Her Graceful War Song (Carissa Sinclair)

Aurora's head snapped to the side from the slap. She clenched her teeth but didn't strike back, focusing instead on tending to her wound.

Viola turned to Michael, wiping her tears with one hand as she shouted, "Mr. Brown, it was her! The assassins came for her. She locked herself in the room, and pushed me and my maids out. She's responsible for my maids' death! And the assassins-Carissa had already taken them down and tied them up, but Aurora went crazy and killed them all. Mr. Brown, please get justice for me!" Michael glanced at Aurora. Before he could ask any questions, Aurora said coldly, "They broke into Valor Estate and killed guards and maids. Why would I leave them alive? Keeping them around would only bring more trouble."

Michael examined the assassins' bodies, and was dissatisfied with Aurora's response. "Their tendons were severed, their cores were damaged, and they were bound. What further danger could they pose? Leaving them alive and questioning them to find out who was behind this would have been the real way to prevent future threats."

Aurora remained unnervingly calm. "I apologize. They killed so many people in Valor Estate. In my anger and grief, I didn't think to leave any alive for interrogation."

Michael chose not to respond to this. There was no need to waste words.

Viola's anger was far from abated, even though she had slapped Aurora. She recalled that Aurora had locked the door in the face of danger, leading to Julia and Yvonne's deaths. Hearing her reply to Michael, Viola was convinced that Aurora was at fault.

Viola coldly demanded, "The assassins came for you! Who exactly did you cross, and what kind of shameful things have you done? Julia and Yvonne died because of you. You owe me an explanation!"

Aurora scoffed derisively. "If you want an explanation, ask the assassins. I didn't kill your maids."

"It's because you locked the door that the assassins were able to kill them!" Viola retorted.

Aurora's tone was icy, "Why not say it's because you blocked the door, and they were standing in front of you? You're the reason they're dead."

"You're talking nonsense!"

Aurora tightened the bandage on her wounds and looked up at Viola, her face half covered and shrouded in gloom.

"There were so many people in the estate, but the assassins didn't kill them. Didn't they kill your maids because your maids were trying to protect you, and you just happened to be blocking the door? I locked the door and kept you out, so the assassins wouldn't have killed you. But instead of running, you stood there pounding on the door. Are you still going to say it's not your fault they died?"

Viola recalled the events and

realized it was indeed as Aurora had said. She had been standing at the

door, while Julia and Yvonne had

been trembling with fear but stiet

trying to protect her. The assassins had killed Julia and Yvonne, and

then had intended to kill Viola. It was only her husband's timely arrival that had saved her.

Realizing she was the reason they died, Viola collapsed to the ground, her body going limp as tears flowed uncontrollably.

As Barrett listened to the exchange between Aurora and Viola, he couldn't help but think back to the things Aurora had said to him before the assassins arrived.

It was laughable-he had almost believed her then.

From an outsider's perspective, hearing her now blame Viola for everything made him realize how skilled Aurora was at distorting the truth.

Before the attack, she had insisted she was thinking of their future. But when disaster struck, she had thrown him in harm's way to save herself. He had seen the depths of her ruthlessness.

No wonder she saw massacring

civilians as just another step toward

was

her ambitions, something she believed everyone would do. In her mind, if it served her interests, no act terrible. She cared for no one but herself. Her talk of raising the status of women was just that-talk.

All she ever wanted was to raise her own status.

For such a selfish woman, he had abandoned Carissa!

Barrett's heart sank into an icy abyss, and he shook with rage. He wanted nothing more than to strike Aurora down on the spot. Yet, his anger would have to wait until they got through questioning from the Royal Citadel and the Capital Guards. Then, he would make sure she paid for all of it.