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

The report was then delayed by half an hour because Ernest almost vomited up his stomach acid in the toilet.

"So if you can't drink, then don't drink. What kind of behavior is this for a duke?"

Wayne joked, seeing this usually stern and unsmiling veteran of the battlefield in such a disheveled state made the expensive wine purchase worthwhile. Wei Yanwu was a shrewd businessman; he hadn't given him counterfeit goods.

"Have the contact person been arranged?"

"Wayne asked. Ernest suppressed his somewhat embarrassed expression, nodded solemnly, and replied:

"Of course, everything has been arranged. The Norfolk family is quite prestigious, and the Royalists accepted me without any suspicion once they learned of my 'abandonment of darkness for light'!"

Wayne was startled:

"Are you sure? At this crucial moment, if they have absolutely no doubt, aren't they all a bunch of idiots?"

Ernest's mind immediately flashed back to that day.

After the routine parliamentary session concluded, he secretly met with Wilson, the leading figure of the Royalists:

"To be honest, now that Her Highness Vina has returned, I want to join the royalist faction."

After Ernest finished speaking, he had already prepared a response to Wilson's series of questions and challenges. He was even prepared to make some "necessary sacrifices" to demonstrate his loyalty in switching sides, such as impeaching a few uncle party members who were not so important but not so insignificant either—they were not Wayne's confidants. Ernest had already benefited from Wayne's policies, weeding out the weeds and strengthening the core, in order to prepare for formally taking over the power behind the scenes.

Upon hearing this, Wilson's expression changed, clearly showing disbelief.

Then he frowned deeply, looked Ernest up and down, and openly suspected him.

But then, as if he had just remembered something, he clapped his hands, looking enlightened, and the tense expression on his face relaxed.

Finally, he extended his hand to the bewildered Ernest and smiled:

“Oh, my dear Duke of Norfolk, your discerning eye is truly remarkable. Forgive me for thinking you couldn't see through His Highness Wayne's filthy nature, which is as disgusting as Grandma Susan's pizza and Uncle Martin's stinky shoes. It's such a surprise and delight that you've come to see the light! Welcome!”

Ernest snapped out of his reverie, looked at Wayne with a strange expression, and shook his head:

"They can't be stupid, there must be some special reason."

For example, they might think you're an idiot, or that you switched jobs because you saw no future with me.

Ernest suppressed a laugh. Fortunately, he was a man who had dealt with politics before, so he didn't wear his emotions on his sleeve. If it were his father, a rough and uncultured man who had spent his whole life fighting, Prince Wayne might have really seen through him.

"Special reason?"

Wayne didn't doubt Ernest's words much; after all, who knew what those royalists were thinking?

His father reigned for six years, and aside from his annual battles of wits with Laterano and the crackdown on illegal constructions—referring to monasteries built without prior approval—he spent almost all his time suppressing the royalists. As a result, most of the influential and capable individuals had either switched sides or stepped down from their posts. Now, the royalists are few and far between, except for the leader, Wilson, who, good heavens, is already over seventy and only inherited his title last year—a baron, because his father was an earl, and still alive. The baronial title was a favor bestowed by Wayne's father, who thought he was in a terrible state and might not survive, since it wasn't hereditary. Either he would die and the title would be revoked, or his father would die and the title would automatically be upgraded.

It's no wonder that the thinking of such a dilapidated ship, with its members all being so flamboyant and unpredictable, is hard to fathom. Otherwise, Wayne wouldn't have let Ernest join the Royalists to seize power, instead of creating his own faction.

In short, it emphasizes self-confidence.

Wayne didn't bother to care what this person was thinking and continued asking:

"Have you found the people I asked you to find?"

"We've found them, but Your Highness, apart from that Felin who's somewhat useful, what value do the others have?"

Ernest took the documents out of his bag, placed them on the table, and asked,

"The information is all here: a dragon, Wei Yanwu's niece, a Vayvan, a tractor-driving village girl from the countryside, and a young lady from the Swire family."

Wayne picked up the documents on the table, put them all into the drawer, smiled mysteriously, and replied:

"They are all very useful."

Ernest, of course, had no idea about the future experiences and fates of these individuals.

