The explanation of that power filled Maggie with great confidence.
“Grace is indeed very wise,” she said.
“She was once a student personally taught by the Grand Elder, longer than any other student he mentored, and she learned more. The Grand Elder was very fond of her, so her return deadline was constantly extended. My father knew that the Grand Elder wanted to pass on all his lifelong knowledge to her, and he never rushed her. However, I also suspect that the Grand Elder wanted Grace to stay. He previously added a new position to the Elder Council with the intention of having Grace join. Back then, the Elder Council didn’t have the same flexibility as it does now in choosing its members. It was much harder to get in.”
“Such a shame.” Maggie examined herself in the mirror. She had never worn such intricate clothing before, and she felt more like a mannequin in a storefront display rather than a real person. “So why didn’t she eventually join the Elder Council?”
“Perhaps she couldn’t let go of Marvin or Blue Moon Pack. I can only guess. Her ambitions extended beyond being an outsider watching the tribe grow. She wanted to participate in amending werewolf laws, serve as a strategist, and become a diplomat. But these were things the Elder Council couldn’t offer her. Their powers are limited and can’t interfere too much in the politics of the werewolf tribes. They can only step in to mediate conflicts between tribes when necessary and make judgments that satisfy everyone.”
He furrowed his brow and asked Elizabeth, “Does she have to wear this? The outfit is almost crushing her.”
Elizabeth was struggling to get Maggie into the corset, which seemed to be too small, designed in a completely inhumane way. She was instructing Maggie to take deep breaths to help get the corset on properly.
“The Elder Council has dress requirements. I guess you’ve forgotten.”
It wasn’t that he forgot; he simply had no idea about this requirement.
“It’s a new era. How are there still clothes that are so uncomfortable to wear?”
He genuinely felt sorry for Maggie, who looked so frail, with just her pale face left within this cocoon of silk and satin.
“We’re in a new era, and we still have nobles and slaves. What does a court gown matter?”
Elizabeth was sharp-tongued, and Aldrich decided to stay silent. When it came to talking, he couldn’t compete with any of the women here, except Maggie, who occasionally let him have his way out of affection.
“How long do I have to maintain this appearance? I’m already getting tired.”
The clothes weren’t even fully on yet, and Maggie was already feeling breathless. She looked to Aldrich for help. “Do I have to finish putting these on?”
However, Aldrich was entirely unaware of these requirements regarding werewolf noble attire. He had never attended etiquette classes for werewolf nobility, and even if he did, he wouldn’t remember. This aspect had always been Thomas’s responsibility.
So he turned to Elizabeth. “Does she have to finish putting these on?”
“You should consider catching up on werewolf noble etiquette with Thomas next time. Just because you’re an alpha doesn’t mean you should neglect all the relevant etiquette, right?”
Not receiving a positive response and being subtly criticized, Aldrich gave Maggie a helpless look.
Maggie could only endure the torture of this expensive attire.
Thomas walked in and handed Aldrich a thick stack of documents. “This is the speech you’ll deliver at the Elder Council meeting. You should go over it with Luna to ensure there are no mistakes.”
Maggie cast an anxious glance at the pile of speech papers, thicker than all the exams she’d taken in the first half of her life combined. She had the feeling that her life was coming to an end.
“Why are there so many complicated procedures to go through for the Elder Council?”
Thomas replied with precision, “The Elder Council serves as a supervisory body in werewolf society, independent of various political systems, similar to the way humans have prosecutors. We want every process to be as perfect as possible. Even though it may be tedious, it ensures that errors are minimized. This is the ultimate purpose of the Elder Council’s existence.”
Maggie thought to herself that someone as knowledge-averse as her wasn’t suited for such a solemn occasion.
“Can’t someone else speak on my behalf? How about Alisa? She did well in political science in high school and even served as an assistant on a gubernatorial campaign in college. She’s definitely better at public speaking than me!” Maggie’s eyes sparkled with hope.
Thomas’s lips trembled for a moment, but he decided to break the cruel news to their poor Luna.
“Miss Alisa says she won’t be going to the Elder Council with you. The last press conference left her traumatized, so this time she intends to return to the human world to sort some things out. She’ll come back after the ritual processes on your end are completed.”
Maggie was deeply shocked. “What?”
Alisa had left the estate last night under the cover of darkness.
Before leaving, Thomas wanted to persuade her to stay, “Aren’t you planning to attend the Elder Council’s inauguration ceremony with Luna? She needs you right now.”
“I’ll only make things more complicated,” she sighed. “Besides, I still have some unfinished business in my previous world that I need to wrap up.”
Marvin, who seemed to have come out of nowhere, said, “I’m going too!”
Alisa looked at him disdainfully. “I don’t want to take you with me.”
Marvin wore an injured expression. “I thought you had fully accepted me.”
“Don’t make it sound so romantic,” Alisa said bluntly. “I’ve just provided you with some counseling. I’m a doctor, and a doctor’s responsibility is to provide the best possible treatment for any patient.”
She pushed Marvin’s forehead with her delicate fingers. “Including patients like you, who aren’t very bright.”
Thomas watched the two of them with a smug smile. “It seems that Mr. Marvin has developed quite a liking for Miss Alisa.”
Alisa showed even more disdain. “Thanks, but no thanks. I just hope he doesn’t like me that much. It feels weird.”
“Can I go to the human world with you?”
“No, you’d go crazy, and I couldn’t control you.”
“I won’t go crazy. Don’t be so heartless. Take me with you!”
“No, you’ll turn into a wolf in the human world, and that’ll cause a big problem. The police will catch you and dissect you for experiments. I can’t save you.”
They gradually moved away, and Marvin kept pestering Alisa. Thomas watched them from behind, thinking, “Mr. Elwin, it seems like both your sons are slowly finding their true paths.”
The next morning, there was no sign of Alisa and Marvin in the estate, only Marvin’s brief note: “I’ve embarked on a brief adventure!”
The guards said that the two of them had left last night.
Although Alisa was extremely reluctant, Marvin’s persistence and tantrums were powerful. He threatened to go to Maggie if she didn’t agree, and she had no choice but to let him come along.
“But don’t worry. Mr. Marvin will bring Miss Alisa back soon. Everything will be fine by then.”
Maggie also smiled. “I believe it will be.”