Chapter 200 (1): If It Works, Work It to Death

Wayne’s Residence, night.

Vera hummed as she passed the study, but when she reached the end of the hallway, she tiptoed back and plastered herself against the door, holding her breath while eavesdropping. There was no soundproofing barrier in place, so she could clearly hear the sounds of tutoring and discussion inside.

It was all very proper, no moaning or groaning.

Vera frowned in confusion. Her instinct told her that something was seriously wrong with Senior Kristen lately, but her multiple investigations never yielded anything unusual.

It couldn’t be right! Perhaps Senior Kristen was a good girl who neither competed nor fought for anything, but she was beautiful and didn’t know how to say no. With them spending so much time together every day, it didn’t make sense that Wayne wouldn’t have made a move on her.

I’m definitely missing something!

Vera decided to listen longer. The moment she found evidence, she would immediately report to Veronica. With the two strong contenders clashing, she would reap the benefits in the end.

That was when footsteps came from the staircase. Veryl approached with a smile and stopped at the hallway corner, quietly watching Vera as she crouched against the door to eavesdrop. She smiled awkwardly, pointing at the room and making two gestures before quickly fleeing. Veryl shook his head, still smiling. Now that he had done his job, he returned to the first floor.

Inside the study, the respectful student had pinned the tutor against the textbook, traversing the mountains and valley to express his yearning.

Kristen was both amused and exasperated. Pushing the pervert’s face away from her chest, she pointed at the door. “Why didn’t you want Vera to hear? Do you have plans for her, too?”

As expected of Senior Kristen, she’s quick.

Wayne shook his head with a serious expression. “You misunderstood, Kristen. Even a blind person could tell that it was Vera who had plans for me. If not for my impressive self-control, she would’ve taken my first kiss instead of you.”

“So?”

“So, Vera lost her parents at a young age. She’s so pitiful and lovely that if she learns about our relationship, she’ll be heartbroken. I can’t bear to hurt her like that, which is why I’ll hide this as long as possible.” Wayne buried his face back into her chest and lied blatantly.

Kristen’s face gradually reddened. Muttering ‘liar’ under her breath, she had to push hard to get Wayne away from her. Fixing her disheveled clothes, she told her student to listen properly and not get handsy with his teacher during class.

She knew what he was thinking perfectly, but her primary rival, Veronica, was destined to lose, and Vera wasn’t much of a threat. That put Kristen in a good enough mood that she didn’t expose his lies.

Well, it was also because she shared the sentiment. She was so kind-hearted that, despite holding an absolute advantage, she kept her situation hidden to spare Vera’s feelings, hoping that Vera would figure it out herself and quietly withdraw from the competition. If someone like Vera became the mistress of the Wayne family, Wayne would be more than two-timing her.

“High Reverend asked me to give you a message. She said that she had something important to discuss with you and wants you to visit the library when you are able.” After extending the class by thirty minutes, Kristen finally finished with today’s lesson.

What else did she say?

Wayne raised an eyebrow. What did Filomina want with him? Was it because it was getting cold, and she wanted something hot?

Wait, there’s something else!

He suddenly remembered Filomina mentioning her advancement to Legendary rank and the need for his assistance. It was about time for that to happen.

Anything magic-related made him eager. “I’ll arrange my schedule. Tell the High Reverend that I’m at her beck and call. I’ll even stay up all night if needed.”

“What does the High Reverend want with you?” Kristen asked curiously.

“What else could it be? To seduce me, obviously.”

“Is it about the Ministry of Magic?” Kristen didn’t believe it was seduction. Wayne’s words had to be interpreted in reverse. If he said it was seduction, there definitely wasn’t any seduction involved. It had to be something important.

Besides, even if there were an attempt, the High Reverend’s tricks would be too amateurish to be called seduction.

“More or less...”

Wayne didn’t go into it. He was still the Ministry of Magic’s ambassador, but he didn’t have to serve Filomina every day since he had just exposed Obed, and the Church of Moonlight was busy negotiating with the ministry.

He had performed quite well previously. During his time as a guide, he had kept Filomina’s mouth shut, giving the Ministry of Magic breathing room at the negotiation table.

If it works, work it to death!

