Miss Wang Weina, even your cousin won't do!

"Who is it? It's so late."

The dukes kept repeating the same questions, which even the unicorns found tiresome.

They answered in a harmless voice:

"Hello, Royal Envoy of Victoria."

The volume in the room instantly rose several notches. The dukes, who had been waiting all day, seemed to feel joy and relief at finally receiving the royal pardon they had been waiting for.

Thus, the strange timing was interpreted as the immature empress venting her petty emotions, the unidentified intruder known as the unicorn was mistaken for the new queen's newly acquired hound, and the dukes, completely unsuspecting, opened the heavily guarded gates of the mansion. Instead of a desperate, desperate defense, they were greeted with long-awaited, smiling faces.

"We've been busy until so late, thank you all for your trouble. Please come inside."

"No, no, no, it's only His Excellency the Grand Duke's turn now. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Despite saying it, the unicorn did not refuse and followed the Grand Duke into their unguarded mansion.

"Not at all. The care from the noble royal family is always like a gentle breeze, no matter when you receive it."

The Grand Duke was still smiling, but the unicorn had already pulled out the list from its waist, skipped over the names marked with red crosses, counted to the Grand Duke's position, confirmed it, closed the list, and revealed a benevolent smile:

"Haha, you're too kind, Your Highness. I checked the list, and your name is on it. There won't be a next time."

The Grand Duke paused, then asked yet another question that the unicorn was already tired of hearing all evening:

"What list?"

The unicorn drew its blade.

"List of those targeted in the anti-revolutionary purge."

........

The next day, the Lentinium Morning Post.

Last night, remnants of the Normandy Duke's rebel army launched suicide attacks across Victoria, killing several Dukes of Victoria and their families. The Aslan royal family has vowed to capture the perpetrators and punish them severely.

The lights were on early in the morning at the western suburbs residence.

Finally, he had settled accounts with those disgusting nobles and felt a great sense of relief. Wien happily raised his glass, clinked it with Ernest and Winster, and praised them:

"The bandits (rebels) fought each other, and the county magistrate (duke) died suddenly. Marshal Ernest, you came up with this brilliant idea!"

Ernest hurriedly raised his glass and clinked it against Wayne's, then turned to look at the unicorn Winster beside him and praised:

No, no, no, even the best

A plan still needs someone to execute it. To execute this plan so flawlessly, leaving not a trace, shows how capable Patriarch Winster is!

Winster shook his head sheepishly, raised his glass to Wayne, and said:

"What I've done is nothing special. These are ancient skills that have been around for thousands of years. Practice makes perfect. Rather, it's Your Highness Wayne who deserves the most credit for arranging all of this and allowing Victoria to prune so many dead branches and withered leaves without damaging a single one!"

The two exchanged a glance, nodded knowingly, and raised their glasses together to Wayne.

"Your Highness Wayne, he's tall and strong!"

He drank the sake in his cup in one gulp.

Chapter 106 Mostima and Wayne's Three-Year Agreement

Lateran, the Holy City, the Papal Palace.

A month later, the cardinals gathered again, their expressions varied, and their purpose was still the same: Victoria.

The Pope personally attended the Cardinals' meeting this time, as it differed from previous meetings. The discussion was not about how to help Wayne, but whether Wayne was still trustworthy.

After the Pope, seated on his high platform, gently tapped his scepter on the ground to announce the start of the meeting, Cardinal Raymond was the first to express his opinion.

He took out the newly arrived Lateran newspaper and the Londinium Morning Post, which he had sent back from Victoria, from his sleeve, lined them up, and slammed them heavily onto the cardinal's round table. His aged face contorted with rage, even the halo above his head seemed to brighten, and he roared:

"This is a shameful betrayal! Wayne Bruce has betrayed us!"

He pointed to a list in the Londinium Morning Post of crimes committed by the Duke of Normandy, one of which involved collusion with the local Lateran Church to send orphans to become monks in exchange for “fees” from the church instead of sending them to orphanages as per Victorian law.

