Her Graceful War Song by Summer's Blaze

Chapter 1239

The next moment, Malcolm and Fabian were summoned back into the hall to receive their scolding. The other two knelt and acknowledged their faults, but Carissa remained silent.

Salvador's anger flared again. "Don't think you're innocent, or that you've been unjustly accused. You knew Lord Gerald went to the gentlemen's retreat, yet you didn't report it in advance."

Carissa had endured a long night, and she was now being forced to be scolded alongside Malcolm and Fabian. Naturally, she felt a little disgruntled.

So, she lifted her head slightly and asked, "If I had reported it, would you have refrained from raiding the gentlemen's retreats, Your Majesty?"

Angry and embarrassed, Salvador shot back, "They would still have been raided, but..."

He trailed off, caught in his own thoughts. He knew he couldn't go back on what he had ordered, and he certainly couldn't say that having prior knowledge would have made him send someone to warn Gerald. Moreover, it was uncertain if he would actually visit the gentlemen's retreat last night. If Carissa had informed the king that she had seen Gerald there earlier, he wouldn't have believed her.

The truth was, before catching him, who could have believed it?

Gerald was a royal tutor-a revered figure with an unparalleled status, admired by the people and seen as a model by scholars across the kingdom. It seemed inconceivable that he would go to such a place. If Carissa had reported it in advance, Salvador would have denounced it as a baseless accusation. Carissa's voice rose as she continued, "And the Quinton family is such a large family. With servants all around, how could no one know that Lord Gerald went to the gentlemen's retreat? I am only in charge of investigating. I cannot predict who goes, when they go, or why. And Lord Gerald wasn't the only one present, there were many sons of noble families and officials as well.

"And about those loyal ministers you care so much about the ones you specifically asked me about? They've all been arrested as well, just as you instructed."

and refused to acknowledge any

your failure to handle things properly. There's nothing

"Once I return to the Capital

Salvador's expression darkened.

do that? If he was going to let anyone go, it should have been everyone. He had said before that whoever was caught would be locked up for two days. As king, how could he change orders so easily without

at Carissa, who had snapped back at him. For a moment, his rationality returned. He couldn't really

accusations, but he couldn't be sure if they were truly false. After all, his father

There were too many eyes

last night. But now that everything was out in the open, there were probably countless people waiting outside the Capital Guard headquarters, eager for the spectacle. Whether it was the front, the back, or the side entrance, there were no doubt a dozen eyes

That was not all.

Gerald not be released yet, he would have to wait until all the other people were freed. Only then, in the dead of night, would Malcolm be able to sneak in and get him without

nervously spoke up, "Your Majesty, he can't be

really need Malcolm to remind him

the king snapped, "Commander Sinclair is right. Did none of you in the Quinton family know that Lord Gerald

the remark. So now, she was

he was being blamed for something he never even considered. How could anyone have known Gerald was going there? It wasn't even something

in a more remote part of the estate, saying

it