Chapter 302 (2): Everyone Has Good Traits, but not Those from Franc

Study, Lando Estate.

Auston sat on the sofa with a dark expression, listlessly flipping the antique silver coin in his hand. “I told you to borrow power outside the Tulip Families. Who told you to summon the High Reverend of the Church of Moonlight?”

“I didn’t summon her. I just made a phone call, and she showed up.”

“...”

(ꐦ乛‸乛)~~`✧´~~(ˉへ￣)

And you’re proud of yourself?

Yep.

Auston took a deep breath and said slowly, “Do you know that the Queen summoned me today to remind me that the Lando family is getting too close to the Church of Moonlight?”

“Is that so? I think the Lando family is even closer to the Church of Nature. I’ve barely done anything in comparison. You’ve even had a child with the Church of Nature’s High Reverend.”

“...”

“Besides, it was the Minister of Magic who told me to approach the High Reverend of the Church of Moonlight. I sacrificed myself for my country and completed the mission brilliantly. If the Queen has any complaints, she should take them to the Minister of Magic. Why would she come after me? Do honest people deserve to have guns pointed at them?”

Wayne’s tone grew increasingly aggrieved, as if he had suffered a great injustice. Auston couldn’t bear to listen to him further. He greatly regretted entrusting the mission to Wayne.

He should’ve known that the Darkness Knight alone couldn’t keep the Nature, Sun, Moonlight, Death, and Pale Knights in check, especially when the many knights in one wanted to become the head of the family.

“I have reaffirmed the Lando family’s loyalty to the Queen. Your closeness to the High Reverend of the Church of Moonlight is an asset to the Tulip Families, which belongs to the royal family.” Auston once again clarified his stance. “As for you, my message is simple: I am the head of the Lando family.”

“You’ll regret this, Auston!“

“We’ll talk about that when the day comes!”

Auston rolled his eyes at Wayne. “You have as much ambition as the Death Knight has flesh on his bones. I don’t understand why you insist on making things difficult for the royal family. What’s your goal? What are you after?”

“MI6’s training in my earlier life was absolutely inhuman.”

“The truth?”

“The Queen struck first.”

“If you’re dissatisfied with the Queen, take it out on the Princess. Why are you putting me on the spot?” Auston was exasperated. “Look at what you did last night. You publicly spread rumors that tainted the Queen’s reputation and spent the night at the residence of the Church of Moonlight’s High Reverend as the heir of a Tulip Family. How do you think the Queen would interpret it? How would she see the Lando family?”

“First, I didn’t spread rumors. You were the Queen’s ex, and you did go to the Ministry of Magic late at night for meetings. Even if my action constitutes slander, I was only sharing gossip that was already circulating. It’s not my personal belief.”

Wayne made a disapproving face. “Besides, you’re the head of the family, enjoying greater status than the heir, yet you stayed at the residence of the Church of Nature’s High Reverend. You even married her and had a child. What gives you the right to criticize me?”

What, can the heir not do what the head of the family does?

The family head is truly authoritarian!

“You’re twisting things around,” Auston said in a long-suffering tone.

“Did I utter a single lie?”

“...”

Auston waved his hand and dropped the troublesome topic. “I need to demonstrate loyalty to the Queen now to mend the rift between the Lando family and the royal family. It’s not something you should be involved in, and you won’t be entrusted with future missions.”

“You make it sound so noble. After I played the bad guy, you’ll be there to whisper sweet nothings. And you call yourself loyal?”

Wayne pursed his lips. Auston had cast him aside after using him and was gaslighting the Queen. Never mind the grievances Wayne had suffered; Auston was clearly abusing a widow and her children.

Wayne would tell Master about it with a healthy dose of embellishment, making sure that Auston would be launched into the sky.

***

Without family affairs to worry about, Wayne was happy to have some free time for his busy schedule.

If anyone asked, he would just say that he was busy.

Take High Reverend Filomina as an example. That night, Wayne had touched Filomina’s bottom in public, essentially making their relationship public. That led to quite a few side quests:

Overjoyed, Filomina generously rewarded Wayne, which took time.

After learning that her master and Wayne had done it, Kristen needed someone to comfort her and cheer her up, which took time.

If Kristen knew, Veronica and Vera would know soon, requiring advanced planning, which took time.

Moreover, Wayne had dates with his secretaries—both the angel and the succubus. Keeping things balanced required plenty of time.

Last but not least, he had found himself two new jobs:

First, studying ‘Princess Elizabeth’.

After regaining her freedom, Juno would deliver Elizabeth to a designated location every night. Elizabeth was the concrete product of an incomplete Philosopher’s Stone, combining an Astral being, Windsor Ministry of Magic’s work, and three modifications conducted by the Papal State. Moreover, its foundation was a legendary mage. It was thus a masterpiece of magical puppets with incredible research value.

The second job was research at the asylum. Planck had invited him, and they were currently negotiating salary and benefits.

Some time ago, Auston had returned the Forgotten Ones from the secret base. Although he and Wayne had both processed the Forgotten Ones to cover up the procedures done, it didn’t escape Planck’s keen eyes.

The old man was an expert in Forgotten Ones. With his wealth of experience, he only had to take a look at the Forgotten Ones to realize that they had been used repeatedly. Although they looked ninety percent new, they were worn out inside.

