Her Graceful War Song by Summer's Blaze

Upon receiving Kylie's summons, Carissa found herself bewildered.

Why was she being asked to meet Gerald? If they wanted to question her, they could have called her directly to the palace. Why go to the Quinton family's residence to see him?

Gerald was gravely ill. If he wanted to scold her, she wouldn't even have the chance to retort. And if he died in front of her, no words would save her then.

Violet had filled her in on Gerald's condition, gathered from the past couple of days' inquiries. He had stopped eating and drinking, and it seemed like he was on the brink of death.

"Does Gerald want you there to watch him die? That old man's got some malice," Cynthia said.

She was aware of the whole situation, and she had always been sharp-tongued. Knowing how Gerald had treated Carissa, Cynthia didn't hesitate to speak her mind.

"Don't go just refuse the order," Bun chimed in from the side. "The queen's order isn't that serious. The king's reaction is what really matters.

Violet had matured a lot now, and she said, "Ignoring the queen's summons might seem like no big deal on the surface, but the king will remember. He might not show it, but he'll definitely hold a grudge since he'll think you're disrespecting him. You're better off going. At least you'll be able to go on record as having done your duty. It was bound to happen, and there's no avoiding it."

Violet knew how Salvador operated. When things were fine, there were no issues. But when things went south, he would remember every little detail. He wouldn't come out and say it, but he would give the person the cold shoulder and make life difficult for them.

Carissa had already felt his frustration because of the gentlemen's retreat incident.

In short, both the king and queen were difficult to deal with.

"I'll go with you, Cari," Violet said.

escalated, she knew she would be blamed no matter what. At least she had

Fine, she would go.

come with me. I'll have Sebastian accompany me, and I'll request Madam Marjorie

trap, she could try to avoid it. But even if she did, they would

directly than to remain ignorant of a trap. At least this way, she would know

ask if he's willing to go with you,"

knowingly. "No need to ask. He'll agree without question. Sebastian's always looking

brightly.

Bun both

was, it could always be dealt with. If they needed people, they had them. If they needed money, Violet would provide it. If all else failed, they could retreat to Meadow

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Jeremiah already waiting at the gates. She watched as the

sighed softly. She had heard from Natalie that

hadn't been able to let go. He just couldn't

like this, it was still

of guilt in

knew exactly why Kylie had called Jeremiah. It was to have him as a witness-if Gerald passed away after scolding Carissa, they would say she drove him to

tell them that Gerald was

care about the details. They would only look at

respectfully, "Thank you for making

said with a smile. "I was just