As expected, the mission to improve the ministry’s image as its ambassador had become a long-term assignment. Representing the ministry’s goodwill, Wayne was to connect with Filomina and change the attitude of the Church of Moonlight through her. If possible, the ministry hoped that the connection he built would be a physical one that was lasting, effective, and deep enough to reach the soul.

The best-case scenario would be replicating Obed’s case, turning Filomina into another Dorrin.

“Oh, there’s something else.” Kristen opened the drawer and pulled a poster out coyly, unfolding it before Wayne. The movie

King Kong

was about to premiere!

The rushed, shoddy production started in August and was completed after two months. The movie was set to release on December fifteenth. The newspapers and radio were all running promotions, and the movie was even having a grand simultaneous release in Windsor, Franc, and Prussia.

It was shoddy by Wayne’s standards. He thought the props were mediocre, the lead actors unprofessional, the script a patchwork of rewriting and revision, and the director unwise in trying to create a commercial film with arthouse techniques... With all those factors combined, he believed that the movie was destined to flop.

Setting aside Wayne’s perspective as an outsider, a monster movie in itself was rare in this era. There was no reason to nitpick this much.

If you’re so good at nitpicking, go pick bones out of fish. Why are you watching movies?

That would be the common people’s reaction if they heard Wayne’s complaint.

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Auston had made a huge investment in the movie. At the time, he had found Wayne disagreeable in every way. Though that hadn’t changed, their relationship had seen some improvement.

It was funny. Back then, Auston had tried every method to drive Wayne away, starting with a honey trap; for his goal, he chose the celebrity Lily Haworth as the female lead, sparing no expense. In fact, he never intended to make money from the film.

Of course, he would claim that he was trying to better the future of the industry with his investment.

Ironically, Franc’s intelligence agency hadn’t invested much in Lily, not even telling her the truth about the world. She was cannon fodder no matter how one looked at it. To Franc, it would be wonderful if she succeeded, but if not, they wouldn’t lose anything. It was meant to be a gamble.

However, the cannon fodder somehow caught Auston’s attention and successfully deceived the old scum. The root cause was that Megan didn’t sense any mana disturbance from Lily, thus considering her an ordinary person. Even when Lily purposefully approached Auston with obvious ulterior motives, Megan assumed it was normal behavior from a star trying to advance her career.

Anyway, Auston had spent a lot of money to show his wife and daughter Scumbag Jr.’s ugly side, hoping to tarnish Wayne’s image as thoroughly as possible through the big screen. Although Auston had changed his mind later, there was no way to recover spoiled milk. He had already invested the money. Thus, the malicious plan led to the creation of the massive monster movie.

Wayne looked at the movie poster with an awkward expression. Wallace probably wanted to flatter him, so he, the third male lead, was featured in the poster instead of the second male lead. He took up so much space that only the first male lead, the gorilla, and the female lead, Lily, were more prominent.

It had something to do with Wallace, but the most important reason was actually the funder.

After confirming Wayne as heir, Auston re-examined the movie and found Wayne’s character too flat. Thus, he had the director hire male and female body doubles to reshoot several scenes. Although those scenes only featured the backs of the two characters, the addition managed to create a classic portrayal of a man giving his life for love.

In this era, Wayne’s role would be no less impactful than the male lead of a certain movie about a sinking ship.

Auston kept his contribution hidden. It was all for the family. He hadn’t told Wayne about the plot change, so when Kristen teased Wayne about it, he felt embarrassed.

Kristen covered her mouth and giggled, asking about the filming process. Then she patted him on the shoulder and said that he was going to become a movie star. Wayne blushed. Wanting to get that smug look off Kristen’s face, he shut her up by grabbing for her heart.

When he went harder out of embarrassment-induced irritation, Kristen hurriedly set up a soundproofing barrier. She was still too kind; she should’ve taken the opportunity to shout and stake her claim.

Twenty minutes later, Wayne left the study in a refreshed state and returned to his bedroom to begin cultivation. Having gathered both obelisks in Londan, he no longer had to worry about being caught. If the Book of Seals weren’t too big to hide in his chest, he would’ve been absorbing elements twenty-four seven.

“But first...”

He grasped the antique silver coin and started feasting.