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

Lost in thought, Wayne brushed past Vina, only to hear a soft whisper in his ear.

"Brother, don't give up, I'll give you a surprise!"

At that moment, the sadness, anger, and bewilderment on Wayne's face froze instantly.

Below the stage, two nobles were whispering to each other.

"Did you guess that Vina would inherit the throne?"

"No, no, it was His Highness Wayne who brought Vina back. Who would have guessed that?"

"I agree, who could have guessed that? Look, look at Prince Wayne's expression, sigh, he can't even get angry anymore. He let the wolf into the house, the whole coronation plan was ruined, he's completely dumbfounded!"

The nobleman glanced at Wayne's expression and nodded in agreement.

"Yes, they're all stunned!"

Wayne was dumbfounded.

Chapter Eighteen: You Two Siblings, a Crouching Dragon and a Fledgling Phoenix

surprise?

Translate for me what "surprise" means.

Wayne now wants someone to translate for him what a surprise is.

Translate this: what exactly does "damn surprise" mean?!

The moment Vina finished speaking, Wayne's eyelids, which had stopped twitching for five minutes, suddenly started moving again, twitching faster and faster like wild horses.

No way, Vina, don't mess with me! What are you planning to do? You should have told me beforehand, at least let me prepare for my funeral!

Wayne is now starting to believe in feudal superstitions, and is even planning to find a master from Yan Kingdom to ask for a talisman, preferably one that is unapproachable by gods and ghosts and invincible under heaven.

It's definitely not because he's afraid his cheap old man who went to heaven first will have something up his sleeve in heaven; he just wants to have a better life, you know?

Completely unaware of Wayne's current racing-like thinking, Ernest, seeing things progressing so smoothly, couldn't help but smile at Wayne, as if to say:

"Your Highness Wayne is truly a brilliant strategist; it seems the outcome is already decided."

He stepped aside, bent down, and watched as Vina walked to the throne and handed the crown and scepter to the bewildered Clock Tower Elder.

The white-haired, immortal man clutched his long beard tightly, his eyes vacant, seemingly lost in thought. Only when Vina approached him did he finally snap out of it and ask:

"Who are you looking for?"

Vina: "?...The leader of the unicorns, now it's time for the coronation ceremony..."

Vina whispered a hint.

I'd heard that the guardian of the clock tower didn't have a very good memory, but this is really too bad!

However, there was no other way. According to the royal decree, unicorns, griffins, and Aslan jointly ruled the lands of Victoria. But as the griffins were almost entirely wiped out in the resistance against the Great Khan's expeditions, and the unicorns gradually withdrew from politics, becoming a symbol of Victoria's protection, the Aslans became the sole dominant power. To commemorate the contributions of these two races, the coronation of the Aslan king was always conducted by a highly respected member of either race.

The griffin race is practically extinct; not a single one can be found in all of Victoria. Only a few survivors remain, captured and exiled in what was once the Great Khanate, now Ursus. Therefore, the responsibility of coronation falls entirely on the shoulders of this guardian of the clock tower, the oldest unicorn.

He has already crowned more than a dozen Victorian kings.

Vina has enough patience, and she must have enough patience.

The old man blinked, sized up Vina, and grinned:

"Oh my, what a handsome child!"

"You must be Wayne Bruce? I know you. Here, give me the crown."

"No, no, no, I am Vina..."

"Who is Vina?"

"........."

Vina remained silent for a few seconds, then subtly turned her head to glance at the nobles who had bowed again and not raised their heads. With a determined bite and a resolute heart, she placed the crown directly on her head.

To be honest, she, coming from a working-class background, didn't really believe in this kind of thing. Back in the Wars of the Roses, when Londinium was robbed and Vina was forced to flee, the unicorns in Big Ben didn't do anything. Now she has to pretend to accept their coronation.

Moreover, Wayne had warned her that royal power is royal power, and she herself is the rule; why should she be bound by traditional rules and regulations?

She wanted to be a king who broke all traditions.

"You put it on yourself?"

A hint of surprise flashed in the old man's eyes. He dropped his playful expression and spoke with a slightly incredulous look on his calm face.

"I can do it myself."

Vina's answer was firm.

A smile appeared on the old man's face as he quipped, "Oh? Then what did you send me here for?"

Vina glanced at him, thought for a moment, and replied with a serious and proud tone, "Come, watch me crown myself!"

The immortal fell into a long silence. His deeply lined face underwent various changes, and his eyes were lifeless, as if he had once again fallen into a state of reverie.

He recalled the last king, Aslan, to whom he had donned the crown.

That former king, leading the unicorns, griffins, and the Aslan race, together ended the rule of the "Red Dragon Drak" who had ruled the cities of Victoria.

This was not the first time the elder had tested the heir to the throne; in fact, almost all heirs had undergone his trials. Faced with various challenges, successive Victorian kings either humbly accepted the challenge, spoke eloquently, sincerely pleaded, or flew into a rage, but none of them dared to break this tradition and personally place the crown on the head.

They were all afraid of offending themselves, of offending a Victorian patron saint.

They lacked the courage to accept their own authority and were afraid of losing their legitimacy.

None of them considered that a king doesn't need a god's approval, and that a king shouldn't worry that Victoria's gods wouldn't fight for Victoria.

It's ridiculous that after that Great Yan True Ancestor defeated the gods, there are still people who regard these immortals as treasures.

The old man gave Vina a deep look. Compared to Vina, he actually had more faith in Wayne. After all, Wayne was the only son of the King of the North, the son of that rebellious king who disrespected tradition, gods, and the church. Although he seemed somewhat unsatisfactory, the old man believed that with careful guidance and education, he could achieve what his father had.

