343 A Wealthy and Influential Family
Selma Payne’s POV:
We didn’t have to clean up Spring City, and there was no clean house here that was fit to live in. The elves set up a large tent for us to rest in.
Perhaps it was because I had been working non-stop for too long, but I felt unusually tired today. I fell asleep without even having time to eat dinner. When I awoke again, it was already midnight.
It was not quiet outside. The elves were cleaning up the mess in Spring City overnight to prevent any accidents from happening.
Dorothy had left me dinner, the typical food of the elves. If I were currently on a diet, I would be very happy to eat it, but I had just completed a high-intensity purification work. Nothing was appetizing enough to fill my stomach.
I had to eat some more compressed biscuits. To be honest, this combination was quite strange.
I became inexplicably irritated as I ate, and the feeling of powerlessness and fatigue again surged up my limbs. Speaking of which, I’d been feeling frustrated and weak recently.
Could it be the effect of absorbing too much evil power?
However, nothing happened in my spiritual world, which meant it had nothing to do with New Flow.
‘Maybe it’s because I’m under too much pressure,’ I thought. Ever since I came to the border, I hadn’t been able to relax. The high-intensity tension did cause a lot of mental pressure.
After a short rest, we set off for Winterfell again in the middle of the night. Kaya had originally planned to take action in the morning, but I didn’t want to waste too much time. The earlier I dealt with it, the earlier I could rest.
Due to the incident in Spring City, the elves did not dare to let their soldiers stay in the contaminated city for too long. Hence, all the elven soldiers in Spring City were stationed outside the city. The city looked raggle-like due to the lack of tidying up as if the riot had happened three minutes ago.
The work in Winterfell and Summer City went smoothly. The evil power did not contaminate anyone else, and the purification process went smoothly.
After the purification work was completed, I originally wanted to return home, but the Elf King contacted me through Kaya, hoping I could go to the Elf Capital as a guest and accept his thanks.
It was like the sun had risen from the west. The always proud Elf King was thanking the werewolves. No matter how I thought about it, I felt that the scene was strange. Although I wanted to learn more about it, I did not agree with it rashly. Instead, I rejected it with an excuse that the Lycan King had asked us to return immediately.
In short, the elf race’s quest was finally officially over. After leaving the elf forest, all the team members were relieved. It was too frustrating to carry out a mission in someone else’s territory. It just didn’t feel like home.
I had a long video call with my parents to report on the mission’s progress and to tell them how much I missed them. When I was out on my own, my father always held me to the standards of a qualified Crown Prince. My mother, on the other hand, was more sensitive. She wanted me to fly back to her side immediately and let her kiss my cheeks, which had lost a lot of weight.
I also told my adoptive parents that I was safe. Of course, I didn’t tell them about my mission. I only talked to them about my daily life and the local customs I saw at the border. Rhode was with my adoptive parents, so I chatted with him. He looked normal on the surface, but after a while, he asked about Emma.
“Do you still have to ask me? I think Emma tells you ten times more than she tells,” I teased him. “Are you two still not sure about your relationship? Emma’s a girl. It’s inevitable for her to be a little reserved. A gentleman should know how to solve a lady’s problem and take the initiative, understand?”
“Of course, I want to.” Rhode smiled bitterly. “But Emma didn’t express that clearly, so I didn’t want to be too abrupt. Besides, my status is not that great. Honestly, I don’t know if Emma’s family will accept me. Even if I’m an Alpha now, I’m still not good enough compared to the nobles.”
I frowned and disapproved. “This isn’t the Rhode I know. What era is it now, brother? Such prejudice should have long been thrown into the trash can. Besides, Emma isn’t someone who’s bound by hierarchy. She’ll be sad if you face her with such an attitude.
“Besides, so what if the Evalia family cares about status? You’re the princess’ adopted brother, and you’re also a young Alpha who leads a rich pack, not to mention that you’ll have more opportunities to make achievements and win the honor in the future. How can you not be worthy of their family?”
“Don’t comfort me.” Rhode was still in low spirits and didn’t seem to want to talk about this anymore, so he changed the topic.
Seeing that he was in a bad mood, I didn’t ask any further.
But I was sure that something must have happened between him and Emma, and there must have been some reason for them to be estranged while I was away.
Combined with Rhode’s sudden mention of the status issue, did Emma not listen to my warning before leaving?
After I returned to the Spring Rain Pack, I asked Emma about it, and her answer confirmed my guess.
The qualifications accumulated over generations were enough to become the reason for some nobles to look down on others.
I didn’t know what the Earl of Marlowe was thinking. Although he wasn’t as warm to me as Arkadius or close to me as Duke Frank and Master Mary, he still maintained a superficial respect for me.
