Chapter 62: Ch 62. Axov’s Honesty

Selena stared at Roxyus, who said it so calmly. She was a little surprised, but she couldn’t be bothered to take the old man’s words seriously.

She looked back at Axov’s pale face; unable to get any help, he began to panic. Meanwhile, Azvia had stopped shaking her head frantically like a madwoman.

The woman was silent for a moment, then raised her head and stared blankly at Selena.

"It was indeed I who fabricated the false diagnosis regarding the Queen’s death. I did it on purpose, to trap and destroy the Besmooth family," she said in a hollow yet clear voice.

This made Axov’s eyes widen in panic; he hurried to snap his sister out of it, but Azvia didn’t budge. This made Selena smile slightly as she sat down gracefully and asked again.

"Oh, really? Are you serious about what you’re saying?"

With stiff, robotic movements, Azvia nodded twice.

"Who ordered you to do this? What’s the goal? Can you tell me that as further proof?"

Azvia was silent for a moment, then turned to look at Axov, who immediately tensed up and shook his head rapidly. He yanked his hand away from his sister’s arm, shaking her body in a panic that looked suspicious.

"Azvia Northern! What are you doing?! Why are you accusing me?! I’m your older brother—why are you doing something that’s going to get me in trouble like this?!" Axov shouted, looking frantic.

Azvia gazed at him with a vacant look; she seemed to have lost control and appeared lifeless as she spoke. "I’m just saying what I know," she replied, causing Vylen to furrow his brow.

"Damn it! What do you know, you say?! That’s not true! Snap out of it—someone’s influencing you! Snap out of it and look at what you’re doing?! Stop babbling nonsense, Azvia!"

Azvia’s body kept being shaken; Axov was even starting to lose control as he cursed and shouted harshly right in the face of his sister, who looked lifeless.

Selena looked at Kev, who immediately understood and moved toward Axov. With his bear-like strength, it was very easy for the man to push Axov away from Azvia.

Kev even used just one hand, causing Azvia to break free, and Axov seemed to rebel against his treatment.

"What the hell are you doing?! Let me go!" Axov screamed like a madman, his face flushed red, but Kev didn’t care.

Instead, Kev hoisted him half a meter off the floor—doing so with just one hand—leaving Axov dangling and writhing like a caterpillar. He cursed, railed, and screamed in defiance, unable to accept the treatment they were inflicting on him.

"Your Majesty, do you really suspect me?! Do you truly believe I made false accusations against the Royal Advisor?!"

"That’s not true, Your Majesty! This is slander! My younger sister was unconscious when she said all that! She was manipulated by someone to make a forced confession!"

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please reconsider! I truly didn’t do that! I couldn’t possibly have killed the Minister—I don’t have the courage to do something like that."

"Just because you don’t have the courage doesn’t mean you didn’t do it. You did it—through your younger sister, who was likely influenced by whatever incitement you gave her. That’s why she was willing to obey you," Roxyus said flatly, but Axov immediately shook his head vigorously.

"Your Majesty, I didn’t do it! I have absolutely nothing to gain from killing the Minister of State."

"This is slander, Your Majesty... Please investigate further..."

"You’re being so noisy. As the accused, you’re not allowed to defend yourself," Selena said flatly, causing Axov to glare at her. "You are indeed the culprit. Even though your younger sister is under my control, he and his mind are speaking the truth. That is, of course, trustworthy, because I know you’re a minister who’s an expert at evading the truth—that’s why I prepared the truth potion."

Selena took out the vial of potion she had just used, casually twirling it in the palm of her hand.

"You Fox clan members think too highly of yourselves—you’re selfish, stubborn, and annoying. I’ve already dealt with the annoying and slightly crazy attitudes of my husband and mother-in-law, so I don’t want to bother with too much drama—that’s why I prepared this before facing you," Selena said with a smile as she stood up.

Axov swallowed hard as Selena approached him. "W-what do you want?!"

"Speak politely to your Queen, or I’ll cut out your tongue," Selena snapped, making Axov turn even paler. "You’re so annoying, you bastard. And yet Briella has already found strong enough evidence that you two were discussing past events when she deliberately sent the Fox Claw poison via courier to your house."

