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Zoey had a clear purpose for coming here today-she wanted to inquire about the embroidery workshop and the women’s academy. If the people of Hell Monarch Estate were indeed establishing a women’s academy, she hoped to secure a spot for her daughter.
Normally, she would have brought her daughter with her, but doing so would make her intentions too obvious. It would seem as though she was pressuring Sophie to accept her daughter, which might make the princess consort uncomfortable.
So, instead of bringing her daughter along, Zoey decided to gather information first and find out what was required. That way, she could go home and prepare everything.
‘There’s no need to be formal. Let’s move to the side hall and chat,” Sophie said with a smile, leading them to a smaller chamber.
Meanwhile, Rafael, who had just woken up, was left facing Davis, who was still yawning.
Davis covered his mouth with his hand, stifling another yawn, and asked, “Are there any places to lie down here, Your Highness?”
Rafael was baffled.
At Davis’ age, he was still staying up late and causing a ruckus? How shameless!
Knowing Violet played a key role at Skye Embroidery, Hannah asked, “Where is Ms. Spencer? I was hoping to discuss the embroidery workshop matters with her.”
Sophie felt sorry for Violet and had planned to let her sleep a little longer. But since Hannah had asked for her, Sophie had no choice but to send someone to wake her.
Hannah had a well-thought-out plan. The workshop, being located in a somewhat remote area, needed a storefront to sell its handmade goods. She planned to allocate a shop specifically for selling these items, with all profits going to the workshop. Whoever made the items would receive payment based on how much they sold.
Hannah also added, “I won’t charge rent. It’ll be my contribution to this good deed. As for the shop assistants, I’ll cover their wages until the store begins to make a profit. Once the goods start selling and we’re not at a loss anymore, we can take a share of the profits to pay the shop assistants. How does that sound?”
Violet thought for a moment before responding, “For now, that seems like a workable plan. At the moment, we don’t even know if there will be customers for the embroidery products. If everything runs smoothly, we could have the women with good speaking skills go out to sell. They’d already be looking for work, so there’s no need for them to worry about whether or not they’re putting themselves in the spotlight.”
Hannah nodded. “The only issue is that since they’re likely women who have been divorced, they probably won’t be ready to face the public. If we send them out to sell the items, they may not be able to handle the judgment and gossip from others.”
Sophie chimed in, “So, we need to help them rebuild their confidence. The workshop isn’t just a way for them to make money. More importantly, it’s about restoring their hope for life and their belief in themselves. That’s why we also need to find someone to teach them.”
They continued discussing, with Zoey occasionally offering her thoughts. At first, since finding out about the women’s academy had been her priority, she had simply been asking about the embroidery workshop with the intention of donating some money. But as she listened to their conversation, she realized how meaningful this initiative was and wanted to be involved.
Luna, being from a merchant family, wholeheartedly agreed with Violet and Sophie’s views.
“What’s the big deal about women stepping into the public eye?” Luna said. “They’ve already been divorced, so why worry about their reputation? The idea that a woman from a good family should never be seen in public is laughable. Just look at those women selling groceries or street food-many of them are married women too.”
While the discussion raged on in the side room, there was nothing but the sound of loud snoring in the main hall, courtesy of Davis.
Rafael couldn’t believe it. He wanted to get some rest too, but with all that noise, how could he sleep? It wasn’t like he could return to his room and leave Davis alone here either.
But how could someone be so clueless about manners? Coming to someone’s home in the morning just to nap? No wonder Hannah was so sharp with Davis-there was a reason for it.
More than two hours later, after the group of guests had been seen off, Violet’s three apprentices, along with their wives, arrived to pay a visit. Having heard their husbands had taken a young woman as their mentor, the wives of Michael, Max, and Alistair were curious and insisted on coming along to meet her.
The visit may have been for formalities, but their true intention was to size Violet up. When they saw her, radiant and imposing, they were relieved to see their husbands behaving like subservient children in her presence. Each of the men had prepared two gifts-one for Sophie, their superior, and one for Violet, their mentor.
The gifts delighted Travis, who was overjoyed. Violet had promised that all these gifts would eventually be his. At first, he hadn’t expected them to arrive so soon to pay their respects. Now, he realized that meant he could head back to Meadow Ridge the following day.
At first, Violet tried to keep things relaxed with her apprentices. After all, it was the New Year-what was the point of acting all high and mighty as their mentor?
