Filed To Story: Queen of the Battlefield Her Return to Glory Novel Online Free
The pouch was stitched with individual slots for the throwing knives, keeping them neatly organized. The design made them easy to draw her fingers barely brushed the knives, and one seemed to leap into her hand. Even now, Sophie struggled to accept that her seventh uncle was truly gone.
Yet, she knew denial wouldn’t bring him back.
They were gone forever.
Freya’s death brought Sophie no solace-not even a sliver of comfort.
That night, Sophie lay in bed. Her eyes were closed, her breathing slow and steady, giving the impression of deep sleep. In truth, she wasn’t asleep at all.
Scenes from the past played vividly in her mind, frame by frame, like butterflies flitting in a canyon, always just out of reach. She tried to hold onto something-anything-but her grasp remained empty.
It was nearly dawn when she finally drifted off, her exhaustion overwhelming her restless thoughts.
Rafael opened his eyes. He hadn’t been sleeping, either. He could tell Sophie wasn’t truly asleep. A sleeping person’s body relaxed completely, but hers remained taut, which indicated she was only pretending to sleep. However, she was genuinely asleep now.
His heart ached. Since their marriage, their relationship had been harmonious-even loving. But Rafael knew Sophie had always kept her heart locked away. She would talk to him about anything else: political matters, even the weighty affairs of their nation. Yet when it came to her feelings and emotions, she buried them deep within.
She buried her wounds beneath a facade of composure, refusing to let herself experience joy. It was as though she believed she no longer deserved it.
No matter how bright her smile appeared, there was always a shadow in her eyes-a profound sadness she couldn’t shake. That sorrow made her remarkably self-aware, but it also kept her tethered to her pain.
She had once been a lively young woman, like a wildflower blooming freely in the mountains, embracing life with the most unrestrained attitude. Now, even the curve of her smile seemed measured.
Rafael longed for her to open up to him, to share her burdens. He wished she could let herself cry, like the moment she had collapsed into his arms after reading her uncle’s letter. He had thought she might finally speak her mind then, but she had remained silent. Quietly, he reached for her hand, his long fingers closing gently around hers. Her small hand fit entirely within his grasp.
She didn’t wake, only sank deeper into sleep. Even in sleep, her dreams were haunted-filled with bloodshed and violence.
Sophie was skilled at hiding her emotions, so much so that she avoided thinking of the past altogether. But when she did, it always brought the same nightmare: the brutal massacre of the Devin family.
She hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, but the gruesome state of her family’s corpses was enough to piece it together.
In her dream, she saw her mom drenched in blood, crawling across the ground. One ear had been severed, and her eyes were red with blood as she dragged herself toward Sophie. A blade sliced into her back-one stroke, then another-blood splattering everywhere. Sophie watched, her eyes wide with horror. Gripping her Rose Spear, she charged forward. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t land a blow on the murderer. It was as though an invisible wall separated her from him, keeping her from avenging her family. This was more than the barrier between dreams and reality-it was the chasm between life and death.
She hadn’t even been able to face her enemies, let alone exact her revenge.
In her nightmare, she screamed, her voice raw with rage.
To hell with the greater good! She would kill every one of those murderers for her family. She wanted to hack Freya into pieces and toss her remains to the wild dogs.
One by one, her mom, her sisters-in-law, her nephews, her nieces-they all fell to the ground, their blood pooling around them. She smashed into the barrier with her spear until her head throbbed and her hands bled, but she couldn’t break through. She could only stand there, helpless, as they took their last breaths before her eyes.
She hated it. She hated it so much!
“Sophie! Sophie!”
Rafael’s voice broke through the nightmare, his hands gently patting her face.
She jolted awake, her eyes snapping open. Her hand flew to his throat her body radiating a deadly aura. As her vision cleared, it wasn’t an enemy she saw-it was Rafael, his face etched with worry.
She froze, her hand slowly dropping as her expression shifted from confusion to regret.
“I’m sorry,” she rasped. “It was just a dream.”
