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When Sophie visited her, she had agreed to help. The older woman had said that although her eyesight was poor, the fire in her heart still burned brightly, and she wanted to pass on her knowledge.
As for Kyle, Sophie had relied on his reputation to attract students. After all, with his fame, every family wanted their daughter to be his pupil.
The current plan for the academy was to have five teachers and an intake of one hundred students.
At first, Sophie had thought that attracting students would be difficult. In this world, women were often valued for their modesty rather than their intellect. Even the daughters of high-ranking families typically only studied basic lessons in women’s etiquette. To her surprise, within just one day of announcing the opening, all one hundred spots were filled.
The queen dowager herself had named the women’s academy-Gracewood Women’s Academy. The name meant it was a noble and serene academy for young ladies of high standing.
All the student information was sent to Sophie first, as she was appointed the headmistress of the academy. She had originally planned to decline, as she already had many responsibilities and couldn’t help much with the academy. Since the king appointed her, she couldn’t refuse.
All the students were from official families, including children of both high and low-ranking officials.
Jacob looked over the documents and remarked, “For this first group of students, we should be prepared-they’re here to network.” Sophie nodded. “I understand.”
It was hardly surprising. The world of politics was all about making connections, hoping to help the futures of the men in their families. Moreover, studying under such distinguished teachers would be beneficial when it came to securing advantageous marriages,
Zoey’s daughter had also secured a spot, and Zoey was genuinely hoping to expand her daughter’s horizons.
The academy was bustling with activity. At the same time, Violet had uncovered some troubling details.
That evening, when she returned to the estate, she didn’t even bother to wait for Rafael and Sophie to finish their meal in the dining room. She barged in, slamming her palm onto the table so hard that the dishes rattled and nearly flew off.
Lulu quickly stepped forward.
“Ms. Spencer, be careful with your hand! Breaking the table is a small matter, but hurting yoursel be a big problem.” Lulu moved chair over for her to sit. “You haven’t eaten yet, right? Please sit down and eat. You can talk as you do.”
Knowing that Violet had discovered something regarding Karen, Sophie quickly filled Rafael in on the situation. Upon hearing this, Rafael suddenly looked thoughtful. “Is she Douglas Whitley’s eldest daughter?”
“You know about her?” Violet asked Rafael, glancing at Sophie-had she mentioned this to him beforehand?
Sophie shook her head, then turned to Rafael. “Do you know her?”
Rafael wore an expression that said it was complicated. “I’ve heard some rumors, but I thought they were just that-rumors.”
Rafael had gotten the gossip from someone working in the Supreme Court. He had been discussing matters with everyone, and during a break, he and Matthew went inside for some refreshment. As they talked outside, the topic came up.
Douglas had been in office for five years and was looking to advance. He had heard that Malcolm had a mistress, who had since been sent to a convent, but not before she had given birth to a daughter.
This led Douglas to believe that Malcolm was a man of indulgent tastes, and he decided to offer his daughter as a concubine to Malcolm. When Malcolm refused, Douglas, ever the schemer, assumed Malcolm’s wife had disallowed the arrangement. Douglas devised a plan to send his daughter to Malcolm while his wife was absent, hoping to force the issue.
He learned through various means that Malcolm, whenever he had time off, would go with his wife to visit temples or take walks in the countryside. Douglas bribed the gatekeeper to find out their plans. Once he learned they would visit the hot springs after their trip to the temple, he secretly sent his daughter there in advance.
But things went wrong. Although Malcolm had booked the hot springs, his wife Marjorie became ill and he stayed behind to take care of her. Meanwhile, Douglas had already drugged his daughter and sent her to wait at the hot springs. Somewhere along the way, a lecherous man snuck in and violated Karen. Afterward, the man disappeared without a trace.
Later, Douglas learned that Malcolm had never even gone to the hot springs. However, Karen had lost her purity and Douglas couldn’t find out who had done it. He had sacrificed everything and gotten nothing in return.
To make things worse, the rumor about Karen losing her innocence somehow spread. Fearing it would harm his career, Douglas claimed it was his daughter who had acted improperly and had an affair, so he secretly dealt with her to preserve his reputation. When Sophie heard this, she slammed her fist onto the table, the dishes rattling with a loud crash. “So, you’re saying Douglas tried to use his daughter to further his career? When that failed, he wanted to have her killed?!”
Violet was seething with anger. “What I’ve found out is almost the same, but with more details. Douglas tricked his daughter into going to the temple first. When he took her away, he had someone drug her and sent her to the hot springs. And this isn’t the first time he’s done something like this-he did it before with his sister, and she died.”
“This is outrageous! We need to report it to the authorities!” Sophie exclaimed in fury.
