Outcast: The Alpha King's Beloved

Chapter 193: The Dispute 

Elizabeth's POV:

Seeing that Austin was finally getting what he deserved, I couldn't help but burst into tears of joy.

‘‘My dear husband, did you see that? Our son has finally avenged you! Thank God that justice was served.

Now, Anthony will ascend to the throne and lead our people to a bright future.

I wiped my tears with a handkerchief, thinking wistfully about the time my husband was still alive.

Then, I recalled what Anthony had gone through.

All sorts of emotions surged within me.

However, I overheard the elders scolding Anthony because he refused to give up his mate in spite of the Love Curse.

Oh, that terrible curse! Austin had gone through lengths to get rid of Anthony, even going so far as to collude with the wizard Larry.

How vicious they were! Worse still, Larry had disappeared without a trace.

With him gone, any hope of lifting the curse was dashed.

In order for Anthony to survive, he had no choice but to give up his love.

But thinking about how good a girl Jennifer was and how much Anthony loved her, I truly felt sorry for them.

I wiped my tears away and watched as Anthony stepped in front of Jennifer to protect her.

For a moment, I didn't know what to do.

"Mr.Jones, Are you really going to give up the throne for the sake of your mate?" Eric pressed on relentlessly.

Obviously, he still wanted to restore Austin's power.

Seeing this, I took a deep breath and asked the maid to help me to Anthony's side.

"Everyone." I raised my voice and looked at Eric meaningfully.

"Austin has already confessed to his crimes.No matter what, he is not qualified to be the king.Now, the only one fit for the throne is Anthony, who has proven himself time and time again."

"Mrs.Jones, we fully recognize his capabilities, but we have to consider the welfare of the kingdom.He has been cursed.If he doesn't draw a clear line between him and Miss Smith, we can't just let him take over the throne.We can't support a king who may die at any time."

Primo bowed respectfully to me, but his tone was very firm.

"If that's the case, then I don't see the need for Anthony to ascend to the throne so soon.He can temporarily oversee the state affairs, while I can do my best to assist and supervise him.Although I'm old, I can still work," I said firmly.

After thinking it over, I knew that giving Anthony a chance to take over the throne was the right thing to do.

Like his father, he was also a man who valued those closest to him.

His love for Jennifer was similar to his father's love for me.

A love as precious as that should not be taken lightly.

"But this is just a Band-Aid solution!" Eric snorted.

"Are you saying you still support Austin as the king, Eric?" I asked fiercely.

"Mrs.Jones, I...I didn't mean that..." Eric stuttered, lowering his head shamefacedly.

"Then please consider my suggestion carefully.How about we both compromise?" Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

I softened my tone and glanced at the nervous Jennifer behind me.

"Otherwise, do you have a better solution?"

The elders and I looked at each other in silence.

After what seemed like an eternity, Primo finally sighed and broke the silence.

"Okay, I agree."

Then, the other elders started to exchange glances and nod.

‘Finally!’ I smiled with relief.

At least we could all rest assured that the throne wouldn't be taken over by anyone else in the near future.

Jennifer's POV:

I was so moved to see Elizabeth take a stand.I knew she was doing this not just for Anthony, but for me, too.

Under Elizabeth's influence, the elders finally reached a compromise.

They no longer pressured Anthony to choose between me and the throne.I heaved a sigh of relief.

"But there is one more thing I hope you can explain to everyone, Mr.Jones," Eric suddenly said.

His words made my heart skip a beat.

I couldn't help but stare nervously at the elder who always made things difficult for Anthony.

"Please go ahead."

Even in the face of unmasked rudeness, Anthony was still calm.

"Mr.Jones, why are you in contact with wizards?"

Eric glanced at Roy and the other wizards with disdain.

"Because I found out that Austin was secretly colluding with the grand wizard Larry. Only wizards can deal with wizards," Anthony answered flatly.

"Besides, my mother and I were both cursed by Larry with black magic.As a result, we had to find a wizard to lift the curses."

With such a straightforward explanation, Eric was rendered speechless.

"Do you have any other questions?" Anthony looked around.

He was met with silence.

"Such being the case, that's all for today.I will hold a meeting tomorrow to discuss all the matters that have arisen from today.If you find you have any questions or concerns, you can raise them then.Now, I know that everyone is exhausted, so let's all get some rest."

And with that, the elders bowed respectfully and slowly dispersed.

When they were gone, Anthony asked Elizabeth's maid to help her back to her room.

I knew he was worried about his mother's health.

After that was settled, I slipped my hand into his and breathed a long sigh of relief.

Today's chaos had finally come to an end.

While the attendants were cleaning up the mess, Anthony and I went over to our friends.

"Thank you, Roy.If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have reached victory so soon." Anthony shook Roy's hand gratefully.

"You're welcome.I just did what I could." Roy smiled modestly.

"Gary, Dana, thank you as well.Without your testimonies, we wouldn't have been able to overthrow Austin in one go."

Anthony turned to the two soldiers and bowed slightly.

"It was the right thing to do, Mr.Jones." Dana patted his chest.

"We couldn't let the former king die without justice." Gary nodded in agreement.

"Thank you, everyone.I really appreciate your help.But I have one more request.Could you help us find Larry? Only when we find him can we have the chance to remove the Love Curse.If Anthony can be saved, I'm willing to pay any price," I said sincerely.

My face turned red and flustered.

I was painfully aware that the wizards had already done so much for us.

But I had to ask them for their help again for Anthony.

"Oh, you're welcome, Jennifer." Cynthia smiled at me.

"It's nothing.Don't worry, we'll try our best to help.Won't we, Roy?"

"Of course.If you need anything else, feel free to reach us."

All the other wizards nodded in agreement.

Anthony thanked the wizards again, and then arranged for his attendants to escort Gary, Dana, and the wizards out of the banquet hall.

I watched them leave and smiled softly.

With the help of these wizards, maybe we had a chance to find Larry.

"Honey, let's head back." Anthony held my hand.

He looked at the wound Caroline's bite had left and frowned.

"You're injured.Let's have a doctor treat your wound."

"No, Anthony.I'm fine." I shook my head.

"Right now, I need to find my brother and Skylar.I don't know how they're doing.What if they weren't able to escape?"

Thinking of Skylar's condition, I became worried again.

I firmly believed that Jerome would do everything in his power to protect her.

Yet, I still couldn't help but fret that something might have happened to them.

Anthony didn't protest.

He just held my hand and silently expressed his support.

Together, we headed to the periphery of the royal palace to search for them, but we saw no sign of Skylar and Jerome.

I tried calling and texting them both, but received no response.

"Has Jerome..."

I stopped and looked at the forest, feeling more and more uneasy.

"Don't worry, Jennifer.Jerome is a strong and capable werewolf.Skylar will be fine."

Anthony wrapped his arms around me to comfort me.

I gnawed my lower lip anxiously.I sure hoped he was right.

‘‘Skylar, Jerome, please be safe,’’ I closed my eyes and prayed in my head.