My older sister is a villainous rich girl

If the news he brought hadn't been so sudden, Bulwer wouldn't have rushed over to discuss it that very night. Neither Wayne nor the Third Prince Cassian were magically powerful enough for Bulwer to take seriously, but their identities made dealing with the leak of their secrets quite tricky.

"My opinion is to kill Wayne Wincher as soon as possible."

In the underground chamber, Duke Wellen's butler spoke in an icy tone.

"He already had a blood feud with the rebels, so it's perfectly reasonable for him to die at the hands of the remnants. If things dragged on for too long, the news would inevitably leak out."

Bulwer's face was grim: "Easy for you to say. He only told me this secret, and then he died right after coming to me for help. Isn't that clearly telling the Third Prince that I have a problem?"

"Even if the Third Prince knew, what could he do? In my opinion, he should have known all this long ago, otherwise, how could such a mess have happened? Or is it that you and Lady Cherry have been trying to obstruct and delay things, hoping to take this opportunity to clear your name and forget where you came from?"

Although he was merely the Duke of Wellen's steward, the way he looked at Bulwer was even more arrogant than the king's, as if he didn't take Bulwer, the king's most favored minister, seriously at all.

Bulwer's lips twitched, and he gritted his teeth, but he managed to suppress his anger.

"Enough." Duke Willen raised his hand, stopping the argument in the secret room.

His face was full of wrinkles, but he still maintained the demeanor of a royal nobleman: "In the midst of one change after another, we have lost too many friends, and Bulwer's position is now very important."

The butler shut his mouth and apologized to Duke Willen and Bulwer for his rudeness.

“Wayne Winche is just a small pawn, but he has caused unimaginable damage to our game. Such a person should not be allowed to live any longer. The only problem is, who should kill him without arousing suspicion?”

Chapter 741 Secrets Within Secrets

"If Norman Laird hadn't disappeared, it would have been the best option to have him do it."

Hearing Duke Willen's sigh, Bulwer hesitated to speak.

To be honest, as he rose to a higher position, he did consider clearing his name. Otherwise, as an important member of the rebels, he wouldn't have needed to work so hard for the king while also trying to please the powerful Echo. Ultimately, it was all to leave himself a way out.

But it was obvious that the Duke of Wellen did not want to have any other options, otherwise there would have been no need for him to deliberately instruct his butler to discipline him.

He didn't believe that the butler had just misspoke.

To make matters worse, things weren't going well on either side. Even with all his efforts, to the king he was just a relatively obedient dog, and to Aikos… he might not even be as good as a dog. Under these circumstances, he had no idea who would protect him if his identity were exposed, just because he was still somewhat useful.

So Bulwer's original plan was to push the matter to the Duke of Willen and then find a way to extricate himself from the situation.

Killing Wayne Winchester outright might not be difficult. Although he's hailed as a genius, he's still a young man, lacking experience and maturity, and it wouldn't be hard to find an opportunity when his guards are off guard. The real challenge lies in dealing with the enraged Duke Winchester and the intricate network of connections behind Wayne. He's not only close to Prince Richard and Prince Lawrence, but even Aikos seems to have a significant relationship with him. If Wayne is suddenly murdered, these people will undoubtedly relentlessly pursue the killer.

He would never forget how confident Norman Laird was in his dark magic, only to suddenly vanish after offending Echoes one day. Even his former subordinates, after barely managing to stay for a while, either left or scattered. Long before Wayne Winche went to the southwest to quell the rebellion, they were already in a state where no one would reply to messages.

This incident greatly shocked him, giving him a new understanding of Aikos's strength. She possessed an absolute power capable of breaking the deadlock, which no amount of previous schemes or tricks could withstand. Tragically, he dared not even reveal this, so much so that the rebels still do not know why Norman Laird disappeared. Some speculate that he may have encountered an accident while secretly seeking revenge.

"By the way, didn't you say before that Aikos might be able to become one of us? Why don't you arrange for me to meet her?" Duke Willen said after thinking for a moment.

Because of his doubts about Echoes's background and stance, Duke Willen did not immediately contact her, but observed her for a period of time.

Even now, he still can't figure out what the purpose of this powerful woman, Ekos, who suddenly appeared in the capital, is. However, he has lost too many powerful mages by his side and has no choice but to find new outside help.

The butler couldn't help but interject, "Master, we can't discern any particular inclination from Aikos yet. It would be far too dangerous to rashly make contact with such a powerful figure."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Bulwer.