Planck had been investing in Wayne for a long time, increasing his investment and acting as one of the great suppliers to Wayne, only without shedding blood and tears.

Planck had his own goal. He hoped that Wayne’s original bloodline would confirm his theories and point him to a clear path.

Setting aside his ulterior motives and selfish intentions, Planck had helped Wayne tremendously, so when he got the call, Wayne readily agreed to meet the old man at the usual meeting spot.

In a bar’s private room, Mona stood behind Wayne.

Planck made the same comment as usual, “You’re so much alike. You’ve become even more similar to Auston. He married a High Reverend, and now you’re about to do the same.”

“You know that too?”

“Of course.” Planck clicked his tongue. “It’s spread throughout the Ministry of Magic. As expected of a Lando, you’re an expert at deceiving women.”

Auston had a secretary, and so did Wayne. Auston had a High Reverend, and now Wayne did, too. Auston also had the Queen. What about Wayne? Wouldn’t it be natural to suspect something between Wayne and the Princess?

Amused, Planck took a gulp of his drink. Lowering his voice, he said, “What’s going on with your family? Why has Auston abandoned his usual insistence on loyalty?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Planck. The Lando family has been loyal to the royal family for generations. We’re absolute royalists!” Wayne declared indignantly and solemnly, as if he were upholding justice.

That wouldn’t even fool Veronica, let alone an old fox like Planck.

Planck raised an eyebrow with a half-smile. “Tell me the truth. How far is the Lando family ready to go? Will you stay assertive to the end, or play tough before offering an olive branch for maximum political benefit?”

“Why do you ask?” Wayne said.

“We’ve been dissatisfied with the Queen as of late.”

“Oh, has she gone after the Ministry of Magic as well?” Wayne’s curiosity was piqued. He asked Planck to elaborate.

“The Ministry of Magic belongs to the Queen, so she’s free to do whatever she wants with it. We’re only her employees, who work as much as the pay would justify. We are in no position to point fingers at her.”

Planck first stated their role as the working class. Then he changed his tune, “However, the Queen suddenly appointed two outsiders as the Vice Ministers. That’s where she did wrong. For example, I’ve worked diligently for years. Even if I got no credits, I should be recognized for my hard work. Even if she doesn’t see my hard work, she should see my exhaustion. I was counting on becoming the Vice Minister as compensation for my emotional turmoil!”

Planck rattled on, keeping an eye on Wayne’s expression to read him. However, he read nothing, so he emphasized, “You may not know, Wayne, but the two shoo-in ministers are from Franc. They’re arrogant and rude, neither down-to-earth nor reliable. As soon as they arrived, they wielded their authority like they were better than everyone...”

Not even the legendary mages were unaffected by the century-long friendship between Windsor and Franc. Wayne translated Planck’s words: two stinking outsiders came to Londan begging for scraps! And they got scraps when Planck hadn’t gotten his share!

Wayne hid his amusement behind a poker face. “That’s unfair. As an outsider, I’d say that it’s understandable for them to be firm so that they could establish their authority as outsiders.”

“But they’re from Franc. Everyone has good traits except for Francan people!”

“No, everyone has good traits, even Francan people.”

“I disagree.”

Planck complained while observing Wayne. When Wayne seemed unwilling to express his opinion, he asked again, “What exactly is the Lando family thinking? What about the Tulip Families? You can speak frankly. If you can’t express yourself firmly, Bourne and I can do the honor for you.”

You two should stick to quantum mechanics

[1]

!

Wayne rolled his eyes but didn’t dismiss him. “I’ll be honest with you. My position is firmer than Auston’s, but he is the head of the family. I don’t have the final say in the Lando family, at least not now.”

“When are you going to take over?”

“Um...” Wayne blinked and said with an indignant expression, “Don’t be absurd. The Lando family runs on filial piety. I’m only ever going to be supportive of Auston. He leads the family.”

Planck was dissatisfied with the lack of certainty. All he got was an ambiguous answer. He recovered his composure and changed the subject. “Wayne, I mentioned the offer for attending physician over the phone. What do you think? Are you interested in working at Red Leaf?”

He looked Wayne up and down with a meaningful smile. “Let me guess. You’re a Gold-ranked mage now, aren’t you?”

“Coincidentally, I ranked up yesterday.”

“Coincidental indeed.” Planck cackled, narrowing his eyes. “So, what did the five faiths give you? Has your original bloodline granted you the ability to challenge legendary mages at Gold rank?”

“It’s hard to say.” Wayne shook his head. As things stood, since he had access to the five divine artifacts, the legendary mages would be the challengers should they get into a fight.

“You’re being stingy, Wayne. At least share something with me.” Planck couldn’t contain his curiosity. “You’re a Gold-ranked mage—and one who belongs to the Church of Nature at that. You can take over Sidney. Trust me. Even Forgotten Ones who have fallen into madness possess precious knowledge that is worth accepting the job for.”

Wayne was indeed interested. Research was addictive, and it even accelerated his evolution. He agreed to the job on the condition that he, the attending physician, would be free to clock in and out entirely at his whim.

“Also, as part of our information exchange, I know a major secret about the Red Leaf Asylum. Are you interested?”

1. Reference to Max Planck and Max Born, a physicist responsible for the inception of the quantum theory, and a physicist who contributed significantly to the study. ☜