Myths Reawakened

“Mina, I’m really the Moonlight Knight. I swear to the goddess.”

“Stop. If the goddess takes it seriously, I’ll have to find another boyfriend.”

“See. When I keep things from you, you’re unhappy. When I tell you the truth, you don’t believe me. I’m in an impossible situation.”

“Then transform. As you once turned into the Nature Knight, transform, and I’ll believe you.” Filomina pushed Wayne away, placing her hands on his shoulders. She gave him a chance to prove himself.

“Fine, I will.” Wayne reached into the void and started searching. “Not this one. It’s Elemental Mantra. Not this either. It’s Twilight Despair. This one... is Shadow Nightmare... Huh, where did White Night Creed go?”

He muttered to himself, failing to produce White Night Creed. Filomina watched him with amusement. “Well? Need a few more minutes to figure out how you’re going to make your lie work?”

“I didn’t lie, Mina. I am the Moonlight Knight’s heir.” Wayne withdrew his hand with a serious expression. “I know what’s wrong now. Darienne must have lost White Night Creed in a card game. Once she flips the table in humiliation and snatches it back, I’ll be able to transform.”

“What an absurd excuse. Lady Darienne is the Moonlight Knight. I’ve seen her portrait at the church’s headquarters. She’s not a gambling addict.” Filomina laughed, pointing out the absurdities of his words.

First, the characterization was all wrong. Darienne, the Moonlight Knight, was well-known as an ice queen who could only be admired from afar and not approached. Anyone who got close would freeze to death. She was so composed that flipping tables wouldn’t even be in her vocabulary.

Second, a chosen knight’s loyalty to their goddess was absolute. Darienne would never bet with White Night Creed under any circumstances.

Finally, if a chosen knight used a divine artifact as a bet, who would dare to play in the card game? Even if they won, they wouldn’t have the courage to take White Night Creed.

From a purely objective perspective, Filomina identified the three flaws in the story. It was so unbelievable that Wayne had clearly made it up on the spot.

“First, regarding what kind of person Darienne is, you said yourself that you only heard about her. You’ve never met her in person.”

Wayne countered her argument one by one. “Second, being loyal and being willing to bet with her divine artifact are two different things. They don’t contradict.”

“Finally, you talked about her gambling partners. The answer is simple: the Nature Knight and the Sun Knight will naturally be bold enough to take White Night Creed from her.”

He argued with such sound logic that Filomina was momentarily speechless. She looked at Wayne and said, “It’s fine to say this to me, but don’t talk like this to other followers of the goddesses. You’ve just offended the entire Life Alliance with one sentence. You’re really something.”

You just put the chosen knights on the pedestal too much!

What if they’re gambling addicts? Which divine oracle stipulates that card players can’t be chosen knights?

Wayne huffed. “You have four moon phase cards, which proves that the Goddess of Moonlight likes playing cards. The Moonlight Knight’s penchant for card games caters to her faith.”

When he refused to admit his lie, Filomina smothered a scoff. Since he was asking for humiliation, he shouldn’t blame her for being ruthless.

“Wayne, wanna bet? Let’s bet on whether you’re the successor of the Moonlight Knight.”

“Um...”

“Scared?”

“The odds are too in my favor. I couldn’t lose even if I wanted to. I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

Bah, like you haven’t taken enough advantage of me!

Filomina kept huffing. “Cut the nonsense. If I lose, I lose willingly. Just tell me if you’re going to bet or not.”

“Sure, let’s do it. I’m not the one who’s losing.”

Wayne shrugged. Everyone saw it. Filomina had insisted on giving him an easy win. He tried to stop her.

“In the banquet hall, your father, Auston, told me about the messy relationships in the Lando family. You have a fiancée named Veronica, don’t you?”

Why would the old man tell her that? Has he gotten a big head after becoming King?

Just wait, I’m gonna park Julia at your palace tonight!

Wayne’s heart sank. Although it was only a matter of time for him to be exposed, he had not conditioned Filomina properly yet. Auston clearly wanted to make him a joke by exposing him.

Fine, you like jokes so much? Once you wake up on the Queen’s three square meters big bed, we’ll see if you can laugh.

“Speak. Why are you playing dead again?”

“Let me explain, Mina!”

“What’s there to explain? Just tell me if you have a fiancée!”

“Technically, yes.”

“Then you do.” Filomina sighed. “You nobles are as depraved as you get. Your father told me that though Silvia wasn’t your biological mother, Veronica was your half-sister. To protect you and to have you inherit the family business legally, the two of you got engaged.”

(⊙ˍ⊙)

Isn’t that version of the story out of fashion? Why is it coming back? Holy shit, the sun must be rising from the west. The old man helped me!

I should repay him! Just wait. I’ll have you wake up on the Queen’s three thousand square meters bed.

“I don’t understand the nobles’ way of thinking since it’s too unnoble, and I don’t intend to learn your way. I won’t tell you to break off your marriage, either. The Lando family has spent decades securing the throne at the risk of being wiped out. Now that victory is within your reach, I can’t let my selfish desires get in the way and render your years of endurance and sacrifices obsolete.”

Filomina gave Wayne a resigned look. “I’ll compromise. You don’t have to break off your marriage, but you must not mess around with your sister. We’ll bet on whether you’re the Moonlight Knight, and that’ll be my demand if I win.”

“Mina, I am the Moonlight Knight’s successor.”

“You’re lying again. Do you like your sister so much?”

“Fine. I’m in. I can’t help it since I can never say no to you!”

