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

Miss Swire typed four or five spaces before finally replying:

"I've booked the room at the Sargon Hotel in the core city. We'll go straight to the second floor; I've booked the whole place. Remember to bring the little village girl along."

"Little Village Girl" is Swire's affectionate nickname for Bagpipe. Because of Chen, Swire and Bagpipe are acquainted, but their relationship is not particularly harmonious. To put it another way, in the words of the professor who teaches politics at the college, it is a class conflict. In Bagpipe's own words, every time she sees the messy table and wasted food after Swire's feast, she feels heartbroken and can't breathe.

Although she is now a student at the Royal Guard Academy, her childhood farming days remain an unforgettable memory for her.

Chen, who was busy copying notes at his desk, saw Swire's message, sighed helplessly, and picked up his phone to reply:

“I really have something to do, and there’s a high chance that Bagpipe won’t come. Last time you treated her to barbecue, she ate meat with tears in her eyes for three days in a row.”

Swire was a little embarrassed: "Is it really that exaggerated?"

Chen replied: "Is this what the people of Versailles are like?"

Chen: "Besides, I really do have something to do tonight. You forgot? Bruce isn't feeling well and can't attend class, so the professor had each of us take turns copying his notes and giving them to him. Today it's my turn. I'm busy right now."

Swire thought about it and realized that there was such a thing, but she had asked the butler and servants to help her copy it, so she didn't remember it. Now that Chen mentioned it, she remembered it.

"Then I can just invite him along, right?"

Shi Huaiya thought of this and immediately tagged the person in the group:

"@Bruce, classmate, wanna go out for dinner tonight?"

This Bruce is none other than Wayne.

For reasons everyone understands, when he created a fake identity to attend school, he decisively switched his first and last name. Bruce Wayne, every time he used this name, Wayne felt like he was filled with money power!

Unfortunately, the money in the national treasury wasn't his, and the 500 million gold coins generously donated by the Pope had a more important purpose, so Swire was actually much richer than him.

Seeing that Swire had tagged him, Wayne decided against continuing to lurk and spy. He thought for a moment and replied:

"Thank you, young lady, I will come!"

Wayne, who had never spoken in the group before, actually spoke up. Chen, who had originally planned to lecture Swire, raised an eyebrow in surprise. Seeing that he had agreed, she didn't say anything more, but simply replied:

"@Bruce, shall I just hand over the notes to you in person then?"

"Thank you, Chen!" Wayne said very politely.

Having achieved his goal, Shi Huai lay down contentedly on the back seat of the car, his smooth, plump thighs tucking his fluffy tail between them, curling into a ball, and asked curiously:

"By the way, I've never seen Bruce before. What do you look like?"

“Shi Huaiya!” Chen typed out three words with a space in between, looking very stern.

Wayne was taken aback by the blunt question, then shrugged and said:

"You'll find out when the time comes, won't you?"

Swire blinked, seemingly realizing her question had been a bit impolite. She scratched her head, paused for a moment, and then replied:

"I'm really looking forward to it!"

Wayne smiled and replied:

"Maybe we've met before? Maybe I know you, but you don't know me."

In his memory, there was indeed a noble party where Swire accompanied his grandfather, the powerful old sick tiger. However, at that time, Wayne was still in his original form, and he was so proud that he stayed in the inner circle of the nobles at the party. He only saw Swire from afar and never went up to talk to her. So Swire could not possibly recognize him.

However, Swire heard these words in a completely different way.

Bruce had seen him before, but he didn't know her.

Her first thought was that they had brushed past each other at some social gathering—her social circle wasn't actually that wide; besides her classmates, she only had the occasional social event where she had to attend. Since she was certain she hadn't seen Wayne at school, it could only mean it was at some social gathering she couldn't quite remember.

