Chapter 192 (1): Once This Lord Reports to Her Majesty, You Will Be Punished for the Crime of Contempt

November twenty-fourth.

Cathedral Train Station.

In the departure hall, the investigation team, consisting of a couple of dozen people, prepared to board the train with their luggage. Wayne was their leader, and Mona was his secretary. The rest of the members were from the investigation division of the Ministry of Magic.

Although it was known as a subordinate division under the ministry, it was in reality a group of contractors working for the ministry while receiving a salary from Auston, not part of the organization in an official capacity.

As the heir of the Lando family, Wayne was effectively their boss.

The members each had a different role to play, including accountants and other administrative positions, armed bodyguards, and mages Auston had paid to train. It sounded like a feudal lord’s private army.

Of course, it wasn’t that since times were different, and the country had transitioned into a constitutional monarchy. There was no feudal lord or powerful clans[1], and no one would be considered as owning a private army. Auston called them employees of his security company instead.

Each Tulip Family had hired temporary contractors like the Lando family; only their specialties differed depending on the field the family concentrated on, for flexibility’s sake!

The Collins family, specializing in magic, had Yvette teaching students as a legendary mage, and her students went on to train more mages.

The Fleming family, a military family, had their generals recruit and promote talented people, who would thus devote their all to their benefactors to pay them back.

The Julian family, selling tobacco and lottery, was as influential in the business world as the Lando family. There was thus no shortage of people with vested interests who would support the Julians for their own benefits.

Each Tulip Family had created an ecosystem—or a complex web of interest groups. In this changing time, these ecosystems embodied not the establishment but the rising democracy, overturning the rule of the nobility. They kept abreast with the times and rode the trends rather than going against them.

Anyhow, Wayne was currently looking around for the mustachioed man with his secretary on his left and his dog on his right. He was pretty sure that the original Wayne’s handler would’ve escaped from prison again.

He cackled. Should he call the police?

With his knighthood and his order to bring about the downfall of a family under the name of the Queen, he made sure to take his watchdog and watchowl along to paint the right picture, fully embodying the role of the ruler’s henchman[2].

The dog was a Doberman, Wayne’s most loyal servant, Do. The owl was a snowy owl and a former pet of the Goddess of Sun, now named Snow. It was a breed that was active during the day.

Since Snow was a normal-looking white bird that needn’t be concealed, Mona carried it in a cage publicly. Do, though, was undead. She was a walking paranormal activity, whether she was out and about during the day or at night.

After encountering the Ministry of Magic’s dragon-blooded mutants and the twins that the Church of Moonlight had artificially produced, Wayne was no longer worried about bringing Do around. In case anyone recognized her as the undead dog following the Death Knight, he gave Do plastic surgery.

He cut off his own flesh to fill Do’s skeleton, and then he gave her the skin of Moonlight, the hair of Nature, and the eyes of Sun. With the three procedures done, Wayne could even convince others that Do was a fairy dog.

At least Mona bought it.

Speaking of the devil, the mustachioed man showed up under Wayne’s expectant gaze. Leading two sidekicks, he sauntered toward Wayne like a thug. His twisted expression and murderous look made it seem like he was going to eat him alive.

Sensing the hostility, Mona blocked the man with a frown. Do also growled lowly, baring her teeth to reveal her sharp fangs.

“It’s fine. He’s a friend.” Wayne patted Mona on the backside and Do on the head. With a smile, he said, “Some time ago, I borrowed money from him, but haven’t paid him back. He’s only seeking me out because he’s worried that I’ll take off without clearing the debt.”

As the heir of the filthy rich Lando family, money was the last thing Wayne would lack. No one was going to believe that explanation.

Mona frowned. “Boss, it is his honor to lend you money. He should be grateful.”

Do huffed in agreement.

“Borrowing money isn’t my goal, but a means to an end. I have a use for this man. Stay here. I’m going to have a chat with him.”

Wayne handed Mona the leash before making big strides toward the mustachioed man. He spread his arms as he got close, calling out passionately, “Mustache, it’s been a while.”

“Bastard, that’s not my name!”

The mustachioed man was arrested thrice, and his supervisor had to get him out every time. The fact that he hadn’t suffered from an anger-induced stroke showed how healthy he was, with a great lung capacity that kept him breathing.

He grabbed Wayne by the shoulder and pulled him to a corner of the departure hall furiously. His two lackeys stood watch, wearing all black with caps and sunglasses to match, deterring the other passengers from approaching.

