The Hidden King's Stolen Wife-Chapter 172: Reason to Suspect

Orion woke with a startled gasp of air, his body jerking upright. His chest heaved up and down in rapid succession as he glanced around his surroundings. This was a foreign place, that he was sure of. The room was dark — gloomy, almost — and whatever light that was available had a reddish hue to it.

Instantly, his body tensed with alertness. His limbs felt an awful lot weaker than usual, even bordering numbness. Instinctively, he reached for his ears, only to find his earlobes empty.

His ear studs weren’t there.

Orion tried his best to maintain a straight face as he thought back as far as he could. However, whenever he tried to pull for his memories, a sharp pain would run through his skull as though he was pierced with a spear. He clutched the side of his head, forcing himself to remember.

He remembered being in the infirmary in Vramid’s royal palace. Elowyn was there, and she said a lot of things, most of which Orion couldn’t recall. There was a flash of purple, and all of a sudden, the world felt light and his body no longer felt like it was his.

There was a wedding. Orion could vaguely see the image of Soleia in a beautiful wedding gown that was a hundred times more extravagant than the first one she wore, walking down the aisle towards him. There was a bouquet in her hands and a smile on her face.

But something went wrong.

People died in his hands, and Orion recalled the sight of a scarlet-bathed room and the metallic stench of blood coating his nostrils. His ear studs shattered then.

What else?

He groaned, cupping his head with his hands when his head pulsed with agony. Every memory that he tried to recall was forced away, fighting against him. They refused to resurface, and the more Orion dug for them, the more pain throbbed through his body.

A click sounded, causing Orion to peek up. Then, a woman entered the room.

Red flashed across his eyes, and this time, Orion’s body moved before his brain did. He was out of the bed within seconds, crossing the room from where he lay on the bed to where the woman stood, his hand wrapped around her neck as he raised her off the ground.

Choke gasps quickly escaped the woman’s throat as she clawed at his hand, and Orion’s eyes instantly darkened.

"Where am I?" he asked. "What is this place?"

The woman’s lips were parted like a fish out of water, opening and closing as she struggled to breathe. Then, at the very last second, her bangle glowed and she raised a hand. Before Orion could even see what was coming, a huge stream of water had appeared out of thin air and splashed right into his face, blinding him momentarily.

However, that was enough for his grip to loosen, and the woman dropped to the ground as she wheezed for air. She only needed a second to recover her breath. Once she did, she waved her hand, pulling two thinner ropes of water out to secure around Orion’s arms, tying them behind his back and rendering him unable to move them.

With a hand against his shoulder, she made use of his stunned state to push him back, and he stumbled back onto the bed.

"Calm down, General," she said, coming forward. With her face illuminated by the light, Orion squinted. Then, his eyes widened with recognition. "I mean you no harm."

"Princess Nessa," Orion said.

Nessa simply nodded. "If I let you go, will you stay still and listen to what I have to say?"

Orion raised an eyebrow but nevertheless, nodded once. With his confirmation, Nessa clicked her fingers. The water cuffs immediately lost their shape, raining down on the mattress to form a wet spot.

"You are in Nedour’s royal palace," Nessa answered. "The infirmary, to be exact."

Orion’s eyebrows quickly furrowed before his eyes widened. "And Soleia?" he asked. "Where is she?"

"Oh, so now you care about her?" Nessa asked with a scoff as she folded her arms across her chest. "I assumed you would be more interested in knowing where Lady Elowyn went."

Instantly, Orion’s look of worry turned into a disdainful frown. "Fuck that woman. Where is Soleia?"

Princess Nessa’s lips twitched in amusement at the vulgarity of Orion’s statement. How curious. It seemed like the spell did wear off after all.

"You were arrested and due for hanging. Princess Soleia and I broke you out of prison."

Orion looked down at the floor, seemingly deep in thought. Then, almost in a whisper, he said, "And my men?"

A moment of silence passed before Nessa’s voice broke it. "They’ve all perished," she said. "Either succumbed to their injuries or to the hangman’s noose."

Orion Elsher was awfully quiet, and Nessa couldn’t pinpoint what exactly was on his mind. His expression was unreadable, but Nessa assumed, at least, that there was a bit of sadness within him when he learned of the news of his soldiers’ deaths. They had been his comrades for years, after all, and the only reason they rebelled against the crown was because of their support for their general.

Loyalty caused their deaths, and worst of all, Orion was not even in his right state of mind― they were all fools sent to die for nothing.

"We only managed to save you and Prince Reitan from Vramid," Nessa slowly continued, cautiously observing Orion’s reaction. "But we encountered a problem right before we departed."

Orion finally lifted his gaze. "What problem?" he asked.

"Prince Florian," Nessa replied. "We had to leave without Princess Soleia."

Even though Orion had little to no reaction upon hearing the news of his men’s death, learning of Soleia’s fate caused him to bolt to his feet. Nessa took a step back in surprise to create space between them just in case but soon learned it was unnecessary. Worry crossed Orion’s face, and his hands clenched into fists.

"You left Soleia in Vramid to die?!"

"Princess Soleia should be fine," Nessa said. "Your best friend was with her. And by the looks of it, he is plenty capable of handling Florian’s soldiers."

Orion’s lips were pinched into a tight line as he looked away. He said nothing, and Nessa took that as his silent acknowledgment of Ralph Byrone’s capabilities on the battlefield. However, there was something else he needed to know.

"General Elsher," Nessa said, drawing Orion’s attention once more. "How much do you know about Ralph Byrone?"

Orion squinted slightly in confusion.

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"I have reason to suspect," Nessa slowly said, "that ’Ralph Byrone’ isn’t his real name."

She paused for a second as Orion fully turned to face her bit by bit, his body pivoting.

"By any chance," she continued, "has he ever been addressed by the name ’Rafael’?"