Filed To Story: Queen of the Battlefield Her Return to Glory Novel Online Free
“Leave it to me,” Violet replied confidently.
“And then there’s Celeste…” Sophie paused for a moment, then decided to tell Violet the truth, explaining, “You should go talk to Carmen. We deceived her with the whole October fifteenth plan, so she might feel a bit betrayed. She might think we didn’t trust her. Tell her to be careful of her sister. Celeste got involved with one of the physicians in Harmony Palace and tampered with Melanie’s medicine. It looks like she was trying to kill her mom.”
*She p poisoned her own mom? That’s brutal!” Violet stared at Sophie in shock. “But why?”
“Only Celeste knows the reason. Either way, go and warn Carmen. Celeste has gone into hiding. She’s probably looking for a place to lay low. Right now, the only person she can rely on is Carmen, so heads??p before something bad really happens. Also, send some medicine to Melanie or have Ivy check on her. Her condition is probably getting worse.
Violet nodded. “Got it, Ivy and I will handle it. Don’t worly.”
Sophie pulled her down to sit as well. “There’s something else I need to tell you in advance, so you can prepare yourself.”
Violet plopped down next to her friend, raising an eyebrow. “Why so serious? You’re scaring me. What is it? Just spit it out!”
Still unused to the style, Sophie adjusted her hair as she spoke, “Grand Princess Eleanor is pretty much done for now. Prince Yuvan and his people will definitely be trying to find out whether she’s confessed anything or not. Anyone who’s had dealings with court officials won’t dare reach out to her. I have a feeling your cousin will come looking for you.”
Violet’s expression turned cold. “She won’t get a single word out of me. Don’t worry about me leaking anything. With her level of cunning, she couldn’t trick me if she tried.”
After a brief pause, she tilted her head. “Wait, are you asking me to pretend to be friendly and play along to fish information out of her?”
Sophie shook her head. “No, just treat her the same way you always have. Don’t change a thing. She’ll probably come with Lady Fiona, who’s sharp. If you so much as hint that you’re suspicious of Prince Yuvan, she’ll pick up on it.”
“That’s easy, then. Ever since Molly married Prince Yuvan, I haven’t given her the time of day. I’ll just keep doing that,” said Violet.
Sophie nodded in agreement. “Exactly. Don’t suddenly act all warm and friendly??hat’ll obvious something’s up.”
“Got it. Aren’t you heading to the palace? Go on.” Violet waved her hand, urging her.
Canssa glanced at the sky but stayed seated.
“Why aren’t you leaving yet?”
just make it
Sophie grinned sheepishly. “I was a little excited and… got up too early. It’s still dark out.” Violet chuckled. “If you leave now, the sun will probably be up by the time you get to the palace.” “There’s no morning court session today, and I doubt the king will be in the royal study that early.” Violet looked surprised. “Didn’t Mr. Walker tell you what time you’re supposed to go see the king?” Sophie smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, he did mention it when he gave me the royal edict??round nine in the morning.”
“What? It’s only five now! Why did you get up so early? You could’ve slept for another hour!” Violet exclaimed, scrunching up her face.
Sophie stood up, pacing in circles before dropping into a basic martial arts stance. “I’m just nervous, you know?”
Violet burst out laughing and grabbed Sophie’s hand. You’re gonna be the death of me! I thought you weren’t nervous at all. Yesterday, you looked totally unbothered when you received the edict. Come on, let’s head outside and spar a little. It’ll loosen you up.”
“Great idea!” Sophie stretched her legs, clearly excited. “It’s been forever since I’ve had a proper workout. But just so we’re clear??his is just a friendly match, no serious fighting.”
“As long as you don’t go too hard, I won’t either.” Violet jumped a few times, still nimble of her feet. Besides, we’re only using fists, no weapons. Can’t get too serious without those.”
Out in the courtyard, the sound of fists cutting through the air echoed as Sophie and Violet went back. and forth. They launched punches, blocked with their elbows, kicked through the air, and more.
