Chapter 277

277 A Memorial For The Dead

Selma Payne’s POV:

That was all my mother had to say. I understood what she meant.

After helping my father win so many battles, I was no longer a political noob. Of course, I understood the helplessness hidden under the boundless glory. But the death of Layla still made me feel lost. It was as if something was blocking my heart. It was stuffy and some sort of existential crisis.

If I wanted to protect the majority, did I have to sacrifice one person?

Could the conflict of numbers and numbers not co-exist?

I didn’t understand. I couldn’t say anything even if I wanted to. I could only sit there in a daze, lost in my thoughts.

Seeing through my thoughts, my father was kind enough to give me a break.

I left in a daze.

This sad story made me lose my mind. At night, I told Dorothy, who was sleeping on my bed.

“Heavens!” She felt very sympathetic. “I can’t imagine how sad Master Kevin would be when he learned of his fiancée’s death. It was not Layla’s fault! She protected you, so she shouldn’t bear all these baseless accusations.”

“Yeap!” I hugged the pillow and said sullenly, “I don’t understand. Why do you have to sacrifice a person’s innocence to maintain stability? She was not the one in the wrong. Isn’t it a lie to hide the truth? Is the trust gained from sacrifice and deception reliable?”

Dorothy was even more clueless about all this. Even though she was a smart girl, she knew nothing about politics, so she could only comfort me by saying, “Although the ending was indignant, according to the situation at that time, His Majesty had already done his best.”

“I know. I don’t mean to blame my parents. It’s just that I can’t figure this out. Sigh, how annoying!”

Layla’s death made me confused and frustrated for the next three days.

On Wednesday night, Master Mary came to give me a routine examination. After everything was over, I asked her to stay and asked her about Master Kevin and Layla.

Master Mary was very confused. She didn’t expect me to know about Master Kevin’s past.

“I met Master Kevin at a fashion store, who was making a custom-made dress for his wife. I didn’t know that he was married, so I went to ask my parents.” I said, “It’s because of this that I know the story of Layla. I want to know why Master Kevin insists on making a suit for his late partner. If you find this offensive of me, then forget it. This is Master Kevin’s privacy. I don’t have any intention of prying.”

“This isn’t a secret. everyone close to Kevin knows about it.” Master Mary said, “Perhaps you knew that before Layla committed suicide, she was already engaged to Kevin?”

“Yes, I’m very sorry for that.”

“Not only that, their wedding was supposed to be a week after the kidnapping. Layla had already applied for a month’s leave for her wedding day. she was going to try on the wedding dress the next day.”

Recalling that past, Master Mary was also very sad.

“Who knew that heaven would play such a trick on us? Since you disappeared, Layla has become the target of public criticism. No one dared to get close to her then, whether they were malicious or kind to her. Even the fashion store that customized the wedding dress for her rejected her order.

“I believe the fashion store you went to today is Y&Y, right? To tell you the truth, this shop was founded in the Silver Moon Pack, where the two Majesties sent Layla to lay low. Y&Y was the fashion store that took over the production of wedding dresses. However, before the wedding dresses were completed, Layla had... anyway, eventually, Y&Y opened a branch in our pack. Kevin would make a brand new wedding dress every year on the day of their supposed wedding anniversary, and he would throw a huge party. He never told us why, but we all know it’s for Layla.”

“Oh my god!” I stammered, not knowing what to say. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked about this. It’s a sad past, and I’m ashamed of myself for digging up others’ sad stories.”

Master Mary smiled bitterly. “You don’t have to feel sorry for this. In fact, so many years have passed. It’s not like we haven’t persuaded Kevin to let go of the knot in his heart. But now that things have come to this, rather than saying that the knot in his heart has not been resolved, it is better to say that it has become a habit that must be done.

“It seemed like this would make Master Kevin feel that Layla was still by his side, so we stopped persuading him to stop. You don’t have to be afraid of anything regarding this matter. Being calm will instead let Kevin understand that you understand him.”

I nodded and didn’t say anything.

It was mid-June, and my father would inspect a mine belonging to the government, so I was going with him. This showed that the Queen’s ‘niece’ could accompany the Lycan King to a political event. For a moment, the outside world was discussing my identity.

On the 20th of June, the royal family announced that the King would attend and give a speech at the Sivir Academy’s graduation ceremony. The public had mixed reactions. Some of the more sensitive media outlets had already guessed that I had something to do with this. For a moment, the discussion about me was very heated. However, under the instructions of the official media, everything did not go too far, and the storm subsided in two or three days.

29th of June.

After renovating the campus with the royal family’s donation, the Sivir Academy shed its conservative style. This graduation ceremony was luxurious and memorable.