Chapter 155: Auston - Damn Scum

“I’ve said this much. You understand, don’t you? So, can you do it or not?” Auston played with the silver coin while looking outside at the Financial Town.

Wayne’s eyes twitched. “I more or less understand, but perhaps I’ve misunderstood since it’s quite unbelievable. After all, our relationship... You know what I mean.”

“You haven’t misunderstood. That’s exactly what I’m implying!” Auston said with strong emphasis and huffed, adding, “Don’t flatter yourself, though. I wouldn’t have picked you if I had another choice.”

“Why would you not have another choice? Veronica’s capable.”

“She won’t do. She’s too kindhearted, and she took after her mother in terms of her eye for people.”

What, and I’m not kindhearted?

Wayne was displeased with the comment. He would suggest that Auston ask around in the villain faction. Everyone knew that he was an honest, trustworthy—oh, the villains wouldn’t know. The Thousand-Eyed Demon and Sebastian, for example, didn’t even know how they had met their demise. He supposed he wasn’t good in the typical sense, given his track record of cheating villains.

Looking at the result rather than the process, though, wasn’t he upholding justice? Only he hadn’t gone after the monsters while standing in the light.

While Wayne disapproved of Auston’s comment, Auston believed he had been accurate in his judgment. He glanced at Wayne and said with a frown, “You have the stone tablet, don’t you?”

The question hit Wayne like a ton of bricks. He frowned deeply. “The stone tablet? The Church of Death must have taken it. They suddenly went mad.”

“Spare your lies. You’re the only conscious survivor, so you’re able to say whatever you want. Based on what I know about you, though, that can’t be the true story,” Auston said calmly. “I don’t know how you managed to kill a Gold-rank mage. That’s your secret, and I’m not interested in finding out. It also doesn’t matter if you have the stone tablet. I have no intention of taking it from you. If you claim that you don’t have it, sure, let’s pretend that’s the case.”

...Bro, do you know how valuable the stone tablet is?

Wayne kept his poker face. Judging by what Auston had said, he likely didn’t know.

“The Department of Magic was going to question you, but I intervened. Keep the stone tablet hidden and don’t do anything unnecessary. The matter ends here.” Auston paused. “And the thing with Bruce, too. Don’t ever use that identity again.”

Wayne broke into a cold sweat. He didn’t understand how Auston knew so much. It wasn’t surprising that Auston would know about the stone tablet since Kael could have informed the Free Mage Alliance, but what about Bruce? Was there a spy of the Free Mage Alliance in the Church of Heavenly Father? Was it Atori or Gunther?

Oh, you two hypocrites betrayed the church and heaven!

On second thought, though, it was unlikely to be those two, or Auston would’ve known about the mess of Wayne being mistaken for a reincarnated angel.

“Curious why I know so much?” Auston held his silver coin. Before Wayne could deny it, he said, “It’s not that I’m well-informed, but that you’ve been attracting too much attention. You thought you had been hiding yourself well, but every one of your moves was under scrutiny.”

He stared at Wayne and said, “Someone meant for bigger things won’t put themselves in the line of danger, nor will they stand under the spotlight. Like the case with the Tulip Families, we aren’t the ones monopolizing the different industries, but the royal family. They have never let go of their authority. They continue to rule over the country!”

“Mr. Auston, how have I exposed myself as Bruce?” Wayne wanted to know the answer so that he wouldn’t repeat the mistake.

“You used Blood Magic. No dark mages in Londan can do that. The last time the Blood Tyrant descended was on Dragon Heart Island, and you were there. It’s as simple as that.”

“There’s no proof...”

“Once doubt arose, the crime was already pinned on you. It doesn’t matter if there’s evidence. I stopped that from getting traced back to you, too. As I said, you’re Silvia’s student. If you get into trouble, it’ll be a real headache for her, and I don’t want that.”

Really? We’re so similar. You can’t be the loyal sort!

Wayne questioned that statement. Judging by Veronica’s complaints and the gossip he had heard, Auston was a typical playboy who had bedded most of the famous socialites in Londan. A pervert should just act like a pervert! Why would he pretend to be a good husband?

At this point, Wayne no longer doubted that Auston wanted him to be his successor. He had already dealt with Wayne’s trouble twice. He would have to be insane to clean up the mess for an outsider repeatedly.

Still, it was confusing.

“Mr. Auston, I don’t understand...”

“Just call me Auston. Address me like that in public going forward.”

“That won’t be a problem.” Wayne shrugged, going for the truth. “You know what I want with Veronica, and given your eye for judging people, you should’ve seen how flexible my exceptional integrity is. Choosing me as the successor will be akin to pushing Veronica into a burning pit. Are you... able to accept that?”

