Patrick's voice turned harsh, "You're the reason for General Sullivan's return to the capital for questioning. Are you really trying to make him carry all your crimes? How can you say such a thing?"
"Someone is making excuses for General Sullivan! I'm sure of it!" Aurora snarled, raging like a cornered beast.
Had she not been shackled, she would have lunged forward.
"It's not fair! General Sullivan is the leader of Victory Pass, so he should bear the heaviest responsibility. You all flatter Prince Rafael and Carissa, trying to take down Barrett, but he had no idea about how I massacred the villagers or killed the prisoner. He's being unjustly accused!" she yelled.
"If Commander Warren didn't know, then General Sullivan definitely wouldn't have known." Patrick scoffed, turning to the scribe. "Write this down—Aurora has confessed that both Commander Warren and General Sullivan were unaware of the matter."
"No! I never said that!" Aurora shouted in protest.
Patrick's voice cut through her outburst, "There are too many ears in this room for you to take it back now."
Aurora opened her mouth, but the words stuck in her throat. She realized her situation—there was no escaping now. She slumped, her gaze dropping as she hid the defiance that still burned in her eyes.
As Patrick observed her, he couldn't help but admire Rafael's decisiveness. With Barrett's confession, Aurora's claims held no weight. After all, Barrett had been the general in charge of the operation. If even he didn't know about it, how could Dominic?
Aurora was just one of Barrett's subordinates. She was never in a position to bypass him and take orders directly from Dominic.
Had this been earlier, Aurora wouldn't have cared about dragging Barrett down with her. Before the Ministry of Justice came for her, she believed that her husband had no feelings left for her and that their bond was severed.
But that day, when she had asked him if he remembered the promise he made at Victory Pass, he had unhesitatingly risked his future to help her escape. At that moment, she knew—he hadn't completely erased her from his heart.
"As for humiliating that young general... I didn't know who he was at the time. I only thought he was a coward who had fled the battlefield and hidden in the village. I tortured him because they killed several of my soldiers during the clash..."
Aurora didn't spare any details about the torture, but the scribe didn't record them fully. He merely wrote the term 'tortured prisoner' to keep things brief, as the confession was meant for the Westhaven envoys' eyes.
She continued, "After I captured them, I didn't expect Marshal Liam to arrive with his troops. I was terrified, and confused as to why he would go so far for a mere young general. He even abandoned the front lines. That's when I suspected the general's identity wasn't simple. I never imagined he could be the crown prince. At the time, I thought he might be Marshal Liam's son.
"Their army was so much larger than ours. If a battle broke out, we wouldn't stand a chance. But Marshal Liam actually wanted to talk terms for the sake of that young general. I was shocked. I tested the waters by making a bold suggestion, which was to redraw the boundary lines and cease the war.
"I never thought he would agree. I just wanted to test how high-ranking that prisoner really was. When Marshal Liam agreed without hesitation, I was certain the young general was his son."
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Her Graceful War Song
What happens to the other chapters, I've been waiting to read more of this story, the character's and the screening are fantastic, very intriguing story...
Next chapter please, what's happening...
Very captivating novel....
Both content and context are very intriguing, the writer style of pulling out characters in their unique ways are profound,I have recommended this book because it's very captivating...