Myths Reawakened

Seeing Kristen’s mix of shock and confusion, even fear, Filomina hurriedly said, “There must be a reason he didn’t tell you. Trust me. He has to be a good person since he offers help to strangers. He’ll take responsibility.”

“I know that. It’s just that...”

Thinking of Veronica’s complicated relationship with Wayne left Kristen dumbfounded. The siblings had to know something this important, which meant that even with that knowledge...

Is that how high society operates? Ridiculous!

Kristen wasn’t yet recovered from her shock, her mouth open in an O adorably. To Filomina, she seemed like a young woman whose view of love was falling apart. She regretted bringing up the matter. The fact that Wayne didn’t tell Kristen his true identity had to mean that he didn’t want to take responsibility—Kristen wouldn’t be the future mistress of the Lando family.

If she continued to urge the young woman to throw herself into the burning pit, her story would end in tragedy.

But for the church...

Filomina clenched her teeth. She was about to make the order when she caught herself. She had gotten older indeed; she was acting more and more like a vicious old witch.

Sighing, she patted Kristen on the shoulder. “Forget it. You shouldn’t shoulder the responsibility. Just be yourself and don’t give too much of yourself away.”

Kristen finally recovered, confused by Filomina’s response. “High Reverend, are you canceling the retaliation plan?”

Why? It’s perfect. Wayne and Veronica are destined to be apart, and without her as a rival, I stand a good chance.

Vera? Vera isn’t even a threat. It’ll be easy to take her out of the competition with a trick.

Kristen suddenly realized the problem. Since when had she taken a proactive part in the competition? No, she wasn’t being proactive. She was only doing this for the church. It didn’t mean she liked Wayne. Besides, Veronica wouldn’t do... Yes, there was nothing more to it!

“I believe the plan is viable, High Reverend.” Kristen mustered the courage to volunteer herself. “Trust me. I’ll take back what we lost for the church and the goddess.”

Filomina rejected her with a wave of her hand. A nice girl like her shouldn’t take part in the dark side of the world. The more determined Kristen was, the more guilty she felt. In the end, she canceled the plan.

Kristen sat down in disappointment. Without outside pressure, she lost the courage to compete.

“Don’t tell anyone about today, not even your adoptive mother. And especially don’t tell Wayne,” Filomina warned.

Kristen nodded.

“I didn’t think it through,” Filomina added. “Wayne may be a good person, but he isn’t a good man who deserves your affection. Pull out when it’s not too late yet. If you fall too deep, you’ll regret it later.”

Filomina was speaking from the bottom of her heart. The playboy was only toying with her. Kristen should cut him off as soon as possible.

“Did you misunderstand something, High Reverend?”

Kristen was caught off guard. She knew Wayne was a pervert, but... he wasn’t as bad as Filomina was making him out to be.

“It’s up to you to make the decision. I’ve made my case.” Filomina waved at her. “How... how far have you gone?”

Kristen blushed. “We’re friends. We haven’t started anything.”

I don’t believe you! You’ve clearly done this and that with him already!

Filomina lowered her voice. “Relax. Forget our statuses at the church. I’m only trying to prevent you from getting taken advantage of as your senior.”

“I didn’t get taken advantage of that much...” Kristen murmured.

“So it did happen.” Filomina leaned into Kristen’s ear. “Have you done it...?”

“No,” Kristen said assertively, trying to defend Wayne. “He isn’t a per—he isn’t that kind of pervert. He’s gen—”

She couldn’t finish the sentence, so instead, she swore on her faith that Wayne hadn’t done anything terrible to her.

“Have you kissed?”

“No. Our hands have touched, but we haven’t had any other physical contact.” Kristen lowered her head, her ears red.

What, you acted like you’ve done it all, but you’re just an inexperienced girl.

Filomina huffed. It turned out that she had no reason to feel embarrassed. It was all because of Kristen pretending to be what she wasn’t. She didn’t hate it, though. Talking about love with a young woman made her feel young as well.

“Shelve the plan for the time being. I’ll be spending all my time with Wayne in the near future. Let me observe him. It won’t be too late for you to carry out the plan once I’ve confirmed that he’s a good man.”

“Huh?” Kristen gaped. She didn’t know how the High Reverend planned to observe Wayne, but she knew that Wayne didn’t know how to turn down a gift; he would only ask for more. If they really spent all their time together, something was bound to happen.

“High Reverend, Wayne cheated wo—”

“I’ve made up my mind. That’s decided.” Filomina settled the matter. No matter what, she would take back what belonged to the Church of Moonlight.

Wayne could resist the corruption of an Astral Beast and even do it for someone else when he was at Silver rank. Then what about once he reached Gold rank? Wouldn’t he be able to venture into the Astral Plane freely without going mad?

He was a genius who should’ve been part of the Church of Moonlight. No price was too high to win him over.

She glanced at Kristen. Don’t worry, girl. I’m not stealing your boyfriend from you. I’m only going to feel things out and remove the obstacles for you. There are many, the primary one being the Ministry of Magic.

