Chapter 43

Carissa needed the battlefield report Dominic sent. Reports first went to the Ministry of Defense, where a copy was made before the original reached the king. Therefore, the Ministry should have copies of Dominic's battle report and the victory report. She would have to sneak into the Ministry of Defense.

Few people were at the ministry at night, but all ministry offices were located on either side of Thousand Street, adjacent to the royal palace. The royal guards didn't patrol Thousand Street, but the garrison unit did. Regardless, Carissa had to see the battlefield report and Dominic's post-war memorial.

One thing was certain: Dominic must have affirmed Aurora's contributions; otherwise, the Ministry of Defense wouldn't have credited her. The people of Westhaven were known for seeking revenge at all costs. If Aurora had massacred surrendering villagers, Westhaven wouldn't easily let the matter go, regardless of the villagers' reasons for surrender. Most likely, they would ally with Sandoria and join the fight at the Southern Frontier.

Carissa checked the map. If Westhaven wanted to reach the Southern Frontier without going through Starhaven, they would first go to Sandoria. From there, the journey to the Southern Frontier would take almost three months.

Sandoria was determined to win the Southern Frontier. But with the Hell Monarch leading Starhaven's charge, Sandoria hadn't succeeded, and the battle was at a stalemate. If Westhaven joined the battle, the Hell Monarch would surely lose. He couldn't foresee or prepare for that outcome. Even knowing beforehand, without reinforcements, he would still lose.

Westhaven would spare no effort for revenge, as shown by their spies slaughtering Carissa's entire family in the capital. The battle for the Southern Frontier had dragged on too long. Soldiers and horses were tired, and supplies were running low. The Hell Monarch must be in a difficult situation.

If Carissa's guess was correct, the court couldn't afford to delay and had to send reinforcements to the Southern Frontier immediately. Gathering troops from the capital or Riverhold Garrison would take at least a month to reach the Southern Frontier. However, she had no evidence that Westhaven was sending troops to Sandoria, so she had to wait for news from her eldest senior.

Her priority was obtaining the report on the battle at Victory Pass from the Ministry of Defense.

When Lulu brought in the fire liquor, Carissa was gone. Lulu searched everywhere—the martial arts hall, study, and garden—but found no trace of her mistress. An anxious Lulu immediately summoned the four other personal attendants to search and reported her disappearance to Holly and Lily. Soon, everyone in the mansion was searching, but there was no sign of Carissa.

Lulu finally noticed Carissa's red whip was missing, confirming she had gone out. Taking the red whip so late at night meant she was likely taking action.

Holly and Lily exchanged worried glances. They knew today was Barrett and Aurora's wedding day but hadn't told Carissa. Had Carissa also found out? Was she going to cause trouble for the Warren family?

They quickly dismissed that guess. Carissa wouldn't do that; she always acted decisively. Having even obtained a divorce from the king, she wouldn't get involved with the Warren family again.

"No need to search anymore. Everyone, go back to sleep. Lulu, you go back to Exquisite Pavilion and wait. Lady Sinclair will be back soon. She's just out for a walk to sober up after drinking," Holly ordered.

"Yes, ma'am!"

Everyone dispersed. Lulu returned to Exquisite Pavilion to wait. She was certain her mistress hadn't gone to Valor Estate. Though she didn't know the contents of the note—Carissa had instructed her never to open her messages—she knew Carissa's disappearance must be related to it. All Lulu could do was wait patiently for her mistress's return.

In the middle of the night, she heard a fluttering sound outside. She immediately went outside to find another pigeon landed on the railing. She recognized the pigeon—it belonged to Carissa's second senior. She carefully untied the note attached to its leg and hurried back inside.

That night, Carissa had received messages from both her eldest and second seniors. Lulu guessed something significant had happened.