Her Graceful War Song

Pigeons from Skywing Spire flew haphazardly across the land, exchanging messages relentlessly. After several days of flight, the birds arrived in the capital two evenings before the Emberfest Festival. Claire and the others sorted and compiled the messages into a letter, which was delivered to Hell Monarch Estate that night.

Claire handed the letter to Violet, who didn't even bother to open it. Instead, she called everyone to the study and asked Jacob to read it first. Since it concerned Jaina, it was more appropriate for him to see it first.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

After Jacob finished reading, the veins on his forehead bulged. "This is absurd! It's clearly a conspiracy. That so-called rescue was all meticulously designed."

Rafael read the letter, then briefly summarized it, explaining. "The troublemakers were local thugs hired to cause chaos. The ones pulling the strings were the people from the largest estate in Stonebridge County, which belongs to Aunt Eleanor. She always stays there whenever she visits.

"Carissa, you asked us to investigate whether Aunt Eleanor was in Stonebridge County around the time of the performance troupe incident. She was indeed there. It seems she noticed Jaina during their performance. And those so-called bandits? They weren't bandits at all-they were local officials. After Jaina left Stonebridge County with Eleanor, the performance troupe leader was found dead."

Carissa's expression changed slightly. "How did he die? Was it investigated thoroughly?"

"He starved to death. He was left in a small shack after they broke his legs. The neighbors only reported it when the stench from the corpse became unbearable," Rafael replied in an icy tone, clenching the letter in his hand.

Violet seethed with anger. "In other words, that vile woman didn't give him medical attention. She even broke his legs and let him starve alone in that shack! How cruel!"

Carissa's face turned cold with rage. "Jaina left him money. If they hadn't broken his legs, he wouldn't have starved."

"How could there be such a wicked woman? And Jaina-how could she trust that monster?" Violent exclaimed, her cheeks flushed with indignation.

Carissa looked at her friend and

said, "You can't blame Jaina. She doesn't know what Grand Princess

County, Grand Princess Eleanor must have a reputation for being generous and kind. Also, she was Jaina's savior, and she even called a physician to look at Lucas. How

Eleanor is truly like. In

could Jaina suspect it was all part of a scheme?

"As someone who had to forage for herbs and hunt in the mountains, I doubt Jaina ever imagined she would become a target. She felt indebted to Grand Princess Eleanor for saving her and believed she also owed her a debt for the medical expenses. She thought that following the grand princess to the capital was just a way to repay her

by serving as a maid.

"But in the end, she was confined to the inner palace. Although Grand Princess Eleanor didn't mistreat her, I'm sure she occasionally told Jaina that she had received word about Lucas from the officials in Stonebridge County, which reassured Jaina and allowed her to stay with peace of mind until now."

Violet, who had been caught up in

her emotions, realized she had misspoken. She quickly turned to Jacob and said, "I'm sorry, I overreacted. Carissa is right. How could an ordinary person like Jaina even think of such a convoluted scheme aimed at her? Besides, she's someone who moves about in the world of performers, and

understands debts and favors. Once she owes a favor, she feels

compelled to repay it without

thinking too much about the

consequences."

Carissa's voice grew serious, "Exactly. While Jaina may have exercised some caution, her thoughts were merely wishful. The kindness she received was tangible, and she had no real choice in the matter." Carissa tightened her grip on the armrest, her anger boiling within her. She knew full well that Jaina had caught the attention of Eleanor because she resembled Melanie Sullivan.

Jaina's true savior was the performance troupe leader, Lucas, who had died because of this.

How could Jaina come to terms with that?

Just thinking about it filled Carissa with indescribable fury and anguish. If it was this bad from an outsider's perspective, she couldn't imagine what Jaina would feel.

After a moment of silence, Jacob spoke with bloodshot eyes, "We can't tell Jaina about this for now. I can't imagine how she would react upon learning that Lucas was beaten and left to starve to death." Everyone nodded in agreement. They understood that any one of them would find it unbearable if they were in Jaina's shoes.