Under the canopy of the prison cell, Emma counted six lice in her long hair. After eight years without bathing, she felt as if she were wearing a thick suit of armor, and killing lice became her only way to pass the time.
Twelve years imprisoned in the cell, Emma raised her head and looked into the space. Every time it rained, her feet would ache to the point of madness.
She was the biological daughter of Beta Henry, but unfortunately, she wasn't born from the womb of Luna Sandra. Instead, she was taken to a low-status concubine. Moreover, being held in the second month, which was believed to bring disadvantage to parents, her father sent her to distant relatives for upbringing. Unfortunately, even her relatives didn't want to raise a child alone and sent her back to the village to fend for herself. Thus, she, a noble girl from the most powerful family in the Blue Moon pack, had to do household chores and even work in the fields.
Like a discarded jewel, she was thrown into the ordinary people. If it weren't for the fact that Felicia, the eldest sister, refused to marry the intended suitor, her father, and Luna Sandra would probably never have remembered her... Felicia and Emma, just hearing their names made it clear who was noble and who was lowly. Returning to Beta Henry's mansion, her heart was filled with joy at the thought that her father finally remembered her. However, she only heard her father happily say to the beautiful and noble eldest sister, Felicia, "Felicia, you don't have to worry anymore. This nobleman will marry you to Alpha Jeffn."
Later, she followed her father's wishes and entered the mansion of the Third Prince, wholeheartedly assisting Alpha Jeffn in ascending to the throne as the Lycan King. She even gave birth to his first son, Phil. Eight years passed until Alpha Jeffn succeeded and appointed her as the Queen.
Alpha Jeffn had once said that her skin was delicate and her eyebrows were like paintings, making her a top-class beauty. But even so, a top-class beauty was ultimately incomparable to the celestial beauties. Just a glance, and she appeared like mud in a corner, truly hard to look at.
What about the future? The future...
Every time Emma thought of that day, she wanted to laugh. Laughing at her younger self, fearless even in the face of the heavens and laughing at how far she had distanced herself from that time.
She still vividly remembered that night when everyone in the Moon Palace endured excruciating torture right on the spot. It seemed as if they were impatient to end everything or hide everything. They didn't even take them to the punishment chamber, and everyone endured torture in the Moon Palace.
The large doors of the Moon Palace were locked, and those subjected to torture had their mouths gagged. In the blink of an eye, the Moon Palace turned into a place of blood and despair. Emma was dragged in front of the Lycan King, Alpha Jeffn.
The always deep and gentle eyes of Alpha Jeffn revealed sharpness, coldness, and indifference to the extreme. "You wretched woman, you can even poison your sister." Emma's heart was filled with suffering, but she still said, "I harmed my sister? I have never harmed my sister!"
Alpha Jeffn kicked her mercilessly in the chest, causing Emma to cough up blood. She received his gaze full of disgust. "You wretched woman, Felicia had a difficult delivery, and I wasn't in the palace. The palace maids pleaded with you, so why did you lock the Moon Palace and avoid meeting them? You wanted to kill her! If I hadn't returned in time, she would have died not once but twice!"
Looking up at Alpha Jeffn before her, he still looked as handsome as ever, as majestic as the sun in the sky. In fact, until now, she still didn't understand what kind of man he was, the man she loved. She didn't know how gentle or indifferent he could be, and she even felt like a joke, as if she was paying the price for her infatuation without realizing that he didn't need her.
Emma coldly laughed, "Does the Lycan King only think of his sister and not our son, Phil? Our Phil was struggling with a severe illness on the day your child with Felicia was born. Did I call the doctor to save him or not? Isn't my sister a human being? Now that my sister has successfully given birth, and as soon as our son was born, you bestowed the title of Crown Prince upon him. But my son, Phil, died! The one who met your demands for Phil to become the Crown Prince! Is Alpha Jeffn, not the Lycan King? Why are you still scheming? Why?"
Alpha Jeffn's icy face made her heart grow cold, and his indifferent gaze met hers. "I made you the Queen, and you're still not satisfied! You hope for the distant throne of the Crown Prince!"
