Filed To Story: Queen of the Battlefield Her Return to Glory Novel Online Free
“I’m not sure,” he admitted, “but it’s better to investigate, just to be safe. If something does come up, please have Madam Zoey inform Sophie-I mean, Lady Sophie.” Patrick nodded, but couldn’t hide his confusion. “Why Madam Zoey? Why not have your wife look into the servants at Valor Estate?”
From what Patrick knew, Zoey was the sister-in-law of Blake’s wife, Viola. Why would he ask his wife’s sister-in-law to handle this rather than his own wife?
Blake looked visibly uncomfortable.
After stammering for a moment, he finally replied, “Well… Madam Zoey has been managing her household for years and is incredibly meticulous. If there’s something suspicious about the servants, she’ll be able to uncover it.”
Patrick studied Blake’s expression, suspecting there might be some discord between Blake and Viola—or perhaps Viola simply wasn’t adept at running a household.
“Very well,” Patrick said. “In that case, I’ll inform Commander Devin.
It’s better for her to approach
Madam Zoey about this. Since the Earl of Silverstone is absent, it tos wouldn’t be appropriate for me to go personally, nor for my wife to step inolt might lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.”
Blake nodded quickly. “Exactly, sir. Please act quickly.”
Patrick left the Ministry of Justice. Before departing, he made a point of instructing the kitchen staff to improve Blake’s dinner for the evening with a couple of meat dishes. Afterward, he personally went to find Sophie and relayed
Blake’s concerns.
Sophie also found Freya’s behavior peculiar. After her capture, Freya had fixated on implicating Dominic in the matter, which initially seemed like a desperate attempt to shift the blame and avoid the worst punishment. After enduring interrogation and torture, Freya had been explicitly told that no matter who else she implicated, she would still be handed over to Westhaven. Her persistence no longer made sense.
Hearing Patrick’s report, Sophie decided to investigate immediately. Without delay, she made her way to Silverstone Estate.
Once Sophie arrived at Silverstone Estate, she quickly briefed Zoey on the situation.
Zoey immediately said, “This involves General Sullivan, so not a moment can be wasted. I’ll go immediately.”
Since Blake had been taken to the Ministry of Justice, Viola had been on edge. She had even returned to her family for help, hoping they could pull some strings on Blake’s behalf. However, Zoey outright refused.
“This is a matter between kingdoms,” Zoey had said. “What could a woman like me possibly do to change anything?”
Still, Zoey had made inquiries. She learned that while Blake was detained at the Ministry of Justice, he was being given special treatment and hadn’t suffered any undue hardship.
Zoey shared this information with Viola, but it did little to calm her. She complained incessantly, saying she had worked so hard to see Blake appointed as commander of the Nightsteel Guard, only for him to end up in prison because of Freya. She even blamed Natalie for arranging the marriage and Evelyn for agreeing to it.
Zoey had scolded Viola for her complaints, urging her to show more resilience and take responsibility for her choices.
Faced with Zoey’s rare display of anger, Viola hadn’t dared to argue further and returned to Valor Estate. Once home, she refused to handle any household affairs and left everything to her father-in-law, Jonathan. Word got out, and it became a source of ridicule for some time.
When Zoey arrived at Valor Estate, her first request was for Viola to bring her all the servant contracts.
Viola frowned and asked why, but Zoey simply replied, “I’m looking for a way to help Blake.”
Viola pressed for more details, but Zoey, looking visibly anxious, brushed her off. “I’ll explain later. Just do what I said. Now.”
Left with no choice, Viola retrieved the contracts and handed them over before retreating to her room.
Zoey pored over the documents and then summoned the steward to question him about the origins of the household staff, focusing particularly on those who served Freya. After gathering some initial information, she turned her attention to the gatekeeper and interrogated him about any comings and goings.
She reasoned that whatever was going on likely happened in the past few months, from the time Westhaven’s envoys arrived until now. Investigating this window of time would yield the most accurate results. If nothing came to light, she would consider earlier periods. The gatekeeper kept records of entries and exits, though his diligence was inconsistent. Some entries were missing, but overall, there was a decent log.
