No matter what thoughts prompted the king to avoid Duke Elliot and meet with himself and Chris in private, the most basic face must be given to him.
Therefore, Wayne did not continue to criticize, but chatted awkwardly with him.
George II was like an elder in an ordinary family. He only occasionally asked a few ordinary questions, and Wayne answered them all one by one.
In contrast, Chris didn't speak too much, and she sat aside obediently, looking particularly quiet.
However, George II didn't seem to pay special attention to Chrissy's performance. He focused all his attention on Wayne.
The king smiled when he heard Wayne mention the interesting things in the academy.
"It's always difficult for young people to think so carefully and do things with a single heart, so problems of all sizes will inevitably arise," he said thoughtfully. "Only when they grow up will they understand what they really want."
Wayne wasn't sure if he was implying something.
"...But, wouldn't that be nice?" After a period of conversation and opening up the topic, Wayne's tone was equally casual.
"Teenagers have things that teenagers like, and people in their thirties have things that people in their thirties like; after all the enthusiasm has subsided, and you can get that long-delayed surprise, there will be nothing left. It makes sense.”
He once understood this deeply.
It's like after graduation and working, you accidentally come across a toy that you wanted to have but didn't buy when you were a child.
Or it’s like passing by a roadside store one day and buying a lot of 50-cent snacks on a whim to take home, but in the end I only took one bite and threw them away.
Once you miss the right time, you will never be able to get back the feeling you once longed for.
George II frowned unconsciously when he heard this, but soon relaxed.
"You are still young after all. You think too simply." He lamented, "Not all wishes can be fulfilled at the moment."
"The so-called growth process is actually the process of gradually understanding what one should give up... This is the same for everyone."
His eyes were focused on the corner of the table, and the king's eyes were slightly sad.
"Even if you can't figure it out now, you will understand it one day in the future." He said.
Seeing that he was unwilling to speak clearly and kept telling riddles, Wayne soon became too lazy to guess what he meant.
"Then let's wait until we grow up."
Wayne opened his mouth and showed a bright smile. "I'm still young anyway."
The king was slightly surprised by this reply and looked at him intently for a while.
After a moment of silent silence, he said in a complicated tone: "Yes, you... and you are all still young."
As if he finally realized the difference between reality and ideal situation again, the king seemed to lose interest in continuing the conversation for a moment. It didn't take long for him to leave first on the grounds that he had other important matters.
In vain, Wayne and Chris were left sitting in the private room looking at each other.
"So, what exactly did he want to say?" Wayne asked doubtfully.
Thinking back on it, it was just a matter of routine, and by the way, it was shown that the king admired me and that there were people around him who recommended me.
Beyond that, nothing else meaningful can be extracted.
Chris pondered for a moment and then guessed rather suspiciously: "According to common sense, His Majesty should also want to know our family's position... Could it be that he has already inferred our family's tendency from your answer?"
Wayne doesn't think this is the reason.
"Not to mention that I have basically never officially taken over any family affairs. If you don't go to your father for this kind of thing, you go to me instead. No matter how you look at it, it's not reliable."
Moreover, both inside and outside the words, there is a sense of being an elder giving guidance to the younger generation.
"Well..." Chris put her hands on the table and looked at him with her chin in her hands.
"Perhaps he wants to know your personality? He paid much more attention to you than to me just now."
Wayne couldn't help but laugh, "Why do your words sound sour?"
Chris just snorted disdainfully from her nose as an answer.
…
The two went to the publishing house as originally planned.
After returning home, Wayne truthfully reported the situation to the head of the family, Duke Elliot.
"Oh, I just want to see what kind of person you are, don't worry about it." Although Elliot didn't guess that the king would act out of common sense this time, he didn't think it would have any impact.
In fact, this is indeed the case.
Almost all the affairs of the Winche family are decided by Duke Elliot alone, and it is not the turn of others to intervene.
He respects and cares about his children, but he subconsciously excludes them from many things. Perhaps in his opinion, this is also a kind of protection for the children.
"By the way, you sent someone to investigate the background of a guard from the City Guard before. They have come back. You can arrange an interview at another time."
After hearing Elliot's words, Wayne was shocked.
Sure enough, once you go the family route, it's almost impossible to hide it from Duke Elliot himself.
"good."
Even if there was something wrong with this person's identity, it didn't involve him much, so Wayne wasn't very nervous about it.
Using the cover of the family chamber of commerce, Wayne met with his subordinates who specialized in doing private work for him.
No matter how much he pretended to withdraw from the center of power, the Duke's family's heritage could not be underestimated. Wayne easily obtained an extremely detailed background investigation report.
"Master Wayne, all the information we have traced is summarized here." A man in his thirties said respectfully.
"If there is anything unclear, you can always ask me."
Wayne followed the report and quickly scanned it line by line. "Well. You guys should sit down too, I'll take a look first."
He was already trying to control his expression, but he couldn't help but frowning more and more.
According to what Gavin told him, the reason why the man named Difu came to the royal capital with his sister to make a living was because his parents were seriously ill and died, but the result he sent to investigate was completely different.
No, to be precise, the girl named Debbie’s parents did pass away due to illness, and she had been away from her hometown for many years, with no news from outside.
However, what is completely different from the original statement is that there is no son in their family at all!
This piece of information was like a cluster of sparks that suddenly lit up in the dark night, and a very surprising idea suddenly popped into Wayne's mind.
He couldn't help but asked in a deep voice: "I don't doubt your ability, but the authenticity of this investigation is very important to me. Can it be guaranteed to be accurate?"
"Everything has been verified by many parties! I dare to guarantee with my life that there will be no deception." The person in charge of this matter is extremely sure.
