Her Graceful War Song

Alistair was in his thirties, with well–defined features and a strong, fit build that wasn’t overly large. As he approached Carissa with his men, there was a hint of disdain in his expression,

He nodded respectfully, but his eyes betrayed his arrogance as he said, “I apologize for my late arrival. I had matters to attend to. Please forgive me, Commander Sinclair.”

Carissa nodded slightly, glancing at the twelve captains standing in two rows behind him. Each one looked formidable, their expressions dismissive, as if they couldn’t care less about a female commander.

It was clear–the caliber of a military leader was often reflected in the nature of their soldiers.

“There’s nothing much to discuss today, so let’s disperse and get back to our duties…”

Before Carissa could finish her sentence, Alistair interjected, “Since there’s nothing of importance we’ve all seen each other, I’ll take my leave. There’s a great deal to attend to in the palace.”

With that, he turned and strode away, completely disregarding Carissa.

Frowning, Michael called out, “Alistair!”

The man in question didn’t even glance back, simply continuing on his way.

and

With a sigh, Michael turned to Carissa. “Your Grace, don’t take it to heart. Commander Prince just has a bit of a cold demeanor. It’s nothing personal.”

Carissa could sense Michael was defending Alistair, so she didn’t press the issue.

“Alright, let’s head to the Supreme Court,” she said.

The Supreme Court was indeed bustling today. Rafael had returned after resting at home for a short while, but had been busy and hadn’t interrogated Eleanor yet.

There were two reasons for the delay. First, they weren’t in a rush to conduct the hearing. They planned to let Eleanor stew for a few days. Second, they needed corroborating evidence to counter her potential claims. As a result, all sorts of minor officials and consuls from Harmony Palace were summoned for questioning first.

Additionally, there were some individuals who had fled and needed to be apprehended for further interrogation. This is property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

Carissa and Michael arrived just in time. The artists at the Supreme Court had just finished sketching the fugitives based on the servants‘ descriptions and were ready to hand the portraits over to the Capital Guard for further investigation.

Everyone was so caught up in their tasks that they didn’t even notice the commander was a woman. Carissa reached for the sketches and flipped through them one by one. It was only when Matthew caught a glimpse of her slender fingers that he finally turned his attention to her face. The moment he saw the bruise around her eye, he paused, then recalled that the Hell Monarch’s princess consort was now the commander of the Mystic Army.

He glanced at Rafael, noticing that the prince’s gaze was practically glued to Carissa’s face. The tenderness in his eyes was almost palpable, tinged with an unmistakable hint of concern.