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Chapter 356

Auteur: Summer's Blaze
Carissa blinked, unable to believe her ears.

She looked at the two thousand silver coins in banknotes that had been handed to her, feeling a mix of astonishment and disbelief.

Wow, Helen really was generous with her money. It seemed so easy for her to give it out.

Carissa could see Helen was truly becoming a gullible fool.

No, she already was a fool.

"Have you finally seen Eleanor's true colors, Mother?" Carissa asked with a smile, her tone considerably softer.

Helen's face darkened. "Do you think I'm blind? Even after all this, how can I not have figured her out?"

"I saw you speaking to her so politely, and thought maybe you were still deceived by her," Carissa replied.

Helen snapped, "How can I not speak politely? One of us has to be strict and tough, while the other has to be soft and accommodating. We can't really tear down all the pretenses we have with her. She's on good terms with most of the noblewomen. If she twists things around and tarnishes my reputation, won't I
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    Helen cast a covert glance at Carissa, who appeared relaxed. A faint smile graced her lips. It was undeniable that Carissa's face was exceptionally beautiful, radiating a clear and refreshing charm.Helen's curiosity was piqued. "Aren't you afraid of Grand Princess Eleanor?"Carissa responded with a question of her own, "Why should I be afraid of her?""She’s the grand princess, the current king's aunt. Even the late king was lenient with her. She controls at least half of the political connections in the capital. Her words alone can tarnish your reputation overnight," said Helen.Carissa remained indifferent. "Didn't you say I'm fearless and lack awareness? Why should I fear a tarnished reputation? If she spreads rumors about me, the hero who reclaimed the Southern Frontier, even her status as the grand princess won’t save her from the scorn of scholars everywhere."Helen thought that while speaking about these matters might seem easy, offending Eleanor could lead to retaliatio

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    Gillian squeezed through the crowd with great difficulty, and finally managed to ask a young shop assistant, "Do you have any filigree gold bangles with embedded gems?"The young shop assistant looked up at her, and answered loudly, "Those are sold on the second floor, but we're out of stock. We've sold out of all the batches we made this year. If you want to buy them, you'll need to place an order on the second floor. They'll be available in February next year."An order? And not available until next February?Gillian slowly backed out, and then made her way up the stairs to the second floor. The second floor was elegantly decorated, featuring eight or nine counters, each with cushioned chairs in front for customers. Each display case served one guest at a time.On the other side, more than ten people were waiting. They were seated on chairs, enjoying snacks and coffee, with premium charcoal burning warmly in the stoves to keep the room warm.These patrons, though wealthy, wore n

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    As luck would have it, on the day Rafael and Carissa were preparing for their visit to Northwatch Estate, Jessica had someone deliver the accounts. And it was none other than the shopkeeper himself, Eric, who brought them.Since Helen was staying at Hell Monarch Estate, Eric made the trip personally. Had Helen been at the palace, Jessica would have handled the delivery.Gillian suspected that Eric's visit was also to recognize the people involved, so they could identify them if they came by in the future.Helen eagerly opened the account book, only to find that the few sparse pages contained sales of only mundane items, with no expensive jewelry at all. The final summary showed a loss.In one quarter, there was a loss of over ten thousand silver coins. Over ten thousand—this was even more than before.Helen trembled with anger, and threw the account book to the floor. "How could there be such a loss? You'd better give me an explanation!" she hollered. Eric knelt on the flo

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    Luke immediately ordered two guards to take Eric to the local authorities.Terrified, Eric cried out, "Your Highness, please spare me! It wasn't my idea. Lady Jessica instructed me to make these false accounts to deceive Lady Helen!""What?" Helen was enraged, and smashed a cup. "Jessica used fake accounts to deceive me?"Carissa pressed Helen's hand to calm her. "If the previous account books were false, then there must be genuine ones."With the guards holding him, Eric's arms ached as if they might break. Fearing further punishment, he nodded vigorously. "Yes, of course! There are real ones."Since Carissa was preparing to visit Northwatch Estate, she didn't want to waste more time arguing. She called Luke in, and instructed, "Please take two people with you and return to The Gilded Tower. Retrieve all the account books from these years and have them verified one by one by the accountants. Confirm on-site whether they are genuine accounts. If they continue to falsify records,

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    As Rafael packed the gifts, his mind wandered to the matters concerning the Pathfinders Guild.He was naturally pleased that so many people were looking out for Carissa. Still, he also wanted Adrian and the others to know that he would protect Carissa from now on, and they no longer needed to worry.Most importantly, he had to tell Adrian one crucial thing today—from now on, he would ensure that Carissa sent at least two letters back to the guild each month. No matter what happened, whether it was something good or bad, the guild members would be informed, so they wouldn't have to trouble themselves by sending people down to investigate.After filling three carts to the brim with gifts, he saw Carissa leading Ryan and Lulu out.Carissa's face was serene and composed, her calm demeanor only enhancing her beauty. She was dressed in a deep purple dress that accentuated her fair, translucent skin. Two peonies were pinned in her hair, but even the flowers seemed less radiant than she wa

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    "Huh?" Rafael was momentarily stunned, then his face lit up with joy. "Are you worried about me getting punished by my master? You're worried about me?""Of course, I'm worried about you. Haven't you ever felt the sting of Sage Everett's iron fists?" Carissa asked with a raised eyebrow."Not really," Rafael replied, thinking back to his days at the guild. Strictly speaking, he wasn't there for even a full month each year. It wasn't that he never got beaten, but that was a matter of pride. Even if he had been, he would never admit it."Were you always that well-behaved?" Carissa asked curiously. Even Kyle had been punished at the Pathfinders Guild. Was Rafael really more obedient than him?Rafael tilted his head, thinking for a moment. "Mainly, when I was at the Pathfinders Guild, none of you ever came to find me. So, I had nothing to do but train hard. My master was very pleased with me."Carissa couldn't help but look at him with admiration. All of them, as junior apprentices

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