Filed To Story: Queen of the Battlefield Her Return to Glory Novel Online Free
Violet was unaware of the situation, but hearing that Jacob had connections in Harmony Palace filled her with respect.
“You managed to place someone in Harmony Palace? That’s impressive, Jacob! Your contact must be highly valued by Grand Princess Eleanor, right?” she asked.
“Yes, they’re in quite essential positions. We can’t do anything without them,” Jacob replied seriously.
After all, cleaning the toilets was a crucial task that needed to be handled by someone. Fortunately, the job allowed them to patrol the various courtyards at night and go unnoticed by others. Not only did no one pay any attention to them, people would often go so far as to hold their noses and walk away from them due to the unpleasant smell that lingered.
“They? It’s not just one?” Violet asked before suddenly becoming startled by a realization. “Wait, what did you say earlier? They’ve kidnapped two children and a pregnant woman?”
Sophie’s face was etched with worry. “It’s my aunt and cousins.
Frederick said my Uncle Daniel just left the capital today. If his wife and children were taken by people from Harmony Palace, I’m afraid he might have fallen into Grand Princess Eleanor’s hands as well.”
Violet gasped in surprise. “Could Grand Princess Eleanor have found out that we’re making a move during the Emberfest Festival?”
Sophie shook her head, a flicker of hidden fire dancing in her eyes. “That’s not it. My uncle looks a lot like my father, and he’s only in his twenties. Being young and similar in appearance, I worry that…” Everyone understood what she was concerned about.
“Grand Princess Eleanor is completely insane! She’s already collected a bunch of people who look like your mom, and now is targeting someone who resembles your dad. What is she trying to do? To be loved by her is to be cursed for a few lifetimes! Even your extended family members aren’t safe from her!” Violet exclaimed, her anger flaring.
Sophie gripped the armrest, her eyes frantic. The problem is we’re supposed to act tomorrow night. If we save them tonight, our plan for tomorrow might fall apart. It would be like alerting her that we have something planned. But if we don’t r?scue them tonight, I’m afraid they’ll meet a terrible fate.”
“Waiting until tomorrow night is too risky. We have to save them. A pregnant woman and two children-how can they survive in the hands of those wolves?” Violet said.
Jacob interjected, “Let’s not panic. If they intended to kill them, they could have done so right away. There was no need to take them back to the dungeon…”
Jacob trailed off as he realized that even if they weren’t killed, being taken back would surely mean torture.
Rafael pondered for a moment, then said, “The only way is for me to sneak into the dungeon and keep an eye on them. If they make a move, I’ll intervene. If they don’t, I’ll hide and wait for your operation tomorrow night.” Quietly infiltrating Harmony Palace and finding a way into the dungeon to hide was something only Rafael and Sophie could accomplish, and Rafael’s chances of success were greater than hers.
“Do we have a map of Harmony Palace? Where’s the dungeon located?” Violet asked.
“Of course we do. We’re supposed to make our move tomorrow night. How could we not have one?” Rafael replied.
Violet felt a surge of frustration. Despite her and Claire’s efforts to gather intelligence, they hadn’t uncovered anything significant.
“How did you manage to sneak people into Harmony Palace so quietly? It’s one of the most difficult places to infiltrate, especially for such important tasks. And it’s not just one person-you’ve arranged for multiple!” Violet exclaimed.
Wanting to steer away from the unpleasant topic of cleaning toilets, Jacob got straight to the point, explaining, “The initial plan is for His Highness to sneak in. However, there’s no way to leave messages for our people to see at this late hour. They can’t help us, so it’s all on His Highness now.
“Fortunately, we know the layout and patrol patterns of Harmony Palace. The best time to enter is around nine at night, but it’s almost eleven now. We’ve missed the optimal window.”
“I need to set out immediately. I’m going to change into my stealth attire,” Rafael said, then turned to Sophie. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep them safe.”
Sophie nodded. She had absolute trust in him.
“Just be careful and take care of yourself.”
