Solomon came over to Northwatch Estate, bringing some of the younger members of the Sinclair family along with him to help Carissa unload and arrange everything. After they all hustled for a while, Solomon walked around the estate with Carissa.Once bustling with life, the mansion now felt desolate."You're the only lady of the duke's estate now, and the servants you have are those who followed you from your natal home."You should find a steward to manage the household affairs and hire more servants for the rough work in the kitchen, garden, and stables, as well as to handle the carriages. If it's inconvenient for you, I can help find some people for you," said Solomon."Uncle Solomon, you're busy with business. I wouldn't want to trouble you. Holly and Lily will take care of it," replied Carissa gratefully.Solomon looked at his niece and sighed. "Family should never talk about not wanting to trouble each other. In the past, your father used to invite us to gather after returnin
Although the Duke of Northwatch's family was known for their military background, Carissa was well-read, so she wanted her attendants to be literate as well."Alright, all of you can stay. Serve Lady Sinclair well. She will name you later," said Holly.The four were overjoyed."Thank you, Ms. Holly!""Don't thank me yet. Serving Lady Sinclair comes with rules. If you don't follow them well, you'll end up as second- or third-tier maids," Holly warned."We will definitely learn and follow the rules properly," the four replied, bowing respectfully.After Holly and Lily picked more servants to join the household, they instructed the agent to find coachmen, carpenters, stablemen, and gardeners. However, the positions of steward and accountant were too important to be left for the agent to procure."Rest assured, we will have some people tomorrow for your selection," the agent promised.After receiving his payment and handing over the contracts, the agent smiled and presented Holly a
But this matter was impossible to investigate now. The spies were either dead or had disappeared back to Westhaven, where they couldn’t be found.Carissa couldn't help but feel bitterness and pain as she thought of her father and brothers again.They had once reclaimed the Southern Frontier, only to lose it again and die tragically on the battlefield. If the Hell Monarch could win the ongoing war and reclaim the Southern Frontier, it would fulfill the wishes of her father and brothers.On her first night back home, Carissa didn't sleep well. Her dreams were filled with scenes of her mother, sister-in-law, nephews, and nieces being killed. After jolting awake in the middle of the night, she couldn't fall back asleep. She spent the rest of the night lying in bed staring wide-eyed at the canopy, her mind racing.From the wounds on her family members' bodies, Carissa could see how ruthless the assailants had been. It was clear that they had been venting their anger.Losing a battle sh
"He took everything! From now on, the family won't even be able to afford my medicine!" yelled Rebecca.Barrett felt uneasy but could only comfort his mother, saying, "Don't worry, Mom. Aurora and I will soon be needed at the Southern Frontier again. We'll return with honor."Rebecca sobbed hoarsely. "How could she be so heartless? Wouldn't she still have been your rightful wife? Why couldn't she tolerate sharing the position? She's just an orphan girl, yet she thinks of herself as a noble lady?!"Barrett pursed his lips. Carissa was now the legitimate daughter of a duke, which meant she was naturally a noble lady."She deserved having her entire family annihilated! She deserved it! She deserved it!" Rebecca raged.Barrett also found it strange that spies from Westhaven had wiped out the Sinclair family. Why would they kill those elderly people, women, and children? It made no sense and wasn't something worth doing.But the Sinclair family's matters were no longer his concern. He
After Solomon and the other Sinclair family members moved all the dowry items back to Northwatch Estate, Carissa came out to thank them and invited everyone in for tea.Solomon shook his head. "We've got other important matters to attend to, so we can't stay for tea. By the way, Barrett asked me to give you a message. He hopes you won't regret your decision.""I have nothing to say to him in response to his message. Since you have important matters, I won't keep you," Carissa replied calmly.Pleased with her response, Solomon and the others left.Even if the Sinclair family lost everything, they couldn't lose their dignity.It wasn't that Solomon didn't want to stay for tea, but Northwatch Estate was still in chaos. He was certain the new servants had yet to learn all the necessary rules and mannerisms.Solomon would have been okay with it, but he had brought along other family members. Too many people seeing the situation at Northwatch Estate might lead to gossip, and Carissa co
The problem was no one had told Rebecca that soldiers would be coming. And with over a hundred of them arriving, they took up many seats, leaving several other guests without a place to sit.These guests were prominent civil and military officials, esteemed figures in court whose goodwill could greatly benefit Barrett's career. But now, how were they to be accommodated? They were left standing in the cold, shivering and resentful.Rebecca urgently turned to Amelia, demanding she find a solution. Amelia was equally stunned and at a loss, as she had arranged the seating based on the official guest list and no one had informed her about the additional guests.The invited guests were equally shocked when they saw over a hundred unruly soldiers immediately sit down and start eating and drinking, laughing and joking loudly with the bride.The scene looked bizarre and out of place. Many of the wedding guests were from prestigious families and had attended out of respect for the king. They
Aurora felt Barrett's accusations were unreasonable.She scoffed and said, "We just got married today, and you're already yelling at me. What will it be like in the future? These soldiers have fought alongside you and witnessed our love."Even if I didn't tell you beforehand, who doesn't prepare extra tables for a big wedding? And about them leaving their posts, that's not for you to worry about. General Lane is an understanding person."Aurora's strong stance made Barrett back down a bit. He didn't want to argue on their wedding day.He asked, "So, they left the barracks with General Lane's permission?"Aurora hadn't actually asked the general, Gideon Lane. She had simply ordered the soldiers to attend. But she thought this detail wasn't important and believed Gideon would understand.Avoiding the question, she retorted, "It's your poor planning that's the issue. Go ask around, who doesn't prepare extra seats for a big wedding? I don't know who organized this wedding, but it's s
All the guests had left, leaving only a bunch of rowdy soldiers behind.Rebecca was so angry she almost had a heart attack. The other family members looked at each other in disbelief. They had never seen a wedding, especially one granted by the king, turn into such a disaster.News of this would surely make the Warren family the laughingstock of the capital.When Barrett found Amelia, he was unable to contain his anger any longer."Amelia, if you didn't want to help with the wedding, you should have told me! Now, a perfectly good party has turned into a joke, and all the guests have left. How am I supposed to hold my head up in court after this?" he ranted, slamming the table.An aggrieved Amelia let her tears fall freely."I made all the preparations according to the guest list. How was I supposed to know so many extra people would come? Was it my fault? Besides, this is the first time I'm managing the household!"Whenever we had celebrations or tea parties, Carissa handled eve