Her Graceful War Song

Yuvan had returned to the capital with his entire family, and they were now settled in. After greeting the queen dowager and the king, Yuvan brought Fiona and his new princess consort, Molly Spencer, to Hell Monarch Estate. Rafael was on leave that day, and happened to be home. Seeing Yuvan arrive unannounced again stirred some frustration in him.

Yuvan was Rafael's uncle. As such, there was no excuse not to meet with him, especially when he came with his whole family. However, it would've been more appropriate for Rafael to bring Carissa to Horizon Estate to pay a visit-that would've followed the proper etiquette.

Now, his uncle had taken the initiative to come by. It made Rafael look as though he was arrogant and dismissive, like he had completely disregarded his place in the family hierarchy.

Left with no choice, Rafael asked his mother to join them. It could still be somewhat appropriate to say that Yuvan and his family had come to visit Helen.

The two men, uncle and nephew, had little to say to each other. They had never been particularly close, and both were preoccupied with their own concerns. The conversation was stiff, filled with shallow pleasantries exchanged out of politeness.

Meanwhile, Molly was quite enthusiastic toward Carissa. She continuously brought up Violet in an attempt to bond with Carissa. What she didn't know was that Violet, knowing Molly had arrived, had no intention of meeting her.

On the other hand, Carissa wore a scowl the entire time as she looked at Yuvan. She didn't even bother to hide her distaste. Ever since Avis had died so horribly, Carissa had been waiting for Yuvan's return to the capital.

The resemblance between Molly's face and Violet's made Carissa even more uncomfortable, especially since Violet had once mentioned that her cousin was determined to marry Yuvan.

Yuvan attempted to maintain a cordial tone as he smiled and said, "Rafael, I must say, serving as Chief Judge seems beneath you. Even I feel it's a bit unfair. After all, Chief Judge is merely an administrative position, and you were the one who reclaimed the Southern Frontier. The king should've kept you in command of the military."

Rafael replied, "If you think it's unfair, you should speak to the king on my behalf. But I find being Chief Judge to be a suitable position. After all, it deals with matters of law and justice."

With a wry smile, he added, "Besides, you'd better not make any mistakes, Uncle Yuvan. I'm known to be impartial, and the Supreme Court even tries cases involving members of the royal family."

Yuvan let out a forced laugh. "Rafael, you jest."

"He's not joking," Helen chimed inContent rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.

from the side. "He never jokes. The late king and I always knew that our son was far too serious-he's not one for humor. So, you better watch your step while you're in the capital, Prince Yuvan. Rafael is all about doing things by the book

Yuvan laughed, trying to ease the tension. "Thank you for the reminder, Lady Helen. You're still as witty and humorous as ever."

Helen let out a small laugh, but

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inside, she couldn't stand Yuvan. After learning about Avis' situation, she wanted nothing more than to chase him out with a broom. If not for fear of getting a scolding from Victoria, Helen wouldn't have bothered with these empty

pleasantries.

As Yuvan chatted with Rafael, he glanced over at Carissa. His tone was filled with admiration as he said, "You truly have the spirit of the Duke of Northwatch's family. You take after your dad-both of you are exceptional commanders."

Carissa acted as though she hadn't

heard him, instead answering Molly's earlier question. "You were asking about Violet? She's been

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living in the estate, but when I asked her to to come out and see you today,

she refused. She even spat in

disgust. Did something happen

between you two?"

Her words made both Yuvan and Molly's faces turn pale with embarrassment. Yuvan, for being blatantly ignored, and Molly, for having her secret exposed-how she had defied her family's wishes to marry Yuvan, leading her own relatives to despise her. Just as their shame turned to anger, a shrill scream echoed from outside. The voice was filled with fury and desperation.

"Get out of my way! All of you, move! Or I swear I'll kill myself here, and there'll be two lives lost! Let's see how Carissa explains that to the world!"

Carissa recognized Viola's voice, and felt a surge of confusion.

What on earth was she doing? Had Carissa somehow angered her?

"Carissa! Get out here!" Viola's frantic voice rang out again, accompanied by the startled gasps of the maids.

"Mrs. Warren, please put down the dagger!"

Yuvan's eyes sparkled with a hint of amusement. It seemed today was going to be quite the spectacle.