Filed To Story: Queen of the Battlefield Her Return to Glory Novel Online Free
It took an hour before she finally quieted down.
Her breaths were shallow, with more air escaping her than entering. Sometimes, Rebecca seemed aware. She opened her eyes to look at the people gathered around her. Yet each time, she didn’t see Benjamin or her grandchildren.
She moved her lips, whispering, “Benjamin….
Blake was sitting by her bedside. “Mom, would you like some water?”
“Benjamin…”
Where was her eldest son? Where was he?
“He stepped out for a moment. He’ll be back soon,” Blake reassured.
Bryan stood nearby, wiping his tears away, his voice filled with anger as he spoke, “Benjamin is heartless. Mom has been so good to him, and he can’t even come to see her off at the end.”
Rebecca’s eyes widened in shock. See her off? Was she really dying?
She was dying.
Her eldest son was absent, and her daughter hadn’t even taken a moment to check on her. Not a single person from the second branch of the family had visited.
Was she truly so hated?
Rebecca refused to accept it-she simply couldn’t. All her hard work had been for the family. She had hoped to restore them to their former glory. Didn’t she do it all for them?
She felt as though something was choking her throat, making it increasingly difficult to breathe. She was so cold; she couldn’t stop shivering.
This wasn’t how it was meant to be. She should have had the best physicians and taken the most expensive medicine. Though her husband hadn’t achieved much, he listened to her. And her daughters-in-law… No, they had all left, every last one of them.
“I regret it…”
Thick tears streamed from the corners of her eyes, but she couldn’t voice any other words.
What she regretted, no one knew.
At 10:45 that night, Rebecca drew her last breath. Her eyes remained open.
Blake cried for a long time before he began to arrange her funeral.
With only a few days left until the New Year, the funeral preparations were rushed. They set up a table for a day to allow visitors to pay their respects.
With the court on break and the Supreme Court closed for the holiday, Sophie could take a break. However, for the Capital Guard, the Garrison Unit, the Royal Guard, and the Crown Guard, the New Year was usually their busiest time. There could be no slackening in their duties.
Sophie would occasionally return to check in, but she didn’t remain at the Capital Guard headquarters or the Central Command Office all the time.
The following day, news of Rebecca’s death reached Hell Monarch Estate.
No one said much about it. After all, news that she was nearing her end had long since spread.
Jacob did remark, “Well, with this, Blake will have to enter his mourning period. Is the Crown Guard about to lose its commander?”
Salvador had already intended to separate the Crown Guard from the Mystic Army, which meant having a commander was essential. Previously, whether there was a commander or not didn’t matter as much. Now, it was crucial.
However, with Rebecca’s death at this time, it was the son’s duty to mourn, and such mourning meant Blake would be sidelined. At the moment, there was no sign that Salvador would reinstate him.
To put it plainly, the Crown Guard didn’t necessarily have to have Blake as its commander.
Violet felt no sympathy for Blake.
“I heard from Claire that Serena didn’t return for the funeral, but Freya left Blessed Haven to don mourning attire for that old hag,” she said.
Ever since the assassination attempt, Freya had rarely left Blessed Haven. She wouldn’t even make an appearance when Rebecca was nearing death, so it was strange that she would come out now to mourn. If someone wanted to kill her again, infiltrating the household during the funeral wouldn’t be too difficult.
But Freya was probably smart enough. The treason case had just happened, and it wasn’t resolved yet. Who would dare to act recklessly at this time?
“Who’s helping to handle the funeral arrangements?” Sophie asked.
Viola had been in poor health since giving birth, so she couldn’t manage it. Freya likely wouldn’t be taking charge either.
“Madam Charlotte,” Violet replied. “After all, they’re sisters-in-law. It’s not like they have a lot of grievances against each other. Plus, the family hasn’t truly split up, so she’ll handle what needs to be done.”
“Aunt Charlotte is quite loyal and principled,” Sophie remarked. “That’s rare.”
Everyone nodded in agreement. They genuinely respected someone like Charlotte, who could clearly distinguish between love and hate. While they admired her, they couldn’t help but silently curse Rebecca.
Only Rafael refrained from cursing her. He certainly resented Rebecca, but her cruel and ungrateful nature had led him to marry Sophie. His anger toward her was only because she had mistreated Sophie.
Rafael’s injuries had mostly healed, though he still walked a bit awkwardly. The bump on his forehead had faded to a light bruise, but at first glance, it still gave the impression of an ominous shadow.
Jacob said that Rafael’s forehead didn’t look very auspicious and insisted that Dylan hold him down while he applied some powder to cover it up. Now, Rafael mostly stayed indoors unless he had to go out.
Fortunately, Helen had gone to the palace to keep Victoria company. Otherwise, she would have nagged him endlessly about the state of his forehead.
The weather was cold, and Victoria had moved to the warm quarters of the palace. The concubines would come to pay their respects on the first and fifteenth days of the month, while Salvador visited every other day. No matter how diligent he was in his duties, he never forgot to check in on her.
Even while investigating the treason case, he would take time to drop by and see her. Helen had been living in the palace for a few days and had seen Salvador several times.
Victoria was aware of Rebecca’s death. She remarked, “Well, she died at just the right time. This year will be peaceful.”
Helen raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “Who told you that? I’ve seen you holed up in here all day. Did someone in the palace spill the news? Are they even prying into matters concerning the Jaffe family?
“What’s wrong with knowing a little about what’s happening outside?” Victoria didn’t directly answer Helen’s question, but tapped her on the forehead. “Don’t be so closed-minded. You should keep yourself informed. Now that you’re out of the palace and staying with Rafael, you ought to help a bit. Don’t just focus on enjoying yourself.” “If my son is doing well and my daughter-in-law is dutiful, shouldn’t I be enjoying life?” Helen shot back. “After all the hard work raising my son, it’s only natural to want to enjoy the fruits of my labor. Am I supposed to keep toiling away for them? I’m not that foolish.”
In front of her sister, Helen always spoke her mind and was accustomed to being unrestrained in her words. If she said something wrong, it was only a few rebukes from her sister. What did she have to fear?
Victoria chuckled. “You’re quite lazy, you know. You have no ambition at all.”
“What do you mean? Since entering the palace, how many concubines have turned against me? I’ve fought through so much to get to where I am today. I wouldn’t have such a peaceful life if I hadn’t done all that,” Helen retorted.
Victoria looked at her dim-witted sister and sighed. Fine-if Helen thought she got through it all on her own and wanted to be proud of it, let her be.
Helen carefully arranged the sugar cubes on a plate, making them neat and tidy. “Why say that the year will be peaceful since that old woman is dead? Did she make you suffer while she was alive? Do you have a grudge against her?”