Her Majestic Battle Cry

By chance, Carissa was aware of Viola’s predicament. novelbin

Of all the unfortunate timing, she happened to be there.

Today, Carissa had been quietly monitoring the Garrison Unit’s patrols. Recently, there had been assessments for several tasks, and patrolling was one of them. Though the previous misconduct had been rectified, many merchants, seeing the patrols, still tried to flatter them by offering goods, much like before.

There had once been people assigned to watch over this, and though goods were confiscated, the effort had become lax. The patrols had grown more negligent, often stopping at coffeehouses to relax, a far cry from the discipline they were meant to uphold.

Carissa had hoped to catch a group of them in the act, to set an example and deter others. Unexpectedly, she stumbled upon this situation instead.

She had just been passing by Arcane Sanctum and had stopped in to ask for a cup of water. From behind the faint blue curtain in the back hall, she had witnessed the entire event

unfold.

At first, she had only heard Viola’s voice. Not wanting to run into her, Carissa decided to sit in the back hall. She thought Viola would simply buy her medicine and leave.

She had no idea that Viola was after Snowdrop Pills. When the shopkeeper told her they were out of stock, Viola refused to believe it.

At that moment, Silas arrived with a shipment of herbs. As if to make it clear that nothing was amiss between them, Viola greeted him. She even mentioned that she knew Arcane Sanctum kept a few Snowdrop Pills hidden away, and asked if he might do her a favor and sell her just one.

Given the crowd in the shop, Viola’s public request made it clear that Silas would deny her. To everyone’s surprise, his blunt refusal only upset her further. She began to cry, saying something about how they were once relatives and stormed out.

Coincidentally, Silas‘ wife, Riley, had heard that her husband was bringing in medicinal herbs that day. So, she came with food for him and happened to witness the scene. An argument immediately broke out.

Through Riley’s outburst, Carissa learned some of the details.

Riley wasn’t supposed to know about the affair between Silas and Viola, but Riley loved her husband dearly. She knew he had once stayed at the Farrell family’s residence. But ever since Thomas‘ return, the cousins had grown distant, no longer exchanging the customary greetings during the holidays.

This raised her suspicions. After several rounds of investigation and subtle probing, Riley

discovered what happened between Viola and Silas. She had been furious at first, but she realized that everyone had their own marriages now. She chose to keep the matter quiet, thinking it would do no good to bring up such an embarrassing affair.

Unexpectedly, today, Riley’s fury had reached its peak when she saw Silas and Viola conversing so publicly. Blinded by jealousy, she no longer cared about propriety and spilled everything in her anger.

The chaos at the scene was astonishing. The patients and their families were so shocked that they didn’t even bother to gossip. They simply stood there with their mouths agape, stunned beyond measure.

Hidden behind the curtain, Carissa observed the entire spectacle, her mind swirling. Life was truly unpredictable. Some things that one believed to be well and perfectly hidden would always eventually be exposed unexpectedly at the most unforeseen moment.

As much as this scandal exposed the flaws of Viola and Silas, it also cast a shadow on Thomas‘ reputation. After leaving Arcane Sanctum, Carissa immediately dispatched Mabel to the Farrell family to inform Thomas‘ mother, Alice, of the incident. It was best to prepare for the gossip that would surely follow

Since Thomas‘ recent appointment, the king had honored Alice with the title of a third- rank countess. For the past few days, Alice had been working diligently to arrange her son’s marriage. Now, there was some progress, and they only needed to ask Thomas for his opinion before making a decision. However, with this scandal unfolding, it seemed the marriage would likely fall through.

This matter wasn’t Thomas‘ fault. In fact, he was the victim. The problem was that it had happened at the Farrell family’s residence, which revealed the family’s lack of proper conduct and discipline. People would naturally assume that this was just the surface of what lay beneath, and that their inner household could be even more disgraceful.

As it was, Thomas was already on his second marriage. Finding a match that was both suitable and compatible was difficult, and he already had to consider prospects from lesser families. Even so, that didn’t mean he could marry anyone–character and reputation still

mattered.

But with a scandal like this, which woman with a good name and decent standing would be willing to marry into such a household?

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