Filed To Story: Queen of the Battlefield Her Return to Glory Novel Online Free
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kitchen, immediately seizing Samuel and delivering a flurry of punches before binding him to a tree. The commotion was loud enough for everyone in Gracehold Estate to notice, and they began to flock over. However, Leona was in too much pain to care about Samuel.
Violet seethed with rage. She snatched Leah’s whip, and struck Samuel again. His agonized screams echoed in the air, drawing the attention of Dorothy, who fumed, “Are you trying to kill me with your actions? Who do you think you are, trampling all over my family?” While Abigail felt pity for her son, she knew she couldn’t intervene. She grabbed Dorothy’s arm. “Mother, don’t interfere. The worse he gets beaten now, the less angry the king will be when he sees it.”
“She’s brought this on herself! It’s her own fault,” Dorothy repeated in a cold voice. As she glanced at her grandson, tears welled up in her eyes.
Inside, Sophie listened to their exchange while watching Leona’s face drain of color. Leona appeared almost lifeless, and the bleeding showed no signs of stopping. With the cervix still closed, it seemed the baby might suffocate inside her, and she herself was in peril.
Even at this point, Dorothy was still making snide comments, and she was more concerned about her grandson than the lives at risk!
Leona’s maids, Hazel and Kate, were also crying in sorrow at Dorothy’s words.
When Hazel saw Sophie preparing to head outside, she hurriedly spoke up, “Your Grace, Mr. Samuel was trying to convince Lady Leona to speak on his behalf to the king. He hoped to restore his position and title. Lady Leona refused, saying he didn’t deserve it. In a fit of rage, he pushed her-it’s not Lady Leona’s fault! Madam Dorothy’s words are deeply hurtful to Lady Leona.”
Sophie was furious. She pushed aside the curtain and stepped out, her cold gaze landing squarely on Dorothy’s face.
The older woman was momentarily taken aback by the sharpness of Sophie’s eyes, but she quickly straightened up, reminding herself of her seniority and status. Even as a princess consort, Sophie had no right to meddle in the affairs of the Earl of Gracehold’s family. “What do you intend to do, Your Grace?” Dorothy asked in a defensive tone.
Sophie fixed her with an icy stare. “If I hear one more word from your mouth that insults the duchess, I will have you arrested for disrespecting the royal family.”
“How dare you-“
With a swift kick, Sophie sent a chair flying. It crashed against the door, splintering into pieces on the floor. The sound of the break echoed ominously alongside her cold voice. “Just watch me. If anything happens to Leona, your precious grandson will follow her into the grave.”
Her words silenced everyone in the room. A chill ran down Dorothy’s spine, and she found herself unable to scold Sophie for interfering with the affairs of her family.
Abigail sighed. “Right now, we need to focus on Leona. Your Grace, please calm down.”
Kate had finished brewing the labor-inducing medicine and brought it over. Sophie took it from her, turned sharply, and reentered the delivery room.
Violet followed her inside and glanced at everyone present before addressing Abigail. “Your daughter-in-law is inside giving birth. Aren’t you going to support her as her mother-in-law?”
Abigail had initially hoped to keep Dorothy calm to prevent her from saying something that would further provoke Sophie. But upon hearing Violet’s words, Abigail instructed her sisters-in-law to “look after” Dorothy before following Violet into the room. Though Abigail had indulged her son, she had genuinely cared for Leona. Seeing Leona in such agony brought tears to her eyes.
“I’ll help feed her,” Abigail said, taking the medicine from Kate.
She sat beside Leona and began to spoon the medicine into her mouth, tears dripping down onto her wrist. “Leona, listen to me, okay? Don’t think about anything else. Just focus on bringing this child into the world.”
Leona gritted her teeth, and forced herself to drink the bitter concoction.
After finishing, the pain intensified. She cast a pleading glance at Sophie, her tears soaking the pillow beneath her. “Sophie, help me.”
Sophie felt a sharp pang in her heart as she grasped Leona’s hand.
“How is she doing?” she asked Ivy urgently.
Ivy peeked beneath the quilt, and quickly removed all the needles. Then, she sighed and said, “Give her an Energy Pill and let her chew on some thousand-year-old Evergreen Root.”