Although he didn't continue, Bulwer knew he wanted him to act on behalf of Duke Willen to get Echoes onto the ship.

“I tried to recruit her, but Aikos is quite self-centered. Apart from arrest and elimination missions by the city guards with clear convictions, she never accepts any private invitations, and even the way to contact her is extremely unstable. On the contrary, Wayne Winche somehow persuaded her to cooperate with the magic tower. Because we don’t know the inside story of this relationship, I don’t recommend trying to assassinate Aikos. In fact, we should be prepared in advance for the possibility of being investigated by Aikos.”

“Well said.” Another voice suddenly rang out in the secret room.

Duke Wellen and Bulwer's expressions changed simultaneously. The butler immediately stepped forward to say something, but an invisible, transparent wave brushed against his cheek. Before he could even show surprise or fear, his face was frozen in that moment of tightly furrowed brows.

"Lucius!" The Duke was both angry and frightened as he watched the butler fall straight down.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Duke Willen.” Ekos gave a perfunctory bow with her hand on his shoulder. “And you, Lord Bulwer.”

Without waiting for a return gift, he sat down on the other side of the conference table and threw the account book he had taken from Duke Willen's study onto the table.

“This is the storage log of Duke Wellen’s basement. It shows that barrels of wine are being transported in and out very frequently,” Aikos asked directly, seemingly oblivious to the awkwardness of the situation.

Duke Wellen took a moment to catch his breath before slowly saying, "Because my family's White Raven wine is very popular and in high demand in the capital, I specially built a large basement for storage. Every now and then, a caravan will deliver new wine to my territory to replenish it, and empty barrels will be transported back."

"Oh, then why does your family's shipment of wine barrels fluctuate so much around the time the capital is searched for by criminals?"

Seeing that Duke Willen remained silent for a moment, Echoes turned to Bulwer: "Lord Bulwer, do you know why this is?"

It took Bulwer a while to realize that his plot had been exposed. While inwardly cursing the Duke of Velen's guards as useless, he forced a smile and said, "Your Excellency, you really like to joke. You startled me. We were just discussing whether we should invite you to the rebels' internal meetings in the future..."

“Ha, rebels.” Aikos couldn’t help but laugh, but her words were icy. “An organization led and secretly manipulated by Duke Willen, is it really a rebel army? Is Duke Willen willing to risk everything to restore the Duchy of Milstein?”

“That depends on your perspective.” Duke Willen seemed to have calmed down, and he tried to regain control. “The rebels are an organization formed by people with the same goal, seeking mutual benefit. If you are willing to join, we can certainly reserve a prestigious seat for you, so that it can also fulfill your will.”

"No matter what, I am an official who is paid by the king and responsible for protecting the capital. If I hand you over to the king, what kind of reward do you think he will give me?"

“He will kill you,” Duke Willen answered without hesitation. “Because at this moment, you know a secret he could never accept: the Third Prince is actually my son.”

Wayne: ? ? ?

Chapter 742 Wayne is thinking

Wayne almost laughed out of anger. "You think saying that will stop me from killing you?"

“No, I just want you to understand that I can bring you far greater benefits than that cruel and ungrateful king who sits on the throne now.” Duke Velen seemed to have given up on hiding his intentions, speaking frankly. “I believe that the most important thing in a good working relationship is honesty, so I can tell you this secret unconditionally.”

"Ten years ago, I managed to get that woman into the king's life, and she spent some happy days with him. Of course, she was happy for me too. Then she gave birth to a child."

Wien felt a chill run down his spine when he recalled the King's doting affection for the Third Prince.

Is the entertainment industry really this daring?

“His Majesty the King has always believed that the Third Prince is his child. Of course, the Church has magic for bloodline testing, and to be on the safe side, he did have it checked. The Third Prince does indeed have the blood of the Maysfield family, which is enough to prove everything, at least he is willing to believe it.” Duke Willen had regained his usual deep tone. “So we have a crucial trump card.”

"Are you confident that the Third Prince will side with you?"

“He will side with his mother, and his mother will side with me.” Duke Willen didn’t seem to care much. “Cherry is a smart woman; she knows what she wants.”

"If you expose my secret, you won't gain anything more. Instead, you'll have to bear many additional risks because of this secret that wouldn't have affected you in the first place. Of course, you can kill me now, and kill Bulwer too, but I believe there won't be any more sincere and powerful partners in the capital than us. Eliminating such a potential partner would be a significant loss for you."

