In the courtyard, the moment that voice sounded, Rafe and the other two, along with Adeline and Dale, all turned their heads with heightened vigt


    As for Eliza, upon hearing that familiar voice, her brows furrowed slightly.


    ''Raisa? What''s she doing here?'' Eliza thought.


    Indeed, the one standing at the ruined courtyard gate was none other than the current imperial concubine, Raisa.


    She hadn''te with a grand entourage, just a single young maid by her side. With an innocent smile, she nced at everyone in the courtyard and said,


    "I had wanted toe early to save someone, but s, it seems I was still toote. Must be fate."


    "Greetings to Your Highness." Although Dale had already requested to retire, he was still a court official. Naturally, he had to show respect when facing someone like Raisa.


    After bowing with Adeline, he nced sideways toward Eliza.


    But Eliza didn''t even spare Raisa a nce. Her eyes remained fixed on Sophie''s corpse on the ground.


    Just as Dale began to worry about Eliza''s cold attitude, he was surprised to find that Raisa didn''t mind in the least.


    After ncing toward Eliza, she waved her hand and said to Dale, "No need for such formality. I''vee in secret from the pce today. Please, do keep


    it a secret."


    Dale hesitated and didn''t immediately reply, unsure whether or not he should agree.


    At that moment, Eliza finally spoke. "Why are you here?"


    Raisa stepped forward from the courtyard gate and walked to stand half a step behind Eliza, joining her in staring at Sophie''s corpse.


    She said, "Didn''t I just say? I came to save her. Toote. She''s all broken like this now. No fixing that, unfortunately."


    Eliza snapped her head toward Raisa. "Fix? How would you fix her?"


    Raisa said something shocking, "Just some needlework. Stitch her back together, that''s all."


    Eliza narrowed her eyes, a flicker of killing intent shing through them. "You want to bring her back to life?"


    Raisa giggled, raising her hand to cover her lips. “Liza, you''re so silly. She''s already dead. How could I possibly bring her back?"


    One nce from Eliza''s icy gaze, and Raisa immediately stoppedughing. She coughed lightly and corrected herself. "Fine, fine. I can''t revive her. But her corpse can still be refined into a puppet. But this is beyond my abilities."


    Truth be told, Raisa hadn''t even wanted to show up today.


    She had long since sensed something was off at Marquis''s estate, and she also knew that Eliza was nning to act against Sophie today.


    Not wanting to make Eliza an enemy, she had no intention of getting involved.


    Since Raisa had no desire to make an enemy of Eliza, she naturally wanted to avoid appearing at such an inopportune moment.


    But an hour ago, Fletcher secretly sent someone to the pce with a message.


    He told her she had toe to Marquis''s estate, and she must ensure Sophie was alive.


    Raisa refused without hesitation.


    But then came Fletcher''s warning. If she didn''t save Sophie, she would be in danger.


    Raisa realized what Fletcher truly meant. Both Sophie and her mother, Zole, had been part of one of his old schemes


    He orchestrated Zoie''s escape from the Soulbind Tribe, her entrance into Bortend, and her meeting with the Duke''s estate heir, Gabris, that their vow, and the eventual birth of a child were all carefully plotted. Sophie was born to be a "Sorceress," and through her, the Soulbind the attention was sessfully drawn. That way, the Henderson family remained safely hidden. Though there were many missteps along the way, the final result was tolerable.


    At the very least, Sophie had served her purpose. She drew all the attention of the Soulbind Tribe, leaving the Henderson family. Raisa, herself also a Sorceress, waspletely undetected.


    As long as Sophie lived, the Soulbind Tribe would keep focusing on her.


    But Fletcher hadn''t expected Sophie to grow so bold. She stirred up so much trouble that it invited a deadly threat.


    That "deadly threat" was, of course, Eliza herself.


    Eliza wanted Sophie dead. But the Henderson family needed her alive. So, Fletcher sent Raisa to intervene.


    At first, Raisa wanted nothing to do with the Soulbind Tribe and the Sorceress.


    She''d be thrilled if Sophie died, especially since it was Eliza doing the killing. But then, Fletcher dropped the real bombshell. "If Sophie dies, the Soulbind Tribe will look for another Sorceress. And the only one left in the world... is you."


    He added, "If they find you, they won''t hesitate to take you back forcefully. Unless you produce the next Sorceress, you will never step foot in Bortend again."


    Raisa had never epted that she belonged to the Soulbind Tribe. She never wanted to be a Sorceress.


    She had been forced once. She would not be forced again. So she came. However, she was toote. Sophie was already dead.


    Staring at the mutted corpse, Raisa''s frown deepened. She couldn''t hide her frustration.


    Thinking quickly, she turned to Eliza. “Liza, will you sell this?"


    "Sell what?" Eliza asked, confused.


    She followed Raisa''s pointing finger and frowned. "You want to buy Sophie''s body? Didn''t you just say you couldn''t refine her?"


    Eliza didn''t know what kind of puppets Raisa was referring to, but anything that used corpses to craft them surely wasn''t anything proper.


    Raisa sighed. "I can''t use the lower half, but maybe the upper half can still be salvaged. If I piece it together with some other parts... I might be able to make a full body. It should still be use..."


    Suddenly, a flying needle tore through the air and sliced right past Raisa''s cheek. Chapter 704