Chapter 61

61 The Clown

Selma Payne’s POV:

My father had discussed Carolyn’s strange behavior with the southern Duke. But, surprisingly, the southern Duke had flatly refused to investigate Carolyn.

“This is an insult,” he retorted. “An insult to my daughter and me.”

No matter how much my father tried to persuade him, he would not agree. It was as if he did not care whether his daughter was in danger. However, his excuses were always to protect his daughter.

What a contradictory father and daughter pair.

In the end, the southern Duke relented and agreed to let the security department conduct a witchcraft inspection on Carolyn. However, it had to be done secretly, and Carolyn couldn’t find out.

The Moonlight Festival was the day of the operation, but my father had never said it would be carried out on the float. But, unfortunately, the float parade didn’t stop from morning to night, so there was no way for the inspectors to get close to Carolyn.

“Perhaps something unexpected happened and made the southern Duke regret it. I have to go take a look.”

“Ladies, I have to go and greet the southern Duke.” I used my mother as an excuse. “The Queen has specially instructed that if you meet the southern Duke, you should greet him on behalf of the royal family. So don’t lose your etiquette.”

“I’ll go too,” Aldrich said. “I’m also a noble. So it’s not good to pretend I didn’t see him, right?”

We’d go together.

“What happened?” Aldrich quickly asked me in a low voice. “Is there something about the southern Duke worth paying attention to?”

As expected of someone from a political family, his intuition was always accurate.

I shook my head. “It’s not him. It’s his daughter, Carolyn.”

“That little girl? What’s wrong with her?”

“She seems to have magic fluctuations. The Lycan King suspects she may have been possessed by witches and hopes to conduct a secret examination today.”

“There’s no way to examine the float.” Aldrich frowned.

I nodded. “That’s why I’m going to solve the problem.”

The southern Duke also saw us.

“Happy Moonlight Festival, Sir Aldrich, Miss Selma.” He bowed like a gentleman, playing his role as the Moon Prophet today.

Carolyn had no choice but not to go onto the float and come down to greet us.

We exchanged a few words, and I tried my best to stall for time, hoping that the float would leave quickly.

“You’re so beautiful today, Carolyn,” I said to the girl covered in shiny pearls. “The diamond headband suits you. Is that the shape of baby’s breath? Truly original.”

“Thank you for your praise.” Carolyn nodded slightly. “This is a gift from my father for my sixteenth birthday. An Italy jewelry designer specially made it. It’s one of a kind. Your brooch is also very beautiful, the moon made of opal. Very suitable for the occasion, isn’t it? Everyone likes to wear accessories made of opal during the Moonlight Festival. It’s just like the moon, and it’s never wrong.”

I pretended not to hear the anger in her words.

“Why did you think of performing on the float? That’s tiring. Every year, the maidservants representing the royal family in the event say they don’t want to go anymore. After all, not everyone can stand dancing for an entire day.”

Carolyn proudly said, “That’s not the same. They’re just some weak Omegas. I’m the future Alpha of the Southern Pack. So how can those weak chickens be compared to me?”

This wasn’t a nice thing to say, not to mention the status of the people who could come to the palace to work, but the undisguised discrimination against Omegas was vulgar.

It wasn’t the era of harsh class hierarchy hundreds of years ago. So the Omegas should also receive the respect they deserve.

Carolyn reminded me of Benson. They were equally proud, arrogant, and condescending.

Fortunately, someone broke the awkward atmosphere.

Aldrich suggested, “Do you want some moon fudge? It’s a special product from the Lycan Pack, and you can only have it during the Moonlight Festival every year.”

He waved his hand to beckon the revelry clown holding a tray.

“Happy holidays, guys.” The clown laughed happily. “Do you want a piece of soft candy? There are cranberry and peach flavors.”

We tasted the moon fudge. The cranberry flavor was great. Then, we left.

Back at the soda stall, I received a text message from my mother.

The inspectors had indeed detected magical fluctuations in Carolyn. What was even more unfortunate was that it was powerful black sorcery that shielded her from the outside world. As such, the inspectors could not find anything other than magical fluctuations.

This wasn’t good news, but at least we had the confidence to convince the southern Duke to assist in the investigation.

While chatting, I quietly asked Aldrich, “How do you know that the clown is a prosecutor in disguise?”

“I don’t know.” Aldrich smiled. “But he kept circling us but didn’t give out any of the candies in his hand. This one is not very bright, right?”

“You’re so smart.” I looked at him in surprise. “I think that clown is no different from the other clowns.”

“Soldiers are always more sensitive. After all, the battlefield is fierce. So you have to be alert to ensure your safety.”

I was simply fascinated by this astute warrior!