Wayne sighed. He couldn’t stop her from handing him benefits for free. He could only swallow his grievances and take it. He put his arms around her, winking to suggest that he would be spending the night at the High Reverend’s manor.

“I’m not in the mood tonight. When I think about you being the Death Knight and your engagement to someone else, I...” Filomina tilted her head with a conflicted expression.

“Should I leave then?”

“Hmph, come home with me.”

Filomina scoffed. Just because she wasn’t in the mood didn’t mean that tonight was off. The date was still on, for nothing if not to stop him from going home and messing around with his sister tonight.

***

October third.

Study, Lando Estate.

It had been five days since Douglas’s rebellion. Wayne had been beyond blissful for those five days, while Auston had been so busy that he looked noticeably thinner.

“You’ve lost weight, Auston.” Wayne sat on the sofa and toyed with his antique silver coin, displeased. “I know you need to keep the Queen under control, but you’re not me. You have to exercise moderation, or your body will turn against you, and Master will not let you off the hook.”

Auston scowled silently. He had heard too many similar accusations. No one dared say it openly, but the rumors ran rampant. They all made jokes about him working late nights at the headquarters of the Ministry of Magic.

The Prince Consort and the Queen are so in love. The next king will be born next year!

What, Edward and Elizabeth aren’t Auston’s?

After the banquet, Auston’s status had risen—from previously being a significant figure in Londan to being a significant figure in Buckingham Palace. Although there was no obvious transfer of power, the keen observers, especially members of the Tulip Families, could all tell that the Queen had been gradually handing over her authority.

At present, she was the one sharing power with Auston. In times, their roles would be reversed, and Auston would be the one sharing power with the Queen.

The Tulip Families knew that the royal family was determined to centralize power. They had been unable to resist before, and now that someone even more powerful had joined the game, they became even more powerless.

They should all surrender their family interests and maintain their dignity if they didn’t want to run into the Death Knight at night.

The Boswells and the Wilsons, the two families that had been most aggressive against Auston, now cowered like chickens. Barney and Rupert had lost all their fighting spirits. Not only had they surrendered all the power delegated by the royal family, but they had also rallied their families to present all their financial and material resources, vowing to defend the authority of the royal family. They would charge at the forefront to help the King win this war.

They had surrendered too early, pledging allegiance to Douglas when the situation was still unclear. It was no surprise that they had gotten to where they were today. The other families followed their example and presented their family fortune, emphasizing their loyalty every time they opened their mouths.

Those who didn’t know the truth would be in awe of Windsor’s changes. She was no longer the island nation focused on internal strife. With the monarch and his subjects working together harmoniously, Windsor would surely win this world war.

Of course, giving up their riches and power didn’t mean these people would stop gossipping.

The Lando family made another donation tonight!

Auston had been making his donations in secret, but never failing to fulfill his obligation. After the Queen had received his donations for years, Windsor welcomed a second Prince Consort.

Douglas had died, and his time of death was set on the day he was believed to have died of illness years ago, at Auston’s request. He had issued a gag order to preserve some dignity for the royal family and the Queen.

If the truth got out that the Prince Consort was a demon and nearly killed the royal family, it would bring shame to them. It was better for everyone to let Douglas die on the day of his grand funeral.

The Tulip Families didn’t understand Auston’s true intention. They only knew that he now had great power and no longer needed to sneak into the Queen’s bedchamber for some alone time.

“You’ve ruined my life!”

Auston stared at Wayne impassively, contemplating the odds of defeating him with Twilight Despair.

“How so? Our family is thriving more so than the other Tulip Families. Even if all of them band together, they won’t be the Lando family’s match. As head of the family, you should be happy.” Wayne made it seem like he was loyal to the family. “Among all the Lando family heads, you’ve made the greatest achievements. You’ll be remembered for generations to come.”

Auston sighed, not knowing how to express the bitterness he was feeling.

Queen Sophelia had been extraordinarily compliant these past few days, giving away all her power without reservation. She gave so much that Auston hadn’t been able to rest properly for several nights with all the work on his plate.

He suspected that she was doing it deliberately in retaliation for the Lando family’s grab for power, leveraging their alliance with the four churches. You want power? Fine. Take it all and see if you can handle it!

Moreover, Sophelia had been dressing in quite revealing clothes lately, treating Auston like she was trying to recover her first love.

There was no love, only politics. Auston felt a bitter disappointment at seeing his image of the Queen destroyed. Whenever he thought about that, he wanted nothing more than to draw his sword and kill Wayne.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t win that fight. He could only relieve his stress by fantasizing.

His expression weary, he said weakly, “The Queen talked to me about the royal family’s future bloodline. She wants to introduce the Lando family’s blood to make the next generation better.”

“What does she mean? Does she want Veronica to lower herself and marry the Prince?” Wayne raised his eyebrow. He looked at the stars and foresaw the Queen’s death at the third watch tonight.

“No, she wants you to improve the Princess’s descendant.”

Wayne blinked. “Did you not explain?”

“I did. She didn’t believe me.” Auston slumped down on the sofa listlessly. “She’s talking about Juno. You’ve met her. She’ll make an excellent Queen in the future. You don’t find her beneath you, do you?”

“I do.” Wayne pursed his lips. “You may not believe me, but I have no interest whatsoever in the Princess. I’ve never considered degrading myself like that.”

“The Princess has a beautiful fiancée, or maybe it counts as two. Now you’re not degrading yourself, are you?”

“...”