Chapter 736

The courtyard was in chaos. Violet's furious shouting had sent Travis fleeing in panic, while Lulu and Sydney rushed to get a hot compress to reduce the swelling on Carissa and Violet's faces and eyes. The compress wasn't entirely ineffective. After they applied some powder, Violet's face didn't look as bruised. But Carissa's eye socket was slowly turning black and blue.

Lulu offered to put powder on Carissa's face too, but Carissa waved her off. "What a joke! Have you ever seen a court official wearing makeup? No, leave it."

Lulu said anxiously, "But your eye doesn't seem to open as wide as usual. You still need to appear before the king. Wouldn't this be considered disrespectful?"

Carissa didn't think it was a big deal. During the audience, she would mostly keep her head down anyway. She rarely raised her head to meet the king's eyes directly. And even if she did, the distance between them would be far enough that it wouldn't be noticeable.

Carissa went to the stables herself to fetch her horse. As she stroked its head, she squinted with one eye and whispered, "From now on, we're off to a new battlefield, Lightning. We'll face it together, side by side."

Lightning had been idle in the stables for too long, only occasionally being taken out for a walk. Usually, when Carissa went out, it was by carriage, which wasn't pulled by Lightning. Now, the horse snorted and scraped the ground with its hooves, clearly eager to go.

The stable hand stepped forward and respectfully said, "Don't worry, Your Grace. The saddle is brand new, and I've trimmed his hooves. Early this morning, I fed him the best hay and grain. Lightning is in excellent condition."

Carissa patted the new saddle. It was true what people said—clothes made the man, and a saddle made the horse. The new gear made Lightning's already regal bearing even more impressive.

She took the whip from the stable hand and boldly instructed, "Go see Luke later and ask for a reward. Tell him I sent you."

"Thank you, Your Grace! I wish you continued success!" The stable hand couldn't stop grinning, though he was curious why one of Carissa's eyes was swollen and bruised. But with a reward on the line, he wasn't about to ask.

After Carissa left, Violet also headed out with half her face still swollen. That troublemaker Travis had gotten involved again, so things were bound to go south.

There was no morning court session today, but Salvador was ever diligent and had risen early. Ever since the treason case came up, he hadn't been sleeping well. Since Salvador ascended the throne, he had been suspicious that someone was plotting to usurp him. Up until now, those suspicions were based on nothing more than paranoia. However, he had hard evidence today. It proved that his earlier fears weren't unfounded—there really were predators lurking with ambitions for his crown.

He hadn't slept well, and waking early had left him in a foul mood. Last night, even the queen had… (The passage ends abruptly here.)