Filed To Story: Queen of the Battlefield Her Return to Glory Novel Online Free
Jacob stood up, but Rafael quickly pushed him back down. “Stay seated.”
Jacob tried to stand again. “No…”
He was met with another forceful shove from Rafael, accompanied by a sharp command, “Sit down!”
With a resigned sigh, Jacob explained, “I need to grab something-a toy from her childhood. I’ll have Ms. Spencer take it with her.”
Rafael withdrew his hand. “Go ahead.”
Jacob stood up and turned to apologize to Violet. “I got a bit carried away earlier. I hope you can forgive me, Ms. Spencer.” “It’s fine. I got spooked myself.”
Violet had just come back from seeing Darin, and then she found a portrait of the same woman hanging in the study. It was shocking. It was her lack of experience, really-she never expected that from Darin’s parents’ and her childhood portraits, Kyle could predict what Darin looked like now. While there were many paintings, this particular one was so accurate that it genuinely startled Violet.
It was truly shocking.
“Well, I’m counting on you, Ms. Spencer. I’ll be right back.” Jacob stepped outside, wobbling a bit as he walked. Once he was through the door, he bent over to rest his hands on his knees. He took a moment to straighten up and breathe slowly, reminding himself to stay calm.
Rafael watched Jacob’s retreating figure, and sighed softly. “I’ve known for a long time about his search for his sister But in this vast sea of people, it’s hard to find someone. Who would’ve thought they weren’t separated by mountains and rivers, but were actually so close?”
Sophie said firmly, “We can’t be sure that Darin is his sister, so it’s too early to say anything definitive.”
She turned to Violet and asked, “You met Darin-what do you think of her?”
Violet thought for a moment. “Well, her appearance is exactly like the paintings-no doubt about that. When we met, she barely spoke a couple of sentences, but I could tell she was a bit uncomfortable. She walked slowly when she arrived, and hurried off when she left. At the time, I thought it was just because she hadn’t learned the proper etiquette and still had some of that old street behavior, but now I wonder if she wasn’t really keen on the whole arrangement.
“Oh, and by the way, she has a really pleasant aura.”
“A pleasant aura? What do you mean by that?” Sophie asked.
Violet tapped her chin, her gaze drifting upward. “It’s hard to explain. It’s like us there’s a common trait among people like us that allows us to sense certain surface-level things about each other. Of course, I have no idea what she truly thinks.”
“Do you think she’s not entirely on board with this marriage?”
“Yeah, I get that feeling. She hardly even looked at Thomas.” Violet struggled to articulate her intuition until she finally landed on a fitting word. “Conflicted! I feel like she’s really conflicted.”
Sophie considered this for a moment. “I see what you mean.
She’s lived a rough life, where swift justice and revenge are paramount, Eleanor saved her life, and she wants to repay her. But she pronet never imagined this would be how she would do it. And given what she likely knows about Thomas reputation, she’s torn between honoring Eleanor’s kindness and her own conscience. That’s probably why you sense her inner conflict.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Sophie added, “But this analysis might not be accurate.”
After all, no one truly knew what Darin was like. Judging her character based solely on a fleeting encounter wouldn’t lead to the right conclusions.
Jacob brought over a little rabbit figurine that looked like it had seen better days. It was rough around the edges and had one ear broken off, clearly not something bought from a shop.
“The year she went missing, I made this for her during the Starlight Harvest Festival. She got grounded that year for making a mistake, and couldn’t go out to play. I was supposed to have the servants buy her one, but my dad didn’t allow it as part of her punishment. “So, I secretly made this one out of clay and baked it at home. After it was baked, I painted it, but the colors have faded over time. When she got it, she seemed to dislike it and dropped it on the ground. That’s when one of the ears broke off.” Jacob’s voice trembled, and his eyes glistened with unshed tears.
“She didn’t like this figurine at all. She seemed almost offended by it, and cried. I thought if she felt that strongly about it, it must have left an impression.”
Violet looked at the shabby rabbit figurine, its faded paint and broken ear making it quite the eyesore. “If someone gave me something like this, I’d cry too. It’s something I’d never forget in my life.”
“Exactly. Things are either deeply loved or utterly despised, and both kinds stick in your memory,” Jacob said, reluctantly handing the rabbit figurine to Violet. “I have some other toys from her childhood, but they’re all too ordinary-things anyone would have. This one is one of a kind.”
