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

"Where's the list?"

"Ah, oh..." The little unicorn paused for a moment before realizing what the list Winster was referring to. It turned and quickly ran towards the intelligence processing office. Before opening the door, Winster added:

"Also, give me the current Duke of the North's information and current situation report. And check the entry information as well."

Without needing to explain, Winster's authority in the clock tower was equivalent to that of Vina in Victoria, or of Wayne in front of Vina. In less than a quarter of an hour, neatly arranged documents were piled on the table where the chessboard had just been placed.

Winster frowned, suppressing his unease, and gently opened the file.

The very first page almost made him curse out loud.

[List of Graduates from the Royal Military Academy Victoria]

The first name mentioned is Bruce Wayne.

Immediately afterwards, he saw what appeared to be the Duke of Normandy mobilizing the northern garrison and contacting other dukes. He also suspected that Vincent, the Earl of the North, was building a large-scale intelligence network.

Even more surprisingly, some of the participants in this assessment are suspected to be nobles from the Yan Kingdom, whose bloodlines may even reach the level of royalty.

Guys, I'm straight guys.

Winster felt a bit overwhelmed.

When was the last time Yan and Victoria had a joint event of this scale?

I vaguely remember it was during those three major cases that involved too many people and remain unresolved to this day.

Even then, the investigation was conducted jointly by the Clock Tower, the Victorian Supreme Court, the Yan Kingdom's Imperial Observatory, and the Dali Temple. Although the actual members of the royal family were nominally the heads of the investigation team, they never actually showed their faces.

But this time, compared to the three major cases that almost triggered war, it was just a trivial graduation exam, which actually brought to the attention of the royal families of two countries.

numb.

Winster glanced at the departure date. Three days ago, they should have arrived in Toronto more than a day ago.

It's even more numb now.

He couldn't even imagine how he, as the leader and guardian of the Victorian intelligence agency, would write a decent suicide note should anything happen to Wayne or any member of the Yan royal family.

"Go, go, go, call someone. Let Albert lead the team... no, never mind, I'll lead the team myself."

"Let's set off now, at top speed, to the North."

After saying this, he clasped his hands together and bowed to a newly erected Anglican cross inside the clock tower, in line with current trends.

I hope Prince Wayne is alright.

Chapter Thirty-One: The Aristocratic Republican Party

Victoria, in the North, the Duchy of Normandy.

Before the Wars of the Roses, the Duchy of Normandy was under the jurisdiction of the Gallo-Baltistan province of the Victorian Empire, located in the south of the empire. Given the rule that mobile cities could not migrate long distances, its presence in the north was quite inconceivable. But there are always exceptions to the rule, and the Duchy of Normandy was a successful one.

During the Wars of the Roses, he chose to stand with the King of the North, who at the time had not yet received the support of the Norfolk family and was not favored by most non-Northern nobles. He was one of the few Southern nobles in the King of the North's noble camp at the time, and the highest-ranking Southern noble. He had been assisting the King of the North in launching attacks as his lieutenant until the Norfolk family joined the war.

The powerful Norfolk family was far stronger than the Normandy family, both in terms of internal resources and on paper. Although Ernest's arrival took away the second-in-command position that originally belonged to the Duke of Normandy, the King of the North compensated him accordingly. For example, during the King of the North's reign, he coordinated the shipping routes and supplies of many mobile cities in the empire, and transferred the Duchy of Normandy, located in the south, all the way to the north, which was destined to rise after the victory of the war.

Now, the Duchy of Normandy has become the most powerful force in the former Northern Kingdom, showing signs of becoming a local power.

At the cusp of dawn and dusk, the sky was tinged with an intoxicating golden hue, and the scattered stars, like bubbles in a beer, gradually disappeared into the approaching moonlight.

The Duke of Normandy did not have dinner today, or rather, he had transformed the entire dining room of the Duke's mansion into a scaled-down model of the Earl of Dorron's mansion.

He stretched out his hand, pointing to the three-story earl's mansion in the garden at the center of the sand table, and asked the tall officer beside him without looking up:

"If we launch a full-scale attack, how long would it take to take this place?"

“Five to ten hours, sir. If we are to clear all the bunkers, escape routes and hiding places, it will take about half a day.”

