Chapter 59: Ch 59. Axov and Azvia’s Denial

Axov, the Minister of Development, seemed to swallow hard as he raised his head to look at Selena, who sat haughtily and majestically in the Fox Queen’s throne. Meanwhile, Vylen stood beside her, staring at them in disbelief at the betrayal that had taken place.

This made the man tremble; his hands were so weak they could barely support his body as he knelt so low. Beside him, Azvia looked much older; the fox woman also appeared frightened, but then she straightened her back.

"Your Majesty, the Fox King, how could you agree with the accusations leveled against me and my family?" the woman said, pleading for Vylen’s pity with a look full of hope.

Selena, upon hearing this, crossed one leg over the other, ready to watch and listen to whatever this woman was about to say.

"I served as your mother’s doctor for years—I was even the one who helped deliver you. Why do you so firmly believe that I did something to warrant the accusations that led to the former Royal Advisor’s death?" Azvia said again, her voice weak but determined as she voiced her protest.

Vylen glanced at Selena, who was sitting next to him and raising an eyebrow as if waiting to hear what Vylen would say.

Unfortunately, Vylen got goosebumps just from the way she was looking at him. What’s more, Vylen also remembered that this woman would be the judge presiding over the trial they were currently facing.

"Your Majesty, please reconsider. I’ve known you even longer than the people accusing me of this. I’ve even been caring for you since you were in the Old Fox Queen’s womb. The bond of trust between us should be stronger—how could I possibly be the one accused of harming your mother?" Azvia said again, drawing Vylen’s gaze away from Selena.

Vylen let out a heavy sigh, but then spoke with a dignified expression. "That’s not something I can rely on as the main reason you’ll never betray me. Just because you were my mother’s doctor for years or the midwife who delivered me doesn’t automatically mean you’ll be 100% loyal—that’s nonsense. I learned that from my father—he was even capable of poisoning me, even though I was the child he planted in the womb of the woman he loved so deeply."

Vylen’s words made Azvia swallow hard and fall silent, completely at a loss for how to respond.

"But the Old Fox King did that because he was in a desperate situation and was also under the influence of the poison," Axov interjected, finally daring to speak up after his sister fell silent.

"How can you trust this vile Fox over us? How can you reopen an old case that’s already been settled—and even closed by the Old Fox King—just by listening to his one-sided account? That’s not fair, Your Majesty," Axov said rather quickly, immediately dragging Briella into it.

Damn it, doesn’t he have any other defense? Has he run out of words, so he’s dragging Briella—who’s sitting silently in her seat—into this?

"You could have done the same thing if you’d been cornered," Vylen said, and that immediately made Axov shake his head rapidly.

"No, Your Majesty. Throughout my time as minister, I’ve always conducted myself with restraint; there’s absolutely no reason for me to have done anything that would lead to the former Minister of Royal Affairs losing his life. We’ve never had any issues for a very long time—I would never attack a fellow member of the Foxes," he argued again, finally silencing Vylen.

"That’s right. As fellow members of the Fox Clan, fellow ministers, and descendants of the same ancestor, how could we possibly be accused of causing the Royal Advisory Minister to be sentenced to death and his family to be slaughtered? That’s a far too cruel accusation, Your Majesty. Please reconsider..." Azvia interjected.

They even went so far as to prostrate themselves, pleading with Vylen and ignoring Selena, who was also present.

Briella clenched her fists; the toxic energy within her body began to manifest and was on the verge of spreading. But Selena shook her head, signaling for her to stay calm as their gazes met—that was what made Briella struggle desperately to restrain herself from destroying those two damned Foxes who were her enemies.

"Are you sure you didn’t do anything, and that the verdict you delivered as an initial accusation—that the Old Fox Queen’s body contained Fox Claw poison—is true?" Selena asked, looking at Azvia, who was still prostrating herself.

"Of course. How could I possibly lie when stating the cause of a queen’s death? Lying is the same as wishing for death—I’d never do that because I value my own life. The Queen was also very kind to me; on what grounds would I fabricate evidence regarding her death?" Azvia said quickly, sounding almost rude.

