366 Cooperation
Selma Payne’s POV:
I didn’t have any strange intentions and just calmly stated the truth, “Isn’t it chaotic enough for them? What was the root of this chaos? It’s all because they were arrogant and didn’t take Azazel’s party seriously. In the end, their territory was destroyed.
“For the current situation of the elven race, the most important thing is to deal with the division and internal strife. The fact that internal strife broke out is enough to show that these divided forces don’t have a long-term vision. Even if they knew the importance of eliminating Azazel’s party, they wouldn’t take the initiative to stop this dangerous mission to prevent other forces from attacking them.”
“In that case, an external helper who has no interest in the internal affairs of the elven race is just like charcoal in the snow. Someone is helping them solve their problems, and they’re not even prepared to share the power. Would they not agree to such a thing?”
“There’s no such thing as free lunch.” Arkadius shook his head. “We indeed have no interest in the internal affairs of the elves, but the other party won’t believe us so easily.
“No, they’ll believe us as long as we reveal a little bit of our ‘weakness’ to them.”
“What ‘weakness’?”
“It’s about our inability to reach out to the elves and the ‘weakness’ that we can’t grasp even if we achieve some results. It’s easy to create this weakness as long as we can introduce a suitable spokesperson.”
I looked around at the ministers in the meeting room and said, “I know that I’m young and inexperienced and that all of you have some opinions about me. However, at this moment, this may not be of no help to us. A Crown Princess tied down by power and interpersonal relationships, who appears noble but does not have the awe-inspiring prestige and power of the Lycan King, is still racking his brains to gain the recognition of the people. In the eyes of outsiders, am I not a paper tiger full of weaknesses?”
“I am a paper tiger, but I had no choice but to push it out to negotiate with the neighboring race. Because my race is also so busy dealing with Azazel’s party, I couldn’t even care about the wanderers who had fled to other territories.
As the Crown Princess, it’s easy for people to misunderstand that I’m in charge of negotiating with my neighbors, especially when I don’t have any respected courtiers or experienced helpers. They might think I’m collecting my experience, gilding my resume, or just running away with the excuse of being the Crown Princess to avoid the danger in my race.
“I’m not a threat to the elves. They’ll treat me politely and scornfully with the idea that they’ll treat me well. And what we need right now is this kind of contempt.”
I was very direct, and the ministers immediately understood my intentions.
Now the direction of the discussion had changed again. Some people opposed my point of view and thought I was taking things for granted and might not go according to my wishes. I convinced many more people. They felt that there was no harm in trying. It would be best if we succeeded, but if we didn’t, it wouldn’t affect anything.
It did not conflict with the decision of the Council of Elders.
Everyone’s opinions gradually became unified. Arkadius secretly exchanged glances with me, immediately looking away as if nothing had happened.
This was the advantage of having teammates. Sometimes, support would only help you a little. Friction and conflict allow you to express your views and persuade others smoothly.
There must be some people here who could tell that we were playing the good cop bad cop, but since no one had stood up to object strongly, they still agreed with my point of view.
My father listened to the entire story quietly. He didn’t agree or disagree, but I understood that his silence was his greatest trust in me.
I could no longer hide under his wings and use the name of the King to intimidate others. I had to learn to face the officials who might be known by their faces but not their true intentions. I had to learn how to deal with the ever-changing, real government affairs and change from ‘the daughter of the King’ to ‘the future Queen of the werewolves’.
In the end, the meeting came to two conclusions. First, after dawn, the imperial court and the Council of Elders would immediately convene to the Council of Elders to make a decision. They would throw away all unnecessary etiquette and face-saving procedures and try to reach a preliminary decision as soon as possible. Second, they would send a polite greeting to the elves and hint if they needed help to deal with the wanderers of Azazel’s party in the elf territory.
It hadn’t even been a year since I returned from the elf clan, and I was preparing to go on a long journey again. The difference from last time was that I’d changed from a newly-wedded girl to a mother. Although my child usually had no sense of existence – he was obedient and didn’t fall sick too often – a mother’s worry for her child never needed any reason.
Of course, the child would be well cared for by my mother. In fact, due to the busy government affairs, the time my mother took care of him after his birth far exceeded the time he spent with me. But he was no stranger to me. Every time he saw me, he would come over and groan like a real wolf cub, easily melting my heart.
However, I couldn’t let go of my concern for him no matter what, so I took him back to my side and took care of him.
