Filed To Story: Queen of the Battlefield Her Return to Glory Novel Online Free
“Have we never made any mistakes or done anything wrong?”
Violet hesitated, thinking back over the years. A flush of guilt crept up on her. “Well, small mistakes… I guess we all make them. After all, we’re only human.” Sophie smiled softly.
“Exactly. We can’t hold others to the highest standard. If we did, no one would be able to join the workshop. A woman who’s been divorced isn’t always guilty of something major There are so many reasons why a marriage might end. We need to set clear standards for who can join the workshop-standards based on the workshop itself, not on our personal feelings.”
Violet stuck to her point, saying, “But if we kick Jessica out, we won’t have to get tangled up in this mess anymore.”
“And then what?” Sophie replied calmly. “What if something similar happens again? Honestly, I think this whole situation with Jessica is a good opportunity. It gives us a chance to learn and handle things better next time. The way I see it, we should set aside our bias and investigate thoroughly. If the accusations are true, we can kick her out. But if they’re not, we give her a chance. How about that?” She added, “Vivi, it’s really important to set aside our biases. Every woman who’s been cast out could end up being labeled with all kinds of accusations. If we just jump to conclusions, no one will want to come to us.”
“I know what you’re saying makes sense. If we’re thinking about the workshop, it’s the right approach. But on a personal level, I just can’t accept Jessica. And she’s not exactly innocent. We should just throw her out. Don’t you dislike her?” Violet grumbled. “I do,” Sophie answered flatly.
“Isn’t that enough? If we both hate her, why should the workshop take her in? I was trying to think about the bigger picture, thinking we should investigate things first. But looking back, didn’t she and Molly cause all the trouble from the start? She had no good intentions. She couldn’t get into the workshop, so she tried to ruin it instead. Now, the people from the Marquis of Ironridge’s family want to destroy us too. Just thinking about it makes me furious.”
The more Violet spoke, the angrier she got.
“And you said we shouldn’t let personal feelings get in the way when taking people in. But our whole reason for doing this in the first place was to help. So, why is it okay to help, but then not okay to let our feelings guide us? Without personal feelings, Skye Embroidery wouldn’t even exist. “And the reason I hate Jessica so much is because she and her mom picked on you. If anyone should be angry at her, it’s you. Why are you still thinking about helping her? If the workshop ends up taking in people like her, it’d be better off shutting down. “You said you hate her too, so why are we even considering keeping her? Someone like her deserves to be kicked out and left to starve or be mistreated. Honestly, when people say we’re being hypocritical, I’m starting to agree with them.” Sophie knew her friend’s temper well, and the latter rarely spoke so harshly. However, after Jessica appeared at the workshop and was kicked out, she slandered the place with Molly. So, it was natural for Violet to be furious.
Violet had tried to approach the situation rationally, but there were too many rumors spreading about the workshop now. The things people were saying also kept getting worse. On top of that, what she saw today pushed her to the breaking point. She couldn’t hold it in any longer.
Sophie waited for Violet to calm down a little before saying, “How about this? Let’s meet with Jessica. Afterward, we’ll kick her out right then and there if you still don’t want to take her in. How does that sound?”
“I don’t want to see her, and I don’t even want to go to the workshop,” Violet said, clearly agitated. “The place’s been filled with townspeople throwing rotten vegetables and smelly eggs. What was once a decent place is now a mess.”
“Alright, then.” Sophie sighed, relenting. “How about we have Claire investigate if the abuse claims are true?”
When Violet heard Sophie still planned to investigate, she felt a wave of frustration. “In the end, you still don’t agree with me. You don’t want to kick Jessica out. I’ve already done my own investigation, but honestly, you don’t need to investigate further to know that she is trouble.”
She stood up to leave. “Do whatever you want.”
Sophie watched her go but didn’t stop her, knowing she must feel uncomfortable and angry because Jessica’s presence had brought serious trouble to the workshop.
Lulu, who had been listening outside the door, entered as Violet left.
She asked, “My lady, if we just kick her out as Ms. Spencer suggested, wouldn’t that solve everything? Why get into a conflict with Ms. Spencer over this?”
Sophie looked up. “Lulu, have you considered that maybe the people stirring up trouble aren’t just targeting Jessica but the workshop itself?”
Lulu was confused. “Why would anyone target the workshop? Isn’t it because of Jessica?”
Sophie sighed lightly. “Right now, yes. But from the moment we started the workshop, we faced a lot of opposition and criticism. A lot of people didn’t want the workshop to succeed. With how big this mess has become, do you really think a few servants could be behind it all?”
Lulu hadn’t thought it through deeply. She just felt that if this issue was causing tension between them, it wasn’t worth it.
