The Hidden King's Stolen Wife
Chapter 113: Chatty

Chapter 113: Chatty

Soleia wracked her mind for a topic of conversation as she proceeded to lead them to their rooms, mentally hoping that they were at least ready for them to stay in. Truth be told, she was entirely unprepared to be a hostess. Three years at Drankenmire had taught her to balance a checkbook like none other, but it certainly didn’t hone her abilities to make guests feel welcome.

After all, no one visited Drankenmire in those three years.

Meanwhile, these men continued to burn the back of her neck with the intensity of their stares. Soleia hastened her footsteps, hoping they would find something else to distract them. Vramid’s palace was lovely, why were their eyes glued on her like dogs facing a piece of juicy meat?

That comparison made her more uncomfortable.

"Princess Soleia’s sure is energetic," Prince Ricard observed. "Her strides certainly are wider than most women."

"She’s trying to get rid of you," Prince Raziel said bitingly in response. "Take the hint and shut up."

"That cannot be so," Prince Ricard scoffed. "Is that right, Princess? Do you truly detest our presence? That’s heartbreaking to hear."

"I do not," Soleia said, turning around quickly to clear the air. If she let Prince Ricard run his mouth, who knows what kind of tall tales those lips would spill out by the time they arrived at their rooms. "I’m very pleased that both of you are so enthusiastic about attending my wedding that you will arrive an entire week earlier. Truly, it’s an unexpected present."

"And she speaks with a silver tongue!" Prince Ricard beamed, clapping his hands in apparent delight, but Soleia didn’t get a good feeling from him. She had a feeling that she was being patronized, as though she was nothing more than a dog doing a trick.

"Well, what can I say? Court is boring at home, now that my favorite brother is missing. Don’t you think so, Raziel?"

Rafael was too well-trained to stumble, but he shot his older brother a nasty glance from the corner of his eye. Knowing Ricard, this was a plot to make him squirm before he pulled the rug from under his feet.

Meanwhile, Raziel nodded. "It has been awfully quiet without our younger brother, Rafael."

Prince Ricard sighed dramatically. "Who knows where he is now? He could be hiding right under our noses."

Rafael tried very hard not to twitch.

There was a pause before Soleia realized she was supposed to reply. She coughed. "You must miss him a lot."

Even though part of her wanted to know more about the relationship between these three brothers, a bigger part of her wanted to arrive at the rooms so she could wash her hands off them.

Internally, she despaired at herself. She would be a terrible queen and hostess. It was fortunate that Orion was only a duke, and no guest would ever visit Drakenmire out of their own free will.

"Oh, definitely, there was never a dull moment whenever he was around," Prince Ricard said, his mouth not stopping. "He was involved with all sorts of women, to the point where his fiancée was so upset with him that he had to leave the palace."

"I see." Soleia nodded, not caring, while Rafael wanted to slam his brother’s head into the wall. This was simply outright slander! Thankfully, Soleia didn’t seem to be actually listening to him.

Not happy to be ignored, his brother opened his mouth again.

"Princess Soleia, you must be a woman with immense amounts of patience to stomach marrying a commoner."

"My husband is a Duke," Soleia quietly huffed under her breath. Why was this prince so chatty?

"He was born a commoner, was he not?" Prince Ricard retorted, but he raised his hands. "Don’t look so upset, Princess. You must be awfully fond of your husband, to accept his lack of trueborn status and a mistress."

Soleia paused, embarrassed that a member of outside royalty would mention Orion’s complicated affairs right to her face. She suddenly felt the urge to defend him― it wasn’t as though these princes knew Orion was hoodwinked into accepting Elowyn in his life.

"As long as Orion still has me as a priority, I am content," Soleia said instead. "But I didn’t realize this was common knowledge."

"We heard many things while we were staying in the capital," Prince Ricard said with a chuckle. "For a start, we even heard a fun little tale about you and Sir Ralph here! Was it true that the both of you shared a bed?"

Soleia spluttered, but before she could reply, Sir Ralph cleared his throat, his voice cold as he glared at Prince Ricard.

"Kindly refrain from speaking to the Princess in such a manner," Sir Ralph said imperiously.

She grabbed onto his sleeve, in an attempt to stop him from speaking. Orion wouldn’t be able to save him if the princes wanted to punish him for his attitude.

But Sir Ralph would not be dissuaded. He continued to glare at the princes before continuing. "The princess is a woman of honor, and would never engage in infidelity, especially not with a common guard like myself."

Soleia blinked in surprise. At that very moment, Sir Ralph sounded just like Prince Ricard when he spoke. There was a familiar cadence in his tone of voice, the way he pronounced his words. It was as though they had all learned from the same tutor on how to speak.

That very thought made her snort in amusement.

How could Sir Ralph possibly be allowed to take classes with foreign princes? Clearly, her mind was addled from the events of the day.

All three men turned to stare at her, and Soleia realized that she had actually snorted out loud in the presence of royalty. Oh dear.

"Thank you Prince Ricard for your concern with regard to my reputation," Soleia said peacefully. "But if my husband is unconcerned, I don’t see why such distinguished guests like yourselves should worry."