“Got it.” He gave her a warm smile, exuding confidence. “The guards at Harmony Palace are nothing special. They only handle tasks like abducting people under the cover of darkness. My only challenge is to quietly slip into the dungeon and find a place to hide. I’ve seen the dungeon map, and there are spots to conceal myself.”
“Alright, just be cautious.”
Sophie knew Eleanor’s guards weren’t as inept as Rafael suggested. Compared to Hell Monarch Estate, they were certainly not on the same level. Even so, getting in unnoticed would be challenging, as there were five hundred soldiers stationed at Harmony Palace. While many were incompetent, there were capable individuals among them, like the captain of the guards, Kurt.
“We should deal with Janice. We’ve been preparing for our plan at Harmony Palace that’ll supposedly be carried out on the fifteenth of October, and she’s already sent back several messages. She’s passed on even the small details we intentionally leaked to Grand Princess Eleanor. With Raf away tonight, we need to keep her under control to prevent her from alerting anyone,” Sophie added.
Violet rubbed her hands together. “Leave it to me.”
Sophie and Rafael returned to Orchid Hall. After sending Janice and Lulu out, Sophie helped Rafael take off his daytime clothes and change into his stealth attire.
Outside, Janice pressed her ear against the door, trying to catch any sounds from within. But Lulu yanked her away with a scowl.
“What are you doing? How dare you eavesdrop on His Highness and Her Grace?”
“I wasn’t eavesdropping. I just heard His Highness was going to change clothes. Usually, Ms. Qiana and Ms. Sydney attend to him. Why weren’t they called? I was just curious,” Janice replied sheepishly.
“That doesn’t mean you should eavesdrop,” Lulu said as she pulled Janice to the side. “Just stand here and wait. After all this time working here, how can you still not understand the rules?”
Janice shook off Lulu’s hand, her expression cold. “I don’t need you to teach me. I served Lady Helen, so my understanding of the rules is certainly better than yours.”
“If you really understood the rules, you wouldn’t be eavesdropping,”
Lulu shot back with a frosty expression. “Lady Helen is easygoing and her rules aren’t too strict But here with Lady Sophie, you need to follow the rules to letter. Otherwise, youes to the can go back to serving Lady Helen.”
Janice stood to the side, ignoring Lulu.
She couldn’t help but wonder why Rafael was changing clothes so late. Where could he possibly be going? With Lulu watching closely, she couldn’t risk eavesdropping.
However, Janice had gained
Sophie’s trust over the past few days. Sophie often spoke with Violet in Janice’s presence, sometimes not bothering to hide anything from her, including their plans for the fifteenth of October. She had pieced together a lot just from her own deductions.
Janice had been receiving an increasing amount of rewards from Eleanor. If she could learn about Rafael’s fate-night outing and what it was for, reporting back to Eleanor the following day would surely earn her even more rewards.
She was lost in thought when the door opened, and Sophie called out, “Lulu, Janice, come in and serve me.”
Janice’s face lit up as she happily responded, “Yes, Your Grace!”
Already dressed in his stealth attire, Rafael slipped out from behind the partition screen as the two maids followed Sophie into the bedroom.
Once inside, Janice looked around but didn’t see Rafael. Confused, she asked, “Huh? Where’s His Highness?”
Sophie didn’t answer her, instead saying, “Tomorrow, Raf and I are heading out of the city. Can you help me paint my nails so I won’t have to rush in the morning?”
“My lady, where are you going tomorrow? Are you taking me with you?” Lulu asked eagerly, her face lighting up.
“No.” Sophie shot her a playful glare. “I just feel like going out.”
Janice continued to glance around in confusion.
Rafael and Sophie had clearly entered the room together, so why was Sophie alone now? Janice was sure Rafael hadn’t left through the door, as it had been locked the whole time. Had he snuck out through a window? Why such secrecy? As they took out the dye and prepared to paint Sophie’s nails, Violet’s voice rang out, “Sophie, I can’t find the Mystic Pearl earrings you gave me. Are they here with you?”
She stepped into the room with a frustrated look on her face. “Help me check if they’re in here.”