Filed To Story: Queen of the Battlefield Her Return to Glory Novel Online Free
“Stop nagging!”
Violet immediately dropped the idea. Sophie wasn’t someone you could argue with-when she said something, it was final. If she said their friendship was over, it would really be over.
…
Meanwhile, Rafael and Jacob were in the study, discussing Yuvan’s departure. It had been expected, or perhaps, Rafael had known it was coming all along.
They had made no progress on finding the suicide soldiers, but they were aware that Yuvan had been steadily expanding his private army. Several groups of men had been sent out, but none had managed to locate where the private soldiers were hiding.
So, Salvador decided to let Yuvan return to Valken.
Rafael actually thought that having Yuvan leave the capital wasn’t necessarily a good thing, because the suicide soldiers hadn’t been found yet. While he was in the capital, the suicide soldiers wool net have to protect him. But with him leaving, there was the risk that a group of suicide soldiers might remain behind, which was more dangerous.
These people seemed to be hiding everywhere, making it impossible to find any trace of them.
“They’ve been insisting on inviting Ms. Spencer to their estate again,” Jacob said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
He hesitated, unsure whether he should continue, but decided to speak anyway, adding, “Prince Yuvan is quite clear about his intentions. This might be an opportunity to stir things up at Edgeview Estate.” “No,” Rafael replied firmly. “We’ve already been to Edgeview Estate; the suicide soldiers aren’t there. There’s no need to cause a commotion. It could end up putting Violet in danger.”
Jacob nodded. “You’re right, of course. I was just throwing ideas out there. There’s nothing to be gained from it. If they were hiding anything at Edgeview Estate, they’d be incredibly bold.” “Let’s just wait and see. Once they leave for Valken, we’ll have a better idea. Yuvan won’t just ignore his private army,” Rafael said.
Over the next few days, Molly kept asking Violet to visit Edgeview Estate, but Sophie’s warnings kept her from going.
Molly couldn’t help but complain, “You and I are practically sisters, and now you’ve turned your back on me? Have you really stopped thinking of me as your cousin?”
Violet felt like there was no point in pretending since they were leaving the city anyway, so she replied bluntly, “Yeah. When you married Yuvan, I stopped thinking of you as a cousin.” Molly glared at her in frustration. “Fine. Don’t come crying to me later!”
Violet’s patience had worn thin. With a flick of her whip, she chased Molly out, forcing her to shield her head with her hands as she scrambled to flee.
Sophie couldn’t afford to let her guard down until Yuvan left the city. Knowing his unscrupulous intentions, she sent Claire to keep an eye on Edgeview Estate, making sure Violet didn’t defy her orders and secretly visit. For two or three days, Claire kept watch. Violet stuck to her usual routine, returning to Skye Embroidery each day, without once stepping foot into Edgeview Estate. Only then did Sophie allow herself to relax a little. Skye Embroidery and the women’s academy were slowly becoming accepted in the city.
But one concern about the academy remained: the fact that many people were only coming to build connections. Uninterested in studying, they spent their days bringing pastries, embroidery, and gifts to flatter the women from prominent families.
Some of the women from these noble families started to boss around the daughters of lower-ranking officials, and gradually, cliques began to form. The students who truly wanted to learn often found themselves pushed out.
Some others came to learn etiquette from Catherine or to pick up household management skills, since they would eventually marry and be in charge of managing the household.
It was completely different from when the academy first opened. Back then, many people came because of Kyle’s reputation, and some even had selfish motives of hoping to get him to paint for them. They believed that obtaining a calligraphy piece from him would be worth it, even if it meant leaving the school.
As the headmistress, Sophie was constantly called in to handle these issues.
A hundred girls in one academy could certainly cause a ruckus. How had these young women, all from respectable families, learned to be so disruptive? Had they forgotten all the rules they were taught in their homes?
Instead of rushing to discipline the troublemakers, Sophie took a moment to investigate, trying to find out who was leading the disruption. Eventually, she uncovered a few troublemakers.
One was Kylie’s younger cousin, Jocelyn Quinton, a 15-year-old who had just come of age. Her dad was Malcolm’s younger brother, the Royal Ceremonies Department’s minister.
Another was Cassidy Xavier, the granddaughter of Tyler Xavier, the general who had once commanded the capital’s soldiers. After he retired due to his old injuries, he had been living in a countryside estate on the outskirts of the capital.
