When fate plays its hand

The confession was presented to the king. After Salvador read through it, he furrowed his brow as he listened while Patrick detailed Aurora’s admission.

The king was well aware of the entire Fawnrun City affair the massacre of villagers and the killing of the prisoner. The entire matter was soaked in blood.

However, he didn’t know the specifics. The confession didn’t detall the grisly events of the massacre, but Patrick had described them. Hearing these bloody details, even Salvador, despite his position as king of Starhaven, couldn’t help but slam his fist on the table in a fit of anger as he cursed Autora. E

Patrick could understand Salvador’s fury. Even he felt a chi run down his spine. Fortunately, someone Aurora had asked for a marriage based on her military mer. If she had served in court or as a military she would have been a huge threat, just like how Carissa currently was.

“Has the Hell Monarch seen these confessions?” Salvador asked after his outburst.

Patrick knew that Rafael had sent people to summon Barrett before the king issued his order, so he answered carefully, “As soon as Aurora confessed, I had it sent to the palace for your review, Your Majesty.”

Salvador nodded in approval. “Good: Send it to him. Even though the Supreme Court hasn’t been involved in this case, General Sullivan is the Hell Monarch’s grandfather–in–law. He can’t just sit by and do nothing.” This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

Patrick was momentarily stunned. Was Salvador now tacitly allowing Rafael to be involved in the case? He had assumed there might be some tension between the two brothers.

“Yes, Your Majesty. I’ll go personally,” he said respectfully, making sure to not show his shock on his face.

• After his dismissal, Patrick made sure to go back and review the confession with Rafael, making sure everything matched up properly to avoid any mistakes in front of the king.

Ever since Patrick had taken on this task, he had been walking on eggshells as the Hell Monarch’s involvement had been overwhelming. Now that Salvador had spoken, the Ministry of Justice would follow Rafael’s lead.

Patrick was well aware that this wasn’t just a simple case. It required the utmost caution. If he handled it well, there would be no credit. But if he failed, demotion and punishment would be the least of his worries. So, Patrick couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief as he hurried to find the prince.

Perhaps Rafael would go directly to Sullivan Estate and obtain Dominic’s testimony. If that happened, the Ministry of Justice wouldn’t have to worry about it.

However, Patrick’s wishful thinking didn’t work out. Rafael agreed to keep things under wraps in front of the king, but as for going to Sullivan Estate to get Dominic’s testimony, that responsibility still fell to the Ministry of Justice.

Well, that was fine. Now that the situation had changed, there wasn’t anything wrong with being respectful toward Dominic.

At dinner, Rafael announced that Aurora had stopped accusing Dominic, and everyone visibly relaxed. Winona had also arrived in the capital, bringing the two Westhaven spies with her. Rafael handed them over to the Ministry of Justice for detention, where they would be interrogated by the ministry’s officials.

The Ministry of Justice’s officials were greatly excited when they learned that the Westhaven spies involved in the massacre of the Duke of Northwatch’s family had been captured. There were two main reasons for their

enthusiasm.

First, they had long suspected there were survivors who had escaped their net, and now, with these spies in custody, they had finally rounded up the missing pieces. Second, with these spies, they could confirm that the Sinclair family’s annihilation had indeed been orchestrated by Westhaven, which would be a significant advantage in negotiations.

Winona temporarily stayed at Hell Monarch Estate. She knew the past few days had been difficult for Carissa, so she remained in the capital to keep the latter company.

Everything was in place now. They were just waiting for the Westhaven envoys to arrive.

As the storm clouds gathered, there was a sense of nervous anticipation among everyone, though Helen seemed unaffected. She knew the Westhaven envoys were coming, and she knew they wouldn’t be coming with good intentions.

However, she felt it wasn’t her problem to worry about. With so many capable officials in court, there was no doubt they would handle it. It wouldn’t affect her in the slightest, so she intended to continue living her life as usual.

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In fact, she was glad that Hell Monarch Estate was becoming more lively. When Cindy and Winona had some free time, Helen invited them to chat. She said that she didn’t often get the chance to see the outside world, listening to their stories was interesting. She would also call Carissa over, and all of them would spend the whole day together.

Sometimes, when her daughter–in–law wanted to go out for something, Helen would stop her, saying, “There are so many people in the house. You don’t need to handle everything yourself. It’s rare that your third aunt’s back in the capital, and your senior guild member is here too. Wouldn’t it be nice if you just relax and chat with us, have some snacks, watch a play, and maybe play a game of cards?”

Carissa couldn’t refuse and would stay.

But truth be told, the days passed quickly as they waited for the Westhaven envoys to arrive. Finally, Claire came to report that, barring any unforeseen delays, the Westhaven envoys would arrive in the capital the next day. That evening, Helen rubbed her cheeks and said, “Tomorrow, I’m sleeping until noon. Don’t wake me up.” Gillian smiled and replied, “Of course, Your Grace. I’ll have the kitchen prepare a few of your favorite dishes, and we’ll wait until you wake to serve them. You’ve had quite a few difficult days.

Helen sighed dramatically. “The waiting is the worst. I can’t help with anything. All I can do is invite more people to keep Carissa company, chat, laugh, and get through the day.”

With that, she lay down and fell asleep immediately.