Filed To Story: Queen of the Battlefield Her Return to Glory Novel Online Free
For now, Patrick placed him under temporary detention at the Ministry of Justice-not in a dungeon, but in a specially prepared cell originally intended for Dominic, though it had never been used.
After Blake’s interrogation, Patrick returned to question Freya once more, personally overseeing her session as before.
She had been through so much that she barely resembled herself anymore. Her hair was a tangled mess, her face sallow, and her fingers swollen from the torture she had endured. Every detail of her appearance testified to the miserable treatment she had experienced during her time at the Ministry of Justice.
But in reality, it hadn’t been that bad. To keep her alive, the ministry’s officers had refrained from using harsher methods of torture.
Patrick sat in his chair, his cold gaze fixed on Freya, saying, “Commander Jaffe has confessed. Before you went to Fawnrun City, you never saw General Sullivan. In fact, by the time the operation began, he had already been struck by an arrow. So, it’s impossible that he gave you your orders.”
Freya seemed stunned, her eyes wide with disbelief. “Blake confessed? You arrested him? No, that’s impossible!”
Why is that impossible? He was the general in charge of the Fawnrun City operation. You’ve committed a crime of catastrophic proportions, and he naturally bears responsibility for it as well.’
Freya took a deep breath and shook her head violently. “No, that’s impossible. The king has plans to groom him. Why would he drag Blake into this? Didn’t General Sullivan already return to the capital for questioning? If he’s being interrogated, what difference does it make whether Blake is involved or not?”
Freya still assumed that Salvador was thoroughly investigating this matter just to give the Westhaven envoys an explanation. Since that was the case, wasn’t Dominic’s confession enough? Why involve Blake at all?
Patrick’s voice turned harsh, “You’re the reason for General Sullivan’s return to the capital for questioning. Are you really trying to make him carry all your crimes? How can you say such a thing?”
“Someone is making excuses for General Sullivan! I’m sure of it!” Freya snarled, raging like a comered beast.
Had she not been shackled, she would have lunged forward.
“It’s not fair! General Sullivan is the leader of Victory Pass, so he should bear the heaviest responsibility. You all flatter Prince Rafael and Sophie, trying to take down Blake, but he had no idea about how I massacred the villagers or killed the prisoner. He’s being unjustly accused!” she yelled.
“If Commander Jaffe didn’t know, then General Sullivan definitely wouldn’t have known.’ Patrick scoffed, turning to the scribe. “Write this down-Freya has confessed that both Commander Jaffe and General Sullivan were unaware of the matter.
“No! I never said that!” Freya shouted in protest.
Patrick’s voice cut through her outburst, “There are too many ears in this room for you to take it back now.”
Freya opened her mouth, but the words stuck in her throat. She realized her situation-there was no escaping now. She slumped, her gaze dropping as she hid the defiance that still burned in her eyes.
As Patrick observed her, he couldn’t help but admire Rafael’s decisiveness. With Blake’s confession, Freya’s claims held no weight. After all, Blake had been the general in charge of the operation. If even he didn’t know about it, how could Dominic?
Freya was just one of Blake’s subordinates. She was never in a position to bypass him and take orders directly from Dominic.
Had this been earlier, Freya wouldn’t have cared about dragging Blake down with her. Before the Ministry of Justice came for her, she believed that her husband had no feelings left for her and that their bond was severed.
But that day, when she had asked him if he remembered the promise he made at Victory Pass, he had unhesitatingly risked his future to help her escape. At that moment, she knew- he hadn’t completely erased her from his heart.
So, after being brought to the Ministry of Justice, she clung to the story of Dominic being the mastermind, knowing full well that the king was protective of Blake. Her confession, presented in front of the court, would surely exonerate her husband and absolve him of any guilt.
But she hadn’t anticipated that Salvador would abandon Blake, allowing him to be brought to the Ministry of Justice for questioning. And that man, in his foolishness, had confessed everything. If he had pinned the blame on Dominic, their situation might not have been so dire.
In the end, it was true that Blake still had feelings for Freya, but Sophie’s place in his heart was far more important.
Freya couldn’t say whether it was guilt or love-perhaps even Blake himself didn’t understand what he truly felt. What she did know was that he hadn’t erased her completely from his heart, yet he hadn’t been willing to sacrifice Sophie for her.
With all the confessions stacked against her, including Blake’s own, Freya realized it was pointless to keep accusing Dominic. She had lost that battle. She could only try to secure a way out for herself, but no way forward seemned to present itself.
The only option left was to protect Blake’s life with everything she had.
She started to confess, “General Sullivan didn’t know, and neither did Blake. When I encountered that group of Westhaven soldiers near the village in Fawnrun City, we clashed. They lost and retreated into a village to hide. The massacre was only meant to flush them out.
“As for humiliating that young general… I didn’t know who he was at the time. I only thought he was a coward who had fled the battlefield and hidden in the village. I tortured him because they killed several of my soldiers during the clash…”
Freya didn’t spare any details about the torture, but the scribe didn’t record them fully. He merely wrote the term ‘tortured prisoner to keep things brief, as the confession was meant for the Westhaven envoys’ eyes.
