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1225 Wed 11 Jun
Chapter 239
Chapter 239
Adele sprang to her feet, eyes blazing with fury. “Your Majesty, Leon is the Novigrad Butcher, he has won victory after victory for our kingdom over the years! How can you malign such a loyal and devoted general like this?”
Everyone present knew that while the Queen was nominally the head of the harem, in reality she was outranked by Adele in the palace hierarchy, all because she lacked a capable heir.
Otherwise, during the royal hunt, Adele would never have been granted the same seating arrangement as the Queen, a privilege she enjoyed solely because of her son’s favor with the King.
Because her son was so powerful, Adele could stand on equal footing with the Queen in most situations, except at the most formal parties.
In fact, more often than not, the King preferred to seek Adele’s counsel while frequently neglecting the Queen.
Jessica had quietly returned to her seat and was sipping her coffee.
Still covered in dirt from the hunt, Jessica glanced up and saw Leon seated at his place, though his movements were noticeably slower than before.
Though seriously wounded, Leon showed no sign of pain.
Clad in his jet–black robe, it was impossible to tell
bloodstains marked the fabric.
He insisted the blood was from the game, and neither the King, the Queen, nor even Adele doubted him.
The King’s headache grew even worse from the Queen and Adele’s bickering. He longed to retire, yet another prince remained unaccounted for in the hunting grounds.
After all, it was the predator zone. The King couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
“Andrew, go check what’s happening,” the King commanded.
“At once.” Andrew was about to dispatch someone to inquire when the sound of approaching hoofbeats drew his attention. A rider was emerging from the hunting grounds.
“Waldo House men,” Andrew announced sharply, spotting them at once.
“Your Majesty, Andrew, please save His Highness!” Two warriors from Waldo House sprang off their horses and dropped to their knees.“Your Majesty, Your Highness, Consort Adele, there’s a pack of black wolves in the hunting grounds!”
“What?” The King jolted in shock, nearly dropping his goblet.
Andrew felt a pang of unease. “Black wolves in the hunting grounds? That’s impossible! Could you have been mistaken?”
“Your servant swears he saw it clearly, there was definitely a pack of black wolves! His Highness… when he heard about it…”
The warrior glanced sideways at Jessica, who was leisurely sipping her tea, then reported, “When His Highness heard Ms. Yates was in the black wolves‘ territory, he became deeply concerned and hurried to her rescue.”
The other warrior added urgently, “That’s right! We followed His Highness to rescue Ms. Yates, but were ambushed by black wolves on me way and got separated. Mr. Brown and Ms. Mcbride went to help His Highness, ordering us to return and report to Your Majesty. Please send reinforcements!”
“Andrew!” The King’s sharp gaze instantly snapped to his eunuch.
“At once, I will summon help.” Andrew trembled with urgency as he gestured frantically. “Commander Byrd! Where is Commander Byrd?” Markus Byrd was overseeing security at the hunting grounds and happened to be stationed nearby.
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Chapter 239
Guards were immediately dispatched to fetch Markus.
Adele finally managed to calm down. Her eyes suddenly darted to Jessica as she demanded, “Did you encounter a pack of black wolves?”
Jessica calmly set down her cup and stood up, giving Adele a slight bow. “On our way to hurt the black bear, we did encounter a pack of black wolves. However, I thought it was His Majesty’s test for us, so I saw no need to report it.”
Adele jabbed a finger at Jessica, trembling with rage. “You did this on purpose! You deliberately lured Leon there, didn’t you? You’ve been scheming against my Leon all along! If anything happens to him, I swear I’ll make you pay!”
