At this time, one of my subordinates reminded me in a low voice, “It’s the Alpha from Smog Pack. She was also at the parade. And there was indeed a person named John among those students in that classback then.”
“Then, have Joanna come over right this minute. If it was indeed her, we will find out.” I snorted coldly.
Speaking of the Smog Pack, I knew something about it. Their Alpha was competent and had done a good job of leading the pack in the past few years. Even though I had only met her a handful of times, in my mind, I pictured a lovely and serious she-wolf, though not nearly as stunning as the woman in the picture, unless she could have the same mole.
Flora’s face suddenly turned pale. She stammered, “Joanna may not be at the palace right now.”
“You know her so well?” I squinted at her.
Flora looked flustered, “Of course. After all, she was my classmate, and I was the first one to know her secret.”
Flora appeared to be worried that I would bother Joanna with my questions. That was a typical sign of guilt.
With a stone cold expression, I responded, “No matter where she is, she won’t leave the capital city. The parade ceremony hasn’t finished yet. Without my order, no Alpha from any pack can leave.” Then I gave orders to my subordinate, “Find her as soon as possible.”
After receiving my order, he immediately went out to call Joanna over.
At the same time, Flora and I continued with our confrontation.
Flora’s POV
When I heard that Rufus had summoned Joanna, I was overwhelmed with desperation.
Everything had happened so fast. I had randomly dropped a name and didn’t have time to warn Joanna about what was going on. I hadn’t expected Rufus to take it so seriously. It seemed that he truly wanted to know every detail about Crystal.
If Joanna’s story didn’t match mine, I would be doomed. Rufus would definitely be furious. It was rumored that he dealt with traitors by hanging them outside the city walls and letting them slowly die in the heat of the sun.
I had lied to the king, which meant I’d committed treason. As this thought crossed my mind, the hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I almost couldn’t hold back my tears. This was so terrible. If I died, what would happen to Lucas? And Warren would be so devastated that he might commit suicide. Our happy family would be destroyed.
“What are you murmuring about?” Rufus suddenly asked in an icy voice.
I got so frightened that I instantly clamped my hand over my mouth. My entire body was shaking with fear, and even my teeth were chattering. I hadn’t expected Rufus to hear such minute sounds.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm myself and lowered my head as much as possible.
Now, I could only wait for Joanna to come and settle this matter.
She arrived soon enough.
I immediately sprang to my feet, wanting to give her hints about what was to come, but Rufus’ expression was so terrifying that no words came out of my mouth. Instead, I desperately winked in her direction.
However, when she walked in, her eyes remained fixed straight ahead. She saluted Rufus without sparing me a glance.
I was on the verge of a breakdown. We would both be doomed today!
Rufus didn’t intimidate Joanna when she arrived. Instead, he gently began inquiring about the past when she dressed as a man.
She was stunned for a moment before launching into a brief explanation. She had a twin brother. When we were born, a great prophet from our pack had proclaimed that one of us would bring disaster to the pack. Everyone thought I would be that person, so they abandoned me in the snow to die. I was saved by a black witch, Noreen, who trained me to become a killer. When I came of age, she ordered me to disguise myself as a man and sneak into the imperial palace to assassinate the former king. However, the mission failed because I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
This was the first time I was hearing so much about Joanna’s past. Before this, I only knew that Noreen had used her as a pawn. I never knew that she had been abandoned by her pack.
“Please punish my sins,” she said, going down on her knees again.
Rufus wasn’t looking at her. He gazed at the ground, lost in thought. After several minutes, he said, “I’ve heard about this matter from my mother, and a record in the files also exists. Since my parents have pardoned you, I won’t pursue it any further.”
“Get up.”
“Thank you for your forgiveness, Your Majesty.”
Joanna immediately got to her feet and came to stand beside me. I kept peeking sideways at her, hoping that she would turn to me and acknowledge me. But she stood there like an emotionless robot. No matter what question Rufus threw at her, she answered stoically.
After a few rounds of questioning, he changed the topic and asked, “Who else knew that you had disguised yourself as a man?”
I was absolutely desperate now. Rufus had framed his question brilliantly. Joanna had no clue about what I had said, and her words would definitely not match my confession. I was doomed.
I just prayed that Rufus wouldn’t make me suffer too much and wouldn’t hang me outside the city walls. That method of execution would make my body unrecognizable.
Flora’s POV
I never imagined I’d be hanged to death one day.
But even so, I had no remorse over what I did to protect Crystal. The only people I still worried about were Lucas and Warren. I couldn’t imagine what their life would be like after I was gone.
The thought of them two really made me miserable and sad.
Joanna answered Rufus’ question, “Flora must know it.”
“Yes, I did.” I finally gave up and responded in a feeble voice.
Joanna continued, “Then, I went to the army and shared a room with Harry. Naturally, Harry was aware of this as well.” While talking about this, Joanna paused for a moment and explained Harry’s identity, “Harry is my mate, the son of Alpha Martin from Sunset Pack.”
“I knew him. He is the one with the funny hair style. I remember that his father used to take him to the imperial palace,” Rufus said lightly.
“Except for Flora and Harry, no one knew that I had disguised myself as a man. To be honest, I want to thank Flora. She is the first person to know my secret and has done a great job keeping it safe for me.”
I was pleasantly surprised. I didn’t expect Joanna to give such a flawless and perfect answer!
“You’re welcome. We’re all good friends. It’s my pleasure.” I smiled like a blooming flower. Now, my dispirited mood was gone. I was no longer afraid that Rufus would execute me!
Joanna was so smart!
Rufus nodded, showing that he didn’t doubt Joanna’s identity anymore. He then took out the photo and asked Joanna, “Do you know this person?”
At this point, panic set in once more. I held my breath and hoped Joanna could read my mind as I stared intently at her.
Joanna was stunned for a moment, but she later feigned a surprise voice, saying, “Isn’t this my photo? How did you find it? This photo was taken a long time ago.”
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