The Hidden King's Stolen Wife-Chapter 248: Dear Father

"Is anyone going to let us through?" Rafael called out. "I have to report to His Majesty."

The commander bristled with anger. He had never liked this illegitimate prince, who seemed to cause trouble for the royal family wherever he went. What kind of man would place a woman in front of a kingdom?

"Men, arrest Prince Rafael and the other criminals!"

"I wouldn’t do that if I were you," Rafael said, exchanging a glance with Orion, who casually tossed the spiked head back to Rafael so that you could brandish it like a trophy. "Do you recognize whose head this is?"

The commander squinted his eyes as he tried to make out the features under the dim lighting.

"Is that..."

That head looked awfully like Prince Ricard!

He paled immediately, but he tried to remain calm and collected. Prince Rafael was well-known for his little schemes, and it was entirely plausible that he simply killed a lookalike.

"That’s my older brother, in case you can’t tell," Rafael added helpfully. "I know he looks dismal in death, but you have to admit he wasn’t that good-looking when he was alive either."

While that wasn’t entirely true, it wasn’t as though Ricard was going to rise up from the dead and complain. Even if Rafael were to stitch his head back on, Ricard would not miraculously come back to life.

The commander spluttered in disbelief, and the soldiers around him were similarly too shocked to speak. "This cannot be! Prince Ricard could not have possibly―" freёnovelkiss.com

Orion scowled. They were wasting time. He simply flung Prince Raziel’s dead body on the ground without warning, causing the elite guards to shriek in surprise as they drew their weapons.

"Here. If you can’t recognize one brother, you can surely recognize the other?" He asked acerbically, and this time, there was no mistaking the identity of the dead body on the floor.

Raziel still retained most of his looks, short of the sickly pallor on his face and his bluish lips, he hardly looked dead. There was no mistaking the tiny insignia of the royal family on his outfit, which was also the very same outfit he had left the palace in hours ago.

"Prince Raziel is dead!" The commander’s mouth fell open in shock. His eyes darted from the dead body to Prince Ricard’s decapitated head. That meant... He sucked in a deep breath.

Prince Rafael was now the heir to the throne.

He wasn’t paid enough to stop him.

"Let him through!" he ordered, and his voice only squawked loudly at the end. The guards hastily gave way, allowing Rafael, Soleia, and Orion to walk through unhindered.

"Finally," Orion grumbled under his breath, slinging Ricard back on his shoulder.

They walked into the palace, and Soleia found herself instinctively standing closer to Rafael the closer they got to the throne room. King Recaldo was already sitting on his throne, waiting for them. And standing before him was Elinora Wynsler, whose face twisted when she caught sight of Orion Elsher.

Similarly, Orion had to do a double-take at seeing Elowyn’s features on an unfamiliar woman’s face. The color of her hair and eyes were different, but the shape of her eyes, nose, and lips was not one he could forget anytime soon. He had dreamt of her often, and said dreams featured a lot of blood and death. He wanted to make her pay for all the harm that she caused him and his family.

Orion clenched his fists.

"Is she Elowyn?" he whispered to Soleia, his jaw clenching with anger.

Soleia nodded.

"Stay calm," Rafael murmured to both of them. "We have bigger problems to worry about."

Then he raised his voice to address his father.

"My dear Father, I have returned with my brothers," Rafael said with a winning smile on his face. "This is Ricard―"

Orion threw Ricard’s body on the floor, without his head, causing Elinora to scream in shock at the gory sight. Rafael helpfully put Ricard’s head near his body, in case people didn’t know who it belonged to.

King Recaldo’s hands gripped the handrests of his throne so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Rafael bet he never expected his firstborn to end up dead so quickly. But pity for his father, he wasn’t done shocking just yet.

"And Raziel is here too," Rafael added, and once again Orion threw a body down, causing Elinora to gasp. She stared at Rafael in blatant shock, not expecting him to be able to kill off not just one, but two of his brothers.

King Recaldo’s hands trembled, and Soleia could spot his eyebrow visibly twitching. If the King were a mere decade earlier, Soleia would not be surprised if he leapt down from the throne to beat Rafael up. But clearly, King Recaldo had more sense after decades of ruling. He controlled his temper and stared evenly down at his own remaining son, the only heir to his throne.

His last remaining son still wasn’t on his knees. Rafael, the bastard that he was, was still staring defiantly up at him without blinking.

"I suppose you think that in light of these... extenuating circumstances, you are now the crown prince," King Recaldo said with gritted teeth.

"Unless you are putting one of my sisters on the throne, it’s a fair thing to assume," Rafael retorted with a winning smile. "I have proven my worth by besting my competitors."

"In that case, you will marry Elinora in a fortnight," King Recaldo fired back, a nasty glint in his eyes. "My previous condition still remains. If you do not wed Elinora, you will not get the throne. I am young enough to father another son, if you do not wish to comply."

Rafael snarled at the reminder, but Soleia quickly held his arm, shaking her head minutely. It was suicidal for Rafael lose his cool at this moment. She could spot the guards coming closer, ready to arrest them if they threatened their king.

"Fine," Rafael said with a huff. "But Elinora will not be my queen. She will be nothing more than a concubine, especially since Soleia is pregnant with my child."

That got King Recaldo’s attention. A greedy light glinted in his eyes as he scanned her body, focusing on her belly. Soleia could imagine the gears in his head whirling with the implications of such a fact. His son was a magical prodigy, and her nullification abilities were one in a million. Raxuvia could be creating the most skilled magic user since the dawn of magic.

"She is? What marvellous news. I suppose I could make an exception."

"Your Majesty!" Elinora spoke out, aghast. She shot Soleia with a look of hatred. "That’s not what I was promised!"