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

However, before pushing open the door, he suddenly had a whim and hurriedly turned back to the restaurant. Under Vina's questioning gaze, he boldly took a small yellow croaker that was grilled to a golden brown but had no seasoning. As he walked, he gritted his teeth and ate it bite by bite.

Thus, this is what Wayne looked like in Urbino's anxious gaze as he sat in the reception room.

His clothes were disheveled, his eyes were vacant, his face looked like it was wearing a mask of pain, his fingers were covered in grease, his hair was messy, and he hadn't even had time to put on a coat. He hurriedly walked into the reception room, looked around to make sure no one was around, and then rushed to sit down on the sofa. His brows were filled with indescribable sorrow, and even his back was slightly hunched.

His demeanor was exactly like that of a disheartened, hopeless middle-aged man.

Wayne was very confident in his acting skills, especially this performance. His confidence was off the charts. In his previous life, he was always like this after staying up late every night when he was in school. He was even more depressed and melancholy than when he found out that the person he was supporting was actually Qiao Biluo's number one fan.

But how could someone of noble birth like Urbino and Wayne have ever experienced the feeling of being exhausted from staying up all night?

Sure enough, when Urbino saw Wayne's appearance, he was already half convinced—Wayne must have been having a hard time lately.

If you're not doing well, then I'll be overjoyed!

Urbino feared that if Wayne appeared before him in a radiant and spirited manner, it would mean that the new Queen Victoria's attitude towards her cousin might not be bad. And given Wayne's unambitious appearance, he might genuinely feel that he was doing quite well, enjoying his life and not thinking of rebellion.

Then he would have made a wasted trip.

If he goes back, he'll be criticized by the Pope, and if he causes such a big mess, he might be sent to Iberia to live with those ugly monsters.

But since Wayne was unhappy, those problems no longer existed. Urbino had absolute confidence in his eloquence; if he could persuade even the Pope, why would he be afraid of persuading a fool?

His face immediately softened into one of concern, and he stood up and went to help Wayne.

“Oh, my dear Prince Wayne, what’s wrong? You look like you haven’t slept well. Are you feeling unwell? It’s really inappropriate of me to bother you like this.”

Wayne looked surprised and stared at Urbino in astonishment.

Ok?

Seriously? You can tell?

Okay then, I won't act anymore.

Wayne paused, then, rousing himself, began to speak:

"I....."

Before he could finish speaking, Urbino interrupted him, saying:

"Oh, I see. You must be worried about the future of this country, which is why you can't sleep at night!"

"......"

Good grief, can you stop breathing so heavily when you talk? I thought I'd given myself away!

Wayne breathed a sigh of relief and shook his head with a self-deprecating laugh:

"What is the future of a nation? Is that something a prince like me should worry about?"

He emphasized the word "Prince".

Urbino naturally understood the underlying meaning in his words: I am now a prince, and I can't control anything about the country anymore, even if I wanted to.

very good!

He needs that feeling of resentment!

Urbino sighed, glanced around to make sure no one was around, then helped Wayne sit down on the sofa and placed his hand on Wayne's.

“Alas, my dear Prince Wayne, do not be discouraged. You must believe in your sister. Now that she has obtained the throne, she is the queen. She is so good to you now, you'd better not have any improper thoughts.”

Irony is part of the art of conversation. Urbino seemed to be advising Vina not to think about rebellion, but he was actually saying, "The one who gets the throne is the king. You were too soft-hearted back then, which made Vina have the wrong ideas and forced you to become like this."

But Wayne barely listened to what he was saying; he only had one thought in mind.

Take your claws off my hands!

Don't suffer the old man!

Wayne subtly withdrew his hand, a bitter expression on his face, and shook his head.

"Alas, it's no use saying all this now. I have nothing now, no power, no subordinates, and the Northern Kings have been almost completely wiped out. Once the council is reorganized, I'll be finished."

The subtext is: I know why you're here. Tell me your plans quickly, or we'll run out of time!

Urbino then smiled and comforted him:

"No, no, Your Highness Wayne, although you have no power, you still have friends. As your father's loyal companion, Lateran really can't bear to see you living on those awful fish and chips every day. We can provide you with some chefs, and we can also send you some Lateran specialties, prepare the ingredients, and cook you a sumptuous meal. What do you think?"

The subtext is: We, the Lateran, are your father's old partners and your friends. We don't want to see Vina come to power and sever this partnership, so we plan to provide you with some manpower, send you some of Lateran's most famous specialty, "guns," and help you prepare the supplies needed for your rebellion so you can do something big. What do you think?

Wayne glanced at Urbino with surprise.

To his surprise, he thought Urbino's visit today was simply to test his words and see if there was any opportunity.

But who would have thought that Laterano would be so decisive?

Is this because they believe I'm someone who can't stand being alone? Or are they overconfident in their own strength?

