Filed To Story: Queen of the Battlefield Her Return to Glory Novel Online Free
Leila shook her head. “I don’t know. After I relayed the message, Madam Freya dismissed me right away.”
After finishing, she suddenly exclaimed, “Oh! Wait, there might have been something. Later, when I returned to serve her, I noticed some ashes on the ground, like burnt paper.’
Zoey asked if there was anything else, but after thinking for a long time, Leila confirmed there wasn’t. Zoey then instructed someone to escort Leila out.
Viola had been coming to the side hall repeatedly, asking the servants questions. This time, she arrived just in time to hear Zoey ordering someone to take Leila out.
Viola frowned and asked, “Zoey, what exactly are you investigating? You haven’t explained anything to me, yet you’ve turned the whole household upside down. The servants are all either hiding or slacking off. I can’t even get someone to bring me coffee, let alone prepare dinner. It’s already late and the kitchen staff hasn’t even started cooking!”
Zoey glanced at her and replied coolly, “I’m done questioning. You can handle the servants however you see fit.”
With that, she instructed Jane to take Leila along and turned to leave.
“She’s a maid from Valor Estate. What are you taking her for?” Viola called out from behind, but Zoey ignored her and hurried off.
Leila was nervous and confused. She had no idea what was going on, but with both Blake and Freya arrested, she was terrified.
In the carriage, Zoey said gently to her, “Don’t be afraid. I’m taking you to see the Hell Monarch’s princess consort, Lady Sophie will just ask you a few questions. Whatever you told me earlier, repeat it to her exactly as you said it.”
Leila was relieved when she realized she was being taken to see Sophie.
When Sophie managed Valor Estate in the past, she had never made things difficult for the servants. In fact, she was always generous with rewards and treated them with kindness. She had always been the most gentle and considerate of mistresses.
Once they arrived at Hell Monarch Estate, Leila was introduced to Sophie and Violet. Zoey shared the findings of her investigation.
“I thought you might still have questions for Leila, so I brought her along,” Zoey said.
Violet immediately turned to Leila and asked, “The woman you mentioned, Mrs. Lester. Is she Melanie Lester’s sister-in-law?”
“Yes, Ms. Spencer,” Leila quickly replied. “That’s her. My friend serves her as a maid.” Noticing the sudden change in Violet’s expression, Sophie asked, “What’s wrong?”
Violet’s face grew serious as she explained, “I didn’t mention this to you before because I didn’t think it was important, but I learned that earlier this year, when Mrs. Lester and her husband went to the outskirts of the city to pray, their carriage lost control and felt down a hill. Four people died-Mrs. Lester, her husband, the coachman, and a maid.”
She glanced at Leila. “I’m not sure if one of them was your friend from the same hometown.”
Leila’s face paled. “My friend’s name is Maeve. But… she said she was going back to our hometown.”
“I don’t know the maid’s name, but you can find out for yourself,” Violet replied.
Her heart racing, Leila quickly excused herself to head to Lester Estate in search of her friend. Violet secretly sent someone to follow her.
Seeing that Sophie didn’t ask Leila any further questions, Zoey realized that Sophie trusted her investigation and understood that she and Violet would need to discuss the matter privately. Smiling, Zoey said, “If there’s nothing more you need from me, I’ll return home and have dinner.”
Hearing that Zoey hadn’t eaten yet, Sophie quickly took her arm. “Please stay and dine here. I’ll have someone prepare something for you. I’m sorry you’ve been delayed and missed your meal.” Zoey laughed, “You don’t need to be so formal. You all continue with your business. I’ll eat later when I get back.”
Sophie was about to insist, but Zoey waved her hand dismissively. “No need to insist. There’s no rush. Once everything’s settled, we can have a meal together later.”
Sophie reluctantly nodded. “Alright. Then, let me escort you out.”
After seeing Zoey off, Sophie and Violet returned to the council hall.
Most matters had previously been discussed in the large study, but since Everett had arrived, he insisted that important matters be reported in the council hall. He would remain in the hall from morning until night, listening to everything that was brought before him. Rafael hadn’t returned yet even though the negotiations had concluded hours ago. It was likely that he was still in discussion with the delegation about tomorrow’s talks.
Once Sophie finished reporting the day’s findings to Everett, he gave a conclusion everyone was already aware of.
“It’s a case of silencing witnesses-tracing the killer leads nowhere.”
Kyle spoke up, his voice thoughtful, “Sir, is it possible that Freya never had to speak with the Westhaven people at all? That someone else already reached out to them and is just focusing all the blame on Dominic?” “But Harvey has already fled,” Sophie replied. “I doubt Leroy would trust him now.”
Kyle looked at her, his expression tense. “But what if it’s not Harvey and Leroy? Yes, it’s obvious that they were targeting you. However, that person has been planning for years, which indicates he has a complex mind. What if he was hiding some other plan that’s targeted at your grandfather?”
The analysis hit home, and Sophie had to admit there was a chance.
After all, Yuvan was a man who had been playing the long game.
Also, Freya had likely been planning her escape for some time. She probably wanted to run, but the king had placed people to watch her movements, something she must have known. On top of that, after all the failed assassination attempts, she would have been terrified of leaving Valor Estate, fearing another attack.
So, she had stayed put, enduring in Valor Estate until the Ministry of Justice came for her. When they did, she called Blake back, asking for his help to escape. But that plan had failed as well.
After being captured, her testimony focused solely on implicating Dominic, which was likely what someone had instructed her to do. This was her final chance to avoid the noose.
However, her hand was forced when the Ministry of Justice brought Blake back to interrogate him. She couldn’t let Blake get caught up in this. If she stuck with her story that Dominic was guilty, Blake-being the general of the operation-would face even graver consequences. So, she changed her testimony, claiming that it was her own spontaneous decision to orchestrate the massacre of the villagers and murder of the prisoners.
It didn’t matter how capable Blake was. Freya had protected him because once she was taken by the Westhaven forces, he would be the only person she could rely on.
After some analysis, Violet raised a question, “I’m curious-why did Freya think Blake could rescue her with so many Westhaven guards watching?”
Everett turned to Sophie. “If your grandfather were taken by Westhaven, would you try to intercept them?”
“Yes!” Sophie answered without hesitation.
Everett nodded. “So, that was Freya’s plan.”
Violet growled, clearly irritated. “That woman’s been hiding away in Blessed Haven, probably scheming all sorts of things. But Blake actually speaking out-now that surprised me.”
Surprise aside, Violet’s disgust for him remained.
Blake was always indecisive. He still had a bit of conscience, but his actions were always messy and unclear.
“Let’s see how the negotiations go. If Yuvan really has another hidden plan, it will slowly come to light in the next few days,” Kyle said.
Sophie nodded. “Alright. While Raf isn’t back yet, I’ll go visit Mother and Aunt Cindy.”
“Don’t let them find out about your injury,” Violet reminded.
Sophie waved off the concern as she walked out. “It’s nothing, just a small scrape. They won’t notice.”
Everett watched her leave, letting out a soft sigh.
The rare hint of concern in his eyes didn’t go unnoticed by Kyle. He quickly shifted his gaze and said nothing, though moments later, Everett’s voice called out from outside, “Get the pot.”
Kyle was speechless.