Chapter 51: Ch 51. The Panic of the Four Kings

"Your Majesty, I arrived early because I must leave for the border shortly. The situation there has changed, so I had to come and see for myself," Dali Hawksen said after bowing.

Selena nodded in understanding. "Please have a seat, Young Master Hawksen. I had intended to come sooner, but something came up at the palace, so I wasn’t able to meet with you yet. Is the situation particularly dire? Are the enemies attacking?" Selena asked, causing Dali to smile politely.

"It’s not quite that bad, Your Majesty. For the past few years, there’s always been the looming threat of an attack from the neighboring Beast World; it’s filled with bands of bandits and savage beastkin who follow heretical teachings. They’re always looking to conquer and plunder other groups; there are quite a few of them, so we have to keep the borders secure. That way, the people of Eldoria will feel at ease," said Dali Hawksen, prompting Selena to nod in understanding.

Though she didn’t understand much about defending a territory, she had to grasp it now because of her status as queen—and she didn’t want to be just a queen hiding behind the King or her husband.

Why? Because all five of her husbands were fools! If it weren’t for her, all five of them would have died, and that forced her to stand on her own two feet; that way, her chances of ruling Eldoria would be much greater.

If only her husbands had been strong beastkin from the start—able to protect her and pamper her until she was completely comfortable—Selena wouldn’t have wanted to learn and understand all of this.

"Oh, by the way, I’ve already taken the potion you gave me. I followed all the instructions for taking it, and the effects have been quite good, Your Majesty. My body feels cool and comfortable, and the areas around my chest, lower abdomen, and back—which usually throb with pain—are feeling better too. The medicine you gave me is truly effective," said Dali, snapping Selena out of her reverie.

She smiled at his words. "That’s good. If it’s helpful, I’ll continue making your next batch of medicine. Your remedy isn’t difficult to prepare, since you weren’t affected by the curse of extinction. Perhaps because you’re kind-hearted and also a hero in Eldoria, the Gods didn’t curse you like they did my other husbands," said Selena, making Dali almost laugh.

But he didn’t go through with it—how could he possibly laugh at those five pitiful kings? Even though they were a bit foolish, annoying, and self-centered, they were still part of the royal beast clan and deserved respect.

"You asked me to investigate the Eldoria Court Council, didn’t you?" Dali said, prompting Selena to nod, this time with a serious expression. "I went there yesterday afternoon and saw several members who serve on the Eldoria Court Council looking sick and listless. Besides Mr. Forhen, there were about 10 beastkin from the Bull and Rhinoceros clans who were sitting there daydreaming, sleeping, or just staring blankly."

"I asked Mr. Forhen about their condition, but he didn’t know why they were acting that way. He said they hadn’t been like that for very long—up until recently, they’d been quite enthusiastic and diligent. But lately, they’ve become lazy. Maybe it’s because there haven’t been any particularly difficult cases to handle, so they’ve just been slacking off. I’m not sure if they’re generally okay or not," Dali said, recounting what he had seen.

Selena furrowed her brow in disbelief. "Have they ever been examined by a doctor before?" she asked curiously.

"When I asked Mr. Forhen about that, he said he had already summoned a Healer from the Deer clan. But there was nothing dangerous; they were deemed to be fine. So Mr. Forhen didn’t really do much—he just let them remain Council members even though they were useless," said Dali, causing Selena to snort in annoyance.

"He’s so biased toward his own group—even useless people like that, he still makes them council members, granting them the honor of the position along with a monthly salary. Their lives are so easy—unlike mine, when my five husbands deemed me useless for a few months, I was immediately sentenced to death," Selena grumbled, causing Dali to swallow hard and nod in agreement.

"You’re right, Your Majesty. In my opinion, this is a bit unusual; I also suspect that Mr. Forhen is hiding something. If this isn’t handled seriously, the Eldoria court won’t be able to do its job effectively. It’s not fair—while all the troops are standing guard at the border to maintain peace, on what grounds are those bulls and rhinos allowed to live and work so lazily?" he said indignantly.