Wayne stared at him quietly for a while, as if weighing the pros and cons.

"Is the rebel leader Inofan your double?" he suddenly asked.

"To be precise, I am my father's stand-in, and I have taken over all the resources he left me."

Wayne couldn't help but sneer, "You guys started planning this pretty early."

After a sigh, Duke Wellen said softly, “My father was not valued, so he inherited far less land and property than he deserved, and he was not content with that. In particular, His Majesty the King is an only son and has little power; he was not originally worthy of sitting in that position.”

At that time, the internal conflicts among the nobles in the Kingdom of Lornes were very serious, and several wars of abdication broke out. The previous king almost lost his throne.

However, the previous king first secured reinforcements from the neighboring Kingdom of Stuart by arranging a marriage between his only son and the church, and then gained the support of the papacy by fully aligning himself with the church. Only after a great victory in the war to conquer the Duchy of Milstein was the situation finally stabilized. Even though the current king is not particularly gifted, he still succeeded to the throne smoothly, just as the old king had arranged. With the support of the church, the nobility, and the marriage alliance, he secured his position and his authority grew daily.

“The rebels are nothing but a bunch of stray dogs who have gathered together; they can’t amount to anything. But we are different.” To strengthen his persuasiveness, Duke Willen leaned forward slightly, pressing his body against the table, his gaze intense.

“Back then, the royal domains were limited, and there was nothing left to grant, but now that we have a large new territory from the Duchy of Milstein, we can push Cassian to get a large new duchy, and even—” His ambition flared up like a flame, “As we all know, Prince Lawrence and Prince Richard do not have a very harmonious relationship.”

He didn't continue, but Wayne and Bulwer, who were present, understood what he meant.

"Forget it, you might as well just die." Aikos suddenly lost interest in negotiating with him and turned to Bulwer, asking, "What about you? Are you going to go with him?"

Bulwer shook his head like a rattle drum.

Before the Duke of Wellen could voice his objections, and before Bulwer could realize what had happened, the Duke of Wellen fell straight to the ground, in the same position as his butler.

"Huh? Duke Wellen, what happened to you?"

Duke Willen could only answer Echoes's question with silence.

So Aikos turned to Bulwer and asked, "Lord Bulwer, what do you believe was the cause of Duke Willen's death?"

Upon hearing Echos's question, which sounded like it came from a demon in hell, Bulwer shuddered discreetly. He suppressed the surging horror in his heart and tried to force a fawning expression, fearing that Echos might want to kill him to silence him as well: "Duke Willen... Duke Willen's mansion caught fire tonight, and he and his butler unfortunately perished in the flames."

“That’s really unfortunate.” Aikos nodded. “Well, you’re in charge of setting the fire.”

……

"Have you heard? A fire broke out at the Duke of Wellen's mansion last night."

In the Lily Club activity room at Seiki Academy, people were talking animatedly, with some occasionally casting ambiguous glances in Prince Richard's direction.

“Duke Wellen…wasn’t he one of the Third Prince’s strongest supporters? How come he was fine at the banquet yesterday but is now…”

"Don't talk nonsense, it's just a coincidence. The weather has been dry lately and there have been several fires in the capital. Fortunately, Lord Bulwer was patrolling nearby yesterday and brought the patrol guards to put out the fires in time, so they didn't spread to other houses."

"I haven't said anything yet."

Richard lowered his eyes and listened quietly to the sounds that, though he tried to suppress them, still managed to reach his ears, lost in thought.

Wayne sat down beside him and asked in a surprised whisper, "Richard, it can't really be you..."

“No.” Richard shook his head. “Although I wish him dead, killing a duke in this way would only make me an enemy of all the nobles and would also go against my beliefs. I’m not that irrational. I swear to God, this has nothing to do with me.”

“Okay, I believe you.” Wayne nodded.

Wayne had to stand on the side of the nobility and confirm Richard's stance on behalf of the Wincher family. After all, there was an unspoken understanding between the nobility and the royal family. Even if they were constantly fighting and having disagreements in private, escalating to the point of assassination by any means necessary would only cause everyone in the kingdom to live in fear.

But Richard's mind wasn't on that. "Wayne, do you really think this was just a coincidence?"

“Since Lord Bulwer has said so, it must mean that the investigation has been completed and there are no problems.” Wayne looked puzzled. “You think something’s wrong?”

