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หน้าหลัก / The Family’s Regret After the True Heiress Walked Away / บทที่ 1 - บทที่ 10

บททั้งหมดของ The Family’s Regret After the True Heiress Walked Away: บทที่ 1 - บทที่ 10

10

Chapter 1

The entire banquet hall went silent.Bella’s smile froze. “Vivian, I never meant to take your place.”That was a lie.I looked at her calmly.“Then why are you sitting there?”Bella leaned into my mother like a wounded kitten and sniffled.“I just…got used to it.”“At every family dinner, I’ve always sat between Mom and Dad. I didn’t think tonight would be any different.”My mother stroked Bella’s hair, clearly aching for her.“Vivian, Bella has sat here since she was little. She didn’t mean anything by it.”My mother wasn’t lying. At least she genuinely believed Bella had meant no harm.“I never said she did. I just want to know when she plans to give me my seat back.”My eldest brother, Adrian, looked at me and spoke in his usual measured tone.“Vivian, today is supposed to be a happy occasion. Do we really need to ruin the mood over this?”I pointed at the place card on the table.“My name is on that seat. She moved the card and sat there anyway, and I’m the one ruining the mood?”A
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Chapter 2

The banquet I had waited three years for ended in less than an hour.Back in my room, I pulled out my phone and opened the invitation from the Darkmoon Empire that had been sitting in my inbox for three years.Not long after my birth parents found me, the Darkmoon Empire learned that I bore an exceptionally rare truth spell.They invited me to the capital to become the Saintess.I turned them down.They never pressured me. They told me the position would remain mine for as long as I wanted it.At the time, the title meant less to me than the chance to know what it felt like to belong to a real family of my own.Now I knew.I opened the reply box and typed four words.“I accept your invitation.”A minute later, a message came back.[We’re delighted that you’ve accepted. We’ll send someone to the Moonshadow Pack to escort you tomorrow.]I stared at the screen for a full minute before locking my phone and pulling out my suitcase.There wasn’t much to pack.Three years ago, I followed my p
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Chapter 3

My father tossed the registration notice onto the table in front of me.“Haven’t you been asking to officially join the Moonshadow Pack? We’ll take you to the Registry at nine tomorrow morning. That should make you happy.”His condescending tone made it sound as though granting me a place in my own family’s pack was an act of extraordinary generosity.I stared at the notice, overwhelmed by emotions I couldn’t name.A werewolf had to be entered into a pack’s official registry before they were entitled to its protection or allowed to use its healing facilities.For the past three years, I had lived on Moonshadow territory without ever becoming an official member. As far as the pack was concerned, I might as well not exist.If I was injured, the healers could turn me away. If someone attacked me, Moonshadow had no obligation to seek justice on my behalf.Even under my biological parents’ roof, I was still an outsider their pack refused to claim.My mother took my hand.“Once the paperwork
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Chapter 4

Bella let out another pained whimper. No one had time to answer me. They surrounded her and hurried out.My father managed to toss one last sentence over his shoulder.“Wait here. We’ll come back once we’ve dealt with this.”The glass doors slid shut behind them. Not one of them looked back.The butler arrived soon afterward with the complete set of documents.“Everything is ready now.”I lowered my eyes to the application form.At last, I had everything I needed. But I no longer wanted it.“There’s no need.”I pulled the form from the stack and tore it in half.Three years ago, the Darkmoon Empire had invited me to become its Saintess. I had turned them down for the sake of my biological family.I had never wanted an exalted title. I had only wanted to be an ordinary daughter in this family.But after waiting three years, all I had gotten in return was the same heartbreak of being left behind, over and over again.I took out my phone.[I am ready to accept imperial citizenship and for
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Chapter 5

My mother's fingers slowly loosened around the handle of my suitcase.My father stared at the white-haired priest kneeling before me, his anger giving way to disbelief."Saintess?"He repeated the word as if he couldn't possibly have heard it right.The priest rose and placed a token engraved with the Darkmoon crest in my hand."Her Holiness has been entered into the imperial registry as a Saintess. As of today, she is under the protection of the Darkmoon Empire and no longer owes allegiance to the Moonshadow Pack."My father's expression darkened instantly."That's impossible. She was at the registry office only moments ago, applying to join Moonshadow.""That application was never completed," the priest replied calmly. "After withdrawing it of her own accord, Her Holiness registered as a permanent citizen of the Darkmoon Empire. No pack has the authority to take her from here without her consent."My mother finally recovered from her shock and grabbed my arm."Vivian, when did you ag
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Chapter 6

