Filed to story: Queen of the Battlefield Her Return to Glory Novel Online Free
“Are you happy, my dear?” Lily asked gently.
She took Sophie’s hand, applying a bit of pressure as she rubbed the calluses on her palm, then pulled out a small jar of cream she carried with her. This cream was from Sebastian, who claimed it could soften calluses and smelled pleasant.
Sophie used her other hand to rub the back of her neck. “I don’t particularly feel happy or not. Getting married isn’t exactly a new experience for me.”
She was indeed happy, but there was also a tinge of melancholy. Though she had developed feelings for Rafael, he had married her for other reasons. He was settling for her, so how could she appear overjoyed?
She needed to constantly remind herself to stay grounded and avoid giving her heart away entirely. If Rafael grew cold towards her in the future, it would hurt deeply.
Though Sophie usually kept her grievances to herself, Lily could easily discern her true feelings. Lily had watched this child grow up, and even though she had been away at Meadow Ridge, she had been a constant presence over the years. She knew Sophie well enough to know what the young lady was thinking.
“Today, there’s something I need to tell you. After I’m done, you can decide if you want to be happy about it,” Lily said with a playful look. “But remember, you mustn’t keep bringing up your previous marriage.” “What’s this about?” Sophie asked, her interest piqued.
Lily applied the cream to Sophie’s other hand, her brows furrowing slightly to hide the sadness in her eyes.
“When you initially returned to discuss your marriage, you were met with a sea of suitors. Many noble families came to seek your hand.”
Sophie nodded. “I know about that.”
“Yes, but there is something you may not know. At that time, you hadn’t yet returned from Meadow Ridge,” Lily continued, gently rubbing the cream into Sophie’s hand.
Lily sighed softly. “Back then, the news of the duke and the young masters’ deaths reached us. The battlefield needed a general, so the Hell Monarch was appointed as the Grand Marshal to reclaim the Southern Frontier.”
Sophie withdrew her hand, rubbing it herself, her gaze lowering as her eyelashes grew damp. “I know all this, Lily. You don’t need to tell me.”
Talking about her father and brothers made her heart ache deeply.
“Listen to what I have to say to the end,” Lily said, fighting back tears, knowing she couldn’t let a single tear fall today. “The night before the Hell Monarch was to lead his troops out of the city, he came to the estate. I remember it was already late, and the madam had gone to bed. But upon hearing that the Hell Monarch had arrived, she dressed again and went out to meet him.”
Sophie paused, seemingly lost in thought.
Her heart skipped a beat, and her voice trembled slightly as she asked, “Why was he there so late at night?”
Lily recalled the events of that time as if from a dream.
She spoke softly, “He brought a dagger and made a promise. He said that this time, on the Southern Frontier battlefield, he would personally avenge the deaths of the duke and the young masters by killing General Vallar and his army. He used the dagger as a token and asked for your hand in marriage.”
Even though Sophie had already guessed part of the story, hearing it directly from Lily still left her stunned and in silence.
Rafael had come to ask for her hand in marriage?!
Sophie’s eyelashes fluttered. “Mom refused him, right?”
“No,” Lily replied. “Your mother accepted.”
Sophie’s confusion deepened. “If she accepted, why did she later agree to Blake’s proposal?”
Lily sighed deeply. “Your mother accepted the prince because she wanted him to go to war with a clear mind. But she felt that since even the duke couldn’t drive out the Sandorian people from the Southern Frontier, the Hell Monarch wouldn’t be able to either.
“Moreover, Prince Rafael was headed to the Southern Frontier battlefield, which was fraught with peril. She was terrified of that place back then. Don’t blame her-choosing General Jaffe was truly done with the hope of providing you with a stable life.”
Lily took Sophie’s hand once more. “Your mother has always been wise. She has never made a wrong decision in managing the household. The only mistake she made was in your marriage. At that time, she prioritized your marriage above all else, but misjudged General Jaffe.”
Sophie felt a pang of sorrow. It was as if her heart was gripped by an invisible force, making it difficult for her to breathe.
So, Rafael had come to seek her hand in marriage before heading to the Southern Frontier? And he had succeeded in what he promised to do-he had personally killed Vallar and reclaimed the Southern Frontier, fulfilling Hector’s unfinished mission.
“Don’t overthink this, my lady. Your mother actually held a great fondness for Prince Rafael. When she promised you to General Jaffe, she spent the whole night talking to her attendant, Gloria. She said that among all the suitors, Prince Rafael was her first choice. Unfortunately, he was going to the Southern Frontier, a place of almost certain death.
“Besides that, she also mentioned that even if the Hell Monarch returned victorious, as a royal prince, he would have numerous concubines and secondary wives in his household. Your temperament wouldn’t be suited to such a situation.”
Sophie could understand why Melanie had feared the Southern Frontier battlefield so much, and why she believed that once someone went there, they might never return.
In Melanie’s eyes, Hector was all-powerful, a mighty general who was unmatched in the world. Her mother had loved and revered her father. Thus, Melanie thought that if Hector and his sons couldn’t survive on the Southern Frontier battlefield, then that place was indeed hell on earth.
After Lily finished speaking, a maid entered with a bowl of steaming chicken noodle soup. Sophie had been hungry moments before, but now, seeing the hot soup, she suddenly lost her appetite. “You should eat. Your mother, watching from above, would be very happy to see you marrying Prince Rafael today. I promise you that,” Lily said gently.
Sophie’s tears fell into the broth as she held the bowl of soup.
Choking up, she said, “This phoenix crown is so heavy… It’s causing me such pain in my neck that I feel like crying.”
Trying to hold back her own tears, Lily wiped Sophie’s tears away but understood that a new bride could cry if she wished.
“Silly girl, finish your soup, then we’ll remove the crown, change your clothes, and help you take a bath. Tonight, there’s much celebration outside. Prince Rafael probably won’t return to the suite until after midnight.”
Sophie took a few spoonfuls of the soup, her sobs softening. “Where’s the dagger he sent? Didn’t Mom give him a token in return?”
“The dagger was in the duke’s armory in Northwatch Estate,” Lily said with a smile. “I brought it along and will show it to you tomorrow. Your mother did give him a token in return as well.”
Lily’s smile widened. “She gave him a handkerchief, saying it was one you had embroidered yourself.”
Sophie looked up in surprise. “Huh? That handkerchief was the token of engagement?”
She had thought it was something given to him when she was a child.
“Yes.”
“But there were so many things that could have been given. Why choose that handkerchief?”
Sophie’s appetite was completely gone.
How could her mother have sent such an ugly handkerchief to Rafael as a token? When Sophie saw it in the command tent back then, she had thought it was extremely ugly and had even made fun of it in her mind.
But thinking about how Rafael had carefully kept that handkerchief on the battlefield, never parting with it even after learning that she had married Blake, touched her.
Yet, it was still so ugly.
Lily was smiling, though she had tears glistening in her eyes. “Because it was the first embroidery you ever did, and you did such a wonderful job on it. Your mother felt very proud of you.”
Sophie was crying and laughing simultaneously, but still couldn’t resist eating eagerly as she smelled the delicious soup.
She playfully complained, “There’s a table full of food, yet I can only eat this bowl of chicken noodle soup? Seriously?”