept?"

“That’s right.” Wayne nodded. “Severus is getting a little impatient. If Lawrence and I die, it won’t be so easy to keep using the curse as an excuse. For your own safety, you’d better not leave Radiant Palace. I’ll have someone protect you.”

Sandoval was still restless.

“Those three mages…” He hesitated for a moment before saying, “They should be the ones who helped Viscount Freud kill Inofan, but I never met them. At that time, you had already left Sheri City and were on your way to Bufania, and after my meeting with Viscount Freud at the castle, I wrote a letter and sent it to the designated location, saying only that the matter had been settled. Not long after, I received news that Viscount Freud had invited powerful mages to assist him.”

Wayne and Bernie exchanged a glance.

“So—Floyd might recognize the assassins, but he’ll most likely also reveal your name, saying that you introduced these people to him.” Wayne’s tone was ambiguous.

Sandoval's expression showed struggle, but he finally said dejectedly, "Yes, he will do this to clear himself of any involvement. And to protect himself, Count Sivers will try to persuade me to take the blame, just like Count Heap did."

"If Viscount Freud directly implicates Earl Sivers, revealing that there are other secrets behind Inofan's death, both the Viscount and the Earl may face the death penalty for colluding with rebels, assassinating a prince, and deceiving the king." At this moment, Sandoval was filled with a mixture of fear and relief. If Wayne hadn't contacted him first, he might not have had a chance to struggle.

"Is the dead person definitely Inofan?"

"As far as I know, yes. But what's strange is that His Excellency the Earl seems very confident in his plan, as if Inofan's life or death is just a bargaining chip that he can use to trade with a casual remark, and I have never found any contact between the Earl and Inofan before."

Chapter 728 Escape

News of the assassination attempt on Lord Wayne and His Highness the Prince has spread, causing widespread panic in Buffalo. Many nobles who had previously associated with Count Heep are now hurling insults at him from every corner of the city.

Some other nobles also became restless and hurriedly visited Earl Sivers, trying to come up with a suitable solution before His Majesty the King's wrath.

The Earl's banquet hall, which was usually packed with distinguished guests, was now deathly silent.

As the group exchanged glances, a mix of emotions—doubt, suspicion, and unease—was evident. Although no one dared to speak first, everyone understood who among them was the most suspicious.

Count Sivers remained seated at the head of the table, but he stared blankly at the ripples in his wine glass, as if his mind was elsewhere.

"Ahem..." A portly middle-aged man finally broke the silence, "Why doesn't Sandoval seem to be here?"

Count Sivers paused in his swirling wine glass.

Those who came to inform him immediately after the incident were naturally on the same side. But Sandoval, his most trusted confidant, was nowhere to be seen; the implications of this were obvious.

Thinking of this, Siphus smiled with a hint of sarcasm.

“Everyone, go back now,” he said. “Count Heap colluded with the rebels, so it’s only natural that the rebels would try to avenge him and cover up the remaining evidence. So it’s reasonable for them to lie in ambush near the count’s mansion and wait for an opportunity to strike.”

Although these people currently follow his lead, if he were to clash directly with Wayne Winchester and Prince Lawrence, there would be no other possible outcome. Those who have been bought with fame and fortune will naturally abandon him for even greater fame and fortune.

Even at their peak, the rebels struggled to resist the enemy's forces; how much more so now, in their current precarious state?

The reason they rushed over was simply to confirm the facts and see if they had any other trump cards to decide whether to abandon ship and escape.

What's meant to happen will happen; I was just one step behind.

Now that things have come to this, Siphus is unusually calm.

After dismissing the nobles of his faction, Sivers quickly changed into a dark-colored casual outfit, took down the cane hanging at the door, lowered the brim of his hat, and quietly disappeared into the crowd through the back door of the Earl's mansion.

After changing his clothes twice, when he reappeared, he was a beggar wearing a filthy burlap outfit.

Emerging from the bustling, bright streets into the muddy alley, his figure became hunched, making him look no different from the frail old men begging for food on street corners. As he entered an abandoned warehouse, a fierce-looking figure was already waiting for him.

That was Black Knife, the gang leader of the Buffalo beggars.

He once stood up for a beggar who was being bullied by members of other gangs, and single-handedly fought off a hundred people, thus becoming famous overnight.

"This is the last time I'll help you."

The man said bluntly, "Your debt is now paid off."

The old and destitute appearance of Count Sivers would be unimaginable for any nobleman, but the man did not seem surprised.

“Okay.” This was the condition that had been agreed upon from the beginning, and Siphus didn’t expect anything more. “Take me out of the city now.”

