Convinced that the thief who stole the snow cream was Eliza, Adeline flew into a rage. "And to think His Majesty even granted her the title of Holy Lady of Walden!
"She ran off to that nunnery, imi, she wanted to practice devotion and prayer, yet all she learned was how to sneak around and steal like amon thiet. She''s absolutely disgraceful!"
She added, "Gabriel was right all along. A disgrace like her should have her family name stripped away. She should no longer be allowed to aci ur e name of the Stonor family. Otherwise, she will only continue to bring shame upon Duke''s
Estate.
"Mother, it was not
aleb never expected Adeline to pin the me on Eliza so quickly and without hesitation.
He struggled to speak, tiakin, he should clear Eliza''s name. But just as the words began to leave his mouth, he suddenly stopped.
If he exined, he would have to tell his mother that he was the one who gave all three bottles of snow cream to Sophie.
"What if Mother assumes Sophie was the one who urged me to do it? Then she willsh out at Sophie the same way she is cursing Eliza right now. Worse, she might even start resenting Sophie for it. If that happens, it could affect my chances of marrying Sophie in the future, he wondered.
That thought sent a shiver down Caleb''s spine. No. I absolutely cannot let Mother find out that Sophie has the snow cream. The thought.
Sophie was pure and kind, and Caleb would not allow his mother to develop any unwarranted resentment toward her. More than that, he could not bear to see Sophie suffer any injustice.
So, he decided to put the me on Eliza.
After all, his mother had never liked Eliza in the first ce. One moreint against her would not make any difference.
It is not a big deal. I will find a way to make it up to Elizater. With that thought, Caleb suddenly felt at ease.
"Caleb, stop speaking up for that bitch," Adeline snapped. "I may have indulged you in the past, but this concerns your future. A woman like her, who brings disgrace to the family, must never set foot in Marquis''s Estate"
She patted Caleb''s shoulder, speaking to him in a firm yet persuasive tone. "Besides, your father will not agree to it either. Between Sophie and Eliza, you can only choose one. I will not waste my breath talking about that bitch Eliza, but Sophie is a wonderful girl. You must not let her down. Do you understand?"
Caleb fell silent for a moment before nodding slowly. "I understand, Mother. I will think it over carefully.
Just moments ago, he had nned to make it up to Eliza someday. But now, his mother was asking him to abandon her entirely.
Caleb, who had always considered himself deeply devoted, found it difficult to ept.
But after thinking for a while, an idea suddenly formed in his mind, one that even convinced himself.
"No, I will give Eliza onest chance. That can be my way of making it up to her. If she still fails to seize this final opportunity, then she will have no one to me but herself, he thought
In Saint Grace Numery, at Mount Westin, Eliza remainedpletely unaware that she had been falsely used of theft.
15:32 Fri, 11 Apr NA.
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AN Mary''s courtyard for her daily hour of study.
Afterpleting morning prayers, to
Through relentless effort, she had managed to memorize over a hundred different medicinal herbs.
Yet even so, all she ever got from Mary was a single, unimpressed response. "Not enough."
"It has been days, and you have only memorized this many herbs? Keep working. When I studied medicine, I learned to identify over three hundred herbs in just three days. At this rate, you are far too slow," said Marry.
Mary''s attitude when teaching medicine waspletely different from when she taught morning prayers. She was absolutely ruthless
Eliza dared not arg
could only keep pushing herself harder and harder.
Every night, she staye in pocket farm, using its spiritual energy to keep herself awake and forcing herself to cram the entire herbalpendium in her memory.
Ten dayster, Eliza had finally memorized the entire book.
No matter which herb Mary tested her on, she could recite its details wlessly,
Atst, Mary showed the slightest hint of satisfaction and offered what could barely be considered praise. "Not bad"
"Now," Mary said, "we will begin your real training, learning how to treat illnesses and administer medicine.
After another intense two weeks of study, Eliza felt like her brain was about to short-circuit.
Just as she was on the verge of losing her mind from all the learning, a message from one of the senior sisters outside saved her "Mary, there is someone outside looking for Eliza."
"Who is it?" Mary stopped the lesson, frowning as she asked.
"It''s His Highness. It seems like he''s brought something for Eliza," she replied.
"Why him again?" Mary felt an odd sense of unease. Nn had been showing up far too oftentely, always to see Serenity.
Maybe I''m just overthinking things, she thought. After hesitating for a moment, Mary finally agreed. "Alright, go ahead and see what he wants"
w
Eliza, who had been feeling utterly drained from her studies, immediately perked up. "Great Thank you, Mary"
Thank you. His Highness. Finally, a chance to give my brain a break, Eliza thought as she happily ran outside to meet him.
Upon hearing her footsteps, Nn turned around and saw her running toward him with a bright smile on her face. “His Highness. I heard you were looking for me?"
Seeing the smile on her face, Nn didn''t answer right away. Instead, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "What''s got you so happy!"
Eliza waved her hand dismissively. "It''s nothing really. I''ve just been studying medicine so much that my brain''s all fried. I''m taking a break now. If you need something, just say it. I have to go back and study moreter."
"Are you so diligent?" Nn chuckled. "Well, in that case, I''ve brought you something to help refresh your brain."
Two ck g guards stepped forward, each carrying a box. One box was filled
with medicinal herbs, while the other. contained several bottles.
"I recognize the herbs, but what''s in these bottles" Eliza asked curiously, picking
up p one of the bottles and opening it to
smell
15:32 Fri, 11 Apr NA.
The next moment, her eyes lit up. The fragrance of the medicine told her immediately that it was something special.
Inside the bottles was a healing ointment, likely for treating wounds, and it
smelled like a rare, high-quality remedy
"These are the snow cream from the pce," Nn exined. "It works wonders
on scars and healing"
"Snow cream? Isn''t that a royal product?" Eliza asked.