109 Turbulent Undercurrent
Selma Payne’s POV:
Tracy carefully examined me. Fortunately, I only suffered some superficial wounds that looked scary. There were no major problems.
My mother quickly gave Kara a list of items. From their soft and fragrant names, I would probably have to soak in a bottle of health care products for the next three months.
After treating my wound, I went to the town hall.
My father, my mother, the southern Duke, and Duke Frank were all there. There were also some unfamiliar faces standing to the side. Judging from their dark blue robes, they were from the Council of Elders.
The witch was firmly bound to a pillar engraved with spells. The werewolf grandmaster wrapped her with many layers of binding spells like wrapping ham to ensure she could not escape.
I noticed that the southern Duke’s eyes seemed shocked and sad. Duke Frank also looked at the witch in disbelief and whispered something to the southern Duke.
The town hall was quiet. People stood together as if they didn’t want to communicate at all. There were only one or two vague whispers occasionally.
“Miss Selma has arrived!”
The attendant’s loud voice broke the cold atmosphere. The moment I stepped into the government hall, I could feel that the elders were looking at me. Some were kind, some were indifferent, and of course, there was no lack of malicious scrutiny.
“Selma, come here quickly, my niece.” My father waved at me.
The attendant had brought me a small stool next to my parents’ thrones, so my current standing position was: my father, my mother, me, Duke Frank, the southern Duke, and the elders.
Clearly, the ‘out of line’ treatment I enjoyed had caused some people to be extremely dissatisfied.
A bald old man stood out and sized me up very meanly. He said to my father, “With all due respect, Your Majesty, we cannot go against the hierarchy. No matter how much you and her Majesty dote on Miss Selma, we should not break the rules for a little girl on such a formal occasion.”
His old face was like a rotten orange, and his eye bags were like rotten peels, revealing a pair of turbid eyes full of contempt.
What was wrong with this person? Was this the time to talk about such details? Moreover, a witch was tied up on the ground, waiting to see him make a fool of himself. How could an elder of the Council of Elders have such political literacy?
I knew that some people in the Council of Elders had always found my father an eyesore and spared no effort to create trouble for my father. However, the intelligence of certain people, such as the person in front of me, still shocked me.
Did he feel a sense of accomplishment in embarrassing my father in front of all the ministers? How could he act so naturally as if no witch who wanted to harm the werewolf tribe was waiting for trial? Had the long-term pampered life in a high position caused him to lose the quality of an assistant, other than being tyrannical at home?
I was speechless at this ‘smart’ elder, but I didn’t want to talk to him. After all, there was more important business to attend to.
My father thought the same but tried to smooth things over. “Selma was injured in this great battle. An injured hero always has the honor of being taken care of, right?”
Everyone in the town hall wanted to turn this matter over, except for one person quickly.
The bald old man retorted, “Even though this is reasonable, we can’t just ignore the principles and laws, right? A person’s status is given to her by Moon Goddess when she is born. She should accept it joyfully, not squander her privileges because of the ruler’s love.
“I also respect heroes wounded to protect the people, but heroes must also listen to Moon Goddess’ will and not overstep their position.
“Forgive me for being blunt, but many war heroes are ten thousand times more glorious than Miss Selma. If Miss Selma can simply bypass the two Dukes and sit beside His Majesty, can those war heroes do the same? If Miss Selma can stand in the town hall, then we will need to discuss state affairs with every war hero in the future?”
This was simply unreasonable!
I looked at the old man in disbelief. I wanted to pry open his head and see the structure inside.
If the elders were like this, it was all thanks to my father’s wisdom that the werewolves were still alive.
Perhaps they felt that their companion was embarrassing himself, and the other elders could not stand it anymore.
“Stop it, Eric. It’s not the time to care about these details.” An old man with long curly hair and a big beard stopped him. “This is the town hall, not a market. Don’t jabber on like a calculative peddler about a few cents. There’s still a witch waiting to be interrogated here. Do you want the other clans to laugh at you?”
The bald old man, Eric, sneered, “Don’t act like a good person, Lucius. Did you get into the Council of Elders by sucking up? Sooner or later, the wolf clan will be defeated by someone like you who flatters us!”
Eric and Lucius were obviously from different factions, and this caused a conflict between the two factions. The elders started attacking each other.
Seeing that an even bigger war of words was about to happen, my father shouted, “Silence!”
The king was unquestionable. No matter how upset they were, the elders could only shut their mouths and try to kill their political enemies with their eyes.
