Chapter 47: Ch 47. Be More Open

"I came across a little story about the past—one involving the Fox Clan and the palace regulations during my father’s reign." Vylen looked at them all, including Selena, who was watching him. "Is it okay if I talk about it here? I’m afraid it might be inappropriate; I had actually intended to find you to discuss it."

Selena raised an eyebrow, slightly curious whether Vylen’s discovery was related to what she suspected.

This made her sit up straight, looking at her five husbands in turn.

"Since I’ve married all of you, that means we’re one family. Even though our issues and spheres of influence differ, let’s just consider this a family meeting. Even while having breakfast, we can handle this just like a meeting," she said, causing all her husbands to fall silent as if they were processing her words.

Selena knew this might never have happened before because she used to be a weak and useless woman in the eyes of her husbands. But now, Selena’s resolve and goals were different.

In addition to wanting to become a healer of extinction, Selena also wanted to control them so that no one could get rid of her again later once she was no longer useful. So, she had to make some changes they could accept; that way, her plan to control them wouldn’t be too obvious.

"Why aren’t you answering me?" Selena set down her spoon and looked at them with a slightly sad expression—which was, of course, an act. "Do you all mind talking about your problems with me? I really want to help—wouldn’t it be better if we talked about it together?"

"It’s not like that," Stevan interjected when he saw that Selena seemed to feel left out. "Up until now, we’ve never really talked openly about each other’s problems, especially not at the dinner table when we’re all gathered like this. It feels unusual, so we’ve been silent for a while, thinking it over."

Jhon nodded, looking at Selena with a gentle gaze. "Up until now, we’ve always kept everything a secret, handling things on our own because those aren’t matters to be broadcast to other kingdoms. The other kings have their own affairs to attend to, so we’ve never discussed what happens in the palace or within our group together," he added.

"Even having breakfast like this is something we’ve only done since you returned from the Eldoria court; it was just yesterday morning that we sat at the same table and had breakfast with you. Because we never did that before—we always kept our distance from one another," said Stoner, prompting Vylen and Dorven to nod in agreement.

This was in line with Selena’s suspicions, as the five of them didn’t seem that close. Although they were all kings of their respective groups in the same world, their territories were different and quite far apart.

That meant they rarely saw each other before he became her husband, which is why they’re now building structures on a large plot of land, each designed to resemble the palace of their respective clans. They also live here after he became her husband, so it’s easier for Selena to heal them since they’re in the same area.

"Selena... Are you angry? We didn’t mean anything by it; in fact, we really wanted to share our problems with you in case you could help." Stevan was a little worried.

Last day, Selena had already seemed to forgive him; today, he didn’t want Selena to get angry at him again because she felt he wasn’t worthy of discussing that matter with them.

"At least say something," said Vylen with a worried expression as he saw her remain silent. "I want to talk about this with you, but I don’t want to disturb the other kings. They usually have their own affairs to attend to, so I thought I’d discuss this later, just the two of us."

Selena sighed. "Family is about helping one another. If you keep limiting yourselves like this, your problems won’t be easily resolved. You should be able to discuss your problems together, because you’re both kings who surely have thoughts and decisions that could be shared so you can work together," she said, helping them begin to understand.

"Is hiding a problem and handling it in secret better than discussing it first with someone who understands similar issues, so that some decisions can be made?" Selena added, causing them to immediately exchange glances.

"You’re right. We’ve been pretty busy with the clan’s affairs and our own personal lives. It never occurred to us to discuss this with the other kings because we thought they wouldn’t care," said Stevan, causing Selena to take a slow breath.

"That’s the main problem—you don’t care enough. Even when one of you is in critical condition, it’s not certain the others will rush to help. But we’re family—we should care more," Selena said, then leaned back in her dining chair and folded her arms.

That made her five husbands realize Selena was about to bring up a serious matter—one they’d have to listen to this time, since what she’d said earlier had been quite good and had impressed them.

"I’m the kind of person who remembers my relationships with others very clearly. For example, even though I knew from the start—before my healing powers emerged—that you were preparing to behead me, right? If I were evil and uncaring, I would’ve chosen to leave and let you all be in critical condition.

"Why did I do that? Why didn’t I just leave even though I’d been cast aside? It’s because we’re a family; as a family, we’re obligated to help one another. But you guys didn’t want to do that, which made me think that you’re still holding back around me," she said, deliberately putting on a displeased yet slightly sad expression.

"It’s not like that. All right, maybe what Selena said does make sense. If we discuss the problems in our area together, it’ll be easier to find a solution," said Jhon, causing the others to nod.

"Yes, we’ve become one family since marrying her. We can probably share things with each other; besides, we can’t take over other people’s territories because there are specific rules. Unless we win a war, we can’t take territory from other groups. All right, I agree we should discuss our issues with each other at a time like this—let’s just consider this a meeting," said Dorven, nodding.

"Yes, I agree."

"I’ll also do whatever it takes to make sure Selena doesn’t feel excluded. After all, she’s already tried to forgive us for nearly killing her; we don’t have the right to distance ourselves from her."

Vylen nodded slowly, glancing at Selena, who was watching them.

"In that case, I’ll bring up my issue first," Vylen said, taking a deep, serious breath. "Yesterday I went to the place where Coxy spotted some strange activity in the Fox Clan’s territory. When I got there, I realized the place had become like a quarantine zone. Inside, there were hundreds of foxes walking around like monsters."

Selena furrowed her brow. "Monsters?"

Vylen nodded. "Like unstable monsters. According to the information Coxy gathered, a mysterious girl from the Fox Clan frequently visits that place. When I asked him to take a look at Briella, Coxy admitted that she was the one he’d always seen coming in and out of that area."