(눈皿눈)

That was why he wouldn’t have picked Wayne if he had another choice!

“Auston?”

“Even if I don’t pick you, Veronica will still jump into the burning pit,” Auston said with a dark look on his face.

“Are you so confident in me?” Wayne puffed out his chest, feeling encouraged by his father-in-law’s recognition.

Auston fell silent. Based on the success story twenty years ago, his baby girl was very likely to repeat her mother’s mistake.

When Auston pursued Silvia, Silvia’s master had vehemently disapproved and tried every way possible to stop him, playing the role that Auston was playing now. The old man almost popped a vessel when Silvia gave up on becoming a Holy Maiden and got lured into marriage by the scum. Thus, he returned to the headquarters of the Church of Nature and never contacted Silvia again.

Now, Auston was the old man, and Veronica was playing her mother’s role. Wayne, of course, was the new scum in the story. It wasn’t so much that Auston was confident in Wayne but in himself. The damn scum would surely get the last laugh.

“I didn’t want to seek you out, no matter how you resemble me...” Auston skipped the grating part and continued, “It’s only after I confirmed you were Bruce that I reluctantly approved of you. You may be terrible in many ways...”

As he spoke, he noticed Wayne’s slightly upcurved lips, making his expression darken further. It felt worse than death to praise Wayne!

“Auston?”

“You may be terrible in many ways, but there must be even more terrible things about you that others haven’t found out!” Auston huffed.

Got it. You’re praising me for hiding my true nature well!

Wayne shrugged, interpreting that as a compliment.

“Take the document on the table and follow me. In the next few hours, I have a talk to give and a few business partners to meet. You’ll stay close. You don’t have to talk, but you can’t walk away.”

Auston didn’t want to stay in the same room with Wayne alone. With every breath he took, he smelled the bastard’s scumminess. It made him feel like the air quality of Londan had hit an all-time low.

Wayne took the document and followed Auston. To be honest, he only wanted to pursue magic and wasn’t that interested in business. However, it was remarkable that his relationship with Auston had improved, and it was fun to see Auston scowl. He would play his secretary for the day.

Moreover, becoming the successor of the Lando family would give him support in Windsor, making life a lot easier.

Thinking of that, though, he felt his chest tighten with worry. He wasn’t a Windsor citizen, but a spy from the neighboring country, Franc. Did Auston know?

The original Wayne hadn’t been that good a spy, and his partner, Lily, wasn’t a mage, which stopped her from being a top agent. They were no more than cannon fodder who would never achieve anything unless they got lucky. Auston couldn’t have neglected to investigate Wayne when he was going to succeed one of the Tulip Families...

Could the old man be a spy, too?

Wayne’s eyes widened. Franc’s intelligence agency was incredible. They even planted their spy in the Tulip Families, who were supposed to serve Her Majesty!

What would be next? Replace the bloodline of the royal family in the same way?

***

For the next three hours, Wayne followed Auston around with a poker face like Megan’s, pretending to be his secretary.

In the lecture hall, Auston pontificated about his grand plan for his business, garnering waves of thunderous applause from the audience. Silvia was also clapping, but it was for Wayne’s sake. She smiled like she was touched.

Why? He’s pushing your daughter into a burning pit!

Oh? You’re the main culprit? Fine.

The elites who had met Wayne deeply regretted their indifference earlier. Damn bigshot pretending to be a newcomer in the field. Was it fun to fool the novices? They should’ve known. Everyone in this venue was either powerful or elite. A nobody couldn’t have secured an invitation.

They messed up... Sob...

The socialites kept glancing at Wayne, speculating about his relationship with Auston. Since they hadn’t invested in him earlier, it wouldn’t work well for them to approach him now.

They also messed up... Sob...

After the talk, Auston left the room amid impassioned applause and took Wayne to three different meeting rooms to meet his business partners. The discussions didn’t matter since they were conversations that could’ve taken place via phone. Auston only met his partners in person to let them see Wayne.

This gathering was essentially meant for Auston to show that the pretty boy following him around was someone important.

Yes, we can see that your illegitimate son is being legitimized!

As expected of you. Your words are law in your household. Even when you’re recognizing your bastard son in public, your wife still claps cheerfully.

“Auston, that was a nice speech. Are you sure you won’t work with me?”

Two men and one woman walked over along the corridor. Ignoring the busty woman, the two men were likely father and son, given their similar upper faces. The younger one was a good-looking blond man with blue eyes and an elegant temperament, very much like a noble of old Londan. The older one had maintained himself quite well, too, looking rather handsome for a middle-aged man, only his hairline was receding.

The older man seemed to hold quite a high status in Londan if the way he called Auston by name was anything to go by, and he didn’t act timidly like others did.