The tall officer replied, his attire quite peculiar. Despite it being late May, when the weather was gradually getting warmer, he was still wearing a thick, tall hat, deliberately concealing something. However, his pointed ears and distinctive tail still gave away his race—a Sarkaz.

"Why does it take so long?"

The Duke of Normandy questioned him with dissatisfaction.

"Didn't we succeed in assassinating Thomson? Their intelligence network should be paralyzed by now."

The Sarkaz man shook his head, inwardly questioning whether planting a bomb on someone else's train tracks, blowing up the entire train and its occupants, could truly be called assassination, as he explained:

"You are unaware, Your Excellency, ever since your first assassination attempt on him resulted in his kneecap being shattered, Thomson has gradually begun to hand over the intelligence network covering the entire North to her daughter. Although we have now successfully assassinated Thomson, the intelligence network only experienced a very minor shock before returning to stability. It is conceivable that Heidi Thomson's control over this intelligence network has reached a level that we did not anticipate."

"......"

After a long, silent stare at the Sarkaz officer before him, confirming that there was no feigned panic in his eyes, the Duke of Normandy withdrew his gaze, lit his pipe, took a deep drag, and, as the smoke shrouded his face in a hazy glow, spoke:

"Is there any way to lure her out and get rid of her?"

“Your Grace, you know this is difficult, we…”

The Duke of Normandy tapped the edge of the sand table heavily with his knuckles, interrupting the Sarkaz officer's explanation, and said loudly:

"I asked you if you had a solution, not to ask you to make excuses. Back when I fought for the King of the North, I never shirked my duty, no matter how difficult the battle!"

What do I care about your business with that King of the North? I'm just a mercenary who does what I pay for.

After silently cursing a couple of times in his mind, the Sarkaz officer thought for a moment and then spoke:

"It is possible, but we need a trigger. According to our scouts, a convoy of troop carriers flying the flag of Londinium is heading towards Dorronshire. Are you aware of this, Your Excellency?"

The Duke of Normandy nodded in surprise and said:

"I know. The Royal Military Academy has made the swarm of infected creatures that recently appeared on the outskirts of Toronto County its assessment target for this year. Those are students who came to take the exam."

He frowned and gave a cold warning:

"Don't try to take advantage of those students. I'm warning you, they are the future pillars of our country, the rising stars of Lentinium!"

“But you are now an indispensable pillar of Victoria, Your Excellency the Duke.”

The Sarkaz officer's deep brown, vertical pupils flashed with a sharp light as he retorted:

"If Heidi were to report what you've done in the North to Londinium, what would the newly crowned empress think of you?"

The Duke of Normandy fell into a deep silence.

Indeed, if a newly crowned empress were to learn of certain things, his already awkward situation would only become more precarious.

His status and position were earned by serving the King of the North. However, since the King of the North fell and the legitimate royal family returned to power, his situation has become increasingly awkward. Although the Londinium side has not issued any decree to him, nor has it sent a single soldier to the North, the North, which was once united under his banner, has already begun to split on its own.

The nobles who once fawned over him gradually became disloyal, and the sycophantic city officials began to ignore him, seemingly acknowledging that he, the Duke of Normandy, was about to fall from power. To retain his authority, he did many things in private.

For example, he assassinated nobles who were dissatisfied with him, eliminated merchants who disagreed with him, and suppressed and erased writers who advocated monarchy.

However, these things alone would not be enough to shake his position in the North, nor would they be enough to send a powerful duke to the gallows.

The most crucial question is whether Victoria, with her "noble agreement" with several other grand dukes, truly needed a king.

Yes, during the decade or so that the King of the North ruled the northern frontier, the Duke of Normandy gradually developed this question. He ultimately rose above many other nobles who harbored doubts, becoming the leader of the most secretive, largest, and most influential organization in all of Victoria, the "Noble Republican Party."

The Noble Republican Party, which was loyal to neither Aslan nor Drake, aimed to overthrow the royal rule of Victoria and transform it from a kingdom into a federal system governed by a noble council, with duchies as the basic unit.

If this matter were to come to light, it's easy to imagine that it would be far more than just the Duke of Normandy being hanged; the entire Victorian aristocratic system could face upheaval or even a complete reshuffling. Fortunately, not many people possessed this secret, but unfortunately, Heidi Thomson's intelligence network happened to obtain decisive evidence sufficient to prove their existence.