Chen, Wei Yanwu's niece, a participant in the Lungmen Incident and the Chernobog Crisis, the sister of "Black Snake" Talulah, Swire, the future Lungmen Guard Chief and Senior Superintendent, Bagpipe, an outstanding graduate of the Royal Victoria Cavalry Academy, and one of the few tractor girls who can use a large weapon like the steam-powered city-breaking spear as a handheld weapon.

Of these individuals, the first two are key stepping stones for Wayne to intervene in the Reunion Movement and save Frostnova, Bodracus, and others, while the latter is a Victorian talent who might be lost to Rhodes Island, so of course we can't let them go.

Once the coronation is over, Wayne plans to conceal his identity and get close to them to build a good relationship. He doesn't need to be exceptional, but at least he wants them to think of him when they need help in the future: "Oh, I have a friend in Victoria who might be able to help."

Otherwise, it wouldn't be appropriate for him, a prince of the country, to directly get involved in the Chernobog affair.

Seeing that Wayne was keeping him in suspense, Ernest didn't intend to pry. This Prince Wayne was unfathomable, and this might be another pawn in some grand scheme he had set up. If he didn't want to get too involved, it was better not to ask too many questions.

"In that case, let's wrap up today's business and talk about some personal matters."

Wayne spoke first, taking a bottle of soda from the refrigerator. This stuff is only popular in Colombia now, but Wayne had someone bring a few bottles back. As he always said, although it's not from the same place, it tastes the same.

Ernest hesitated for a moment, then asked:

"Your Highness, I heard that you were in the drawing room, and... you did that with Princess Vina?"

"Who's that?" Wayne raised an eyebrow. "Just a kiss. I kissed my sister, what's it to you?"

Ernest grinned awkwardly and said, "It's not that it's our business or not, but I think our plan is to control the monarchy from behind the scenes. So I feel that if you get too close to Vina and she has some other ideas, such as wanting you to come out into the limelight, it will be difficult to handle."

Wayne waved his hand dismissively: "That's impossible!"

Anyone with eyes can see that he's doing this because he's lusting after Vina's body... no, he's doing it to reinforce his own bad image. Vina is so smart, how could she misunderstand him?

Moreover, he had already openly relinquished power. Although it was his own nameless, cheap father who was fighting against Vina's father, they still harbored a deep-seated hatred for each other over usurpation. If Wayne needed Ernest as a backup plan to usurp the throne in an emergency, rather than fully cooperating with Vina, how could Vina possibly relinquish the power she had gained so easily and allow him to step into the limelight again?

That's impossible!

“But Your Highness, your eyelids keep twitching,” Ernest reminded him.

Wayne's face twitched, and he stubbornly shook his head: "Impossible, it's impossible no matter how you look at it!"

Even if my eyelid twitches, it's impossible! Wayne is a materialist; he believes that an eyelid twitching means something bad is about to happen, and he doesn't believe that!

Chapter Fourteen: The Royalists, the Distillery Inside S.H.I.E.L.D.

The bells of Londinium rang slowly, their deafening, heavy tones echoing through every corner of the palace, accompanied by the sounds of several cannons firing in salute.

The coronation ceremony will be held in the afternoon. Before that, the many nobles who have come to Lentinium for this grand event will enjoy a ball with music played by top classical musicians and an incredibly lavish lunch in the Golden Hall of the Iron Palace.

The nobles, ranging from dukes to earls, numbered a hundred or so, and this was not even the entire Victorian nobility. Over the centuries, the noble system that had once brought glory and education to the land of Victoria had gradually become corrupt and bloated. In addition to these named nobles who could appear at the coronation ceremony, there were approximately a thousand knights, honorary knights, or noble sons. Together, they formed the largest power structure in Victoria.

To deal with these nobles who wielded considerable power in Victoria, the sages of Aslan creatively developed the first parliamentary system on the land of Terra. This system allowed these powerful nobles to compete for a select few noble seats, and then these selected noble representatives would manage the less obedient remaining nobles, allowing their enormous influence and strength to be consumed in endless infighting, in a continuous cycle. In this way, the royal family could simply stand by and watch, thus maximizing the maintenance of its status and authority.

However, there were also clever people among the noble councilors. As beneficiaries, they could not overthrow the parliamentary system that had given them their superior status. So they formed parties, bringing together a group of councilors with the same goals, led by elected officials who were respected or had strong military forces, and voted to maximize the overall interests.

Of these parties, the royalists were the largest!

