Filed To Story: Queen of the Battlefield Her Return to Glory Novel Online Free
She pinched Sophie’s arm and shot Travis a glare. “Still laughing? You’re going to dislocate your jaw.”
Travis couldn’t stop laughing, tears welling up in his eyes. “You guys are killing me. You looked like a monkey.”
Sophie and Violet ignored him and stepped out of the pavilion.
As they walked, Violet kicked Sophie in the rear and muttered, “You idiot.”
Sophie glanced back, sticking her tongue out. “Who told you to fall for it?”
Violet chuckled, but as she laughed, she remembered Travis’ words. A pang of sadness shot through her chest and her eyes welled with tears.
That idiot… it had been so long since Sophie had goofed off with them.
–
They entered the workshop through the back door, as the front was still swarmed with a dozen or so locals shouting and causing a ruckus-throwing rocks, splashing dirty water, and tossing old shoes at the door.
As Sophie entered, she asked Brock, a burly guard sent by Hannah, if he had been keeping an eye on the situation outside.
He nodded. “They switch shifts every couple of hours. Some are just townspeople, but others are clearly here just to stir trouble.”
Courtesy of Hannah, Brock had been assigned to watch over the place ever since the unrest started, to make sure no one damaged the property or harmed anyone inside.
Immediately sensing that something was off, Violet asked, “Where’s Jessica?”
The tall and burly Brock replied, “She’s been hiding in her room and refusing to come out. The past couple of days, she hasn’t even been doing any cleaning. Selma told her that she won’t get any food if she doesn’t come out and work, but she would rather starve than open the door.”
“Which room is she staying in?” Sophie asked.
“Room One in Peaceful Wing.”
Brock called for Selma, the elderly maid who was taking care of things in Skye Embroidery.
“Selma, go call her. Tell her Lady Sophie and Ms. Spencer have arrived.”
Sophie stopped him. “No need for that. We’ll go ourselves.”
Sophie knew exactly what kind of person Jessica was when things got tough, she hid. She wasn’t exactly someone who stood her ground.
The residential wings were named after the concepts of peace and good fortune. Though Jessica hadn’t formally moved in, Selma had arranged for her to stay in Room One in Peaceful Wing.
When they arrived, Selma knocked on the door. “Jessica, open up.”
“I’m not opening the door. You can’t make me leave. I won’t leave!” came Jessica’s voice from inside, cracking and drenched in panic.
“We’re not asking you to leave. Lady Sophie and Ms. Spencer are here. Open the door,” Selma called back, knocking louder.
At the sound of hurried footsteps from inside, everyone thought Jessica was coming to open the door. However, the footsteps stopped after a while, and a long silence followed. Sophie and Violet exchanged a glance, confused.
What was going on?
“Open the door or we’ll break it down,” Violet called out, walking over and knocking a few times herself.
From inside came a muffled voice, barely audible, “I won’t come out. I know you’re going to throw me out!”
“If you don’t open the door, we’ll really throw you out,” Violet replied coldly.
The silence stretched for a moment, then Jessica’s sobs suddenly filled the air. Raw and uncontrollable, her crying lasted for about 15 minutes before it finally began to die down.
A moment later, a broken voice came from inside, saying, “I didn’t mean to hurt her child. Her mom went too far, so I just thought I’d give that woman some laxatives to make her sick. I know I’m not a good person. I know I’ve fallen from grace and you all look down on me, but I never meant to kill anyone.”
“Open the door and talk. I promise we won’t throw you out until everything is clear,” Sophie said firmly.
However, Violet was done waiting. With one sharp kick, she shattered the window, then climbed through and unlocked the door from the inside. A broken window was easier to fix than a damaged door
Inside, Jessica had hidden herself in the wardrobe. When Violet dragged her out, her eyes were swollen from crying.
She stared at Violet’s raised fist in terror, her lips trembling as she whispered, “I won’t leave.”
As soon as she finished speaking, more tears streamed down her face.
Violet let go of her, her voice cold as ice as she said, “If you don’t want to leave, then tell us the truth. What have you done? Don’t think you can foolus-we’ll find out everything.”
In the side hall, Selma had prepared some coffee. Jessica gulped down an entire cup, her throat dry, her stomach growling. She was hungry and thirsty, but she dared not leave her room for fear the people outside would burst in and come for her. Seeing Jessica in such a state, Selma said, “I saw you working diligently just a couple of days ago. How about I make you a bowl of noodles?”
“Thank you,” Jessica murmured softly, her voice thick with tears as she watched Selma leave.
Her eyes were swollen, and the toll of exhaustion had taken its full effect. She looked like someone utterly defeated, stripped of all dignity.
“Everything I could give, I gave. I paid my debts,” she muttered, her voice flat. “I still owe people so much money. I know I don’t deserve any sympathy. I’m no good, but do you really think that as a so-called duchess in Ironridge Estate, I could do anything evil?
“My mother-in-law hates me, my husband doesn’t care for me, and I don’t even have control over the household. When my mom was around, I spent twenty days a month at Harmony Palace. After they took my mom away, the Kingsley family fell apart. I was demoted to a commoner, and even in Ironridge Estate, I endured everything that happened there. Even when I was upset, I kept my mouth shut.”
Tears streamed down her face. “I didn’t have anything against that woman who married into the Marquis of Ironridge’s family. I had no say in the matter anyway. Maybe I would’ve cared before, but not now. When Serena came into the family, I hated her. Sophie, I know you think I brought all this on myself, because the one she wanted was Rafael. So yes, it’s karma.”
Jessica wiped her eyes and nose with her sleeve, choking on a sob. “I did hit Serena, but she deserved it. She was vile, using every dirty trick to vie for favor. She’d do anything to get attention, and even my mother-in-law knew about it. She punished Serena more than once.
“As for Flora, she never offended me or anything before. After she came into the household, she always behaved herself. She would address and treat me respectfully whenever she saw me. If it weren’t for her, I would’ve slapped her mom long ago. Why would I harm her child? Think about my situation there. Why would I bother-“
Having been listening to her ramble, Violet interrupted, “What did Flora’s mom do to you?”
Jessica’s eyes flared with anger. “That woman is vicious. She stole my royal jelly soup. She said I was like a useless hen who couldn’t lay eggs, so I shouldn’t even bother eating it. She said it would be better if her daughter, who was carrying the marquis’ precious heir, ate it. She said as a lowly commoner, I had no right to such luxuries.”
Sophie furrowed her brow. “A concubine’s mom dared to say that about you? Where did you hear this? Could it be that someone was trying to slander her in front of you?”
“I heard it with my own ears!” Jessica’s voice grew louder, thick with fury. “She said it right to my face. When I yelled at her, she turned around and started packing to leave. Then, my mother-in-law and my husband scolded me.
“How could I defend myself? Should I go to Madam Margaret and complain that Flora’s mom called me a hen who can’t lay eggs? Even if I did, they wouldn’t believe me. They never believe anything I say.”
Sophie watched as tears welled up in Jessica’s swollen eyes again, as though she were on the verge of breaking down completely.
She quickly asked, “What kind of laxative did you give her? How much did you use? Who did you ask to do it?”