"A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime." Regardless of whether Heidi Thomson and her father knew about the existence and significance of the evidence, they must die.

Only the dead can keep secrets.

"...Tell me your plan,"

The time spent in thought seemed endless. When the Duke of Normandy finally looked up, the tobacco in his pipe had burned out. Unaware of the beads of sweat trickling down his cheeks, he slowly began to speak.

"Be quick!"

Chapter 32 Kal'tsit: Understood, I'll go right away.

Victoria, County of Toronto, the Earl of Vincent's House.

Wayne looked at the building with some surprise. Strictly speaking, this was the first time he had ever seen a living noble residence. He had seen plenty of dead ones, though; he had even taken over the Lancaster family's residence in the western suburbs. And while the emperor was the highest-ranking noble, the imperial palace was incomparable to the mansions of ordinary nobles.

In Wayne's mind, a noble mansion should be much larger, but the detached villa in front of him was only three stories high, standing in a meticulously maintained garden. Rather than a noble's residence, it was more like a high-end hotel, quite different from the medieval noble castle in Wayne's mind. Overall, it was not grand enough.

In fact, medieval-style aristocratic castles were not only expensive to build but also difficult to maintain. In summer, they were sweltering like ovens, and in winter, they were cold and damp like iceboxes. In Victoria, the birthplace of the steam revolution, they had long been discarded by history. Except for a few tourist cities that deliberately preserve their characteristics, it is now rare to see castles of that type.

Seeing Wayne standing in front of the car, gazing absently at the distant villa, Chen couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

She knew exactly what Wayne was thinking. Ever since their parting that night, Chen had spent time researching the history of the Lancaster family at the National Library of Victoria. She knew just how glorious this family, which had once single-handedly built the world's financial center, Londinim, and controlled one-third of Victoria's economic lifeline, was in the past.

However, to this day, Bruce is confined to that inconspicuous villa in the western suburbs, his freedom restricted. The mansion before him is not even one ten-thousandth the size of the Lancaster family's main residence in historical documents, but it is still far more magnificent than that small villa in the desolate meadow.

Seeing these objects evokes memories and stirs up painful emotions. Bruce, upon seeing the noble residence before him, felt as if he were seeing his younger self. That's probably why he was so lost in thought.

A pang of sadness welled up in Chen's heart. He took the initiative to stand next to Wayne, reached out, and gently ruffled Wayne's blond hair.

"Stop looking, let's go."

A fierce flame ignited in her eyes, and she encouraged him with the unwavering determination of a born leading man.

"Bruce, don't be sad. If you're oppressed, you have to fight back. You have to take back everything you've lost! Keep going, you and your family will definitely rise again!"

Wayne had just been brought back to his senses by the sudden head pat, but then he was left completely bewildered by Chen's inspirational speech.

My family?

Oh, what happened to the legitimate royal family of Aslan?

So what if the population is a little small (meaning there are only two left)? Aside from that, isn't it pretty good?

......

Well, it seems that having a small population is a serious problem for the royal family. Look at the emperors of the Great Yan Dynasty, which one didn't have a lot of children? The saying "the dragon has nine sons" isn't just a joke; it's a historical fact.

However, Chen Huijie, what do you mean by saying that?

Feeling a little flustered by Chen's intense gaze, Wayne thought for a moment and took a small half-step back.

Dragons are inherently... well, but with a cute lion at home, no way, we're not going to do that.

Wayne opened his mouth to ask something, but Chen grabbed his hand and quickly followed the group that had already walked far ahead. Driving was prohibited in noble territories; only walking was permitted, in order to demonstrate the nobles' esteemed status. Although the students of the Royal Military Academy were backed by the General Staff, it was best not to break this rule if possible.

In front of Count Vincent's mansion, the first batch of students had already entered the residence. Count Vincent was an extremely thoughtful man, and he had prepared pillows and blankets for each student in advance. After receiving them at the gate, they could enter the residence under the guidance of servants and choose their own rooms.

The first batch of students generally stayed on the first floor, then the second floor, and finally the third floor, which included the Earl's bedroom. By the time Wayne and Chen joined the queue, they had already reached the third floor.

However, before Wayne could even step into the mansion, a deep roar suddenly came from behind him.