Filed To Story: Queen of the Battlefield Her Return to Glory Novel Online Free
After taking over llyrian City, wine was no longer a rarity.
Sophie took the glass and drank deeply. The sharp, spicy liquor slid from her mouth down her throat, igniting a fiery trail that burned all the way to her stomach.
Rafael reached out and gently touched her forehead. He had no idea she had experienced so much tragedy. He had thought that the loss of her father and brothers was the source of her greatest sorrow. To his surprise, she even had to face the massacre of her entire household, as well as her husband’s betrayal.
How had she managed to endure all this?
As Rafael reflected on it, he felt a tightness in his chest. The sensation of suffocation slowly passed, leaving behind a lingering ache in his heart.
It was no wonder she was no longer the vibrant young woman from the Pathfinders Guild that he remembered. He had previously wondered why her eyes always seemed shrouded in a hint of melancholy, but had assumed it was due to the death of her father and brothers.
No wonder Sophie knew that soldiers from Westhaven had disguised themselves as Sandorian soldiers and gone to the Southern Frontier battlefield. That was also why she had traveled alone for a thousand miles to bring Rafael the news.
“Take your time to calm down, then talk to me,” Rafael said as he sat down beside her, his tall figure acting like a protective barrier shielding her from the world.
“What else do you want to know, Marshal?” asked Sophie, who had calmed down considerably.
Rafael’s eyes were like a dark sea churning beneath the surface. ‘Everything. Why you suddenly got married, what happened after you got married, and everything surrounding the Westhaven sples massacring your entire household.”
Sophie didn’t know why he wanted to know about her marriage, but she answered truthfully, trying to keep her emotions steady and her recounting as straightforward as possible.
“When I returned from the Pathfinders Guild, I learned of my father and brothers’ sacrifice. I told my mother I wanted to go to the Southern Frontier battlefield, but she refused.
“My father and brothers’ deaths hit her hard, and she cried so much she nearly went blind. She forced me promise to stay in the capital, get married, and lead a stable life. I was used to the wildness of the Pathfinders Guild, so she had people teach me etiquette for a year before she started arranging my marriage.” Rafael looked at her. “I remember you weren’t someone who followed orders so easily.”
A hint of confusion flashed in Sophie’s eyes.
He was right, but how did he know that?
“Yes, but after my father and brothers passed away, only the elderly, women, and children were left in our household. So, I agreed with my mother. I tried to learn to be a proper lady and let her choose a husband for me.
“Among the many suitors, she chose Blake. Although she originally didn’t want me to marry a military man, she feared I wouldn’t fit into a noble family.
“Noble families have strict rules and much infighting among the ladies in the family. She thought I couldn’t handle it, that I would either be bullied or end up bullying others. That kind of life wouldn’t be stable.
“She said that scholars weren’t suitable for me either. Aside from strategic military books, I’ve never liked reading anything. Books about etiquette make me sleepy, and I know nothing about poetry or songs. I wouldn’t have anything in common with a scholar, and the differences in our interests would make it hard to be happy.
Sophie smiled bitterly as she continued, “In the end, she chose Blake for two reasons. First, he swore never to take a concubine, even if I couldn’t bear children. Second, although he comes from a military background, his family was in decline.
“Given the state of the Jaffe family at the time, it would be hard for Blake to rise. He wasn’t likely to be sent to war, and at most, he would hold a minor position in the capital, Also, his family situation was simple.
“His father and elder brother hold low-ranking positions, his mother is chronically ill, and his eldest sister-in-law is an introverted, indecisive person. He has a younger sister who will eventually marry out, so she wouldn’t be a problem. That’s why my mother chose him.”
Rafael nodded slightly, his bright eyes now dimmed. “If I were your mother, I would have chosen the same for you.”
“Yes, I understood my mother, so I obeyed and got married. But on the day of the wedding, we received an urgent report from the Ministry of Defense stating that they needed reinforcements at Victory Pass. General Ward had fallen seriously ill, so Blake led the reinforcements.
