Myths Reawakened

“Why?” Wayne didn’t understand. “I get why the demons would give up on going after the Death Knight since they couldn’t defeat him in the human world. But shouldn’t the demons be allying themselves with the Ministry of Magic, tempting the legendary mages with promises of benefits? What do they stand to gain by antagonizing the royal family?”

Were demons so bold that they were dissatisfied with having one enemy and actively made another? Or were they eager to die and return to hell quickly?

“No one knows what the demons are thinking,” Auston said with a dark expression. “Perhaps they want to use the vessels against the royal family. While the vessels for the Seven Demon Lords could be used as a last resort, they shouldn’t be exposed yet. If news that the royal family has made deals with demons spreads, they will be in a difficult place.”

One factor was the political landscape between different countries. Windsor had been a thorn in everyone’s side with their offshore balancing strategy. Whenever there was fire, nine times out of ten, Windsor would turn out to be involved somehow.

All other nations, such as Windsor’s century-old friend, Franc, would claim the moral high ground and attack Windsor the moment they got wind of their dealings with demons.

International relationships aside, the greatest pressure would be coming from the Church of Heavenly Father. Auston could already imagine how over the moon the Pope would be when he received the news.

Wayne shook his head as he listened to Auston explain the A to Z of the conflicting interests between the different factions. A trivial matter that weighed four taels would become manifold heavier once put on the sovereign’s scale, and a scandal became infinitely more scandalous when the power that be learned of it[1].

Wayne smiled bitterly. “The royal family shot themselves in the foot. Although the news hasn’t spread, the legendary mages have found out. Londan—no, Windsor will be in chaos going forward.”

Given the legendary mages’ tendencies, when the royal family kept the vessels of the Seven Demon Lords a secret, the legendary mages would at least keep up the veneer of decency and hide their clandestine studies.

Now that the royal family was exposed, however, the legendary mages no longer had anything to fear even if they got caught. The law applied to the sovereign and the general public in the same way. If the Queen didn’t receive punishment, the mages would be exempt as well.

It was quite amusing, but Wayne couldn’t find it in himself to laugh. Frowning, he sat right across from Auston in the same posture. If not for Auston’s antique silver coin, they would look like mirror images.

“Let’s put the future aside. What matters now is the present.”

Auston explained how the Minister—the Queen—was going to deal with the incident. The seven vessels and the thief should be erased at once, and the information should be leaked to the Church of Death to build a line of communication with the Death Knight as soon as possible.

Her intention was clear: she knew that the legendary mages would refrain from putting in all their effort for their own interest, so she sought an alliance with the Death Knight. At the same time, the Tulip Families, who were truly loyal to the Queen, were to work together to kill the thief.

“Such a large-scale operation will surely draw the attention of the Church of Heavenly Father. Is that alright?”

“So we have to be quick,” Auston said. “Since I provided her with the information on the Death Knight’s clash with the demons, Her Majesty assigned me the mission of contacting the Death Knight.”

“Um...” Wayne blinked. “I heard that the Death Knight had quite the hot temper and was partial to kicking people in the bottom. What if he threatens you?”

“That’s why I decided to entrust the mission to you,” Auston said, going back to his habit of subcontracting his work. Well, it shouldn’t be considered subcontracting since Wayne was the Lando heir, and publicly, he was even known as Auston’s son. What was wrong with delegating his work to his son?

“Telling me to seek out the Death Knight? You want me dead!” Wayne raised his voice and shook his head, emphatically refusing the mission of seeking out the Death Knight.

“Then I’ll send Veronica.”

“Haha, as if you would.”

“...”

Of course Auston wouldn’t. His trick failed, but he truly didn’t want to face the Death Knight. He clenched his teeth and said, “You gave me the information. If you didn’t get nosy, I wouldn’t have informed Her Majesty. It’s your fault at the end of the day.”

“I only told you to protect the people of Londan. I want the Ministry of Magic to be ready.” Wayne huffed. He didn’t care. He wanted the Death Knight to teach Auston a lesson.

“You can send your secretary.”

“Mona is a member of the Church of Heavenly Father. If she knows, the Papal State will know, too.” Wayne pulled a long face. “When the Pope visits Windsor for a friendly talk, and Her Majesty looks for someone to take responsibility, you jerk—”

“Huh?!”

