Her Graceful War Song (Carissa Sinclair)

Chapter 817

Carmen didn’t set up her pulled pork stall. Instead, she joined Pearwater Convent to handle its procurement needs.

Since most of the residents at the convent were frail and delicate, they were unable to maintain a strict vegetarian diet for long. So, a new building had been constructed nearby where they could prepare nourishing meat soups to help restore their health.

In short, anyone craving meat could go there.

However, the abbess had strict rules–no animals could be killed on the premises, whether at the convent or in the new building. So, every day, Carmen would descend the mountain to buy meat and carry it back

1. up.

But after just two or three days, no one wanted to eat meat anymore. Perhaps the peace that the convent provided for their souls had fostered a sense of faith within them. They gave up meat of their own accord without needing anyone to tell them to do so.

Fortunately, Pearwater Convent had plenty of wild mountain delicacies. They gathered medicinal herbs and local specialties to brew nourishing soups for the residents. Many officials‘ families also sent some herbs like Heartsage and Evergreen Root. Although they were of lower quality, they still helped improve the residents‘ health.

As for the other staff of Harmony Palace, all necessary arrangements had been made, leaving only

Florence.

The queen dowager had specifically ordered Florence to be allowed to go to the Heritage Bureau each day to deliver meals to Eleanor. However, she couldn’t enter to serve Eleanor. She could only pass the food through a small door at a side entrance on the lower right corner of the main door–where she could catch a glimpse of the former grand princess as she bent down to deliver the dishes.

For Florence, this was a great blessing.

But watching the former grand princess crawl on the ground, unable to stand, broke Florence’s heart.

The grand princess was once a paragon of grace in silk fineries adorned with precious jewels, the pride of the heavens, and one who used to throw away any clothes that got dirty. Now, she had been reduced to a pitiful state. She was confined to a filthy place where she ate, drank, and relieved herself all in one spot, with a terrible stench filling the air.

Eleanor’s once fair skin had turned rough and weathered. Strands of white hair were woven throughout her dark tresses, and in this light, the white seemed to outnumber the black.

The former grand princess had grown old.

As for the captain of Harmony Palace’s guards, Kurt, he had been sent to the Southern Frontier for five years of hard labor. Luckily for him, he hadn’t been in Eleanor’s for long and had refused to carry out her orders to harm Daniel’s family. This counted as a merit that balanced out his faults, though five years of grueling work were still unavoidable.

With these people dealt with, Harmony Palace was reclaimed. On the day the name plaque of the residence was taken down, many citizens gathered to watch.

Matthew, a deputy minister of the Supreme Court, took the opportunity to educate the crowd. He warned them against harboring malicious thoughts and committing evil deeds.

“Otherwise, even the powerful, like the former grand princess, can come crashing down.”

The name plaque was smashed and tossed aside. Though it had been made of fine wood, it was so ruined that it couldn’t even be repurposed into a stool leg. Some citizens picked it up to use for firewood.

As for Fiona, she had once delivered a girl to Eleanor, and that girl had met a tragic end. After investigations, it was confirmed that Wendy had initially been promised a future as a concubine in the capital, and her family had provided a dowry. However, once she left, she never returned, leaving her family in despair until their deaths.

This incident stemmed from Fiona’s reckless matchmaking, making her partly responsible for Wendy’s demise. As a result, she was ordered to pay three hundred silver coins as compensation to Wendy’s relatives.

To show her remorse, Fiona willingly offered three thousand silver coins to appease Wendy’s family, along with a donation of thirty thousand silver coins to Pearwater Convent.

It seemed as though the dust had settled, but everyone knew the case was far from over. Eleanor had been a grand princess without a son, yet she claimed to be the mastermind behind the rebellion.

No one believed her.

After Yuvan’s failed assassination attempt, he couldn’t shake the feeling of unease. Every time he entered or exited the palace to attend to Ruth, he feared Salvador would summon him for questioning.

Salvador never called him, which only fueled his anxiety. Given the circumstances of the treason, it was less likely for a mere subject to be suspected. Attention would naturally fall on the princes.

Strangely, Salvador seemed to treat the matter as settled. He had asked neither Yuvan nor Harvey about it, nor had he questioned any other princes in the capital.

The more this continued, the more Yuvan’s heart raced with fear.

After all, Eleanor was still alive.