It was rare to see Sophie angry to this extent, but Rafael couldn’t help but remind her. “Unless Ms. Whitleycomes forward to accuse him herself, who’s going to take the case? Even if someone did, for child to sue their parent-first, they’d have to endure thirty lashes to repay the kindness of their parent. How could a young woman bear that? Besides, Ms. Whitley has wanted to die for some time. She probably doesn’t want to expose what happened.”
Violet was trembling with rage, her voice shaking.
“How could a father be so vile? To use his own daughter’s suffering for personal gain his career, his future-without any regard for her life? And even if the man who violated her was Malcolm, there net were still dozens of other people involved in this. Even if she had become Malcolm’s concubine, her life would have been destroyed. To think such a thing could happen in the world of officials… It’s beyond horrifying.”
Sophie’s heart sank, and she finally understood why Karen would rather die than remain in her family. To her, that place had become a hell on earth. “Is there nothing we can do?” Sophie asked Rafael, her voice tinged with helplessness.
Rafael’s eyes held deep pity, not just for Karen, but also for her late aunt. However, the situation was difficult to handle. If they pursued it
1.n seriously, it would definitely hurt
Karen, who was already determined to die.
“I’ve heard he has other daughters,” Rafael said with a shake of his head. “Since Ms. Whitley failed, the next victim most likely will be one of the others.”
“Those other daughters-none of them acknowledged Karen as their sister,” Violet spat angrily. “We don’t have to care about them.”
“They didn’t deny her of their own will,” Sophie said. “They were forced to do so. You can tell just by looking at the situation.”
Violet’s heart sank. “What are we supposed to do? Just let him continue to harm his daughters? For the sake of his so-called career, he’s sacrificing one daughter after another, treating them like mere objects to be given away! “And I just can’t understand why he would push Karen to kill herself. With such a vile mind, shouldn’t he have kept her alive so that… Ugh, I can’t even finish that thought.”
Rafael picked up his cutlery, took a few bites, then put them down again. He had lost his appetite.
“Because he doesn’t know who the culprit is. The whole thing has already leaked out, and he’s afraid there might be consequences. So, it was easier for him to have Ms. Whitley kill herself, deny her being his daughter, and cut off any future leverage. He probably erased her from the family record too,” the prince explained.
Violet’s eyes blazed with fury. “Is there really nothing we can do? Can we only watch as he keeps ruining his daughters? The officials are so corrupt, yet the king won’t do anything? Isn’t the prime minister going to intervene either?”
“Of course, we can launch an investigation. The Supreme Court can look into it,” Rafael said, glancing at Sophie. “But if we want to avoid involving Ms. Whitley, the investigation would have to focus on other aspects of Mr. Whitley’s life. He’s just a minor official in the Protocol Department. He has no power to embezzle, and his negligence doesn’t warrant much attention.
“We could look into his family life or his character, but externally, he has a decent reputation. He knows how to maintain a good public image. The greatest evil here is selling his daughter for his own gain, and even selling his sister to further his ambitions.” “So, to take him down, there are only two options,” Violet said. “One is to drag Karen into this, but I won’t do that. The other is to fabricate charges against him.”
Sophie pressed her fingers together, then lifted her gaze to look at Violet. “There’s a third option. We can keep him bedridden for the rest of his life, unable to hold office, barely surviving, and living at the mercy of his wife and daughters.”
Violet’s eyes brightened, then she glanced at Rafael and whispered, “Let’s talk about this in private later. His Highness is from the Supreme Court-he’s responsible for the law. He can’t hear about this.”
Rafael picked up his cutlery again, eating slowly. “I didn’t hear anything. Eat up. No matter what happens, don’t neglect your stomach.”
Violet smiled, clearly pleased. “Yes, of course. All of us should eat well.”
Sophie took a few bites of her food, then paused, setting the cutlery down. “The man who harmed Karen also needs to be found. I’ll have the Capital Guard look into it.”
“Leave that beast, Douglas, to me, Sophie,” said Violet, who was always merciless when it came to scum like him. “You just focus on finding the man who hurt Karen.”
Rafael spoke up, “The hot spring is owned by The Golden Tower’s young heir and manager, Nathaniel Judd. If you want to investigate, it might be better to start there. Give him a heads-up. If he’s willing to cooperate, any issues that arise will make the Capital Guard’s will investigation more legitimate.”
Sophie immediately understood. “Got it. I’ll do that.”
To investigate the people who came and went from the hot spring around that time, it would be ideal if something had happened there that day, valua Perhaps a guest losing valuable jewelry. That way, the Capital Guard’s involvement would be perfectly reasonable and not raise suspicion.