“You, my dear father-in-law, will be dead, and the Lando family will be sidelined. For the sake of the family, you should seek out the Death Knight!”

Wayne ran his fingers through his slicked-back hair. “Didn’t you always teach me that the family’s interest outweighs everything else? Why are you suddenly timid when it’s your turn?”

“It’s the Death Knight we’re talking about.” Auston clenched his teeth. “I can tell that your secretary is in love with you. I’ll make a compromise. No matter how you mess around with her in the future, I’ll turn a blind eye. Turn her into a free mage and have her go to the Death Knight.”

“Are you so afraid of the Death Knight?”

Wayne didn’t understand. He thought the Death Knight was quite personable, as well as humble and averse to violence. Auston could complete the mission by sacrificing his bottom. Wasn’t it nice?

“Are you not afraid?”

“I mean, yeah...”

They had a staring contest for a silent moment. Then Auston said, “So? Are you confident that you can convert your secretary?”

“She’s a devout believer who would give everything for her faith. I can’t take her so easily.” Wayne shook his head and sighed. “To tell you the truth, she’s still a pure clergywoman. I haven’t gotten intimate with her.”

“Trash! Can’t even deal with a woman!”

...Oh, now you’ve done it!

Wayne rolled his eyes and huffed. “I’ve more or less grasped the way of the Landos. It won’t be difficult for me to take over as the head of the family. You can seek out the Death Knight, assured in the knowledge that I will take care of everything going forward.”

“...”

“And to commemorate your sacrifice for the family, Veronica’s son will be named after you. He’ll be Auston Jr. Lando.”

...What, you wanna scold an Auston? Auston thumbed his silver coin aggressively, regretting not sinking the trash in a river earlier.

After the conversation, he prepared to seek out the Death Knight—with Megan in tow, of course.

“Good luck, Auston.”

Wayne waved and watched Auston stalk out of the study. Through the Book of Greed, he told Bo to wait at the Dawn Detective Agency tonight for their distinguished guests. Once Bo took the guests to the Great Cemetery in the Western District, Wayne would give them a friendly welcome!

That particular bottom was just waiting for a nice kick. Should he use his left foot or right foot? Or a flying kick would be nice, too.

Better yet, he should have Julia do the honor. She had stronger legs.

“Kekekeke—”

Standing by the window of the study, Wayne put a hand behind his back like Auston usually did. From this vantage point, the Lando Estate looked downright picturesque.

His laughter lasted for five minutes. Auston returned to the study with a dark look then.

“What are you cackling for?”

“I’m happy about something wonderful I just remembered.” Wayne chortled. “My fiance’s pregnant.”

Auston scoffed. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking. I won’t die tonight, and you won’t take over the family yet.”

Wayne shrugged. They should wait to see what happened tonight.

“I got a call from the Ministry of Magic...” Auston’s expression turned darker. “Last night, Her Majesty gathered the higher-ups of the ministry for a discussion on the attack on Windsor Castle. Everyone attended, including the legendary mages. Just now, two of the legendary mages reported the bad news that the branches they’re each stationed at got attacked.”

Wayne stiffened. “The two demons have misdirected us. They aren’t in Londan for the Death Knight, but the Ministry of Magic?”

“We don’t know that yet,” Auston said. “Red Leaf Asylum was raided. The intruder expertly avoided detection and ransacked Director Planck’s office. The majority of the medical records are gone, and so are a few patients.”

According to Planck, many precious items from the Ministry of Magic were also missing, but the Queen ignored that part, given that Planck could be making false statements for more compensation.

“Moreover, there was a theft at the secret department Bourne is in charge of. He suffered even greater losses...” Auston tightened his grip around his antique silver coin. “There is a traitor among the Ministry of Magic, and they provided the demons with accurate information. Her Majesty ordered the Death Knight to be recruited no matter the price.”

Then you’re doomed, Wayne thought with glee. In the name of the Goddess of Death, buddy, I swear that the Death Knight will kick your ass hard tonight!

1. The first part is a rephrased version of the original line. It’s a reference to a well-known quote from the Chinese TV drama, Ming Dynasty in 1566. An official said the line to insinuate that a mistake would become infinitely worse once reported to the emperor, since the emperor could not allow his officials to openly break rules even if he didn’t care about the general public. ☜