The Hidden King's Stolen Wife-Chapter 222: Truth in the Act

The old man’s eyes widened, the shine of gold reflected in his rheumy eyes. Soleia spotted the gears in his head turning as self-preservation and greed began to wage war in his mind. She decided to keep the coins, watching as he made a hastily aborted motion to grab them.

"You don’t even need to join us on the boat," Soleia said. "We’ll take the boat at night when the guards are busy. In return, you shall get more gold than you’ll ever need."

The old man nodded his head frantically. "Alright then. As long as you can’t pin it on me. It’s good."

Gratified, Soleia handed the old man a few gold coins. "Consider this a downpayment." And then she took one look at the boat and decided to give him some more― not because the little dinghy was worth even a gold coin, but that boat might be that old man’s livelihood. Since they were taking the boat, she wanted to leave him a way to feed himself.

"Thank you, thank you," the old man muttered fervently, and he popped one of the gold coins into his mouth, biting on it. When he removed it from his mouth, a set of teeth marks were faintly imprinted into the coin.

"Rest assured, it’s real," Soleia said.

"I’ll leave this place then," the old man said with a pleased smile. He pocketed all the gold coins eagerly. "I can finally get a new house!" With a happy whistle, he hobbled off cheerfully.

"We should get some supplies," Orion said, casting a critical eye over the boat. "While there are fishing rods on the boat for us to use to catch fish, we’ll still need some cured meat and dried bread."

"And water." Soleia realized the biggest problem they would have to deal with was thirst since seawater was undrinkable. If given enough time, she might have invented a way to make saltwater drinkable, but this was time she did not have. "We’ll at least need a week’s worth of water."

Orion nodded solemnly, and he held out his arm for her to hold. Soleia purposely plastered herself to Orion’s side, reminiscent of Elinora’s acting, as they made their way to the markets. She wondered where she could go to buy water.

The marketplace was busy with townspeople milling around, all discussing the news while they went about their day. Complaints about the king’s decree banning sea travel were muttered around, and Soleia frowned when she caught sight of guards raising their hands against the loudest voices.

Orion held her tightly and whispered in her ear. "Don’t. We can’t afford to draw attention to ourselves now."

"I know," Soleia whispered back, even as she forced herself to tear her eyes away from them and focus on looking for water.

Unfortunately, no one seemed to be selling it― and why would they? It was such an odd thing to buy since most commoners would have their own water stock at home. They would have melted the snow and ice over the past winter.

"We could get weak beer instead if we’re desperate," Orion said, his eyes darting to a tavern. "It’s a drinkable liquid."

Soleia nearly choked. "We’d be sloshed by the time we arrive in Santok."

Finally, there seemed to be a tiny store tucked in the corner of the market, with wooden barrels in front. There was a man in front of the store, and he looked particularly depressed. Soleia nudged Orion in that direction― it seemed like they had found a seller.

"Hi, may I know what’s in these barrels?" Soleia asked politely.

The man was startled. He glanced at the pair of them nervously. "Oh, hello! These contain water. Normally I would sell them to sailors so they’d have something to drink on their journey, but with the king’s new decree... there’s nothing I can do," he lamented sadly.

"We’ll take a barrel," Soleia said, trying not to sound too eager. "How much would it be?"

"Ten silver coins," the man said, but a frown formed on his face. "Why would you need one, though?"

Orion quickly cleared his throat. "My wife here is newly pregnant, and it’s not convenient for her to go to the well often. We’re thinking of putting this barrel at home to make it easier."

The man nodded, seeing nothing wrong with that. Soleia handed him a single gold coin, causing his eyes to widen. "...Gold... Who are you people?"

Before Soleia could think of a random answer, she sensed someone staring at them intently. She turned and spotted a familiar figure from the corner of her eyes. He was shoving the townspeople aside, leaping over their fallen bodies.

"We need to go now," Soleia said, her face paling as she pulled Orion out of the way.

He nodded, grabbing her arm as he led her through a series of alleyways through the town. However, Soleia could sense the pair of eyes watching her every move, even when she kept her head firmly faced to the front. It could have been any of the princes, but her heart knew it had to be Rafael.

Eventually, they arrived at a dead end― but not before Orion raised his fist and destroyed the wall, pulling her through the rubble. Soleia winced; this was definitely going to attract the wrong sort of attention.

The green glow in Orion’s pocket slowly dimmed, and Soleia looked down to see her ring pulsing with a faint light. She pursed her lips, but before she could think any further about it, a foul smell hit her nose, and she gagged. Suddenly, she felt like throwing up.

"We’re in the slums," Orion said, hurriedly dragging her to hide in the corner of a dilapidated building. Dirty clothes were hung on fraying clotheslines, and the stench of decay filled the air.

Soleia was reminded of Raziel’s dungeon, and she felt her stomach turn again. Orion patted her back gently, with a worried look in his eyes.

"I made up that lie about your pregnancy, but are you actually pregnant?" Orion asked. "If you are, I’m going to need to kidnap a physician on our boat."

Soleia froze as her mind came to a screeching halt at Orion’s words. She did feel more nauseous and tired than usual, but she attributed it to the herculean task she had given herself. Anyone would find it difficult to get a good rest when plotting to escape the clutches of the royal family.

Two royal families, to be exact.

Her monthlies had not arrived on time since she had first slept with Rafael. But that could be excused. After she had Rafael consummate their marriage, she promptly found out he was a liar and was then brought to the palace.

She was under a lot of stress, and nullifying powers probably did not do her body any favors.

Soleia shook her head, deep in the rivers of denial. She couldn’t be pregnant. She just couldn’t.