Alpha's Rejected Mate Returns as Queen

Chapter 556: The Art Exhibition

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Selma Payne’s POV:

I received an invitation from Emma.

The freedom of life inspired this girl, and she could freely display her talent in painting. She returned to the Lycan pack this time to hold a private art exhibition and use this occasion to catch up with her relatives and friends she had not seen for a long time.

“This is my last chance to invite a princess,” she teased over the phone. “It’s already June. After this hot summer, you’ll be the Queen!”

After some discussion, the date of my coronation had been decided. It would be in August. In this half year, I had been busier than before, preparing for the official ascension.

My father gradually handed over authority to me. This meant I had to learn to handle all government affairs independently as the supreme ruler. I no longer had to do some assisting work like before.

It was a sweet torture. The progress satisfied me, but I couldn’t ignore the exhaustion.

This art exhibition was a rare opportunity to relax. I hadn’t seen Emma in a long time.

Some of these invitations were for me, Dorothy, Aldrich, the children, and even my parents. However, they did not plan to go. “Someone must stay in the palace to guard it in case of accidents,” my father said.

The wolf cub was already three years old, and Sunflower and Cynthia looked like they were three years old. However, other than Cynthia, the children still had no official name.

Our family thought about it. Since we’d been calling them by their nicknames for so long, we might as well call them by their nicknames for a few more months. Therefore, this was put on hold. I planned to announce their official names after I ascended the throne and conferred the title of nobility to the children.

It was a sunny day. We drove to Emma’s outdoor art exhibition in the suburbs. The theme of this exhibition was ‘Natural Legends’, so Emma had specially chosen this vast and historic lawn to decorate it with flowers and plants like a mythical garden.

“Look, whose little angel do we have here?”

Emma immediately ran over when she saw us. However, she didn’t run over to Dorothy and my friends but to the little turnips around us dressed like sprouts.

The children were not afraid of strangers at all. Even though the last time they saw Aunt Emma was in the Spring Rain Pack, these little snobs still remembered this kind and lively aunt because Emma kept sending them delicious food and fun things they encountered during their trip.

The children screamed and ran into Emma’s arms, almost falling over. Emma kissed and hugged them one by one before she had the time to pay some attention to us.

“Selma, Dorothy!” She gave each of us a big hug. “I have missed you guys so much.”

Dorothy gave her a ‘don’t give me that look’ look. “Pardon me for being blunt, Miss, but you didn’t seem to know us a minute ago.”

“Don’t say that. Of course, I love you, but who can ignore these little angels who arc like cotton balls?” Emma hugged the children and looked at Aldrich. “I’m glad you’re as healthy as ever, Aldrich. We all saw how worried Selma was back then. Now that she has such a happy family, I’m sincerely happy for you and your wife.”

“Thank you, Emma.” Aldrich shook hands with Emma in a friendly manner.

“I’m glad that Selma has such good friends like you.”

“Alright, ladies and gentlemen, the time for small talk are over. This isn’t some random social occasion, alright?” I interrupted them helplessly. “The past is in the past. Thank you for being by my side now. And now, let me see those wonderful paintings. After dealing with endless official documents for half a year, I desperately need a chance to cultivate my body and mind. It’s not easy.”

We mulled over Emma’s paintings. She had a classical style and liked realistic characters and scenery. Just like the theme of the art exhibition, the theme of all the paintings was related to legends.

I saw that painting again. I had hallucinated because of it on the night of the Spring Rain Pack. Now that this painting was finally completed, I was shocked to find that the content of the painting coincided with my hallucination.

The angry goddess, the swaddling clothes held high, the panicked man, and the demon watching everything coldly from the refuge bush – I suddenly felt that they seemed to be moving. The goddess roared, the baby cried, the man defended himself, the demon laughed silently, and the moths weaved lightly between the characters, playing a silent sorrowful song for this farce.

Unknowingly, I was once again haunted by this painting. I observed every detail with fascination, from the devil’s fleeting gaze to the trace of blood seeping out of the swaddling clothes. I seemed to have become a moth in the painting, immersed in the scene, listening to the actors of this tragedy roar out their lines.

“Selma!”

Someone nudged me. I turned around abruptly. It was Aldrich.

He looked at me worriedly, and when I looked back again, I saw the same painting – but everything was still as if it had just been an illusion.

I believed something was going to happen..