Her Graceful War Song

Rafael frowned as he read through Billy’s testimony. The man was clearly terrified of dying.

He had confessed everything in painstaking detail–how Celeste seduced him and forced him to risk everything to poison Melanie Lester, the drugs he used, how the illness worsened, and even when he predicted Melanie would die. He also speculated on Celeste’s motives, suggesting that she wanted to free herself entirely from Harmony Palace and escape its constraints by poisoning her own mother.

Though Rafael hadn’t been handling cases for long, he could immediately see a flaw in this story.

“If Celeste really wanted to break free from Aunt Eleanor, killing her mom wouldn’t help. There’s a contradiction here. Aunt Eleanor’s control over her hinged on her mom. If Celeste truly didn’t care about her mom’s life, she could have easily lived under Samuel’s protection at Gracehold Estate and stayed out of Aunt Eleanor’s grasp. And if she didn’t want to be a concubine, she could’ve swindled a good sum from Samuel and disappeared. Aunt Eleanor wouldn’t have found her that easily. Besides… she’s clearly not afraid to go all out–Billy is almost sixty,” said Rafael.

Matthew had spent years in the Supreme Court and seen all kinds of people. He replied, “Celeste was groomed for this kind of thing from a young age. She’s used to using her looks and body as bargaining chips. It isn’t very surprising.”

“Bring her in for questioning.” Rafael instructed.

“I’ve already sent someone to fetch her,” Matthew said, ‘Lord Henry was quick to reveal that she was at Weaver Coffee. But by the time our people got there, she had already left. We’re short on manpower.”

For a regular case, the Supreme Court would have plenty of staff. But handling a treason case was different. More people would become involved, and if they didn’t act quickly to control the key figures, some of them could easily slip away.

After all, Eleanor had operated in the capital for years. There was no way she hadn’t managed to pull some officials into her circle. Otherwise, all the money she spent every year on socializing and connections would’ve gone to waste, right? And considering the origin of the weapons and armor, many people must’ve been involved in successfully hiding them in Harmony Palace. ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Understanding the shortage of manpower, Rafael nodded. “I’ll request a royal edict from the king tomorrow to borrow some men from the Capital Guard.”

Despite being overwhelmed with work today, Rafael hadn’t forgotten about Carissa’s appointment as the commander of the Mystic Army.

“I’ll head back to my estate for a bit. You should rest too. I’ll be back in about an hour.”

Harvey and Yuvan needed to be kept under close watch, but there wasn’t any solid testimony linking them. to the treason case yet. Salvador’s stance was still unclear, and the Supreme Court was short on manpower, so this task would have to be handled by his people at Hell Monarch Estate.

“Yes, sir!” Matthew rubbed his temples, clearly exhausted. “Take a break, Your Highness. I’ll rest in the back for a bit. After that, I’ll go back to talking with Lord Henry.”

He said “talking” instead of “Interrogating” because Henry was actually quite cunning despite looking like a coward. The moment the questioning got the least bit intense, he would pretend to have a fainting spell or complain of feeling unwell. And since Salvador hadn’t officially revoked Eleanor’s title yet, Henry was

still her prince consort. That meant some harsher methods couldn’t be used.

Rafael understood this all too well.

“I’ll head to the palace tomorrow and get a feel for His Majesty’s stance on this matter. If he issues a clear order, it’ll make our work much easier,” said the prince.

“That makes sense,” Matthew agreed.

Rafael grabbed his cloak as he extinguished two lamps, leaving only one dim light flickering.

“I’ll head back for now,”

“Safe travels, Your Highness,” Matthew replied, following him out before heading to the back to take a quick rest before relieving Peter.

By the time Rafael returned to his estate, it was almost midnight. Jacob had arrived just fifteen minutes before him, having dropped his family off and eaten a quick meal at home.

Though he wanted to spend more time with his sister, he knew there were too many pressing matters to deal with. So, he didn’t stay overnight and rushed back to Hell Monarch Estate in the dead of night.