The Hidden King's Stolen Wife-Chapter 270: Hot Knife Through Butter

"Do it," Rafael ordered, in a tone that brooked no argument. He was gripping the edge of the bed so hard that his knuckles had turned white.

"But the princess..." The physician said hesitantly, glancing at Soleia’s rapidly paling face. "It is customary for the foetus to be cut out of the womb. However, with Princess Soleia’s physical state, this procedure might do more harm than good. I can use herbs to help relieve her of the foetuses―"

"No! Wait!" Soleia cried out as she registered their discussion. "If I... drink the herbs... wouldn’t I lose both of them?"

"Yes, but this is the safest, most painless way," the physician said, twisting his fingers worriedly. "Your pulse is very weak, and you have lost a large amount of blood. I fear that if we were to cut you open to remove one of the foetuses, you might not live. It is my opinion that a herbal concoction be used instead, for a more painless procedure."

He chanced a quick look at his new king, hoping that he would make a wise decision. To lose both royal heirs would be nothing short of a tragedy, but Prince Rafael and Princess Soleia were both young. They had many years ahead of them to produce all the children they could have. If Princess Soleia died now, everyone in the room knew it was nigh impossible for Prince Rafael to take another wife.

"Soleia, the physician has a point," Rafael said, holding her hand tightly. "I would rather have you alive than have you possibly sacrificed for our future children."

He turned to the physician and ordered him to prepare the concoction. The physician nodded and hurriedly began to gesture for his attendant to bring out the herbs. Time was of the essence, and who knew if Princess Soleia could even ingest anything once she was hit with pain.

"Rafael, I want to try saving the foetus," Soleia hissed with pain through her gritted teeth. "Only one is weakened. The other is fine. I can endure it― I even endured your father. What is a tiny procedure compared to him?"

Rafael’s heart wavered. While Soleia had a point, it was precisely because she had undergone such an ordeal with his father that he couldn’t bear to see her suffer any longer. If it were up to him, he would make sure she was painlessly unconscious before tackling the issue of their children.

"But Soleia, your body... your health..." Rafael protested, hand cradling Soleia’s cheek. Just as he expected, her skin was still clammy, but at least it wasn’t lifelessly cold like before. "I just dragged you back from the gates of heaven, I cannot bear to have to go through this again!"

"Exactly," Soleia tried to smile, but her lips twisted into a grimace as another painful sensation radiated through her body. "You are here. Why would I be afraid of anything? You will save me and our children. We’re in good hands. Yours."

She squeezed Rafael’s hand tightly and met his eyes.

Rafael swallowed, his mouth dry. Soleia had overwhelming trust in him. He could not afford to let her down.

"Of course, that assumes you aren’t injured," Soleia added. An expression of worry crossed Soleia’s face. Perhaps Rafael was the one who could not endure such a procedure. After all, it was no easy feat to snatch her away from death’s claws. "Are you hiding any injuries?" she asked, her eyes widening in panic. "Physician, examine Prince Rafael!"

"No need, I am perfectly fine. Just peachy," Rafael retorted. "Just stressed because my wife opted for a more painful procedure over the one recommended, but I’m fine!"

If her abdomen didn’t feel like it was being stabbed repeatedly with a rusty sword, she would have rolled her eyes at Rafael’s response. As it was, she could only let out a pained groan that had her husband fluttering in panic, clutching one of her hands while he wiped the sweat from her temples.

"Your Highness, the mixture is ready," the physician said, his eyes darting between the two of them. "Princess Soleia, will you be drinking it―"

"She won’t," Rafael said with a resigned sigh, yet he squeezed her hand tightly. "You’ll have to operate on her, I’m afraid. I will be here to help with the stabilization and healing."

"You?" The physician blanched in horror. Never in his lifetime had he faced such pressure. If he made a single error, Prince Rafael might just slash his throat and take over the procedure by himself. "I mean, yes, Your Highness. We will prepare for it immediately."

The herb mixture was left abandoned as the physician and his assistant hurriedly began to heat their scalpels and knives under makeshift flames caused by the sunstones. They turned bright red, and Rafael couldn’t help but squeeze Soleia’s hand more tightly. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

This would hurt incredibly badly. He had cauterized enough wounds back when he couldn’t be assed to use his healing ability to know how badly it would hurt. The screams of his men echoed in his ears.

Soleia would be screaming in pain.

"Last chance to change your mind," Rafael said, his tone turning pleading as he stared down at her. "You can change your mind, sweetheart. Please. Look at the sharpness of that scalpel. It’s glowing. It’s going to cut through you like a hot knife through butter."

"That’s a good thing. It better be sharp, or else he would be sawing me open like I’m a loaf of bread," Soleia pointed out. She couldn’t deny her own nervousness, but then she reminded herself that she had gone through the absolute worst just mere moments ago.

At least the physician knew what he was doing, which was already an improvement over her dear father-in-law, who had completely unreasonable expectations of everyone around him.

Also, she had Rafael. Even if he looked like he was about to fall to pieces and start screaming for her to change her mind. His hand was sweatier than hers, but she conceded that it could be because her body was simply too tired to let her sweat through her hands.

Rafael opened his mouth wordlessly.

"Princess, we will begin the operation," the physician said. "Here is a cloth gag for you to bite into for the pain."

Soleia bit into it half-heartedly. She was quite sure she wouldn’t need it.

Then the scalpel started to cut her, and she chomped on that cloth gag as though she were a dog with a bone.