Filed To Story: Queen of the Battlefield Her Return to Glory Novel Online Free
She was a sick-minded person. After giving birth to a daughter, she stopped having children and instead gathered many concubines for her husband. When the concubines gave birth, she took their children, then executed the concubines. Her methods were extremely cruel.
Once, a concubine had argued with Eleanor, so she simply didn’t want the concubine’s child. After killing the concubine’s child in front of her, Eleanor had the concubine’s fingers and toes chopped off one by one, leaving her to suffer for days before she finally died.
Such cruel deeds were well-hidden. After all, few would inquire into the affairs of a princess!
Rafael learned of this when his uncle, Eleanor’s husband, got drunk and lost his way in the palace. Rafael had found him hiding behind a rock, sobbing uncontrollably. When questioned, the man revealed the many cruel acts that happened within their residence. From then on, Rafael held no regard for his aunt and avoided her as much as possible.
During the late king’s reign, Eleanor was somewhat restrained. But now, without the late king’s presence, she was likely even more unruly.
Her daughter, Jessica, was just as wicked. She frequently abused her maids and servants. Once, she even threw stones at Helen, causing her severe injuries. Helen could not complain because, as an elder, she had to endure the princess’ wrath. And after all, she was well aware of the princess’ cruel nature.
Furthermore, there was a longstanding enmity between Eleanor and Hector.
Hector was once a renowned warrior who struck awe across the land. At the age of seventeen, he led eight hundred cavalrymen to defeat ten thousand Huns, capturing worldwide attention.
At nineteen years old, he held Victory Pass against twenty thousand. Westhaven troops with just a thousand men, ensuring the enemy- gained not a single advantage. He outmaneuvered them in the wilds around Victory Pass, leaving them lost and disoriented.
And when he was twenty-one, he was awarded the title of Wolf Lord. If not for the court officials’ concerns about his youth and fear of him becoming arrogant, he would have already been promoted to the rank of Grand General.
Who could remain unmoved by such a figure?
Deeply infatuated with Hector, Eleanor was determined to marry him. However, her father was still alive at the time, and he vehemently opposed the idea.
How could such a formidable warrior be reduced to marrying a princess and becoming her consort? It seemed like a waste of his talent.
Moreover, Hector was already betrothed to Melanie, Grand General
Dominic’s daughter. Despite Eleanor’s efforts, she could not win Hector’s affection, and only caused him to develop a deep aversion to her.
Ultimately, Hector married Melanie, and Eleanor’s hatred for Hector and his wife became intense.
According to Jacob, when Sophie and Blake divorced, Eleanor had instigated many of the scandalous rumors that had gone around. Though it was a divorce granted by the king, Eleanor consistently referred to Sophie as a discarded woman, leading to disdain for Sophie among the noble families in the capital.
If not for that, how could Rebecca have made such a fuss with her meager capabilities?
Inviting Sophie to her birthday celebration was clearly a malicious act by Eleanor. Sophie shouldn’t go, but if she chose to attend, Rafael would respect her decision.
After some thought, Rafael ordered, “Go to Northwatch Estate and find out if Sophie will be attending.”
“Understood, Your Highness. I’ll go personally.”
With that, Luke turned and left.Eleanor’s invitation did indeed arrive at Northwatch Estate. Also, the celebration was tomorrow, but the invitation was delivered only today.
Clearly, there was no time to prepare a proper gift, so Sophie would have to choose something from the storeroom.
“Grand Princess Eleanor has always held a grudge against your family. When the late Madam Devin was still alive, Grand Princess Eleanor never invited her to any of her parties. Why has she invited you this time? Could it be that a crowd of gossipers is waiting for you?” said Lily, who was quite worried.
Sophie set the invitation aside. “That’s a certainty.”
She had heard about the past grievances between her parents and Eleanor. When she returned from Meadow Ridge after the deaths of her father and brothers, Sophie found out that Eleanor had sent her mother, Melanie, a “gift” that year.
Eleanor had specifically found someone to carve a miniature sculpture. It was a small, intricately carved sculpture of a chastity belt that was maliciously inscribed with the word ‘Legacy’. It was a cruel gesture, implying that the women of the Duke of Northwatch’s family were expected to remain widows and not remarry.
The current invitation was probably a result of Sophie’s recent achievements and her status as the duke’s legitimate daughter. Marrying her could potentially elevate someone’s rank, which might tempt some ladies from declining noble houses.
Eleanor aimed to block her path completely, so that even if Sophie remarried, she could only wed a merchant or a commoner. Yet, how. could a merchant or commoner ever achieve nobility? Such a scenario would make the notion of inheriting a title laughable.
Lulu spoke up, “My lady, should we not go?”
Sophie took a seat, her gaze cold. “We will go.”
“Why should we go and be laughed at?”
Lulu was already angry just thinking about the situation. Hadn’t Sophie already endured enough humiliation?
Pearl and the others, who were only aware of the animosity between Sophie and Eleanor from Lulu’s account, agreed with Lulu’s advice.They said, “She’s right, my lady. We shouldn go. If we do, we’ll have to bring a gift.”
To the maids, sending a gift was a considerable expense, especially since it had to be appropriate for a high-ranking princess, not some cheap trinket.
Sophie fanned herself casually and said, “We must face it sooner or later. Are we to hide in this residence for the rest of our lives? Besides, a host of official families and noble ladies have already visited us earlier.
“If they turn on me at Grand Princess Eleanor’s birthday celebration, I’ll know they were mere opportunists. Knowing what kind of people. they are, I can avoid them in the future. Consider this celebration as a mirror to reveal their true selves.”
Lulu was still concerned but nodded. “My lady, if they say anything unpleasant, please don’t take it to heart.”
Sophie smiled at her. “Silly girl, I don’t care about them. How can their words hurt me?”
Only those who cared could be hurt. Since Sophie didn’t care, their words would be like water rolling off glass.
Neither the two senior maids nor Frederick discouraged her from going. They believed it was necessary, considering that Sophie would eventually marry into the royal family and would inevitably have to interact with these people.
“My lady, I’ll prepare the gift,” Lily said.
The storeroom was well-stocked with gold, silver, and jewels. Some were part of Sophie’s dowry, while others belonged to her mother and sisters-in-law. The Westhaven spies had only killed people but not plundered treasures.
Of course, the items from her mother and sisters-in-law could not be given away, so they had to choose something else.
Since Sophie wasn’t close with Eleanor, the gift didn’t need to be extravagant. But given the number of guests, many of whom were from the royal family, it couldn’t be too insignificant. After all, Sophie was representing the Duke of Northwatch’s family.
After some deliberation, none of them could agree on anything, so the senior maids looked at Sophie with a hint of hesitation.
Sophie thought for a moment and came up with an idea-a gift that others might find invaluable but that she had in abundance.
It was the “scraps” from her senior, Kyle.
Kyle enjoyed painting and would often discard works he was dissatisfied with. Sophie thought some of these paintings were quite good, so she had stamped them with his seal and taken them all home. Naturally, the study had many of Kyle’s carefully crafted artworks and calligraphy, which Sophie would not consider giving to Eleanor. A discarded piece seemed most fitting.
She selected a painting of orchids. The scroll unfurled slowly, revealing a realistic depiction of an orchid plant from Meadow Ridge. The painting captured every branch, leaf, and blossom in detail.
The reason Kyle was dissatisfied with this painting was that he had mistakenly depicted a fully bloomed flower instead of a bud. He felt that a realistic painting should accurately represent what was intended. And since this one did not, it was deemed worthless.
Kyle’s exacting standards had led him to discard this piece.