The next morning, I completed my induction ceremony at the Temple.The High Priest placed the Scepter of Truth in my hands."The Darkmoon Empire needs a Saintess who can see through every lie, and you are the only one suited to the role."My first duty as Saintess was to help the Temple review aid applications submitted by the packs.One month later, I found Moonshadow on the list.They had established the Silver Moon Orphaned Pup Sanctuary in Bella's name and were requesting three hundred doses of imperial medicine used to stabilize wolf spirits.According to the application, every dose would go to homeless pups.I turned to the final page.Director: Bella.The Moonshadow Pack's seal appeared beneath the guarantor's signature.An imperial official looked at me. "Would you like to recuse yourself?""No.""But...they're your family.""They used to be."Three days later, the Moonshadow delegation arrived at the Temple.My father led the group, with Adrian and Derek close behind him. Bell
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Chapter 7

The next afternoon, Bella came to the Temple alone. She waited in the reception room for two hours without touching the tea in front of her.The moment I entered, she stood."I brought the necklace."She placed the crystal necklace in front of me, fidgeting as she spoke."Mom finally told me this one is the real heirloom. The one she gave you was made later."I lowered my gaze to the necklace."You've known that for a long time, Bella."Her face paled."I…I only suspected it before."A lie.I said nothing and waited.Eventually, she lowered her head."Fine. I knew.""Mom put it around my neck herself on the day my inner wolf awakened. She told me it could only be inherited by the eldest daughter of the Moonshadow Pack.""After you came back, she asked me not to take it off yet. She was afraid I wouldn't be able to handle it.""So you simply kept wearing it?" I studied her face."I was scared."When she looked up again, tears were already streaming down her cheeks."Before you appeared,
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Chapter 8

Three days later, the Moonshadow Pack replaced all twelve doses that had been diverted from the sanctuary.That did not stop the trial.On the day of the Truth Tribunal, the Temple was filled with representatives from packs across the Empire.Bella stood at the center of the chamber, her face bloodless.The High Priest read the charges one by one.She had applied for sacred medicine in the name of homeless pups, then used twelve doses to stabilize her own wolf spirit. She had falsified the sanctuary's accounts to conceal what she had done and attempted to obtain another three hundred doses from the Empire.Under imperial law, she was required to compensate the sanctuary from her personal assets, was permanently barred from managing any charitable institution, and would serve for three years at a northern relief station.Because the Moonshadow Pack had guaranteed her application, its annual allotment of sacred medicine would also be suspended for one year.My father shot to his feet."T
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Chapter 9

Before leaving for the north, Bella submitted a new proposal to the Temple for the sanctuary.Under the new plan, the Temple would publicly oversee every account, and Bella would participate only as an ordinary volunteer.She slid the documents across my desk."This time, I'm submitting the proposal in my own name. The Moonshadow Pack won't be involved."After reading it, I looked at her in surprise."Why are you doing this?""Because those pups really don't have homes."To my surprise, she was telling the truth.I signed the approval page."The proposal may proceed, but your three-year sentence still stands.""I know."She took the file from me."Thank you, Vivian," she said softly.Even after Bella left, my parents and brothers continued submitting requests to visit me.I rejected every one.A month later, my mother came to the Temple in person with an entire trunk of dresses.I handed them all to an attendant."Take these to the Silver Moon sanctuary."My mother's face drained of co
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Chapter 10

One year later, the Darkmoon Empire held my formal coronation.Representatives from packs across the Empire gathered at the Temple. The children from the Silver Moon Orphaned Pup Sanctuary sat in the front row, each holding a bouquet of white evening primroses.When the High Priest placed the Crown of Truth on my head, bells rang throughout the imperial capital.From the top of the stairs, I looked out over the crowd and saw my parents and brothers at the very back.They were not on the guest list, so they could only stand behind the barrier outside the Temple.My mother's shoulders shook with sobs.My father still held himself rigidly upright, but his eyes were red.Adrian held a box in his hands, no doubt containing yet another gift that had come far too late.Derek tried several times to approach, only to be turned back by the guards.After the coronation, an attendant came to my side."Your Holiness, the Alpha and Luna of the Moonshadow Pack request an audience."I removed my glove
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