Melody of Strength novel

Chapter 506

Serena sat on the edge of her bed, and snorted.

“I wouldn’t go out of my way to bother her. Before she married in, I thought she was quite capable, especially when comparing dowries with Carissa. Now she can’t even come up with a few tens of thousands. It’s truly pathetic! At least she’s better than Aurora. Do you remember how much money Barrett gave away when he married Aurora? The dowry she brought back was just a pittance. I’ve never seen such a poor show, and it was a marriage granted by the king to boot.”

After criticizing her two sisters–in–law, Serena turned her attention to Amelia.

“Amelia hasn’t cared about anything since she fell ill, not even my dowry. I don’t even know what she’ll prepare for me. I shouldn’t get my hopes up too high. She’s poorer than anyone in our family.”

Not one of the three daughters–in–law was worth much, and listening to this made Rebecca increasingly irritated. “Enough, be quiet.”

Serena shut her mouth. The light illuminated her face, revealing a harsh, gaunt look that belied her earlier babyish softness.

At this moment, Amelia was trembling in her room. She had been deeply worried when she heard that Viola hadn’t returned yet. The shop assistant was still waiting, and her anxiety was mounting. She was afraid that Viola might not be able to come up with the required amount of money and would end up asking everyone to contribute. Amelia was running low on funds herself, and had pawned most of the jewelry Carissa had given her previously.

When she heard the maid mention that Viola had gone mad today, Amelia had asked someone to ask around. She learned that Viola had bought a ruby tiara for 36,800 silver coins from the Golden Tower.

Upon hearing this, Amelia was stunned beyond measure.

And when she heard it was Viola who had insisted on buying it, Amelia’s mouth fell open in shock. Was Viola out of her mind? Didn’t she know what their family’s current situation was? How could they just buy jewelry worth almost 40,000 silver coins on a whim? And she still needed to borrow more money from her family–what a disgrace!

The second branch of the Warren family was also discussing the matter. As all of them lived together in the same estate, such a commotion couldn’t go unnoticed by anyone in the residence.

Charlotte shook her head and muttered, “Sooner or later, this household will be doomed.”

When it was almost nine in the evening, Viola dragged her heavy, weary feet through the gates of Valor Estate. Her eyes were red and swollen, her makeup smudged, her hair a mess, and a handprint was clearly visible on her cheek.

In truth, she hadn’t brought Thomas’s military pension with her when she married into the Warren family. She had left it with her mother at Silverstone Estate for safekeeping. To gather the required amount of silver, she had to return and retrieve the pension. The court had granted her two boxes of money, totaling ten thousand silver coins.

Typically, lower–ranking military officers didn’t receive such a substantial pension. But after Thomas’s many achievements at the Southern Frontier, his death was met with great regret by the king. As a result,

+25 BONUS

Chapter 506

a hefty compensation of ten thousand silver coins was awarded.

Alice had not taken a single coin from the pension. The Farrell family had given it all to Viola. Since Viola had cried and sworn she would never marry again when leaving the Farrell family, Alice had feared she might live a lonely life. The ten thousand silver coins, along with the two shops, were meant to ensure Viola could live comfortably and securely.

Upon learning that Viola was using the ten thousand silver coins to buy a tiara to add to Serena’s dowry, Evelyn had slapped her in anger. Viola had knelt, begging her mother and sister–in–law to exchange the silver coins for banknotes so she could return to Valor Estate and make up the amount required by the Golden Tower’s shop assistant.

Eventually, her mother relented. Zoey, who managed the household affairs, agreed to make the exchange. However, Zoey’s gaze was filled with contempt as she looked at Viola..

Today, Viola had truly lost all her dignity.

After counting the banknotes, she handed them to the shop assistant. The shop assistant counted them again under the light of an oil lamp outside. After he was done, he thanked her and left.

Once the shop assistant had gone, Viola collapsed onto the floor. Her maids, Julia and Yvonne, quickly rushed over, exclaiming in shock as they helped her up

“Madam Viola!”

Viola clung to Julia, sobbing uncontrollably.

She truly hated Rebecca and Serena. She loathed them completely. If they hadn’t insisted on going to the third floor today, she would never have encountered Kayla. If she hadn’t met Kayla, she would never have spent the money on that ruby tiara.

Using Thomas’s military pension to add to Serena’s dowry made Viola tremble with rage.