Her Graceful War Song

Florence remained silent for a long time. She was fully aware that Eleanor could never measure up to Melanie Sullivan.

In Eleanor’s heart, her grievances outweighed everything else. If she had married Hector and he disobeyed her even once, she would undoubtedly have caused a scene and shaken the very foundations of the earth.

Carissa continued, “And you said that concubines are lowly while the grand princess is noble. So, no matter what she does to them, it’s all considered a blessing. If I were to give you such a “blessing‘, would you kneel in gratitude and offer up your fingers and toes for me to chop off one by one?”

Florence didn’t look up. Her eyes were downcast, and she was unable to muster a single retort.

“Most of those so–called lowly concubines were favored young women in their families. Whether from wealthy households or common folk, their parents likely spoiled them just like you spoiled Grand Princess Eleanor.

“But they were abducted and quietly met terrible ends within Harmony Palace. And you still think they should be grateful? When you ponder such thoughts, doesn’t it feel horrifying? I don’t know if there are vengeful spirits in this world, but if there are, they must linger endlessly within Harmony Palace. No wonder rituals are performed every year during the Emberfest Festival to help those souls find peace. Have you ever dreamed of those deceased concubines and little boys, Florence?”

Florence suddenly covered her mouth, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Carissa looked at her coldly. “You should respect life.”

After delivering her final words, she stood up and walked out.

Rafael emerged from behind the partition screen. He followed her out and instructed someone to take Florence back to her cell.

Florence stumbled as she was led away, her back hunched and no longer holding any trace of her former dignity.

Carissa said, “Let her rest for a couple of days, but we still need to question her. She knows where Lord Henry’s daughters have gone, the former haunts of Grand Princess Eleanor’s trusted confidants, and the fates of the guards and servants who have been replaced one after another.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll uncover everything.” Rafael replied.

As the two made their way to the front yard of the Supreme Court, they were met by Matthew, who rushed up to report, “We’ve unearthed the box, Your Highness, Commander Sinclair. There’s indeed a small notebook inside. I took a quick look, and it records the origins of every individual–names, ages upon arrival, and even the ages and causes of death for some.”

Rafael Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

expression darkened as he said to Carissa, “Let’s go!”

There were two notebooks, and each of them took one

Carissa’s contained detalls of every child born–whether male or female, and who their moms were. Rafael’s held the histories, names, and ages of each concubine, along with how they entered the

household.

After a thorough examination, they exchanged notebooks. Carissa saw there had been a girl named Wendy Lloyd, who had lost her fingers and toes. She was from Valken. Her dad was a carpenter, and she had three older brothers, making her the youngest sister.

Florence had even noted how closely the women resembled Melanie Sullivan. Wendy’s resemblance was marked at 80 percent. She had been brought to Eleanor by Fiona at the age of fifteen and died at eighteen.

Carissa hastily flipped through the pages to find how many times Fiona’s name was mentioned, but there was only a single entry. As for other women, none bore such a high resemblance as Wendy. Even Melanie Lester had only a 40 to 50 percent similarity. There were even some women who bore no similarity to Melanie Sullivan, and only had similar names.

Some women had been bought, but the majority had been abducted–only five were bought outright. Carissa tallied the figures. There had been a total of 182 individuals, of which 142 were already dead, meaning only 40 remained alive.

On the following page, Florence indicated that not all the women had been Henry’s concubines. Some had been brought to Harmony Palace so Eleanor could torture them to vent her anger. After that, they were killed. Some bodies had been dumped in mass graves, while others were cast into an ancient well.

Over the years, 28 male infants had been born, none of whom survived. There were 36 daughters, with seven dying shortly after birth and others sent away due to unattractive appearances. As for those who. had survived and were raised well, like Carmen and Celeste, there was no record of them in the

notebooks.

Rafael slammed his hand on the table in anger. “This is utterly insane!”