Filed To Story: Queen of the Battlefield Her Return to Glory Novel Online Free
Leroy clearly didn’t want to halt the fighting at such a critical juncture. If he were more self-serving, he might have sent Liam away and continued fighting with Starhaven.
That was, in fact, what happened. After Liam disappeared, Leroy ordered the attack to continue.
Blake went on, “Westhaven’s relentless siege continued, and General Dominic was injured. Everyone was scrambling to figure out how to slow things down so he could recover. He had been hit by an arrow; it nearly cost him his life. That’s when I proposed leading a small force into Fawnrun City to burn Westhaven’s supply depot. Without their supplies, we would at least buy ourselves another two weeks.”
“And while you were sneaking into Fawnrun City, Marshal Liam had already returned to the battlefield?” Sophie asked.
“That’s right, but we didn’t find out until later.” Blake wasn’t surprised Sophie knew that. “When I took the troops into Fawnrun City, Marshal Leroy was still commanding the battle.”
“How many days did it take you to enter Fawnrun City?” Sophie asked.
“About seven days,” Blake replied.
“Then, why did you and Freya separate? Wasn’t the plan to burn the supply depot?’
“The supply depot was heavily guarded, but we were also worried about running into an ambush. Getting into Westhaven’s territory was risky, so I had her lead a team to scout the area…
Under Sophie’s intense gaze, Blake felt like he was being stripped bare.
After a brief silence, he finally confessed, “I did want to protect her by doing that, but I was also thinking about the bigger picture. If I failed, she could still complete the mission. I never expected her to massacre the villagers. had no idea.”
“So, you had no idea, which means when you reported back, you couldn’t have mentioned it to General Dominic,” Sophie said.
“Exactly. If I didn’t know about it, how could I have told him?”
Sophie processed his words, replaying them in her mind before asking again, “As the commanding officer leading the troops to Fawnrun City, you truly didn’t know what Freya did?”
Blake met her gaze without flinching. “I didn’t know, but that doesn’t matter, Commander Devin.”
Sophie stood up. “Thank you for telling me. It may not matter to you, but it matters to me.”
When Sophie left, Alistair naturally followed behind her.
Alistair had a big mouth, and today, the topic of Sophie and Blake’s conversation-Freya’s massacre of civilians-was no longer a secret.
What bothered Alistair the most was Dominic’s involvement. He knew Dominic was innocent. The man had been gravely injured at the time, nearly dying. It was no wonder the treaty had been signed by Freya.
Alistair felt a deep sense of injustice for Dominic. Upon returning to the Royal Guard headquarters, he couldn’t help but voice his thoughts.
Who in the Royal Guard didn’t respect the grand generals, Hector and Dominic? So, when Alistair spoke up, more people started to speak out on Dominic’s behalf. The Royal Guard wasn’t one to openly plead for justice, but they would certainly discuss it in private.
This was Sophie’s first move-she had to stabilize the foundation of her grandfather’s credibility and the respect he commanded among the people. Additionally, the admiration of the military officers in the capital was just as vital. When a plan had to unfold gradually, these factors were non-negotiable.
Fortunately, the so-called victory at Victory Pass had been a deliberate attempt by Salvador to elevate Blake and Freya, ensuring Blake’s absolute loyalty. Salvador awarded the glory of the victory to Freya and refrained from lavishly rewarding Sophie’s grandfather and uncles.
This precedent of elevating subordinates directly while bypassing the marshal had occurred before-Sophie’s dad had risen in this way. Hector, however, had earned his position through real military merit; unlike Freya, who had only relied on deception.
With Freya now imprisoned, the Ministry of Justice began its secret interrogation. The proceedings were kept under wraps, but Salvador sent Blake and lan to oversee them.
lan used to be the head of the crown prince’s personal guards. He had been with Salvador since the latter was crown prince, building a network in silence. However, Salvador had made sure his men stayed in the shadows. Once exposed, his chess pieces would no longer be hidden.
During Salvador’s time as crown prince, he had always followed Sigmund’s directives. lan had kept a low profile. After Salvador ascended the throne, many had forgotten about lan entirely.
Recently, lan had become more active. Salvador had appointed him as deputy commander of the Crown Guard, just below Blake. This was Salvador’s way of protecting lan, using Blake as a shield.
