The Hidden King's Stolen Wife-Chapter 205: The Royal Treasury II

He claimed he had buried the crystals in the dark underground and then dug them up when no one was watching, but Soleia already knew his penchant for lying. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Did you already have this back when we were trying to smuggle crystals? Answer me wisely, Rafael," Soleia said with deliberate calm, but one had to be deaf to miss the coldness in her voice. Even the elderly Minister Goldstein shifted his ears closer, attracted to the drama.

Meanwhile, Oliver winced and looked at the ceiling, pretending to be nothing more than a piece of stone lying on the ground.

Rafael gulped. He could lie, but then again, what was the point? His biggest lie had already been torn apart, and he could only salvage matters by being honest and by pacifying Soleia.

"Well, yes― but before you try to kill me, please listen," Rafael said pleadingly, holding Soleia’s wrist. "I had this bag, but I couldn’t tell anyone I had this bag. This is the property of the Raxuvia royal family. I was afraid that if you knew about it, you’d connect the dots and blow my cover."

Soleia sucked in a deep breath in an effort to calm herself down. She reminded herself to keep the big picture in mind. At least Rafael was being somewhat honest. She could use his attempt at repentance for her own goals.

"Thank you for being honest," Soleia said, trying her best to radiate kindness and respect. "I have to admit that I’m just a bit miffed. But I understand your concerns."

Rafael’s face broke out in a smile of relief. "You have every right to be. But I swear I would never lie to you again."

"You’d better not," Soleia said, purposely shooting Rafael a mildly disappointed look. "I have been hurt so many times... I wonder how much more I can take..."

Rafael quickly sensed that Soleia wanted to be wooed and coaxed, and he knew just how to make her forgive him.

"Darling, don’t be upset. If you like this bag, I can simply give you mine to use," Rafael volunteered. "It can carry multiple objects, as long as all of them have some similarity to each other."

Soleia blinked owlishly, trying to hand the bag back to him. "But would you be in trouble if you gave it to me? I don’t think something so valuable should be given away so easily..."

She wondered if these bags were a tightly-kept secret among Raxuvia royalty or were they simply created and given to whoever needed them.

In fact, she was very interested to know how they could be created, and altered if necessary.

"Nothing is too much for you," Rafael said instead, pushing the bag back into her hands. "You’ll be able to make more use of this than I do. Knowing you, you might even create an improved version of this by the time the year is over!"

"Thank you, Rafael."

For making her escape attempt a lot easier.

Soleia smiled sincerely and strode over to the gems, pocketing the ones she found most valuable for her experiments and for barter. The rubies were packed away, followed by the sunstones, then the citrines, emeralds, aquamarines, amethysts... ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

Minister Goldstein stared at this young woman in shock. She was practically committing robbery right in front of their eyes! He had assumed the princess would only take a few of each gemstone. No sane person needed so many.

"Your Highness, dare I say this is most ridiculous! She is making off with our stockpile of gems!"

Before Soleia could turn back to defend herself, Rafael spoke up.

"Watch your words," Rafael declared warningly, shooting Minister Goldstein a threatening glare. "She is no thief. Princess Soleia is my bride-to-be, and she has been tasked by my father himself to strengthen Raxuvia’s magical defences. All the gems here are available for her to use as she deems fit."

Minister Goldstein could only tremble with rage while holding his tongue at being talked down to this whelp. When Rafael was born, he had already been in charge of the royal treasury for decades. He had seen all kinds of conniving women greedy for riches. Princess Soleia was no different.

This illegitimate prince was blinded by love!

After Soleia had finished clearing the shelves as much as possible, she tried to put a gold coin inside the bag. To her surprise, it simply bounced out, as though she had flung it against a wall.

"Is that what you meant when you said all the objects must have some similarity to each other?" Soleia asked.

Rafael nodded. "Yes. The gemstones could fit in this bag because when it came down to it, all of them were stones. Gold is a metal, no matter how precious."

"How fascinating," Soleia said with genuine appreciation. "This is a priceless gift. Thank you, Rafael, for giving it to me."

"As long as you like it," Rafael said, inwardly cheering. Soleia’s unhappiness with him was gone, thanks to his quick thinking. Now, all he had to do was to keep her happy with honesty and more gifts. Eventually, she would hopefully return to sharing a bed with him. He had missed her ardently, despite her sleeping only a room away from him. Never before had he felt that the distance between them was wider than a gulf.

Meanwhile, Oliver only sighed at how sappish his liege was behaving.

"I have seen enough," Soleia said imperiously, holding out her hand for Rafael to hold. "Rafael, escort me out of here."

"As my lady demands," Rafael said, pressing a kiss to the back of Soleia’s hand.

To his delight, Soleia did not flinch or pull away, but she merely let out a light laugh before tugging him to the door. He beamed. His love life was finally getting back on track. Now, all he had to do was handle Elinora, and he would have the crown and the wife of his dreams.

***

"Your Highness, I have grave news to report," Minister Goldstein said shakily as he stood in front of Prince Ricard. "Princess Soleia had taken nearly all of our gems using Prince Rafael’s expanding bag, and Prince Rafael simply encouraged her behavior. I believe her intentions towards the crown are impure!"

"Well, what’s she supposed to do otherwise?" Prince Ricard asked rhetorically, his eyes glinting with amusement. "She can barely experiment without any components. Besides, maybe she just wants to make sure she doesn’t need to make another trip down. I’ve been telling you time and time again that the royal treasury is incredibly tedious to access. That’s why we should move it up to the ground floor."

Minister Goldstein stuttered. "Move it up― Your Highness! That is impossible!"

"I jest, but if it worries you so, I shall keep a very close eye on her." Prince Ricard smirked. "Minister Goldstein, please take your leave."

Minister Goldstein could only grumble as he was led away. When he left, Ricard laughed to himself.

Since Princess Soleia was so intent on making a grand escape, he might as well give her a helping hand.