Her Graceful War Song novel Chapter 1438

Carissa was still fuming when Violet's playful comment broke through her anger, causing her to laugh.

"Let go. Come down here and join me."

Violet chuckled, giving a quick curtsey. "At your command, my lady."

With a swift motion, she discarded her clothing and tossed it aside before slipping into the hot spring.

The two women splashed water at each other in a playful, light-hearted manner before settling down, resting their chins on the soft cushions by the edge of the spring.

Violet spoke first, saying, "The queen is an idiot. Why bother with her? It's not worth getting upset over."

"She's acting like there's something wrong with her. She definitely doesn't seem like someone raised by the Quinton family." Carissa paused for a moment, then added, "Well, I guess the Quinton family has more than its share of troublemakers."

Violet nodded. "True. Malcolm kept a mistress, and who knows what to make of the whole thing with Gerald. At least Marjorie is a bit more normal—poor thing."

Carissa folded her hands, resting her chin on her knuckles, her gaze distant. "Yeah. Vivi, do you know what it felt like hearing those words from Lydia?"

Violet tilted her head slightly, mimicking Carissa's posture. "You were angry, of course. What else could you have felt?"

"Anger, yes, but more than that... disappointment," Carissa said, rubbing her eyes as the steam from the hot spring swirled around them. "The queen may not actually want to find a secondary wife for Raf, but she's probably using this excuse to force me to come to the palace. She knows exactly how to make a woman's heart ache—like a knife right to the chest."

Violet hadn't given it much thought. But after hearing Carissa's words, she couldn't help but scoff.

"What's she playing at? She can't seem to sit still for a moment. On one hand, she's rewarding Ryan, and on the other, she's threatening you. What does she think she's going to gain from this?" Violet mused.

Carissa also found it confusing. Kylie's actions made no sense.

Was it to win her over? If that were the case, the queen wouldn't have resorted to such vile tactics.

Was it to punish her? Then, why not just directly send a secondary wife to the estate? As the queen, she could do it if she truly wanted to. No one would question her motives, and she could claim it was for the sake of Rafael's lineage.

Carissa thought long and hard but could only come to one conclusion—Kylie was using this as leverage.