“Although we completed the wedding ceremony, we never consummated the marriage. He told me to wait for his return and promised to treat me well.”
Sophie recounted these events without any expression, as if it had all happened long ago and no longer stirred any emotions within her.
“I waited for a year. During that year, I cared for his mother and managed the household. Valor Estate was falling apart, and there wasn’t enough money to cover expenses.
“I used my dowry to pay for my mother-in-law’s medicine. After a year, Blake returned victorious, and the first thing he did was use his military merits to request to marry Freya as his rightful wife.”
Rafael gazed at Sophie intently. “You disagreed, of course. With your personality, how could you agree? And he swore to never take a concubine.”
“Not exactly.” Sophie smiled mockingly. “If he had discussed it with me beforehand, I might have agreed. But he didn’t. He sought the marriage edict without consulting me, then came back to inform me and force me to accept it.
“He condescendingly promised to have a child with me first, so I would have some prospects in his family. Then, he expected me to continue as his wife, care for his and Freya’s child, and be dutiful to his parents.”
Rafael’s eyes flashed with anger. “That’s outrageous!”
Sophie continued, “That wasn’t the worst of it. The worst came later.”
She recounted how the Jaffe family tried to seize her dowry-even going so far as to accuse her of being disrespectful and jealous, and used that as grounds for divorce.
“That was the real outrage. But I didn’t expect the king to posthumously grant my father the title of duke and allow me to divorce Blake. Because of that, I could take all my dowry with me.
Rafael’s eyes burned with anger. “They dared to treat you like that and wrong you?”
“I don’t feel wronged,” Sophie said, placing her hands on her knees and turning to look at Rafael. The beauty mark beneath her eye stood out vividly.
“If I had feelings for him, it would have been different, but I didn’t. Leaving the Jaffe family was a relief for me. Their schemes failed, and you saw how angry Freya was at me, Marshal. She was upset that! didn’t care about the man she coveted.”
Freya wanted to humiliate her, but Sophie had left the Jaffe family with all of her dowry, without shedding a single tear. And she even enjoyed the status of being a duke’s daughter. That infuriated Freya. Moreover, judging by the looks and words exchanged between Freya and Blake earlier, their marriage was far from loving. In fact, it seemed somewhat strained.
Rafael gazed at Sophie for a long time before speaking slowly, “Nobody from the Duke of Northwatch’s family ever bows down to anyone, Sophie. Stay strong!”
He paused, then continued, “His Majesty will be looking into the battle at Victory Pass. The truth will come out and someone will be held responsible, but it might not be in the way we wish.”
Sophie understood.
The people of Westhaven highly valued their reputation. They would rather retaliate in such a way than admit their prince had been captured, humiliated, and tortured, then chose to commit suicide upon release instead of seeking revenge.
They wouldn’t acknowledge the incident or admit their prince had been captured. To cover it up, they had even hidden the massacre of the villagers by Freya, Since they chose to coneeal it, there would be no negotiations with Starhaven about it.
Even if the king discovered the truth, he wouldn’t publicize it. If he did, itwould reveal that a highly respected female general had violated the agreement between the two kingdoms to not harm civilians.
If the truth wasn’t made public, Freya couldn’t be prosecuted for it, nor could it be linked to the massacre of the Duke of Northwatch’s entire household.
For the sake of the bigger picture, the king wouldn’t agree to that. The likely outcome was predictable.
How would the public react?
In a war between the two kingdoms, if Westhaven hadn’t killed a single civilian while Starhaven had kidnapped a prince and massacred civilians, wouldn’t the citizens of Starhaven believe their country was at fault?
Secondly, what would be said to Westhaven? If the incident was acknowledged, Westhaven would have grounds to demand an explanation and compensation from Starhaven. What price would need to be paid to settle this matter?
If Freya had only massacred villagers, Westhaven could still make a fuss. But she had humiliated and tortured a prince of Westhaven.
Freya was lucky enough to have escaped retribution, but it was a misfortune for all the people in