Filed To Story: Queen of the Battlefield Her Return to Glory Novel Online Free
Tears glistened in Florence’s eyes but did not fall, her expression bleak. “She knew your dad had great ambitions. How could she possibly stand in his way?”
“Knowing something is easy, but doing it is hard. The only person who stayed by my dad’s side without complaint for all those years was my mom. She gave birth to seven of us, managed the household, and never let my dad worry about our family for even a moment.
“After the initial passion between a man and a woman faded, she had to face the growth of her children, the tediousness of family matters, and the constant anxiety when my dad went to war. To me, my dad is a hero, and so is my mom. Can you honestly say Grand Princess Eleanor could ever measure up to my mother?”
Florence opened her b “She-“
Sophie cut her off, interjecting, “She can’t. She would throw a tantrum over the slightest issue with my dad, vent her frustrations on the servants when there were small disagreements, and even cut off their fingers and toes just to feel better. Don’t compare her to my mom. She doesn’t even measure up to a single strand of my mom’s hair!”
Florence remained silent for a long time. She was fully aware that Eleanor could never measure up to Melanie Sullivan.
In Eleanor’s heart, her grievances outweighed everything else. If she had married Hector and he disobeyed her even once, she would undoubtedly have caused a scene and shaken the very foundations of the earth.
Sophie continued, “And you said that concubines are lowly while the grand princess is noble. So, no matter what she does to them, it’s all considered a blessing. If I were to give you such a “blessing’, would you kneel in gratitude and offer up your fingers and toes for me to chop off one by one?”
Florence didn’t look up. Her eyes were downcast, and she was unable to muster a single retort.
“Most of those so??alled lowly concubines were favored young women in their families. Whether from wealthy households or common folk, their parents likely spoiled them just like you spoiled Grand Princess Eleanor.
“But they were abducted and quietly met terrible ends within Harmony Palace. And you still think they should be grateful? When you ponder such thoughts, doesn’t it feel horrifying? I don’t know if there are vengeful spirits in this world, but if there are, they must linger endlessly within Harmony Palace. No wonder rituals are performed every year during the Emberfest Festival to help those souls find peace. Have you ever dreamed of those deceased concubines and little boys, Florence?”
Florence suddenly covered her mouth, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Sophie looked at her coldly. “You should respect life.”
After delivering her final words, she stood up and walked out.
Rafael emerged from behind the partition screen. He followed her out and instructed someone to take Florence back to her cell.
Florence stumbled as she was led away, her back hunched and no longer holding any trace of her former dignity.
Sophie said, “Let her rest for a couple of days, but we still need to question her. She knows where Lord Henry’s daughters have gone, the former haunts of Grand Princess Eleanor’s trusted confidants, and the fates of the guards and servants who have been replaced one after another.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll uncover everything.” Rafael replied.
As the two made their way to the front yard of the Supreme Court, they were met by Matthew, who rushed up to report, “We’ve unearthed the box, Your Highness, Commander Devin. There’s indeed a small notebook inside. I took a quick look, and it records the origins of every individual??ames, ages upon arrival, and even the ages and causes of death for some.”
Rafael expression darkened as he said to Sophie, “Let’s go!”
There were two notebooks, and each of them took one
Sophie’s contained detalls of every child born??hether male or female, and who their moms were. Rafael’s held the histories, names, and ages of each concubine, along with how they entered the household.
After a thorough examination, they exchanged notebooks. Sophie saw there had been a girl named Wendy Lloyd, who had lost her fingers and toes. She was from Valken. Her dad was a carpenter, and she had three older brothers, making her the youngest sister.
Florence had even noted how closely the women resembled Melanie Sullivan. Wendy’s resemblance was marked at 80 percent. She had been brought to Eleanor by Fiona at the age of fifteen and died at eighteen.
Sophie hastily flipped through the pages to find how many times Fiona’s name was mentioned, but there was only a single entry. As for other women, none bore such a high resemblance as Wendy. Even Melanie Lester had only a 40 to 50 percent similarity. There were even some women who bore no similarity to Melanie Sullivan, and only had similar names.
