Stolen by the Beastly Lycan King-Chapter 82: Beastly Pride

Another Council meeting was about to begin.

Today, there was only one important issue on the agenda––slavery.

Lorelai had spent an entire night preparing for this meeting, outlining every possible scenario and highlighting the arguments that the session might prompt. Truthfully, she did not believe that much of her preparations were necessary, but she did not want to risk yet another failure even though she knew that her ace card would most likely be enough to leave the meeting room victorious.

As it was only the first official round of discussion, only a set number of representatives of other nations was allowed to be present during the meeting. As it concerned all four kingdoms of the continent, only high-ranked nobles could take part in the voting process.

While the royal family along with Duke Kadler was supposed to represent Erelith, Lorelai did not share their seating arrangement. Representing the opposition, the princess sat at the head of the long wooden desk with Marquess Galeran and Count Draven as her supporters.

They arrived first, scanning the empty meeting room before they sat down. Count Draven was visibly nervous but tried to hide it; he was scared of the queen and the crown prince, and Lorelai’s brave attempt to go against them only spiked his anxiety.

Stiff as statues, the three of them were nearly holding their breaths as the doors to the meeting room opened. Lorelai rose from her seat, showing her respect to the foreign delegations and the royal crown.

She greeted everyone in a friendly manner until she finally faced the beasts.

"I greet His Majesty, King Rhaegar of the Beast Kingdom."

"I greet Her Highness, Lorelai Erelith, the first princess of Erelith," Rhaegar smiled in response. "It has been a long time."

He said those last words quietly because they were only meant for her.

The sight of him sent a wave of unsettling emotions through Lorelai. She felt a tingling nervousness, and though she tried to keep a serene expression on her face, she was sure her uneasiness was giving her away.

As always, Alim and Gian followed the lycan king as his trusted assistants. Just like others, they politely exchanged greetings before taking their seats at the long desk.

Seeing the two of them next to Rhaegar strangely calmed the princess down. There was something soothing in the way they treated her and thus, she was grateful the king chose them as his entourage.

Though Rhaegar had continually disturbed her mind and shaken her heart since the day she met him, the princess could not help feeling somewhat bitter. Marianna’s words rang loudly in her head again––he could have wiped Erelith off the face of the continent to save his subjects, but instead, the king was giving up his beastly pride. For her. Because Lorelai hated war.

Taking his seat beside the princess, Rhaegar offered her a reserved smile, but his voice was still full of flirtation.

"I must admit, I like this sitting arrangement. As your biggest supporter, I do need to stay closer to you," he said.

A strong, vivid blush covered Lorelai’s cheeks and she looked back at him sternly, her big green eyes warning him to stop his antics. But at least he was speaking politely and behaving himself, given the formality of the occasion.

"I am glad," she said nonchalantly, "I feel the same way."

With the formal greetings complete, the meeting finally started.

"We gathered here today to discuss a pressing matter concerning slavery in Erelith," Count Elion Draven began, his trembling hands clutching the papers. "With the unfortunate incident that had occurred at the gladiator arena, many noblemen are now concerned about their own safety as well as the safety of their subjects. Thus, given this thought a great deal of consideration, Her Highness Princess Lorelai is proposing the complete abolishment of slavery with its subsequent replacement that would prompt the creation of a new labor law."

The room fell silent for a few long moments before a wave of suppressed murmurs filled it again. Only the beasts remained completely silent as if uninterested in this discussion at all.

Lorelai had expected such a reaction but did not want to allow it to linger long enough to cause a prolonged debate. Gathering her own documents, she rose to her feet and cleared her throat.

"The proposal is simple. We abolish slavery and give up our slave trading rights, returning captured rogues either to the Beast Kingdom or to their previous settlements around the border. In exchange, we will offer a new labor system that will allow nobles from both Erelith and other kingdoms to employ those who want to work for them while being protected by our laws. Anyone employed will remain free. No one will be allowed to abduct or sell rogues."

The Minister of Finance scoffed, slamming his large hands on top of the desk. "Slave trading brings a lot of money and taxes to this kingdom. I am afraid Her Highness does not understand what kind of losses Erelith will face once this proposal is accepted."

Lorelai frowned, setting the documents aside as she retorted. "Yes, we cannot deny that abolishing slave trading will make us face immediate losses. However, with the new labor and taxation law, we will be able to cover up these losses in no longer than three years. It is not ideal, but Erelith can handle this much."

She glanced around the meeting room again, pausing as her eyes fell on her stepbrother. He looked weirdly relaxed and she was surprised that neither he nor the queen had stepped in to go against her statements.

Lorelai was also surprised that not a single representative of the foreign delegations had something to say as well.

The premise of any continental discussion was that each party involved should state their terms and conditions, and then work together to adjust the details and make concessions to resolve any disputes.

’So why is everyone so silent today?’

The princess could not help but feel anxious. She had never been faced with such tranquility before, especially when she was going against the royal family and their supporters.

"These are quite appealing terms," finally Rhaegar spoke again, his amber eyes slowly scanning the room to distract everyone’s attention from what he was doing.

Feeling his hot hand on the back of her thigh, Lorelai flinched, her body tensing as the king’s fingers slid all the way up to her buttocks. She could not believe he was audacious enough to do something like that with everyone present, but it was even more shocking that nobody in the room seemed to actually notice that.

"I say we resolve this matter peacefully, won’t you all agree?"

His words had quite a heavy effect on everyone around them. The beasts were not afraid of war, but everyone else was afraid of the beasts.

Yet, the meeting room was still silent as if they all were waiting for someone else to speak as well.

Lorelai took a deep breath.

She knew what everyone wanted––Duke Kadler’s submission. He was the one controlling slave trading, thus, his agreement to this proposal would leave the rest of them with no choice but to follow.

Letting out a quiet sigh, Lorelai fixed her eyes on the duke’s and frowned, urging him to get up and speak. Luckily, the man understood her signals and obeyed.

"In the light of the recent events and with the political pressure I have been feeling lately, I, Duke Vincent Kadler, vote for the princess’ proposal. The slavery in Erelith must be abolished."