She didn’t even once address Selena by her title of "Your Majesty," showing that she didn’t recognize Selena as the Fox Queen.

Tsk, never mind.

"Really? You actually found Fox Claw Poison inside the Old Fox Queen and determined that the poison was the primary cause of her death?" Selena asked once more.

Azvia nodded quickly. "Of course—"

"I hope you don’t speak carelessly; think before you answer my question. Because after this, I won’t ask any more questions, and there will be no more leniency for you," Selena said, interrupting her.

Azvia seemed to swallow hard upon hearing that, hesitating to continue the words she had left unspoken. She stared at Selena, who was already smiling from her throne, until she felt her body tremble again at the intensity of the woman’s gaze.

Axov, seeing his sister begin to falter, immediately straightened his posture and stepped in to answer the question.

"That’s right, Your Majesty the Queen, Your Majesty the King. How could my sister possibly dare to lie? There was indeed Fox Claw Poison in the Old Fox Queen’s body. My sister would never lie; she is an honest woman, and her medical credentials carry great weight in Eldoria. Our testimony is not false—we would never make such an accusation lightly," he said earnestly.

Selena let out a heavy sigh, then smiled and nodded.

"But that poison never existed and never left my father’s secret storage room, not even a drop!" Briella retorted sharply, unable to accept it. "Not a single member of our family even knows what the poison looks like besides my father, because he was the last person capable of making it back then! How could you possibly recognize the poison when only the head of the Besmooth family knows what it looks like!"

Axov and Azvia turned to look at Briella, who had just shouted in protest. Selena didn’t have time to stop her, but she was curious to see what these two lowly foxes in front of her would do next.

"Little Besmooth, you weren’t even born when that happened. How can you say something so ridiculous as if you really understood it?" said Azvia, looking down on Briella. "As a doctor who also comes from the Fox clan, of course I know a lot about poisons and anything else that can cause death. Who would believe that your father never once took the Fox Claw poison out of the house?"

"If that’s the case, why did your father even make it? It’s a very famous and deadly poison; people from the underworld use it frequently for their crimes. And you just took your father’s word for it when he said he never took that poison out of his secret room?" Azvia said with a mocking laugh.

Briella fell silent, seemingly at a loss for words. Her hands, clenched with emotion, began to relax, and her expression crumbled as if she were searching for certainty.

Could it be true? Was her father really that evil? Was he really a murderer? Did he use the poison to sell, and did he use it as a way to kill their Fox Queen?

No... Briella couldn’t believe it—her father wasn’t that kind of person!

"You’re lying!" she shouted, her voice trembling, while Azvia, having finished laughing, let out an exasperated sigh. "My father had no reason whatsoever to kill the Queen! Why would he do that? My father rarely even saw the Queen because he spent most of his time with the Old Fox King! If my father really were evil, why didn’t he just kill the Old Fox King and seize this throne?!"

"Because he failed—his plan wasn’t fully formed when he was caught," Axov interjected, causing Briella to gasp. "He was just one step away from claiming the throne; he’d already managed to kill the Old Fox King. But he didn’t expect that his Fox Claw Poison would be detected by my younger sister, who serves as the Queen’s physician—that’s why he failed."

Briella looked increasingly shocked by Axov’s words; she stopped breathing, her eyes widened, and her body went rigid.

"Do you know why, on the very same day the Fox Queen was killed, your father was taking the Old Fox King to the hunting practice arena? It was so his plan would go off without a hitch. Do you know why your entire family was eventually slaughtered? Because your older brother and your mother were part of this plan. They were involved too, which is why the entire Besmooth family was wiped out to purge the traitors!" Axov added, causing Briella to slump weakly into a chair.

Is that true? Is that really how it happened?

"You’re lying..." she hissed, shaking her head as tears began to fall.

"Why would we lie, Little Besmooth? That’s exactly what happened..."