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

Wayne naturally couldn't hear Mudrock's mutterings, which hadn't even been activated by the voice changer. He forced himself to ignore Kal'tsit's deadly, scumbag gaze and looked at the Yan Kingdom Shadow Guard, who had already sheathed his sword and was now standing silently to the side.

Dressed in a black raincoat and wearing a bamboo hat, and based on Kal'tsit's impression of their encounter, he is undoubtedly a shadow guard from Lungmen.

Wayne nodded slightly to him and said:

"Please give my regards to Mr. Wei Yanwu."

Ying Weizi trembled slightly, a hint of surprise appearing on his face hidden by his bamboo hat, but it quickly turned into relief.

Indeed, since it was someone Princess Chen had taken a liking to, it wasn't entirely unexpected that she would learn about her benefactor from her. Moreover, while her benefactor wasn't a household name among the Terran kingdoms, he was still quite well-known. Knowing him, it wouldn't be difficult for her to connect him to her based on her attire.

But this insight and composure, one might say, are truly worthy of Prince Victoria.

The Shadow Guard's mind flashed with the face of a man who had once held the same title in Dragon Gate, but he pulled him from his memory in the next second. That tragedy was not something to dwell on now; the Shadow Guard's shame would be washed away by themselves sooner or later.

Zi Jin solemnly clasped his hands and bowed, performing a standard Yan state etiquette, and replied:

“Yingwei Zijin, on behalf of Benchu ​​and my benefactor, sends my greetings to the Prince.”

As he spoke, he glanced at Kal'tsit, whose expression remained calm beside Wayne, and bowed in apology:

"I apologize for the misunderstanding with this lady earlier."

The fact that Kal'tsit was standing next to Wayne showed that they had a close relationship. Apologizing now was much cheaper than being questioned later, at least it wouldn't give Victoria any reason to pick a fight with her benefactor.

Kal'tsit nodded expressionlessly. But under Wayne's questioning gaze, there seemed to be a hint of smugness in the corners of her mouth.

The old lynx doesn't seem to be as cold and unfeeling as the legends suggest.

"I won't concern myself with your affairs for now. You're here to protect Chen, right?"

Wayne turned his head back, brushing past Kal'tsit's deadly glare that she had immediately given him upon hearing "Chen's" name. Thank goodness it was Kal'tsit, not Chen, otherwise he would be enduring far more than just a death stare.

But I need to think about how to explain this to Theresa...

Wayne didn't believe that Kal'tsit, the proper head chef of the royal family, would not tell Theresa about something that would damage his glorious image, especially since the lynx-headed girl always seemed to dislike him.

Even though Wayne hadn't offended her, who knows how many times she'd thrown a menopausal tantrum.

Ying Weizi nodded: "Just as you said, Princess Chen left without saying goodbye and did not communicate with Lord Wei at all. Lord Wei is very worried, so he specially sent me and another colleague to investigate and protect her."

"The other one is a sorcerer, a master of thunder magic from the Yan Kingdom."

Kal'tsit leaned close to Wayne's ear and whispered a reminder. Although she was displeased that Wayne had revealed her affair with two undoubtedly remarkable women, Surtr and Chen, in just a few minutes, she was, after all, someone the princess had taken a liking to, and she would not let personal matters interfere with her duties.

Wayne gave him a knowing look, then asked:

"Was the explosion just now caused by the two of you?"

The two were naturally referring to Surtr and Shadow Guard, but to Wayne's surprise, Surtr immediately shook her head like a rattle-drum, pouted, and wanted to rush forward to Wayne to tell her about the pain of "losing her horse" and discuss whether she could apply for "Victoria's royal allowance" as "half a royal" and exchange all her gold coins for ice cream to soothe her wounded heart.

Then she was held tightly by the mudstone.

At this point, you're still speaking up for the unscrupulous boss and preventing employees from applying for workers' compensation. Muddy, you've changed!

Surtr looked at the head-down Mudrock with grief and indignation, and pondered with heartache whether he would become like that after becoming a "royal person" like Mudrock.

Ying Weizi shook his head and replied:

"It wasn't us who did it. It's strange, actually. I thought Your Highness should know something, since the person who ordered the bomb to explode was wearing the attire of a nobleman from your country. And he was accompanied by some demons, just like you."

The word "demon" made Surtr glare at Shadow Guard Zijin once again.

Wayne frowned. A demon?

He turned to look at Kal'tsit, who shook her head, indicating that she was unaware of the matter.

That's really strange. Which force is causing trouble again? The demons have nothing to do with Theresa. Could it be Theresis? But that doesn't make sense either. If it were Theresis, his target would be her, who is about to be married to Theresa, instead of detonating the mountain road to attack a group of noble guards.

