Filed To Story: Queen of the Battlefield Her Return to Glory Novel Online Free
After Solomon and the other Devin family members moved all the dowry items back to Northwatch Estate, Sophie came out to thank them and invited everyone in for tea.
Solomon shook his head. “We’ve got other important matters to attend to, so we can’t stay for tea. By the way, Blake asked me to give you a message. He hopes you won’t regret your decision.”
“I have nothing to say to him in response to his message. Since you have important matters, I won’t keep you,” Sophie replied calmly.
Pleased with her response, Solomon and the others left.
Even if the Devin family lost everything, they couldn’t lose their dignity.
It wasn’t that Solomon didn’t want to stay for tea, but Northwatch Estate was still in chaos. He was certain the new servants had yet to learn all the necessary rules and mannerisms.
Solomon-would have been okay with it, but he had brought along other family members. Too many people seeing the situation at Northwatch Estate might lead to gossip, and Sophie couldn’t afford to have any rumors spreading about her right now.
Returning to Exquisite Pavilion, Sophie wrote a letter asking for help to investigate the battle between Westhaven and Starhaven at Victory Pass, and had someone urgently send it to her guild. She had her suspicions but didn’t dare confirm anything without evidence.
Her maternal grandfather, Dominic, as well as her third and seventh uncles were stationed at Victory Pass. At the end of last year, ten thousand troops had been transferred from Victory Pass to support the Southern Frontier. That left Donovan to request reinforcements from the court when Westhaven attacked, and Blake and Freya had been sent.
Sophie didn’t know what actually happened during the battle and couldn’t ask her grandfather or uncles directly. If her suspicions were correct, her grandfather, as the general, would be in serious trouble. Over the next month, Sophie refused all visitors, though few came to see her anyway. The Devin family would only bother her if it was urgent. All the arrangements to staff the estate were completed, with all the newly hired servants having been taught manners and assigned to their respective duties.
To fill the accountant position, Solomon had recommended a man named Jason Lewis, who was said to be a reliable person. Other positions, from guards and coachmen to carpenters, gardeners, cooks, and errand boys, had also been filled.
Frederick Carter returned to serve as head steward of the outer estate.
He had previously worked at Northwatch Estate, but after injuring his leg in a horse-riding accident, he was allowed to go home and recover with his family. When Holly sought a new head steward for the outer estate, he turned up to interview for the position.
On Frederick’s first day back at the estate, the nearly sixty-year-old man cried in his room for a long time.
The Marquis of Northwatch had become a duke; the marquis’ mansion had become a duke’s mansion. Sophie was now the sole survivor of the once-prosperous family, and she had been scorned by the Jaffe family and abandoned.
Frederick felt a deep sadness when he learned of this.
Besides Lulu, four other maids chosen by Holly and Lily served as Sophie’s personal attendants. Sophie named them Pearl, Snow, Winter, and Joy. These five maids took excellent care of their mistress, serving her chicken soup and nourishing broths every day. After a month of this treatment, her beauty became even more striking.
Before the end of the year, Blake married Freya, and she joined the Jaffe family as Blake’s rightful wife.
The wedding was grand and impressive. Despite the earlier divorce scandal, the marriage had been decreed by the king, so many officials and even royal relatives attended the ceremony.
Seeing so many guests and the mountain of gifts made Rebecca feel some sense of restored dignity. After the newlyweds completed the ceremony, Rebecca couldn’t stop smiling. The Ministry of Defense credited Freya as having made the greatest contribution in the recent battle, as she had led the negotiations for the peace treaty between Starhaven and Westhaven.
Rebecca was immensely proud that her son and daughter-in-law had brought peace to the border after years of conflict. But the party after the ceremony left the older woman dumbfounded and furious. The Jaffe family had meticulously planned the guest list and seating arrangements. However, Freya invited over a hundred soldiers to the banquet.
These soldiers arrived empty-handed in a noisy group. As the bride, Freya was supposed to temporarily stay in her new room. But after hearing that her comrades had arrived, she personally went out to greet them.
Perhaps her actions could be excused as the behavior of a free-spirited military woman, someone who would eventually fight and serve in official capacities like a man.
