“So, did you marry me because you truly liked me, or simply because your mother chose me for you?” Barrett asked softly.
Carissa replied, “That question is pointless.”
“I want to know,” he insisted quickly.
Carissa’s brow furrowed again. “Barrett, you’ve never understood your place. When you were my husband, you didn’t get it. You’re Aurora’s husband now, and you still don’t get it.”
Barrett’s eyes darkened as he looked at her, his tone turning cold.
“So, you never really liked me. You married me only because your mother told you to. I knew it! I just wanted to have another wife, but you immediately went to the palace to request a divorce. You never had any feelings for me. You were the one who was heartless first, but you made it seem like wronged you!”
Hearing that, Carissa grew exasperated.
“Whether I had feelings for you or not is beside the point. From the day I entered the Warren family, I
served your parents without a single day of neglect.
“I did my duty. I was devoted and respectful, and I waited for your triumphant return. And you? You promised me when you proposed, and before you left for battle, you told me to wait. I waited a year, only for you to come back and inform me that you had used your military achievements to take Aurora
as a wife.
“Barrett, I fulfilled my duties as a daughter–in–law and a wife. From the moment I married into your family to the day I left, I have a clear conscience. And you? Can you look me in the eye today and tell me, with a clear conscience, that you kept your promises to me and my mother?”
Barrett was left speechless.
Seeing his expression, Carissa felt the suffocating weight of the moment and turned to leave.
She had intended to go over the siege plan one more time, but with a great battle looming, she. couldn’t bear to be entangled in such personal matters.
She had to leave.
Barrett stared blankly at her retreating figure.
She was right. What right did he have to accuse her? What right did he have to demand her affection?
Some wounds had already been inflicted. What was the point in dwelling on them?
Her words rang true–he had never understood his place. He was now Aurora’s husband, and his words and actions must be worthy of Aurora. Carissa was an outsider now. He couldn’t afford to fail
Aurora, too.
Aurora had her flaws, but nobody was perfect. At her core, she was kind, upright, and loyal to both the
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+15 BONUS
king and the people. He could tolerate some minor imperfections.
Barrett sighed deeply–he was about to leave, when he heard Aurora’s sharp voice from outside.
“Carissa, what were you doing in there with my husband?”
Barrett hurried out to find Aurora blocking Carissa’s way, her face full of hostility. Carissa glanced
back at him.
“Your wife, your explanation,” she said before walking away.
Behind her, Aurora’s accusations continued. “What were you doing in there with her? No wonder I couldn’t find you! If a subordinate didn’t tell me you were with Carissa, I wouldn’t have known you two were alone for so long.”
Carissa quickened her pace, not wanting to listen to the couple’s argument. The further she stayed from them, the better.
On the eighth day of the new year, Rafael issued the order to attack the city.
The weather was bitterly cold, and their winter clothes were insufficient to ward off the chill. They couldn’t delay any longer, as food supplies were also running low. Meanwhile, the supplies from. Westhaven and Sandoria were almost at Simonton City.
Just before the soldiers moved out, Rafael gave an inspiring speech. The call to reclaim their lost land and their shared hatred for the Sandorian invaders filled them with righteous indignation, readying them for battle.
The siege began at noon.
Carissa led the Mystic Army as the vanguard, with Barrett’s troops supporting.
As the charge horn sounded, the Mystic Army surged forward and led the assault.
Barrett’s forces advanced quickly, pushing catapults, ballistae, and scaling ladders.
Rafael rode his horse and took command, no longer allowing anyone to impersonate the marshal,
In this final, decisive battle, he would personally lead the entire army. He would wait for the vanguard to break through the city and plunge into the fray!