The reason Salvador had Blake and lan oversee the interrogation was because Freya’s testimony had to align with Blake’s account. lan’s role was to supervise the proceedings.
That night, no one at Hell Monarch Estate spoke. They were all in the study, organizing the information they had gathered so far. Though the lines of the investigation were already clear, they had to go over everything again. There could be no mistakes.
The facts were set, and there was no changing them. It was impossible for Sophie’s grandfather to walk away completely unscathed. If generals and commanders didn’t take responsibility for the mistakes of their subordinates, it would set a dangerous precedent. If a commander’s underling harbored ambitions or committed a grave crime, they could simply blame a loyal subordinate to escape punishment.
Neither Rafael nor Sophie had entertained the idea of completely exonerating Dominic. They only hoped to minimize the punishment as much as possible.
The light flickered over Rafael’s strikingly handsome face as he furrowed his brow. His thumb rubbed the side of his index finger in a nervous gesture-a subtle sign of his unease.
“We have to do everything we can to prevent war between the two kingdoms. As long as there is no renewed conflict, this will remain a matter for the two kingdoms to resolve diplomatically. We can avoid the situation where death sentences are even on the table,” he said.
Rafael knew his words were harsh.
The words “death sentence’ were never something they had spoken aloud, but the reality was unavoidable. If the two kingdoms went to war again over the incident at Fawnrun City, Freya, who had claimed the glory, would certainly be executed. And Dominic, the marshal of Victory Pass, would probably meet the same fate.
Sophie trembled, fighting back tears.
Seeing this, Kyle felt a pang of sympathy for her. “His Majesty should take into account General Sullivan’s years of service, his advanced age, and his long tenure defending Victory Pass. He hasn’t even been able to return to the capital. The ministers will surely vouch for him, so a death sentence shouldn’t be on the table.”
Sophie took a deep breath, forcing the tears back and steadying herself. “We can’t rely on His Majesty’s goodwill. What if he doesn’t care? We can’t take that chance. Raf is right-war between the two kingdoms must absolutely be avoided. Once war starts, even if the king truly wants to protect Grandpa, there won’t be a way to save him.”
Even more troubling was the possibility that Salvador might not want to protect Dominic at all.
Rafael shifted closer and took Sophie’s hand in his. “Don’t worry too much. We won’t let things get to the worst possible point.”
Sophie knew that his assurance, though strong, didn’t have much solid ground to stand on. People’s hearts were the hardest thing to control, especially the new king of Westhaven. Since becoming crown prince, Edmund had used the Fawnrun City massacre to stir up public anger. Now that he was king, he could do whatever he wanted unchecked.
Jacob compiled the gathered information and summarized it, “King Edmund doesn’t seem to care much about the throne. He’s using his immense power to seek justice for his brother and the massacred civilians, pushing us to give up our borderlines.
“He’s even considering war, but Westhaven’s military is still recovering from their previous conflict with Sandoria. They’ve lost soldiers and resources, and they’ve been stuck in a stalemate with us for years. We’ve also had major battles with them at Victory Pass. They need time to recuperate.
“A lot of Westhaven ministers oppose war, with Grand Princess Lisandra being one of the strongest voices against it. Having her lead the envoy party coming here is probably King Edmund’s way of backing down. It will likely be his only concession. If we can’t reach an agreement with Westhaven’s envoys, the anti-war faction will probably be completely silenced.”
Lisandra was the eldest daughter of the former king of Westhaven, and the sister of both Arthur and Edmund. Now that Edmund had ascended the throne, she held the title of grand princess.
It was Lisandra who had helped Edmund rise to power. When Westhaven’s previous king fell ill, she had taken over the governance of the kingdom, so her influence in Westhaven was immense.
There was a saying in Westhaven: If Lisandra weren’t a woman, she would have been made the crown prince. While Westhaven allowed women to wield political power and hold official positions, they would never let a woman ascend to the throne.
Kyle suddenly spoke up. “I’ve met her a few times. She’s very capable-strong-willed and decisive.”
“You know Grand Princess Lisandra, Mr. Spencer?” Jacob quickly asked. “Does she have any weaknesses?”
Kyle thought for a moment before replying, ‘She values family, the throne, and the people.”
“Those are weaknesses, but they are also her armor,” Rafael said.