The Alpha's Regret: Return Of The Betrayed Luna-Chapter 494 Delving Into The Events

Fortunately, his mate caught his arm and forced him back down before his outburst could interrupt their daughter. Even so, the single word was enough to make both their hearts seize with fear and unease.

"Sweetheart," the Queen said softly, her voice steady despite the tension in her eyes, "please... explain."

"First," Addison began, her voice steady but tight, "when we were about to head west, we were forced to pass through the Forbidden Forest. Whether the enemy meant to send us to our deaths or intended for us to break the seal and release the dark fairies trapped there, maybe even both, we still don’t know."

"Fortunately, we didn’t give them the chance to exploit that situation. We brought the fairies with us, but that was only the beginning."

"Then, while we were stationed at the Golden Hue Pack preparing to evacuate the pack members, the enemy launched a full-scale night assault. The pack suffered heavy casualties. Worse, the attackers staged it as an attempt to breach the barrier and release the locust swarm, deliberately drawing all our attention to the containment and extermination of the locust swarm."

Her fingers curled into the bedding as her hand fisted.

"We didn’t realize until it was almost too late that the ’locusts’ weren’t ordinary pests at all. They were demon insects called the ’Red Devourers’. And the biochemical agent we prepared to use..."

She clenched her teeth, fury flashing through her eyes. "...would have acted as a catalyst for them to get stronger, not a suppressant or a pesticide to kill them."

"But that wasn’t the worst part," Addison continued, her voice low and tight. "The worst part is that they let us use the biochemical agent infused with demonic energy. They guided us into believing it was the only way to resolve the situation, cornered us, and pressured us until we had no other options."

Her eyes burned with anger as the memories replayed in her mind. "They were clever and sinister. We were played like fools for far too long. Worse, they nearly turned us into the knife meant to stab ourselves."

The humiliation gnawed at her. It was a wicked strategy, one designed not just to win, but to shatter their morale and confidence. If their enemy’s plan had succeeded, it wouldn’t only have destroyed the kingdom’s faith in its monarch, it would have crushed the monarch’s own resolve to lead. They would have been reduced to mere pieces on someone else’s chessboard.

"And in the end," Addison said bitterly, "all the blame would have fallen on me."

She clenched her fists. As the one who led the western mission, her failure to contain the situation, her role in making it worse, would place her position as heir apparent in jeopardy. She would be branded incompetent, a stain she might never be able to erase.

Such a label would shatter the people’s trust in her overnight. And the opposing factions backing Mila would never let an opportunity like this slip by; they would seize it and press relentlessly to push Addison out of the succession.

After all, Addison’s claim to the throne was legitimate and formidable. Directly challenging it was difficult, if not impossible. So the only viable path was to destroy her image in the eyes of the citizens, to make them doubt her judgment and question her capability to lead.

Once that doubt took root, the opposing faction could elevate their own carefully vetted candidate, sidelining Addison entirely. And with the political undercurrents constantly shifting within the Royal Capital, such an outcome was not only possible it was also frighteningly likely to happen.

"What?!"

Even Archmage Elric was hearing this for the first time. The revelation hit him hard, and a cold chill ran down his spine as he grasped what could have happened had the enemy’s plan unfolded exactly as intended.

At the same time, he remembered something else.

The biochemical agent had contained demonic energy. By all logic, that energy should have acted as a catalyst, something that would strengthen the demonic insects and allow them to wreak even greater havoc across the Western Kingdom.

And yet...

He had seen it with his own eyes.

The guards had loaded those very biochemical agents into the hot air balloons and dropped them like bombs inside the barrier. The mist had swallowed the locust swarm, and the insects had fallen from the sky in droves. They had watched the swarm collapse and die.

Or... had they?

A deep crease formed between his brows as confusion overtook him. He tilted his head slightly, speaking before the royal couple on the other end could even raise the question themselves.

"But, Princess... if what you said is true, then why did you still use the biochemical agent against the locust swarm? We all saw it, the swarm was devoured by the mist and slowly died."

He stopped mid-thought.

His eyes widened.

A sharp breath caught in his throat.

"...Or did they not die at all... and instead evolve inside it?"

Seeing Archmage Elric so visibly shaken, and her parents just as tense after hearing the very confirmation they had feared, the royal couple fell silent. Their faces had gone pale, but they forced themselves not to jump to conclusions. Instead, they held their breaths and waited for Addison to explain.

Since there was no reason to hide anything from them, Addison pressed her lips together and bit down lightly, steadying her emotions before she spoke.

"After Levi and I figured it out, we rushed to the barrier," she began. "But we had to be careful. If the enemy had eyes watching the situation, we couldn’t let them realize that we had uncovered their plan, or they might counter our next move and sabotage it again ."

Her gaze lowered slightly as she recalled the moment.

"So we moved quietly. We acted as though we were still unaware of what they had been planning."

She paused briefly.

"And while no one noticed... I used the power of light."

"Power of Light?" the Alpha King repeated, his expression grave, yet his gaze urged Addison to continue.

Before Addison could say a word, Archmage Elric stepped forward, his expression grave as understanding finally dawned on him.

"Alpha King, allow me to explain."

His voice was steady, but heavy.

"During our time in the Forbidden Forest, as the Princess mentioned earlier, we were trapped inside a barrier. It sealed everything within like a prison, leaving us no choice but to search for its power source."

He paused briefly. "Along the way, together with the Dark Fairies we rescued, we discovered the truth. The barrier was being sustained by the Last Light Fairy. It was being used as the core that kept the Dark Fairies contained."

His jaw tightened. "To prevent it from dying, Princess Addison formed a contract with the Light Fairy, sharing her own life force with it so it could recover."

His voice lowered, as if he were only now grasping the full implication of what that meant.

"After forming that contract, the Princess must have gained access to the Fairy’s power of light. She then used that power to purify the demonic energy within the biochemical agent... reversing the effect that was meant to poison the demonic insects and kill them."