Chapter 216
After leaving the palace, Carissa boarded the carriage bound for Harmony Palace. She had originally planned to visit Eleanor today, but a sudden royal summons had delayed her. This delay, however, wasn't a major setback. Eleanor would have awakened from her nap by afternoon and would be full of energy, so Carissa anticipated no disappointment.
In recent days, Carissa had been organizing the storerooms, sorting through the dowry items brought back from Valor Estate. Some items needed to be sold; others were to be stored. Since she was marrying Rafael, she couldn't use these items as part of her dowry. After tidying the storerooms, she needed to make a list of necessary new items. Frederick was to prepare this list.
Among the clutter, she discovered a miniature sculpture of a chastity belt sent by Eleanor. It was exquisitely carved from a rare and precious type of marble. Such an expensive "gift" obviously needed to be returned. When Eleanor had sent the sculpture, news of Carissa's father and brothers' deaths had just reached the capital. Carissa was still in Meadow Ridge and hadn't yet returned, so she had never actually seen the miniature sculpture.
She had thought her mother would discard it. Instead, it had been hidden in the storeroom. Perhaps Melanie had been too grief-stricken at the time to give proper instructions, and the servants, hesitant to dispose of it recklessly, had simply left it in a corner.
Carissa picked up the miniature sculpture and examined it closely. It was the size of a jewelry box, with "Chastity" intricately carved on the front and "Legacy" on the back.
She could imagine her mother's enraged helplessness upon receiving this miniature sculpture. The helplessness stemmed from having lost all the men in the family, leaving her to care for her orphaned grandchildren. How could Melanie dare oppose Eleanor then?
Carissa had previously assumed the miniature sculpture had been discarded and therefore hadn't visited Eleanor. Now that it had been found, it had to be returned respectfully. During Eleanor's birthday banquet, when Carissa mentioned that everyone could see the miniature sculpture, she hadn't actually known it was still there. She had been confident that no one would be interested in seeing it. Even if people secretly believed Eleanor cruel, they wouldn't go out of their way to visit Northwatch Estate to view such a cursed object.
As the carriage arrived at Harmony Palace, Carissa instructed Lulu and the others to wait. Then, she took the miniature chastity belt sculpture and leaped out.
The gatekeeper recognized her and hurriedly tried to stop her. Carissa brushed him aside and strode forward. The palace guards weren't idle. Seeing someone break in, they quickly took up their positions. After the incident at Eleanor's birthday banquet, the guards were well aware that Carissa was considered an enemy of the Grand Princess.
The head guard maintained a semblance of courtesy. Before taking any action, he said, "Lady Sinclair, Grand Princess Eleanor has instructed that you are not to set foot in Harmony Palace. Please leave immediately, or we will have to use force, and you may be injured."
Standing before the head guard, Carissa calmly replied, "Go ahead and do what you must."
With a nimble leap, she stepped onto their heads and sprang onto the rooftop. With a series of swift jumps, she reached the inner courtyard.
The head guard was taken aback but quickly shouted, "Quick, to the inner courtyard! Protect the Grand Princess!"
But the guards were too late. Carissa had already burst into the courtyard and was standing before Eleanor.
Eleanor was enjoying coffee and pastries. Every afternoon after her nap, she savored a cup of bitter coffee with a sweet treat. Just as she raised her cup, a figure flashed before her eyes and landed in front of her, causing her cup to clatter to the floor.
When she saw it was Carissa, her face turned red with anger. "Carissa Sinclair, how dare you? Have you no respect for me?!"