The Mind-Reading Mate: Why Is the Lycan King So Obsessed With Me?!-Chapter 54: The Price of Defiance

She had watched someone’s hand get chopped off right in front of her just last week. And she’d already seen the Noctvaris soldiers slaughter a group of bandits who dared block her way.

After all of that, she truly doubted there was anything left that could make her faint.

"It’s nothing you need to worry about, Your Majesty," the soldier finally said.

Primrose let out a forlorn sigh and put on her disappointed face. "Am I still not seen as the queen of this kingdom?" she asked softly.

"If everyone keeps shutting me out of the kingdom’s matters, maybe I really am useless."

She moved slowly as she sat at the dining table, then rubbed the corner of her eye as if she had just shed a tear. "I can’t live like this ... I really hate being a queen that no one takes seriously."

The soldier froze at her words, clearly caught off guard.

The memory of her trying to take her own life in the hallway still haunted him, it was something he couldn’t forget, no matter how much time had passed.

Around him, the other soldiers and maids all turned their heads to stare, silently screaming in their minds:

[This idiot made the queen cry?! Is he crazy?]

[Does he want to be tossed into a pit full of demon beasts or something?!]

The poor soldier, now under a lot of sharp glares, swallowed hard. "I-It’s ... a political matter, Your Majesty."

Primrose slowly lifted her head, her round eyes locking onto his with curiosity. "What kind of political matter?" she asked softly.

"Can’t I know too?" Her voice dropped even lower, almost a whisper. "If a soldier is allowed to know ... then why can’t I?"

His lips pressed into a thin line. It was clear he didn’t want to tell her. But under her gaze, he finally gave in with a sigh. "There’s been an incident between two tribes," he said slowly.

"One of the panther clans, the Zahari, accused the Urdak, the boar clans, of breaking their alliance ... by killing the chief’s son."

Even though the Noctvaris Kingdom had long adopted a human-like rule, where people lived in cities and each city was governed by nobles, there were still many beast clans who rejected that kind of lifestyle.

They preferred to stay in their villages and continue living according to their tribal traditions.

Many past kings had tried to convince them to give up what they called their "barbaric" traditions, but none of those efforts worked.

It wasn’t until Edmund became king that things finally started to change.

Instead of forcing them to move or abandon their roots, Edmund made a different offer: they could stay in their homelands and live as they always had, but their land would still be part of the Noctvaris Kingdom.

It was a smart move. That way, Edmund could expand the kingdom’s territory and gain access to more resources, all while avoiding civil war or unnecessary conflict. He believed proper leadership was the key to keeping peace.

Of course, not everyone liked the idea. Some clans blatantly refused to accept his rule.

So Edmund gave them a choice.

If a tribe didn’t want to join the kingdom, their strongest warrior could challenge him. If they managed to defeat the King of Noctvaris in battle, they’d win their independence.

The result?

Edmund crushed them all, every single one. Not a single warrior, no matter how powerful, could bring him down.

When she first heard the story, Primrose thought maybe it had been exaggerated.

But after witnessing Edmund kill an assassin right before her eyes, she finally understood, people weren’t overreacting when they spoke of the King’s strength.

The soldier took a deep breath before continuing.

"Because of that betrayal, the Zahari tribe decided to execute the chief of the Urdak tribe, along with his entire family." frёewebnoѵēl.com

Primrose blinked, a chill running down her arms. "Executed ... how?" she asked quietly.

The soldier hesitated. His lips parted, then closed again. But after a moment, he spoke, like someone who had stopped trying to protect her from the truth.

"They beheaded them and this morning ... they placed the heads on spears at the entrance to the capital."

Primrose widened her eyes. "The capital?" she asked. "You’re telling me there are severed heads greeting people at the city gates right now?"

The soldier clenched his jaw. "Yes, Your Majesty."

Primrose held her breath.

This wasn’t just some minor tribal issue, this was a clear declaration of war.

The Zahari tribe hadn’t just wanted revenge. They wanted the entire kingdom to witness it.

"But why?" she whispered, tilting her head. The image of heads on spears made her stomach turn, but she still wanted to understand.

The soldier replied, "The Zahari tribe has been trying to cut ties with the Noctvaris Kingdom for months. But His Majesty refused their wish because their strongest warrior couldn’t defeat the King."

No wonder they’d done something so extreme.

Based on that information, Primrose wasn’t even sure the Urdak tribe had really killed the Zahari chief’s son.

It could’ve been a lie, just an excuse the Zahari made up to unleash their anger and justify their actions.

By doing that, the Zahari were also warning Edmund, if he still refused to give them their freedom, then the people of Noctvaris would keep seeing their cruelty again and again.

In a situation like this ... what would Edmund do?

Would he give the Zahari tribe what they wanted?

Or would he crush them for causing chaos, not just to another tribe, but to the people of the capital as well?

Primrose had always seen him as a silly lycan king, someone who turned into a soft, love-struck fool whenever he was around his wife.

But to everyone else, he was nothing like that.

He was powerful. Fearless. Ruthless.

Back then, the soldiers and maids never spoke about kingdom matters around her.

She used to think it was because they didn’t see her as their queen, but now ... she realized something else.

Maybe they weren’t trying to exclude her.

Maybe they just didn’t want her to be afraid of them.

A beast was still a beast, after all.

Even though many of them had tried to follow a more human way of life, the truth was, some of them still held onto their brutal instincts, even now.

"When will His Majesty return?" Primrose asked softly.

[Hmm ... knowing His Majesty, he probably won’t come back until he catches the ones responsible for this chaos.]

[Worst case, he might eliminate an entire tribe because of this problem.]