So, he called Vina "Vin" and demanded the crown from her. He wasn't feigning madness; that was his true purpose. The moment Vina handed him the crown, he would place the crown and the burden of Victoria on Vin's head.

That was his original plan, but now he has changed his mind.

Refusing her own coronation and placing the crown on her own head, this naive girl before me is either a madwoman or an emperor!

Can you tell me why you have this idea?

As Vina ascended the throne, before she could strike the golden scepter to summon the nobles, the old man slowly spoke and asked in a low voice.

Vina pursed her lips, looked at Wayne who was relieved to see that nothing had happened, and gave him a grateful smile.

“My brother taught me.”

"........"

The old man trembled, his eyes widened involuntarily, and his neck, like a mechanical gear, slowly turned his head toward Wayne, pausing intermittently. Then, he squinted, as if looking at a novel treasure.

Looking at Wayne's somewhat embarrassed face, he finally let out a long sigh of relief.

"Good lad, you're quite the young man. You even fooled me."

He suddenly felt a surge of hope for Victoria's generation.

Vien and Vina, one seemingly an uneducated playboy, the other a crown prince who rose from humble beginnings in the commoners' district. He thought all hope for this generation had been lost, but unexpectedly, even with his sharp eye, he had completely misjudged them this time!

Neither of these siblings is easy to deal with! With such a brilliant duo, how could Victoria not be restored to its former glory?

At the same moment, Vina struck the golden staff heavily.

boom--!

The dull thud of the pestle echoed through the throne room as Vina glanced disdainfully at the nobleman who had straightened up, and spoke:

"Now, I hereby issue the first royal decree: Five years ago, the King of the North acted perversely and usurped the throne, resulting in the near-total annihilation of those in Parliament who were loyal to the rightful ruler. In order to ensure the fairness and rationality of the parliamentary system, I, as the Queen of Victoria, hereby formally declare the dissolution of Parliament and the holding of new elections at a later date!"

Chapter Nineteen Ruthless

Dissolve parliament?

How dare you! Parliament is a place where elected representatives can speak freely. How can it be dissolved just like that?

Oh, you're the newly crowned king. That's alright then.

The sudden decision, which should have caused a huge uproar, unexpectedly did not elicit much of a reaction in the throne room. It seemed that many people had already anticipated this outcome. The royalists celebrated their victory, the royalists in the North were devastated, and the non-partisan individuals were indifferent. In short, no one raised any objections.

Everyone knows that a new broom sweeps clean, and with a new king in power, those efforts are sure to be even more vigorous. The Royalists aren't afraid of the so-called decision to dissolve Parliament and hold new elections because they believe that Vina's royal title was stolen from Vine by their Royalist party, defying all odds. This act of restoring order is no less meritorious than that of the pioneering Victorian martyrs who expanded the kingdom's territory. How could they possibly not be elected?

The false royalists were even more confident of victory. They already knew the script and outcome of today's drama. The dissolution of Parliament, the new election, and the removal of the Northern royalists who were loyal to the previous dynasty were certain. But you true royalists, none of you will escape either! The election will certainly select royalists to join Parliament, but who will be the royalists?

Your word doesn't count, nor does Her Majesty Vina's word. Only Marshal Ernest and the great Prince Wayne... no, His Majesty's word counts.

As for the Northern Royalists, who should be fighting to the death?

These nobles, whom Wayne deemed expendable, were nothing but useless parasites, incapable of even managing their own small territories. They were riddled with incriminating evidence. It was fine when Wayne came to power; they could use their status as former officials to talk about seniority and spout nonsense about "how I and the King of the North were back then," thus glossing over their sordid deeds. But now, it's Vina who's in power!

Are they causing trouble now because they're afraid the new king's initial wrath won't reach them? Even if they can't become members of parliament, they can still be hereditary nobles and lord it over their own territories. But if they cause trouble, who knows if this unruly new king from the commoners' district will strip them of their noble titles—Vina doesn't have much of a relationship with them, but they have a lot of grudges from the treasonous plot back then. Who would dare to gamble on that?

From this perspective alone, Wayne's decision to abandon this bunch of good-for-nothings is perfectly justified. The King of the North had treated them well, and now that his son had been deposed, these people didn't dare utter a single word, yet they were more diligent in bowing and scraping than anyone else, displaying the spirit of the Eastern craftsmen.

However, it would not be entirely true that no nobleman had the courage to do so.

Despite the obstacles, one nobleman resolutely stepped forward.

It was still the familiar Duke Henry.

Faced with Vina's first decree to dissolve the council, while all the nobles, including Ernest, firmly bowed in submission, he alone stood tall, standing out from the rest of the nobles.

His attitude was firm—I won't accept it!

He stared at the three people on the field, who stood tall and proud: Vina, Wayne, and the guardian of the clock tower. He couldn't speak, but his face was full of stubborn determination.

He refused to accept it. Even if Vina dissolved the council, as the leader of House York, one of the three noble families, he would have a very high chance of regaining his seat, but he simply refused to accept it.

From the moment he declared his allegiance to the King of the North, it was destined that no substitutions would be made mid-game, unless he died!

Vina glanced at Wayne with some hesitation.

She was somewhat at a loss as to how to deal with the Duke of York, and at the same time, somewhat unwilling to deal with him.

Loyalty is the most important factor for a subject. The reason Wayne abandoned those Northern Kingsmen was because most of them were not genuinely loyal to Wayne or the King of the North, but were simply taking advantage of the situation for their own benefit. They only cared about money and power, not the country or the king.

They are disloyal!