Filed to story: Queen of the Battlefield Her Return to Glory Novel Online Free
Sophie was now more certain than ever that Lisandra’s condition hadn’t improved. She recalled hearing bits and pieces of the argument about “danger” and “very dangerous”. She wondered if it was referring
Lisandra’s condition.
Furrowing her brows, she said seriously, “Aria, tell me. Has Her Highness truly gotten better? Is her condition dangerous? You’re her personal attendant, and you must know that we would never wish her harm.” Suddenly, tears welled up in Aria’s almond-shaped eyes.
“Your Grace,” she cried, “Her
Highness fainted after having a fit. The royal physician we brought said there may be a tumor in her brain, which is very dangerous. They’re arguing about whether to summon a Starhaven physician to examine her.”
In the council hall of Hell Monarch Estate, Jacob laid out the profiles of the three female officials: Penny Durham, Yuna Rutherford, and Yasmine Stein.
“These three are Grand Princess Lisandra’s close confidants. In Westhaven, women rarely hold important government positions. However, Ms. Durham was the first female official to rise to a fifth-rank position.
“Grand Princess Lisandra highly favors her. Next is Ms. Stein, the legitimate daughter of the head of Westhaven’s Stein family. Marshal Liam’s wife is her aunt. Finally, there’s Ms. Rutherford. She comes from a commoner background and earned her place by topping the women’s imperial exams. She’s been working alongside Grand Princess Lisandra on state affairs. All three have been with the grand princess since their late king’s time, and our investigation shows they are all highly loyal to her.”
Rafael picked up the documents, carefully scanning the details-names, ages, personalities, backgrounds, family information, when they started their careers, and what they had done. After reading through them, he turned his attention to Penny’s profile. “She’s been with Grand Princess Lisandra the longest and has always been loyal, so it’s unlikely to be her,” Jacob pointed out.
“She served as a female official by the late crown prince’s side for two years?” Rafael asked, looking up.
Jacob nodded. “Yes. She was selected by Grand Princess Lisandra, and was sent to the late crown prince’s side. Much like us in Starhaven, a crown prince has his own smaller court to handle administrative affairs, which helps him with the transition… oh!” His eyes widened in realization.
“She served by Prince Arthur’s side for two years and was loyal to him. That means she’s likely to support King Edmund and Mr. Stellwyn! She’s in the pro-war faction.”
“Where’s Travis?” Rafael said immediately. “Have him drop by Concord Lodge and inform Sophie and Violet about this. Tell them to keep a close watch on Penny. Also, they should monitor Grand Princess Lisandra’s condition closely.”
He couldn’t go himself. As the lead negotiator, the Westhaven envoys would become wary if he appeared at Concord Lodge in person.
Travis was stationed by the door of the council hall. Everett said he should be on stand-by there when he had no pressing matters to attend to.
Upon hearing Rafael’s instructions, Travis immediately said, “I’ll go right away.”
With that, he dashed off like the wind, disappearing in an instant.
Winona sighed. “The unfortunate part is that we can’t send anyone to secretly monitor Concord Lodge.”
“That wouldn’t be a good idea,” Everett said. “If you send someone to spy and eavesdrop during the negotiations and they find out, they’ll think we’re trying to pry into their private discussions. That won’t help the peace talks.” “Yes, sir,” Winona replied.
Afterward, she excused herself to use the restroom and left.
Meanwhile, Travis had already saddled up and was galloping toward Concord Lodge.
At Concord Lodge, Sophie didn’t take immediate action after she finished talking with Aria. Instead, she made sure to find out who was opposed and who supported Lisandra’s plans. Once she had the information, she told Aria that if they needed to summon Sebastian once the discussion was over, they could send for him at once.
After returning to their quarters, Sophie and Violet immediately discussed the matter. Violet’s expression darkened as she listened. “What should we do? Could this be a trap?”
Sophie shared her concerns. Right now, the Westhaven envoys were divided-some supported Lisandra, and others opposed her. Without being sure whether Lisandra was in danger, they couldn’t just force a physician inside. If there was any conflict and Lisandra emerged unharmed, it would blow up into a huge issue.
Even if Lisandra was truly unconscious, it might still be a scheme. Someone could have poisoned her to make her appear i waiting for the right moment to force out the opposition. Once they had the physician in place, they could treat her and clear the poison, making it look like nothing happened.
The situation was tricky.
Still, a decision had to be made no matter how difficult. If it turned out to be true and Lisandra was in danger of dying here, the pro-war faction would seize the opportunity to take control of the negotiations. They would push for one thing only-war.
Sophie hesitated for a moment before saying, “Go and bring Sebastian here. I’ll think of a way to slip inside and take a look.”
No matter what, it was best to have Sebastian ready just in case.
Violet nodded. “Alright, I’ll go now.”
She hurried out and saddled the horse. The night air was still cold, and it would be quite troublesome for Sebastian to come out in this weather.
Halfway there, she crossed paths with Travis, but it seemed like he didn’t notice her. He rode straight past. She called out to him, and it took a moment before the sound of galloping hooves returned.
Sophie instructed the Capital Guard to stand watch at the entrance, ensuring no one entered. If it turned out to be a trap, they had to be cautious and prepared. There was no harm in being extra careful. After that, she left the gatehouse and wandered around the perimeter of Concord Lodge.
Since the area outside was filled with her men, she didn’t think there would be much risk in walking around. After a while, she scaled the wall at the back of the courtyard and slipped inside.
The security inside was clearly less strict than before, though it was hard to tell if that was intentional or not.
Sophie knew Lisandra resided in the eastern courtyard, but she was some distance away from there and had to be cautious to avoid detection. As she moved into the central courtyard, she noticed there were more guards. She crept along the corridor, pressing herself against the wall. Fortunately, the lanterns weren’t very bright, and her footsteps were light enough not to alert the guards.
The guards were talking, but Sophie couldn’t understand their conversation. She felt frustrated. If only Winona were here she could speak fluent Westic, Sandorish, Nerathic, and many other regional tongues.
Sophie climbed to the roof, planning to cross it. As soon as she reached the top, she saw a shadow flicker across the roof of the eastern courtyard.
It was still a bit far away, and the light was too dim for her to see the rooftop clearly. For a moment, she thought she saw something flash by, and the shadow seemed to vanish.
Her heart skipped a beat. Could it be? Had they really sent someone in? Was it an assassin?
Just as Sophie was about to leap over to take a closer look, the shadow appeared again. This time, it stood up and faced her. Then, the glow of a firestick lit up, aimed right at the person’s face.
Sophie almost laughed out loud.
It was Winona!
But what was she doing here?
With Winona around, there was no need for Sophie to investigate further. She silently retreated and climbed down the wall, slipping out quietly.
Winona might not be as skilled as
Sophie in martial arts, but her Lightfoot Skill was undoubtedly superior. Just watching her land earlier without a sound was enough to prove it.
Sophie made her way back to the gatehouse, but she had little interest in the coffee now. She kept peeking out the window, anxious to see if Violet had arrived with Sebastian.
After waiting for what felt like an eternity, she finally heard the sound of hooves.
She rushed out to see three horses coming to a halt-Travis and Violet were helping Sebastian off his horse.
Sophie stepped forward and greeted him, “Thank you for coming, Sebastian.”
“It’s nothing,” Sebastian replied. “Can we go in now? What’s the situation?”
