Chapter 21

Eleanor gritted her teeth and spat out the name with venom: “Carissa Sinclair!”

At the mention of the name, Helen lowered her head slightly, her gaze becoming evasive. She had sent someone to follow Carissa to see if she had gone to Harmony Palace. However, before the report could return, Eleanor arrived at Trinity Palace and even summoned her. From Eleanor’s demeanor, Helen could already guess that Carissa had indeed gone to Harmony Palace and must have said something outrageous, but likely satisfying.

“What exactly did she say?” Helen wondered. “It must have been something to infuriate that old vixen! I’ve never seen Eleanor come to the palace to seek Salvador’s intervention before.”

Victoria frowned. “Carissa? What happened? Why does Salvador need to issue an edict to punish her?”

Eleanor’s voice was full of fury as she replied, “She trespassed into my palace and insulted me!”

Victoria, always protective of Carissa and disapproving of Eleanor, responded, “If she trespassed into your palace, you should have had her driven out. As for the insults, what exactly did she say? Tell me more about it.”

Eleanor’s face darkened. Unable to reveal the exact words, she clutched her chest and said angrily, “She caused a commotion at my birthday banquet. I was lenient, considering her youth and ignorance, and chose not to hold it against her. But today, she came directly to my palace and verbally abused me. She even threatened to never let it go.”

Helen’s eyes brightened. She was keen to hear more.

Victoria furrowed her brows deeper. “This seems rather unfounded. Why would she come to provoke you? You’re the grand princess, and everyone knows your reputation. How could she dare to act so recklessly?”

Eleanor sensed a hint of sympathy for Carissa in Victoria’s tone and was further enraged.

“It’s because she’s relying on her military achievements and her upcoming marriage to Rafael. She thinks she’s risen to a higher position and thinks I’m insignificant! Regardless, I won’t stand for it. I demand an explanation!”

Eleanor spoke with terrible fury. Her eyes were dark and venomous, and even Helen felt a shiver of fear.

However, Salvador asked, “Is it an explanation from Carissa that you seek, Aunt Eleanor? If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to go directly to Northwatch Estate? Why come to my mother? How can she intervene in your personal grievances?”

“This is not a personal grievance. Carissa has insulted the royal family! This is a grave disrespect!” Eleanor’s eyes were filled with rage.

Victoria’s expression darkened. “How has she disrespected you? You haven’t provided any details. What exactly did she say? Why did she trespass into your residence? What happened at your birthday banquet? And is there any truth to the matter of the miniature chastity belt sculpture?”

Eleanor’s sharp, menacing gaze fixed on Helen, who hurriedly said, “I didn’t speak a word about that incident.”

Seeing her own sister scolded so fiercely, Victoria’s irritation grew. She was also speechless to see her sister, who seemed to stir up trouble in the palace and disrespect everyone, being so fearful of Eleanor.

“She didn’t need to say anything. The entire capital knows of this matter,” Victoria said, her gaze stern as she focused on Eleanor. “And now, I’m asking you. After Hector and his sons sacrificed themselves on the Southern Frontier battlefield, did you send a miniature chastity belt sculpture to the Sinclair family? If not, then her disrespect is inexcusable. If you did, then you are unworthy of the honor and privilege of being a princess.”

Eleanor sneered. “I almost forgot that you and Melanie were close. I thought you could get justice for me, but that was foolish of me!”

She turned to Salvador and said sharply, “Your Majesty, Carissa is a fifth-ranked general appointed by the court. She is not yet royalty, yet she dared trespass into my residence and insult me. According to the law, what should be the punishment for such a crime?”

Before Salvador could respond, she added coldly, “As for the miniature chastity belt sculpture, whether it’s true or not has no bearing on her trespassing and insulting… not to mention the baseless fabrication she made up to slander me.”

The miniature chastity belt sculpture was already shattered, and Eleanor denied it. So, what could be done about it?

The passage has been significantly cleaned up. Numerous grammatical errors, punctuation issues, and inconsistencies have been corrected. Unnecessary sentence fragments have been integrated into complete sentences, and unclear phrasing has been clarified. The remaining inconsistencies ("Savaldor" vs "Salvador," for example) might indicate problems in the original source material.