It felt like they were back in Meadow Ridge, carefree and full of energy. The cool breeze helped blow away the heat rising from their sparring. As the sun began to rise through the mist, its soft glow didn’t hide the strength they both radiated.
Travis had just woken up when he heard the sounds of fighting. He leaped into the air and bounded to the courtyard. Seeing how excitedly his friends were sparring, he joined in without hesitation.
“Here I come! Haha! Take this!”
“Hey! Why are you aiming at my face? I’ll kill you!” Violet yelled as she dodged.
Travis laughed heartily. “What’s wrong with hitting the face? Behold my invincible fist, Sophie!”
With a loud thud, he aimed a punch right at Sophie’s face, leaving her stunned.
For a moment, she was frozen in shock. Then, she roared, “I was supposed to watch your ‘invincible fist”, not get punched by it! Why would you hit me? Oh, for heaven’s sake, I’m going to the palace today! My eye oh no, my eye!”
She dashed inside to check her reflection in the mirror Luckily, her eye was only slightly swollen and red there was no bruising. But it hurt badly.
“You’re done for.” Violet turned and punched Travis in the face. “That’s what you get for showing off. We were just sparring, not going all out.”
That single blow sent Travis crashing to the ground.
The courtyard was in chaos. Violet’s furious shouting had sent Travis fleeing in panic, while Lulu and Sydney rushed to get a hot compress to reduce the swelling on Sophie and Violet’s faces and eyes.
It wasn’t entirely ineffective. After all, once they applied some powder, Violet’s face didn’t look as bruised anymore. But Sophie’s eye socket was slowly turning black and blue.
Lulu offered to put powder on her too, but Sophie waved her off. “What a joke! Have you ever seen a court official wearing makeup? No, leave it.”
“But your eye doesn’t seem to open as wide as usual. You still need to appear before the king today. Wouldn’t this be considered disrespectful?” Lulu said anxiously.
Sophie didn’t think it was a big deal. During the audience, she would mostly keep her head down anyway. She rarely ever raised her head to meet the king’s eyes directly. And even if she did, the distance between them would be far enough that it wouldn’t be noticeable.
Sophie went to the stables herself to fetch her horse.
As she stroked its head, she squinted with one eye and whispered, “From now on, we’re off to a new battlefield, Lightning. We’ll face it together, side by side.”
Lightning had been idle in the stables for too long, only occasionally being taken out for a walk or two. Usually, when Sophie went out, it was by carriage, which wasn’t pulled by Lightning. Now, the horse snorted through his nose and scraped the ground with its hooves, clearly eager to go.
The stable hand stepped forward and respectfully said, “Don’t worry, Your Grace. The saddle is brand new, and I’ve trimmed his hooves. Early this morning, I fed him the best hay and grain. Lightning is in excellent shape.”
Sophie patted the new saddle. It was true what people said-clothes made the man, and a saddle made the horse. The new gear made Lightning’s already regal bearing even more impressive.
She took the whip from the stable hand and boldly instructed, ‘Go see Luke later and ask for a reward. Tell him I sent you.”
“Thank you, Your Grace! I wish you continued success.”
The stable hand couldn’t stop grinning, though he was curious as to why one of Sophie’s eyes was swollen and bruised. But with a reward on the line, he wasn’t about to ask.
After Sophie left, Violet also headed out with half her face still swollen. That troublemaker Travis had gotten involved again, so things were bound to go south.
There was no morning court session today, but Salvador was ever diligent and had risen early. Ever since the treason case came up, he hadn’t been sleeping well.
Since Salvador ascended the throne, he had been suspicious that someone was plotting to usurp him. But up until now, those suspicions were based on nothing more than paranoia. However, he had hard evidence today. It proved that his earlier fears weren’t unfounded-there really were predators lurking with ambitions for his crown. He hadn’t slept well, and waking early had left him in a foul mood. Last night, even the queen had received a scolding when he stayed in her quarters.
At the crack of dawn, officials were already gathered outside the royal study, waiting to be called in. Rafael hadn’t reported in yet, and Salvador had just finished discussing matters with Jeremiah when Derek came in.
“Commander Devin has arrived and is waiting for an audience, Your Majesty.”