"Wait for someone."

"who."

"A real beggar."

Siphus remained silent for a moment.

"I won't leave the city with you. As for where you go after you get away, or what you do with him, that's up to you." The man's facial expression remained unchanged.

He knew what Siphus was going to do, and naturally understood that Siphus would not trust him to reveal his whereabouts, and that only the dead could truly keep secrets.

The deal was not based on trust, and both were well aware of each other's wariness.

Seeing that Siefus seemed dissatisfied, the man said coldly, "It has been very difficult for me to do this. You have to give me a way out before I can give you one."

The abandoned warehouse fell silent for a moment.

Before long, a dirty figure crept into the inconspicuous, dilapidated alley like a thief, then pushed open the broken wooden door of the warehouse a crack, revealing a head with greasy, unkempt hair like a bird's nest.

Then he made eye contact with the fierce-looking man.

"Get in here right now!" the man roared.

The thief-like figure shuddered in fright, quickly slipped inside, and closed the warehouse door behind him, revealing a face completely covered by a thick beard.

"Boss... what did you need me for?" the beggar asked ingratiatingly.

"I asked you to do something, stop with all the nonsense!"

No one cares when a beggar quietly appears or disappears in Buffalo, just as no one cares when a leaf appears or disappears from the lush tree by the door.

After leaving the warehouse, the beggar would glance at Siphus every now and then.

"Are you new here?" he asked. "What did you do before? How did you end up as a beggar at your age? Where are your children?"

It wasn't that he thought Siefus had the air of someone from a good family, but rather that once an elderly person was reduced to begging, they often died quickly from malnutrition, poor hygiene, or incurable illness. Therefore, in Buffalo, truly old and sick beggars were very rare; if one did appear on the street, they would disappear shortly afterward.

Siphus didn't want to reply, but he felt it would be too suspicious to remain silent.

“My children… died before me.” He stopped talking about it, as if he were very sad.

The beggar indeed asked no more questions.

But after a short while, the beggar said again, "I know a lot of people in the city. If you are a local and have some debts or property that could have been recovered, perhaps I can help you with that, as long as you are willing to give me a little something in return."

“No need, I’m not a local.” Sivers was sparing with his words.

Who knows if he says he's a local, and the other person might take advantage of the situation, saying they know someone who lives nearby, and start a conversation about things he doesn't even know.

He finally became somewhat annoyed. In the past, even the appearance of beggars from Buffalo was an offense to him. If it weren't for the fact that leaving the city directly would be too conspicuous, and that this was the only way to avoid the city gate guards' inspection and buy time to escape, he wouldn't have had to suffer such humiliation.

Wayne Winche...

Siphus silently pondered the name.

He would never forget the painful lesson of his decades-long carefully laid plans crumbling in a single day. He might never regain his former glory, but as long as he lived, he would always have the chance to avenge this humiliation.

Chapter 729 Caught in the Act

Although Buffalo is no longer as wealthy as it was when it was the capital, it remains the most prosperous economic and political center in the entire Southwest Province.

Every day, a large number of outsiders enter and leave the city, seeking opportunities to make a name for themselves. In Bufania, even the poorest beggar dreams that one day he might gain the favor of a big shot in the city and start a different life.

But behind the influx of people, countless disillusioned individuals silently leave, forgetting all the days they spent here.

Buffania never tries to keep anyone; everyone who passes through the Radiant Gate is just a passerby.

Two ragged beggars, emitting a foul odor, came begging from the other end of the street. Many nobles and wealthy commoners walking in the middle of the road showed disgust when they saw them.

However, they did not come away empty-handed. When the nobles were in a good mood, they would often give a beggar a little spare change to show their love and kindness. The older one, in particular, clearly received more love in return.

The two walked until they stopped not far from the Gate of Glory.

The older beggar looked at the younger beggar with a questioning expression.

"Well, last time I stole some money from the guard on the left, and he caught me red-handed and beat me up." His full beard obscured his slightly embarrassed expression.

Siphus frowned.

Why would Black Knife arrange for someone like this to escort him out of the city? Not only does he have excessive curiosity, but he also has a social network that exceeds reasonable limits.

Whether they are friends or enemies, if others have a strong impression of this beggar, it means that the risk of being exposed will increase.

"How about this, you can just do the task the boss assigned. It's not that difficult, just add some feed to a chicken coop outside the city. I'll give you all my earnings for today." Without waiting for a reply, the beggar stuffed the money he had into Siphus's hand and turned to run away.

However, the next second, someone grabbed him by the neck.