Selena nodded; they really were living it up if left unchecked. Selena had to do something; otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to control the situation either.

"All right, once I’m done here, I’ll pay a visit to the Eldoria Court. I’ll see the situation there for myself. Please keep this plan a secret for now so I can catch them red-handed without any set-up just because I’m coming," said Selena, causing Dali Hawksen to nod obediently.

"I’ll keep it a secret, and if you need help, you can send a message to the Eagle Group’s headquarters; my family will send a force to assist you," he said, making Selena smile slightly.

"No need—didn’t you already give me a plaque? I’ll just use that if it comes down to it," Selena replied, prompting Dali to remember and nod in agreement. "Have you eaten yet? If not, eat first—I’ll have the waitstaff prepare something for you."

"No need, Your Majesty. I’ll head home right away if you have nothing else to say. I’ll get ready and head to the border this afternoon," he replied, causing Selena to nod.

"All right, thank you for your help. You’re the only one I can trust right now. If anything happens later, you can send word to me by any means—I’ll come to help you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. In that case, I’ll take my leave now. Please take care of yourself," said Dali Hawksen as he bowed in respect.

"You take care of yourself, too. The peace of Eldoria is indeed important, but your life is important as well. Don’t put your life at risk just for the sake of others; only by staying alive can you accomplish so much," said Selena, sounding a little sad.

She had never before parted ways with someone in a situation where they might face such a dangerous enemy; back in the human world, she hadn’t had to deal with many problems or dangers either.

It was just that here, the first friend she could trust happened to be a general and the heir to the title of Eldoria’s god of war. Selena knew that it was a title that was both highly honorable and quite dangerous, because his weapon was his very life.

"Of course I’ll take good care of my life—I’ll need it to collect payment for your medical treatment," Dali replied, half-jokingly.

Selena chuckled softly, then stood up and escorted him out of the room.

At the end of the hallway, Selena knew her four husbands were peeking out, because her earlier meeting with Dali Hawksen had been noticed by the servants, Vylen, and the guards from each of the king’s factions in the palace.

However, Selena didn’t care; after all, she wasn’t having an affair with this man. They couldn’t stop her anyway, because the Selena of today was no longer the woman they could boss around and control as they pleased, as they had in the past.

After seeing Dali off, telling him to be careful one last time, and watching his back from the palace terrace, Selena sensed her four husbands approaching.

Stevan wasn’t there; Vee had mentioned earlier that he’d returned briefly to the Dragon clan’s main palace to take care of something.

"What did Dali Hawksen say? He seemed to be in a hurry," Dorven spoke up first, glancing alternately at Selena and the direction the man had gone.

Selena turned around. "He said he’s madly in love with me," she replied as she walked away.

"What?!" The four ridiculous, absurd men bearing the title of King shrieked in unison.

"Selena, don’t believe a word that bird says! He’s just trying to charm you," Jhon protested, walking quickly to follow her.

"That’s right—it’s completely absurd that he dared say that in front of a Queen!" Dorven chimed in, sounding annoyed.

"Does he want to be your sixth husband?" asked Vylen with a dumb, disbelieving look on his face.

Stoner could only swallow hard; he wanted to speak but didn’t know what to ask since it seemed the three kings had already said it all.

"It’s possible," Selena replied, then looked at them with a playful gaze before speaking seriously. "As it happens, I’ve already been to the Eagle Clan’s estate; they’re incredibly wealthy and hold me in the highest regard. If I were to join them and become Lady Eagle, I might not become queen, but I would become the wife of the Heir to the Title of the God of War."

"No, don’t do that! Selena, you’re only our wife—we don’t want to share you with anyone else, especially not that man! You can leave us and go with him to the border if you end up marrying him," Vylen protested, clearly upset; he even whined as Selena sat down in a chair in his room.

"That sounds interesting. Instead of staying in this palace, maybe if I marry him, I’ll get to travel around Eldoria and see lots of beautiful sights," Selena replied, continuing to play her game as they grew even louder in their whining.

Meanwhile, Vee could only stifle her laughter, finding it absolutely hilarious that a queen could toy with four kings.