Adrian breathed an audible sigh of relief, though his voice remained cold and unyielding. "I obtained this decree through my hard-earned merits on the battlefield. If the Alpha were to revoke it now, it would deeply disappoint the warriors who bled beside me. He summoned me to the pack house today and then refused to see me. It is clearly because you ran to complain that you were being mistreated. I won’t stand here and argue with you, but I have done my utmost for you. I hope you can behave yourself and stop causing endless trouble. After Aurora and I are mated, I will ensure you have your own pups. You will have a decent, comfortable life in your later years."
Cassandra lowered her eyes, her face completely unreadable. "Lulu, see the guest out."
Lulu stepped forward, her posture rigid. "General, please leave."
Adrian turned on his heel and walked out without another word.
The moment the heavy wooden door clicked shut, Lulu broke into quiet, angry sobs. Cassandra walked over to the young maid, her expression softening as she reached out. "What’s wrong now?"
"It’s so unfair, my lady!" Lulu choked out through her tears, wiping her face with a trembling hand. "Don’t you feel that way?"
Cassandra offered a faint, calm smile. "Of course I do. But crying won’t solve anything. It is far better to focus on the future and figure out how we can live better. There are no weaklings in the Sinclair family, are there?"
Lulu pursed her lips tightly, pressing her handkerchief against her damp cheeks. "Why does everyone bully you, my lady? You’ve been so kind to everyone here in Grace Mansion. You saved this entire pack from ruin!"
"Because I am insignificant in their eyes now," Cassandra replied softly. In truth, to the Warren pack, she had always been secondary. What truly mattered was the vast dowry she had brought with her from the Marquis of Northwatch’s estate.
Lulu’s tears fell faster at those words, but Cassandra simply reached out and gently wiped a stray tear from the girl’s cheek. "All right, stop crying. Let us focus on what needs to be done. Life goes on. Off you go."
"My lady," Lulu said, struggling to dry her face as a thought struck her. "What about the servants who came with you when you married into the pack? Will you take them all with you when you leave?"
"Their service contracts are bound to me," Cassandra said. "If I leave them behind, Aurora will not treat them well. Naturally, they will come with me."
When Cassandra had married Adrian, her mother had sent two personal attendants, four male pack servants, and four maids to accompany her. Over the past year, while Rebecca was gravely ill, Cassandra had run Grace Mansion herself. Because the estate was severely short on manpower, Jonathan and Adrian’s low military salaries and lack of extra pack income meant they couldn’t afford a proper staff, Cassandra had placed her own people in key administrative positions across the estate.
Using her own trusted servants had saved her unnecessary conflict, allowing her to manage the household smoothly without having to constantly assert her authority. It had also freed up her energy to care for Rebecca, whose failing health demanded endless attention.
Her dowry had provided crucial financial support to the struggling Warren pack. Rebecca’s rare medicines were extraordinarily expensive, and the estate itself could barely cover its daily operational costs. To keep Grace Mansion afloat, Cassandra had drawn from her private income, utilizing the profits from her city shops, rental payments from her properties, and the harvest yield from her personal lands.
The following morning, Cassandra went to Rebecca’s chambers as usual. Today, however, her presence was only necessary because Sebastian Dalton, the territory’s most renowned pack physician, was scheduled to treat the older woman.
When Rebecca looked up from her pillows and saw Cassandra walk in, her face brightened. She smoothed the blanket over her lap twice, unnecessarily, the way she always did when she believed she’d won something.
"Aurora will be arriving soon," Rebecca said, adjusting her fine silk blanket a third time. "The two of you will be sister-Lunas soon, so you ought to get along with her."
Cassandra remained silent, her expression entirely serene as she stood by the window and waited for Sebastian to finish his examination.
When the physician concluded his work and wrote out a new prescription, Cassandra stepped forward. "Sebastian, I’ll see you out."
"Good. I also have something to say to you," Sebastian replied. He instructed his young assistant to pack up his leather medical kit and herbs. He did not spare a single word or glance for Rebecca before turning on his heel and walking out alongside Cassandra.
As they walked down the stone corridor toward the main gates, Sebastian glanced at her, his sharp eyes filled with gruff concern. "Silly girl, these people are not worth your kindness. You don’t need to send for me ever again. I won’t come back to this estate."
Cassandra looked at the respected healer and offered a quiet, genuine smile. "I understand. I won’t call for you again. I have decided to seek an official separation."
Sebastian let out a satisfied grunt, a rare smile appearing on his weathered face. He stopped walking for a moment, just to look at her properly. "Good girl. That is the decisive choice a true daughter of the Sinclair bloodline should make. I never needed their silver anyway. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have set foot in this place to treat her."
A single glance at Rebecca had been more than enough for a man of Sebastian’s experience to see through the matriarch’s selfish, greedy nature. He had seen these kind of things before and he knew how they would eventually end. He patted Cassandra’s shoulder once before stepping out into the crisp morning air, his breath fogging in front of him, leaving her standing tall in the quiet hall behind him.