Filed To Story: Queen of the Battlefield Her Return to Glory Novel Online Free
Those present all assumed Alistair was insulting Freya. Though they found the words harsh, they knew Alistair’s volatile nature, so none of them said anything.
It took a while for Cyrus to regain his composure.
The blade had been just inches from his throat. Had Freya miscalculated even slightly, the sword would’ve sliced his neck open. That was a near-death experience. Even if he survived, being taken hostage by Freya would ruin his position. There was no way he could keep his title if she managed to escape.
He felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude toward Sophie, and bowed deeply to her. “Thank you for saving my life, Commander Devin.”
Sophie nodded. ‘Take her back and lock her up properly, Mr. Zellner. Remember to search her thoroughly and ensure there are no weapons on her.”
“Yes, I understand,” Cyrus replied, still bowing. He quickly led his men away, his steps heavy. Before he left, he glanced at Blake.
Cyrus was suspicious. He noticed that Freya had only asked Blake one question, and their exchange had been full of strange, unspoken understanding. Without any concrete evidence, however, he could do nothing about it. Blake stood there, pale and lost in thought.
Without missing a beat, Alistair turned to Sophie and reported, “Commander Devin, he was trying to help Freya escape.
“Don’t talk nonsense!” Viola snapped, finally coming to her senses.
Hearing Alistair’s accusation, she immediately chided him, “Alistair, stop being ridiculous. He’s your family by marriage.”
Though Alistair was from a branch of the Prince family, he always had a strained relationship with the Earl of Silverstone’s family. When he heard Viola refer to Blake as family, he sneered.
“You expect me to acknowledge him as my family when you can’t even address me properly? Watch your mouth, Viola,” he snarled.
Sophie was still present. Viola, having been insulted, was naturally furious.
“You watch your mouth, Alistair!” she snapped. “Don’t think you’ve become untouchable just because you’re the commander of the Royal Guard. You’re still being controlled by a woman, aren’t you?”
She knew how proud and arrogant Alistair was, and she also knew that he had never gotten along with Sophie. She intended to provoke him by flaunting their discord and humiliating him in front of Sophie.
However, it was obvious Viola wasn’t aware of the entire situation.
After Alistair became Violet’s apprentice, he had witnessed his mentor’s martial prowess firsthand. He had also listened to her talk several times about how she had been effortlessly defeated by Sophie when they were at Meadow Ridge, leaving her powerless to fight back. Having sparred with Sophie himself, Alistair understood just how laughable his past arrogance had been.
With a smug smile, he said sarcastically, “Oh, being commander of the Royal Guard is no small thing. If you think it’s easy, then by all means, you try doing it. And don’t talk about women not being fit for such positions-look at Commander Devin.
“She once controlled your husband, and now, she’s my superior. I may not be as capable as her, and I acknowledge that. But do you? What’s so shameful about being commanded by a woman? Who in their own home isn’t controlled by their wife? On the other hand, what about you? Can you control Blake?”
Viola’s face turned red with anger.
Realizing she couldn’t win this argument, she turned to Blake, who still looked lost in thought, and shouted, “Why are you just standing there in a daze? He’s accusing you! Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?”
Blake glanced at Sophie. “I…”
“May I ask you a few questions in private?” Sophie interrupted, her voice calm but firm.
Blake nodded, his face pale. ‘Yes, let’s go to the side hall.”
“Alone?” Viola’s tone grew sharp, sensing something was amiss. “What can’t be said here? Is there something I can’t hear?”
Sophie looked at Viola steadily. “You can’t, but Commander Prince can.”
Hearing that they wouldn’t be alone, Viola felt a slight sense of relief. At least that meant it wasn’t about personal matters.
The side hall of Valor Estate, where they headed, was no longer the one Sophie had once known. Almost all the furniture had been replaced. The tables and chairs were new, and what had once been filled with her bridal dowry -fine wood and intricately carved pieces-was now gone.
The room was now furnished with simple, ordinary tables and chairs. Even the partition screen had a crack running through it.
