Myths Reawakened

September third, a few days later.

After Juno’s successful evolution, she had no time to celebrate before she had to leave the secret base with Celeste. She had been missing for too long and would have a hard time explaining to her mother. She couldn’t possibly confess her evolution. Even if Wayne hadn’t restrained her, she wouldn’t want to reveal it.

The Queen had her plans, the Princess had hers, and the Prince, too. Tension was high in the royal family.

Besides the reason for her disappearance, Juno had another problem to worry about: how would she explain the disappearance of Vice Minister of Magic Alan?

At the end of the day, Alan had contacted Celeste before disappearing, and after Alan disappeared, Juno and Celeste went missing together. In the best-case scenario, the Princess and her master had taken out the Vice Minister of Magic together and had thus been recovering from their injury.

Wayne didn’t worry about it. Juno would figure things out herself. That night, he agreed to Senna’s request and allowed her to shift the line. After Senna got what she wanted, she finally left Windsor and returned to the Church of Nature’s headquarters to continue her fight for power.

Moula was still alive, but that didn’t affect Wayne’s status as his successor. Senna yearned to become the Pope so that she could dedicate the entire church to her faith.

The Holy Maiden of the Church of Nature had been decided—Desiree from mansion number eight. Senna pondered maliciously if she should make a move on the Holy Maiden.

Wayne’s original dream was to ride on Master Silvia’s coattails and wait for her to become the Pope so that he could have late-night chats with the Holy Maiden as the Pope’s student. Although he had met some twists and turns, he was close to reaching his original dream. His master’s master was close to becoming the Pope and always had his best interest at heart.

After seeing Senna off, Wayne headed straight for the manor of the Church of Moonlight’s High Reverend instead of returning to his residence.

Over the past few days, he had called home every now and then and learned from Veryl that Mistress Kristen had moved to the Lando Estate and hadn’t come home. Thinking it over, Wayne concluded that Vera was likely with her. The three young women were so intimidated by Senna that they were banding together.

Praise Senna for her prowess!

Since Kristen wasn’t home, Wayne had more leeway in managing his time. He kicked Filomina’s door open and launched into the standard scummy lines: I’ve just gotten off the plane to Londan, and I immediately came to see you.

Filomina had no idea that Wayne had just climbed off another legendary mage. His sweet words moved her deeply, and combined with her deep longing, she called in sick without hesitation, skipping church work.

Unfortunately, with international tension running high, Filomina couldn’t stay by her young boyfriend’s side and listen to more of his sweet words. The next day, she rushed back to the church’s headquarters to work overtime.

Wayne was busy, too. As usual, he made a string of unfair promises before driving to the Lando Estate.

As soon as the black car pulled over, he went straight to the young lady’s mansion with a script of ten thousand words. He had rehearsed for various scenarios, so he wasn’t worried at all.

After taking a few steps, he noticed a strange gaze and looked up at the window upstairs. Auston was looking down at him from the vantage point like he was staring at a piece of trash, his gaze dripping with disdain.

Wayne could fool anyone but Auston. Juno, the Princess’s knight, had made an appearance, and the ‘Princess’ had appeared in public, yet Wayne still worked overtime for four to five days. Auston didn’t even have to think with his brain to figure out what had been keeping Wayne busy lately.

He gave Wayne a pointed look. Nodding, Wayne returned to the main house and made it to the study. At the door, he saw Megan’s expressionless face.

“Aunt Megan, I heard the servants say that by next year, there will be an extra mouth to feed at home. Do you know more about that?”

(눈_눈)

Megan stared at him. As the butler of the family, she was responsible for managing the servants. Would the young master tell her who had been spreading the rumors?

Wayne cheerfully tilted his head. When Megan remained silent for a long moment, he raised an eyebrow and said, “Aren’t you going to thank me, Aunt Megan?”

Megan lowered her head and said a silent ‘thank you,’ but she would advise him not to meddle. She had come to join the family rather than to tear it apart. If she were to cause conflicts between the master and the mistress, she would rather leave.

Wayne blinked. Getting no response, he guessed that Megan had made no progress.

Well, regardless, Auston’s scumbag image had been established, so Wayne didn’t have to push the plot forward further. To be honest, he wanted Auston to set an example, but didn’t actually want to see Auston with two women in his arms—that would be worse than death for Wayne.

“How long are you going to stand out there? Hurry up and come in.” Auston snapped from the study, irritated.

“Why the rush? I’m talking to my other mom!”

|o╭(╯^╰)╮|

Wayne arrogantly opened the door, strutting in. “Auston, I’ve worried myself sick for this family. Can’t you wait even a little bit?”

“Besides, you should be happy that I’m so polite to Mistress Megan, showing respect to my elder. In the future, once you’re old... blah, blah, blah...”

“...” x2

The person openly eavesdropping outside couldn’t take it anymore, and Auston, sitting on the sofa, was at the end of his patience, too. He had thought that Wayne would stop after a few words, but it seemed like Wayne could keep talking forever.

Is this how you talked Thoggua into giving up?

No wonder Thoggua couldn’t win a verbal fight with you. Anyone would be annoyed to death by you.

Auston checked the time and interrupted Wayne’s nonsense. “Stop. Have you read the papers lately? A war is about to break out.”

Wayne nodded. “I have. Supposedly, Her Majesty is giving a national address today.”

In a corner of the study, the potted plants had been replaced with a television. Queen Sophelia was about to give an address to all of Windsor on a national broadcast.

Wayne glanced at the television before shifting his gaze to Auston, pointing at his forehead. “Compared to the changing political climate internationally, I’m more concerned about the situation at home. What’s with the bandage on your head? Did Her Majesty hit you?”

Auston was playing the victim as usual. Wayne wouldn’t miss the chance to mock him.