Some women had been bought, but the majority had been abducted??nly five were bought outright. Sophie tallied the figures. There had been a total of 182 individuals, of which 142 were already dead, meaning only 40 remained alive.
On the following page, Florence indicated that not all the women had been Henry’s concubines. Some had been brought to Harmony Palace so Eleanor could torture them to vent her anger. After that, they were killed. Some bodies had been dumped in mass graves, while others were cast into an ancient well.
Over the years, 28 male infants had been born, none of whom survived. There were 36 daughters, with seven dying shortly after birth and others sent away due to unattractive appearances. As for those who. had survived and were raised well, like Carmen and Celeste, there was no record of them in the notebooks.
Rafael slammed his hand on the table in anger. “This is utterly insane!”
Matthew said in a low voice, “I’ve looked through it as well, Your Highness. Fortunately, this records the origins of those women, so we can send people to inform each of their families.”
“Have the retrieval teams returned yet?” Rafael asked.
“Not yet. The well is very deep and has been sealed for a long time. We need to wait until the stench dissipates a bit before anyone can go down. The people sent to retrieve the box reported that they had descended, but there were decayed and swollen bodies in the well that couldn’t be brought up??ore than one, in fact. These rotting corpses are also hindering the retrieval of other remains.”
“Are the coroners on??ite? Send a request to the Royal Citadel and have them dispatch some to assist,” Rafael commanded.
“They have already gone.”
“Good. Have the weapons been accounted for? I need to report to the palace,” Rafael inquired further.
“Yes, the inventory is here.” Matthew quickly pulled a ledger from the table and handed it to Rafael.” Everything is categorized for your review.”
Rafael opened the ledger.
There were 1,000 bows, 500 crossbow machines, 380 bundles of arrows??ach bundle containing 100 arrows??00 sets of full armor, 300 long swords, 300 spears, 300 short knives, 600 swords, and three barrels of gunpowder. The total count of other weapons??xes, iron rods, and whips??xceeded 1,000.
If these weapons were said to be for the defense of the residence, no one would believe it.
Moreover, the regulations regarding armor are extremely strict. Even royal residences were not permitted to possess full metal armor.
Rafael had a set, but it was only for his own use and not his soldiers.
The guards in the estate wore either leather armor or wooden armor, and even these couldn’t be worn outside. Doing so was a violation of the law, with penalties that could vary widely depending on the severity of the offense and whether anyone was inclined to make a big deal out of it.
Even if Matthew could make excuses for the other weapons in the ledger, just the presence of crossbows or armor could be considered treasonous.
Rafael turned to Sophie. “I’ll head to the palace for a bit. This evidence could strip her of her title as a grand princess.”
Stripping Eleanor of her title and reducing her to commoner status would grant them more leeway in the investigation. When it came to torture, Eleanor was more familiar with it than anyone else.
Sophie replied, “Alright, you go ahead. I’ll review the other testimonies and look into the noblewomen who have had frequent dealings with Grand Princess Eleanor over the years. We need to ask the right questions.”
She had a top choice in mind??uvan’s household, specifically Molly and Fiona. Although they hadn’t interacted much with Eleanor while in Valken, they had visited Harmony Palace several times since returning to the capital. Additionally, Yuvan and Eleanor were raised by Ruth, which created a bond that warranted some inquiries.
It would also unsettle Yuvan, making him regret his timing in returning to the capital. If he were still in Valken, this turmoil would never have touched him.
Rafael brought the two notebooks from Florence along with him to the palace.
Salvador examined the count of weapons, his blood boiling. “Eleanor has some nerve! How dare she harbor treasonous thoughts and plot against the kingdom!”
Derek quickly pleaded, “Please calm down, Your Majesty!”
Salvador’s gaze darkened as he turned to Rafael. “Interrogate her. Use whatever means necessary to force her to reveal the mastermind behind this,”