Myths Reawakened

Frowning, Wayne said tentatively, “Have you ever considered that we aren’t enemies with Franc, and there’s no point in sending them false information?”

“You’re right, but at the same time, Windsor and Franc will never be friends,” the mustachioed man said seriously.

Wayne shook his head. “I’ve already gone down another path and cut ties with my past. If I continue to work for MI6, wouldn’t I have put in the effort for nothing?”

“Sir Wayne, you’re turning your back on your country!”

“Of course not.” Wayne parted his jacket with purposeful casualness. “Doesn’t the medal prove that it isn’t the case? How dare you accuse Her Majesty of being a blind leader misled by hubris? Once this lord reports to Her Majesty, you will be punished for the crime of contempt. Prepare to spend the rest of your career as a eunuch.”

“I didn’t say that!” the mustachioed man hurriedly protested, stomping angrily. “I’ve made my case. Once you become a secret agent, you can never stop being one. MI6 can terminate an agent’s service, but an agent cannot resign.”

“Who are you trying to intimidate? You don’t know how much Her Majesty likes me. Once I ask her to cut MI6’s budget, I wonder if you’ll finally learn some respect.”

Wayne huffed. He had made a leap in status, so he wasn’t going to let the man walk all over him. He waved his entourage of bodyguards over. The thugs quickly approached and subdued the mustachioed man and his two lackeys.

“What is the meaning of this, Wayne?”

“What else? I’m sending you back to prison!”

The commotion attracted the railway police’s attention. They drew closer and cackled among the crowd as the scene unfolded. Then they remembered that they were the authority and asked what was happening.

Wayne ‘accidentally’ revealed his medal as he pointed at the trio and said, “That’s a fugitive on the wanted list. You’ll earn merits by catching him.”

There was no shortage of nobles in Windsor, and such medals were a common sight. Wayne’s display didn’t impress the police officers, so they weren’t going to take his side blindly. However, Wayne’s group did carry themselves with unusual aplomb, behaving like high-ranking officials. Not wanting to offend them, the police officers arrested the mustachioed man and his lackeys, taking them to the railroad police station.

Curses against sons of beaches[1] rang across the departure hall.

“Try again if you dare. I can do this every time!” Wayne grumbled, moving away from the crowd with his bodyguard shielding him.

Suddenly, he saw a blonde among the gossiping crowd. She was grinning, looking decidedly unintelligent.

Vera! Why was the silly girl at the station with a suitcase? He hadn’t heard her talk about a travel plan.

Noticing his gaze, Vera tried to take cover behind her suitcase, but he quickly strode up to her and grabbed her by the collar.

“What a coincidence, Wayne. You’re here to see a friend off, too?”

“Yeah, who are you seeing off?”

“You!”

“Who told you that I’m—”

“Veronica.”

“Why do you have a suitcase with you?”

“In case you invite me to travel with you. The train won’t wait for anyone, so I decided to carry it around.”

“Um, have you booked a ticket?”

“No!”

Vera struck a pose with one hand on her waist and the other hand on her suitcase, acting like she was the reasonable one. As soon as she spotted Mona holding a leash, she called her ‘sister’ and shook Wayne off, going up to her.

Oh, this girl isn’t silly at all. She’s quite clever, making me do what she wants. Wayne told one of his entourage to book an additional train ticket and boat ticket—no, two.

He looked around, extending his senses to look for Veronica. Based on his experience back on Dragonheart Island, Vera’s presence meant that Veronica wouldn’t be far behind. The dragon-blooded girl was a typical tsundere. She would never chase after a man, but chasing after a friend would be fine.

Veronica had leaked the information to Vera on purpose so that Vera would take the initiative and pave the way for her. What a clever little trick.

“Trying to play 4D chess against me? Were I not quick-witted enough, I might have fallen for it...”

He made three attempts to look for Veronica, giving up after failing all three times. He guessed that Veronica was already here, but she refused to show herself, too proud to make a direct move like Vera had done.

“I know the rules of hide-and-seek. Wait till I get my hands on you...” Wayne’s thoughts were interrupted when the last two members of his group arrived: two women, one older than the other.

They worked for the Minister of Magic. The older one was a clerk, and the younger one a clerk assistant. Both were long-term employees rather than contractors. According to Auston, they belonged to another knight order serving the Queen.

There were three knight orders serving the Windsor royal family: the Household Foot Guards, known as the Royal Guards, the Household Cavalry, known as the Knights of Honor, and the knight order with a garter circlet as their symbol, the Order of the Garter[2].