“I think, considering how much Ms. Spencer has supported you all this time, it might be better to give in just this once. Besides, there’s still no evidence to show that anyone other than the servants from Ironridge Estate is stirring things up.” “There are some matters where it’s better to be safe than sorry,” Sophie said thoughtfully, resting her chin in her hand. “But I have a handle on this. Don’t worry.”
After a pause, she added, “I’ll visit the workshop later.”
Claire hadn’t left and was still standing nearby. She actually agreed more with Sophie’s approach. With things already causing such a stir from the very beginning, the workshop needed to take a firm stance. “Your Grace, I’ll go with you.”
Sophie looked up at her. “No need, Claire. You stay and continue investigating. See if anyone has been paid to spread rumors.”
“Understood!” Claire replied before heading out.
Sophie then called for Luke, asking him to visit Giles and find out how many of the servants who had been mistreated by Jessica were involved, and which incidents had been the most serious.
Violet fumed as she paced around the garden. She walked in circles for a while before spotting Helen sitting in a pavilion, listening to music. Violet immediately made her way over.
Seeing her approach, Helen quickly signaled for the singer to leave and turned to Gillian. “Let’s return to my room.”
“Ms. Spencer is coming over,” Gillian said with a smile.
“I can see she’s coming. She’s been walking in circles over there, puffing her cheeks out like that. We don’t need any trouble. Let’s go,” Helen responded.
As Violet arrived at the pavilion, she could only watch as Helen left. She knew she had acted rashly earlier, but she was really angry. That large door, which she had personally chosen and had replaced, had been ruined. Also, Skye Embroidery’s plaque had been defaced with some unknown substance. The calligraphy on it was done by Kyle-did Sophie not care at all?
What hurt the most was that their good intentions had been trashed, which left Violet feeling utterly disheartened.
“What are you daydreaming about?” Travis’ voice suddenly came from behind her, and he gave her shoulder a light pat.
“Stop it. I’m already annoyed,” Violet grumbled, sitting down in the pavilion with a sour expression.
Travis gave her a mischievous look. “Wow, I never thought I’d see you and Sophie argue. You’re a bit of a troublemaker, but you always listen to her. How did this even happen?”
Violet shot him a glare. “How do you know that? You’re such a busybody.”
Travis plopped down across from her, clearly pleased with himself. “What’s going on in this house that I don’t know about? What’s got you so worked up? Haven’t you ever been upset before? You’re letting this little thing get to you?”
“Jessica was never a good person. Just get rid of her already. Why let that trash make trouble for the common people and destroy everything we’ve worked so hard for?” Violet grumbled.
Travis chuckled. “People’s intentions are the least valuable thing. The workshop has nothing to do with the common folk. They probably feel like they or their families will never need anything from the workshop, and deep down, they just don’t like its existence. If it gets destroyed, so much the better.”
Violet’s anger flared. “That’s exactly why we can’t let them destroy it! Just kick Jessica out and be done with it. Why are we still protecting her?”
“Sophie’s not protecting Jessica,”
Travis said with a smirk. “She’s protecting the workshop. We’ve always listened to her since we were kids, and we still do. I’m not going to preach to you, but here’s one thing that really hit home. She can face all the storms of the city without blinking, because she’s been through even bigger storms before.”
Those words hit Violet like a sharp arrow to the chest. Suddenly, all her anger turned into something else-something much softer, more painful. Seeing her expression soften, Travis was about to continue comforting her when his eyes flicked to something behind her.
He burst out laughing. “Ha! Here she comes to apologize!”
Violet followed his gaze and turned around just in time to see a figure doing somersaults toward them. The figure’s movements were light as a feather, flipping through the air, never seeming to touch the ground. After a dozen or more flips, the person landed gracefully in front of them.
Unable to hold back, Violet let out a laugh. “How childish. You’re already all grown up and you’re still doing this?”
her mouth with a smile. Though there were tiny beads of sweat dotting her forehead, her bright eyes twinkled.
Sophie hopped down from the railing outside the pavilion, plucked a rose, and bit it between her teeth. She flipped over three more times, then nimbly swung herself back up, landing lightly beside Violet. She stretched out her arms and faced her friend, offering the rose in Violet snatched the flower from her, glaring at her in mock anger. “Seriously? You’re the Hell Monarch’s princess consort and you’re flipping around like that? Isn’t that embarrassing? Do you have no shame?”
“What could I do? I offended you, Ms. Spencer.” Sophie’s cheeks turned pink as she laughed brightly. “Have you forgiven me yet?”
Violet sighed. “I wasn’t really angry with you to begin with. Come on, let’s head to the workshop and find Jessica.”