The Hidden King's Stolen Wife-Chapter 31: A Thousand Jewels

Soleia gasped as she caught the wet glint of fresh blood; the splash caused by the droplets seemed to echo in the dark tunnels, as though they were thunderous footsteps.

"Princess, don’t look so alarmed, it looks a lot worse than it actually is," Ralph said reassuringly, before turning back to the wall.

He began to focus, and Soleia watched with bated breath as the blood seemed to glow with an eerie, metallic sheen. They seemed to burrow themselves within the very cracks of the stone wall.

"This is going to get noisy," Ralph noted cheerily. "Cover your ears, Princess."

Soleia barely clamped her hands over her ears before the very ground seemed to tremble beneath her feet― no, it was merely the false wall that was cracking before her very eyes, as though it was nothing more than a clay vase heartlessly smashed against the wall, forced to shatter into smithereens by the seemingly harmless rivulets of blood flowing through its creases.

Suddenly, she understood why Ralph wanted her to stay back. At such a close distance, he was getting bombarded with stone and rubble, but he merely spat out a mouthful of gravel before continuing to focus.

Soleia bit her lip; this was such an impressive display of magic, but she worried about Ralph’s energy. However, she didn’t want to interrupt him when he was focusing.

Soon, a shelf of crystals appeared in front of them. Ralph turned back to shoot her a victorious grin, a boyish look of delight in his eyes as he gestured for her to come closer.

"See anything you like, Princess?" Ralph asked cheerfully. "I think we can fit a few of these into your pockets."

Soleia stepped forward cautiously, ignoring the nausea she felt for a closer look. These gems shone brilliantly in the tiny light provided by the clear quartz Ralph had, and Soleia had to stop herself from gawking.

Even to her untrained eyes, it was clear that the gems were of incredible quality. They were so powerful that even someone as powerless as she was could feel the energy that radiated off them.

With dawning horror, Soleia realized the value of such gems could rival those found in the royal family’s treasury, meant for the royal family’s private use.

Rubies, amethysts, emeralds... her eyes roved all over the stones, frantically trying to identify them. How could this old woman get her hands on so many stones? Who was supplying her with them?

Her mind was mentally screeching at the priceless jewels in front of her― if she even had a single shelf worth of such gems, the estate wouldn’t have fallen into disrepair, her inventions would have improved by leaps and bounds―

And her father, the king, would have razed the entire town and executed the townspeople the moment he caught wind of this incident. The very existence of a black market was treasonous to him.

That was a sobering thought. Soleia gulped.

"Princess?" Ralph prompted, as he watched Soleia stare wide-eyed in silence at the shelves of gems. "Do you require assistance?"

"Clean yourself up first," Soleia said instead, turning to give Sir Ralph a careful once-over.

She had been too distracted by the gems just now, and now that she had a better look at him, she couldn’t help wincing at his appearance. Scrapes and bruises decorated his figure, and dust, rubble, and dried blood were his toppings.

She pulled out a handkerchief to dab at his wounds, trying to clean him up as best as she could. Ralph Byrone twitched when she pressed a little too hard on a wound.

"Princess, let me do it," Ralph said, his voice pained. "You shouldn’t be bothering yourself with me." However, as he raised his hand, Soleia’s eyes widened.

"Your palm is still bleeding!" She shrieked quietly. She stared at her dirty handkerchief in dismay― if she used that to wrap his palm, she’d have to pay another visit to Mister Ludwin. Most of her dress was unclean, but there was a part that was untouched.

"Hold this," she handed Ralph a part of her dress before she reached for the lining underneath it. It was made of wool and lined with silk — one of the few good things she managed to nick from the palace before she left — so she had to grab Ralph’s knife to cut a segment out to use.

Sir Ralph, whose hands were now filled with the soft silk of a princess’s dress and not his knife, had gotten an eyeful of Princess Soleia’s bare legs and was nearly beside himself with shock. If he focused, he could almost make out a tiny birthmark on the inner side of her calves.

His cheeks were redder than the rubies on the shelf, but his eyes were still wide open, as though he couldn’t bear to miss a single moment.

"Princess, this is highly inappropriate―" Ralph began, but Soleia tutted and ignored him, causing him to fall quiet.

Soon, she had a sizable piece of cloth in her hands, and she wasted no time in bandaging his hand.

"Try not to get it too tight," Ralph advised. "I might need to cut myself again if things get ugly."

Soleia nodded, her expression turning grim. They turned back to the stock of gems, and Ralph asked. "How do you wish to deal with them? I could summon the rest of the guards to destroy them."

"That’s a waste," Soleia said, even though she knew it was the right― and the safest course of action. Such a stock of high-quality gems could not be allowed to go unchecked, but if Ralph called the guards over, her father would be alerted and all of Drankenmire would burn.

"We’ll take as much as we can instead," Soleia said, giving Ralph’s pants a considerably long glance.

"Princess?" Ralph asked as he fought the urge to cover the priceless jewel between his legs. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"How roomy are your bottoms, Sir Ralph?"

"Adequate, I suppose," Sir Ralph said, not liking the gleam in Soleia’s eyes.

"Excellent. Because they’re about to get a lot tighter."