The social gatherings she attended were mostly attended by businessmen. Victorian nobles were very arrogant, and unless they were genuinely short of money or wanted to collaborate with businessmen, they usually disdained to participate in banquets hosted by them. Bruce's attitude during their conversation was very humble, and he even addressed his daughter, the daughter of a wealthy merchant, as "Miss." This was completely different from the arrogant attitude of the nobles she had imagined towards people of their class.

In other words, is it highly likely that Bruce was also born into a business family?

Swire felt a strange sense of familiarity, but to avoid offending the country's nobility by guessing wrong, she boldly asked:

"Bruce, have you seen me before? When?"

"At the party."

Wayne recalled, cheerfully typing a reply:

"Miss Swire is a big shot, it's normal that she doesn't remember me."

"All I can say is, I'm a newbie, please help me!"

Swire breathed a sigh of relief. Hmm, this tone of voice couldn't possibly be from a nobleman!

With a slight upturn of his lips, Swire was delighted by the compliment from "Bruce," and his triumphant announcement was made:

"It's alright, I'll protect you!"

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Justice Cannot Stand Idly By

"I'll protect you!"

Wayne looked at the new message that popped up against the background of a photo of him and Vina, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up.

He finally understood why, despite having so many experts in the QQ group in his past life, everyone who responded to him when he joined the chat was a complete newbie, asking for help!

Just by looking at Swire's confident declaration, Wayne could imagine how smug that Miss Char Siu Cat was right now, probably even humming a happy little tune.

A young lady from a wealthy business family declared in her classmates' group chat that she would take care of Wayne in Victoria's little corner of the world. If other people in the know found out, they would probably be overjoyed.

Wayne couldn't help but start contemplating whether it would be cooler to have the palace guards seal off three blocks and then parachute in by helicopter when they went to the barbecue restaurant for a get-together, or to simply have the unicorn clan from the Clock Tower participate in a "Walking with the Gods" event for even more attention. The point was, the three-year period was up, lol!

It's a pity I can't do it.

Wayne didn't intend to reveal his identity so soon. As far as he knew, neither Chen Huijie nor Swire liked those in power. Power on Terra was stained with blood, and he didn't want to ruin the good impression he had of them, nor did he want to disrupt his own goals.

He wanted Chen and Swire to remember that they had a reliable friend in Victoria to turn to for help when they encountered trouble in the future.

Secondly, he genuinely wanted to befriend the two of them, not as Prince Victoria, but as Wayne Bruce. He admitted that his initial approach to them was purposeful, but his intention to befriend them was sincere. Although revealing his identity was inevitable, at least during their time at the academy, he wanted their understanding of each other to be limited to "a sick and weak classmate in need of help and a kind-hearted companion."

We'll just take a taxi then.

Wayne thought to himself calmly. Suddenly, the news channel on television broadcast a message: four squads of Victoria mounted police, escorting solemnly dressed saints in the center, slowly drove out of the city hall's restricted area, heading east towards Londinim, under the 360-degree unobstructed photography of several aerial drones.

The chat group in his hand was still filled with orders and discussions about himself. Wayne smiled slightly and typed:

"@Miss Swire, have you seen the news? Lots of mounted police have been deployed."

Swire, who was ordering food, was startled by the sudden mention. She then looked up at the butler, who was holding the menu and writing down the dishes, and interrupted him:

"Wait a minute before ordering, turn on the TV and tune to the news channel."

While speaking, he asked curiously in the group:

"@Bruce, you actually watch the news channel? I thought only my grandpa would watch that channel."

"No, it's because my father has some connections with people in the General Staff. I heard that something big is going to happen this afternoon, so he's been keeping the news channel on."

Shi Huaiya was stunned, somewhat incredulous.

Bruce's father has connections with those generals in the General Staff.

This is an incredible discovery. You see, in Victoria, there is only one institution that can be called the General Staff—the General Staff of the Victorian Empire, the highest military authority in the British Empire, and the lifelong dream of every student at the Victorian Royal Military Academy.

