Chapter 58: Ch 58. Two Foxes

Vylen’s eyes widened at Selena’s words. "Protecting my mother’s killer? Are you serious?!" he exclaimed, unable to accept it.

Selena gave a small smile, glancing at him briefly before looking away. "That’s just a possibility I came up with as a temporary excuse. If you want to know the truth, we’ll just have to wait and see," she said casually, returning to mixing the medicine.

Vylen let out a heavy sigh, at a loss for words. "My father loved my mother so much—there’s no way he’d protect that damn murderer," he said, shaking his head quickly.

Selena looked at him and shrugged. "I only said this is a temporary possibility; I didn’t say your father didn’t love your mother, and I didn’t say he’s actually protecting that murderer. All of this is still just a possibility, a suspicion, or something like that. You don’t need to take it too seriously," Selena said casually.

That made Vylen feel indignant—how could Selena make such a casual accusation, even if it was just a suspicion? After all, the person involved in her accusation was Vylen’s own father, the husband of the woman who had been murdered.

"You—"

"You don’t need to take it to heart, but you need to prepare yourself in case it turns out to be true," Selena interjected, cutting off Vylen before he could protest again. "Because in government, there are many things we can’t predict, but there are always excuses used to protect oneself—even when the decisions made are wrong."

Vylen held his breath as Selena said that with a serious expression. He clutched his aching chest; amid the panic, confusion, and helplessness he was feeling, Vylen realized that the poison in his body seemed to be flaring up again, triggered by all the jumbled emotions he was experiencing.

Seeing this, Selena stood up and approached him as he groaned softly in pain. She touched his shoulder, and Vylen immediately felt a soothing aura as if it were being channeled through her touch alone.

"Calm yourself. This problem won’t be resolved if you act on your emotions too hastily," Selena said, causing Vylen to close his eyes and swallow his bitter-tasting saliva.

Selena held a pill up to Vylen’s mouth, causing him to swallow his saliva and look at her with a questioning gaze.

"What’s this?"

"It’s a temporary antidote; it can suppress the active toxin in your body and minimize its effects," Selena explained, prompting Vylen to swallow his own saliva before opening his mouth.

Selena placed a sleeping pill into Vylen’s mouth, letting him swallow it until his body felt lighter, even though the pain was still there.

"You must stay alive until all these crimes are laid bare and the truth about those past issues is revealed. I need a fair and wise judgment from you to review the course of this case later," Selena said, causing Vylen to swallow hard.

The man looked hesitant; even his breathing seemed uneven as he gazed at Selena, who seemed more commanding than he was.

It was as if this woman was preparing something he didn’t know about, but it seemed Selena had already figured out quite a bit of what was going on—so much so that now she wanted everything laid bare.

"If I have to pass judgment on my own father, will I be the one to do it?" asked Vylen with a look of doubt and fear.

"Yes, you must do it fairly as the Fox King, not as father and son."

***

"Your Majesty, the Dragon King hasn’t returned to his palace all day. Since this morning, he’s been in the Dragon territory, even though he said he just wanted to look at some treasures in the main dragon warehouse to give to you. But he hasn’t come back yet," said Vee.

Selena, who was drying her hair that night, furrowed her brow. She looked at Vee, who had just returned after finishing all her work for the day.

Vee had come just to make sure Selena got some proper rest afterward, but instead found herself delivering some rather troubling news in the middle of the night.

"He’s a king and a dragon—what are you worried about?" Selena replied casually, turning her gaze back to the mirror in front of her.

"Because what the Dragon King did was out of the ordinary, Your Majesty. After the kings marry you, they never return to the main palace for a long time—not even for days or overnight. Meanwhile, the Dragon King left without official permission and didn’t return until nightfall. That’s why I’m reporting this to you," Vee said professionally.

Selena sighed softly. "Let’s wait until tomorrow morning. After all, he’s returned to his own territory; there’s no need to bother him too much since he does have matters to attend to there. In fact, if we disturb him, his work won’t go as smoothly—just let him be. He’s not alone," said Selena, causing Vee to finally nod.

"How far have Briella and Kev gotten?"

"The border—they’ve already entered the Northern territory, which is where the Minister of Development from the Fox clan resides. They said they won’t be wasting any time tonight either, so if everything goes as smoothly as you hope, we should hear a report confirming the truth by tomorrow or the day after," Vee said.

Selena nodded, climbed into bed, and felt extremely tired. There were still many things to do ahead; tackling them one by one would make the burden lighter.

"What’s the Lion King up to? I haven’t seen him at all today except at the dinner table this morning," Selena said as she lay down.

"The Lion King hasn’t done anything out of the ordinary; he’s been focusing on his palace and reviewing the issues at hand. The problem he’s facing isn’t too serious—his curse merely causes him to lose his emotions—and he has complete faith that you will surely be able to cure him and restore him to health, Your Majesty."

"Knowing that you’re currently very busy handling the palace’s affairs and the mess with the Fox clan, the Lion King deliberately didn’t want to bother you too much. Even so, he still gave you a few things to remind you that he’s also one of the husbands you need to pay attention to," said Vee, making Selena smile slightly.

"It seems that among my five husbands, he is the simplest and most laid-back. Fierce, yet understanding of the situation—I just hope there are no problems in his own territory. Because waking a sleeping lion as relaxed as he is is tantamount to courting death," Selena said softly.

She closed her eyes and let Vee tuck her in properly.

"I hope for the same thing, Your Majesty. The Lion King is among the most formidable, and once he takes action, few of his enemies survive. Perhaps that’s also why his people are afraid to provoke him—they live in relative harmony and order because they don’t want the Lion King to unleash his immense wrath," said Vee, making Selena smile.

Because, to be honest, Selena really had no idea what the difference was between making love with a human and with a half-beast.

I mean, would they be the same? Would they be really wild in bed?

And seeing the flashes from the memories of this body’s original owner—seeing how her former self had cried several times while making love with each of her husbands— Selena really didn’t know if making love with them was a bad thing?

That was also what made it hard for her to choose because, to be honest, she wasn’t good at describing the difference between making love with a human and with a wild beast.

"Ah... That’s still the most troublesome part. But like it or not, I have to go through it..."

Vee, seeing her Queen sleeping peacefully, finally turned off the main light, leaving Selena to sleep by the dimmer glow of the candles so she could get a good night’s rest.

***

Two people—a man and a woman, both with fox ears—collapsed at Selena’s feet after being cast aside by Kev and Briella.

Their bodies trembled as they took in who was around them and where they were.

"Your Majesty, they did indeed conspire to frame the Fox Kingdom’s Minister of State from the Besmooth family a hundred years ago. I heard firsthand that they deliberately removed the Fox Kingdom’s Minister of State, Lodere Besmooth, because his presence was quite a threat and they opposed every policy he proposed," Kev reported bluntly.

Selena gave a small smile, while beside her, Vylen Coxy clenched his fists, unable to believe that his long-serving Minister of Development could betray him.

"Good work, Kev. Kav is feeling better; go with him and bring the Old Fox King here," Selena said, leaning back with an air of authority, looking down dismissively at the two foxes in front of her who were still kneeling in fear. "They need to meet for a bit of nostalgia; that way, the case will unravel more smoothly."

Kev nodded obediently, then turned and left.

Meanwhile, Selena invited Briella to sit in one of the chairs beneath the throne. After that, Selena casually observed the panic of the two Foxes in front of her.

"Since you’ve come this far, you might as well be honest. How did you come up with the plan that led you to decide to make the Old Fox Queen your victim? Tell me—I’m curious..."