Alpha's Rejected Mate Returns as Queen
Chapter 761: Swallows and Garland

Chapter 761: Swallows and Garland

Yarin's POV:

Sisley explained that he had traveled to many places during his journey: Africa, East Asia, and Northern Europe. Many ancient packs that revered the swallow as a totem had long since passed away, and their descendants had been assimilated into society, their ancestral beliefs mostly lost.

"In South Asia, I visited a pack's district where the ancestors of its residents were once Europeans. During the witch hunt, they were labeled heretics by extremist factions and were forced to leave, scattering across the world. Their belief was in the Swallow Goddess, said to be one of the incarnations of the Goddess of Nature."

"The Goddess of Nature? Are they related to the elves?"

"Yes, one of their ancestors had married an elf, and he led his family to follow the nature faith. As a result, their descendants began to believe in the Swallow Goddess."

"However, the residents of that district had intermarried with the locals for generations, diluting the belief over time. Their knowledge of the Swallow Goddess now consisted of only fragments of ancestral stories."

Sisley retrieved a small wooden box from his unpacked belongings and opened it, revealing a vintage-looking ring.

"This is an antique ring I bought from them. It's from the same period when that figure led his family to migrate during the witch hunt. He was a priest of the Swallow Goddess, and this ring is said to be a medium for communicating with the divine."

"Did they just sell you something so significant?"

Sisley chuckled. "The belief in the Swallow Goddess has faded away. To the locals, this ring is merely an artifact from a bygone era."

It was a silver ring, darkened from the erosion of time. A red coral was embedded in the ring, carved with the image of a soaring swallow, carrying a garland in its beak.

A garland?

"May I take a closer look at the ring?" I asked.

Sisley handed the ring to me, and upon careful examination, I found the garland pattern on the coral oddly familiar.

It seemed... quite similar to Lily of the Valley's emblem?

I wasn't sure if this was a mere coincidence; after all, a garland was a symbol deeply rooted in natural elements, fitting for a totem of the Goddess of Nature's followers.

However, I had recently experienced turmoil at the Lily of the Valley.

Linda had been raised by Azazel, who assumed the guise of a merchant during the witch hunt. Now, the owner of this ring was also a figure from the same era. Both featured the wreath pattern. Wasn't this just too coincidental?

Seeing my furrowed brow, Sisley asked, "Is something amiss, Your Highness?"

I hesitated, unsure if I should reveal my thoughts. While Sisley was close to our family, everything related to the Lily of the Valley was classified. I wasn't certain if I could trust Sisley with this information.

In the end, I pretended that nothing was wrong, handed back the ring, and said, "I heard that the incarnations of the Goddess of Nature often take various forms of animals in legends, quite different from the Moon Goddess' preference for human forms."

"All the gods have their quirks," Sisley remarked, placing the ring back into the box.

"So, is this everything you've uncovered? Do you think this Swallow Goddess has a connection to your dream?" Heller asked.

Sisley nodded. "Indeed. Not just in that district, but I've found traces of the Swallow Goddess in many other places. And the ancestors of its followers had all migrated to their current homes during the witch hunt. It's apparent that these are the results of the same pack fragmenting during that period.

"I believe this is it. But there's still one puzzle I haven't solved. Why would the Moon Goddess use the manifestation of the Swallow Goddess in my dream as a revelation? The Swallow Goddess is related to the beliefs of the Goddess of Nature, isn't it? What does it mean for a werewolf like me?"

Indeed, why would the goddess employ the incarnation of a neighboring deity as a tool for her revelation? We all had this question, but unless we sought answers ourselves, the goddess would never be able to tell us.

"Could it be that the goddess is suggesting that this dream is related to the elves?" Cynthia suddenly spoke up. "The Swallow Goddess was originally a branch of elf beliefs. Since it doesn't have any connection to werewolves, maybe the key lies with the elves?"

Sisley had already described his dream to us-a swallow carrying a crown made of gold disappeared in a storm.

"Assuming the swallow represents the elves, the crown made of gold usually symbolizes power, and the storm could represent some form of destruction or downfall. Such allegorical techniques are quite common in literature. Perhaps the meaning of this dream is for you to seek out an elf whose position of power is in jeopardy."

"An elf? Where would a werewolf find an elf? Should I go to the northern forest? But that area has been plagued by war for years, with people rising and falling from power incessantly."

"That shouldn't be the case. The goddess favors peace and wouldn't instigate us to participate in the internal conflicts of the elves." Cynthia shook her head. "You've forgotten that the Lycan pack currently has a group of elves, haven't you?"

As she said this, I suddenly recalled the elf exchange students!