"You expertly recognized the form of that poison, which is why you immediately panicked when you saw poison being sent to your house. That means you’ve seen it before and you know its effects. You’d already stolen it from the Royal Advisor’s private quarters during a visit to his residence. So why are you making up a story here, claiming that the Royal Advisor was the one selling the poison on the black market?"

"You keep dodging the issue, refusing to admit anything, and arbitrarily twisting the facts by leveling accusations at Briella. You’ve even concocted a new, fabricated story to corner her. That’s really something, isn’t it? I’m not surprised you’ve been Minister for so long—it’s because you can pull off underhanded tricks like this for your own gain," Selena said at length, leaving Axov speechless.

He could only focus on the medicine container Selena was holding, terrified by the scent of Fox Claw Poison wafting from it.

Selena seemed to have mixed that truth potion with poison as well—if he actually swallowed it, he could die!

"Don’t want to talk? That’s fine. Kav, open his mouth," Selena said as she removed the lid from the medicine jar.

Axov’s eyes widened and he shook his head rapidly, but his face was immediately seized by Kav’s strong hand, and his mouth was forced open.

Vylen, Roxyus, Coxy, and Vee could be seen swallowing hard in horror as they watched how Selena was acting. This woman was not messing around; she was ruthless and openly feared no one.

Selena moved to force the potion into Axov’s mouth, but before she could do so, Axov immediately screamed at the top of his lungs.

"I’LL TELL YOU! I DID IT! I’M THE ONE WHO KILLED THE OLD FOX QUEEN!"

His outburst made Selena smile. "Well, that’s better—why didn’t you just admit it from the start? You’ve caused me quite a hassle," Selena said, then casually closed the potion container. "Tell me everything related to this; I want to know the details."

Selena looked at Kev, who immediately loosened his grip, causing Axov to fall like a brittle, dry twig.

"Oh my goodness, take it easy... The murderer of the Old Fox Queen is very valuable; don’t let him get a scratch since his punishment hasn’t been determined yet," said Selena, deliberately making her voice sound quite dramatic.

Kev, realizing this, immediately bowed his head. "Forgive me, Your Majesty. From now on, I will guard and treat the murderer of the Old Fox Queen with the utmost care," he replied obediently.

This made Axov swallow hard, realizing that Selena possessed power that even the bear clan obeyed. With her tiny frame, Selena could command bears, casually turning them into her personal bodyguards—and not just one, but TWO BEAR BODYGUARDS!

How could he—a small fox without any real power—have been arguing with Selena all this time?! It seemed like she’d deliberately let him bark away, even though deep down Selena must have been annoyed; in fact, it looked like she was already ready to squeeze the life out of him right then and there.

Selena was still being gracious because this was an official trial. However, given her status as a fairly powerful queen—one who had even made Vylen, their current king, completely subservient to her—he knew that Selena was merely wearing a mask and was now slowly beginning to let it slip.

"Why are you silent? Tell me immediately whatever you’ve done," said Selena, who was already seated on the throne again.

Axov sighed, realizing he had no choice but to come forward because this country would never show him any appreciation.

"It was indeed I who asked my younger sister, Azvia, to poison the Old Fox Queen. It was out of hatred because she was supposed to have been chosen as my sister-in-law back then. The Queen was supposed to marry my older brother since they’d known each other for quite some time. But when the King accidentally approached her, the Queen changed very quickly and cast my brother aside just like that."

"My brother fell into depression; he even attempted suicide several times because he felt betrayed by his own lover. But one day, when we failed to keep an eye on him, my brother ultimately died after hanging himself in his room."

"So I’m getting my revenge—I have to kill the Queen quickly so she can join my older sister in the afterlife! It just so happens that I also dislike Lodere Besmooth’s influence, which has nearly taken over the government, so I’ll just make him a scapegoat with a minor accusation."

"I’ll say he’s the one who killed the Queen, and people will believe me! I’m absolutely satisfied—one stone, two birds!"

Axov burst out laughing at their expressions, especially those of Vylen and Roxyus, who were starting to go into shock.

"That is the truth, Your Majesty," he said with a smile, bowing with a two-faced expression. "I’m very satisfied—so very satisfied! Hahahahaha!"