Yarin's POV:
As we continued to chat, the sowhat strained relationship between Lily and had completely healed. She never ntioned those few years when I disappeared, seemingly accepting my la excuse that I had been studying abroad. She genuinely believed that was what I had been doing.
Lily now lived in a coastal city in Jasper, and with both countries opening up to each other, human attitudes toward werewolves had shifted from initial curiosity, suspicion, and fear to familiarity.
She was now a freelance designer, providing design sketches for fashion stores and jewelry brands. She jokingly called it 'a foreign monk chanting scriptures'. Her design work wasn't extraordinary, but the werewolf style hadn't saturated the market yet, and her werewolf identity added a novel aspect in the eyes of outsiders.
Lily showed so of her design sketches, and I must say I wasn't particularly into fashion, but her creations genuinely resonated with as beautiful.
I never knew Lily had such talent in fashion, but then again, I had few opportunities to get to know her. Our interactions were always rushed, and our etings and farewells were hasty.
Speaking of which, Lily was still just a young woman. She was an adult now, but her adulthood was limited. Many people her age were still in school, and it was hard to imagine how much adversity she must have endured while struggling in a foreign place for so many years.
When I suggested using the resources of the royal family to provide her with so assistance in her career, I was a bit anxious, afraid that she might feel psychologically burdened.
But Lily accepted it very naturally and easily noticed my nervousness. She reassured , saying, "Accepting help is not shaful. Sotis, we all need soone to lend a hand in this world. And this help is coming from my hotown, from my friend. You can't imagine how important this is to ."
She looked sowhat lancholic. "When I first left ho, I thought I would never regret it, but only after leaving that land did I realize the weight of my hotown. I'm glad we can still be in touch, Yarin. I've made many new friends in Jasper, but the feeling of ho is still unique. Without my hotown, I'm just a wanderer wherever I go."
I couldn't help but say, "Perhaps... you can return to your hotown to visit? More and more ports are open to the werewolves now, and you don't necessarily have to go through Silver Moon Pack."
"Maybe," she replied, "But not now. I will return when I can let go of everything from the past." She brushed over the matter and suddenly turned serious. "More importantly, I have sothing more important to tell you, Yarin. I don't know when it started, but the influence of the Lily of the Valley in Jasper has been growing.
"When I first ca to Jasper, the Lily of the Valley was just a small player. While it had a strong presence in the border cities, it only made a few ripples inland, usually during terrorist attacks. The people in Jasper only saw it as a victim.
"But in just a few years, the influence of the Lily of the Valley has grown enormously. It's not that they've expanded their criminal activities nationwide, but they've been using a more subtle thod-capital.
"Just last month, I discovered that the Lily of the Valley acquired a fashion company I've been working with. The ready-to-wear samples they sent had the Lily of the Valley's wreath emblem embroidered. This isn't isolated; fast food, toys, costics, entertainnt, books, and many other industries have received Lily of the Valley investnts.
"I don't think this ans those cult lunatics are transitioning into business. It can only an they're continually expanding their influence, eating away at Jasper from all sides, and silently spreading their cult doctrine.
"Regarding that fashion company, the owner has already started wearing the wreath ring. This ans that the Lily of the Valley is recruiting more individuals with access to significant social resources to beco followers of Azazel. Their ambitions are grand!
"I can't contact the Queen, so I can only tell you about these things. I hope it's just my overthinking, but all the evidence suggests that the Lily of the Valley is planning a coback. This ti, it's likely not just small disturbances targeting Silver Moon Pack. If friction arises between the two countries, we all know the ultimate outco."
War. I did not doubt that those cult lunatics would use Jasper to incite a war against the werewolves.
But did Azazel really need a nation? Or was this just Linda's way of fulfilling her ambitions?
In any case, I imdiately inford Mom about Lily's discovery.
In fact, Mom had also noticed the signs of this. The werewolves had been vigorously developing many industries in Jasper for more than just profit.
Aunt Carolyn hadn't returned ho to inherit the family business until now because she had taken on the mission of going undercover in Jasper. On the surface, she beca the royal family's agent in Jasper's industry, but she collected all the information related to Azazel and the Lily of the Valley.
And, no wonder I hadn't seen Spil since waking up. He had gone with Aunt Carolyn. 'Well, buddy, I won't say anything now. I wish you success.'
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