Chapter 42

Barrett stood silently for a moment before summoning someone to clean up the mess. This was the woman he had fought so hard to marry. The wedding had been disgraceful, and regardless of whose fault it was, her grief was genuine. He decided to endure it. He couldn't afford even a hint of regret; he still wanted Carissa to regret her decision!

If Carissa knew how embarrassing his and Aurora's wedding had been, she'd probably laugh secretly.

Meanwhile, at Northwatch Estate, Carissa had just finished a strenuous martial arts practice session. After a hot bath, she asked Lulu to bring her a bottle of wine and drank alone. This had been her routine for the past month—reading during the day and practicing martial arts at night. During her year at Valor Estate, she had neglected her martial arts training. Although she wasn't entirely out of practice, her skills weren't as sharp as before. She needed to regain her strength.

Carissa was unaware that today was Barrett and Aurora's wedding day. Under the strict supervision of Holly and Lily, the servants were forbidden to discuss anything related to the Warren family.

After Carissa had been drinking for a few minutes, Lulu lifted the curtain and slipped in quickly, holding a note.

"My lady, your senior has sent a reply via carrier pigeon."

Carissa set down her cup and book, immediately taking the note and unfolding it. Her expression changed drastically after reading it.

"What's wrong, my lady?" Lulu asked anxiously, noticing her mistress's reaction.

Carissa sat back, looking stunned. "Lulu, bring me a bottle of fire liquor."

Lulu was frightened. "My lady, has something terrible happened?"

Lulu had been with Carissa for many years. She had followed her from the estate to the guild and then back to the capital. She was also there when Carissa learned the required etiquette and married into the Warren family. In their entire time together, Lulu had only seen Carissa drink fire liquor twice: once when they returned from the Pathfinders' Guild and learned that Carissa's father and brothers had perished at the Southern Frontier, and the second time when everyone at Northwatch Estate was annihilated. For Carissa to ask for fire liquor now meant something very serious had happened.

"Go get it!" Carissa's breath was unsteady, and she was clearly anxious.

"Understood, my lady!"

Lulu quickly left to send someone to buy the fire liquor. There wasn't any in the estate, as the two senior maids didn't allow such strong liquor to be kept in the house.

+15 BONUS

Once Lulu was gone, Carissa turned aside and took a few deep breaths to steady herself. She needed to stay calm and rational. Getting up, she held the note over a candle flame, watching as the fire consumed it.

The note read: [Aurora massacred surrendering villagers.]

Carissa's suspicion had been correct—there was indeed a problem with that battle. The conflict between Westhaven and Starhaven wasn't about one kingdom invading the other; it was a long-standing dispute over border issues. However, both sides had an understanding—even if war broke out, they wouldn't kill civilians or prisoners. Aurora's massacre of the villagers had broken this agreement, which was why Westhaven's spies had gone to such lengths to slaughter the people of Northwatch Estate in retaliation.

Carissa's maternal grandfather, Dominic, was in charge of the troops stationed at Victory Pass. Her father, Hector, had also defended the area, repelling Westhaven's forces multiple times. So, Westhaven had taken out all their past and present grudges on Hector's entire family. Their grudge was likely worse because Carissa was Barrett's wife.

But what puzzled Carissa was that if Aurora had massacred the villagers, Westhaven should have been even more furious and gathered their forces to attack Victory Pass to avenge their innocent civilians. Instead, they chose to surrender and sign a peace treaty with Aurora, settling the border dispute and promising not to fight again. Since Aurora had secured the treaty, the Ministry of Defense credited her with the greatest merit, with Barrett a close second.

Why had Aurora been in charge? Where was Dominic?

Carissa couldn't understand it. It seemed she would have to wait for her eldest senior to return from Victory Pass to learn the truth about the battle. The only thing she could be sure of now was that Westhaven's spies had slaughtered her entire family because Aurora had massacred the surrendering villagers.

What she didn't understand was why Aurora wasn't punished for her actions. Instead, the king had credited her with the greatest merit. Carissa knew the king was not a ruthless, bloodthirsty man. After ascending the throne, he had repeatedly issued edicts that civilians should not be harmed during conflicts between the two kingdoms.

Could it be that the king was unaware of this? And what about her grandfather? What was his stance on Aurora's massacre of the surrendering villagers? He had defended Victory Pass for many years without ever killing a single Westhaven civilian. How could he have approved of Aurora's actions?