The Hidden King's Stolen Wife-Chapter 240: Ropes of Blood I

Soleia gasped in pain as she felt Ricard’s blood rake over her skin. It tugged hard, cleanly yanking her multi-crystal ring off her finger in one fell swoop.

She tried to reach for it instinctively, her hands grasping at thin air in an attempt to grab it back, but Ricard moved quickly. He waved a hand, and just like that, the coil of blood sent the ring soaring into his hands.

He held the ring between his two fingers, the crystals dazzling in the light of the lamps. Ricard let out a low whistle as he admired the delicate piece of jewelry.

"Beautiful," he said. "You have a pair of nifty hands, Princess Soleia. Perhaps Minister Goldstein would even be impressed by how you have managed to carve down each gem to fit this tiny ring while still making it usable."

Soleia panted heavily, her shoulders rising and falling as she stared at the ring in Ricard’s hands in despair. Her stolen magic was already quickly running out — she didn’t have much left in the tank to begin with — but she could’ve still squeezed a few more blasts here and there if she really needed.

But without the ring, she didn’t have the appropriate crystals to activate that stolen magic. The stones she had haphazardly grabbed and stuffed into her dress weren’t fitting ones either.

She clenched and unclenched her fists, trying to see if any of them would help, but alas, they did nothing. There was no glow, no tingle of magic― not even the slightest heat or chill.

"I’ve heard that you’re a rather brilliant inventor," Ricard said. He tucked the ring safely into his pocket, and Soleia gritted her teeth. "I just didn’t think the rumors were true. Who would’ve known that a woman could come up with such great inventions?"

He stretched out a hand, no longer afraid. After all, even if Soleia had selenite and could nullify his magic, she couldn’t use it against him. And Ricard, on the other hand, was confident he could easily beat such a frail maiden in hand-to-hand combat.

"Give up, Princess Soleia," Ricard said, taking a step closer. "You have nowhere else to run. Your dear Rafael is probably trampled under the boots of my men, and Orion Elsher has turned into shark bait in the depths of the ocean, along with Raziel. Come with me, and we can take the world."

When Soleia’s hands slowly loosened their fists, Ricard’s grin grew wider. He took another step forward.

"Think about it," he continued. "What will you have to lose? You can finally have your revenge against your father, against Prince Florian. Vramid will bow to our power."

"Oh yeah?" Soleia said with a scoff. "And does that come with revenge against you?"

Without another word, she reached down and grabbed the biggest piece of rock she could find before chucking it directly in Ricard’s direction.

Ricard’s eyes widened. He instinctively raised his hand, depending on magic to block the blow. However, as though the stone was fueled with pure adrenaline and rage, the force with which Soleia had thrown it far superseded his expectations.

The blood net he had created to catch the rock could barely hold its weight. It slowed the rock down and lessened the impact, but it still shot past the net and brushed against Ricard’s skin, creating a scratch across his cheekbone and drawing blood. Ricard veered away just in time so that the damage was minimal, but he exhaled in disbelief as pain shot through his face.

Soleia did not relent. She stayed down, grabbing as many random pebbles and objects as she could find, chucking them right at Ricard. She didn’t dare to go any closer― between a trained man and herself, she was fully confident she would not emerge victorious if Ricard was to put his hands on her. However, if they kept a distance, she could continue distracting him long enough to buy herself some time.

Before Ricard could recover, another stone came flying into his face. He barely ducked, feeling the wind rush past his hair as it flew over his head. Then another, and another. Anger quickly bubbled in his chest as he scowled.

Soleia had stolen enough magic from him that the blood he wielded could not turn into anything worthwhile. It could soften the impact of her blows, but that was about it. However, he could feel that as time went on, her throws were getting softer and softer. On the other hand...

Ricard flexed his fingers, grinning. His magic was slowly returning. She hadn’t nullified his magic quickly enough or long enough. Whatever she had stolen was quickly coming back, and he could feel his strength returning as hers waned.

The rock that Soleia threw was caught by Ricard’s blood whip. It swiped at the air, batting the rock in a different direction, causing it to blast into the nearest shop. Soleia gasped sharply the moment it happened, her heart skipping a beat.

"It seems like your time has run out," Ricard said, his tone sing-song. "Marital disputes are entirely ordinary. Perhaps you would like to take our grievances to bed?"

With something akin to a cackle, Ricard shot out his hands. From behind him, trails of blood soared through the air towards Soleia. She shot to her full height, darting out of the way at the very last second, landing on the floor with a roll.

Pain shot through her ankles as she winced. Every inch of her body hurt, from her burning legs to her injured hands. She clutched her stomach, letting out a sigh of relief when she realized, at the very least, her abdomen felt perfectly ordinary.

However, she didn’t have much time to rejoice. When Soleia raised her head, she was met with the sight of scarlet trails flying in her direction. They reached for her, as though hell had grown arms and fiery trails of the blood of the damned were here to claim her soul.

Her life flashed before her eyes as her hand rose automatically. A silvery pulse of light bloomed where she had kept the selenite chunk, and magic gathered at her fingertips, ready to nullify.

But before Ricard’s blood could reach her, ropes of crimson shot out from behind, fully tackling Ricard’s blood head on.