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

But Enrique is different.

This Grand Duke, abandoned by Wayne and intended to be sacrificed as the leader of the remnants of the Northern Royalist Party during the purge of the Council, was loyal enough.

Whether he was unwilling to submit because he had offended Vina, or he was truly of noble character and only served one king, he did something that none of the uninformed councilors had done: as a nobleman who always valued his life, he stood firmly under the crumbling Northern Royalist Party, that is, on Wayne's side.

Vina intended to hand over the scepter representing power to Wayne, and naturally hoped that he could have a loyal and capable subordinate. She was somewhat hesitant about whether to keep Enrique.

But at that moment, Wayne, who had not had the chance to leave the palace as planned, turned cold.

He gently shook his head at Vina.

He wasn't about to let Enrique's plans slide. If he was going to put on an act, he had to go all the way. Vina, having grown up in the commoner's district, was used to the so-called social niceties and mutual help. But Enrique, a time traveler with memories of growing up in the inner palace, was very clear about this.

—You can't be lenient with this kind of thing!

He probably wouldn't hesitate to speculate about the nobles in the ark in the most malicious way.

Early Dew's father, knowing that Chernobog was about to be embroiled in crisis, allowed Early Dew to attend school while he fled with the rest of his family. Therese of Kazdel, for the sake of the throne, didn't hesitate to kill his own sister. Even the Emperor of Da Yan, in order to eliminate Wei Yanwu's support, didn't hesitate to force his sworn brother to his death, leaving their sister to die in despair.

Nobility, haha, aren't they three mountains weighing down on the people no matter where they are?

If Wayne hadn't been sometimes short-handed, if Terra hadn't been so backward in every aspect, and if he hadn't been given the identity of a prince instead of Talulah of the Reunion Movement or the leader of some resistance organization, he would have already defeated the three great mountains and liberated all of Terra.

Enrique was loyal, but he wasn't smart enough.

If we let him off now, who will forgive us if the plan is exposed in the future?

Wayne is someone who wants to be the shadow emperor; he doesn't need someone like this who stands in the open and causes trouble for him!

Wayne will never change his mind once he has made a decision. He will definitely save those who need to be saved, but he will never hesitate to do anything to those who have already been put out of his life.

A soft heart and indecisiveness will not allow you to survive in Terra!

Seeing this, Vina could only close her eyes helplessly. The next second, when she opened them again, she commanded with an undeniable air of authority:

"Enrique Yorke, having first assisted the rebellious king in his plot to overthrow the king, then seized power and acted tyrannically, is hereby stripped of his dukedom and demoted to a commoner, and the Yorke family's hereditary title is reduced by one rank."

Demoting Henry to commoner status only hurt him personally, but further reducing the hereditary title of the House of York by one rank to Marquess essentially declared the decline of the Duke of York in Victoria.

Last time, when the King of the North successfully usurped the throne, he abolished the title of Duke of Lancaster, who was on the side of the Royalists. This time, after Vina ascended the throne, the Duke of York also announced his withdrawal from the political center. The two dukes who were busy with the warring parties back then did not have a good end. Now, the only one of the three most influential dukes in the Empire is Wayne's staunch ally, Ernest Norfolk.

Wayne achieved his goal.

Now, it's time to bring this grand drama to a close.

Please have Mudrock step in, stand up for Vina, and send all the nobles home.

"Now, I will announce the third order."

Just as Wayne was about to leave, Vina's voice suddenly rang out behind him again.

"Your Highness Wayne Bruce has been granted the title of Prince of Wales, with no power or rank, and resides in the Royal Palace. He is not permitted to leave the palace without permission. Do you think that's the end of it, Your Highness?"

"For what you've done, merely stripping you of your right to the throne isn't the end of the story. You'd better stay by my side obediently until I've confirmed you're alright!"

Wayne shuddered, turned his head, and looked at his sister in disbelief, as if to say...

This isn't in the script!

Urbino, who was watching the ceremony in the noble procession, suddenly brightened up, his previously gloomy expression gone.

He had initially thought Wayne had lost.

Looking at it this way, maybe there's still a chance?

Chapter Twenty: When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits?

Lateran, 16:00 PM, Air quality: Excellent.

Setting down the report on the current situation in Lentinium submitted by Mostima, the Pope removed his gold-rimmed reading glasses, looked at Urbino standing below the steps, and asked calmly:

"So, this is the result you're talking about?"

Urbino wiped the sweat from his temples. The red robe he had just put on was very comfortable, and he had no intention of taking it off so soon. He quickly explained:

"Your Majesty, although things have deviated a little from what we expected, I think this may not necessarily be a bad thing."

The Pope chuckled.

Who was it that initially claimed that by helping Victoria's son, the King of the North, assassinate the King of the North, they could use this opportunity to completely bring Victoria into their sphere of influence?

Now look what's happened: the King of the North was assassinated, but has his son taken over the throne?

The throne was snatched away in public by an Aslan woman who appeared out of nowhere. In the past, although the King of the North did not particularly like the Lateran people's actions of establishing monasteries and proselytizing the Victorians, he still needed the Lateran religion's help and could not completely refuse some of Lateran's requests. But now, the newly enthroned Vina insisted that the Victorian Lateran forces that had grown and prospered during the King of the North's reign were just the King of the North's forces in disguise, and were rebels! She seemed to intend to completely abolish the monasteries in the country.

