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The newly hired servants needed careful education to maintain the Duke of Northwatch’s reputation. It was important to not let improper behavior tarnish the duke’s name.
Later in the evening, the agent arrived with a group of young male and female servants, ranging from twelve to twenty years old.
Sophie chose not to make the selection herself, leaving the task to Holly and Lily.
Currently, Lulu was Sophie’s only personal attendant. During the year they were at Valor Estate, three of the four servants who accompanied Sophie there as part of her dowry had been assigned tasks to manage the household. Now that they were back at Northwatch Estate, they were also in charge of some important affairs here.
So, the first task was to select more attendants for Sophie.
Noticing a few outstanding and composed people among the candidates, Holly asked for their names.
Those she pointed out stepped forward and replied, “We don’t have names yet. If you’re willing to take us in, please have the lady of the house give us names.”
Pleased to hear this, Holly then asked, “Can you read?
“We can recognize a few words here and there,” they replied in unison, indicating that the agent had taught them what to do before they arrived.
Although the Duke of Northwatch’s family was known for their military background, Sophie was well- read, so she wanted her attendants to be literate as well. “Alright, all of you can stay. Serve Lady Devin well. She will name you later,” said Holly.
The four were overjoyed.
“Thank you, Ms. Holly!”
“Don’t thank me yet. Serving Lady Devin comes with rules. If you don’t follow them well, you’ll end up as second- or third-tier maids,” Holly warned.
“We will definitely learn and follow the rules properly,” the four replied, bowing respectfully.
After Holly and Lily picked more servants to join the household, they instructed the agent to find coachmen, carpenters, stablemen, and gardeners. However, the positions of steward and accountant were too important to be left for the agent to procure.
“Rest assured, we will have some people tomorrow for your selection,” the agent promised.
After receiving his payment and handing over the contracts, the agent smiled and presented Holly and Lily with an envelope.
“Please consider using our services again in the future. If you need anything, feel free to contact us. We have expertise in various fields.”
Accepting the envelope, Holly and Lily simply nodded politely before having someone walk the agent out of the estate.
As Sophie had just returned to Northwatch Estate after getting a divorce, people were curious about her current situation. The senior servants of the household knew to remain tight-lipped to prevent these shrewd and cunning agents from making wild guesses and spreading rumors.
Since not everyone had arrived yet, Holly took the four personal attendants they hired to meet Sophie.
Sophie was now residing in Exquisite Pavilion, where she had lived before marriage. Since no one had lived there after her departure, there were no signs of refurbishment. Besides routine cleaning, no one had entered the place.
That was why Exquisite Pavilion had been empty when the massacre occurred, so there was no need to cover up blood stains with paint.
In Exquisite Pavilion, there was an armory where Sophie trained. Naturally, there was also a small study filled with books she had read. Most of them were related to military strategies and tactics. Being married for a year had felt like a nightmare. If Sophie hadn’t gotten married, the assassins wouldn’t have been able to wipe out her entire family, as she could have fought them off with her martial arts skills.
Now, the Devin family had both war heroes and restless spirits.
Sophie stood in the armory, gazing at the weapons she had trained with-spears, swords, daggers, whips, and halberds. As the best apprentice of her guild, she had trained hard with the hope that one day, she would fight on the battlefield like her father and brothers.
Unfortunately, her father and brothers had died in the battle on the Southern Frontier. Her mother had cried until she was almost blind, and only had one request for Sophie-to give up thoughts of war and weapons, and instead focus on settling down and starting a family to have a peaceful life..
Though Sophie had always been rebellious since childhood, opposing her parents on everything, this time, she had been obedient.
Studying under her mother and sister-in-law’s tutelage, she learned how to manage a household and handle estate affairs. She excelled in her studies and quickly grasped all that she was taught. Her mother had once said that her daughter might not become the best female general, but could certainly become the best lady of the house.
Yet, her mother had been wrong, and so had Sophie.
She should have rebelled and not followed her mother’s wishes. Then, her family wouldn’t have been wiped out.
The extermination of her entire family was something Sophie couldn’t comprehend. Why had the spies from the Westhaven done that?
The investigation by local authorities revealed that it was because Hector had achieved a great victory in the battle against Westhaven. He had defeated their forces of one hundred thousand with just ten thousand soldiers-humiliating the people of Westhaven.
When they returned to seek revenge, Blake had fought back against them alongside Dominic, Sophie’s maternal grandfather. Once those soldiers were defeated, all the Westhaven spies in the capital were ordered to kill everyone in Northwatch Estate.
The investigation seemed logical on the surface, but fell apart upon closer examination.
Getting spies to infiltrate the capital was no easy task. It might have taken generations to cultivate such agents. They had no reason to go to such lengths to kill elderly people, women, and children just to vent *their anger.
It wasn’t worth the effort. The king of Westhaven wouldn’t have issued such an order.But this matter was impossible to investigate now. The spies were either dead or had disappeared back to Westhaven, where they couldn’t be found
Sophie couldn’t help but feel bitterness and pain as she thought of her father and brothers again.
They had once reclaimed the Southern Frontier, only to lose it again and die tragically on the battlefield. If the Hell Monarch could win the ongoing war and reclaim the Southern Frontier, it would fulfill the wishes of her father and brothers.
On her first night back home, Sophie didn’t sleep well Her dreams were filled with scenes of her mother, sister-in-law, nephews, and nieces being killed. After jolting awake in the middle of the night, she couldn’t fall back asleep. She spent the rest of the night lying in bed staring wide-eyed at the canopy, her mind racing,
From the wounds on her family members’ bodies, Sophie could see how ruthless the assailants had been. It was clear that they had been venting their anger
Losing a battle shouldn’t have caused Westhaven to resort to such methods, especially since it wasn’t their first defeat. Previously, Sophie’s father and brothers had won a battle against the enemy kingdom, killing thirty thousand soldiers in the process. Yet, Westhaven’s spies hadn’t taken any action then
Why had that specific battle led to such a massive retaliation, to the point that they even revealed their identities to vent their anger by killing women and children?
Canssa tossed and turned, unable to sleep until dawn.
When Lulu came in to attend to her, she saw Sophie’s haggard face. Assuming her mistress was sad because of Blake’s heartlessness, Lulu didn’t dare ask her about it, simply choosing to silently wipe away her tears in secret.
The next day, Solomon took some of the younger members of the Devin family along with him to help retrieve the remaining items from Sophie’s dowry from the Jaffe family. They took everything on the gift list-from sandalwood tables and chairs, to furniture and embroidered partition screens.
Every single thing. They didn’t want to leave anything for the Jaffe family
Rebecca cried and cursed Sophie for being disrespectful, selfish, jealous, and narrow-minded.
Hearing those words, Solomon exploded in anger, shouting fiercely, “How has my niece treated you since she married into your family? Ask around the neighborhood if anyone has anything bad to say about her! “Vet, you accuse her of being jealous and selfish? Why don’t you ask your son what shameful things he’s done? On their wedding day, he went off to battle and came back trying to use his war merits to marry another woman.
“He even invited the elders of the two families and a matchmaker to dissolve the manage, hoping to keep her dowry. Is your family not guilty of such shameless acts? How dare you cry and shout here? Aren’t you afraid of the neighbors hearing and the whole city criticizing you for your shameless behavior? The Devin family earned everything on the dowry list with their war merits, and gave it all away, as well as gave their lives, to ensure Sophie would be safe for the rest of her life!
“It’s only been a short time since they passed away, and you already wanted to take advantage of her and
But this matter was impossible to investigate now. The spies were either dead or had disappeared back to Westhaven, where they couldn’t be found.