Emma felt blood fill her mouth, her voice like icy water touching shattered ice. "Queen? Yes, I am the Queen. The decree to depose the Queen has long been prepared on your desk, waiting for the birth of your sister's child to seal it! Alpha Jeffn, what did I do wrong? I married you for eight years. How did I treat you?"
She gently unbuttoned her outer robe as she spoke, revealing a nasty scar on her chest, pointing to it, and slowly uttering each word. "In the thirty-eighth year of the Emperor, I took a sword for you right in the middle of my chest! In the fortieth year of the Emperor, I knew that the wine the Crown Prince brought was poisoned, so I drank it all for you! In the forty-first year of the Emperor, I knew that the Seventh Prince wanted to kill you, so I rode tirelessly through the night, covering hundreds of miles, just to let you know! When you were away for disaster relief and infected with an epidemic in the forty-second year of the Emperor, I made all the palace maids leave, leaving only me to take care of you tirelessly for forty-eight days! When you ascended the throne, what promises did you make to me? Do you still remember? You said that the day you become the Lycan King, I would still be the Queen! But after that, you fell in love with Felicia, not only making her child the Crown Prince but also wanting to depose me! Alpha Jeffn, you have truly never disappointed me!"
Alpha Jeffn maintained a calm expression, his indifference absolute and unnoticed, as if he hadn't seen or heard anything. This indifference is so natural as if it had been present since birth.
His complexion squeezed Emma's heart, like a tiny, sharp thorn unexpectedly piercing deeply into her heart, causing her such pain that she had to take a deep breath. However, she maintained a resolute expression on her face, though there was sorrow in her eyes.
"Felicia is the one I admire and love. My original intention was to depose you as the Queen, but I still intended for you to stay in the harem so that you wouldn't have to worry about your livelihood in the latter part of your life."
"I don't worry about our livelihood?" Something sharp and piercing seemed to penetrate her heart bit by bit, gradually accumulating from a minor wound to a bottomless abyss until her heart felt as if it had been shattered. Emma resembled a drifting iceberg on the verge of breaking apart. They married for eight years, going through hardships and difficulties together. During the most challenging times for him, she stood by his side. But when he ascended to the throne as the Lycan King, he fell in love with Felicia like this, not only wanting to depose her but also constantly saying that she didn't have to worry about her livelihood.
"I did everything for you, even sacrificing my life to protect you, and all I received in return was the phrase 'not having to worry about your livelihood'? Eight years! Eight years of marriage, not worth a face as divine as Felicia's. Who needs your so-called worry-free livelihood? YOU EASILY GAVE everything I endured, even risking my life, to another woman! And you expect me to be grateful to all of you?"
Alpha Jeffn slammed his hand forcefully on the table, causing the tea tray to fall to the ground, and his face slightly wrinkled. "Shut up! What other woman? Felicia is your sister!"
Emma sneered lightly, "Sister? She is a celestial beauty, the eldest daughter of Beta Henry's family, a cloud in the sky. And what am I? I am just a lowly daughter of Beta Henry, a misfortune that even my father doesn't care about, dirt on the ground! If she truly sees me as her sister, how could she snatch away my husband and the Crown Prince position from my son!"
Alpha Jeffn snorted lightly, looking down at the ground. His eyes were filled with a sinister and cruel glint as he scanned Emma's pale face, his gaze threatening enough to take one's breath away. "Felicia is innocent, virtuous, and pure. Even an ant would be pitied and spared by her. You are not even worthy of her fingertip! As for Phil, you have raised him to be disrespectful towards Felicia. What right does he have to sit on the throne as the Crown Prince?"
Innocent, virtuous, and pure? She had always done good deeds from childhood to adulthood, but the one who received all the praise and recognition was always her sister! She had a beautiful face, enough to be revered as a celestial being!
Emma felt a deep sense of irony. Alpha Jeffn's words were like a blade stabbing straight into her heart, causing fresh blood to flow profusely. It seemed warm tears were slowly flowing from her dry and empty eyes.
Her gaze contained boundless pain. "Fine, I am far inferior to my sister! But Phil is innocent. He is just a four-year-old child who doesn't understand anything. When he saw me crying in distress because of you, he said two resentful words out of temporary discomfort, and you coldly locked him up for three days and three nights!"
Alpha Jeffn looked at her coldly without saying a word.
