Chapter 173
Jessica grinned mischievously. “Exactly! I did it on purpose. The more people talk about me going a thousand miles to rescue my fiance, the faster Hi image as the ‘Novigrad Butcher‘ will crumble.”
Jessica winked mischievously at Garbisch. “The mighty Novigrad Butcher led over ten thousand troops to suppress a rebellion, yet couldn’t even handle a mere few thousand rebels and needed a woman to rescue him. Tell me, Garbisch, will he still dare call himself the Novigrad Butcher?”
Garbisch took a moment to steady himself, but then, out of nowhere, a jolt of shock ran through him.
“So,” Monica said, “everyone’s still swept up in the touching story of you going a thousand miles to save your fiancé now But give it a couple of days, when they snap out of it, they’ll realize their so–called ‘Novigrad Butcher‘ is nothing special.”
Monica couldn’t help herself. She clapped her hands and jumped up in excitement.
She exclaimed, “The more this story spreads, the more
Waldo’s reputation will crumble. Then, everyone will see the truth when you publicly reject him in a few days. You didn’t go a thousand miles to save your fiancé. You did it for Novigrad, to rescue a coward. Ms. Yates, you’re the real Novigr Butcher.”
“Monica!” Garbisch shot her a warning glare.
Garbisch thought, ‘Calling Prince Waldo a coward? Is she out of her mind? Doesn’t she know loose lips sink ships?”
Monica made a face playfully, gave a sheepish grin, ducked behind Jessica, and stopped talking.
Garbisch turned to Jessica. “Jessica…”
“Monica’s right. That’s exactly my plan!” Jessica declared with a grin. “At the Autumn Hunt in a few days, the Yates family will compete directly. Then the
whole world will see I want nothing to do with that coward.”
“The Yates family competing?” Garbisch gasped in alarm. “Jessica, where are we supposed to find any master archers or riders in our family? If we send a bunch of amateurs, it would be defrauding the throne, and if we make a disgraceful showing, the King will be furious.”
Jessica pouted defiantly. “Who says the Yates family has no top riders or archers? If I say we have, then we do.”
She was in such high spirits today that even Garbisch noticed. Her girlish mannerisms, usually suppressed, were surfacing, making her seem subtly different from before.
It seemed he was suddenly seeing his little sister in a new light.
In the past, to win Waldo’s favor, she had put on airs of grace and dignity.
Now that marriage was off the table, she could finally be her true self, carefree and unrestrained.
Garbisch wasn’t sure if her mischievous grin swayed him or something else entirely, but somehow, he agreed to let the Yates family join the competition.
He even drafted the official letter, and of course, under Jessica’s close supervision. After tha
r that, he had Nolan dispatch someone to deliver it to Andrew.
But that night, the more Garbisch thought about it, the more he felt something
was amiss.
“How could the Yates family have so many master archers and riders? What makes Jessica so damn confident?” he asked.
Nolan
shrugged, looking innocent. “Mr. Yates, even you don’t know it. So how could I know?”
Garbisch slapped his forehead, suddenly anxious.
He said, “I can’t believe this… I had lost my head just now when Jessica egged me on. What do I do now? How long has the messenger been gone? Is there still time to get that letter back?”
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Chapter 173
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Garbisch thought anxiously, ‘Now that we have submitted the official letter to Andrew, the Yates family must join the competition otherwise it und considered treason against the King.
‘But if we make a disgraceful showing, even if it isn’t technically treason, it’ll piss
off the King.
*Mr. Yates,” Nolan said helplessly, “the messenger left the estate over half an hour ago. He must be at the palace by now.” So, they would have to join the competition no matter what. There was no going back.
Garbisch was nearly tearing his hair out in distress. “In this entire estate, counting you and me, we only have two people who can do that. Where are we supposed to find three more?”