The other person picked him up like a chick and threw him into a nearby, inconspicuous, narrow alley.

“If the guards here recognize you, lead me out of the city through the side gate.” Sivers didn’t want to waste any more words with this man. The other man might be a little clever, but he wasn’t someone who would be easily fooled by such tricks.

"Ha...haha, I didn't expect you to be so strong..."

The bearded beggar cursed the black knife and the old man in front of him a thousand times in his mind. He knew that if something fell from the sky, it was never a good thing.

This old man looks old and frail, but it's all an act. He could probably take on ten of me without a problem, yet he insists on me going out of the city with him. It's not that simple!

But he dared not show any sign of doubt.

Who knows what methods such ambitious people would use to deal with you if they were pushed to the limit?

He could only pretend not to notice, brush the dust off his clothes, walk out of the alley and head in another direction, but the moment he looked up again, he saw a familiar figure.

Isn't that the person who questioned me yesterday?

He stared blankly as a large group of brightly dressed guards approached with great enthusiasm, surrounding the young man and calling out, "Lord Wayne!"

Wayne? — Wayne Wincher!

……

Shortly after Wayne ordered his men to monitor Earl Sivers, he received a report that Earl Sivers was not currently in the manor and his whereabouts were unknown.

He immediately realized something was wrong; Siphus was preparing to escape, so he immediately sent men to search for him, and he followed closely behind.

Since the turmoil that night, the underground passages of Buffalo have been sealed off, guards patrol the city walls, and mages are constantly monitoring the magical activity within the city, making it difficult for Sivers to escape.

After thinking it over, the only likely possibility is that they impersonated someone else and left through one of the city gates.

Although the city gate guards were more thorough than before, Buffalo was, after all, a large city with a diverse population, and it was simply unrealistic to expect the guards to accurately remember every single face.

As long as the person's identity is not questionable during the inspection and they are not carrying any suspicious items, the guards have no reason to interfere with the actions of ordinary people.

This is where the vulnerability lies.

He didn't believe that someone like Sivers, with his secrets, who had been operating in Buffalo for so many years, wouldn't have prepared another identity to hide himself. Perhaps he was a merchant belonging to a certain guild, or perhaps a tourist visiting from out of town; once he passed through this city gate, even someone with extraordinary abilities would find it difficult to track him down.

Wien sat high on his horse, his sharp gaze sweeping over the faces of everyone nearby.

When he saw a bearded beggar hunched over and sneaking along the wall, he was taken aback at first, because he also saw the other man's expression change from one of deep concern to one of ecstatic joy.

Just as the beggar was about to take a step toward Wayne, something unexpected happened!

Another beggar behind him, dressed in dirty clothes and with gray hair, quickly pulled out his cane, which turned out to be a sharp and dazzling enchanted rapier.

A flash of white light shot straight towards Wayne.

Wayne's expression hardened. His reaction was only a fraction of a second slower; the magic in his hand struck first, and the enormous explosion was deafening. The guards who were originally next to him were all blasted several meters away and fell to the ground.

The horse bled from all seven orifices, let out a long neigh, and fell forward, unable to maintain its balance.

Fortunately, Wayne reacted quickly enough and fell off his horse in a somewhat disheveled but not injured manner.

"Evacuate the nearby residents!" he shouted as he stared at the old beggar in front of him, who seemed quite unfamiliar at first glance. The man's sinister eyes were filled with clear hatred, yet he also felt a vague sense of familiarity towards him.

“You are…Severus?” Wayne frowned deeply.

Upon closer inspection, one can indeed see some resemblance to Siphus in his facial features. However, when combined, they can only be described as "seemingly similar," not as the same person, and their overall demeanor is quite different.

"I thought you must have already obtained the evidence, which is why you brought so many people to hunt me down." Sivers' voice rang out, neither confirming nor denying, but undoubtedly acknowledging his identity.

At the end of Buffalo Street, a man with a rapier and a man unarmed stand facing each other across the street.

The other mages on the scene also acted quickly, sealing off the city gate in layers.

“Yes, I have the evidence, enough to convict you of treason, but I still don’t understand—” The surrounding mages and guards tensed up, but Wayne remained fearless. “What kind of role are you playing?”

Chapter 730 But that was the beginning of evil.

The beggar, who had just been trying to get close to Wayne to seek a change of fortune, was now terrified. The moment he was knocked to the ground, he quickly crawled away on his stomach, fearing that the powerful figures fighting him might mistake him for an ant and accidentally step on him.

He guessed that the old beggar had a questionable background, but he never expected that this man was actually Count Siefers, who was more influential than the king in Buffalo!