Book TRK
Chapter 140
Vanessa entwined her fingers together on the table as she explained, "Ministerial positions had only ever been held by Lycans, which I dare say is the main reason behind the neglect of the welfare of our cousin species. Some Lycan children don't even know what wolves are. Most Lycans shun at the thought of having to share the room with one. I'd love to say that the government is by far the most liberal and welcoming body when it comes to our cousin species, but the events from the last two weeks have shown otherwise."
"Although there have been notable improvements in how we treat them over the decades and recent years, I must say that it is far from enough. And as much as I acknowledge the Queen's presence, I'm of the humble opinion that one wolf alone will not enable us to meet the needs of our cousin species as quickly as it could be with more wolves guiding us. What I'm recommending is representation. We need wolves among us in governance, to help us see what we have clearly failed to see in our time here. Welfare, technology, education, law, environment. Everything."
"Damn, that was good." Christian muttered under his breath, which Lucianne easily caught since he was seated next to her.
Up until Vanessa spoke, Lucianne didn't know that there were Lycans, other than Christian and Xandar, who saw the need to include wolves in decisions that affected the Kingdom. Vanessa's recommendation made Lucianne feel that her species were more looked after than she once thought.
Xandar smiled radiantly as he thanked her and moved on to Pamela, the Minister of Justice, a bob-haired blonde.
"Your Highnesses, Your Graces. I am also of the view that replacements must be found. If temporary, then we should appoint creatures who have proven to be capable, trustworthy and reliable, regardless of species. If permanent, I stand by my decision from the previous meetings when this issue was put to a vote: the election should include our cousin species because if the wolves are expected to obey the laws of a minister, then they should have a say in appointing that minister."
Lucianne blinked in surprise. This matter was put to a vote before? And here she thought the Lycans couldn't care less who the wolves wanted as their minister. Xandar caught his mate's reaction, and he instinctively reached for her hand on her lap, entwined his fingers with hers before placing their hands on his lap as he nodded and thanked Pamela with the same smile and prompted the next minister to proceed.
The Minister of Youth was Cora, an elderly woman with grey hair. She adjusted her cat eye glasses before speaking through her crimson lips, "I, too, recommend that we seek out suitable replacements while we wait for our colleagues to clear the charges made against them. However, I do not agree with my learned ministers who spoke before me that appointing wolves is the right step forward."
Lucianne's thumb started stroking Xandar's stiffened hand to calm his animal as the minister continued, "I say this with no disrespect, my Queen, but our species is known to be superior. We know what we're doing. We know what's best for our species and yours. There's no need for more wolves in this room. In fact, there's no need for any wolves in this room at all! You will be a Lycan if and when you're marked by our King, hence I am not questioning your presence here today. That is my recommendation: temporary replacements, but only Lycans."
Before Xandar could say a word, Lucianne spoke calmly, "Thank you, Cora."
The King and Queen locked eyes. Lucianne mind-linked her mate, 'If you threw a fit now, you'd never know what the rest of them are really thinking. Your style is hearing them all out before firing bullets at them, isn't it?'
Xandar smiled blissfully at the impeccable creature he was bonded to, and kissed the back of her hand before prompting Harold, the Minister of Sports, to proceed. Harold's hoarse voice rang in the room, "Seeing that we have capable Lycans at our disposal, I, too, don't see why we need to look further than our species who has centuries of governance in our blood. The late King Lucas would no doubt agree that the best successors come from those of the same bloodline. In other words, we need to look no further than the ministers' children to stand in for their parents."
"Even if their parents' credibility is being put into question, minister?" Annie asked in curiosity, trying to keep a straight face.
Harold, who never liked Annie because of her lack of noble background, faked a smile and said, "I believe that one should not be shadowed by the mistakes made by the generation before, your Grace."
Lucianne tried not to laugh at the conspicuous loop hole in the minister's reasoning as she held back a taunting smile and said, "An interesting point of view. Thank you, Harold."Exclusive © content by N(ô)ve/l/Drama.Org.
In truth, Lucianne felt that it was bullsh*t to offer ministers' children their parents' positions because of their parents but, at the same time, they should not be judged by their parents' misdeeds because they themselves were not their parents. Several sharp ears in the room caught the sarcasm in the Queen's voice at the word' interesting, and the other three members of the royal family tried desperately to hold back their laughter while Vanessa and Weaver had to cover their mouths to hide their smiles. By far, Christian was having the toughest time holding back since he had always been able to burst out laughing at anything and anyone with no remorse. Alivia, the Minister of Marriage and Dissolution, flicked her dark hair over her shoulder before she uttered affirmatively without a smile, "I stand with Cora and
Harold. I, too, feel that the child of a minister is the best candidate to fill in the empty seats. You see before you the eldest daughter of the former Minister of Marriage and Dissolution, and I dare say that I'm doing a good job. My performance over the years is equal to, if not better, than my father. I am living proof that the best people are not just any Lycans but children of Lycan ministers."
Xandar smiled as an idea came to his mind. Instead of losing his temper, he decided to take a leaf out of his mate's book, so he said in sarcasm, "Thank you for that extremely... 'persuasive' submission, Alivia. I gather that it was a very... well-thought out' suggestion."
In truth, Alivia's suggestion was clearly neither persuasive nor well-thought, since she only used herself as evidence for her submission. And, contrary to what she just said, Alivia was NOT doing a good job as a minister. The dissolution laws were biased towards males, such as the fact that a female Lycan could only dissolve her marital promise to be one's chosen mate if it was because she found her bonded mate. But male Lycans could dissolve their marital promise to their chosen mate for almost any reason: he had second-thoughts, the female wasn't welcome among his own family, she wasn't his type', etc. It was already the 21st century! Gender equality should have been implemented across all facets of life already!
Xandar's sarcasm in response to Alivia's suggestion made Lucianne cover her mouth with her free hand, and Christian was practically pressing his hand onto his mouth to seal it shut. The Queen and the Duke were forcing back the chuckles at the way Xandar chose to respond.
Alivia didn't seem to notice, and genuinely thought that Xandar was complimenting her efforts. A wide smile spread across her face as she said, "I'm elated that my efforts are being recognized, my King."
Weaver snorted in amusement before disguising his stream of chuckles as a stream of coughs. Yarrington shook his head at his mate but he himself was smiling because, like his mate, he was well-aware of what was going on.
After Weaver had gotten a hold of himself and tried not to think about the scene he just witnessed that made him laugh, he accepted the glass of water from his mate before apologizing to everyone, throwing a subtle, knowing smirk in Lucianne and Xandar's way when everyone else's eyes moved on to the minister next to Alivia. Riven, Minister of Immigration and Citizenship, was as young as Alivia. He inherited his position from his mother after she passed from an early death. Unlike Alivia, he wasn't deaf to the sarcasm the Queen used on Harold, which the King then found to be appropriate to be used on Alivia. He hated wolves, and what the Queen made the King do just made him hate them even more.