The Hidden King's Stolen Wife-Chapter 221: Banned Sea Travel

"Are you sure?" Soleia’s instinctive reaction was fear― not for herself, but for Rafael. She squashed the emotion down ruthlessly, but tendrils of it still crept back up. She was the one who caused this situation― she had no right to feel fear or guilt for his circumstances.

Admittedly, she guessed that Rafael might face consequences for losing her. However, she never expected that he would be straight up treated as an escaped criminal in his own kingdom! She merely thought that he might be forced to marry Elinora immediately.

Being branded a wanted criminal was too far off from any predictions she might have made.

"Very sure." Orion’s face was grim. "I dare say I can still recognize the face of my old friend, even without the layer of disguise."

Soleia nodded, and immediately got back to work, her fingers moving twice as fast as she hastily slotted in the components into their relative slots, thankful that at least she had the foresight to measure out the quantity of ingredients beforehand. Normally, she would have liked to observe changes after each component was added and modify if necessary, but circumstances were dire.

In no time at all, she pressed a mask onto Orion’s hands before putting on her own. A cool sensation enveloped her head and face, causing her skin to tingle. The sensation traveled down her back, as though someone had cracked a raw egg on top of her and its contents were dripping through her clothes.

"Feels strange," Orion murmured quietly. He was staring at her in confusion. "I know it’s you, but somehow... I don’t remember your face? I can’t? And your hair..."

"Good. That means it’s working just as planned," Soleia said.

The disguises should be good for at least a few days, but she had to account for the fact that she was a nullifier. It was entirely plausible that her mask could wear off more quickly than Orion’s could.

"The moment you can remember my features when you look at me, let me know," Soleia ordered as she hastily packed up her materials and gold into her nifty bags, clearing the table as though she was never there. "I’ll need privacy immediately to reapply the mask."

Orion nodded and he pulled down his hood and hid his sheathed sword in his cloak. With this disguise, the hood was unnecessary.

After seeing that there were no guards outside, he led Soleia out of the house, both of them sticking close to each other as they tried to look like normal townspeople out on their day. There were plenty of people walking around, discussing the news of their arrest warrants.

Apparently, if someone managed to bring Soleia, Orion, and Rafael back, they would be granted a title no lesser than dukedom, with their own estate and fortunes to boot. Orion scoffed quietly.

"They’ve certainly taken a leaf from Vramid’s playbook," he muttered darkly. "There are guards everywhere."

A man dressed in pressed silk caught their eyes, and his voice echoed through the area. "What do you mean all ships aren’t allowed to sail? Do you know who I am? Do you know how much money I’m losing? The winds and waves wait for no man! I demand you let my boat sail!"

He was shaking his fist with anger, but the guards listening to them were completely unfazed.

"Take it up to the royal family, if you dare," one guard said, sounding bored. "King Recaldo’s orders. No ships are to sail before the criminals are caught."

Soleia exchanged a horrified glance with Orion before turning her gaze to the ocean in the distance. Unless they could magically appear on one of the boats sailing in the distance, they were out of options.

The man blustered loudly, and another guard pulled his sword out of his scabbard. With that show of force, he was forced to shut up and leave, even as he grumbled about kings ruining his business.

"I could still steal us a boat at night," Orion whispered to Soleia. "With my powers, I could row us far enough that they can’t catch us."

"Let’s hope we don’t need to come to that. Where is the boat that’s supposed to take us?" Soleia asked worriedly.

The guards watched them with frowns on their faces. Soleia quickly grabbed his arm and tugged as though she was a young maiden cajoling her lover to go somewhere with her.

"Baby, you promised to bring me on a boat trip... Look, I even bought a new dress for this..." Soleia purposely whined, channeling Lucinda’s behavior so well that Orion was stunned for a moment.

His body seemed to sag in exasperation, which was what Soleia hoped for. She let out a high-pitched, girlish laugh, tugging Orion down to whisper in his ear.

"We need to look more like a couple. The guards will be on the lookout for one man and one woman traveling together."

After all, the disguise only worked on their faces and hair. It could not hide their tense body language, nor the clothes on their body. Soleia was still dressed in a noblewoman’s outfit, so she put a cloak to cover most of it. Meanwhile, Orion had managed to steal a change of clothes from the inn owner’s room.

They did look mismatched. The only way Soleia could think of that could possibly sell their disguise was that she was the spendthrift wife of a humble inn owner, and Orion the beleaguered, lovelorn husband that could only bow to his wife’s whims.

Orion nodded, catching on to her point. "Should we steal a child to sell the idea that we’re a family of three instead?" he asked quietly, entirely serious.

"Not enough time," Soleia said easily. The kidnapping charges didn’t even faze her. She was already a wanted criminal; what was one more crime on the list?

But she had to admit the plan was a good one. She briefly wondered if there were any orphaned beggars she could bribe for a performance.

"It’s this way," Orion said, holding her hand tightly as they pretended to stroll leisurely down the pier, where a relatively old sailboat stood. In front of him was an old man smoking a pipe.

"Mister, can we still set sail?" Orion asked.

"What do yer think?" The old man spat out a glob of spit on the floor. "Of course not! No money is worth pissing off the king! He’ll have the heads of my entire family!"

"Even if it’s this much?" Soleia asked, pulling out a handful of shiny gold coins.