426: BAD MOOD AND GOOD MOOD

BAD MOOD AND GOOD MOOD

Iris wanted to go out to get breakfast for her and Cane, because she didn't feel like to ask someone for a favor, but when she opened the door, she found Maria. She had been standing there, for who knew how long, yet she didn't dare to knock on the door, thus he waited either it was the alpha or the luna to come out. 

Maria was startled when Iris opened the door, but she immediately dropped to her knees and lowered her head. Iris was sure, she said something, but from her standing point, how could she read her lips?

Hungry and didn't feel like she wanted to start the day with someone begged her for something, Iris stepped aside and walked away from Maria. Cane was still sleeping and no one in their right mind would be dare enough to wake the alpha up, so she didn't need to worry about that. 

However, when Iris moved aside, Maria caught the hem of her dress, still kneeling and begging her, this time, she lifted her head to look at Iris. 

"Luna, please…" Maria pleaded with her, tears welled up in her eyes and her hair looked disheveled, it seemed she was in a lot of distress. "Kaz is already so old, his body will not be able to take the hard and cold dungeon anymore. Please, have a mercy on us. The girls were so young, they had been gone through so much when we were still slave, they are so afraid of the dungeon." She shook her head when she saw Iris's eyes became so cold. "No. I will not blame you for that. I promise, I will make sure they learn their lesson."

"Blame me? Blame me for what?" Iris stared down at Maria coldly. "Why do you even think to blame me in the first place for something that I didn't do? Something that I don't responsible for?"

Maria gasped, she knew in her uneasiness she had said the wrong thing. "No, no, no, that's not what I meant, I am sorry if it came out like that."

Iris stared at the crying woman, but when she was about to feel sorry for her, she remembered all of the mistreatment she received and her heart turned numb. She felt indifference with her tears and this a little bit terrified her to realize this change in herself. 

"Whether they learned their lesson or not, I am not the one, who gave the punishment." Iris yanked her dress from her grip and took a step back, so Maria couldn't reach out to her again. "I am not your luna, so you need to stop calling me that."

Iris felt petty with her last statement, she felt like a child, who was throwing a tantrum, but that was how she felt. She meant it when she told them she didn't think of them as her own people, so when they called her as 'luna', she felt like it was a misplaced title. 

After saying that, Iris walked away, leaving Maria cried, while two guards, who had been standing aside to watch everything unfolded, came to her and helped her to get on her feet. They must be telling her some consoling words, which Iris didn't care to know. 

They must think how heartless she was to turn down someone else's plea. 

And here she was, became a villain in their eyes again. 

Iris felt her mood had turned very sour, she didn't think she wanted to eat. Thinking of meeting another member of the pack depressed her. Should she look for Hanna instead of going to the kitchen alone?

Having a bad mood in an early morning was not a good sign. 

This time, when she walked in the hallway, everyone would greet her, bowing their head toward her and showed the respect she deserved. 

But then, she felt what they showed was very hollow, since she knew what the cause of their change. 

She felt guilty because she asked for too much and actually felt bad because she was feeling this way. All of this only stressed her out even more, she felt like she was fighting with herself and it was so tiring. 

"Luna Iris! Luna Iris!" 

Someone called Iris when she walked around the laundry room, where she usually could find Hanna. She needed someone to talk, to get the comfort she needed, though she couldn't tell about a lot of things to Hanna, but having a conversation with her was comforting for her. Kept her mind sane enough to face the current problem. 

More so, the king entourage would arrive in two days, there was a little bit delay because of the monster attack. 

"Luna Iris!" A young boy raced toward her, knowing his mistake to call her from behind. "Luna Iris," he called her again when he skidded to stop in front of her. 

Iris startled to see someone suddenly appeared before her eyes, she was not paying attention to her surroundings.

"Oh, I am sorry, if I startled you," the young boy said apologetically. He smiled brilliantly at her. "Luna, do you still remember me?"

"Joel?" Iris remembered him, but he didn't look like this the last time she met him, which was almost half a year ago. 

In her mind, he was a young boy with a vibrant aura and looked so happy in whatever he was doing, seeing him alone, could make you feel a little bit cheerful. He almost looked like the younger version of Ethan. Both of them were a chatter and could lighten up the mood in the room. 

"I am so glad you still remember me!" Joel's eyes lit up, which drew a small smile on Iris's lips. 

"You look so different from the last time I saw you," Iris said with a chuckle. 

Joel looked like a young man now, he had grown so tall, though the last time Iris remembered, his height was not so different from her, but right now, he easily towered above her. What did he eat in the last few months? If she could, she wanted to grow a little bit taller too. 

"Luna, I will not be a young boy forever," he said, a little bit offended when she laughed, but then his expression brightened up again when he told her about his achievement proudly. "I have become a warrior now!"

"Congratulation!" Iris was genuine when she said, her happiness was very sincere. "We should celebrate that."1

"Thank you!" Joel said shyly, because Iris looked so beautiful when she was smiling like this. He heard what happened yesterday in the kitchen and felt sorry for her, because the pack member treated her badly, especially after Sofia came. 

Apparently, not all the member of the pack agreed to accept her, but because Kaz was someone they respected and he rallied a lot of people behind him and most of them only went with the flow, going along with the crowd, while the rest of them chose to be neutral, which meant, they couldn't care less with what was going on between Iris and Sofia, thus this matter was snowballed to this point. 

They thought, being a neutral party meant not to take side, but with their indifference, they had taken side in this matter too. 

Joel felt so bad for Iris, thus he wanted to look for her this morning to greet her, after all, he had not seen her in person ever since she and the alpha arrived a few days ago. 

"Luna Iris, if you don't mind, instead of celebrating it, can I ask a favor from you?" Joel asked her timidly. And there, the boy Iris met for the first time. 

"What favor?" Iris was in a good mood. 

Meanwhile, many people watched this interaction between her and Joel and they could see how easy the interaction between them two. And how genuinely happy Iris was to learn the boy had become a warrior, it was indeed a great achievement. 

"I heard you taught the warrior that came with you to the capital city how to read and write," Joel said hesitantly. "They have been bragging about it and refuse to teach the other warrior how to, they are very stingy to share their knowledge and has been very annoying to always bring a book with them, saying they read to spend their free time. They act like they are very cultured to be able to read," Joel complained. 

Iris pressed her lips into a thin line, she shouldn't be smiling to receive such protest, but when the image came in her mind, she couldn't help, but found it hilarious. 

"I am so annoyed, luna," Joel said with irritated expression. "Can you teach me how to read and write too? I am a fast learner, luna, I will not disappoint you, I promise!" he crossed his finger in front of his chest, as if he swore. "I want to get back at them! They said you favored them more, that's why you taught them, but I don't think that's the case."

Iris couldn't help, but let out a soft chuckled. 

"Luna, I am serious. I swear, I will learn quickly." Joel frowned to see Iris's reaction. 

"I am sorry," Iris said gently, as she stopped herself and put on serious expression. "Sure, I would love to teach you, come to me whenever you have free time."

The people, who had been following their conversation was dumbstruck with Iris's willingness. They thought, Iris would turn Joel's plea down after the dispute that happened yesterday. 

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