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

Theresa has already figured out the lion pride's tactics!

P.S.: Weekend P.P.S. time x2

Synopsis: As a transmigrator without the 'Eye of God', Xiao Hong only wants to live a life of leisure and idleness on the continent of Teyvat.

He originally planned to find an opportunity to immigrate to Liyue and not care about anything. His greatest hobby in life was to mock Inazuma with his wife, who looked just like Thor. Anyway, he believed that his wife would definitely not complain to the Shogunate, and that Thor, who ruled Inazuma, would not hear it.

Until one day, a group of shogunate samurai came to his door.

"By order of the Thunder God, citizen Xiao Hong, who has rendered meritorious service in eliminating the rebels and served the country with utmost loyalty, is hereby brought into the harem and enthroned as Emperor, with the reign title of Hongwu!!!"

Xiao Hong: "??????"

Chapter Ninety-Eight: I'll Go with You

"Long time no see, Theresis."

Wayne extended his hand and shook hands with Theresis, then looked him over with some curiosity and asked:

"Why did you suddenly change your clothes today? You look quite handsome in a suit."

Therese's lips twitched. She glanced at Wayne, then at Theresa beside her, and nodded anyway.

"It's just a change of clothes now and then. Your Highness, let's get down to business."

Wayne blinked in confusion, looking at Theresis, whose face was full of unease, and then at Theresia, who was jogging up to him. He thought to himself, "What are you two up to? Is there something so urgent that you have to ask me?"

“Let me speak. Mr. Bruce... it’s about Kazdel.”

Theresa explained,

"We want to know how long it will take for the military academy to officially open, and how long it will take for us to release information about Kazdel to the outside world?"

Wayne tilted his head, looking puzzled, and said:

"Regarding the start date, schools usually start in September, right? You and Theresis visited the military academy today, what did you think? If you don't think there's anything that needs to be changed, you can announce the start of the semester in a few days."

"Why are you asking me about your public announcement of Kazdel's information?"

Wayne shrugged and said:

"You are the ruler of Kazdel, Theresa. I don't mind if you announce it now. But I personally suggest you wait a while longer. Kazdel is just starting out. If you announce it too early, you might not only fail to gather the Sarkaz back, but it will also make other countries wary. Although Victoria protects you, you don't want to simply be a Victorian 'protected state,' do you?"

【Protectorate】That’s what it’s called, but it actually means a puppet state.

Wayne spoke these words while looking at Theresis. He knew that although this man had been burdened with countless debuffs and was being suppressed by Victoria and Theresis, he was never one to be trifled with. Judging from his attitude of preferring death to dishonor, and even killing women for international reasons, he was definitely unwilling to become a vassal or a puppet in Kazdel.

Sure enough, when Wayne said those words, Therese's hidden pride was touched. He clenched his fist, seemingly thinking he had hidden it well, but Wayne, who had been watching him the whole time, saw it all.

However, as Wayne said, he had no intention of directly interfering in Kazdel's affairs. That would be foolish. The British Empire had enjoyed its glory through global colonization, but in the end, in less than a century, its global colonial system, governorship system, and colonial mandate system collapsed under the wave of national independence movements. This was the inevitable trend, the historical trend, which no individual or even national power could stop.

Wayne never intended to do such a thing; turning Kazdel into a puppet would be a thankless and arduous task. Rather than directly intervening, Victoria could indirectly help Kazdel through many, many other means.

For example, trade, education, and technology.

Compared to violent conquest and oppressive rule, fostering goodwill, cooperative development, and eventual assimilation is clearly a more suitable approach for Victoria's current position. Once every Sarkaz person knows that Victoria helped them and recognizes her as a friend and someone they can get along with, the fate of Kazdel will be intertwined with Victoria's. And because Kazdel is inherently smaller than Victoria, it will forever remain subordinate to Victoria within this cooperative system.

Victoria remains the dominant power, and the world order she has built through a combination of carrot and stick is far more stable than a hegemony achieved solely through military might or economic control.

In the end, the world was united, there were no enemies, and people willingly accepted Victoria as their leader. This, this is what we call a community.

Ahem... Please don't misunderstand, please don't misunderstand, this is just a personal thought, I didn't mean it that way.

Theresis silently nodded in agreement. He agreed with Wayne; it was premature to publicly reveal Kazdel's presence in Victoria. But if they couldn't reveal it, what about Bodracuste?

He wanted to see Theresia. As a pure-blooded Wendigo, Bozokasti was an invaluable fighting force, and Theresis really didn't want to miss any opportunity to bring him back to Kazdel.

“You’re right, Mr. Bruce, now is not the time.”

Therese looked up at Theresa, who had made up her mind even earlier than him, and was somewhat surprised.

But Theresa's expression was very firm, and she said:

"In that case, it's best not to reveal Kazdel's location. Besides that, I have a request."

Wayne paused, then asked, "What request?"

“I want to leave Victoria temporarily and return to the old site in Kazdale.”

Wayne didn't understand. "Why?" he asked. "Going back to Kazdel's old site is fine, I won't stop you, but what's your purpose?"

Kazdel's mobile city has now moved to Victoria. That old site is nothing but wasteland. What would Theresa want to do if she went back there?

This is also what annoys Wayne the most. It seems that all Terrans have this problem. They are all riddle people. They just don't explain things clearly. They say something vague and leave you to guess. The most important thing is that even if you guess correctly, they will not tell you whether it is right or wrong. You will never be sure if it is true until you die.

