Novel Square
Chapter 141
Chapter 141
After flipping his light brown ponytail tied with a maroon ribbon to the back, Riven cleared his throat and spoke, “Your Highnesses. Your Graces. I am of the view that any replacements should only be temporary. Deciding otherwise would just be the government coming to its own Verdict for our arrested colleagues before the courts deal with the crimes themselves. And, as much as it pains me, I must say that wolves are nowhere near ready to help run the Kingdom. I am not saying that there should be an indefinite bar of their species but it is dangerous to include them in discussions in the near future.”
“Dangerous how, Riven?” Xandar asked as he tried his best to control his temperament.
Lucianne’s sarcasm came to mind but Riven knew better than to insult the Queen. So, he chose to say, ” Well, there may be certain…traits of theirs that may be…abhorrent and…detrimental to the proper
functioning of the government.”
“Such as?” Xandar continued to press. Belongs to NôvelDrama.Org - All rights reserved.
Riven was running out of arguments, and he tried to avert his eyes from Lucianne and Xandar as he continued to rummage through his thoughts.
Christian then prompted him, “We haven’t got all day, minister. Enlighten us. What traits do our cousin species exhibit that are, in your words, abhorrent and detrimental to the proper functioning of the goverment?”
“Well..uh…”
Yarrington was getting impatient as well. “Did you even think this through before making your suggestion, Riven?!”
“Of course!” Riven exclaimed defensively at the Minister of Education.
Weaver then spat, “Then, what’s taking so long?! Just lay it on the table. What evidence do you have for saying what you just did?”
Riven’s eyes inadvertently and mistakenly glanced at Lucianne, making the King and the Duke glare at him in rage as Lucianne let out a light chuckle. Everyone’s eyes fell on her. Xandar’s hand went over her shoulder protectively as he continued to scorn the minister.
Lucianne then said, “We’re all adults here, minister. What is it about me that’s abhorrent and detrimental? Tell me.”
“Uh…” Riven’s lips were beginning to quiver. Everyone saw it.
Lucianne pecked a sweet kiss on Xandar’s cheek to calm him before she turned back to the minister and said, “Well, if you can’t say it. I’ll have to guess it won’t I, minister? Is it how I look?”
“NO!”
“How I dress?”
“No, my Queen.”
“How I speak?”
“Ah, so it’s how I speak. What about it? Too much sarcasm?”
“There you go. That wasn’t so hard.”
Weaver immediately defended Lucianne, raising his voice as he said, “If the Queen sees the need to use sarcasm, it’s because the recipient very well deserves it. You have no…”.
“Thank you, Sir Weaver.” Lucianne said with a gentle tone, and Yarrington got the cue to calm his agitated mate.
“How dare you…” Xandar began before Lucianne pecked another kiss on his cheek and whispered into his ear, “Thank you, my love. But I got this.”
With a plastered smile, Lucianne said, “Apart from my sarcasm, minister. Are there any other traits that you deem abhorrent and detrimental?”
“N-No, my Q-Queen.”
“Really? That’s it? Are you sure there isn’t anything else? Our lack of class, prestige or fortune, perhaps?”
“N-No, my Queen.” Riven continued to stutter.
“Well, if that’s the case, then I can assure you that I’m one of the few in my species who chooses to use sarcasm whenever I see fit. Not all wolves do it. In fact, most of them don’t. And if it makes you feel any better, minister, many wolves find my sarcasm inappropriate as well. And to those wolves I say this:” Everyone in the room straightened their backs in anticipation.
Lucianne’s smile dropped and her voice came out stem and strong, “My behavior is the result of your actions. I’m genuine to the genuine, fake to the fake, lethal to the lethal. Fortunately or unfortunately, I will not be stupid to the stupid. So, instead of matching their low level of thinking, I choose to use sarcasm because I can see no reason to justify or explain myself. Those people will only hear what they want to hear, and I do not have a habit of begging people to understand me or my point of view. I only take the trouble to explain something if I can see that one is not a lost cause. Otherwise, I really couldn’t care less what happens to this creature, so long as he or she isn’t harming anyone in the process of being stupid.” 2
The room felt it, an energy radiating from Lucianne when she said those words. But it wasn’t a daunting one like Xandar’s, or the one she herself used on Dawson the previous night. It felt…enlightening and inspiring. Xandar gazed at her dreamily as her black orbs fixed on Riven. The minister was lost for words. 1
After a whole minute of silence, Lucianne asked in a gentler tone, “Would you like another opportunity to make a submission, minister? We can come back to you after we’ve heard from the others.”
All eyes fell on Riven and he managed to mutter, “Y-Yes. Thank you, my Queen.” He didn’t expect Lucianne to offer him another chance to submit his views. If anything, he thought he was going to be kicked out, suspended or sent to jail after he was caught implicitly insulting the future Queen. Perhaps having wolves with them was not completely a bad thing after all.
Lucianne nodded once and said, “Alright, then. Sir Weaver, you’re up.”
As Weaver spoke, Xandar couldn’t help but run his fingers down Lucianne’s hair. The way she handled the situation was absolutely amazing! The King was ready to throw Riven out for the day. The anger from him and many others in the room was evident yet Lucianne managed to simmer them down with nothing more than a few words directed to the minister who offended her.
Lucianne was finding it a little harder to focus with her wolf purring under her mate’s affectionate touch but if this was what Xandar needed to stay calm then she was not going to stop him.
Weaver cleared his throat and began with a smile, “I am all for having wolves amongst us as well. After the Queen has introduced me to a few of our cousin species, I realize that there is a huge disparity in how Lycans and wolves are faring environmentally.”
“Up until the introductions, I had no idea that close to forty packs had problems getting clean water, and twenty are still suffering from air pollution seeing that our predecessors have authorized the building of factories close to their packs. And I haven’t even spoken to everyone yet! Imagine what else we’re failing
t o see as we take our comfort for granted. We need them here. It’s the fastest way forward, and the quickest way to form solutions that the people need and deserve.”
After Weaver was done, Yarrington spoke, “I am of the view that we need wolves as well, for the reasons which have been eloquently explained by my leamed colleagues before me. For education, in particular, I believe it is time to restructure the syllabus for both werewolves and Lycans. I’ve spoken to many at the collaboration, and some over the phone.”
He glanced at Lucianne with gratitude before continuing, “I dare say that our cousin species have a lot of brilliant ideas on what future generations should be learning, and how they should be taught. In fact, I already have a few candidates in mind for the position of Deputy Minister, if not the Minister, of Education.”
Yarrington’s humility wowed and touched Lucianne. Her species did have governing members who wanted to help them, who wanted to hear them out, who wanted them to be a part of the governing body. After centuries of neglect and bullying, what she saw before herself today moved her.
Annie was up next. “I doubt it is any secret that I would support having our cousin species among us. However, I also recommend that current ministers undergo a vigorous assessment to see if one’s skill set, intentions, goals and attitudes are the ones needed in a 21st century government.”
“Are you questioning our abilities, your Grace?” Harold asked defensively with a glare at the Duchess, which the minister quickly hid when he met the Duke’s scorn.