Her Graceful War Song novel Chapter 1244

Carissa knew all too well the gravity of the situation.

Salvador had already berated her for not informing him of this matter in advance. If Gerald were to die here at the headquarters, her comrades in the Capital Guard would surely face the consequences.

But how could she have warned Gerald in advance? Was she supposed to have sent someone to the Quinton family's residence and have them tell him that the Capital Guard was about to raid the gentlemen's retreats?

It would be a miracle if the Quinton family didn't tear her apart for it. Who would believe that the old man would ever venture near a gentlemen's retreat? And if Gerald denied it, she would be the one caught in a trap, painted as a troublemaker.

Carissa furrowed her brow. "If he chose to go to the gentlemen's retreat, he should've known this day would come. If he couldn't face it, he shouldn't have gone in the first place."

She went to speak with Malcolm, but even after the latter spent an hour trying to persuade his father, there was no progress. The old man remained silent, his eyes closed, offering no response.

Malcolm tried to feed him medicine and water, but Gerald's lips remained tightly shut. The liquid trickled down his chin, and not a single drop made it down his throat. It was worse than when he was unconscious.

Carissa watched from the side, sensing that Gerald might want to die, but there was also anger in him.

Why did he insist on dying here, at the Capital Guard headquarters? Why involve so many people? Even when Malcolm told him that Salvador hadn't blamed him, Gerald still showed no reaction.

Carissa couldn't tolerate this any longer. She asked Malcolm and everyone else to leave, then grabbed the last remaining chair from the side room and sat down in front of Gerald.

"Lord Gerald, you blame me for this situation, don't you?" Carissa asked.

Gerald didn't open his eyes. In fact, there wasn't a flicker of emotion on his face.

Carissa continued, "You're either blaming me or blaming the world for not accepting someone like you. But the truth is, you can't blame anyone. The laws of this kingdom didn't force you to marry and have children when you were young. No one could have forced you.

"You gave in to society's expectations—you conformed. And now you want to turn around and blame others and the world? Doesn't that seem foolish to you?