Transmigrated To A Beastworld As The Lazy Wife Of The Fox Lord

Chapter 234: How rot spreads.

Jess’s lips twitched, almost betraying amusement, but she masked it with sternness. She had heard all about Sienna’s move, and the woman had not escaped like a fugitive, as she made it sound. She had left with a chunk of servants and a lot of property, including all the meat that had been in the kitchen! "Child, put the mockery on pause. This is serious."

"Oh, I know." Sienna replied, her tone dripping with false solemnity. "Two hundred fifty million is very serious. Why, that’s enough to build three palaces, ten islands, a fleet of skyships, and perhaps a lifetime of Lady Cadelaria’s tears. Too bad they have no value. Now if she was a mermaid, we would have made back that money in this single kneeling session alone."

Jess laughed loudly.

Cadelaria’s nails dug into her palms. But she didn’t have time to vent as Jess’s attendants grabbed her by the arms, pulling her out of the chamber.

Cyra rushed to Jess’s side, tugging at her sleeve. "Grandma, please don’t be angry. I only wanted to protect the family’s reputation. Big brother said that if we made a fuss, other tribes and our own would only laugh at us. So he bought things back quietly."

Jess snorted. "Quietly? Quietly is how rot spreads. It is how your mother has been getting away with it. If a fuss had been made, the Twindell’s would have been too embarrassed to allow it to continue. We will march openly today, reclaim what is ours, and let the tribe see that we do not tolerate betrayal."

Sienna clapped her hands. "Brave! Nothing like a public scandal to strengthen family bonds."

Cyra scowled. "You are enjoying this too much."

"Of course I am," Sienna said. "It’s not every day I get front row seats to the Cadelaria humiliation show. She has put me through enough of those. It is finally her turn."

Jess ignored them both, barking orders to the guards. "Prepare an empty ship that will hold back what we are returning. Arrange a resting place for the horses. Do not forget the ledgers, and bring one of the restoration experts. I don’t want to bring back fakes. With these Twindell’s you never know."

Cyra suddenly stopped, holding back her grandmother with as much strength as she could muster, without hurting the older woman. "Grandma, this is so embarrassing. Can’t we just write them a polite letter or something?"

Sienna nearly slipped. "Oh, this is going to be glorious. They didn’t write politely when they were taking our stuff. Why should we be the same? If you have any letters, show them to me." She held her hand out.

Cyra shot her a glare. "This is none of your business you know."

Sienna laughed. "I am your brother’s wife. Your elder. I can even make you kneel. I have to go in person to collect my seal and the money you made my husband spend, to avoid a problem that could have been solved easily. The best way to stop a thief is to name and shame them, and then give them a beating they will never forget."

"Are you calling my mother a thief?" Cyra asked.

Sienna shrugged. "What would you call what she has been doing? Do not say Robin hood, and if you don’t know who Robin hood is, it is this human bandit of sorts that steals from the rich and gives to the poor. The Twindell’s are noble, they don’t qualify. Your mother is the head of a cabal of thieves. We should be calling her Lady Cabal, not Cadelaria."

Cyra growled.

Jess laughed.

Elias arrived in that moment, his presence commanding. He glanced at his sister, heard the screams of his mother as she was pushed into the airship and saw the gleam in Sienna’s eyes. Those things, along with his grandmother’s determined jaw, told him all he needed to know.

He sighed. "Grandma, I have already bought back most of the assets. I just didn’t keep them here because I knew they would not survive long before being shipped out again. There is no need for a spectacle."

Jess’s eyes narrowed. "Spectacle? This is justice. You think buying trinkets back in secret hides the shame? You think it will stop their sticky fingers and greed and entitlement? No."

"Yes...no." Sienna added, sticking her neck out. "They will just keep expecting more. We cannot have people thinking the Veythar vaults and coffers are their supermarkets. They can’t take our Royal mooncakes with phoenix cream yolk which I have never eaten despite being married into this family for close to six years."

Their eyes turned to her, clearly bewildered.

"The seal, Sienna. The seal." Jess said lightly, reminding her of what was moment.

Sienna nodded firmly. "That too, and the Crystal carps and golden rice. I mean, what do they even taste like?"

Elias shook his head. "She has only had coffee today." He explained to his grandmother.

Cyra groaned. "Brother, tell grandma it’s embarrassing. People will laugh."

Sienna leaned in. "Sweetheart, people are already laughing. Might as well give them a show worth remembering." She took her phone out of her purse. "What was I thinking? If I want a bite of royal kitchen goodies, I can just call my bestie the queen." She broke away from the them, rushing ahead, and climbing into the ship, loudly calling the queen by her first name, in the same way Numia dragged out her words.

Elias pinched the pinched the bridge of his nose.

Jess laughed. "So, your wife just calls the queen by her first name, whenever she wants! They are closer than you told me."

He shook his head. "Sienna doesn’t tell me everything they discuss, only serious bits that matter. In the beginning, she was very guarded around the queen, but not lately. I suppose they must have shared some more intimate conversations that have opened the door to genuine friendship."

Jess nodded, allowing her grandson to help her into the ship. She ignored Cyra’s weak protests.

Soon, the procession of six airships set off, with flags of the ruling fox family, signalling that they meant business.

Sienna cheered loudly in the cabin, as if it were a parade!