Chapter 85: Ch 85. Like Assets

Dorven took a deep breath. "I remember the night my mother died," he said, prompting Selena to nod and let him continue. "I was always told that my mother died of an illness. I never questioned that story because no one ever gave me a different explanation. However, after seeing her figure just now, I remembered something I’d never been able to recall before."

He paused for a moment, as if he were still struggling to find the right words.

"That night, my mother came into my room. She hugged me, cried, and then said she didn’t want to lose me."

Selena slowly felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Meanwhile, Dorven continued in an increasingly soft voice.

"After that, she gave me something—a sun-shaped pendant. I’ve kept it all this time, but I’ve never known what it’s for."

Selena immediately remembered something. "Do you still have that pendant?"

"Yes, I still have it."

"Then we need to examine it once this ritual is over."

Dorven nodded, but his face still looked somber. Selena gazed at the sacred flame, which was now slowly settling back into calm.

She didn’t know if the ritual would succeed in fully healing Dorven. However, at least they had found a new clue about the origin of his curse.

And if Selena’s hunch was correct, Dorven’s problem might be far more complicated than what was written in his ancestral tome. Because if his mother was truly involved in the curse, there was one question that could not be ignored.

Why would a mother curse her own child?

Selena looked at Dorven, who was still trying to calm himself amid the blazing golden flames. It seemed that tonight they weren’t just trying to heal a Lion King. They were also uncovering a secret that had been buried for years within the Lion Palace.

Well, Selena wasn’t actually all that surprised. All of her husbands, after all, tended to have complicated issues. That was why Selena had been asked to be their Healer—because they had important matters to resolve.

"All right, let’s continue with this treatment."

Dorven nodded slowly, stepping back into the large vat and carefully submerging his body.

***

Selena’s eyes stung as morning arrived, and she had only slept for a few hours. The steaming treatment Dorven had to undergo wasn’t easy; there were so many interruptions that they had to repeat the same process several times.

It all finally ended around 4:00 a.m.; Selena had only slept for three hours and woke up to the commotion starting outside her room.

"Vee, who’s out there? Why is it so noisy?" she asked, lazily pulling the blanket over herself.

Fortunately, she didn’t have an official job, so she didn’t have to get up very early—even though she was a Queen.

Vee entered the room after hearing Selena’s voice. She saw the Queen looking disturbed, with dark circles under her eyes, lying lazily on the bed.

"Your Majesty, it’s the Wolf King. He’s been there for an hour now and wants to check on you after last night with the Lion King. I told him you were sleeping because you didn’t fall asleep until 4:00 a.m., but for some reason he looked annoyed and forced his way in," said Vee, causing Selena to open her eyes wider.

"Stoner?"

"That’s right, Your Highness. I’ve been keeping him out this whole time because I didn’t want to disturb your sleep. Now the Wolf King is sitting out front, followed by the Phoenix King, the Dragon King, and the Fox King," said Vee with a worried expression as she recounted what had disrupted Selena’s rest. "Only the Lion King hasn’t joined them because he’s still in his room."

Selena massaged her temples. "Oh my gosh, tell them to leave. Tell them I want to rest, so I’ll skip breakfast and lunch. I’ll eat in my room—for now, I’m not strong enough to see them. I’m so sleepy," she complained, sounding annoyed.

Vee nodded obediently. "Your Highness, don’t worry—they don’t intend to come in; they’re just sitting outside. I’ll ask them to leave as you instructed. Go back to sleep; once you’re feeling refreshed, you can start your day," she said, causing Selena to mutter under her breath.

Vee left, while Selena closed her eyes in disbelief. How could those four men be standing in front of her room, sitting there waiting for her to wake up? Those men had truly lost their minds—instead of attending to their official business, they were waiting for her to wake up like a bunch of idlers.

"Oh my God, I’m so sleepy... Screw you guys, I want to sleep," Selena muttered, then turned away and closed her eyes even tighter.

She completely ignored the four men standing outside her room, who had briefly panicked upon hearing the message Selena had sent through Vee, but after listening to the reassuring explanation from Selena’s maid, three of them had already gotten up and left.

Jhon, Vylen, and Stevan simply asked Vee to look after Selena and make sure she had everything she needed once she woke up. Meanwhile, Stoner was still there, staring intently at Selena’s closed door.

"What on earth did that damn Lion do to make Selena so exhausted?! Did he torment Selena all night until she got this tired? This is the first time Selena hasn’t woken up early to join us," he said indignantly, making Vee wince.

"Your Majesty, everything is fine. The Queen just needs some sleep to soothe her sore eyes from staying up all night. It’s nothing serious—trust me," said Vee, hesitant to reveal what had actually happened last night.

Besides, Selena hadn’t told her she needed to report it, and it was beyond her authority as a mere servant.

"Damn it, in that case, take good care of Selena. I’m going to go see that Lion King and demand an explanation from him. How dare he make Selena so exhausted and keep her up all night like this!" Stoner said, then turned around and walked away, his aura radiating sourness.

Vee saluted, then watched his back with a complicated expression. She truly had no authority to explain what had happened; besides, she couldn’t say for certain what Selena had gone through. Even though she knew the Lion King’s treatment method from last night, she hadn’t been involved in the process. So she didn’t know whose fault it was that Selena had lost her energy and was so sleepy.

"They all care so much about the Queen, even though back then, word was they weren’t exactly on good terms," Kav remarked as he watched all the men leave near the door to Selena’s room.

"Yeah, there’s a saying that you’re valuable when you’re needed," Kev replied without much emotion. "They certainly care about and value the Queen because they need her healing. They aren’t husbands swept up in love—judging by how the Wolf King got angry because the Queen was exhausted, his expression looked displeased that something might happen to the precious asset capable of healing him."

Vee looked at the two bear guards with her innocent expression. "Really? How do you see it, Kev?"

"It’s obvious—it’s clear enough that even I, as a man, can see what’s truly in their hearts because we’re both men. It’s only been a few days since they brought the Queen back to this palace after the awakening of the extinction-healing power within her. It’s impossible for them to have fallen in love in just a few days—it’s not that easy, especially since they’re kings," said Kev, prompting Kav to nod in agreement.

"They treat the Queen like an asset, taking good care of her until she’s fully healed and free from the Curse of Extinction. I’m glad the Queen isn’t a weak woman who depends on their love; after healing them, she also intends to leave. "Thankfully, at least the Queen won’t have to suffer like she did back then when they cast her aside to be executed because they felt she was useless," Kav said at length.

Vee fell silent, her face somber, and she couldn’t be sure which of them was right. The kings showed excessive concern, but when it came to showing Selena affection, Vee hadn’t seen much of that from them.

Her Queen also didn’t want to be doted on too much; she preferred material gifts to forced affection. So for now, she didn’t even know how those five kings truly felt about Selena.

"I hope that even if one day the Queen really does leave them, she’ll find a man who truly appreciates her from start to finish," said Vee, causing Kav and Kev to sigh as they hoped for the same thing.

"In Eldoria, only the Queen has five husbands—it’s so sad because the burden of caring for five ailing husbands is too heavy. Hopefully, after this, there will be justice for the Queen that will make her happy as she spends the rest of her life," Vee added, gazing wistfully at Selena’s closed bedroom door.