Richard nodded. "Duke Willen's mansion has guards, servants, and maids, so why did they only discover the flames when they were already leaping out of the house? And in the end, only he and his butler died in such a huge fire. As far as I know, they are both mages with considerable skill. This is really quite strange."

Wayne remained silent for a moment, seemingly deep in thought.

Chapter 743 The Limitations of [Wayne]

“I need to go and find out what’s going on from Lord Bulwer,” Richard suddenly said.

“I think it would be best if you refrained from making any moves for the time being. Although I trust you, given your good reputation, so many people in the academy are already suspicious of you, and it will probably be even more so with His Majesty the King. Lord Bulwer is a loyal minister whom His Majesty the King trusts deeply, and he will investigate and report to His Majesty the King.”

Wayne instinctively tried to dissuade him.

Although he had already rehearsed his story with Bulwer, it wouldn't be difficult to deceive His Majesty the King with Bulwer's cooperation. However, it was hard to say what unexpected changes might occur if Richard interfered.

Richard shook his head and insisted, "I have to go and check."

After saying that, he immediately got up and left. Wayne wanted to stop him but couldn't think of any excuse. Just then, another figure blocked his way.

"Uh, Miss Ge Li."

However, she didn't seem to be interested in casual conversation; she simply shoved a stack of documents into Wayne's arms. "The chairperson asked me to pass on these club materials to you. Fill them out and submit them to the school council yourself."

After saying that, she turned and left, but Richard had already gone far away after this interruption.

With a sigh, Wayne flipped through the documents in his hand and found a cargo transportation report from the Edgeworth Family Merchant Guild tucked inside.

【The Whale Song Fleet, Captain Reynolds is at your service.】

Wayne realized it was a fleet under the name of the Geli family's merchant guild. Turning the document over, he found contact information on the back, and the meeting place was a popular tavern near the Royal Capital's market district. He silently put the document away.

There is still a lot I need to do.

That night.

With some time still remaining before curfew, the early nightfall, a time of respite from the daytime hustle and bustle, is naturally the prime business period for taverns. Iron and Blood Tavern isn't the most stylish or the most profitable tavern in the capital, but it's definitely the most popular.

Almost all merchants and caravans from other places who come to the capital to trade goods will stay at the Iron and Blood Tavern for a period of time. Due to the complexity of the flow of people, it has naturally become a distribution center for trade information from all over the Kingdom of Lornes.

Captain Reynolds of the Whale Song fleet was also among those who came to the capital with a shipment of goods. Of course, as long-term partners of the Edgeworth family, they did not need to painstakingly compare prices and find buyers. They only needed to transport designated goods for the Edgeworth family's merchant guild between different ports to earn a considerable commission.

After receiving the money, going to a tavern for a hearty meal was a regular activity.

People who live at sea for a long time tend to have a carefree nature of living for the moment, since they never know which voyage might be the last. The sea is a more unpredictable enemy than the sky. Reynolds fought against the waves for thirty years, worked with six different ocean fleets before finally building his own fleet and making a name for himself, so he naturally had a deep understanding of this.

In the past, he would have already indulged in sensual pleasures with his crew, but at this moment, even the most intoxicating wine and singing girls in the tavern could not make him relax.

Logically, the handover of goods with the Edgeworth family's trading company shouldn't require his personal presence in the capital; such matters could be handled entirely in Dapros Port, north of the capital. However, this time seemed unusual. He had been cooperating with the Edgeworth family's trading company for over a decade, and this was the first time he had seen the high-ranking director of the trading company, based in Dapros Port, entrust him with a secret mission so solemnly.

He no longer possessed the adventurous courage he once had. Now nearing fifty, he only wanted to earn some money peacefully and settle down in his new home in Port Dapros. However, the patronage of a high-ranking noble family was an infallible passport through the complex port inspections and customs procedures, thus he had to maintain a good relationship with the Edgeworth family.

After careful consideration, he decided to accept the commission.

He brought only three trusted men, who were waiting for his guests at the Iron and Blood Tavern as instructed.

A short while later, a man wearing a black hood sat down at his table. "A glass of Starlight Fruit Wine, on the rocks. And a glass of Crimson Dawn for the gentleman next to me."

The tavern was crowded, and the waiter didn't seem to notice that another customer had arrived. He simply noted down the customer's request politely and then immediately turned his attention to the next table of customers.

Reynolds was on edge. The other person had given the agreed-upon code, and it seemed to be the person he was waiting for tonight.

How many people are going to board the ship?