《The Lycan king's Unwanted Luna 》全部章節：第 31 章 - 第 40 章

I arrived at Kael’s study with the maps clutched in my hands. My palms felt damp against the parchment, and my stomach twisted with nerves. I kept picturing all the mistakes I might make in front of the council or the nobles. I had never sat through those kinds of meetings before. What if I spoke out of turn? What if they all realized I did not truly belong in this role?Kael sat at his desk when I walked in. He glanced up and gave a short nod toward the chair opposite him. “Sit. We will start with the maps.”I lowered myself into the seat and unfolded the first map with slow care. The paper felt old and textured beneath my fingers. Kael laid out several more across the table and started to explain things. He did not turn it into a formal lecture. He simply spoke, pointing out details as they came. Which villages grew the most grain. Which mountain passes became blocked each winter. Why the Winter Council held importance for every territory in the north. I focused hard, absorbing what

Kael’s POVI received the report early the next morning. The guard who had been sent to Stone Ridge stood before my desk, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He looked uneasy, as if he hated delivering the news.“We returned to the village,” he said. “The woman is gone.”I set down the letter I had been reading. “Gone?”“Not dead. Not taken by force. She left before sunrise. No one in the village knows where she went.”I stared at the table in front of me. Someone had reached her before my men arrived. That was not luck. It meant my investigation had been noticed. Whoever I was hunting already knew I was on their trail. They would not stay hidden much longer. I dismissed the guard with a short nod and sat there for a long moment, thinking through the next steps.Seraphina’s POVI spent the morning preparing for the Winter Council. The maps Kael had given me lay spread across my table. I practiced the family names out loud and tried to remember which territories carried old

Seraphina’s POVThe formal meeting was over, but many nobles remained at the Citadel for a banquet before returning home. I walked with Mara through one of the quieter corridors. Two noblewomen stood near a window, speaking in low voices.“She handled herself well,” one said.The other replied, “Perhaps. But one successful council doesn't make her our Queen.”I kept walking. It stung. But I didn’t stop. I was learning that respect had to be earned again and again.Kael’s POV>>>>>>>I was speaking with Elias in a side hall. He leaned against the wall, arms crossed. “Half the council likes her.”I answered calmly. “The other half is waiting for her to fail.”Elias laughed. “Politics.”I didn’t smile. “No. People.”Seraphina’s POV>>>>>>Lord Harren approached during the banquet. He smiled politely. “Your Majesty. May I ask you something?”He began asking questions about the northern territories. The first question I answered correctly. He wasn’t expecting that. Then he asked a harder que

Seraphina’s POVThe morning after the banquet, I could not stop thinking about the chapel. Harren’s strange disappearance lingered in my mind. Why would a visiting lord spend hours in an abandoned room? The question pulled at me as I headed toward the gardens. Curiosity won. I changed direction and walked to the western tower.The chapel doors stood closed. Two royal guards now stood watch outside. Yesterday there had been none. I approached carefully.“Has the chapel always been closed?” I asked.One guard answered evenly. “By the King’s orders.”I thanked him and left without pressing. Whatever sat inside, Kael clearly did not want people wandering through it.Mara found me a short while later. She studied my face as we walked. “You seem distracted today.”I offered a small smile. “Just thinking about old places in the Citadel. Nothing important.”She nodded, though her expression said she did not fully believe me. We continued our tasks, but her concern stayed with me.Kael’s POVI

Seraphina's POV>>>>>>The morning after Harren left, the Citadel felt like itself again. Quiet halls. Familiar routines. I told myself the strange week was finally over.I found Mara in the kitchen gardens, checking a delivery of herbs against a list. I picked up a second list and started counting jars beside her, glad for something simple to do with my hands.Two maids worked near the far wall, sorting linens. I wasn't paying attention to them until one lowered her voice, thinking I couldn't hear."I heard one of the visiting lords said Her Majesty isn't really noble."The other maid shushed her. Too late. Both of them turned and saw me standing there, jar still in hand.The first maid's face went pale. "Your Majesty, I didn't mean, I wasn't saying I believed it, only that I heard someone say it, I...""It's all right," I said.It was not all right. But I kept my voice even, the way I had learned to during years of being talked about in Black Hollow. I finished counting the jars and