Chapter 174 (1): It’s Nice to Be Young

Wayne turned to look at Filomina. She didn’t seem to be joking, but he couldn’t figure out what she was thinking. Remembering what he had learned from Kristen, he made an educated guess that this woman was trouble and planned to mess things up in Windsor!

He rose to his feet and kept his distance from Filomina. “Earlier, the Vice Minister introduced me as not only a member of the Ministry of Magic, but also part of the Tulip Families. I was born to serve the royal family and would die as one. I will not betray the ministry to join the Church of Moonlight.”

He puffed out his chest and said proudly, “In my years of pursuing magic, I’ve learned to recognize two things: the Queen on the sillings, and the Queen with a crown.”

“So you’re asking for a higher price?”

“Money’s not the issue here,” Wayne retorted. “It’s a metaphor, don’t you get it? I mean that I’m loyal and serve only Her Majesty the Queen.”

“Yeah, so very loyal!” Filomina chuckled. There was a high percentage of free mages in the Windsor Ministry of Magic, and most mages hailing from the Tulip Families didn’t follow a set religion. Their faiths were dictated by business, and naturally, their loyalty always came with a price tag.

“As long as you understand,” Wayne said.

“So? How much do I have to pay to make you think of the Queen on the silling bill when you look at the Queen wearing a crown?” Filomina asked, unconcerned. She crossed her long legs on the sofa. The silk bathrobe slid down, revealing more of her fair skin.

Nice legs. They’ll look deadly with garter socks! Auntie, let me take you to a stocking store tomorrow.

Wayne glanced at her and shook his head. “Thank you for your generosity, but unfortunately, you’re too old for me. I’m young enough to deserve a much younger woman. I suggest you send someone else.”

Kristen, who was also at the airport, would be a nice candidate!

Filomina’s smile stiffened. She never intended to seduce him in that sense. As the District High Reverend, even if she were going to set up a honey trap, she wouldn’t be the one to do the seducing. The bathrobe just slid down on its own.

Still, Wayne’s response was infuriating. She wasn’t old. Her charisma...

Anyhow, she was too experienced to let that break her composure. She calmly and slowly covered her legs with the bathrobe. “Wayne, you’re disgruntled about the Ministry of Magic because they blamed you for saving me, which shows that you feel no loyalty to the organization. The Church of Moonlight is different. We encourage and applaud kindness.”

You sure? Without the beauty filter, the white moon doesn’t seem very attractive.

“I told you,” said Wayne. “Even without my post at the Ministry of Magic, I’m still part of a Tulip Family and will only ever be loyal to Her Majesty. Even if I agree to serve the Church of Moonlight, you won’t trust me. Please stop bringing it up. It’ll be better for both of us.”

He was not going to accept the offer. He believed that Filomina was trying to extract information about the Ministry of Magic from him, or perhaps she, confident in her charisma, wanted to turn him into a simp for her revenge on the ministry. It would be too troublesome!

He suggested that Filomina target someone else. Wayne only ever wanted to latch onto the goddesses’ legs and work hard on his studies. He wanted nothing to do with others’ bad blood and grievances.

Filomina frowned. She was being serious about stealing Wayne from the Ministry of Magic. From personal experience, she knew how terrible a threat the corruption of Astral Beasts posed, and thus she understood his value. Whether for herself or the greater good, she wanted to recruit him.

Based on his complaint about the Ministry of Magic, she believed that it was possible. She only had to make an offer he couldn’t refuse.

So name your price!

The atmosphere was awkward while both waited for the other to state their conditions. Time passed in their meaningless small talk. Half an hour later, Filomina glanced at the clock.

“Let’s call it a day. I’ve had a good time. We’ll continue tomorrow.”

Stopping after half an hour? Who are you looking down on?

Wayne knew what Filomina was doing—she was trying to make the Ministry of Magic suspect him, but she went about it in such a childish way and put so little effort into it. If he were in her place, he would’ve covered the target’s face in kiss prints, or at least left one on the collar!

