Her Graceful War Song by Summer's Blaze

Chapter 1112

At his core, Rafael was a military man. He had always been fascinated by weapons. His interest in them ran deep, and he often found himself eager to spend hours studying and improving them.

Kyle didn't answer Rafael's question and gave him a small smile instead. "Let's head back. You and Carissa had a bit of a quarrel, and she probably doesn't know yet."

Rafael felt a tightness in his chest. "It wasn't a quarrel. Isn't everything fine?"

"Sure. Come on, let's go," Kyle urged, nudging his horse forward.

Rafael led his horse for a few paces before mounting and catching up with him. However, his heart still felt heavy.

Why, when things happened, was Carissa's first thought never of him?

He was always the last to know. She hadn't even bothered to send word. Instead, she had ridden out of the city alone without telling him.

Though she had sent word to Travis, she hadn't sent a messenger to the Supreme Court, leaving it to the Capital Guard to seek him out only because they needed to seal the city gates. If the gates hadn't needed to be closed, would she have simply let him find out when Violet returned and casually told him what had transpired?

Before this, Rafael had already felt that Carissa couldn't fully trust him. Even though there were many moments where they appeared close, even affectionate, something always seemed missing.

What was missing, though?

Carissa certainly trusted him to

sure she liked him, even if she never said

shared a silent understanding, one that worked both in their private lives and when it came to their duties. It was a bond that felt almost as strong as the

she's not the same Carissa you once knew?" Kyle asked, his voice carried

answering, "After all that's happened, it's only natural that she's changed. As long as she's still herself, that's what matters to me. But... I can't help feeling like she's wearing a mask when she's

think she's wearing a mask," Kyle said thoughtfully. "If so, do you

could I be wearing

through, you tread lightly around her. You're a young couple, but you don't have little spats or arguments, and there are no real-life struggles. You don't dare to be angry, feel slighted, or ask for more than she's willing to give. When you get used to this way of being together, it feels like the most comfortable

Rafael muttered, almost

once. He cracked his whip and urged his horse forward, leaving Rafael alone with his

words "treading lightly" hit

It was true.

and Carissa had

measured every word before speaking and thought through every action before taking it. He feared saying the wrong thing or making a wrong move that would bring up painful memories for her, make her

feel it. Sometimes, people were good at deceiving themselves, and he had deceived himself too. This time, her safety was at stake, so he dared