Chapter 58



58 The First Political Discussion

Selma Payne’s POV:

“That’s why I said it’s just a feeling,” Dorothy said uncertainly. “It’s not necessarily correct. Rather, it’s ridiculous.”

The southern Duke had made significant contributions to the war when he was young and had even personally executed a legend wizard. So how was his daughter involved with a witch? It was impossible, no matter how I thought about it.

However, I trusted Dorothy’s insight even more. Perhaps there was something wrong with Carolyn. I had to find a chance to talk to my father and mother about this to prevent it before it happened.

The next day, with the help of the royal tailor, we designed the clothes for the entire day to wear for the Moonlight Festival. Mara was the musician, and Avril chose Valkyrie. Dorothy had no experience in this, so she decided to play the ‘girl in the shadow’, the incarnation of the Moon Goddess in the dusk. In some versions of the myth, she was the daughter of the Moon Goddess and a witch in the mortal world.

After spending the whole day in fabric and lace, Avil said that she had never felt that choosing clothes was such a tiring thing.

At night, I asked Kara to take the girls to the hot spring, while I took the opportunity to tell my father and mother about Carolyn’s abnormality.

“At the academy, I somehow felt that there was something very off about Carolyn,” I said solemnly. “She doesn’t have a fiancé, but she used her fiancé as an excuse to steal the role in the drama. She looks like a gentle girl but can inadvertently push for a bloody conflict.

“Dorothy’s insight further confirmed my opinion. She’s a witch and wouldn’t have sensed magic fluctuations wrongly.”

Of course, my parents knew about Dorothy’s identity, so they also took this seriously. Carolyn was the southern Duke’s only daughter and the heir to the Southern Pack. No matter what, nothing could happen to her.

“What do you think, my daughter?” he asked. “If you were the decision maker, how would you deal with this?”

I thought I was just a messenger, but such a question caught me off guard. I was a little stunned for a moment.

Could I tell my father about my childish thoughts? This was not a small matter. It was better to let my father and mother handle it, right?

My father saw my hesitation and encouraged me. “Don’t worry. Just be bold and tell me your thoughts. You’ll have to face these problems in the future and take on the responsibility of a Queen, don’t you?”

My mother also encouraged me with a gentle but firm gaze.

Thus, I made up my mind and organized my thoughts. “First of all, this matter has to be kept a secret for the time being to prevent this matter from spreading and causing harm to Carolyn. After all, we have yet to confirm whether there is something wrong with her.

“Second, inform the southern Duke of this. Carolyn is his daughter, and he has the right to know everything. Besides, we can only continue the investigation smoothly with his support. After all, no kind father would want to see his daughter in danger.

“Third, Carolyn might have been mentally controlled by a witch, or she might have been switched. We must investigate her schedule and social information to see when she was attacked.

“And fourth…

I was not sure if I should say this. After all, it didn’t sound so ‘open ‘.

“… Fourth, if we can confirm that there’s a problem with Carolyn, then we have to think of a way to resolve it. If she’s under control, we need to find someone to remove the mind control. It’ll be even better if we can find the murderer in her memory.

“If she has been switched, the witch who dared to switch her identity as the Duke’s daughter and sneak into the Lycan Pack is likely to have ulterior motives. We must find a way to capture her, or… Get rid of her without alerting her.”

After saying that, I nervously waited for my father’s opinion.

I regretted saying, ‘get rid of her’. After all, Carolyn was one of my packsmen. After all, everything was still undecided. But, to say that I would kill my people so casually, was this something a princess or queen should do?

My father was a benevolent ruler. So I didn’t think he would agree.

Finally, he spoke.

“Selma, my daughter, to be honest, you have surprised me a little.”

As expected! My father was surprised at my viciousness. I’d disappointed him.

“I didn’t expect you to be so thoughtful. To be honest, you make me feel it would be fine even if I passed the throne to you tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry, Father,” I said dejectedly. “I should have treated Carolyn…”

Suddenly, I realized that my father wasn’t angry. On the contrary, he was looking at me with a gratified and satisfied gaze.

‘Did I… Do well?’

“My baby, you need to be more confident. In fact, you can do very well. Don’t easily downplay yourself.” My mother put her arm around my shoulder. “I can see that you’re a little uncertain, but the facts prove that you’ve thought it through very well, haven’t you?”

“But I shouldn’t have said something like getting rid of Carolyn so casually,” I muttered.