It wasn’t a difficult obstacle to resolve, though. Wayne was displeased with the Ministry of Magic, and vice versa. She could easily drive a wedge between them and planned to do so personally.

Next would be the Church of Nature, the biggest obstacle.

Filomina gave it a good thought. She knew that Wayne was a genius, and the Church of Nature had to know, too, as proven by the fact that High Reverend Silvia had personally stolen him.

Although Moonlight claimed Wayne first, the world of magic was ruled by power rather than reason. Taking him by force would be difficult. They would have to tempt him with faith magic, which would be Kristen’s job.

However, the child shouldn’t get hurt in the process. High society was depraved, and Filomina had to test him personally first.

Watching Kristen go, Filomina frowned deeply. If both of them were good children, the plan would go on smoothly, but if Wayne was a high-class man with a low-class moral, what should she do?

“Even so, we have to fight for him. He’s worth it!” She’d decided. She would tackle the Ministry of Magic first to break their trust in Wayne, making them give him up.

“Hmph, he’s your goodwill for us, isn’t he? Then I’ll take him...”

***

Meanwhile, Kristen ran into her adoptive mother, Dorrin, after leaving the office. Dorrin asked her what the High Reverend had said. She couldn’t tell the truth, so she only mentioned the part about the ambassador.

After that, she left the base like she was fleeing, heading straight to the Lando Estate. Halfway, however, she stopped herself. The brother and sister obviously knew about each other and were only playing dumb because they couldn’t give up. If she brought up the matter, she would only lose her two friends.

“It’s messy. I just hope they won’t cross the line and make a mistake they must not make.” Kristen felt the heavy burden that came with the realization. She had to keep a closer eye on them, or she would feel guilty when the siblings met a tragic end.

She never considered the other possible explanation for Wayne being the Lando heir due to her preconception and her trust in the information collected by professionals. She had met Auston before, and he and Wayne looked so similar that Veronica looked more like an outsider—like she was an orphan the family picked up somewhere.

“Wait, could that be the case?”

***

Two o’clock, afternoon tea time.

Wayne drove to Filomina’s manor. Under the scrutiny of the twin mages, he drank tea in the living room and waited for the High Reverend to finish her makeup.

Among all the female mages he knew, Filomina was the one who cared about her appearance and presentation the most. He didn’t think it was necessary. She was so gorgeous that even without makeup, she stood out with her beauty.

Gold-rank mages had powerful life essence, so as long as they wished to, they would be able to maintain eternal youth, and never would they be described as old. Filomina’s obsession had to stem from her insecurities. She felt old and thus lacked confidence.

Half an hour later, Filomina sauntered down the stairs. Her delicately applied makeup made her look even more captivating than usual.

Wayne had to hide his amazement, but for some reason, he had lost the infatuation for a first love he had felt when he first laid eyes on her. Perhaps it was because he had seen her with tentacles.

They had a late afternoon tea in a high-end hotel in the Western District, followed by a two-hour city tour. Filomina took many pictures to record her incredible face.

At seven o’clock, they had authentic Francan cuisine before driving to the concert hall. Wayne had generously reserved the entire establishment for the afternoon tea, dinner, and musical, sparing no expense.

Well, the Ministry of Magic would be reimbursing him; there was no reason to save money for those bastards.

***

Concert hall.

The musical that was suspiciously similar to Hamlet was divided into four acts, with a total runtime of three and a half hours. It was ridiculously long!

Filomina turned down the booth with a better view and chose the first-floor seats that were closer to the stage. With a smile, she sat down beside Wayne and took his elbow.

Wayne glanced at her and said bluntly, “High Reverend, that’s not going to work on me. Save your leering and get someone younger to do this. The girls at the airport would be nice. They deserve me.”

“Call me Mina.”

“Alright, High Reverend.”

“Mina!”

“Fine, High Reverend!”

Filomina rolled her eyes. She was about to say something when she saw Wayne slacking off, tilting his head to the side to pretend that he was asleep.

“This isn’t gentlemanly.”

“Gentlemen like movies, not musicals,” Wayne responded in his sleep.

“We’ll go to a movie tomorrow, then.” Filomina gave him an expectant look, her acting chops rivaling those of the actors onstage.

Wayne only snored.

Filomina frowned, pinching him with two fingers and twisting his flesh, warning him, “If you don’t satisfy me, I won’t stay quiet to the Ministry of Magic.”

I get it! I’ll shut you up!

Wayne was suddenly wide awake. Straightening his back to watch the show with Filomina, he stared ahead with blank eyes. He didn’t know what the cast was singing about at all.

The lines were unnecessarily long and awkwardly written for maximum sappiness. It took him a long time to realize that the story was about a prince getting his revenge. Even King Kong was a better story!

Speaking of King Kong, the movie hadn’t been released yet. Apparently, it was still waiting to be greenlit.

“Do you not like musicals, or do you not like watching musicals with me?”

“High Reverend, this is the Ministry of Magic’s mission for me, so I’ll satisfy you as best as I can, but please behave yourself and stop flirting with me. They aren’t stupid enough to be fooled by you. In the end, you’ll be the one suffering losses.”