She continued, “After I captured them, I didn’t expect Marshal Liam to arrive with his troops. I was terrified, and confused as to why he would go so far for a mere young general. He even abandoned the front lines. That’s when I suspected the general’s identity wasn’t simple. I never imagined he could be the crown prince. At the time, I thought he might be Marshal Liam’s son.
Their army was so much larger than ours. If a battle broke out, we wouldn’t stand a chance. But Marshal Liam actually wanted to talk terms for the sake of that young general. I was shocked. I tested the waters by making a bold suggestion, which was to redraw the boundary lines and cease the war.
“I never thought he would agree. I just wanted to test how high-ranking that prisoner really was. When Marshal Liam agreed without hesitation, I was certain the young general was his son.
The scribe meticulously recorded Freya’s words, which once again pieced together the truth as told by Zeke and the others.
Freya had proposed returning to Victory Pass to finalize the details of the treaty, but Liam had dismissed the idea and said it wasn’t necessary. The terms had already previously been discussed between the two kingdoms, though neither side had agreed on them.
Freya had indeed seen the terms in question before. They were Starhaven’s demands-a ceasefire, as well as the pushing back of the border to its original demarcation, using the base of the mountain outside Fawnrun City as the boundary.
“I was momentarily tempted by my desires. I thought that if I signed the treaty, I would claim all the credit,” she confessed. So, I had Marshal Liam pull his forces back about six miles and leave only 12 men behind. This served two purposes. First, it helped Blake with his plan to burn the supply depot. Second, I needed to ensure my own safety and that of my soldiers after the agreement was signed.
“Originally, I was worried he would leave behind a group of elite soldiers, which would still put us at risk. But I never expected that of the 12 men he left, one was a strategist and three were military doctors. With that, I had no more concerns. The treaty was signed even more smoothly than I had anticipated. Afterward, we took the young general hostage and retreated to the foot of the mountain before releasing him.”
Afterward, she had waited for Blake to arrive and informed him about the treaty. Once back at Victory Pass, Liam sent someone to follow up. It was all so confusing, but in the end, Freya became the hero.
Of course, Wyatt had repeatedly asked her about the details of the treaty with Liam. She and her officers had concocted a story. Supposedly, they had met the marshal and his 12 men at the foot of the mountain. A fight broke out, during which Liam was captured. That was how the treaty had been signed.
Wyatt didn’t fully believe it, but Liam had indeed disappeared from the frontlines and the treaty carried his military seal, which symbolized his authority as a military leader. On Starhaven’s side, they only needed Dominic’s military seal to officially make the agreement binding.
While recording, the scribe intentionally omitted the mention of the Westhaven crown prince, replacing him with a young general instead. Since the Westhaven official correspondence didn’t explicitly state Arthur’s identity, they couldn’t mention it yet. They would wait for the envoys to arrive and gauge their stance before deciding how to proceed.
Although Patrick had already learned from Zeke and the others about the torture of Arthur and the massacre of villagers, hearing Freya speak of it once again sent a cold shiver down his spine.
“How can someone be so cruel? Because you slaughtered civilians and razed villages, the entire Devin family-old, young, women, and children-were all murdered in cold blood. How could you be so vicious?” he asked, horrified.
“Vicious?” Freya slowly lifted her gaze to meet Patrick’s, then scoffed, her expression full of disdain. “What do you know of viciousness on the battlefield? Those soldiers hid among the common folk. If I hadn’t razed the village, how would they have come out to be captured?
You privileged people in the capital are always talking about morality and righteousness. I’m sure if any of you had ever set foot on a battlefield, you would know how ruthless it is. If you’re not ruthless, you’ll be slaughtered like cattle. Since I found them, I had to force them out. If I didn’t, our entire squad would have been ambushed. Are our lives worth nothing to you?”
She turned her head, trying to hide the brief flicker of guilt that passed through her, adding. As for the Devin family’s massacre, that was the work of Westhaven spies. If Sophie wants revenge, she should go after them. Isn’t she so capable? To blame me for the slaughter of the family-what kind of trick is this?”
His voice cold as ice, Patrick replied, “At this point, you still have no remorse? It’s a wonder the queen dowager ever thought so highly of you.”
He ordered that Freya be taken back, and her confession was immediately sent to Rafael, who wanted the facts she had just spoken.
With this confession and Blake’s account, there was hope. Moreover, there was the fact that Dominic had been injured by an arrow and was fighting for his life back then. With all this, Lisandra’s anger would be shifted away from Dominic, which might be enough to save his life.
After reading the confession, Rafael instructed Patrick to deliver it to Salvador for review. The prince’s task was done, so he would step back for now and await the arrival of the Westhaven envoys.
The confession was presented to the king. After Salvador read through it, he furrowed his brow as he listened while Patrick detailed Freya’s admission.