“Barney, I don’t remember giving you an invitation.” Auston frowned at the older man before nodding at the younger man, who had respectfully greeted him. ‘Owen, you’ve been doing well recently, stealing quite a lot of business from me.“

The young man named Owen bowed his head humbly. “You chose to give up on those parts of your business, Mr. Lando. I only picked up what you left behind.”

“Hahaha, so you stole his business. It is what it is. Auston isn’t going to hold a grudge against you for pocket money.” Barney patted his son proudly, eyeing Wayne with curiosity. “Aren’t you going to introduce us, Auston?”

“He’s a younger member of the family,” Auston said simply, not planning to promote Wayne now. It wasn’t yet time.

“Younger member? He’s your bastard son, isn’t he?” Barney said sarcastically. “What, are you so desperate for an heir that you’d go for a bastard?”

Wayne rolled his eyes. Aside from their skin color, hair color, facial features, hairstyle, clothing, beauty standards, and personal habits, how was he similar to Auston? Bastard son? That man had to be blind!

“He’s not my son.” Auston scowled. He would like that to be true since that would make Wayne the perfect successor, and Veronica wouldn’t get together with a scum.

“Fine, if you say so.” Barney smirked. “It’s not for you to decide, at the end of the day. The royal family has to approve...”

In his eyes, Wayne and Auston were cut out of the same cloth. While they looked proper, their integrity didn’t extend beyond their appearance, and their righteous appearance belied their questionable moral codes.

Yeah, the more Barney looked at them, the more similar they seemed! He wouldn’t believe that they weren’t father and son.

“Reconsider my proposal for a partnership from before, Auston. That’ll benefit both of us.”

“No need. I have a better option.” Auston rejected Barney bluntly, leaving with Wayne and Megan.

Hearing the grunted ‘fuck’ from Barney, Wayne asked, “Who’s that old man? Why does he have so little hair? Is he not cold? The last time I met someone that arrogant, they made headlines the next day.”

“What’s the headline?”

“Drunk driving. The car drove right into the River Thames, leaving only a wig at the scene.”

“You must have remembered wrong.” Auston snorted derisively, stopping to glance at Wayne. “I’ve read that story, too. There was no car accident, and only a barrel of cement was found. The dead was a scum who deserved his fate!”

Wayne scratched his nose. He thought they were doing this together. Why was Auston suddenly reflecting on himself?

One plus one is greater than two!

Megan thought with exasperation.

They were speaking loudly to make sure that the father and son behind them could hear clearly. Compared to their loud threat, Barney’s curse seemed like child’s play.

Auston hadn’t planned to do that. He was more inclined to scheme and take someone by surprise, but somehow, he ended up playing along with Wayne.

After taking a few steps, Megan answered Wayne’s questions. “That’s Barney Boswell and his son, Owen Boswell. The Boswells are one of the Tulip Families, mainly operating in the forest and mining industries. Their influence reached an all-time high with the rise of steam engines. They started investing in other fields and are a rival of the Lando family.”

The Boswell family specialized in energy. The arrival of coal allowed two generations of their members to accumulate a great fortune, but as the world slowly transitioned to using electricity, the position of coal as an energy source became awkward.

Coal wasn’t useless since it could be converted into electricity, which was convenient to transmit and use. However, they weren’t that viable since coal would be exhausted sooner or later. The business couldn’t rely on an exhaustible resource. It had to transform, or it would one day meet its death.

The Boswell family didn’t go further into energy in their transformation. Refusing to invest in petroleum, they chose to enter the military market, hoping to get a finger into the pie for the coming world war.

Due to their late entry into Windsor, the pie had all been divided. They could only work with foreign businesses that were friendly to them. Their main partner was the Prukk Heavy Industry[1] of Prussia. They specialized in producing high-quality steel with a good reputation and were especially good at manufacturing cannons and tanks.

However, a foreign company couldn’t be trusted. The Boswell family wanted to establish themselves in Windsor in case their partner turned on them.

The Boswell family was perceptive enough to predict that a war would break out, and a world war at that, but on the flip side, they wholeheartedly believed that petroleum stood no chance of becoming the primary energy of the future.

“The forest industry and the mining industry are the Boswell family’s cash cows. All this time, they have been obsessed with magic, too. Many of their family members are competent...”

When it seemed like Wayne wasn’t interested in the Boswells, Auston smothered a scoff and pressed, “Barney once proposed marriage between his son and my daughter, hoping to facilitate further partnership between our two families. I turned him down.”

(▔皿▔)

The Boswell family? I’ll remember you!

1. A reference to the Krupp family, known for manufacturing weapons for Germany in the twentieth century. ☜