However, it was still unexpected!
The problem was no one had told Rebecca that soldiers would be coming. And with over a hundred of them arriving, they took up many seats, leaving several other guests without a place to sit.
These guests were prominent civil and military officials, esteemed figures in court whose goodwill could greatly benefit Blake’s career. But now, how were they to be accommodated? They were left standing in the cold, shivering and resentful,
Rebecca urgently turned to Amelia, demanding she find a solution. Amelia was equally stunned and at a loss, as she had arranged the seating based on the official guest list and no one had informed her about the additional guests.
The invited guests were equally shocked when they saw over a hundred unruly soldiers immediately sit down and start eating and drinking, laughing and joking loudly with the bride.
The scene looked bizarre and out of place. Many of the wedding guests were from prestigious families and had attended out of respect for the king. They had never encountered such a spectacle. While the Jaffe family were not nobles, they had a long-standing heritage. How could a wedding decreed by the king turn into such a chaotic event?
Some guests waited, hoping the host would make the necessary arrangements. But as time passed and no additional seats were set up, they realized what had happened.
No one openly complained, but they politely took their leave, citing having to deal with important matters at home as their reason for heading off. Many claimed they had simply come to pass on their congratulations and well wishes, so it didn’t matter if they missed the party.
Blake was utterly bewildered, as he had no idea the soldiers would be attending. Watching the guests leave with their families, he felt as if he was being slapped repeatedly. His face burned with a mix of shame and anger.
Ignoring the guests still seated, he stormed over to Freya and pulled her up. “Come with me. I need to speak with you.”
Freya stood up and smiled at the soldiers. “You all keep drinking. I’ll be back soon.”
One soldier teased, “General Jaffe, are you in a hurry to get cozy with your bride? Hahaha!”
“Take it easy, General Jaffe. You’ll need to drink with us later.”
“Hahaha, exactly! This isn’t like at the army barracks!”
The seated guests became visibly uncomfortable at such crude remarks. Almost simultaneously, they stood up and left with their families without even saying goodbye. Blake was fuming.
Such talk might be fine in the barracks, but the guests in attendance today were high-ranking officials and nobility. Even one of the royal princes, Jerome, and his wife had come with their children. Now, they had also left their seats, leaving behind a meaningless remark before departing.
Hearing this, Blake felt his face turn red. As he dragged Freya to the back courtyard, he tried to tamp down his emotions that were alternating between anger and embarrassment.
After pacing back and forth for a bit, he spoke in an obviously annoyed tone, “Why did you invite them? And why didn’t you tell us beforehand? Now, all the guests have left!”
Freya had been drinking with her comrades and hadn’t noticed the guests leaving. She was different from the typical ladies of wealthy families.
As a general, what was wrong with being boisterous and celebrating with her fellow soldiers? She believed that showing camaraderie with the soldiers would earn admiration from the guests and demonstrate her unique qualities.
Shocked to hear that the guests had left, she glanced around and saw that only soldiers remained.
“Why did they leave?”
“There weren’t enough seats!” Blake couldn’t help but get angry at Freya’s ignorance of the situation. So, I’m asking why you invited the soldiers without telling us? They shouldn’t have been mixed with these guests.”
Freya’s femper flared when she heard his words, retorting, “Are they looking down on the soldiers? What right do they have? These soldiers fought bloody battles to protect these people’s comfortable lives! Why shouldn’t the soldiers deserve to share in the celebration?”
Looking at his wife’s indignant face, Blake couldn’t help but raise his voice as well, “It’s not about whether they deserve to or not. It’s just that we shouldn’t have invited soldiers to this event!
“They should be at their posts! You summoned over a hundred soldiers here just because you wanted to? you get permission from their commander? If not, they could face punishment for abandoning their posts!
“Even if General Lane approved it, you should have informed us. We could have set up more tables and kept them separate from the other guests. We could have prevented this mess of over a hundred guests having no seats!”get it
Freya felt Blake’s accusations were unreasonable.
She scoffed and said, “We just got married today, and you’re already yelling at me. What will it be like in the future? These soldiers have fought alongside you and witnessed our love.