Unlike the black gloves—the Tulip Families—the Order of the Garter were the Queen’s personal protectors and the supreme knight order in Windsor, acting as Her Majesty’s white gloves. The commander of the order was the monarch, possessing the one and only badge of the Garter. The order included princes, princesses, dukes, and barons, numbering twenty-six members in total. Each possessed a garter.

Although garters might seem scandalous to some, the script included in the emblem, “Shame on him who thinks evil of it,” elevated their nobility[3].

With the Order of the Garter as the core, the royal family had cultivated nobles who were loyal to them. Although the two clerks weren’t actual members of the knight order, they served the royal family from within its framework, carrying the Queen’s decree.

Without these two, Wayne would not have the royal sanction to confiscate possession and decapitate people.

“Apologies for making you wait, Sir Wayne.”

The two women lowered their heads. Although they had made the mistake of arriving late, they gave a proper apology in a polite tone. Wayne nodded, eyeing the two women. One of them was older yet still attractive, while the other was youthful and pretty. Their resemblance showed their biological connection.

After a brief conversation, he learned of their names: Sandy Saunders and Denise Saunders.

They were aunt and niece, indeed related.

***

The Ministry of Magic had generously booked six cars of the luxury train for a comfortable trip from Londan to Liuerpul, a city located in the northwestern part of Windsor[4].

Once they arrived at the port, they took a cruise ship across the channel to the Republic of Erland[5], after which they would head to Northern Erland via land.

Wayne had planned their routes. Although the Ministry of Magic had kept Obed’s death a secret, and the Snow family should believe that they still had their greatest support, the Snows had to have friends in high places.

With the Ministry of Magic being a den of moles who would sell information for riches, the Snow family might have learned of their arrival and set up an ambush. It was better to take a detour through the Republic of Erland rather than going straight to the territory of the Snows.

Hearing Wayne’s seemingly logical analysis, Auston thought he was being paranoid for nothing, wasting time for no good reason. Even if Wayne’s group encountered an ambush, all of Wayne’s secret repertoire of skills would make sure that, however many people the Snow family sent, none would return alive.

Since the trip was meant as a trial for Wayne to take on alone, Auston didn’t intervene. He arranged the transportation according to the plan, making sure that the group would arrive at their destination smoothly.

In the dining car, Wayne sat with Mona on his left and Vera on his right, having a leisurely lunch. He fed Vera a few times, showering her with care.

Mona would like to be fed, too, and she didn’t even care what she was fed.

Across from them sat the Saunders. The beautiful, mature aunt was still single, and the youthful, pretty niece didn’t yet have a boyfriend. Wayne had a way with women. With his smooth talk and humor, he got the two women chuckling and smiling during the conversation, leaving a positive impression.

After lunch, Wayne walked them back to their car like a proper gentleman before leaving with his sidepieces.

Popping her head out to watch him leave, Denise said curiously, “Sir Wayne’s secretary is so pretty. And who’s the girl named Vera? She isn’t on the list, is she?”

“A womanizer’s prey.”

“Vera?”

“Both.”

“???”

When Denise gaped in surprise, Sandy solemnly warned her niece, “Did you feel like Sir Wayne spoke nicely to us, like he was wooing us?”

“Um, that...” Denise was even more shocked. Thinking back, that did seem to be the case. “I didn’t expect him to be like that. I thought he was a good man!”

“Don’t be silly. If he were serious about pursuing us, he wouldn’t have invited us to the dining car with his two prey.”

“Auntie, I don’t understand.”

“Sir Wayne’s message is simple,” Sandy explained. “He isn’t a good man, and he’s good at smooth-talking women. He wants us to keep our distance from him.”

“Wouldn’t a bad man being honest about himself and warning us from approaching him be a good man?” Denise questioned.

Sandy knocked her on the forehead and said in resignation, “Silly girl, he might as well have written the word ‘scumbag’ on his face. Why did you only hear the sweet words?”

“He is a sweet-talker...” Denise mumbled while holding her head.

“That comes from his upbringing. Do you know who Sir Wayne’s father is?”

“Since he’s from the Lando family, his father has to be Auston Lando.”

“Yes, and the son resembles his father. Let me tell you the older womanizer’s scandalous stories, and you’ll know how dangerous the younger womanizer is.”

“Okay.”

1. An established joke from an earlier chapter. ☜

2. The Household Division of the British Army actually includes five regiments of foot guards and two regiments of cavalry, but the author seems to be using a simplified version of the organization. ☜

3. Honi soit qui mal y pense. It’s the Order of the Garter’s motto, written in a dialect of Old Norman French. This is the common English translation of the line. ☜

4. The raw use the common translated name of Liverpool rather than changing the words like the other references to real-life locations. To make things more consistent, I’ve chosen to use the old historical name of Liverpool instead of Liverpool. ☜

5. Fictional version of Ireland. ☜