This was a shameful act of human trafficking, and its exposure would have repercussions for Lateran and Victoria. However, Wayne still chose to publish it and put it on public trial as one of the ten deadly sins of the Duke of Normandy.

"He should have tried to cover this up for us, instead of letting it leak out or even be published in the newspapers!"

Bishop Raymond spoke in a clear, resonant voice, his eyes fixed on Bishop Urbino sitting opposite him. Clearly, his true intention wasn't to criticize Wayne, but to antagonize Urbino.

Urbino sneered at this, immediately lowering his eyes and remarking casually:

"This is a ridiculous slander. Lateran has never done anything so shameless and despicable. This is a mistake made by the local church in the corrupt environment of Victoria, having forgotten God's guidance. I have petitioned His Holiness the Pope to excommunicate the church and its clergy!"

Bishop Raymond was taken aback upon hearing this, and subconsciously turned his head to look at the Pope on the Holy Throne. The Pope nodded slightly, acknowledging that it was indeed true.

Bishop Raymond, somewhat reluctantly, abandoned his plan against Urbino and instead said:

Even so, Wayne has damaged Laterano's reputation...

"Latland's reputation was ruined the moment the Reformation Thesis was published!"

Before he could finish speaking, Urbino slammed his fist on the table and raised his voice to interrupt him.

The newly elected cardinal had an arrogant expression, looking down at Bishop Raymond in front of him, his aura seemingly superior from birth.

You've targeted me, now it's my turn to retaliate.

Urbino spread his hands and addressed his displeased colleagues:

"As you all know, the Lateran Church weakened considerably after the Reformation, but you may not have a specific figure, so let me tell you."

Urbino took out a statistical table from his sleeve and slowly read aloud the data on it:

"Victoria, 308 churches in existence, 18 churches in existence. Ursus, 96 churches in existence, 33 churches in existence. Letania, 196 churches in existence, 66 churches in existence. Yan, 1 church in existence, 1 church in existence."

He took a deep breath and solemnly said:

"Our decline is real. Apart from relying on our Iberia because of the ocean, the power of Lateran is in full retreat across the entire Terra. Gentlemen, do you think we still have any credibility?"

"But that's no excuse for Wayne to publish this scandal in the newspaper!"

The diminutive Bishop Singid retorted.

"Was this really published by Wayne?"

Urbino countered,

"To be honest, when I went to Colombia a while ago, I used your name, the esteemed Bishop Singid, to order a full-body service from a Volper girl in that decadent place in Colombia..."

Singid's face flushed red, and he shouted angrily:

“I never did such a thing! Urbino, how dare you do such a thing? It's blasphemy! We are sworn enemies!”

Urbino waved his hand, a mocking smile on his face, and comforted him:

"Calm down, calm down. Mr. Singed, I've been by His Holiness the Pope's side all this time. Where would I have found the time to go to Colombia, thousands of miles away? I gave you this example just so you could understand that anyone can impersonate a name, but the effect is extraordinary. You see, with just one sentence, you're already trying to break ties with your friend, colleague, and the devout monk Urbino, aren't you?"

“I am right here in front of you, and you can easily clear up your misunderstanding of me. But Wayne is thousands of miles away. If you label him a traitor just because of Wayne’s signature, then the misunderstanding will never be cleared up.”

"Moreover, the author of this report is one of our biggest enemies—Joseph Pulitzer, the journalist."

Urbino pointed to the inconspicuous signature in the lower right corner of the newspaper on the table and said calmly.

Joseph Pulitzer—no high-ranking member of the church could forget that damned name.

Although he wasn't the sole instigator of the Reformation, it was his article, "Justification by Faith," that propelled the entire Reformation movement to its zenith. If he hadn't written that damned, eye-catching report, igniting the flames of Reformation across the tinderbox of Terra, the movement might have been confined to Victoria by the reacting Lateran, far from the extent of the damage it has suffered today.