To stir up something big? To rebel?

Hmm, that makes sense, but it's quite an expense.

Wayne's eyes lit up, an idea forming in his mind. Excitedly, he turned around, his gloom vanishing, and exclaimed:

"That's really nice."

But then he hesitated for a moment, withdrew his outstretched hand, and said,

"I'm so sick of fish and chips lately. How about I try something new before my big meal, so I can have a change of pace?"

Urbino nodded:

"Easy to say, easy to say."

You want to inspect the goods first, are you afraid that we, Lateran, are cheating you?

Can understand.

He didn't doubt why Wayne was so cunning. People change to some extent after experiencing a major upheaval. If Wayne was still acting like a complete fool and had no guard up at all, then Urbino would feel something was wrong.

As for the goods to be inspected.

Urbino leaned close to Wayne and whispered in his ear:

"Tonight, at Langdon Abbey, we'll leave the funds there. Five hundred thousand Lateran gold coins should be enough for you to recruit a new group."

"Then thank you, Your Holiness, for your generosity!"

Wayne nodded in satisfaction, exchanged a few more casual words with Urbino, and watched him leave the palace.

A moment later, Vina walked in.

What did that fluorescent light guy talk to you about?

Vina blinked and asked curiously,

Can I know?

Wayne rolled his eyes at her and said:

"He intended for me to rebel and gave me 500,000 gold coins."

Vina exclaimed in alarm, "I'll take men to the embassy immediately to arrest them!"

Wayne waved his hand: "No need, no need. We'll do as he says."

Wayne chuckled and muttered, "At worst, we can just bestow upon him the title of Earl of Glamorgan."

Chapter Twenty-Two: Should You Become a Religious Person When You're Hungry?

Landon Abbey, servants of the Lateran angels, guides of the Holy Church, God's last bastion in Victoria!

The old nuns of the monastery had always taught Kongxian and the others in this way.

"Even if the entire Victorian nation completely abandons God, we will persevere and bring the light of God's mercy to this land suffering under the dark and tyrannical rule!"

What a grand aspiration it is to become a defender of God and justice! This is the lifelong pursuit of so many people. Kongxian, who became a nun, was determined to carry out this great ideal to the end, no matter how great the difficulties she encountered.

However, ideals are often grand, while reality is often harsh.

After the tyrannical new king came to power, the already difficult life in the monastery became even more miserable.

Kongxian, facing the moonlight, counted the few remaining bread rolls for breakfast the next morning, sighed silently, took one of the original three rolls, and put it in the refrigerator.

Urbino happened to be in the kitchen when he witnessed this scene.

After agreeing to make the deal with Wayne at Landon Abbey, Urbino did not rush there immediately. Instead, he pretended nothing had happened and strolled around the streets and alleys of Lentinium for a while. He then went to the plebeian district and pretended to help a few suffering civilians. After making sure he had shaken off the unfounded pursuers and watchers behind him, he quietly arrived at Landon Abbey under the cover of night.

Having spent the entire morning flying from Lateran to Victoria, he hadn't eaten anything all day.

Upon arriving at Langdon Abbey, he immediately went to the kitchen.

Urbino's eyes lit up when he saw the bread that Kong Xian had quietly put into the refrigerator, and he clicked his tongue in amazement.

Although the black bread was a bit unpalatable, he was really starving, so he decided to make do with it.

Urbino opened the refrigerator, took out the bread, and without noticing the longing and resentful look on Kongxian's face, quickly stuffed a piece of bread into his mouth.

"Hmm, the taste is just so-so."

"bread....."

Kongxian looked miserable, pursed his lips, and clutched his stomach.

Back when the King of the North was still alive, although the churches in Laterano didn't receive much treatment, at least their food supply wasn't a problem, as Victoria would provide it.

But since Vina came to power, the Lateran Church has been labeled a heretic by the newly established Anglican Church. Not only were funding subsidies cut off to all churches that refused to submit, but their food supply was also cut off. Now, Langdon Abbey, once one of the three great churches of Victoria, is left with only a few nuns who still hold fast to it. Those few loaves of bread are what the nuns earn by doing odd jobs every day, working hard and worrying about it.

Originally, each of them could have two pieces of food per meal.

Later, another nun converted to Anglicanism, and they lost one of their workers, so each person only had one piece of cloth.

Today, in preparation for the arrival of the Lateran envoy, two more pieces were given out. This means that some of them will go without food for a day.

Now, His Excellency the Holy Envoy has eaten another piece.

Feeling the hunger rising in his stomach, Kongxian suddenly felt that faith didn't seem so important anymore.

It seems more appealing to live a full life than to be called by the Lord because one is starving to death.

"No, no, no, what are you thinking!"

Patting her cheeks, the blonde nun banished all the impure thoughts from her mind and looked respectfully at the holy envoy before her.