Filed To Story: Queen of the Battlefield Her Return to Glory Novel Online Free
“Lulu, show them out!” Sophie called out, lowering her gaze to hide the icy coldness in her eyes.
Lulu, who had been listening outside, immediately entered.
Her voice was cold as she said, “Generals, your mutual affection is your business. Please don’t mistreat my lady, nor use military achievements to pressure her.”
“How dare you?!” Freya shouted angrily. “You’re just a lowly servant girl! How dare you speak so boldly to me?”
Lulu felt heartbroken seeing her mistress treated this way. Sophie had held back due to decorum, but as a lowly servant, Lulu wasn’t afraid.
Her eyes reddened with tears as she spoke, “I may be just a humble maid, but I know right from wrong. You’re a female general, yet you got involved with someone else’s husband on the battlefield. And now, you’re bullying my mistress under the guise of military achievements…”
Before Lulu could finish, Blake angrily slapped her across the face.
Then, he turned to Sophie and coldly said, “Is this what you teach your servants? There’s no sense of respect!”
Sophie hurried over to support Lulu. The fact that her cheek swelled instantly showed how hard Blake had hit her.
With a sharp gaze, Sophie turned back and swiftly delivered a slap across Blake’s face.
“Do you think you can hit my people as you please?”
Blake hadn’t expected Sophie to strike him back over a servant girl, especially in front of Freya. After all, a man’s face wasn’t something a woman could just hit.
But since he couldn’t retaliate, he just gave Sophie a cold glare before leaving with Freya.
Sophie touched Lulu’s cheek gently. “Does it hurt?”
“Not at all.” Lulu smiled through the pain. “Fortunately, we’ll be leaving the general’s residence soon.”
“The royal edict should arrive in a few days.” Sophie sighed. “I just hope it’s sooner rather than later.”1
When Blake initially mentioned the king’s edict for his and Freya’s marriage, Sophie had wanted to meet Freya. Since she was the first female general of the generation, Sophie had not only admired her, but also believed that she wouldn’t be willing to share a husband.
But after today’s meeting and hearing Freya’s words, Sophie’s illusions were thoroughly shattered. She was deeply disappointed in the female general.
Blake and Freya’s wedding was set for October, and it was already mid-August. They had to make preparations quickly. Besides Sophie, the only other person in the household who could manage wedding arrangements was Charlotte.
Therefore, Sophie was determined to quash any thoughts from the Jaffe family about involving her in organizing the wedding.
In the end, the wedding arrangements were entrusted to Charlotte. She harbored deep disdain for Blake’s cold-heartedness, but family ties and Amelia’s illness forced her to take charge.
On the eve of the engagement ceremony, Charlotte called a family meeting. Everyone was present, including Blake’s father, uncle, and younger siblings. When Rebecca insisted that Sophie join them, the latter could already guess their intentions. However, Sophie still went, wanting to hear just how shameless they could be.
When the marriage between Blake and Freya had been proposed, the Ernst family had presented a list of betrothal gifts they expected from the Jaffe family. Having already prepared all the basic items on the list, Charlotte had now called everyone together to brainstorm ideas for the betrothal gifts she couldn’t decide on.
Looking at the list of betrothal gifts, Jonathan immediately said it was impossible to come up with them.
When Blake married Sophie a year ago, Melanie had noted that Rebecca had to take medicine all year round and that the Jaffe family wasn’t very well off. So, she hadn’t asked for much. She only requested five hundred silver coins and some ordinary jewelry as betrothal gifts.
On the other hand, the dowry Sophie had brought with her to the Jaffe family included houses, estates, and shops. The total wealth amounted to a hundred thousand silver coins. Just the furniture, silk, and bedding she had brought was enough to fill an entire room.
Over the past year, Sophie had relied on her dowry to pay for the visits from Sebastian, who prescribed pills to maintain Rebecca’s health. If she hadn’t done that, Rebecca might not have lived past a month of Blake’s deployment
Seeing everyone’s distress, Blake took the list of gifts.
After reviewing it, he asked Charlotte, “What’s the issue here? They’re asking for two thousand silver coins, two pairs of gold bracelets, two pairs of malachite bracelets, two sets of rose gold hair ornaments, and fifty rolls of brocade. That’s all. The miscellaneous items aren’t a lot either.”
“That’s all?” Charlotte sneered coldly. “Unfortunately, our household can’t even scrape together a thousand coins right now.”
“How’s that possible? Who manages the finances? Do we not have money?” Blake asked in surprise.
“I manage the finances,” Sophie said calmly.
“You manage the finances? Then, where’s the money?” Blake questioned.
“Yeah, where’s the money?” Charlotte chuckled coldly. “Do you think our family is some wealthy noble family? Valor Estate was granted to your grandfather by the late king because he was a senior military commander.
“Your father and uncle’s annual salaries plus stipends don’t exceed two thousand silver coins. And you… you’re just a fourth-rank general. Do you earn more than your father does?” ‘Well, shouldn’t the estate left by my grandfather generate some income, no matter how little? *Blake argued.
Charlotte replied, “Even if it does, can it sustain the expenses of such a large household? Just your mother’s daily medicine costs three silver coins per dose. Then, there’s the pill she needs to take once every three days, which costs five silver coins. All these things are paid for with Sophie’s dowry money.”
Blake couldn’t believe it. He felt that Charlotte was deliberately making things difficult for him.
Disappointed, he set the gift list down. “In plain terms, you just don’t want to use the money for this. Fine then, I’ll figure out the betrothal gifts and money myself. I’ve earned militar merits. I’m sure the king will reward me.”
“Didn’t you use military merits to ask for the edict to marry Freya? Since you’re in love, why bother with betrothal gifts? Go and discuss it with her. Tell her to ask for less,” Charlotte said. Clearing her throat, Rebecca chimed in, “After all, it’s a marriage granted by the king. We can’t be disrespectful. It’s not like we can’t produce the gifts and money.”
She looked at Sophie and smiled, motioning for her to come over. “Sophie, how about you front this money first? Once we’re more financially stable, we’ll pay you back. How does that sound?”
Serena scoffed. “Mom, we’re all family here. Why talk about paying her back? I’m sure my sister-in-law is generous and wouldn’t mind giving us ten thousand coins.”
“Serena, you shouldn’t speak about your sister-in-law like that. She’s done a lot for our household this past year. You should appreciate her,” said Rebecca, pretending to scold her daughter and emphasizing that everyone should remember Sophie’s kindness.
After a pause, Rebecca looked at her daughter-in-law and added, “Alright, that’s settled, then. Sophie, I know this is hard on you. Once Freya arrives, you should set some rules for her to know you’re the primary wife here.”
Everyone’s eyes, including Blake’s, turned to Sophie.
Since she had slapped him yesterday, he felt awkward and couldn’t bring himself to ask her for help on this matter.
When Sophie remained silent, Charlotte asked, “Besides the money, should Sophie also provide the ornaments and jewelry?”
“Of course. She doesn’t mind, right, Sophie?” Rebecca prompted gently.
Charlotte looked at Sophie and shook her head slightly, signaling for her not to agree. The latter knew that the former meant well by reminding her, but Sophie had never intended to agree anyway.
So, she shook her head slowly and said, “It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to pay for this. The household should cover the expenses for the marriage.”
Rebecca’s expression immediately darkened. ‘Sophie, you’re being unreasonable. Why differentiate between us? We’re all family. Besides, isn’t this just a loan? We’ll repay you once things ease up.” Sophie looked at Blake. “What do you think?”
How could he possibly suggest that his wife use her dowry to pay for the gifts so that he could marry another wife?
As a man of honor, Blake felt uneasy.