Her Graceful War Song by Summer's Blaze

Carissa had indeed extended an invitation to the Farrell family. They were a distinguished family of military tradition, and Timothy was still serving in the Hell Monarch Army.

Due to an old illness, the family's elder general had been bedridden for the past two or three years. Currently, the matriarch of the Farrell family was Timothy's wife, Opal. The other branches of the family, having lost the people of the younger generations, tended to keep a low profile and rarely made public appearances.

A family of military officers bore a unique pain that others might not understand.

With her husband still serving in the military and her children unmarried, Opal had to make public appearances to plan for the marriages and futures of her children.

Her eldest son was also a soldier but had been injured in battle, which prevented him from settling down. Meanwhile, having passed the national examination, her second son was pursuing a scholarly career and needed to continue his studies.

There was also a daughter, Nina Farrell, who was thirteen this year. Though there was no immediate rush, some families made marriage arrangements for girls as young as twelve or thirteen, and she had yet to find a suitor.

This time, when the Farrell family received the invitation to Helen's birthday banquet, Opal decided to take her aunt-in-law, Alice, out for a change of scenery. She had heard that no one from the Warren family had been invited, so she felt it was safe to bring Alice, who was the mother of Thomas Farrell, along.

Alice had been melancholic for years, grieving over the loss of Thomas. However, she needed to think about her other children and could not remain in her sorrow forever. After some persuasion, she agreed to attend the banquet.

birthday. She would also bring her siblings to

arrived. In the lead-up to the event, the people

was adorned with flowers. In addition to those Helen had chosen, Carissa had added many more. The bougainvillea on the walls had also bloomed,

well in advance, and they would

guests were made by the household's dedicated pastry chefs, and they were not at all inferior to those

but also some unique homemade favorites. There were even vegetarian options prepared for guests who didn't eat

the Farrell family all preferred to avoid meat. Several of the older Sinclair family members also followed a vegetarian diet, hoping that

continued to eat vegetarian food. One reason was out of habit, as

in a soft pink-colored dress with a peach-colored outer cloak. The cloak was made from cloud satin and was light and airy, giving her an

overshadowing her natural beauty. Rafael, on the other hand, wore a dark brocade robe cinched with a leather belt, from

dressed elaborately

of jewels and pearls, and her luxurious brocade outfit was embroidered with large peonies in gold and silver thread. Over her attire, she wore a silk shawl, which was made of a lighter and more refined material than cloud satin, offering a subtle but undeniable air of luxury and

insisted she still looked young, and dressed

neck, she