Vi didn''t go to Isaac. In the past, she might have shamelessly believed that as a member of the Earl of Silverstone''s family, it was his duty to help when the family faced hardship and was in need.


    But now, she couldn''t think that way.


    She hade to understand certain truths. When the Earl of Silverstone''s family was thriving, Isaac had never shared in any of its glory. Now, when it was in trouble, expecting him to step in felt wrong. She couldn''t bring herself to do it.


    As for whether she should tell Zoey about this, she hesitated. No matter what, she didn''t want her brother to die.


    Vi sat under a tree, staring off into space for a long while. Just then, na came by carrying a basket of silk thread. Upon seeing Vi, she immediately took a turn, clearly not wanting to speak with her. Vi remembered the misunderstanding from earlier and quickly called out, "Ms. na, I''m sorry about what happened earlier. I didn''t mean it like that."


    na nced at her. "I see."


    Then, she made to leave.


    Knowing that these women from the martial arts world were straightforward and didn''t dwell on things too much, Vi asked, "Ms. na, may I speak with you for a moment?"


    na paused, hesitated, and then returned to sit on the wooden bench under the tree beside Vi. "What is it?"


    Vi wasn''t sure how to begin. She nced at the basket of silk thread na was holding and asked, "Did you buy this?"


    "Mrs. Lloyd had someone send i over. I went out to pick it up," na replied.


    "Mrs. Lloyd is really thoughtful. She''s always keeping Skye Embroidery in her thoughts," Vi murmured absently.


    "Everyone is good," na replied.


    "Yes, you''re right," Vi answered.


    "What is it you wanted to say?" na asked. She had a lot to do.


    Vi forced a smile. "I was just making small talk, nothing important... Oh, by the way, I heard that you and Ms. Leah aren''t taking any payment for your work here Back when you were with Lady Leona, you didn''t take any payment either. Don''t you feel it''s unfair?"


    "We didn''t protect Lady Leona well. The promises we made weren''t kept. How could we, in good conscience, ept payment?" na answered firmly.


    "Promises?" Vi turned her head, puzzled. "What promises?"


    "The promise to protect her," na replied, her tone terse. "We didn''t keep it, so we have no right to ept any payment."


    She didn''t like repeating herself, and her patience was running thin. "If there''s nothing else, I''ll get back to work."


    "Is a promise really that important?" Vi pressed, seemingly unfazed by na''s hint that the


    conversation was over. "Isn''t it men who need to keep their promises?"


    na''s brow furrowed in


    annoyance. "What do you mean by that? Are women not human? Are the words we speak just wind? If you make a promise, you have to follow through. Is it only men who have to defend the kingdom? What about Carissa and Violet? Didn''t they fight tooth and nail for it too? Are their efforts somehow less worthy?"


    Vi froze, as though struck by a sudden realization, her body stiff and unmoving. She finally understood where the difort had beening from.


    Evelyn had said Oliver would die. At first, the thought had filled Vi with panic. But after reflecting on it, wasn''t it true that he had broken thew? He had nearly caused the loss of the Southern Frontier.


    Thend, bought with so many lives, hadn''t even had time to settle before it was plunged back into war by the collusion of enemies both inside and out.


    Oliver was a marshal, yet he didn''t think about defending theirnd. He just ran off with his concubine, even embezzling military funds. How many people had his actions put in danger?


    Suddenly, Vi felt a deep sense of shame. As a noblewoman raised in the household of an earl, she realized she understood less about loyalty to her kingdom than a woman from the martial arts world.


    All her life, Vi''s heart had been


    consumed with her own personal gain and loss. What she thought she understood had only been


    half-formed. Her sister-inw nee


    had


    truly cared for her, but she had been


    too muddled to realize it before.


    In her entire life, she had never done a single thing for anyone else, not even something trivial, let alone considered matters as grand as duty to the people or the kingdom.


    Though she had grown up benefiting from the support of themon people, she always thought herself superior, striving to be the best at everything. But now, she came to a realization-without the people, who was she, really?


    Without thinking, she stood up abruptly, walking quickly toward her sister-inw''s room. She didn''t even say a word to na, who got up as well. Muttering about how strange Vi was behaving, she also left the area.