After all, Heidi and her friends weren't unlucky Lateranites.

Wayne was somewhat surprised. The entire Northwest was in complete chaos, yet he could still find a group of people who weren't there for him. This strangely eased the guilt on Wayne's shoulders.

Just as Wayne was about to offer his self-deception, Mudrock, who had been silent until now, seemed to sense something. He turned around and looked at the giant statue that was still curled up protecting the car and Heidi inside. He raised his hand and slowly opened his clenched fist. The giant statue then released its embrace.

She glanced at Heidi inside the car, then turned to Wayne, who was now looking at her, and called out:

"Your Highness, she's awake!"

Chapter Fifty-One: We Are the Center Blossoming! (Two Chapters Combined)

A flash of light, a loud bang, followed by scorching heat and an irresistible shockwave in the air.

Heidi felt for a moment that her soul had left her body, and she even saw herself being torn apart. Then, a tearing pain spread from her limbs to every cell.

"Waaah!"

With a mournful cry, she abruptly opened her eyes to the slowly receding darkness. Light tore a slit through the opaque rock, and she saw the azure sky again. A somewhat indistinct and heavy voice, thick with electronic accents, spoke:

"Your Highness, she has woken up."

Your Highness?

Heidi's mind was a little muddled. She reached out and wiped her wet cheeks. Bloodstains and shards of car glass mixed in with the dirt reminded her that the explosion and her injuries were not a figment of her imagination.

She didn't die? That level of explosion almost shattered the entire car; how could she survive such an explosion?

She immediately reached into her bosom, and when her bloodied fingers touched the warm, hard object inside, Heidi gave a bitter smile. Whether it was luck or misfortune, she hadn't died, and the notebook was still there, which meant she would ultimately have to continue to eke out a living on this land.

"How are your injuries?"

Just as Heidi's thoughts were sinking into despair, the stone wall in front of her finally opened completely, revealing a small giant completely encased in power armor, and a blond boy she had only met once before.

She recognized the little giant—Mudrock, the "Lentinium Special Envoy" who had come with her in a special vehicle to search for and rescue trapped students in the landslide area. She simply raised her hand, and the towering rock statue sheltering Heidi in her arms straightened up, standing guard beside the road like a sentinel.

Is this Mudrock's Originium Arts? No wonder they dared to come to the North alone to carry out the rescue; such magic... is simply unheard of.

But Heidi didn't have time to marvel at the power and wonder of the mudstone magic. She forced herself to sit up, wanting to bow to the blond boy standing beside Mudstone—Mudstone addressed him as "Your Highness." Even if Heidi thought with her cat's paws, she knew that the blond boy must be the Aslan royal family member trapped in the landslide area who had sent a distress message to Doron County, for the envoy from the Londinium royal family addressed him in such a way.

Wayne reached out and stopped her, helping her up and letting her lean against the thick mudstone armor. He shook his head slightly and said, "No need for formalities. How are you feeling? Can you hold on?"

Wayne was somewhat worried about Heidi's condition. It wasn't that she didn't trust Mudrock's abilities, but rather that the explosion was happening incredibly fast, and Mudrock had reacted hastily. Some of the Mudrock colossi standing by the roadside were even damaged, clearly indicating that the summoning wasn't complete. Under these circumstances, the guardian's abilities would definitely be diminished. Although Heidi seemed fine, internal injuries couldn't be ruled out.

Wayne gestured towards Kal'tsit, who was standing some distance behind him, unwilling to approach, and said:

"Isn't Miss Heidi someone you know, Lord Kal'tsit? Aren't you going to give her a checkup?"

Kal'tsit glared at Wayne sullenly before reluctantly approaching. It wasn't that she was unwilling to examine Heidi; in fact, from the moment Heidi emerged from the blast, she had already basically confirmed that Heidi was alright—have you ever seen someone emerge from the epicenter of an explosion still able to speak fluently? —To avoid any awkwardness upon meeting again, she refrained from going forward.

After all, she had specifically avoided her two old friends, Heidi and Vincent, during this trip to Victoria. Because Heidi...

Kal'tsit!

Sure enough, Heidi's eyes lit up the moment she saw Kal'tsit. If she weren't so weak, she probably would have jumped right up to her. The girl from Felin glanced at Kal'tsit's current security guard-like attire and blinked excitedly.

You look great dressed like this!

"Ahem, thank you for your compliment, Miss Heidi. You can still comment on my attire, so it seems you're not in any serious health problems. But now is not the time for catching up; let's get down to business."

Kal'tsit shifted slightly to the left, half her body hiding behind Vayne. She silently used Vayne, who was watching the spectacle, as a shield.