Auston removed the bandage and turned to the television. “Her Majesty will declare war on Prussia on Windsor’s behalf. Franc will also make the declaration at the same time. Originally, the Rus Federation would join us, but the alliance didn’t work out. They’re unwilling to confront Prussia.”

“Of course they’re unwilling. Windsor and Franc haven’t fallen!”

Wayne spoke sarcastically. Rather than an alliance, it was more of an old trick Windsor always pulled, hiding behind their allies and shouting about justice prevailing from across the sea. Windsor would provide anything but actual support.

Knowing that, the Rus Federation would have to be crazy to agree to an alliance. It was better to sign a non-aggression pact with Prussia.

For now, at least, the pact was reliable.

Prussia didn’t want to face enemies on both fronts, so they would certainly honor the agreement. The Rus Federation held the initiative and could watch from the sidelines as the dogs fought each other.

“In August, Windsor’s and Franc’s delegations met with the Rus Federation, but never reached an agreement. Actually, the negotiation started back in April...”

Auston ignored Wayne’s sarcastic remarks. “You were an intelligence agent, so it’s normal for you to be dissatisfied with the country. However, I hope you’ll adjust your attitude and not let your dissatisfaction with certain individuals color your perception of everything. At least keep up the appearances so that people won’t sense your discontent.”

“What, did the Queen discipline you when you disciplined her?” Wayne said with a frown.

“I’ve gone missing for too long without a reasonable explanation. It’s natural for Her Majesty to be dissatisfied,” Auston said simply without going into his recent predicament.

“See, I told you. If you just leverage your old relationship with her, she’d soften and definitely wouldn’t...”

“Shut up!” Auston interrupted him irritably. “Prussia has launched a full-scale attack on Pollonia. Although Pollonia has a great number of tanks and a highly capable military...”

“Wait, isn’t it cavalry?” Wayne gestured curiously. On a great plain, cold weapons faced a division of tanks, and after a one-sided battle that lasted only a few days, the cavalry side surrendered.

“Where did you hear the rumor? Do you take Pollonians as fools?”

Right!

Damn internet myths. Who was spreading the rumor behind the scenes?

Wayne cursed out silently. He hated people who spouted nonsense without evidence[1].

“Pollonia’s defeat is certain, but Her Majesty didn’t declare war on Prussia because of Pollonia, but Czechoslov. Prussia tore up the agreement...”

Seeing that Wayne had only a superficial understanding of international affairs despite being a former intelligence agent, Auston had to patiently explain things to him.

All this time, Windsor’s foreign policy had been consistent: there were no eternal enemies or friends. The one constant in the world of politics was interests. Windsor’s main strategy was to watch on the sidelines as a fire broke out. If no fire broke out, Windsor would set the fire.

Prussia’s prowess and Franc’s total defense compelled Windsor to compromise. Windsor would not and could not charge at the very front. To satisfy Prussia, Windsor and Franc allowed her to expand and reclaim lost territories, guiding her to the Rus Federation’s territory.

After Prussia tore up the agreement, Czechoslov fell. It was a hard slap to Windsor and Franc, especially the latter. Czechoslov was an ally and something of a sibling to Franc. When she fell before more chips could be put on the table, it made Franc look weak, cowardly, and frivolous.

Since there was no longer an agreement, past compromises became obsolete. With Rus Federation playing dead, Windsor had no choice but to change her attitude toward Prussia.

Auston explained the complex diplomatic shifts. The scapegoat had been chosen: the current Prime Minister. It didn’t matter what he had or had not done; someone had to take the blame, and that someone couldn’t be a nobody, or they wouldn’t even qualify as a scapegoat.

“To my knowledge, Franc has dumped all its military spending into one defensive line.” Wayne raised an eyebrow, brewing a scheme. “It’s supposed to be solid and impregnable. Prussia can’t possibly break through that line, can she?”

“It’s hard to say for certain. However, it should take more than ten years for Prussia to break through that line of defense, and ten years of war would bankrupt a country.” Auston refused to take the bait, keeping his answer vague.

He wasn’t alone in thinking that. Almost everyone shared the belief, especially Franc.

Why fight? If she fought and won, Windsor would steal the fruit of her hard work, and if she lost, things would be even worse. It was better to shift the resources of the entire nation to defense, waiting for Prussia to break all her teeth. Then Prussia would hurt enough to leave on her own.

“Regardless, the war will not extend to Windsor’s soil,” Auston added. “That much I am confident of.”

Wayne’s eyes lit up. He pursed his lips and said, “How about a bet?”

Auston’s heart tightened, his hand gripping his lucky coin tightly. He had never won a bet against Wayne. “You think that the war will reach Windsor?‘

“I won’t rule out that possibility. It’s just very unlikely.” Wayne raised an eyebrow. “Well, you’ve got great odds. Wanna go all in?”

Auston pondered for a long time, clutching his coin. There was no reason that he would keep losing. It was about time that he won something. Today was his chance of turning things around.

Wayne held his breath silently, waiting for Auston to nod in agreement. Don’t look at Prussia’s mighty military and how the neighboring countries have been surrendering on sight. They are just small countries. Once major powers like Windsor and Franc join the war, Prussia will have to behave and go home, no matter how strong she is.

Just look at it from a military perspective!

Wayne was curious. In this world with magic, how would the war unfold? Franc couldn’t just surrender without putting up a fight, could she?

While he was thinking, the Queen’s face appeared on the television.

It was her declaration of war!

1. This is a reference to Charge at Krojanty, which happened at the beginning of Germany’s invasion of Poland. Part of the Polish cavalry charged at the German infantry to buy time for retreat. The incident led to false reports of Polish cavalry attacking German tanks and became a popular myth. ☜