Kal'tsit was the master of this trick, but now she's been subdued by herself, and while avoiding Theresa, she's also avoiding Vayne. But how did Theresa end up learning bad habits from the Riddle Cat?

You can't use riddles, say something I can understand?

Where are you going?

Wayne decided to cut to the chase and asked directly.

"It's not that I'm interfering with you intentionally, but you are now a member of the Victorian royal family and my wife. If you're going to do anything dangerous, I absolutely will not agree to it!"

Wayne was worried that with Theresa's personality, she might go back to the old site and do something selfless. While this was one aspect of her personality that Wayne liked, it wasn't the only thing he liked. He liked everything about her, and he didn't want to risk losing everything in the process of protecting that one aspect.

Theresa opened her mouth. This was the first time, in her memory, that Wayne had spoken to her in such a serious tone. But she wasn't angry. She knew that Wayne didn't distrust her; rather, he trusted her too much, to the point that he worried she might take risks and get into trouble.

It was a wonderful feeling. Although she felt a little wronged and helpless, Theresa enjoyed the feeling of being cared for.

"No, no, no, Bruce, it's not what you think. I'm going to see an old friend, a legend..."

“An old friend?” Wayne asked doubtfully. “Old friend, why don’t you just invite him to Lontinim? I wouldn’t mind issuing an entry certificate.”

“He’s a bit special.” Theresa hesitated for a moment, but still felt that as her husband, Wayne had the right to know the purpose of his trip. “His name is Bozokasti, and he’s a Wendigo. He’s a captain in Ursus, and it’s not appropriate for him to come to Lontinim so abruptly.”

Bozokasti?

Wayne repeated the tongue-twisting name to himself and suddenly felt it sounded familiar.

After thinking about it carefully, oh dear, isn't this Patriot's father-in-law... cough cough Patriot, the old man?

If he met him, Wayne wouldn't be too worried about Theresa's safety. Patriot was an upright soldier who had upheld his beliefs throughout his life and wouldn't resort to underhanded tactics against Theresa.

But shouldn't he be on the snowfield with Frostnova and Taliko right now? Why did he suddenly run back to Kazdel?

Is this another example of my own butterfly effect?

Wien pondered for a moment, then replied:

"This person... cough cough... I've heard a little about the Patriot of Ursus. Seeing him puts my mind at ease..."

Theresa's face lit up with joy, and she assured them:

"I will definitely come back as soon as possible."

"Don't rush, don't rush."

Wayne patted his chest and replied:

“I’ll go with you.”

Chapter Ninety-Nine: I'll Take You Out to Play Then

"You said you're going on a long trip?"

Vina looked at Theresa and Wayne with suspicion, as if trying to discern something amiss from their expressions.

Unfortunately, Wayne and Theresa were both very confident. Both Theresa and Wayne were masters of facial expression management. With Vina's level of expertise, it was absolutely impossible for her to discern the psychological activities beneath their expressions!

“I feel like something’s not right between you two. You just went to New Wales together, and now you’re heading out to the old site in Kazdale. To be honest, I think you two are cheating on me behind my back.”

Wayne's body trembled, and he quickly said:

"No, no, no, Vina, you are Her Majesty the Queen, how can you utter such uncivilized words?"

"So you mean I should use more civilized language to explain the word 'cheating'?"

Vina crossed her arms and asked in return.

"Actually, I think the phrase 'expanding one's social circle' is quite good," Wayne said awkwardly, scratching his face.

"So you really went to do this?" Upon hearing this, Vina put her hands on the desk and stood up, supporting herself on the desk.

Theresa quickly stepped forward, pushed Wayne away, and glared at him fiercely.

"Look at you, you've gone on and on, you've almost turned black into white!"

Theresa blushed and scolded him, only to find that Wayne not only showed no remorse, but also looked completely stunned. Theresa's brain reacted for a moment, and her pupils dilated instantly.

She turned to look at Vina, who was already in a state of "being driven crazy by the dog-loving couple," and quickly waved her hand, saying:

"I was wrong, I was wrong, I'm sorry, Vina!"

"You apologize to me?!"

Vina pointed to herself, feeling a surge of emotion welling up inside her.

That's too much, Theresa! Are you trying to take on my level 1 Rengar with a fully equipped Aatrox and a Yuumi, and just stand right in front of him to deal damage?

I'm so angry at the Sarkaz dog.jpg

I'll remember this grudge! I curse you to one day be said to "Theresia, I'm sorry!"

"You've misunderstood, Vina!"

Theresa was so anxious that she stopped calling her "Her Majesty the Queen," reached out and hugged Vina's fluffy head, saying:

"It's all a misunderstanding. I went with Bruce to see an old friend. He's Sarkaz, Wendigo."

"A man?"

Vina peeked out from Theresa's embrace and asked softly.

“A man!” Theresa nodded.

Vina breathed a sigh of relief: "Is it really just to see a friend?"

“It really is to see a friend!” Theresa repeated. “The Sarkaz, the Wendigo tribe, Bozokasti, a former captain of the Ursus Empire, has been my friend for over a hundred years. He’s returning to Kazdel to see me. Mr. Bruce came with me because he was worried about my safety. There are also unicorns providing protection. You can ask him if you don’t believe me; we absolutely have no other intentions.”

Vina turned her gaze to Wayne, who was looking up at the sky, pretending to be confused. But when he realized Vina was staring at him, he could only lower his head and nod against his will.

Hmm... Theresa, from your perspective, it probably really wasn't for any other purpose. It was just a regular business trip, not even a vacation—who would travel to a barren, desolate wasteland? Just looking for trouble? —But for me... I did have some selfish motives.