Her Graceful War Song

However, there were so many people who wanted Rafael's attention. Whenever something happened, they would seek him out, leaving him with little time alone with Carissa.

Even the nights were no better, because Carissa was sharing a room with Violet while he was stuck with Dylan. Rafael had grown weary of it. Dylan's snoring was impossible to muffle. In the middle of the night, Rafael would kick his bed. However, Dylan would only turn

over and continue snoring loudly.

Rafael was eager to return to the capital as soon as possible.

When the group was approaching Eastridge, they saw a carriage on the main road. It was overturned, and blocking most of the path.

While riders could pass, Lawrence's carriage couldn't get through.

Dylan rode forward and saw two people trying to lift the overturned carriage. The horse lay nearby, seemingly having suffered from heatstroke.

The woman wore a hood that covered her face, so it was hard to see what she looked like. She was dressed in a pink dress and had an extremely narrow waist. It looked like she had fallen from the carriage, and her clothes were dirty from mud. Although she seemed a bit messy, she was more pitiful than anything else. Dylan approached and asked, "What's the matter?"

A tall man replied, "Sorry for obstructing the road. The horse suffered from heatstroke and fainted, causing the carriage to overturn."Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

Dylan dismounted to inspect the scene. As someone who had been on the battlefield, he was particularly considerate of horses. He reached out and checked-both horses were dead.

"The horses are dead," Dylan informed the man.

The man sighed. "We're in a rush to get back to the capital. What should we do now?"

He was evidently a guard as he was leading the way with one remaining horse, while the other person appeared to be the carriage driver.

"Who are you people, and why are you going to the capital?" Dylan asked.

The man replied, "We're from the capital, and we were escorting our mistress to Lanshire to visit her family. Due to the extreme heat and the urgency to return, we pushed the horses too hard." He wiped his sweat and added, "Do you have any water? My mistress is very thirsty."

No one from the Septimus Tetra reconnaissance team stepped forward to speak. Having worked as scouts for so long, they were quick to analyze situations.

Although the young lady was

wearing a veil hat that obscured her face, her clothing, shoes, and jewelry suggested she was either wealthy or noble. Given such a background, i was unlikely she would travel with only a maid, a guard, and a driver for a trip from the capital to Lanshire, and choose such a scorching day to return to the capital at that. And to have both horses die at this exact moment seemed suspicious.

Dylan also sensed something was off, but was curious to see how it would unfold. Hearing the man ask for water, Violet took a leather water bag and dismounted from the carriage. Then, she walked toward the young lady.

The maid reached out to take the water bag, but the young lady quickly intervened, pushing the maid behind her. She took the water bag

and thanked Violet. "Thank you so

much. I am incredibly ve

QUMS

Violet nodded and held one hand behind her, waiting for the young lady to finish drinking and return the water bag.

The young woman turned away, took several swallows, and handed the water bag back to Violet, thanking her again, "Thank you for the water."

Violet glanced at her and then at the maid before asking, "Would you like some too?"

The maid bowed and replied, "Thank you for your kindness, but I must decline. I'll manage with some water from the nearby stream."

"Very well," Violet said, turning back to rejoin Carissa. She handed the water bag to her and said, "There's still some left. Do you want to drink?"

Carissa looked unsure, but took it. She noticed that a note was hidden inside the water pouch.

She rode her horse to Rafael's side, with Violet riding alongside to block the view. Only then did Carissa open the note concealed within the water bag.

The note read, [I am Carmen Kingsley, a concubine's daughter from Grand Princess Eleanor's family. I request you to join us on our journey, Lady Carissa. I have a request.]