Chapter 326: Seeing Carl Again
Chapter 326: Seeing Carl Again
Jennifer's POV:
I knew perfectly well that a queen couldn't intervene in politics, but I wasn't attending the meeting to interfere in government affairs.I simply wanted to understand the current situation.
After all, Anthony had been so busy lately.
He always came home late and went Straight to bed, exhausted from a full day of work.I felt sorry for him.I knew that I couldn't help him carry the burden of protecting the kingdom, but as his mate, I wanted to do what I could to know more about his work.
Now that no one objected to my being here, the meeting began.
Anthony stood up and looked around at the faces sitting at the table.
"A few days ago, vampires began attacking several packs along the border between the werewolves' territory and the vampires' territory.The packs that have suffered include the Red Sun Pack, the Blue Rose Pack, and the Lavender Pack.According to the reports from the front line, these packs all have something in common: they are all prosperous and close to the border."
"So, if these three packs fell simultaneously, the vampires could've broken into werewolves' territory from the back land and threatened the autonomy of the Osman Kingdom?" an old elder pondered in a worrying tone.
"Please have faith in our race," Anthony replied calmly.
"We are strong enough to defend ourselves against the vampires.Come what may, I'm confident I can lead our army to fight against them.It's possible that they may attack us, but as long as we keep our defenses up, they won't get a chance to break past the border."
Another elder raised his hand and asked, "Mr.Jones, what do you think they want to do?"
Anthony nodded.
"That's exactly the purpose of today's meeting.For the time being, we don't know what the vampires are after, nor do we know why.Maybe they have conflict with those specific packs, or maybe it's just as Elder Charles suggested-—it's a strategic attack to declare war against us."
I sat quietly and listened to Anthony explain.
He sounded reasonable yet confident at the same time.
In my eyes, he truly was a worthy leader. Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!
Now that the agenda of the meeting had been announced, the elders began to discuss.
"I think they're just trying to stir up trouble.How dare vampires declare war on us?"
Elder Eric wrinkled his nose with disdain.
"No, they obviously have disliked us for a long time.They've probably been looking for an opportunity to strike once and for all! Since King Anthony took office, the internal situation has been somewhat unstable.Perhaps they thought that their opportunity had come,"
Elder Charles retorted.
I couldn't help but feel a little surprised.
Charles' words made sense to me, but if what he said was true, then wouldn't the people of the kingdom be angry with Anthony if war broke out? Thinking of this, I almost stood up and defended Anthony, but I managed to keep myself in check.
Fortunately, I wasn't the only one who disagreed with Charles' opinion.
Primo glared at Charles and said, "Vampires are our natural enemy! They don't need a reason to start a war.What does their sudden outburst have to do with the current situation of our kingdom or King Anthony taking office?"
Many heads around the table started to nod.It seemed that Primo's opinion held more water.
What he said made sense, too.
Seeing the situation turning around, I secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as they didn't connect the vampires' invasion with Anthony's political stature, it was okay.
After all, Anthony had just taken over the throne.I worried that someone would deliberately try to target him.
Just then, a man with red hair stood up.
I recognized him.
He was Alpha Boris.He looked at the crowd and said slowly, "Good afternoon, everyone.I'm Alpha Boris of the Red Sun Pack.This isn't the first time that the vampires have attacked our pack.Last time, thanks to the help of Mr.and Mrs.Jones, we managed to survive.This time, however, the vampires are even more aggressive.I sincerely beg you, Mr.Jones, to send more troops our way to protect our citizens and keep the vampires at bay!"
"I'm already making arrangements for this," Anthony replied at once.
"No matter which pack it is, it will be protected by the Osman Kingdom. Please rest assured, I will definitely send troops to protect every pack."
Suddenly, Primo stood up and asked pointedly, "Mr.Jones, have you conducted any investigation to find out the motive as to why the vampires are attacking us?"
Anthony nodded.
"We haven't garnered enough information yet, but I have sent some men to infiltrate vampire territory to investigate.A few days ago, I received a piece of news that Aldrich, the vampire king,was looking for his daughter who had been exiled many years ago.Rumor has it that the girl was a hybrid between a werewolf and a vampire.I have a feeling that this mixed-blood girl might have something to do with the vampires' attack."
I nearly gasped when I heard this.
Hybrid between a vampire and a werewolf? He was talking about Skylar! In that moment, I couldn't control my excitement.
I stood up eagerly and raised my hand.
"I'm sorry.Please let me say something.If what Anthony said is true, then the reason why the vampire king started this war is probably because he wants us to hand over his daughter to him.If we can find his daughter, maybe we can resolve the conflict between us!"
I finished speaking out of breath, but I was met with silence.
Eric glanced at me with immense displeasure.
"Mrs.Jones, since you have interrupted our meeting, you must have the confidence to solve the problem, am I right? So, do you know who the daughter of the vampire king is?"
"The daughter of the vampire king is..."
I almost blurted out Skylar's name, but right before it was too late, I suddenly came to my senses.
Would this really be a good thing for Skylar? After all, I had no idea how the elders would react if I told them.
What if they asked us to arrest Skylar so that we could negotiate with the vampire king? I hadn't thought things through.
When Anthony first brought up the subject of the vampire king's estranged mixed-blood daughter, he had omitted Skylar's name.
He probably shared the same thoughts as me.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, there was nothing I could do but smile sheepishly and sit back down.
"Sorry, I don't know." Eric smiled smugly.
"I was under the impression you were about to make a brilliant discovery.But it turns out that I was wrong and you have no idea who the daughter of the vampire king is at all.Let me remind you again, Mrs.Jones, this is a meeting room and it is a very serious occasion.You shouldn't have attended the meeting.But since you're already here, you should just shut up.I hope you won't disrupt our discussion again."
Although he was right, his gloating tone made me want to slap him right then and there.
What a snobby bastard! Ever since Austin's fall from grace, he had always actively gone against Anthony and me.
But I knew I had to calm down now.It would do us no good to argue with him.
So instead, I ignored him.
Anthony, on the other hand, suddenly cast a cold glance at the arrogant elder and said coldly, "Elder Eric, I don't think that what my queen said just now can be considered a disturbance to our meeting.Moreover, even if she did do something wrong, it's not your place to scold her."
Eric turned bright pink from embarrassment, but no one spoke out for him.
Seeing this, I heaved a sigh of relief and reached for Anthony's hand under the table to show him that I wasn't angry anymore.
Anthony smiled and winked at me.
The elders present fell silent for a while.
Just when the situation was at a stalemate, an attendant suddenly pushed the door open and came in.
"Mr.Jones, Alpha Carl wants to see you!" the attendant announced with a bow.
I gasped in shock.
Carl?! What was he doing here? Hadn't he already gone home to his pack?