Melody of Strength novel

Carissa called Violet over, asking her to help place Kayla on her back. With Kayla securely on her back, Carissa hurried back to the carriage.

“Stay here. I’ll find it for you,” she promised.

Kayla shivered uncontrollably, her hair soaked through. It was impossible to tell whether the moisture on her face was from tears or rain, and her lips quivered violently.

“Please… Please, you must find it.”

“Don’t come out!” Carissa’s tone grew more urgent. “Take care of yourself. We can’t have you distressed, even in spirit.”

Kayla covered her face and wept.

Carissa instructed the coachman to keep an eye on Kayla, then turned back to continue the search.

After a little more than half an hour, the carriages began to thin out, but the rain still poured relentlessly. The sky was ominously dark. Even with the help of the coachman from the Marquis of Elderglen’s family and three others, they were exhausted and unable to find the earring.

Just as they were about to give up, Carissa noticed a glint of light near the academy’s entrance. She rushed over and found that it was indeed the pearl earring. She quickly picked it up, but the earring was damaged–the gold thread and the two gold leaves holding the pearl were missing, leaving only the pearl itself.

The place she found the earring wasn’t where Kayla had fallen. The earring must have been crushed by a carriage and then kicked to this spot.

Carissa searched the area briefly and managed to recover one thin gold leaf, but couldn’t find anything else.

Soaked through, everyone returned to the carriage. Carissa held out the pearl and the gold leaf to Kayla.

Kayla grabbed them, clutching them tightly in her palm. She kneeled in the carriage, bowing deeply and sobbing uncontrollably.

Carissa held her close, letting her cry on her shoulder. She felt the intense heat of Kayla’s tears, which made her heart ache.

Kayla’s crying gradually quieted down. It seemed she was used to suppressing her emotions, and she soon composed herself. She wiped her tears, looked up from Carissa’s shoulder, her face pale and her eyes still wet.

She managed a faint, bitter smile and said, “I was so afraid it would be lost like his remains, but finding it now is a relief. Thank you, Your Grace.”

She signaled her maid to help her out of the carriage and thanked Carissa again before limping toward her carriage.

Carissa sat in the carriage, her hair dripping wet. The droplets fell onto her face, and she felt uncomfortably warm.

Violet held her close and said, “Don’t be too upset. This is the fate of many soldiers. Remember the many battles we fought at the Southern Frontier? We lost so many of our comrades then.”

“Yes, and it’s the families left behind who suffer the most,” Carissa replied, wiping her face with the back of her hand. “She’s never been able to move on.”

“The token proves that they were already deeply attached before their marriage,” Violet continued.

“Yes,” Carissa murmured. “So, she remains in the Marquis of Elderglen’s family, holding onto their past home. She even adopted a son and named him Alexander, just as they had once planned.”

Violet sighed. “If Septimus really is Thomas, and if the rescue is successful, he would return to find his wife married to someone else. Meanwhile, Lady Kayla, who waited so long, will never see her beloved husband again.”

Fate played cruel tricks, and the world was full of suffering.

Why couldn’t the heavens be fair?

Since they were soaked through, they had to return to the estate and change into dry clothes. Carissa had Travis arrange for a few household soldiers to keep watch and later bring Ryan back.Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

In the afternoon, both women felt unwell after being caught in the rain for so long. They had the estate physician prescribe medicine. After taking it, they both went to bed.

In the evening, Barrett emerged from the Capital Guard barracks. He was requesting time off because his mother had fallen ill since that day. Serena had been unwilling to part with the ruby tiara and was now keeping it with her constantly while caring for his mother, displaying an unprecedented level of devotion.

Barrett planned to take a few days off to handle matters at home. If Serena continued to refuse to return the tiara, he would have to take it by force. He couldn’t allow Serena to use Thomas’s pension to buy it.

It would be an insult to both him and Thomas.