The Lady Nun Vows Revenge - Chapter 211: Chapter 211

Sophie hadn't expected to catch them red-handed—much less that they'd have the audacity to turn it around on her. Fury flared in her chest as she snapped, "Whose daughters are you, anyway? I've never even seen you before. Probably some nobodies from minor families. And you dare gossip about me here?"
Only now did she realize these girls weren't familiar at all. Back at the Stonor estate, the girls she met were always daughters of her father's loyal officials—well-bred, cautious, and always eager to curry favor. But these ones clearly didn't come from Gabriel's faction.
She instantly assumed they were low-ranking nobility, the kind who normally wouldn't even qualify to set foot in the Stonor family's front hall. That realization made her sneer.
"I'll give you one chance to apologize," she said haughtily, chin lifted high. "Out of respect for your fathers. If you don't, I'll tell my father everything you said, and believe me, he won't just make you pay—your fathers will suffer too."
But her threat only made the girls laugh harder.
"Oh my God," one of them gasped, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. "Is she serious?"
Maisie Patel looked her over with a curled lip. "Only a bastard daughter would think tattling to daddy is a valid comeback. Honestly, Sophie, are you five?"
She crossed her arms and slowly circled Sophie like she was inspecting an insect. "Even if you did complain, what would it change? If Eliza were here, we might show some respect. But for you?" She clucked her tongue. "Not a chance."
Sophie's eyes blazed as she growled, "Say that again. I dare you."
The others chuckled behind their hands.
"Maisie, why bother?" one of them teased. "You're wasting your words. Talking to her is like playing the zither to a cow."
"Right, right," someone added with a smirk. "The whole city knows. You're Gabriel's illegitimate daughter. Such a classy thing to announce at court, really."
"Right, right," someone added with a smirk. "The whole city knows. You're Gabriel's illegitimate daughter. Such a classy thing to announce at court, really."
Their laughter only intensified.
It finally sank in. These girls weren't just unafraid—they were mocking her on purpose. Sophie's stomach twisted with fury.
"Who are you people?" she demanded. "Who gave you the nerve?"
Maisie smirked. "Oh, now you want to know? That's cute. But why should we tell you? Go ahead, run back to your daddy and cry."
Fists clenched, Sophie had never wanted to slap someone so badly. But she remembered Gabriel's recent warning and forced herself to swallow her rage. With her pride in tatters and fury burning in her throat, she turned and stormed away.
Back at her seat, she immediately tugged on Benedict's sleeve. "Benedict—Benedict!"
He turned from a conversation with the High Council, brows furrowing. "What is it?"
She pointed in the direction of the girls and whined, "Who are they? I just went over to say hello, and they mocked me—called me names! I just wanted to chat with them!"
But instead of outrage, Benedict frowned. "Why were you talking to them? They're daughters of military generals. They come from the Office of Marshals—and they've never gotten along with the Stonors."
The meaning behind his words was obvious, "You, a civil servant's daughter, went to chat with generals' daughters? Were you asking to be humiliated?"
The Stonor family had once been part of the military faction, but Gabriel had switched allegiances when he rose through the civil ranks, aided by his marriage into the powerful Padilla family. Since then, the Stonors had become figureheads of the civil court.
To the military, that was betrayal. They'd never forgiven Gabriel for it—and certainly didn't hide their disdain.
Even if it meant crossing the powerful Duke of Mowbay, they stood their ground. After all, they had their own champion: Nolan.
Before he was Prince Regent, he'd been known as the "War Prince." Loyal, formidable, and a symbol of everything the military valued.
Back when Nolan was away at war, civil officials strutted around unchecked. But now that he'd returned, the military faction was on fire. He pointed, they charged. He remained silent, and they still acted on whispers alone.
And when word spread that Nolan had personally protected Eliza more than once, the military followed suit—regardless of past grudges.
After all, hadn't she cut ties with the Stonors?
Some even believed Eliza had finally seen through her father's hypocrisy—that she'd rather become a nun than stay in such a house. That kind of stubbornness? The generals respected it.
Then came the real scandal.
Rumors leaked: Gabriel had not only betrayed his wife in the past but had allowed his illegitimate daughter to dig up Caroline's corpse... and whip it.
The news shocked Hasen City's noble families, especially the military wives. If true, it wasn't just disgraceful—it was inhuman.
They couldn't imagine any household where a bastard child would be allowed to desecrate the matriarch's remains. Especially not Caroline—beloved daughter of the Padillas, the very family that once lifted the Stonors into power.
Most had held their tongues out of political courtesy. But that didn't mean they'd forgotten.
And didn't Gabriel have four legitimate sons with Caroline? How could anyone allow this illegitimate girl to harm their mother's memory?
Military wives who were skeptical sent their husbands to quietly question Nolan.
Nolan let out a quiet sigh and said only one thing: "Let's not bring this up again—especially not in front of Eliza."
Just one short sentence, and yet it felt like everything had been said, and nothing at all.
The military officers were livid. In their eyes, Gabriel had crossed every line. But the one they felt most sorry for was Eliza.
Who would've thought that a noble lady like her would have such a despicable man for a father? No wonder even someone as famously aloof as Nolan would go out of his way to protect her. If it had been them, they would've done the same.
A proper noble daughter, pushed to the edge by her own family—it was unbearable. They were determined to shield her now.
And when they went home, they told their wives everything.
The officer's wives, just as furious, turned to their daughters and said, "If you want to pick on someone tonight, make it Sophie. Go on—she deserves it."So when Sophie walked over earlier, she didn't realize that even if she hadn't, they would've come for her anyway.
It was exactly how that scene at the banquet came to be.
Even if Sophie hadn't approached them first, Maisie and the others would've made sure to find a way to humiliate her.
After all, tonight's little drama? This was the military faction standing up for Eliza.