Before he took his leave, Filomina smiled sweetly and listed while counting with her fingers, “Tomorrow, treat me to afternoon tea. Then take me on a tour around the famous sites in Londan. At night, I want to go to a musical. Don’t be late.”

You’re demanding!

Wayne huffed and responded, “I’ll make sure to complete the mission, but please behave yourself in the meantime and work with me.”

“That’ll depend on your performance.” Filomina looked at her nails and acted coquettishly. “If you fail to make me happy, I can’t guarantee what complaints I’ll make to the Ministry of Magic.”

“Is this how you treat your savior?”

Filomina fell silent for a moment. “I represent the church, so I can’t just keep silent.”

“Then I have nothing else to ask.”

The barriers dissolved. After Wayne left the manor, Filomina summoned the twins. “Have Dorrin look into who he is and which Tulip Family he is a member of.”

She then added, “Tell her that it’s my first mission for her, so don’t disappoint me.”

***

The second morning, Filomina arrived at the Church of Moonlight’s base. Priestess Dorrin led the welcoming party. Behind her stood her children—her adoptive sons and daughters. More than twenty were present, and there were more of them.

Due to the restrictions of the royal family, Dorrin was the only Gold-rank mage serving as the face of the Church of Moonlight in Windsor. Even though the royal family was going to loosen its restrictions, the church was still limited to having a Gold-rank mage serving as the top leader in the nation, which severely underrepresented the Church of Moonlight’s power.

The headquarters of the church believed the Ministry of Magic’s mistakes would be a chance to force the royal family to make concessions, allowing them to appoint a legendary mage to the Windsor district. That was the headquarters’ mission for Filomina, but she personally didn’t care much about it; her primary goal was to avenge the companions she had lost.

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Filomina received Dorrin alone in her office. Dorrin handed over the intel she had collected and explained the struggles the church had been through. To summarize her long spiel, it was about how the royal family had cruelly abused the honest Moonlight followers, and now that the High Reverend was here, the Windsor branch had hope.

The flattery was nothing new, and Dorrin was only reiterating her stance; she wanted nothing but to support the High Reverend and would do any hard work required of her without complaints.

Filomina lowered the documents, a little dumbfounded. “Is the intelligence accurate?”

According to Dorrin’s investigation, Wayne was the heir of the Lando family and Auston’s illegitimate son, as well as a student of the District High Reverend of the Church of Nature, Silvia Auston. In the church, he held the position of an archdeacon. What was even more absurd was his age. He was unbelievably young, not even twenty-five.

Filomina had thought that Wayne was at least thirty-five or even forty, around her age. But...

Was the Wayne in the report the same Wayne she knew? Was there a mistake? How could a Gold-rank mage be so young? He was still a child!

Yes, a child!

Her mouth twitched. No wonder Wayne thought she was too old for him. She was much older than he was.

Dorrin nodded to confirm that the intelligence was accurate. If she missed anything, it would be because of the limited influence the Church of Moonlight held in Windsor, stopping her from digging deeper.

“He also funded the Church of Moonlight’s construction of a new base...”

Filomina narrowed her eyes with a smirk. She knew it. Members of the Ministry of Magic held no faith.

“Mr. Wayne only invested in building the library, though,” Dorrin added. “He likely didn’t know about the agreement between the church and the royal family.”

How could he not know?

Filomina smothered a scoff and said, “Who’s the one who raised funds from him? Call them over. I have questions for them.”

“That...” Dorrin hesitated. Respectfully, she said, “Kristen is my adoptive daughter. Her faith is steadfast, and her loyalty to the church is true. I hope you won’t find fault in her, High Reverend.”

“Don’t worry, I’m only asking a few questions.”

“A moment, please.”

Ten minutes later, Kristen followed Dorrin into the office, bowing meekly in greeting. Filomina only realized then that she had seen Kristen at the airport. Looking at the girl’s youthful face, she couldn’t help but lament in her head.

It’s nice to be young!