After reviewing the logs, Zoey found no significant irregularities. The maids and attendants from the inner household rarely left the estate, except for errands like shopping. As for the male servants, Freya hadn’t employed any in her courtyard for some time. The steward confirmed this. Ever since Freya survived an assassination attempt, she had forbidden male servants from entering Blessed Haven. Even when heavy items needed to be moved, she insisted on supervising them personally.
Freya had strict reasons for her precautions—she was genuinely afraid that a strong male servant might smuggle in a weapon and take advantage of a moment of inattention to harm her. Her measures were extreme, but they reflected a deeply ingrained sense of vigilance.
With this in mind, Zoey ruled out the male servants entirely. If no men were allowed in Blessed Haven, any communication had to rely on the maids. This added an extra layer risk-each additional person involved increased the chance of information leaking. With things done in such a thorough manner, it meant any information wouldn’t pass through too many intermediaries.
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After questioning the steward, Zoey moved on to interview other household staff, excluding those who worked directly in Blessed Haven. She asked whether anyone had seen the maids or attendants from Blessed Haven leave the estate alone, when they had gone out, and if anyone had noticed them meeting with anyone in particular.
The staff recounted various details from the past few months. Most of it was mundane or irrelevant, but Zoey listened carefully with remarkable patience.
To find anything substantial in a short time, she knew she had to sift through the mountain of trivial anecdotes for one loose thread-something she could pull to unravel the bigger picture.
By nightfall, her persistence paid off.
One of the servants, Jill, recalled an incident on the day Rebecca passed away. The steward had taken a group of staff out to purchase supplies for the funeral. During this erran a maid from Blessed Haven, Leila, had been seen sharing coffee with a woman she referred to as a good friend from the same hometown.
Jill had stopped by to greet them, and remembered receiving a small cake from Leila during the encounter. At first glance, it seemed innocent enough. It wasn’t unusual for people from the same hometown to catch up over coffee. Even Zoey’s maids often took similar breaks during errands.
Rebecca had just passed away, and Leila-a maid from Freya’s trusted circle-had been called out for coffee. Furthermore, during the funeral itself, Freya, who typically avoided large gatherings, had attended in person to observe mourning rites.
However, given the timing, the incident stood out.
While standing vigil, Freya had exchanged a few words privately with a visitor who came to pay respects named Paige, or better known as Mrs. Lester. As it happened, Paige’s maid was the very same friend who had shared coffee with Leila that day.
Zoey immediately recognized the connection. The Lester family was a merchant household in the capital that happened to be related to Henry’s late concubine, Melanie Lester. Zoey had previously looked into the Lester family because of Celeste’s trip to the Southern Frontier.
Without hesitation, Zoey ordered Leila to be detained and brought before her for questioning. She dismissed everyone except Jane, insisting on conducting the interrogation alone.
Leila had heard that Zoey was investigating the servants in Valor Estate, but she had no idea what it was about. When she was brought in, she wore an expression of complete confusion.
It wasn’t until Zoey questioned her about having coffee with a friend from her hometown the day before Rebecca’s funeral that Leila realized what was happening.
She quickly dropped to her knees and confessed, “Madam Zoey, that day, the person I had coffee with was a close friend of mine. She’s a maid at Lester Estate. She mentioned she’d be returning to our hometown and asked if I had any messages for my family. She also invited me to go shopping for some gifts together…”
Having been questioning for a long time, Zoey grew a bit impatient. She interrupted and asked bluntly, “Did she ask you to pass on any messages to Freya that day?”
Leila thought for a moment, then replied, “Yes, she asked me to tell Madam Freya that Mrs. Lester would also be attending Madam Rebecca’s funeral.”
“Did she give you anything to deliver to Freya?”
“Yes, she gave me a package of herbal medicine.”
“What kind of herbal medicine?”
“I remember it was Moonroot.”
“Was there any note or message hidden in the package?”