Her Graceful War Song (Carissa Sinclair) novel Chapter 439

Gillian brought over the list, which was detailed with names, hometowns, ages, years of entry into the palace, and the specific palaces where they had served. On the surface, everything seemed in order.

Only three individuals had served in other palaces—Leslie, Janice, and Sonia.

Leslie had previously served Wanda, one of the late king's noble concubines. After Wanda's death, the queen dowager had reassigned Leslie to Helen. Janice and Sonia had originally served Lauren, a concubine the late king had favored. Her death had been sudden, reportedly due to an acute illness.

After Lauren's death, in a fit of anger, the late king sentenced everyone who had served her to death. Janice and Sonia had only been spared because Victoria had transferred them to serve Helen, who had been sick at the time.

Most of the remaining servants had been brought into the palace by Helen from her residence. Gillian, being Helen's wet nurse and having raised her, was not suspected of any issues. The servants Helen brought from her home were unlikely to pose any problems either.

Carissa instructed that extra attention be paid to the three individuals who had previously served in other palaces and to report any irregularities immediately.

As soon as the invitations for the birthday banquet were sent out, a few people immediately began plotting. One such person was Jessica, who specifically invited Serena to Harmony Palace and asked the latter to accompany her to Helen's birthday banquet.

Serena was reluctant to go. She harbored lingering resentment towards Carissa, her former sister-in-law. Why did Carissa get all the luck? How did she end up as the Hell Monarch's princess consort?

On the day of the banquet, aside from Helen, Carissa would undoubtedly be the center of attention. Serena had no desire to watch her former sister-in-law bask in the spotlight and flaunt her success. However, she dared not refuse Jessica directly, especially since she had already made a mess of things previously, and was fortunate that Jessica still wished to maintain relations with her.

So, Serena replied diplomatically, "Our family didn't receive an invitation to the banquet, so wouldn't it be a bit inappropriate for me to attend?"

Jessica smiled and said, "The invitation was sent to my mother and also to my in-laws. Since it's an invitation to me, I am free to bring anyone I choose."