Heidi naturally noticed Kal'tsit's subtle movements. She glanced at Kal'tsit, then at Wayne, scanning him back and forth two or three times before realizing something. She pursed her lips somewhat dejectedly and nodded, saying:

"That's true. I'm sorry, Your Highness, I was being presumptuous. Please don't misunderstand."

What did I misunderstand?

Wayne turned his head in confusion to look at Kal'tsit, who had silently returned to her position behind him, and was puzzled.

Having rested enough, Heidi straightened up, supporting herself against the armor that was heavier than her, and glanced around at everyone present. Finally, she fixed her gaze on Wayne, who was standing in the center, and said:

"Your Highness, I know what you want to ask. What I am about to say is of great importance, so please keep it confidential."

Wayne nodded knowingly, looked at Surtr, and said:

"Miss Surtr, your first task has arrived: please keep an eye on the strangers around us, is that alright?"

The outsider naturally refers to Ying Weizi, the only one from Yan Kingdom present. The others, whether it's Kal'tsit, Surtr, Ernest, or Mudrock, can all be considered as one of their own.

Surtr nodded. She was also quite interested in the Shadow Guard, so she drew her greatsword, Levadin, from the ground and stood before him. The Shadow Guard shrugged indifferently, turned, and walked away. He still needed to contact his colleague, Benchu, who had been attacked by unknown assailants and was still missing. Now that he had confirmed the princess was unharmed, there was no need for him to eavesdrop on Victoria's Secret.

Once he was sure Ying Weizi had gone far away, Wayne nodded his chin at Heidi.

Heidi took a deep breath and said solemnly:

“Your Highness, my name is Heidi Thomson. I am the daughter of Thomson, the president of the Writing and Arts Association of Dorron County. But that is only my public identity. The truth is that my family operates a vast intelligence network in the North. This network originated from the underground network of the royal guards during the reign of the King of the North. After the King of the North invaded Londinium, this network was transferred there as well, with only a small number of members remaining in the North, gradually taking the form we have today.”

The North has a huge intelligence network left behind by its cheap father? And Londinium has one too?

Wayne was surprised, but only slightly. Although this was the first time he had heard of such a thing, it wasn't particularly surprising. After all, the fact that the King of the North could conquer Londinium, then known as the "City That Never Falls," with only the forces of the northern frontier was already legendary. Besides the obvious military strength and tactics, it was quite normal for him to have a nationwide intelligence network providing intelligence support.

He nodded, signaling Heidi to continue.

Heidi swallowed hard. "This intelligence network was recently taken over by my father, who died in a premeditated assassination. The mastermind behind this assassination, who is also very likely the mastermind behind this explosion, is the Duke of Normandy, a former general under the King of the North."

The Duke of Normandy....

Wayne searched his memories of his predecessor and finally found, in some obscure corner, the middle-aged man who always wore military uniforms instead of aristocratic attire, who smoked a gilded pipe, and sported a mustache. He wasn't exactly familiar with his predecessor, but they weren't strangers either; they were at the level where they would greet each other when they met.

So, is he the third party involved in this incident?

Why did he kill your father and then hunt you down?

"Wayne asked. The Duke of Normandy is a powerful Grand Duke; the possibility of him having any interaction with the head of an arts association in a county in the North is extremely slim, let alone having a blood feud with him." Wayne pondered for a moment; the only possibility was...

"Because of your intelligence network?"

Heidi nodded admiringly: "As you said, Your Highness, our intelligence network has been investigating a very important matter for years. The Duke of Normandy should have been our ally, but unexpectedly, during the investigation, we discovered some fatal information about him."

Heidi took a deep breath and said to the royal before her, “Your Highness, are you aware of the secret society, the Noble Republican Party? Their aim is to abolish the Victorian monarchy and establish a noble republic controlled by a council of seven dukes. The Duke of Normandy is a member of this party, even its leader. In other words…”

“He wants to rebel,” Wayne added.

"So he wanted to kill you and your father because you uncovered evidence about it."

Heidi nodded: "That's right."

Wayne understood and promised, "I already know about this. After I return to Londinium, I will report this to Her Majesty Queen Vina and have the Duke of Normandy arrested. You will stay by my side in the meantime."

“It’s too late, Your Highness.” Heidi shook her head, her face grim. “The rebellion has already begun. Before I left the manor, they had cut off all communication between the North and Londinium. If they are certain I am dead, the North has probably already fallen. Please contact Londinium immediately and prepare an army to quell the rebellion.”

Communication was cut off.

Wayne narrowed his eyes. He knew about this, and it was precisely because of the communication failure that he had to leave the group with his steam armor and go to the explosion site to check the situation.

Wayne couldn't help but worry about Vina's situation. If the rebellion had really broken out by now, he wondered if Vina was prepared.