363 Dagger
Selma Payne’s POV:
The people stuck to their opinions argued endlessly, and no one could convince the other. The meeting lasted the whole day, and there was still no conclusion by evening.
In any case, how to deal with the relationship with the neighbor that had fallen into a period of division was a sensitive matter that had to be carefully and cautiously handled. In the end, no matter how much they quarreled, they were still carefully weighing the balance between contribution and return. Compared to their neighboring clans, they were still more important.
The meeting ended in the evening, and everyone took a short break to prepare for the overnight meeting.
As a distinguished guest, Cage was arranged to stay in the palace temporarily, which meant that he was monitored as a foreign guest. He might have understood it as he had no objection to it.
During dinner, I paid close attention to Dorothy’s every move. She did not intend to get along with her father, so I did not point out this problem insensibly.
Cage, on the other hand, asked to meet me before the meeting.
Hello, Mr. Cage. I met him in confusion. what can I do for you?”
“Your Highness,” Cage said. “I think you know that I’m Dorothy’s biological father.”
“Yes.” I couldn’t help but look a little indignant. “Dorothy showed me your photo before. I have to say, you look no different from twenty years ago.”
Cage smiled bitterly. “It’s only natural that you’re unhappy with me. After all, I’m not a responsible father. I didn’t care about my own daughter for more than twenty years. I don’t want to explain my actions. I’d like to ask you to pass something on to Dorothy for me. ”
“What is it?”
Cage handed me a dagger wrapped in sackcloth. I looked at it and saw that it was an antique dagger with an obvious ancient color. It was still sharp and cold even after so many years.
“What is this?” I asked.
“Do you know the ancient legend that has haunted my family for hundreds of years? ” Cage asked in return.
“You mean the matter about Mullwica’s son?”
“Yes, then you must know that Mullwica’s son killed his adoptive father during the magic outbreak.”
“That’s right. For this, he asked for the help of the devil, which buried the root of the tragedy of the mother and son killing each other.”
“Then, I’ll be honest about the part not mentioned in the legend – the innocent adoptive father who was killed did not accept death with relief and tolerance. Before he died, a demon told him everything about the identity of his adopted son, and he used his soul as a bargaining chip to curse every descendant of Mullwica’s family so that they would be separated from their flesh and blood for generations. Once their children lived together, they would face tragedy. This is the story hidden behind the legend.”
“... are you making excuses for your actions?”
A complicated expression suddenly appeared on Cage’s face. He seemed to have a thousand words to say, but he had to hide all the surging emotions under his brave front.
“I will never argue for abandoning Dorothy, Your Highness.”
“Forget it... Why are you giving this dagger to Dorothy?”
“This is the dagger Mullwica’s son used to kill his foster father 300 years ago,” he said, his voice still empty. “According to Dorothy’s mother’s teachings, it should be passed on to the next generation of the family.”
I immediately felt that the dagger in my hand wasn’t so ordinary anymore. Even the small scratches on the dagger that had been sharpened by time seemed to overflow with a strange power.
“Alright,” I promised Cage. “I’ll give it to Dorothy for you.”
Cage didn’t stay any longer. He thanked me and was about to leave. However, before he left, I hesitated again and again, so I called him back and asked him a question.
“How is Dorothy’s mother now? Why didn’t she come home to visit Dorothy?”
Cage was silent for a few seconds. “Did Dorothy tell you who her mother and I are?” he asked. “Did she tell you?”
“Yes, you are Mullwica’s descendants, and her mother is the descendant of the mixed-blood werewolf foster father of Mullwica’s son.
When I mentioned their identities, I suddenly understood something. As expected, Cage said, “It’s because of our sensitive identities that our union made the power of the curse extremely angry. Its power also spread to its descendants. Dorothy’s mother had tried to raise Dorothy herself, but the result had inevitably led to an even worse outcome. She did not dare to take any more risks, so she could only stay far away from Dorothy.”
I remember Dorothy saying she spent some time with her mother when she was young. So her sudden disappearance was not because she gave up on her daughter for love, but because of something else?
We thought we knew the full story of what happened 300 years ago, but we did not expect that secrets were still hidden in the torrent of time, silently exuding their power. Dorothy was trapped in the tragedy 300 years ago and could not escape.
And what was the source of all this? Had everything been set in stone since the magic riot?