"Our royalist party has invested everything in the strong contender for the throne, supporting him to ascend the throne and govern the country well, in order to obtain the rewards he deserves. This has been the practice for the past hundred years."

Wilson looked at the few remaining members of the royal clique gathered around him and said with a pained expression,

"But ever since the King of the North seized power, we have suffered cruel and unwarranted oppression. And now, gentlemen, the King of the North is dead, and that good-for-nothing son of Wayne is about to ascend the throne. Can you accept this?!"

The royalists looked at each other for a few seconds, completely baffled by Wilson's meaning.

What difference does it make whether we accept it or not? Right now, the entire court and the country are under the control of the King of the North. What can they do?

Since the Lancaster family, the most steadfast royalist leader among the three dukes, withdrew from the political center in disgrace with the end of the Wars of the Roses, the once glorious royalist party inevitably began its decline. Now, five years after the King in the North took power, the royalist party can be said to be essentially finished.

There were only a handful of people left in the entire party, the highest noble title being a marquis, and none of them were truly powerful. They simply refused to accept the fact that Wayne had ascended the throne, so what could they do?

Could they possibly strap on an Originium bomb and charge at Wayne?

Completely baffled by Wilson's sudden gathering of everyone here, Earl Berry, a member of the Royalist party, scratched his head, racked his wildest imaginations, and tentatively began to speak:

"can?"

"Can? Can't believe it!"

Wilson was furious and forgot all about aristocratic etiquette, spitting on Earl Berry.

He proudly raised his head and said with pride:

"We, the royalists, are the leaders of Parliament!"

Earl Berry was already dissatisfied, and this rebuke only fueled his anger, prompting him to immediately retort:

"You didn't create this parliament."

"We are still the holders of the throne!"

"That's His Majesty the King!"

"We are still the conquerors of Gaul!"

"What does it have to do with us that the Great Khan crushed them?"

"You!" Wilson's throat tightened, his mind went blank, and he snapped:

"Are you still a member of the Wang faction?!"

"Of course I'm a member of the royalist party, but I think you're a patient. You're a traitor, aren't you? Gathering us here at this critical juncture for brainwashing propaganda, if His Highness Wayne finds out, I wonder if you'll still be able to keep your heads full of water!"

Upon hearing this, the royalists suddenly realized what was happening and erupted in excitement. Immediately afterward, they all turned their hostile gazes toward Wilson.

Good heavens, so there's a traitor among us! The coronation ceremony is just around the corner, and you've gathered us here not to figure out how to prolong the royalist party's life, but to try and trick us into revealing information. If we had just said we wouldn't have accepted it, wouldn't we have fallen right into your trap?

Little Berry waved his hand and shouted:

"Gentlemen, let me tell you, this treacherous traitor is definitely carrying a recording device. He's just waiting to use our heads to gain merit and sell out his party, Qiu Rong! Everyone, follow me and search him. Find the bugging device, destroy it, and then hand him over to His Highness Wayne to show our loyalty to the Royal Party!"

"it is good!"

"it is good!"

"Berry's right, let's do it!"

One call and a hundred responses.

Ernest, standing not far away, was at a loss for words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Just now, Wilson boasted to him that he would give him a grand entrance and also surprise the royalists, to boost their morale.

But only a few minutes later, the surprise seemed to have vanished, while the shock was more intense.

These Royalists are truly talented individuals. Frankly, even a staunch Wayne supporter like Ernest wouldn't have uttered such harsh words in his rebuttal. It was practically exposing the Royalists' dirty laundry and then commenting that it wasn't sexy enough. To be honest, if Wayne hadn't completely omitted it, Ernest would have thought Earl Berry was a spy he'd planted.

They are all talented individuals, with exceptionally unique thinking and logic. I suggest sending them all to Rembiton for mining.

Without hesitation, Ernest put down his wine glass and strode towards the royalist crowd.

If they arrive too late, Wilson might actually be killed by a group of burly men.

"Everyone, stop for a moment, stop for a moment."

Ernest gestured for Wilson to step aside, pulling him out of the crowd. He found Wilson's lip was bruised, his right eye swollen, and he seemed completely disoriented, muttering incoherently, "Young man, you have no aristocratic manners, resorting to sneak attacks," and other such nonsense. Ernest had no choice but to set him aside for the time being and speak: