Chapter 169: Escape Prison

Lyra was so biased that she could no longer see Sora’s existence at all.

To her, Serena would always be the gentle, beautiful daughter she had raised, while Sora was nothing more than the daughter who had somehow appeared later and taken away everything that should have belonged to Serena.

Sora had long since become accustomed to it.

Still, hearing Lyra defend Serena even after everything that had happened made something cold settle in her heart.

She gave a soft, humorless snort and raised her head, preparing to speak.

Before she could say anything, however, a voice came from the crowd.

"There is no enmity between them? Are you sure about that?"

The voice was calm but sharp.

Sora turned toward it.

It was Clare.

Warmth immediately spread through Sora’s chest.

She had known she hadn’t made a friend for nothing.

Clare stepped out from among the gathered females and beastmen. Her eyes were fixed on Lyra.

"Serena doesn’t have any resentment toward Kaelira?" Clare asked. "Then why did she keep competing with her? Why did she become so angry after Kaelira returned?"

The crowd immediately erupted into murmurs.

"That makes sense."

"Serena certainly didn’t seem happy after Kaelira came back."

"She has always been jealous of Kaelira ."

One beastman scratched his head.

"But even if she disliked Kaelira , why would she poison the entire tribe?"

Another beastman frowned.

"Kaelira was the one who taught us how to purify salt. If something went wrong with the salt, wouldn’t she be the first person Serena would blame?"

"Exactly."

Someone else shook his head.

"To frame Kaelira , she actually poisoned everyone? That’s too cruel."

Lyra immediately stepped forward.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Her voice was filled with anger.

"Serena is kind. She would never intentionally hurt the tribe!"

Clare gave her a cold look.

"Chief’s mate, I’m not trying to insult you."

She paused.

"But you clearly aren’t as fair to Kaelira as you are to Serena."

Lyra’s expression froze.

For a moment, she couldn’t find anything to say.

Martin’s head was already beginning to ache from all the arguing.

He raised one hand.

"Enough."

The noisy crowd gradually fell silent.

Martin turned his gaze toward Serena.

His expression was complicated.

He had raised Serena for many years.

Although she had committed a serious crime, he still couldn’t completely forget the little girl he had once carried in his arms.

If Serena admitted her mistake sincerely, perhaps he could still find a way to give her a chance.

"Serena," Martin said quietly. "Do you really have nothing else to say?"

Serena remained silent.

Her long hair fell over her face, hiding most of her expression.

Lyra became anxious.

She quickly grabbed Serena’s hand.

"Serena, listen to your mother."

Her voice softened.

"Apologize to your father and everyone in the tribe. They won’t be so cruel as to kill you immediately. Your father still cares about you."

Serena’s shoulders trembled.

Then—

She laughed.

It was a strange, bitter laugh.

"Apologize?"

She slowly raised her head.

"What have I done wrong?"

Lyra stared at her.

"Serena..."

"What have I done wrong?" Serena repeated.

Her eyes were red, but there were no tears in them.

"You all keep telling me to admit my mistake. But what mistake did I make?"

She pointed toward Sora.

"She is the one who took everything from me!"

The crowd fell silent.

Serena’s breathing became increasingly agitated.

"She took my beast husbands."

Her voice cracked.

"She took the place that should have belonged to me. Everyone used to look at me. Everyone used to praise me. And then she came back..."

Her eyes burned with resentment.

"Everything changed."

Martin’s face darkened.

"Serena."

She looked toward him.

"If you truly cared about me, you wouldn’t have given my beast husbands to Sora!"

Lyra’s face went pale.

"Serena! How can you say that to your father?"

"Why can’t I?"

Serena laughed again.

"You keep saying he loves me. If he really loved me, would he have allowed Kaelira to take everything from me?"

Lyra stared at her daughter in disbelief.

"How could you think this way?"

"Isn’t it normal?"

Serena’s voice became bitter.

"You liked me because I was beautiful."

Lyra froze.

"You liked me because I was presentable. Because I was prettier than Kaelira ."

Serena touched her face.

Her fingers trembled.

"Look at me now."

Her voice lowered.

"I’m disfigured."

The crowd became quiet.

"You can barely look at me anymore."

Lyra’s eyes filled with pain.

"That’s not true."

"Isn’t it?"

Serena laughed bitterly.

"Then don’t pretend to be kind."

Lyra shook her head.

"Serena, I raised you."

"And you’re just as hypocritical as Martin."

The words struck Lyra like a slap.

Her face instantly lost all color.

She had never imagined that the daughter she had raised with so much care would one day look at her with such hatred.

"Serena..."

Her voice trembled.

"How could you think this way about me?"

Serena looked away.

"From now on, you don’t have to compare me with Kaelira anymore."

She gave a bitter smile.

"I’m ugly now."

Her eyes shifted toward Sora.

"And Kaelira isn’t even that beautiful either."

She looked at the beastmen surrounding Sora.

"No one will compete for your favor anymore."

Sora stood quietly.

She didn’t feel angry.

She didn’t even feel hurt.

If anything, she found Serena’s words rather pitiful.

Serena had spent so much time measuring her own worth through beauty.

She believed that if she was beautiful, people would love her.

If she lost her beauty, she believed everyone would abandon her.

What a sad way to live.

Sora remained silent.

Beside her, Lukan watched her carefully.

He knew how unfairly Lyra had treated Sora for years.

But Sora’s expression remained strangely calm.

Perhaps she had already become accustomed to it.

Clare, however, couldn’t stand it anymore.

"Serena, don’t blame everyone else for your choices."

Serena glared at her.

Clare continued.

"You poisoned the tribe’s salt."

"You knew people would eat it."

"You knew they could become sick."

"Yet you still did it."

The surrounding beastmen nodded.

"That is true."

"She can’t blame Kaelira for that."

"She made her own choice."

Someone in the crowd spoke more softly.

"We did admire Serena before, but that doesn’t mean we owe her anything."

Another beastman nodded.

"When Kaelira first arrived, she helped everyone. She taught us how to purify salt and saved the tribe when the poison appeared."

Serena’s face became increasingly pale.

"Enough!"

She covered her ears.

"I don’t want to hear it!"

Martin closed his eyes.

His heart hurt.

He had wanted to believe Serena had merely made a mistake.

But now he understood.

This wasn’t an accident.

It was hatred.

And that hatred had grown so deep that Serena had been willing to gamble with the lives of everyone in the tribe.

Martin slowly opened his eyes.

"Serena."

She looked toward him.

"According to the rules of the tribe, deliberately harming members of the tribe is a serious crime."

Lyra immediately stepped forward.

"Martin—"

He raised his hand.

"Enough, Lyra."

His voice was tired.

"I understand that you want to protect her."

Lyra’s eyes reddened.

"But if we don’t punish her, how will I explain this to everyone else?"

Lyra’s lips trembled.

She couldn’t answer.

Martin turned toward the guards.

"Take Serena to the dungeon."

Two beastmen stepped forward.

Serena didn’t resist.

Perhaps she had finally realized that no one could save her this time.

As the beastmen approached, Lyra grabbed her arm.

"Serena!"

Serena pulled her hand away.

"Don’t touch me."

Lyra froze.

Serena walked away with lowered eyes.

Sora watched her disappear.

She didn’t feel victorious.

Instead, there was an inexplicable heaviness in her heart.

Serena had made a terrible choice.

But Sora couldn’t help wondering how someone who had once seemed so gentle had become like this.

Still, that wasn’t her problem anymore.

At least, that’s what she thought.

But by afternoon, something unexpected happened.

A beastman carrying food walked toward the dungeon.

The dungeon was built beneath one of the larger stone structures at the edge of the tribe.

Normally, two guards stood outside.

The entrance was narrow, and only one person could enter at a time.

The beastman arrived carrying a wooden bowl filled with cooked meat and fruit.

He pushed open the door.

"Serena, your food is here."

No answer.

The beastman frowned.

"Serena?"

He stepped inside.

The small chamber was empty.

The animal hide that had been placed on the floor was pushed aside.

The wooden bowl from the previous meal lay overturned.

The beastman’s expression changed.

He immediately rushed outside.

"Chief!"

Martin, who was speaking with several tribe members, turned around.

"What happened?"

The beastman was breathing heavily.

"Serena..."

He swallowed.

"She escaped."

The entire square fell silent.

"What?"

"She escaped?"

"How?"

The Chief sent several beastmen into the surrounding forest to search for Serena throughout the afternoon.

They followed every possible trail they could find.

They searched along the river, checked the nearby caves, and even questioned the beastmen who had been working around the tribe that morning.

But no matter how carefully they searched, there was no sign of Serena.

By the time the sun began to sink toward the horizon, the search parties returned one after another.

"Chief, we couldn’t find her."

Martin stood silently in front of his wooden house.

His expression was complicated.

He had raised Serena himself. Even after everything she had done, a part of him still hoped she would return voluntarily and admit that she had been wrong.

But the longer he waited, the clearer it became that Serena had no intention of coming back.

Martin finally sighed.

"Forget it."

The beastmen looked at him.

"If she wants to leave, let her go."

His voice was heavy.

"From now on, we won’t concern ourselves with her anymore."

Those words were difficult for Martin to say.

But he knew that Serena had already made her choice.

He could not keep chasing someone who had chosen to abandon the tribe after nearly poisoning everyone in it.

The tribe gradually returned to its normal rhythm.

However, there was still one problem that needed to be dealt with.

The salt.

Because Serena had deliberately poured the discarded brine back into the processed salt, the entire batch had become contaminated.