The Hidden King's Stolen Wife-Chapter 224: Stolen Bit of Green

Lucinda coldly snorted. "I am surprised your father hasn’t killed you yet," she said. "Or worse, married you off to some perverted old man. Or that ugly fuck who is soon to be king."

She followed the words with a huff and a roll of her eyes, the corners of her lips curling into a mocking smirk. "Gods, that would be truly miserable. He seems awfully stingy too."

Her words caused Soleia’s lips to twitch. Objectively, Florian was nowhere near physically ugly, but considering what he and King Godwin had done, Soleia wasn’t surprised that Lucinda had no good feelings for him.

After all, it would’ve probably been Prince Florian’s men who were sent to dispose of Lucinda and the rest of the Elsher household following Orion’s sentence. It wasn’t just him and his men who were to be beheaded; the entire Elsher family had been dragged through the mud as well, thanks to Elowyn― no, Elinora’s schemes.

"I can say the same," Soleia returned. She took off her mask as well, carefully tucking it into her pocket. "How did you escape Drakenmire before the royal knights could behead you?"

"With no thanks to you," Lucinda snapped.

"Lucinda..." Orion said warningly, but his cousin simply ignored him. She kept her gaze focused on Soleia, bleeding with hatred.

"After your insistence on the marriage caused such an uproar, King Godwin sent his men to Drakenmire to kill us. We barely got away."

"Oh, is it?" Soleia said, raising her eyebrow as she crossed her arms across her chest. "And did you also come to find out that it wasn’t my fault? Your lovely cousin had been bewitched by a no-good, two-faced spy sent to create chaos in Vramid."

"Yeah, that would be you!" Lucinda snapped. "What I heard was that you were married to Prince Rafael of Raxuvia! And just so you could be married to him, you were even willing to lower yourself to become the concubine and second wife to a mere noblewoman!"

"Lucinda, that’s enough!" Orion said, his tone leaving no room for argument. He stepped in between the two women, his full height leaving Soleia and Lucinda shielded from one another. "Where is my mother?"

’Great,’ Soleia thought to herself. Now, she didn’t just have a reunion with Orion’s insufferable cousin; she also had to meet his mother. Orion Elsher might have turned out to be a decently polite person without Elowyn’s influence, but that didn’t mean that his family members were any bit kind.

If anything, those two years that Soleia had spent with them before Orion returned with Elowyn were evidence enough that they had no gentleness nor compassion in those coal-black hearts of theirs.

"She went out," Lucinda said with a huff, "to visit Killian’s grave."

"Killian is dead?" Soleia muttered under her breath, her eyes widening slightly.

She remembered him― another one of Orion’s cousins, one she made sure to avoid as much as she could. He was a sleazy man who made one too many rude comments about Soleia and Lily when they first arrived, and after that, Soleia made sure to always have Jerome pass the messages.

Lily!

She shoved Orion aside. As the latter had not expected the sudden force, he swayed a little, allowing Soleia to pass. Soleia, in her haste to get an answer, leaned forward and latched onto Lucinda’s shoulders.

"Hey! What do you think you’re doing―?"

"Where is Lily?" Soleia asked, ignoring Lucinda’s scalding looks of disgust.

"How should I know?" Lucinda scowled, shrugging Soleia off. Or at least she tried. Soleia latched on like a harpy, unwilling to loosen her grip until she got an answer.

"She is my maid," Soleia said through gritted teeth. "She was still working in the manor in Drakenmire when I left for the palace. Where is she? Did she escape?"

"Oh yes, that skank," Lucinda said with a scoff.

"Watch your words," Soleia said, her grip tightening. The rings on her fingers dug into Lucinda’s thin clothes, causing her to hiss in pain. "Where is she?"

"She left!" Lucinda cried out. With a sharp yank, she finally wormed free of Soleia’s grasp, tenderly massaging her shoulder. "I have not seen her ever since you all left for the palace. By the time the King’s men came to Drakenmire, she was nowhere to be found."

"Are you sure?" Soleia pressed. "Could she still have been in the manor when you guys left?"

"If she is, then she is dead," Lucinda snapped. "The manor was burned down soon after."

"You didn’t check?!"

"Why should we?" Lucinda yelled back. "Who cares whether the maid died or not? She is just a disposable wench―"

A loud slap echoed through the hut, followed by a crash and thud. Before anyone could react, Lucinda was on the floor. Certain pieces of furniture — sparse as they were — were knocked out of their original spots, and there were speckles of red blood on the wooden floorboards.

When Soleia’s eyes followed the blood trail, she even spotted a single tooth on the floor, standing out against the darker colored wood. Lucinda was sprawled on all fours, groaning in pain.

Orion said not a word, but he dashed forward to check on Lucinda while Soleia stared at her hands in surprise. The palm of her hand was a little red, but it didn’t have the usual sting that came from hitting something. If anything, she felt extremely energized.

Then, her eyes fell onto the ring she had created. The jade piece she had newly installed when they were at the inn was glowing green, just dimming when she cast her glance over. As the light vanished, so did the adrenaline.

"What in heaven’s name is going on here?!" A screech resounded in the hut, and Soleia whipped her head around to glance at the door.

There, Elisa Elsher stood with her hands on her hips. Her eyes scanned the small space of the hut before they quickly landed on Orion. A relieved smile broke over her face, but as quickly as it came, it was replaced by a thunderous expression when she spotted Soleia.

"You!"