This meeting should’ve been discreet, but these three men had to make a scene.

Wayne rolled his eyes. Although they were in Windsor and thus didn’t have to lie low, shouldn’t an intelligence agent abide by the work ethics of one?

“You’ve found yourself a good support, Wayne!” The mustachioed man’s eyes blazed with fury. Clearly, he had been thinking about introducing his fist to Wayne’s face for a long time.

“Wayne? Watch your tone when you talk to me.” Wayne parted his jacket to show off the medal of Knight Commander pinned to the chest area of his suit. Clapping the man’s shoulder, he lowered his voice and said, “It’s Sir Wayne for you. I have idle chats with Her Majesty and keep a friendly relationship with Cumming Fleming, your top leader. Were I in your shoes, I wouldn’t be raising my voice.”

The mustachioed man trembled with bottled-up rage, unable to speak. His face was flushed red.

“As long as you understand. I don’t want to make things ugly. Both of us are working hard for Windsor.” Wayne patted the man on the shoulder. “Keep up the good work. In the future, you may receive commendations from Her Majesty as I did.”

He turned to leave, but the mustachioed man intercepted him with bravado. “Wait!”

“What? Do you want to get back in prison?”

“Damn it, can you not mention that? Because of you, I’ve become a clown at MI6.”

Disgruntled, the mustachioed man explained why he had sought Wayne out several times. Wayne only realized then that their first meeting on the train was a pure coincidence. The man wasn’t there to rob the train, but to steal his target’s luggage under the guise of robbery. To cover up his identity, he had hired a few real robbers.

Then Wayne sent him to prison.

That was how the mustachioed man found out that Wayne had left Londan without permission rather than carrying out his duty according to his order, which led to their next two encounters.

Back in 1937, before Wayne transmigrated and before the original Wayne drew the attention of the Church of Death, the mustachioed man had sought out Wayne at his supervisor’s order, awakening the original Wayne’s dormant memory. The original Wayne was supposed to act as a double agent and provide Franc with a mix of truths and lies.

All this time, the original Wayne had considered himself a Francan man and harbored fantasies about his colleague, Lily. Due to the ‘friendship’ between Windsor and Franc over the past hundred years, he deeply resented Windsor for her ruthless conduct, swearing to return home and get married after the war.

Once his memory awakened, his stance did a one-eighty; as a Windsorian, he deeply resented Franc due to the two nations’ ‘friendship’. Conflicted, he chose inaction and kept the radio device hidden away. Outside of his occasional contact with Lily, he drank his days away in bars.

The mustachioed man had a keen eye and was able to tell what Wayne was thinking easily. With his supervisor’s permission, he prepared to educate Wayne and steer him back to the right path.

Then he got thrown into prison—thrice. He became the laughingstock of MI6.

He would like to get revenge, but the higher-ups wouldn’t allow him to. Their investigation showed that Wayne, the damn slouch, had somehow turned things around and secured the support of the Lando family. They should wait and see what Wayne could achieve rather than act recklessly.

After waiting and seeing, the mustachioed man realized that Wayne had become someone he couldn’t make a move against. Given Wayne’s elevated status, he had to be diplomatic.

He sucked in a deep breath and managed to smile. “Sir Wayne, your background makes it impossible for you to completely cut ties with MI6. Operation: Sleeper Agents has taken a long time to plan. Given that you are the most successful agent, Franc is bound to contact you. MI6 hopes that you’ll work with us and provide false information when necessary.”

The mustachioed man summarized the situation simply. While Wayne was from Windsor, Franc didn’t know. They believed that Wayne had become the heir of the Lando family by wooing the right woman. Thus, he was no longer a simple intelligence agent, but an invaluable one.

Whether luck and chance were at play, he had succeeded.

Wayne had become a great asset to the Francan intelligence agencies. The mustachioed man believed that in the near future, Franc would send someone to contact Wayne and give him the latest radio device.

1. The term used in the raw is 豪族 (hao-zu), from the Japanese term Gōzoku. They are powerful non-royal families ruling over a particular region before the 14th century. ☜

2. The original term used here is 鹰犬 (ying-chuan), which literally translates into eagle and dog. It’s a term used to describe someone who does the dirty work for those in power. While an owl isn’t an eagle, its Mandarin name is literally translated as cat-head eagle, thus making the pun work in the original. ☜