"Tell me, My Queen. Should I kill her?"
Holly looked at the crowd in front of her. They were silent waiting for Holly's decision while wondering why the King needed her opinion.
Holly didn't want to be a murderer like her father. But the matter was not that simple. The wolves were ready to fight, if Holly released the woman then they would get angry and attack humans. Those humans would also look down on her forever.
But on the other side, if she killed this woman, she would be considered a cruel Queen. Holly had to choose.
"I give her mercy, Your Majesty."
The killing was mercy, Felix remembered that. He smiled, pleased with Holly's wise decision even though he knew for sure this was the first time she had killed anyone else.
"You're very lucky, Woman."
Holly closed her eyes. Everyone's screams indicated that Felix had done his duty. Finally, Holly opened her eyes even though she turned her gaze in another direction.
Everyone looked very shocked. They must have thought Holly would forgive that woman, but that wasn't it. That was why they weren't prepared to see death at that second. Everyone gaped, some threw up from too much shock, and others chose to close their eyes.
Holly's mercy was to free the soul from prolonged torment. For an immortal being, death was a gift. But now she gave it to human. Holly sacrificed one life to save thousands.
The wolves were at a loss for words. They didn't even think the new Queen would give the order to kill humans. Their eyes focused on Holly who stood firm despite looking away. At that time, they realized that woman were not an ordinary human.
"Your Majesty, that woman must be bewitching you! The beast must have sent her here to destroy our kingdom!"
Those humans never learn, they were still looking for excuses to blame Holly. Felix smirked even wider. Their stupidity reminded him why humans used to fall into slavery.
"How could Justin be beaten by those idiots," Felix muttered, shaking his head.
"She must be a witch! She influences you, Your Majesty."
The wolves were now silent. It was not that they didn't want to defend their Queen anymore. But because they knew that if Felix had intervened, they better keep quiet than make a wrong move.
"The beast? Ha ha ha…. Yeah, I've heard a rumour that he was very cruel." Felix burst out laughing.
"Yes! That beast will kill us because of this Reloux!"
Felix laughed loudly making everyone speechless. He pointed to the man who dared to fight him.
"Come," Felix said haughtily. "You want to challenge me too, right? Come here!"
The man immediately backed away in fear. His guts disappeared as soon as Felix told him to come forward. One step forward, his fate would be the same as the woman who was now laying without life.
Felix snorted in annoyance. Those people only dared to mock and lie but were afraid to come face to face.
"You guys are so afraid of those Dark things, aren't you? Dark Hill, Dark Forest, at least come up with a more creative name. You just add the word dark to the things you think are scary." Felix's eyes swept over the crowd one by one but no one dared look back at him.
"I've lived there this whole time. In the Dark Hill," Felix said, pointing to the hill that seemed far from where they were standing.
Holly was wide-eyed. She was confused as to why Felix even told them that. Would he admit his true identity now?
Felix walked around while brandishing his sword at the crowd. People spontaneously retreated because afraid of the sword that might hit their necks.
"Isn't there a beast in there? How could he live there?" Whispers were heard in unison. Such a whisper could not be missed by Felix's sharp ears.
"My father hid me there. He knew that the rumours weren't true."
Everyone was shocked by what Felix had said. Their trust had been broken just like that by the King. Some immediately believed but some still doubted.
"I met her there. You sent her yourself, didn't you? The king purposely sent women there once every ten years to be servants, clean the castle and take care of it. But those women ran away and only Holly came."
Felix stopped, looking at Holly and his eyes suddenly turned warm. "So don't blame her if I fall in love with her. In fact, you brought her to me by yourself."
No one else could deny it. What Felix said made sense because they had never met him. Even some former palace maids agreed if they had never seen Felix in the palace.
"But what about the crown prince who was killed by her father?"
Felix shrugged. "I don't care. You've killed her father. But did my brother come back to life? Then what do you get by killing her?"
"As his lineage, she must share the punishment!" A big man shouted. Cheers were heard again from the people.
"Oh, really Mister Hanson? Did you forget that your grandfather was a murderer? He killed the late King's brother. Then, we must behead you too," Felix said with a sharp grin.
The man was silent with a pale face. His disgrace was exposed directly in front of everyone. He thought no one remembered that incident.
"My ancestors had kept records of your crimes from generation to generation. Should we start the massacre for the descendants of murderers? I'd be happy to do that."
Felix was telling the truth. He found the criminal records that the human King kept. From there he knew what they did.
Everyone trembled. They were afraid if their name was on the list. Their words could attack themselves. No one dared to make a sound, every head was bowed in fear. They had seen how cruel this new king was and did not want to become victims of his sword's edge.
"I don't care what you think. I'm the King of this kingdom. No one can stand against me. This is your new Queen, Holly Reloux." Felix ended his words as he took Holly to take a step forward.
"May the moon be with you, My Queen." One person suddenly kneeled down followed by another.
Holly gasped, the first to receive her were not humans but wolves. She was completely accepted as their leader. They no longer doubted Holly, especially after Holly boldly decided to execute humans.
Holly took a deep breath. The human gaze on her was still sharp and judgmental but she shouldn't look weak. She clenched her fists tightly.
"I am the Queen."