Her voice was hoarse, barely audible. Her face felt cold and damp. She raised a trembling hand to her cheek and realized it was soaked with tears.
Rafael pulled her into his arms, his voice gentle but firm. “It’s all right. It’s over now. It’s all over.”
Sophie took a few deep breaths, steadying herself. Wiping away her tears, she murmured, “Don’t worry about me. And don’t tell Violet-I don’t want her to fret over me.” Rafael’s heart clenched.
“You can talk to me,” he said softly. “You don’t have to keep everything bottled up inside. It’s not good for you-it’ll only hurt you more.”
Sophie offered a pale, fragile smile. “The revenge is done. I’m happy now. Truly. Don’t worry about me.”
But Rafael saw through her words. She always acted this way, afraid to burden anyone else.
Sometimes, he couldn’t help feeling a pang of jealousy toward Violet and Travis. With them, Sophie let her guard down just a little more. She might still hide some things, but she shared more with them than she ever did with him.
After all, they had grown up together, and their bond was different.
The next day, Sophie woke as if nothing had happened. She took up her riding crop and headed out the door, her demeanor calm and unbothered. Meanwhile, Blake was nursing severe injuries and had taken a leave of absence.
After learning the full story, Salvador was livid.
“If he’d truly been loyal, he wouldn’t have treated Sophie that way in the first place! And now, injuring himself over a criminal? Neglecting his duties? Disregarding the reputation of his family? He’s neither loyal nor devoted. What use is he? A disgrace through and through.”
Derek observed the situation and knew exactly why the king had been reluctant to abandon Blake despite repeated offenses. One reason was out of respect for the late General Matthias Jaffe. Another was to use him to control the Mystic Army. Lastly, it was difficult to remove him right away without affecting the generals at Victory Pass.
But with the Westhaven forces retreating, Derek suspected the king’s patience was running thin.
As expected, when court convened that day, the officials gathered outside with grievances. Derek had waited deliberately for the Oversight Minister, Irvin, and casually mentioned that Salvador had grown angry over Blake’s latest misconduct.
Ever the righteous man, Irvin pressed for details. Derek refrained from saying much, but Irvin was resourceful and had no trouble uncovering the truth. Within half a day, news reached him-Blake had been distraught over Freya’s punishment by the Westhaven forces and had deliberately injured himself.
It was a disgrace Irvin couldn’t tolerate. At the Oversight Department, he wasted no time railing against Blake.
“How shameful!” Irvin bellowed. “As a son, he dishonors his family. As an official, he neglects his duties and squanders His Majesty’s trust. If he’s so intent on dying for that criminal, why doesn’t he just do it and be done with it? At least he’d stop embarrassing the court!” Once he finished speaking, he immediately sat at his desk and started writing a formal complaint to Salvador.
Irvin’s actions inspired a ripple effect. Many officials, outraged at how Blake’s behavior might embolden the Westhaven forces, joined in. For three days, reports condemning Blake flooded the court.
When Irvin made his formal complaint, many officials quickly agreed. It wasn’t that they couldn’t see the value in Blake, but the fact that he had slammed into a wall over Freya-what kind of rumors would spread to the people of Westhaven?
After three days of continuous complaints, Blake’s precarious position finally crumbled. Salvador issued an edict to remove him from his post and ordered him to reflect on his actions.
Blake’s removal created a ripple of promotions. Kevin was elevated to fill his role, and Galen, in turn, took over Kevin’s previous post. Though Galen remained subordinate to Kevin, he seemed content with the advancement.
When the edict reached Grace Mansion, Viola sat in stunned silence in a side hall. Minutes passed, then hours, yet she didn’t say a word.
Her lips trembled several times, as though she wanted to speak, but no words came.
Blake’s self-inflicted injury had shaken her to her core. It left her heartbroken, though not for the reasons one might expect.
In truth, of the three men she had known in her life, Blake was the one she respected the least. But there had been a time, long ago, when she had genuinely been drawn to him.