The Hidden King's Stolen Wife-Chapter 261: An Invitation From the King I

"No one is allowed to enter our room. I don’t care if it’s a maid, a palace physician, the ghosts of my dead brothers... even if my father, the goddamned king of Raxuvia himself showed up outside the doorstep, you have to toss him aside." Rafael was speaking to Orion, a grave look of seriousness on his face.

"Elinora and her family have all sorts of connections in this palace, and I would not put it past them to make a second attempt now that Soleia is weakened."

Soleia personally thought that his list of examples was going slightly overboard, but Orion nodded sincerely. He had rushed over from his room the moment he had heard the news, and his face was lined with guilt at his failure to protect Soleia from harm.

Rafael wanted to punish him for his oversight, but that would be entirely worthless in the grand scheme of things. The deed was done.

Orion would have most likely made the same mistake Soleia did, thinking that Rafael was the one sending the tonic. Even if he had ingested it on Soleia’s behalf as some form of poison tester, it wasn’t going to do anything to him but make him sleepy.

In the end, Rafael knew and understood all too clearly that there were only two people who could be blamed for this― himself, for not taking necessary precautions despite having first-hand knowledge of the depths of Elinora’s ambitions, and of course, Elinora herself. That woman was living on borrowed time because the moment Rafael caught sight of her, he would be sending her on a merry journey to the underworld.

A woman like Elinora certainly wasn’t going to see the pearly gates of heaven.

After one last kiss to Soleia’s cheeks, Rafael left the room, leaving Orion alone with Soleia. Orion watched her with worried eyes.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked quietly, and Soleia nodded.

"You don’t have to feel so guilty," Soleia said, "It’s not your fault I was opening the door for, technically, a complete stranger."

"I should have been here from the very beginning," Orion said mulishly as he continued to blame himself. "She wouldn’t have tried anything if I were here."

"I highly doubt that." Soleia leaned against her propped-up pillows and sighed. No wonder the maid had seemed so nervous and fidgety; most people would not be able to remain calm when they were attempting to murder an unborn child of royalty. "You and I would probably have let her in. It’s not as though we know what Elinora’s maid looks like."

At her words, Orion’s face fell. He didn’t like to be reminded of his own incompetence. "I will not fail you again. This time, I will protect you with my life."

"You already have," Soleia reminded him gently. "You saved me from Ricard and Raziel, and helped Rafael when he needed it the most. If not for you, it would be our funeral happening right now."

Assuming the Raxuvia royal family would even waste resources holding such a lavish funeral for a bastard son and a disowned princess from another kingdom. Perhaps they might have shipped her remains back to Vramid for political benefits.

Orion still looked upset. Soleia could only sigh. She didn’t see the point in stressing now. Orion could handle any visitor, unless it was King Recaldo itself. Then again, the thought of King Recaldo coming over to visit her was so incredulous that it made a giggle escape her throat.

A knock on the door caused both of them to startle. Orion’s hand immediately came to his sword, and he went to the door.

"What is it?" Soleia called out.

"Princess Soleia, King Recaldo has summoned you for a private meeting in the throne room," one of the soldiers said from the other end of the door.

Soleia raised an incredulous eyebrow. That wasn’t in her calculations.

"He’s lying." Orion shook his head, his voice coming out in a frenzied whisper. "They’re trying to lure you out."

Soleia nodded in agreement, and she whispered back, "Knock him out when you open the door."

Then, in a louder voice, she responded. "I see... I will be getting up shortly. Do give me a while to prepare myself to look presentable."

"Yes, Your Highness," the guard said.

Orion opened the door without warning and slammed his fist against the poor guard’s head, knocking him out almost immediately. His body slumped to the floor in a heap, and he could only let out a low groan of pain before he was unconscious. Orion grabbed his body and shoved him inside the room before locking the door behind him.

"Do you have any rope? I need to tie him up."

"I can’t believe Elinora would have the audacity to use King Recaldo’s name to summon me," Soleia mused, staring at the newest addition to her bedroom. "You can put him in the corner― use some of the fresh bed sheets in the cupboards to tie him up. There should be enough fabric."

Orion did as she said, and soon the soldier was wrapped up in her bedsheets.

Soleia thought that that would have been the last of it, but clearly she had underestimated Elinora’s persistence. Barely half an hour had passed before there was another knock on her door.

"Your Highness! King Recaldo demands your presence in the throne room immediately."

She curled her lip. It didn’t escape her notice that the request was worded more strongly than before. Elinora must have felt more desperate when her first summons failed. She nodded again as a signal, and Orion opened the door and knocked the guards― yes, this time, there were two of them standing outside her door, but it didn’t matter since Orion also had two fists.

Their bodies hit the floor with a resounding thud. Orion hauled them inside as though they were potato sacks and dumped them on top of the first soldier.

"If this continues, you’re going to have to use the curtains to bind them," Soleia said. "I don’t think I have enough bedsheets to use."

"Hopefully, she and the rest of her bloody family get the hint," Orion grumbled. "How long is Rafael going to take to handle them?"

They rested for an hour in blissful silence before there came a third knock on the door. Soleia and Orion exchanged exasperated expressions.

"Princess Soleia, may I know why you have rudely declined my previous invitations?"

Soleia and Orion paused, stunned. The new voice sounded awfully like King Recaldo himself.