The Hidden King's Stolen Wife-Chapter 54: Unfriendly Gazes

However, Ralph recovered quickly and shot Orion a grin, offering him the slice of cheese in his hand. "And now you have found me. Cheese?"

"Piss off. It’s time to go," Orion growled out.

Soleia straightened her back, and she and Ralph discreetly exchanged worried glances, before deciding to follow suit.

Orion seemed to be in a terrible mood― he had never been so short with Ralph before. She had long gotten used to his rudeness, but Soleia was surprised when she caught sight of the impressive set of dark circles under his eyes as he glared at her.

Did he not sleep well?

Then she caught sight of Elowyn’s smug visage as she wrapped an arm around Orion and fought the urge to sigh.

Of course he wasn’t going to be sleeping much with Elowyn in the room. They were probably putting their bed to good use the whole night long, while she and Ralph scrambled for shelter.

In that case, Orion should be in a better mood. Why was he glaring at her as though she had kicked his mother in the face?

Unbeknownst to them, Orion had caught the way their gazes met, and how they seemed to have a wordless conversation simply by staring at each other. He gnashed his teeth harder. The two of them were flirting with each other in plain sight! Now that he knew about their affair, it was hard to miss the signs.

He stomped off without a second word, Elowyn clinging to his arm like a persistent shadow.

"She’s up to something," Soleia murmured quietly into Ralph’s ear as they followed behind, keeping a distance so as to not be overheard.

"I know. She seemed happy this morning. This doesn’t bode well," Ralph muttered back. "And I’m detecting a certain hostility from our surroundings." freēnovelkiss.com

True enough, Soleia realized that Orion’s men, the soldiers and guards he had brought along, were all glaring at Soleia and Ralph with barely concealed disgust and hatred as they emerged from the inn. She knew they had no great love for her, but Sir Ralph was technically their superior!

She wondered what could have led to such a drastic change in behavior. Soleia frowned, and their entire party made their way out of town. However, the tense mood refused to abate.

The glares deepened when Ralph helped Soleia onto their shared horse, and when he leaped up to ride behind her — as they had done many times before — some of the men made their displeasure known by muttering mulishly under their breaths, yet making sure they were loud enough to be overheard.

"Such a scoundrel..."

"A betrayal most foul."

"Cucking his best friend..."

"Sir Ralph," Soleia said as she closed her eyes tiredly, finally understanding the reason for the hostility. "I fear that they might have misunderstood the nature of our relationship."

"Why? We’ve been sharing a horse the whole week. Surely they can’t be taking offense now," Ralph pointed out. "If they’re so upset, why didn’t they get us another horse in town?"

"I bet my left arm that Elowyn had something to do with this," Soleia said. "We need to clear things up with Orion. In the meantime, we should refrain from being so close to each other."

Soleia didn’t want to give these men any more reason to detest her. They still had a few days more on the road together― things could turn ugly. She also couldn’t risk her father finding out about this from loose lips.

"Alright. Let’s wait till they rest for lunch first," Ralph shot her a cheery grin before he leaped down from the horse in one practiced motion, leaving Soleia alone. "In the meantime, I’d better walk beside you first, in case someone accuses us of fornicating on the horse."

"Sir Ralph!" Soleia exclaimed, her face coloring at her words. "How could you― that’s not even possible!"

"You’d be surprised." Ralph shrugged and gave her a mischievous grin before his face fell.

Their little ruckus had attracted the attention of the other men, and scowls decorated their faces.

"I guess we can’t chat like this," Ralph said sadly.

"Silence is a virtue," Soleia agreed.

They spent the next few hours in silence. Orion had not made any move to speak to them. Finally, it was time to break for lunch, and Soleia and Ralph walked towards Orion, fully intent on explaining themselves. She nudged Ralph, prompting him to speak first.

"Orion, did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed in the morning?" Ralph asked teasingly, trying to lighten up the somber mood.

The moment she heard Ralph’s words, Soleia wanted to smack him. This was precisely the wrong thing to say!

Orion’s head jerked up, and he threw his share of the grilled meat on the snowy ground, hard enough that the skewer splintered in two. Bed? Was Ralph picking on him on purpose? Did they think he was deaf, that no one could hear them bantering about like an old married couple?

Even their earlier forced silence was a confession in itself― if they had done nothing wrong, why would they purposely change their behavior?!

Soleia took a wary step back; Orion looked so enraged, that smoke was almost coming out of his nostrils, especially visible due to the cold air around them.

"It was just a joke, Orion," Ralph said hastily, holding up his hands. "Soleia and I have to clarify something with you."

"What? That the both of you are eagerly living in sin, while she’s still married to me?" Orion’s voice shook with rage.

"No! Of course not! Nothing happened between us!" Soleia exclaimed, furious at his insinuation.

Elowyn took this chance to stand up, letting out a weary sigh. "Princess Soleia, since things have gotten to this point, there’s no need for you to lie any longer. We’ve heard everything from Penny. Do you deny that you and Sir Ralph were sharing a small room with a single bed last night?"

"Well no, but that’s because―"

"A lone man and woman staying together in such a small room, with only one bed..." Elowyn shook her head sadly. "I expected better behavior from you, Princess Soleia."

Now, it was Soleia’s turn to feel enraged. "I don’t need a lecture from a mistress about propriety."