Chapter 122

122 War Tragedy

Selma Payne’s POV:

The southern Duke looked at me with tears in his eyes. He was as fragile as a child.

I turned my head away somewhat unwillingly and continued, “If Adele didn’t care about you at all, why would she take the risk to acknowledge you? Why do you feel so much pain and despair for your indifference?

“Because she yearns for love, a normal family, and a kind father. No matter what Adele has experienced in the past, I don’t think she’s doing well. From her character, I can see that she only has resistance and fear of the past.

“When she was shouting at you, every word she said was filled with the desire for family love. When her tears flowed like a spring, every drop contained a severe accusation. I heard it. She was asking for help. She wanted to get rid of her past. She wanted to have a happy and complete childhood like Carolyn. This was the real purpose of her kidnapping Carolyn.

“So it’s useless for you to punish yourself. It will only make Adele more miserable. She will be sad that she didn’t get her late father’s love because her father cut off the entanglement between them in the way of compensation.

“And this is also unfair to Carolyn. Even if Adele is her sister and everything happened for a reason, she is the victim in the whole incident, isn’t she?

“You’re in a difficult position between the past and the present. Carolyn is also in a difficult situation. Could she want to use herself as a bargaining chip to request her father to deal with his other daughter? If she didn’t do so, she would have suffered and wouldn’t even have had the chance to seek justice.

“So, please consider it carefully. It’s meaningless to make up for Adele’s mistake with your contributions. It will only make this matter more complicated.”

The southern Duke fell silent again.

My parents looked at me in surprise and satisfaction.

“You’ve grown up,” my mother whispered in my ear. “To be able to persuade Lennon so clearly and reasonably, you already have the shadow of a qualified Queen. I’m proud of you.”

I nodded and turned to the southern Duke.

The latter had already stopped crying, but he was still trembling slightly.

“Selma is right. Lennon, think about your daughters. Rather than blaming yourself for the past, why don’t you give them a brighter future?”

The southern Duke took a few deep breaths and said in a choked voice, “You’re right. God, I’m so ashamed. I’m not even as clear-headed as a young girl...”

“Don’t say that, man,” Duke Frank patted him on the shoulder. “The onlooker sees more clearly than the person involved.”

“Adele’s interrogation will be carried out in secret, and the Council of Elders will not participate in it anymore. These people only think about fighting for fame and fortune, which will delay progress.” My father said, “But I can’t show favoritism toward Adele. After all, she has evil intentions and caused such a big scene at the Sivir Academy. She can be spared from death but can’t escape punishment.”

“I understand, Your Majesty,” the southern Duke replied dejectedly.

My father continued, “However, if the werewolf grandmaster can remove the threat on her, I can allow her to live in the werewolf pack. But it’s limited to the Lycan pack, and she will be under 24/7 supervision. You’ll have a chance to visit her once a week to make up for your mistakes as a father.”

“Really?” The southern Duke’s eyes lit up. “Thank you for your kindness!”

In the end, my father said sadly, “War will only bring misfortune, and no one will be the final winner. When we were young, we used the number of casualties to determine who would win and who would lose. But at this age, we have to admit that the stupid deaths in our youth are not cold numbers. Behind every statistic, who knows how many broken families and people suffer in silence.”

The elders fell into silence. The aftermath of the war they had fought in their youth was so widespread that it even crossed the barrier of decades and ruthlessly teased this arrogant man who claimed to be the victor.

This emotion infected me and made me extremely depressed.

Once upon a time, I was also a frivolous person. With my young naivety and stupidity, I fantasized about using war to punish the invader who didn’t know what was good for him.

But I was not the one who would fight day and night on the battlefield. The commander who stood in the tent never cared about the price on the battlefield.

After the victory, the commanders and survivors cheered, but the souls lying in pools of blood would never return. Their families would never be able to experience the sweetness of victory because it was a scarlet flower that was watered with the blood and flesh of their loved ones.

In history class, I once wondered why so many wise and powerful rulers hesitated in war. They could trample on the enemy country, so why did they waste their breath on a group of shameless people at the negotiation table?

Now I understood why those great kings were great. It was because they truly understood the importance of the people.

Treating the people as just numbers and the practice of militarism would one day backfire on them.