Louisa's POV
When I treated almost all the wounded soldiers, I walked to the stable with Mana and Mata.
I've sent all my personal guards away because I didn't want to get them involved in my runaway plan.
A carriage was parked in front of the stable and I could see Akela sitting inside it.
When she saw me from the window, she waved her hands at me.
"Hey, it's you!" She exclaimed with happiness. "It's great to have you here! When I woke up this morning, I remembered that I had forgotten something, but then, I couldn't remember what I'd forgotten. Now that I see you, I finally remember it. I have an appointment with you today to pick up my wedding dress! It's such a shame that Lucas can't come with me. But I guess he can't give me any fashion advice. Do you know that the King is going to host our wedding? I want a wedding dress that makes everyone solemnly weep with tearful joy. Do you like lace? I love lace, I know. It's very uncomfortable, but I guess all beautiful dresses are uncomfortable... Ah, why are those two nasty creatures following you?"
I got on the carriage and pulled Mana and Mata up to the carriage.
"Are they going to ride with us?" Akela looked intimidated.
"Akela, they're my friends, Mana and Mata," I said. "They are fishermen druids and they will be our carters for today."
Mana and Mata took a bow at Akela.
"Ah, they're very polite. I've never met a polite monster before, let alone two of them," Akela said.
She looked puzzled for a while, stared at me, and asked, "Do they bite? Can I pet them?"
"They aren't my pet, Akela. They are my friends. You can shake their hands if you want, but you can't pet them," I said.
"I don't want to touch them. They look slimy and they've got pus on their hands. If I shake their hands, I'll get pus on my hands," Akela looked at them in disgust.
Mana and Mata looked very embarrassed and pulled up their hoods.
The carriage started to move forward, and I felt a bit upset because of what Akela had done to my friends.
"Akela, you can't just judge a person by their appearance. I know you didn't mean it, but sometimes you're belittling others, which is completely wrong," I said.
"Oh really? I'm sorry! I thought they were inferior creatures and they couldn't understand what we were talking about." Akela batted her eyelashes at me. I could see that she was trying really hard to understand what was going on but failed.
"Akela, could you please tell me something about your brother, Alpha Dire?" I asked.
Akela looked very proud and said, "My brother is the most wonderful person in the world. He has brought me up all by himself ever since our parents passed away. He always buys me all kinds of jewelry and clothes."
"How did your parents pass away?" I asked.
"I really don't know exactly what happened. They passed away when I was very small. My brother said they were killed by the Red Queen. She was a nasty woman. My brother said she used to behead someone just because she didn't like that poor man's hairstyle. Isn't that terrible?" she asked.
"Were your parents involved in the Crescent Coup?" I asked.
"Crescent Coup? Oh, yes! That sounds very familiar. My parents must have been involved in that coup. My brother told me my parents were hanging out with Lucian's parents. And they were all killed by the Red Queen." Akela looked very distressed when she mentioned Queen Daliah.
"What happened to the Red Queen in the end?" I asked.
Akela looked at me with surprise and said, "Don't you know about it? I thought everyone in this Kingdom knew about it. The Red Queen was stabbed to death by Zabel. Rumor has it, he had stabbed her more than fifty times until the blade was broken. Then, he tried to stab her with his hands. I don't believe it's true, because Zabel's always so charming and kind to everyone. If they say he stabbed someone two or three times, I'll believe it. But more than fifty times? That's a lot of effort to kill someone. And how could you use your hands to stab someone? I guess it's just some exaggeration."
Akela waved her hands in the air as if she was trying to stab someone.
I was shocked.
Zackery told me that Queen Daliah was Zabel's biological mother.
If the rumor was true... Well, hypothetically speaking, if someone stabs another person fifty times, that's definitely a lot of anger and hatred.
The thing was, I sort of understood where this anger and hatred came from.
No man on earth would want to be changed into a woman and give birth to his brother's children. That was just preposterous.
But what if it was true?
What if underneath Zabel's tranquilized appearance, there was some hidden boiling blood?
And how about Zackery? Where was he when his brother stabbed their mother to death?
"Anyway, after the Red Queen was dead, Lycidas showed up and took over the throne," Akela said.
"Have you met Lycidas before?" I asked. I had heard my brother's name so many times, but I still didn't know what kind of person he was.
"Lycidas? Oh, he's a very strange guy. He never talks. Lycidas used to be exiled by the Red Queen when he was small. He was abandoned in the North. My brother told me that Lycidas used to hang out with Lucas at that time. They would always go out hunting or doing some unspeakable things together. After he got the throne, I met him several times, but I have never seen him talking to anyone. He has great taste in fashion and he throws the best party in town. But he just never talks. My brother said he was just trying to play the role of a King, but I guess what he really tries to play is a mute!" Akela said.
A King who never talks. That's very strange. I thought to myself.
I understood a lot of monarchs try to be mysterious or unpredictable in front of others. The less they talk, the more power and authority they get.
But never speaks to anything? That's not the way to rule a country.
How did he get his message across to anyone? By writing them a letter?
Looking out of the carriage door, I saw Mana and Mata's back.
They were driving the carriage very dutifully.
Then, a thought suddenly struck me -
What if the King actually talks, but nobody could ever hear him?
Our mother, Princess Tallulah, was a Gifted One. She got married to my father, King Duko, the Lycan King.
What if I inherited the werewolf blood from my father, but my brother inherited the Gifted blood from my mother's side?
What if...
The Lycan King of the Kingdom was a... warlock???