The third troublemaker was the
Marquis of Glandale’s youngest daughter, Haley Schmitt. The
Marquis of Glandale’s family was an old noble family in the capital. Their ancestors fought alongside the founding king to build Starhaven and were granted a dukedom. The title was passed down for thre generations before being lowered to a marquisate. The current Marquis of Glandale, Fabian Schmitt, was the third person to hold the title.
Despite their prestigious history, the Marquis of Glandale’s family rarely appeared in public. One reason was that they only held the title without any family members serving in the court. The other reason was that before the new king ascended the throne, they had close ties with Kendrick, Dakota’s son. Because of that, they feared retaliation from the current king, so they kept a low profile.
The Marquis of Glandale’s family had ties to the Quinton family through marriage. Fabian’s eldest sister had married Malcolm’s third uncle. As a result, Hailey and
Jocelyn were good friends. With net Cassidy, who had some martis skills, they had managed to recruit several other similarly restless noble young women. Together, they often found themselves at odds with others who didn’t agree with them.
Not only did they exclude their classmates, they also began bullying their teacher, Rosalind. To put it bluntly, they looked down on her for once considering a marriage with Thomas-a match that never materialized. Although the two families never formally discussed the arrangement, the news still managed to spread.
In situations like this, it was always the woman who bore the brunt of criticism. Rosalind, already burdened with a reputation, became the subject of even more rumors. Although the gossip had died down long ago, it resurfaced unexpectedly after the women’s academy opened. Jocelyn and the others seized the opportunity to amplify the story, twisting it further.
They claimed that at first, Rosalind hadn’t minded that Thomas had been married before and was several years her senior. Because she had heard about his military achievements and his bright future, she eagerly agreed to the marriage.
But when the king delayed giving Thomas a post, she backed out. Surprisingly, right after she withdrew, Salvador promoted Thomas. People began to believe she regretted her decision, making the situation worse.
Sometimes, the malice between women could be the most dangerous of all. Trevor may be the royal chancellor and a highly respected figure, but Rosalind was still young. Some of the students would naturally feel reluctant to fully accept her as their teacher. If it were only that, it would be easy to handle. What worried Sophie was that behind the group of troublemakers, there could be someone trying to sabotage Gracewood Women’s Academy. Right now, the group of troublemakers seemed to be led by Jocelyn, but there was no sign they were following someone else’s orders.
With Sophie holding so much leverage over the Quinton family, how dare they disrupt the academy?
Her first priority was to reassure Rosalind, fearing the toll it might take on her mood.
Rosalind sat in her private study, flipping through a pile of practice sheets in front of her. Her brow furrowed as she examined each page, so deeply absorbed in her thoughts that she didn’t even hear Sophie approach.
It wasn’t until Sophie spoke her name that she looked up, her eyes briefly flashing with irritation before she caught herself. She quickly stood and greeted Sophie with a polite bow, though her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Headmistress, I didn’t see you come in. I apologize for my rudeness.”
Sophie nodded in return to her greeting. “No need for formalities, please. Do sit down.”
As they settled into their seats, Sophie noticed the stack of practice sheets in front of Rosalind and recalled how furrowed her brow had been upon her entrance.
She gently asked, “Are they falling behind on their assignments?”
Rosalind handed her the first few sheets of paper. “Take a look, Headmistress.”
As Sophie took it, Rosalind explained, “I just wanted them to practice writing better, so I had them copy some essays. But these girls had their own ideas. They wrote their own stories, and their handwriting is… Well, to be frank, it’s more like scribbles. It’s as if they’re intentionally making a mockery of it.”
Sophie flipped through a few pages. The stories they wrote all revolved around the same tale-a woman named Rosalind Lopez from the previous era. She was known for being shallow and greedy.
When her fianc?’s family fell into ruin, she insisted on breaking off the engagement But three years later, her ex-fianc? became the top scholar and married the former
Vol prime minister’s daughter. Onet of jealousy and spite, Rosalind Lopez attacked the scholar’s new wife with a hairpin in a jewelry shop, killing her. She was eventually executed for her crime.
It was obvious they were using the story of Rosalind Lopez to insinuate things about Rosalind.
They didn’t hold back, accusing her of being shallow, greedy, and hideous. They claimed someone like her was barely even fit to be a person, let alone qualified to be a teacher. They went as far as saying that in her next life, she would only be reborn as a pitiful dog.
Sophie shook her head, unable to suppress a chuckle. The spitefulness was childish, especially the last curse. Glancing at the signatures on the practice sheets, she noted that it was indeed from those same few girls.