“One of a kind? That would just make me cry even louder.” Violet accepted it with some disdain.
Seriously, it really couldn’t get any uglier. Even its features were all muddled.
Jacob shot her a hurt glance. “Don’t say that. I hadn’t learned how to make these before. It was my first attempt.”
“And you burned the back of it.” Violet turned it over in her hands. “Actually, the whole thing is black. You just covered it in paint, right? You must’ve had to touch it up later?”
Jacob shrugged, looking a bit embarrassed. “The colors kept fading, so I had to keep adding more. I haven’t done it in two or three years. But if she sees it, I’m sure she’ll recognize it.”
“Okay then.” Violet glanced at Sophie, who turned her face away just in time to catch Rafael’s heated gaze.
He exclaimed cheerfully, “Just like your embroidery back then-it’s unique!”
Violet couldn’t help but laugh. “I was just thinking that her embroidery is ugly, and she doesn’t even realize it.”
Kyle stepped in and said firmly, “No one can do everything perfectly. Our junior guild member here has the best martial arts talent in the Pathfinders Guild. If any of you have special skills or abilities, feel free to show them off so I can see what you’re made of.”
When he finished speaking, he shot a cold glance at Rafael.
Rafael was stunned. He hadn’t called Sophie’s embroidery ugly. That was Violet!
Violet quickly changed the subject. “Jacob, tell me some fun stories about you and your sister from when you were young. Something memorable.”
Jacob had plenty to share as he reminisced about the past. His father was a seventh-ranked county chief in Cloud County, and his family had a long tradition of valuing both farming and education. His mother and was the daughter of able the four of them lived a comfortable life.
However, Cloud County was plagued by poverty and chaos, with bandits and thieves causing unrest. His father took it upon himself to leadet the local officials and guards to hunt down the bandits. After more than ten attempts, he finally drove th them away and restored po drove order and to Cloud County.
When Jacob was five, his mother gave birth to his sister. Their grandfather was overjoyed, declaring that the family was blessed with both a son and a daughter. Their grandfather taught at a local academy. Upon turning seven, Jacob joined the academy as well. However, he didn’t live there. He traveled back and forth with his grandfather, so he spent a lot of time with his little sister.
They were a happy family until a storm of tragedy struck when his sister turned seven. On a sunny day, she was playing with the other children outside their alley when two strangers abducted her, along with the daughter of the county official. The men were quick. They grabbed the girls, and jumped into a carriage before the frightened children could react. The remaining children were terrified. They scattered and ran home, too scared to tell anyone what had happened.
It was only at nightfall, when the two girls didn’t return home, that both families started searching frantically for them. They only found out the girls had been taken when they spoke to the children who had been playing with them. By then, hours had passed, and the two girls were long gone from Cloud County. Even if they sent someone to chase after the kidnappers, it would be futile. Furthermore, they had no idea which direction the kidnappers had fled.
Jacob’s voice cracked with sorrow.
“The loss of my sister hit our family hard. My mother cried day and night, and my father resigned from his post. He took two servants with him to search for her. He only returned home once every two years. My grandfather held everything together, and when my grandmother passed away, my father was still out looking for my sister. It wasn’t until the second year after my grandmother’s death that he finally returned. That was the tenth year he had been searching, and he finally gave up.” The group listened and felt their heart ache. The pain and torment of losing a child was a wound too deep to contemplate.
“From the day my sister disappeared, joy was completely lost to us. For the first two years, I brought my grandfather and mother to the capital, since they were in poor health. My father was unwilling to leave Cloud County. He always held on to hope and believed that one day she would remember her home and come back, and there would be someone at home always waiting for her.
“Over the years, I haven’t given up, either. I borrowed people from Hell Monarch Estate to help search. The reason I worked so hard for His Highness was because he let me borrow people to find my sister. Even though I knew the chances were slim, not searching made me feel worse. I just had to do something for her, even if it felt pointless, just to ease my mind.”
Kyle had dozed off in his chair. He had rushed over from Meadow Ridge and started painting without even taking a sip of water, and he was completely worn out.
Even in his half-asleep state, he absorbed Jacob’s story. He had traveled far and wide and witnessed countless tragedies. He wasn’t numb to it. He just sensed that Darin was highly likely to be Jacob’s sister.
He trusted that one of the many paintings he created must be very similar to the current Jaina, which allowed him to relax and sleep peacefully.