Wayne earnestly gave her advice. The softness pressed to his elbow felt nice, but he didn’t like fake intimacy. He would gladly enjoy the same treatment from his three future girlfriends and even Mona.

But not Filomina. Her heavy makeup was like a mask, and when she opened her chest to him, he only found it bothersome.

His eyes glinted when he realized why he no longer thought of her as one of his first loves. Her mask made him feel like he was dating an old lady who might whip Little Wayne for fun, and Big Wayne, hearing Little Wayne’s warning, lost whatever feelings he had for her. That was how a dual-core CPU worked!

“I received important information today, Wayne.”

Wayne perked up. “What information? Does it have anything to do with the traitor among the Ministry of Magic?”

“Watch the show. We’ll talk afterward.”

...Hey, old lady, are you so sure that I won’t break your mask with a punch?

Hearing Wayne’s huff, Filomina said with a smile, “The prince seeks his revenge to take back everything he’s lost. Don’t you find that storyline familiar?”

Wayne didn’t know what she was talking about, so he was only humoring her when he nodded. Yes, you’re right. Your cup size validates everything you say.

At eleven o’clock, the drawn-out musical finally ended. Wayne numbly followed Filomina outside. He was an uneducated man with a limited understanding of art, so he wasn’t able to appreciate the word vomit of the artsy show. On the other hand, Filomina seemed happy. She hugged Wayne’s arm to her chest and acted like there was something between them, doing her best to tarnish his reputation.

Wayne didn’t reject her. She was very soft and smelled very good. As for whether the Ministry of Magic would suspect something... well, they asked for this. They told him to satisfy her to the best of his ability.

The black car returned to the manor. Wayne was about to leave when he found himself trapped in the living room by the same double barriers. He was too tired to put on a pretense. Kicking off his dress shoes, he slumped down on the sofa.

After taking a bath, Filomina came to the living room in a bathrobe. The makeup kit in her hand made Wayne laugh.

“What?” Filomina wrapped her collar tighter, thinking she had accidentally exposed herself.

“Nothing. There’s something I’d like to say, though. You may find it offensive, but I hope you won’t take it that way.” Wayne stared at her face and spoke seriously. “You look better without makeup. Age halts its steps for you and never discolors your vibrancy. It’s only matured like fine wine, making you even more captivating.”

Filomina breathed softly. She would like to hear more.

Wayne granted her unspoken request and praised his first love from October twenty-seventh, “A real beauty never wilts and never loses to time. You’re such a beauty.”

Filomina’s heart fluttered. She knew that Wayne was flattering her on purpose, but still couldn’t help but believe his words.

Wayne rolled his eyes. When she didn’t cheer or blush bashfully, he knew that she was still wearing her mask. An older lady like her was too troublesome; he preferred girls who had just graduated from college.

Filomina lowered the makeup kit and sat across from Wayne, taking out the night cream to apply to her skin. “Don’t leave tonight. You understand what I’m saying, don’t you? The Ministry of Magic doesn’t want you, but I do. There’s no trust between you and the ministry to begin with, and your relationship won’t withstand a test.”

“It’s too obvious.” Wayne couldn’t help but give her a suggestion. “Denial sounds like a cover-up, and a cover-up is as good as confirmation. Truth is always denied rather than announced publicly. The more intimate you act with me, the more the ministry will trust me. Heed this: if you keep your distance from me every day, your plan will work.”

Filomina smiled wordlessly. The hem of her bathrobe slid down, revealing her long legs for cream application.

(一`´≖)

Wayne stared at her and offered helpfully, “Need a hand? I’ll do better with manual labor like this.”

“Is this what you meant by keeping distance?”

“No, this is my respect for your charm!”

Filomina rolled her eyes. This man could never say more than a few words without lying. Kristen would be completely at his mercy; it was better that Filomina tempt him herself. She went to sit beside Wayne and handed him the night cream.

Wait, seriously, Auntie?

Wayne was shocked. He knew that being her knight in shining armor had increased his score, but surely not by this much. Something was fishy!

He looked at the night cream and then at the long legs before him. His dual cores processed the information and ordered his hand to touch her legs.

Let’s see what’s fishy!

Filomina’s eyes twitched. Maybe she should have let Kristen take on this mission.

To cover up her embarrassment and inexperience, she smiled and unhesitantly raised her foot to tap Wayne’s chest. “I received information that you were supposed to become a follower of Moonlight, but the Church of Nature stole you away.”

“...”

“Stop gawking. I’m asking you a question!” Irritated, Filomina tried to pull her foot back. He had to play along, or she couldn’t keep this on.

But her foot was stuck.

(≖`´⊙)

Wayne held onto the ankle on his chest. There was too much to look at for him to focus on his response, so he uttered whatever came to his mind, “That was the case, but it’s all in the past.”

The past wasn’t worth bringing up, and at present, Death, Heavenly Father, Nature, and Sun were all lining up for him. It was a long queue. Moonlight, which had sought him out first, couldn’t even compete with Darkness.

If they wanted him back... they had to pay more!