As they entered the side hall, Alistair was still talking, “He deliberately tried to stop me earlier and led me away from Mr. Zellner.”
Sophie tumed to him. “Do you have any evidence?”
Alistair deflated, clearly frustrated. “No!”
“If there’s no evidence, put that aside for now,” Sophie said calmly. “I have questions for him. I asked you to come in only to avoid suspicion, but there’s nothing here you can’t hear. Sit down and keep quiet unless you’re asked to speak.”
“Understood!” Alistair sat down, trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible.
Sophie and Blake took their seats as well, and she got straight to the point, saying, “When you were at Victory Pass, my third uncle lost an arm trying to save you and nearly died in the process. Do you remember that, Commander Jaffe?”
Shame flickered across Blake’s face. “I remember.’
Sophie continued, “Don’t worry, I’m not trying to ask you to return the favor. There’s no such thing as life debts on the battlefield. In moments of danger, we all save each other. What I want to ask is, who suggested burning the supply depot? Why did you and Freya separate when you got to Fawnrun City? You didn’t know about the massacre of the villagers at the time, did you?”
Although Winona had investigated the Fawnrun City incident thoroughly, there were still details that were hard to uncover.
While they couldn’t change the fact that Freya had killed innocent civilians, the operation itself had been led by Blake. It was important to understand as much as possible, especially since after Dominic returned to the capital, Sophie and the others would need to know how to best act in his favor.
Blake fell into thought, his mind wandering back to past events.
“It was my idea to burn the supply depot in Fawnrun City. At the time, Westhaven had already suffered several defeats in a row, and it looked like they were about to retreat.
“General Shane said that our battles with Westhaven have always been sporadic skirmishes. But when it comes to real fighting, both sides tend to hold back. So, when Westhaven retreated, we grew complacent. We didn’t expect them to launch such a fierce offensive. It was during that battle that General Dominic was injured…”
“No,” Sophie interrupted him once more. “When you first arrived at Victory Pass, my third uncle lost an arm in the chaos of war, proving that the battle was already intense. If both sides were holding back, there wouldn’t have been a need for your reinforcements.”
Blake explained, “The fighting had always been somewhat restrained. The reason it suddenly escalated was because Marshal Liam pulled back from the frontlines, replacing himself with his brother, Marshal Leroy, who’s much more ruthless and fierce. He changed tactics completely because he wanted to push us back and draw a new borderline.
“At the time, the situation at the Southern Frontier was critical. Troops were dispatched from Victory Pass, which left an opening for Leroy to exploit. That’s when His Majesty sent me to Victory Pass with reinforcements. This is all on record.”
Sophie knew this already. She looked at Blake and asked, “So, when you thought Westhaven was retreating, was it because Marshal Liam had returned to command the battle?”
“Yes,” Blake replied, recalling the discussions he’d had in the command tent with Dominic and the others. “At the time, Uncle Shan… I mean, General Shane, said Marshal Liam’s tactics were always like this-he didn’t want a full- scale war or to sacrifice too many lives. Since we hadn’t lost anything, we figured we could just hold our ground. But then, Marshal Leroy suddenly replaced Marshal Liam. They launched a vicious attack, catching us completely off guard.”
Sophie listened carefully, analyzing everything he said. She pieced together that when Leroy took command, it likely meant that Liam had gone back to try to prevent the then Westhaven crown prince, Arthur, from going to the battlefield. By that time, Westhaven’s king should have already fallen seriously ill.
If Arthur had stayed to stabilize the political situation, it would have been far safer. Instead, he went to the battlefield, which was a risky move.
Once Liam left, Leroy, as the temporary marshal, launched a brutal offensive. When Liam returned, Arthur showed up in Fawnrun City. It was clear that Liam hadn’t been able to stop him, and the war had escalated. This conflict would undoubtedly have been reported back to Westhaven.
Liam hadn’t wanted to escalate the war while the old king’s condition worsened, fearing a prolonged conflict. So, after his return, he had ordered a temporary ceasefire.
But by then, Dominic had already been injured.