But when she saw the three couples treating her with such reverence, and when Max’s wife, Esther, personally took a cup of coffee from a servant and handed it to her, she realized that the role of a mentor had to be taken seriously. The other two women stood by Violet’s side attentively, as if she was their mother-in-law.
At that point, even Violet had no choice but to play her role. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder-did it really have to be this way?
Back at the Inferno Guild, she wasn’t treated like this. Most of the time, it was her mentor who pampered her. As for serving refreshments, that was usually left to the new apprentices. What business did she, a senior apprentice, have doing that? But when she first joined, no one had treated her that way either.
A sense of guilt stirred within Violet, and she found herself missing her mentor a little.
The next day, Travis packed up large bundles and headed off for Meadow Ridge. This time, he took Leah and Alana along, as it had been a while and it was time to visit their mentor.
The two women had insisted they wouldn’t accept any monthly stipends, but Leona had bought them many gifts- mostly fabric and some daily necessities for women, along with plenty of warm clothing.
Originally, they had planned to ride horses back. But now, they were taking two horse-drawn carriages, both packed full with gifts. Even the exterior of the carriages was loaded with bundles.
Since Alana and Leah didn’t want money, Sophie had given Travis extra funds, which he gladly accepted without hesitation.
Travis had bought makeup last time, which earned him a good scolding from his mentor. But he didn’t let that stop him this time. He had his reasons-women had the right to beautify themselves. Whether or not they actually used the makeup was their business, but they couldn’t be without it. What if they wanted to use it someday?
Even though Violet had warned him that if anyone used the makeup, they would face punishment, Travis didn’t care. If it meant looking beautiful, then it was worth the price. Surely, they would accept the punishment as long as they got to look good.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere in Hell Monarch Estate continued to be as busy as ever, with new invitations arriving every day-either formal invitations to pay respects or requests for Sophie to visit others. Rafael had his own round of visits to make too, starting with his uncles and other family elders in the capital.
First, he went to visit Hayden. The bustle at Willowbrook Estate was all for Chaya. Hayden’s son was now a county duke and couldn’t retum to the capital without a royal edict. Usually, Hayden quietly spent the New Year alone.
However, the quiet atmosphere in Willowbrook Estate during New Year was largely due to his own preference for keeping to himself. The only exceptions were Rafael and Sophie, to whom he had extended his courtesy.
After they had finished their meal and spent some time conversing with the elderly man, Rafael finally asked, “At the palace banquet, you mentioned Uncle Yuvan’s devotion to his mother. After that, everyone knew it was just a front he had put on. Why did you get involved in that?”
Hayden knew more than he let on-Rafael had been aware of this for some time. But Hayden had never involved himself because his family was at their fief. Whether it was offending Yuvan or angering the king, it could endanger his family, so it was better for him to stay out of it.
But bringing it up at the banquet had undoubtedly offended Yuvan.
Hayden looked at him helplessly. “Would you believe me if I said I acted out of impulse?”
“Impulse?” Rafael paused, exchanging a surprised glance with Sophie.
That answer was completely unexpected.
With a sigh, Hayden continued, “You know what they say-never play games with the younger generation. Ever since that little chubby one showed up, I’ve felt like a fool. Watching Yuvan fawn over Ruth, only emerging at the banquet to pretend to be so devoted, was infuriating. I just couldn’t hold it in and blurted it out.”
Rafael was still trying to figure out who the “little chubby one” was, but when he saw Chaya enter with servants bringing refreshments, it clicked. He couldn’t help but laugh.
But there was no denying it-Chaya seemed to have gained a bit of weight.
Rafael shook his head. ‘Please don’t get involved in this any further. It doesn’t matter who gets offended. One side is reckless, and the other is full of suspicion. You should just enjoy your life. Spend time with whoever you like, and leave the rest alone.”
In matters like this, with Hayden’s status, he certainly had the ability to speak up, stir the pot, and even influence things. But when it came to the conspiracy against the throne, it was best for him to stay far away.
“It was one mistake, but I won’t make it again. Don’t worry,” Hayden assured, taking Rafael’s advice to heart.
For the next two or three days, Sophie didn’t have time to entertain guests. There was still much to handle with the Mystic Army, and she couldn’t leave everything to others. Plus, she had to head back to the Capital Guard headquarters soon.
Meanwhile, Rafael and Jacob were inspecting the site for the women’s academy. There was a lot of repair work to be done, along with expansion plans, and the cold weather didn’t help. Progress had slowed as they approached the New Year, but fortunately, the funds were in place, so things could move forward smoothly now.