Furthermore, it's said that, on the advice of some unscrupulous person, she created some new Victorian state church, named Anglican Church, with the pope being the king himself. She even usurped the Lateran monastery and converted it into an Anglican church, euphemistically calling it "making use of waste."

Damn it, is this something a human being could do?

How can someone be both a pope and a king?

Thinking of this, the Pope felt a tickle in his nose and sneezed.

At the same time, Wayne, far away in Victoria Palace, also sneezed without warning.

Who cares about me?

That said, these are all minor matters. Compared to the size of Laterano, that Holy Church is nothing to fear, and Vina's ban on the Church is not a big deal either. But the key point is that she has placed Wayne under house arrest!

Who is Wayne? He's Lateran's chosen representative in Victoria! And he even possesses the token given to him by the Pope!

Although no one knew that the assassination attempt on the King of the North involved Laterano, and Wayne was unlikely to reveal it, for those accustomed to manipulating everything, this was an immense risk. It meant that Laterano's long-standing underhanded tactics were in danger of being exposed, inevitably alerting all the nations of Terra. Then, their missionary work would become even more difficult!

Moreover, no one can say for sure whether Wayne, with his foolish temper, will actually expose this matter.

For a moment, all they, the mighty Lateran, could do was the one thing they did best—pray.

Pray that Wayne will consider his reputation and keep this a secret.

They never expected that Wayne not only spoke up early on, but also completely absolved himself of any responsibility. Lateran had already taken the blame for everything, but because of the instability in the country and the fear that Lateran might act desperately, they hadn't brought the matter to the forefront.

And now, this fool who put Laterano under huge risks and suffered huge losses is actually telling me that this is not a bad thing.

Do you think I, the Pope, am a fool?

The Pope gave a cold smile and asked indifferently, "How so?"

He was prepared that no matter what Urbino said, he would take off the red robe and make things difficult for him in the future!

Urbino glanced around mysteriously, and after confirming that no one was around, he spoke slowly and deliberately:

"To paraphrase a proverb from Yan, when two tigers fight, one will surely be injured!"

"What does their injury have to do with me? Besides, do you really think that idiot Wayne could squander such a huge advantage? Can he possibly defeat that genius queen who managed to turn most of the country's nobles against her in just a few days?"

As the Pope spoke, he suddenly paused, giving Urbino a disdainful look.

"You mean to say that when the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits, right?"

Urbino nodded quickly.

I should have known better than to show off my knowledge of Yan-style idioms.

The Pope stroked his chin, pondering the feasibility of the plan.

Indeed, in his view, the biggest reason for Wayne's failure was his arrogance; he brought his exiled cousin back without even consulting Laterano, instead of eliminating the threat altogether. But looking back now, wasn't Vina doing the same thing?

Despite having won the struggle for the throne, he spared his brother's life, merely placing him under house arrest in the palace instead of executing him decisively. This left a hidden danger by his side.

Does he really expect Wayne to be grateful for her sparing his life? Don't be ridiculous. Such things don't exist before royal authority. Besides, Wayne brought her back to the palace and didn't kill her; he protected her. Yet, Vina still usurped the throne without any gratitude. Now Vina actually expects Wayne to be grateful? It just goes to show that the royal family of Aslan are all the same—arrogant, conceited, and disdainful of everyone!

childish!

Now that Vayne is still alive, it means Laterano still has a chance. Vayne, who has been dethroned, must be extremely resentful at this moment, and he will surely choose to start a rebellion if there is any contact.

Even if Laterano were to reclaim the throne or even trigger another War of the Roses, it would still benefit greatly from it!

The more the Pope thought about it, the more feasible the plan seemed.

Vina was just a grassroots emperor who came from the commoners' district. She had no background or connections. The reason she was able to defeat Wayne was purely because of Wayne's stupidity and their Lateran's carelessness after thinking they had victory in their grasp.

If Lateran fully supports Wayne, what makes Vina stand against him?

Before he knew it, the Pope's lips had curled into a confident smile.

Urbino knew that the matter was settled, and immediately stepped forward to volunteer:

"Your Majesty, please allow me to atone for my sins by taking charge of this project!"

The Pope glanced at him, thought for a moment, and then nodded.

Urbino was the longest-serving person in Victoria and the Lateran person that Wayne knew best, so having him in charge of this project gave him a natural advantage.

Moreover, the fact that he could come up with this possibility in such a short time shows that he is quite talented. His ability to personally absolve himself of his sins is a good thing for the Pope—it means that he has gained another person he can use.

"In that case, you'll be in charge."

.........

Several days later. Victoria, 12:00 am.

Wayne was having lunch with Vina when a message suddenly came from the guard outside the door.

“Your Highness, a Lateran man wishes to see you. He says he is your friend.”

Wayne, feeling like he'd been granted a pardon, quickly put down the fish and chips he was eating, which he found hard to swallow. Just as he was about to follow the guards out, Vina preemptively asked:

"Which one?"

"He said his name was Urbino."

Vina glanced at Wayne, and Wayne nodded.

Vina then gave the order:

"Take him to the reception room to wait, and don't tell him I know about this."

"understand!"

Chapter Twenty-One: Friendly and Intimate Exchange of Feelings

Wayne was quick to understand. He knew that Urbino, who had already returned to Laterano, couldn't be coming back to him for no reason, so he went over there without hesitation.

Before heading over, he took off his casual clothes, wrinkled his shirt, unbuttoned three buttons on his chest, then buttoned one of them in a misaligned position. He then tidied his blond hair, making it look messy and frizzy, before taking his first step into the reception room.