Chapter 56: Ch 56. Briella’s Plan

"Open your mouth," Selena said, prompting Briella to do so.

Selena slipped a pill into the fox woman’s mouth, then pressed on several of Briella’s pressure points. The woman’s body, which had been paralyzed since that morning, slowly regained movement, causing Selena to straighten up.

"The Fox King might not be so willing to discuss this matter thoroughly as you’d like. That’s why I’m giving you the chance to gather enough solid evidence. I’ll grant you access to whatever you need—find all the evidence and any potential perpetrators who may have been involved in your family’s case."

Briella swallowed hard and looked up as Selena stood before her with such grace and authority. She felt so small in the presence of the woman she had no choice but to acknowledge as her Queen.

"You no longer have trouble walking or moving now, so it shouldn’t be a problem for you when I ask you to seek answers regarding your family’s case. Once you’ve gathered all the evidence proving your family’s innocence, I’ll be the one to bring the case before them." Selena said, causing Briella to look at her with a hesitant expression.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. I’ll even provide assistance, such as bodyguards and travel expenses. But you can’t go about this haphazardly—you need a well-thought-out plan because that man won’t bring up old issues unless they involve him," Selena said, leaving Briella silent with a furrowed brow.

"That’s true—it won’t be easy to get into these confidential discussions. Especially since she’s the younger sister and the only female member of a minister’s family; they won’t discuss this lightly because they know the consequences if others find out," said Jhon, then stood up as well.

"Think about what you can do to get them to talk—whether on purpose or not. That way, you might be able to find the evidence, and I don’t have any ideas right now," Selena said, looking at Briella. "Try to figure out a way on your own, then talk to me so I can evaluate it."

Briella was silent for a moment, thinking hard, while Selena casually sipped the water Vee had just poured for her. Stoner also took out a box of snacks he’d received from Derk, who had just arrived; the three of them relaxed and ate the snacks while Briella thought.

"I’ve got a plan," Briella said in a serious tone that made Selena look at her. "Maybe we can try this because it’s related to one of the things they used to accuse my father of."

"Oh, really?" Selena wiped her hands, which she’d just used to eat. "Tell me your plan—if it works, I’ll help."

"I plan to use Fox Claw Poison—in their eyes, it’s been gone for years since my father’s death. But as it happens, I can also make it, and I have the antidote too. If I use it to trick them, they’ll definitely be reminded of this case."

Selena talked with Briella for a while, discussing the plan they were going to carry out, and as it turned out, it was a great idea.

"I’ll handle things from here; you just do what we’ve planned," Selena said, then looked at Kev. "Kev will provide backup and help until the whole plan succeeds."

Kev looked at Selena in disbelief but then complied when his Queen’s gaze turned back to him.

"You know, earlier you almost killed his brother with poison. He was in a position where he couldn’t disobey my orders, but he didn’t like you either. But that’s a good thing," Selena said with a smile, while Briella swallowed hard.

The Fox Girl looked frightened, while Kev frowned slightly, glaring at her disapprovingly. Meanwhile, Stoner and John truly hadn’t expected Selena to orchestrate something this extreme.

"I could have let him kill you on the spot as revenge for hurting and nearly killing his brother. But this isn’t the right time—I’ve already punished you with paralysis that hasn’t fully subsided yet. You’re still dependent on the medicine I gave you earlier because you were supposed to take five doses but have only taken one."

"So, if you intend to run away and betray me, Kev has my permission to kill you. That would actually make your life easier, because if you just run away, you’ll end up dying a miserable death anyway since you won’t continue taking that medicine," Selena said, making Briella’s lips tremble.

"I won’t run away. I want this case solved, and I want to know who’s really to blame. I want to prove that my father is a good man."

Selena gave a small smile. "Go ahead and set everything you’ve planned in motion. Come back to me once you’ve gathered explanations and evidence about what happened. Kev is my bodyguard, and I trust him. I also know what’s in a person’s heart, so there’s no need to deceive me. You and Kev just need to hear and see the evidence; after that, Kev will relay everything to me in full," said Selena, causing Kev to nod obediently.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Selena smiled. "The fox servant who attended to me a few days ago is now my personal messenger. If you need him, just take him. He’ll come in handy for running errands and delivering messages should you find yourselves in trouble," she said as she stood up.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will make sure to carry out the task you’ve given me well," Kev said respectfully, making Selena smile.

She looked at Briella, who immediately knelt down, bowing respectfully to Selena.

"Thank you for this opportunity and your help, Your Majesty," Briella said, her voice trembling.

Just this morning, she had been extremely defiant and had even insulted Selena at will. But now she could no longer do that because she was aware of her position—and she knew Selena wasn’t someone to be trifled with.

"Do a good job. Afterward, you still have business to settle with me. Your ability to make poison is very valuable and rare—I’m quite interested. So you can reconsider whether you want to live a good life or not after this, depending on how you cooperate with me," Selena said, causing Briella to nod in agreement.

"I’ll obey you, Your Majesty."

Selena sighed, then walked out of the room. Stoner and Jhon followed her, witnessing firsthand how Selena, with great authority, managed and handled a dangerous poison expert.

"Are you sure she’ll handle this well, Selena? Honestly, I’m worried about Kev—what if he’s the one in danger because he has to escort that poison expert?" Jhon asked as he entered Selena’s room.

"You’d better just feel sorry for Briella. Just in terms of physique, Kev and she aren’t even in the same league. To put it another way, just by moving his arm, Kev could split Briella’s body in two," said Stoner, silencing John for a moment before he nodded in agreement.

"That’s true, but after all, Briella is a master of poisons who can even create monsters from her own kind. A big guy like Kev won’t be much help when facing poison. Even Kav could be poisoned even though he was just in a room with limited resources. What would happen if he were outside? She’d have an easier time using a stronger poison on Kev," Jhon retorted with his simple yet sound logic.

Stoner fell silent. "That’s true. What do you think, Queen?" he asked, causing Selena—who had been watching them—to snort. "Kev is your bodyguard; I’m sure you’ve made plans to protect him, right? I’m sure of it..."

"If you’re so sure, why ask again? Are you underestimating me?"

"No," Jhon replied, then grimaced as Selena glared at him. "I’m just curious—I’m the kind of person who gets curious easily. So would you mind explaining it to me, Queen?"

Selena opened a book on medicine. "He’s a guard specially selected by Young Master Hawksen to protect me. From that alone, you should know that Kev isn’t just an ordinary bodyguard," said Selena, causing Jhon and Stoner to blink.

Although they didn’t quite like hearing Selena mention that man’s name. For some reason, they felt that Dali Hawksen would most likely take Selena away from them.

"That makes sense, but how do you explain Kav getting poisoned? Wasn’t he also a bodyguard trained by Young Master Hawksen?"

"Yes, but what happened to Kav was because he was careless and underestimated his opponent—he assumed Briella was in custody, so he thought she wouldn’t be able to do anything. Meanwhile, Kev has learned from experience and will definitely be 100 times more cautious. Besides, I’ve already threatened Briella with her life. If she still takes that lightly, she’ll just end up dead. There’s no point in her betraying me when she needs justice for her family," Selena replied, causing the two men to nod.

"That does make sense..." John said, then looked at her. "So, how did your conversation with Young Master Hawksen actually go? Is it true he declared his undying love for you? Does he really love you? I’m still a little uncomfortable thinking about it. Can you explain it to us, Queen?"

"Right, you don’t intend to get married again, do you?" Stoner said hesitantly.

Their behavior made Selena snort.