The Hidden King

Chapter 27

Now, looking at his true daughter Millia, Odessa felt extremely conflicted. He was unwilling to acknowledge her. He had seen her, yes, when she had come to the City of Lawrence, on the day she married the chief's son, he had stood in the crowd silently shedding tears. At that moment, he even comforted himself, believing that his departure was right, that only his "death" could allow his daughter to live a pure and innocent life, rather than forever being the daughter of a criminal.

Odessa looked up at Millia, who was also staring at him. An emotion that could not be severed by death flowed between them, the natural bond between father and daughter. Millia remained silent, overwhelmed by immense emotions. She had lost her usual calm and composure. She collapsed into a chair, tears streaming down her face.

annia's laughter echoed in the cell, her expression becoming more hysterical. "What a touching scene. Congratulations, your dead father has come back to life. But now he has committed murder. How will you excuse him, Miss Millia, who forever seeks justice as an elf?"

"What do you want me to do?" Millia wiped away the tears from her face, forcibly controlling her emotions. She couldn't discern the other's intentions at the moment, but it was not a time for weakness. She had to become stronger to protect herself and the ones she loved.

"Do what you do best, cure and save people," annia said with a surprised expression. "Have you forgotten? Lunatics who commit murder are not punished." She clapped her hands in mock surprise. "So, if my father Morrison is indeed insane and committed murder, you can cure him, can't you, righteous Millia?"

As she contemplated this idea with inner turmoil, Millia realized that if she publicly announced that Morrison was indeed insane, he might be pardoned, but she would suffer from torment of conscience. If she claimed that Morrison was not insane, she would essentially be sentencing her father to death again.

Millia composed herself and turned to annia. "My diagnosis will take time, and I need to refine some spiritual medicine. I'm afraid I won't be able to treat him right now." annia's expression became intriguing. They both knew each other's intentions. Millia wanted to delay a bit, but annia wasn't willing to give her that chance.

annia savored the taste of revenge, a sweet smile gracing her lips. It had been many years since her father had left and never returned, leaving her an orphan in this world, devoid of genuine smiles.

The tense standoff was interrupted by Liam, who personally arrived with guards to escort annia and Millia out of the cell. "Visiting hours are over for today. Come back tomorrow," he stated. Liam had covertly tracked annia's movements, unable to imprison her, only able to watch her next move.

Exiting the council chamber, Ethan rode up to fetch Millia. Seeing her expression, Ethan was taken aback. It was a sorrow and despair he had never seen on her face before. She swayed as if unable to support her own body. Ethan dismounted, quickly walked over, and helped her onto the horse, wrapping her in a large coat. He then led the horse back toward the direction of the small clinic.

In the bedroom on the second floor of the small clinic that night, the wood in the fireplace crackled, casting a warm glow across the room. Thick blankets were spread on the floor. Millia sat on the floor, hugging her knees, holding a wine glass, staring thoughtfully at the flames. Heidi sat beside her, along with Ethan and Alec, listening quietly as she spoke.

"Now, everything is clear to me. annia came for me. Looking back, her actions were not for money or for Kenny. She did all this to make me suffer," Millia said calmly. "It was personal revenge against me. But things didn't go as she expected. I thwarted her plans."

Indeed, if she had accepted Kenny's "death," along with the hidden gold and the expensive bracelet sent to her, these items would have been conveniently exposed to the high priest and the elder Gabriel at some point. She would have immediately been arrested and convicted for concealing the misappropriated gold in the tribe, and even maliciously judged for "killing" her husband for money. She would have been exiled or sold as a slave. That was the script annia wanted to play out.

But because she trusted Kenny too much, trusted him as an excellent leader and husband who wouldn't embezzle funds or commit suicide out of fear, she tried hard to find the truth, to clear Kenny's name. This led the planned plot in another direction, coupled with the unexpected appearance of Ethan. Kenny was exposed, and the dark forces of the OLVE New Alliance organization were exposed as well. In the end, they had to kill their pseudo-god, Newcastle, to sever ties with a deeper power.

"I won't let annia's scheme succeed, and I won't let more people be harmed because of me," Millia told her friends firmly. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the wine glass. She knew that in this incident, messengers like Marber and Thomas might have been silenced because of her efforts to investigate. However, now that she had seen the true purpose of this conspiracy, she would fight back with all her might.

"Kenny was once a good husband," Mi,lkl.;llia suddenly mentioned another key figure in the incident, smiling sadly. Her gaze swept over Ethan, and Heidi patted her arm in understanding. "Kenny's father, the old chief Dad, also helped me in my most desperate moments. Yes, it was because of this kindness that I felt that no matter how difficult, I had to do something for them. So, it was also for this reason that I did not give up the pursuit of the truth, but instead thwarted Kenny's plot." Perhaps this was fate's arrangement.

A dark figure slipped into the council chamber's dungeon. It was Millia, allowed by Liam, using the cover of night to visit Morrison once more. She stooped to help him up from the straw pile, gazing at his lined face with a look of sorrow. "Father, how are you?" The old man trembled at the address, his shoulders quivering. His lips twisted, throat dry, but he lacked the courage to respond to her greeting.

Millia sighed, remembering the night her father vanished. She had fallen into a deep slumber, only to dream in the dead of night. In her dream, her father's face appeared before her, filled with fear and despair. His trembling voice said, "Millia, my daughter, I am about to die under the cliff. I can only die, only by dying, can you live well." This scene had haunted her countless nights during her wandering life. Was it a dream or reality? Young as she was, she considered it a nightmare, yet deep down, did she truly believe it was just a dream?

Looking at her father, now in his twilight years, his aged body clearly bearing the ravages of a life on the run, Millia felt compassion for his plight. She could no longer hate him for abandoning her and fleeing alone in the past. Trembling, she asked, "Please believe me, Father. As your daughter, please tell me the truth. Did you kill Newcastle?"

Odessa looked up at Millia, unable to hide his true emotions any longer. He shook his head. "I did not commit murder."

Gabriel paced the room anxiously, unable to maintain the grandeur and dignity of a high elder, revealing his cowardice. "What's going on? Are you saying annia's father is actually Millia's father?"

"Yes, when I saw that guy in the dungeon, I felt something was odd. He looks somewhat like Millia. Later, I found one of annia's subordinates, offered him quite a bit, and he said that the guy named Morrison was brought in by annia, and annia often beat and scolded him."

Kenny reminisced with a hint of sadness, "Back then, I brought the wandering Millia to the City of Lawrence from the wilderness. It was my father who helped her and gave her the identity of a wolf clan member. But in the end, she betrayed me."

"How are you sure he is Millia's father? If Liam misjudged the person, can this matter still help my son obtain the position of chief?" Gabriel anxiously asked.

Disgusted by Gabriel's greed for power, Kenny suppressed his repulsion, patiently saying, "We still need to observe. Let's see what judgment Liam will make."

That despicable woman, Kenny recalled bitterly. She always claimed to be fair and just as an elf, relentless in pursuing her escape after jumping off the cliff. In truth, she was the real deceiver. She had wandered the wilderness like a wild beast, covered in wounds, even contemplating suicide. He had persuaded her back from the brink of death, telling his father she needed the identity of a wolf clan member to become his wife. Yet, she was the one who wove a monstrous lie, falsely claiming her father had died by jumping off a cliff. Kenny remembered clearly how she even pointed out the cliff where her father had supposedly died.

Kenney directed Gabriel to discreetly send someone to the elf clan to inquire about Millia's father, ideally returning with a portrait. These findings would serve as evidence against their adversaries. In the dimly lit room, the two men strategized in secrecy.