The people inside were all wealthy and noble, most of them holding titles. The highest leader was naturally Ernest Norfolk, the current patriarch of the Norfolk family, while the lowest-ranking person, Swire, was not sure, but was certainly a pillar of the nation.

The father had connections with high-ranking military figures. It wasn't just Swire; the group of students, including Chen, remained silent for a few seconds. Then, they all began doing something.

"@Swire, you keep your word! [Screenshot: I'll protect you!]"

"@Swire, you keep your word [Screenshot: I'll protect you!]" (Add one)

"@Swire, you keep your word [Screenshot: I'll protect you!]" (Add one)

Even Chen, who usually dislikes following the crowd, was happy to see Swire get humiliated and repeated the lesson himself.

Swire's mood immediately soured, and she pouted as she replied:

"@BruceBruce, are you pretending to be a newbie? You're so good, you don't need me to carry you."

In her eyes, Bruce was definitely a nobleman, no doubt about it! She was just teasing her with those words.

As expected, nobles are all generally wicked!

Wien, who was observing the mounted police formation, smiled helplessly and spoke frankly:

"I still need Miss Swire to guide me, I'm not kidding you."

Swire: "Nonsense, your father knows people in the military, isn't that much better than me?"

The group fell silent immediately, as if everyone understood that the topic had entered a realm outside their own. They could only stare wide-eyed, curious about "Bruce's" answer, and speculate about his true identity as the son of some nobleman.

Unexpectedly, Wayne's reply came in a completely different way.

"That was my father, and it was a long time ago. He has nothing to do with me..."

Where is your father?

"he's gone."

"........"

Swire remained silent for a long while before realizing what "he's gone" really meant. The anger she felt from being mocked cooled instantly, as if doused with cold water, and for a moment, she held her phone, unsure how to reply.

At this moment, Chen Cai, who had been silent all along, finally put down his pen, which was copying notes, and picked up his phone.

"Sorry, Chashao Cat is always very straightforward, she didn't mean it."

After Wayne's sudden words, Chen roughly understood why Wayne, who should be a nobleman, spoke without any of the arrogance of a nobleman.

He was the son of a fallen noble family. Perhaps he had once been glorious, but now he was undoubtedly in the winter of his life. The grief of his father's death and the torment of physical illness were both hitting the young man's spirit and body, to the point that a nobleman who should have been in the prime of his life abandoned the rigid etiquette and hierarchy of Victoria, placing himself on the same or even lower level as Swire, Chen, and other classmates.

He might have been spying on the screen all day, but he never said a word. If Chen hadn't mentioned him and Swire hadn't tagged him, he might have continued to remain silent, like an abandoned child of the world.

The more this was the case, the more worried Chen Yue became that Swire's unintentional question might touch a sensitive nerve in Wayne's heart, causing the boy, who had finally made up his mind to reach out to the outside world, to panic and lock himself back into his lonely cage.

When something like this happens to one of her classmates, the righteous Chen Huijie cannot stand idly by!

She spoke before Swire could:

"Shall I pick you up for dinner tonight? You don't mind taking a motorcycle, do you?"

Wayne: "It's nothing, thank you, Chen. There's really no need to make such a fuss. Actually, my family used to be very powerful (we were once the Kings of the North). My father even went a step further (referring to usurping the throne and becoming emperor), but for some reason, he couldn't hold onto the throne and met with misfortune (referring to being assassinated). Now it's just my sister and me at home. I'm not in good health (referring to being lazy), so my sister has been in charge (referring to Vina's coronation as the new king). I only heard about this news by chance from a friend of my father's (referring to Ernest and Arthur reporting to Wayne that the religious reforms were ready). It's not a secret. I guess it'll be broadcast nationwide soon, right?"

Just ten seconds after Wayne typed the last word and sent the message to the group chat, Swire, who was looking at the car's TV, Chen who had just turned on the TV, and a group of classmates who had turned on the TV with either curiosity or suspicion, all had their programs forcibly switched to a live news broadcast.