Joseph Pulitzer was Lateran's enemy, while Wayne was Lateran's friend. The credibility of an enemy attaching a friend's signature to an article detrimental to Lateran is indeed questionable.

Singid sat down again, looking dazed, his eyes slightly narrowed, clearly lost in thought.

Urbino breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this.

In truth, how could he not sense Wayne's unusual behavior? Knowing Wayne as he did, these numerous abnormal actions were nothing like the spoiled brat he was supposed to be; he was most likely betrayed. But what could he do even if he knew? In Laterano, everyone could doubt Wayne's loyalty, but he couldn't!

He and Vine were bound together; their fortunes were intertwined. His bishopric stemmed from finding Vine, a reliable ally for Lateran, in Victoria. His influence came from Vine's numerous past achievements for Lateran, and his wealth came from the Vatican's share of the financial aid provided to Vine.

Wayne could betray him, but he absolutely could not betray Wayne. Otherwise, forget about his ultimate goal: becoming a canon; he would probably have to hand over all the power he had now, and he would even lose his life.

Who can relinquish power? Who can take life for granted?

Unless one day he truly cultivates the seven virtues, regarding money, power, and even life as worthless, and is inspired by the Lord, he will carry this doubt with him to his grave.

But then, a clear, cold female voice suddenly rang out.

“Bishop Urbino, your eloquence is indeed superb, but the starting point of all your arguments is that Wayne Bruce did not betray Lateran. What if we look at it from a different angle?”

Urbino looked up in the direction of the Pope. Beside the Pope, a Sakota girl in a robe, who had striking long wine-red hair but inexplicably had a very low profile, asked with a puzzled expression:

"As you just said, you were able to clear up the misunderstanding with Bishop Singid because His Majesty vouched for you, which broke the chain of suspicion. Otherwise, based solely on your word, Bishop Singid would not only not believe you, but might even send someone to Colombia to investigate."

She touched her lips with her index finger; despite standing beside His Holiness the Pope, a saint who should be the purest of saints, she naturally exuded a captivating charm.

"Then, who can vouch for Wayne Bruce?"

Urbino's voice choked, and he stammered, unable to speak.

He never expected that it would be the Holy Maiden who would ultimately refute him, using the same tactic of turning the tables on him. Caught completely unprepared for his next rebuttal, he found himself in a predicament.

Seeing this, the saint shook her head slightly, turned to the side, bowed to the Pope who was seated with an appreciative smile, and said:

"In that case, following the principle that seeing is believing, Your Holiness the Pope would like to dispatch a special investigation team to Victoria to contact Wayne. If he is a friend, he can vouch for him; if he is an enemy..."

The saintess glanced at Urbino, whose face was pale, out of the corner of her eye, and said:

"Get rid of him as soon as possible; he knows too many of Lateran's secrets."

Urbino gritted his teeth.

He talks about getting rid of Wayne so easily, but where does Lateran get the ability to assassinate a now-famous member of the Aslan royal family?

They didn't eliminate Wayne at all, but Urbino. Once Wayne is identified as a traitor, Urbino will inevitably be implicated and may even be branded as a spy and burned at the stake by the Inquisition.

But Urbino couldn't find an excuse to reject the saintess's suggestion, after all, it was reasonable, and he, Urbino, couldn't just conjure up a guarantor out of thin air...

“I vouch for His Highness Wayne, Your Majesty.”

Suddenly, the council chamber doors were pushed open, and the blue-haired fallen angel walked in with his head held high and chest out.

"Papal Envoy, Plenipotentiary of Victoria Affairs, Commander of the Royal Guard, Mostima, pays homage to all the devout servants of God. I can vouch for the loyalty of Wayne Bruce."

Mostima spoke slowly and deliberately, in a solemn tone.

That's all I can do for you, Your Highness Wayne.