Just as Carissa reached Northwatch Estate, Derek came personally to deliver Salvador’s edict.
Carissa was stunned. If she couldn’t find a suitable husband in three months, she would have to enter the palace?
She quickly asked Derek to stay, and dismissed everyone else. “Mr. Walker, can you tell me what exactly His Majesty means?”
If Salvador was determined to have her enter the palace, there was no need to give her three months to find a suit. With the edict out, no one would dare to marry her. It seemed like another form of coercion, leaving her with no option but to enter the palace.
However, if he had used his authority and still granted these three months…
There was something odd about this edict.
Derek pondered momentarily, and said, “Perhaps His Majesty thinks that if someone dares to propose to you within these three months and challenge his will, he would believe that person truly cares for you.” “But why is the king so concerned with my marriage?”
“Didn’t you say it yourself? Since you consider His Majesty as an older brother, it’s only natural for him to plan a marriage for his sister,” Derek replied.
Carissa was frustrated by these twisted explanations.
“In that case, why marry me directly if he fails to find a suitable match for me?”
Derek sighed. There were things he didn’t know how to explain and couldn’t express. Salvador’s mind was as inscrutable as ever.
Seeing Derek’s sigh, Carissa felt that the matter was not so simple. Ind she couldn’t grasp any clear answers. Her relationship with Salvador had been unclear from her youth.
After she returned from Meadow Ridge, she discovered her father and brothers had died in battle. When she followed her mother into the palace, Salvador had always been kind to her, maintaining the same attitude as in her youth.
Why was he now insisting on marrying her after her return from the battlefield? And why choose her, a divorced worn, instead of selecting a new concubine through the court’s usual methods?
Moreover, if Salvador had any genuine interest in her, he could have had her enter the palace back when her mother was arranging a marriage for her.
Why did he only issue this edict after her divorce and a stint on the battlefield?
The edict itself was peculiar. Instead of directly summoning her to the palace, he had first sent the queen to test the waters and then given her three months to find a suitor.
Salvador seemed to be pressuring her into marriage, as though her remaining single was somehow inconvenient for him.
After Derek left, Violet and the others finally woke up. After washing their faces, they devoured the meal set before them as if they hadn’t eaten in days.
Bun slumped into a chair, his hair in disarray, clearly having made no effort to tidy up. Rubbing his stomach, he said in a tired voice, “I slept for a long time and dreamed for a long time too. In my dreams, I was either fighting on the battlefield or returning triumphantly to the capital. In short, it was exhausting.”
Violet added with a gloomy expression, “I felt the same way. In my
dreams, there was nothing but bloodshed and the clash of blades. While I was on the battlefield, killing was like harvesting chives there wasn’t any real emotional impact. But now, reflecting on the number of people I’ve killed, I feel so distressed. Being a warrior is no easy task. I don’t think I’ll go back to the battlefield again.”
Travis and Cynthia nodded in agreement, clearly sharing the same
sentiment.
Carissa suggested, “Think of it this way: if yo hadn’t killed them, they would have killed our soldiers, Is it better for them to die or for our soldiers to die? And besides, they invaded the Southern Frontier and have killed many of our soldiers. They oppressed the Southern Frontier’s people for years. To show them mercy would be like turning the knife on our own people,”
Violet nodded, “That’s true.”
Though they understood the reasoning, they were still young and had only recently begun to fully grasp the brutality of battlefield slaughter. The horror was starting to dawn on them. “Cari, we need to return to Meadow Ridge,” Cynthia said.
Despite their significant achievements, the depth of their
involvement in the slaughter weighed heavily on them. To resolve their inner conflict and uncertainty, they needed to return and explain everything to their masters.