After administering the Energy Pill and the Evergreen Root, Sophie looked at lvy, who looked worried. “I hope Alana can bring my mentor here soon.”
However, Leona’s pain continued to escalate. It felt as though a massive hand was twisting her insides repeatedly compressing everything with a relentless grip. She arched her back, trying to curl up, but ker belly was too swollen to allow any refief. Ivy wouldn’t let her twist and turn, warning that it would only worsen the baby’s suffocation.
The discomfort was unbearable. The pain consumed her thoughts, and all she wanted was for it to end as quickly as possible. She couldn’t find anyone to help her. The only thing she could do was grip Sophie’s hand tightly. In her desperation, she clawed at Sophie’s delicate wrists, leaving several angry red lines.
Unable to contain herself any longer, she let out a piercing cry as she writhed on the bed. Both Sophie and Violet were frozen in fear, helpless as they watched her suffer. “Can’t you do something to ease her pain, Ivy? She’s going to die at this rate!” Sophie’s voice was filled with urgency and dread.
Wiping the sweat from her brow,
Ivy’s face had turned pale. “There’s nothing I can do. We’ve already tried acupuncture and medication, but the pain hasn’t subsided. I’m afraid the placenta has detached. It’s very dangerous.”
Abigail nearly collapsed to the ground. She looked pleadingly at the midwife, but the midwife was also at a loss. In her lifetime, she had witnessed the dangers of childbirth many times, but when it became that perilous, there was no saving either the mother or the child. “What do we do? What can we do?” Abigail cried, tears streaming down her face as she wiped the sweat from Leona’s brow. “You’re suffering so much, Leona. I’m so sorry.”
“It hurts…” Leona could only repeat those two words, her gaze pleading for help from one person after another, but no one could offer her relief.
Outside, hurried footsteps echoed-Heather had arrived.
She rushed into the delivery room, pushed Sophie aside, and took Leona’s hand in her own.
“Leona, I’m here. How are you feeling?”
“Hurts…” Leona looked at her mother with no trace of joy. In fact, she looked fearful and wanted to pull away from Heather’s grasp as she searched for her cousin.
“Just endure a little longer. Giving birth is painful. When I had you, it was agony, too, but I made it through. You can do this.” Heather squatted down beside her and spoke softly. “Take slow, deep breaths in and out. It will help with the pain.”
Ivy interjected, “Your Grace, she took a blow to the abdomen. The baby is likely in danger, and it could endanger the duchess’ life as well. This pain is beyond mere endurance.”
Heather snapped back, “Enough with your nonsense! Prince Harvey has already gone to fetch the royal physician. He will be here shortly.”
Ivy thought to herself that the royal physician’s skills were on par with her own. Only Sebastian could truly help, but she refrained from saying so. It wouldn’t do to undermine the royal physician’s reputation, as it would bring trouble for the Arcane Sanctum.
The royal physician arrived soon after, but he couldn’t enter the room. Instead, he stood on the other side of the partition screen, asking about the situation before preparing more labor-inducing medicine. They had already given Leona a dose, and now they could only increase the amount.
At this point, Leona could hardly swallow anything. The excruciating pain made her nauseous. She managed to sip the concoction a couple of times before retching it back up.
With no other option, they hung a curtain at the foot of the bed and called the royal physician in to check her pulse. However, the physician hesitated, citing that men should not enter the birthing room, especially considering Leona’s status. He was unwilling to risk offending anyone, and only instructed Ivy to take her pulse.
Ivy moved forward to do so. The royal physician frowned as he looked at the results. “Is her cervix not fully dilated yet?”
“It has opened a little,” the midwife replied.
“How can this be? Is there a lot of bleeding?”
“It’s not excessive, but her waters broke. It’s been over two hours.”
The royal physician asked, “What about using acupuncture to induce labor?”
Ivy said, “We’ve tried, but there’s been no effect.”
The royal physician frowned, and stayed silent for a while. Heather urgently urged, “You have to come up with something!” Hearing Leona’s cries growing increasingly desperate, the royal physician felt a wave of helplessness wash over him. He sighed.
“I don’t know what else to do. Please forgive me, Your Grace.”