Melody of Strength novel

Chapter 405

Hayden had been granted the title of duke, and lived a relatively. comfortable life in his fief.

It wasn’t that he desired to return alone to the capital to spend his old age in solitude. He had hoped to have his descendants around him. However, as he grew older, he longed for a return to his roots. It was also partly to show the king that with his presence in the capital, it ensured his children and grandchildren would remain loyal..

Hayden wasn’t concerned about his own family, but he had noticed some troubling signs. He feared that ambitious individuals might try to win over the various local princes and dukes. That was why he anxiously returned to the capital and retired, to keep a closer watch on things.

Tonight, he had taken Rafael aside. Hayden wanted to pretend he was drunk to speak his mind–whether as a warning or a hint, it was the most he could do.

Before parting, he patted Rafael on the shoulder. “I must say, I quite like your wife. Bring her to visit me sometimes.”

Rafael smiled and replied, “Of course, I will.”

“Good. I’ll be on my way!” Hayden stroked his beard and laughed heartily as he left, walking steadily and showing no signs of drunkenness.

As Rafael turned, he saw Carissa approaching with Ryan. He went to meet them and, out of habit, took her hand.

“Are you cold?”

“Not at all. I’ve had a few drinks, so I’m feeling quite warm,” Carissa

regled. She had ONJ 100 Z TEM SME QPS AMG NO NOSS

She added, “Money has not quite ab eode

in the palace tough to keep the que

is saying with her

“Let her be “Rafael sac, boeing Cases

white goo

Rian. They left the palace and mace nei wey VV

Hell Monarch Estate was They Tonight with Voet and Traves as

quests. Since it was New Year’s Die Dey planned to

a

meal.

Jacob had prepared sera large YSES OF C18 aaj to nud anyone who offered their blessingson they all gath

the New Year. Whoever spoke well would recte a co

handful.

For each basket of coins, there would be a basket of compliments to

As Rafael and Carissa settled into their home servants streamed in offering well–wishes and compliments as they went about their

duties

Jacob was busy by the hearth, brewing coffee and roasting sweet potatoes. The aroma of the sweet potatoes filled the entire mansion

When he deemed the servants‘ greetings satisfactory, he would give a nod and say, “Go to Lady Carissa and collect your reward.”Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

Carissa grabbed a handful of copper coins to distribute. Seeing this Ryan found it particularly amusing and declared that he wanted to be in charge of grabbing the coins.

His declaration drew everyone’s attention to his small hands. It was

clear that Carissa’s hands, while not large, were long and slender, capable of scooping up quite a bit Ryan’s tiny hands by contrast could barely manage two handfuls compared to one from Cars

Faced with protests, Ryan was soon reassigne handing out the rewards had to fall to Carissa.

stask of

Jacob exchanged a smile with Parae. It was delightful to see

Carissa receiving blessings, with no time to divell on unhappy

thoughts

Tonight was meant to be lively and joyful

Violet also came over to help, so the servants were divided into two

teams. As generous as ever, they werent scaring with the rewards

While distributing coins, Violet laughed so hard she almost fall over. She playfully punched Travis, who stood in front of her.

“Rod, don’t you have any shame? You’ve come three times and each time you say the same thing! Can’t you think of something else”

Travis scratched his head. “This is already the best I could come up

with.”

“If you can’t think of anything else, then just cooy what others say. You’ve been repeating the same blessings about success and happiness over and over–it’s really lacking in depth,” Violet scolded

Travis replied, “What do you know? Success and happiness are what people want. Blessings should be simple and straightforward. Being overly precise with words only confuses everyone, even the gods.”

“Do you think the gods are as ignorant as your Violet laughed. Tm tired of hearing the same thing over here. Go over to Canis side.”

“But I’ve said the blessings already You need to give me the cons

before I go to Cart Travis said, holding out his hand. “Give them to

me

Violet called him shameless, but stil handed him a handful of coins

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