The Hidden King's Stolen Wife
Chapter 132: Stolen Her Husband II

Chapter 132: Stolen Her Husband II

"Bold of you to make such a claim," Princess Nessa said with a hiss.

Her bracelet started to glow, and Soleia’s eyes darted over to glance at the larimar, frowning subtly.

If Princess Nessa resorted to violence, Soleia wasn’t sure she would be able to hold her fort. After all, Princess Nessa was trained in battle and magic since she was young. On the other hand, Soleia had never shown signs of magic until weeks ago.

Soleia stamped down the urge to take a step back. If she showed any fear, Princess Nessa would know to use it against her.

"Duke Elsher had always been her husband," Nessa said. "Lady Elowyn had stolen no one from you."

Soleia let out a short laugh.

"Well, quite frankly, I am surprised you have not heard of this already, but who am I to blame you?" Soleia said with a sigh. "Princess Nessa, this upcoming ceremony is my second wedding. My first wedding was held two years ago."

"Isn’t that good for that man?" Princess Nessa snapped. "He managed to escape such an uncouth, uncultured, good-for-nothing princess."

Instantly, Soleia’s face darkened. "You are in my palace right now, Princess Nessa. We are not in Nedour. Speaking ill of the crown is on the grounds for war, especially when you’re here as a friend, not an enemy. Unless, of course, you would like us to send your mother a declaration of war?"

Soleia raised an eyebrow. "We will even mention that it’s as per the request of the Crown Princess of Nedour."

"You have no such influence," Nessa said.

"If you have heard that, then you would’ve also heard who was the man I first wed to two years ago," Soleia said. "I have only ever been married to one man. The same man from two years ago just so happens to be the man I am about to have a wedding ceremony with― Duke Orion Elsher."

This time, it was Princess Nessa’s turn to reel back in shock. Her eyes widened as she blinked dazedly, her eyes scouring Soleia’s face for any signs of trickery, only — to her dismay — to find none.

The larimar on her bangles quickly dimmed in her shock, and the corner of Soleia’s lips quirked up ever the slightest.

"That is untrue―"

"That is very true," Soleia said, cutting Princess Nessa off. "I had thought that as the crown princess, you would be educated enough about foreign affairs to know this, but I can’t blame you. Our first wedding was small and rushed, and most of those invited were local nobility, unlike this grand affair."

"But... Lady Elowyn..."

"She told you that she married the Duke while he was at war, didn’t she?" Soleia said. "And that she returned with him to find that there was a stranger who claimed to be his wife? Me?"

Princess Nessa was uncharacteristically quiet. Yet, she nodded just once.

"I married the Duke before he was sent off to war," Soleia said. "He married her while he was away. It was his failure, I must admit, to not inform Lady Elowyn that he was already married with a wife at home, waiting for him. But rest assured I had stolen no one. In fact, since their marriage had no recognized officiant, it isn’t even a recognized union in Vramid."

Princess Nessa needn’t know about the amethyst, assuming she didn’t already. Soleia couldn’t risk her tattling to Elowyn about this― if Elowyn knew that she had been found out, everything could be more dangerous than it already was.

"I am the first wife, and legally, his only wife. Lady Elowyn is nothing more than a mistress who got lucky," Soleia finished with a flair.

Princess Nessa stared down at the floor, her gaze refusing to meet Soleia’s as she was deep in thought. After a moment of silence, Soleia sighed. She had no time to stand here and argue about the specifics, especially when all of this was ready information and she could fact-check with anyone else in Vramid.

Heck, even Prince Ricard was better educated about their messy situation.

"Take that information as you will, Princess Nessa," Soleia said. "Not everything is as they say. As a future queen, you should be thorough in checking what’s truthful and what’s not."

With that said, Soleia took the chance to walk away. Her strides were long, and in the eyes of onlookers, they might assume it was the walk of a victor. However, in truth, Soleia simply wanted to get away from Princess Nessa as quickly as possible.

What a troublesome, naive, hot-headed woman she was to believe in such things so readily. Soleia would rather not associate herself with such a person, and she made a mental note to avoid Princess Nessa as much as she could until the wedding had ended. As for the confrontation between Elowyn and Nessa, that would be an interesting show that Soleia would unfortunately have to miss.

Soleia quickly returned to her chambers before immediately lowering herself onto the couch. Her fingers went to her temple and gently began to massage. Perhaps a nap wouldn’t be too bad a thing. She needed some rest.

With that thought in mind, she lowered herself onto the couch and fell asleep.

***

Princess Nessa clenched her fists in anger as she marched straight back to the infirmary.

Her heart and brain warred with one another, each taking a side with no clear winner. She hated to admit it, but Princess Soleia was right. She ought to check the facts before she took a side. Blindly believing what Lady Elowyn had to say and readily making an enemy out of a foreign princess was too impulsive.

If her mother knew about this...

Nessa shook her head. Mother would not know. This palace was filled to the brim with witnesses. She just needed to ask any single one of them.

And there was the perfect subject. Nessa’s eyes lit up when she saw the hulking figure of Duke Elsher headed straight for her. When he passed by, he barely nodded once at her to acknowledge her presence before he continued his journey straight in the direction of the infirmary.

"Your Grace―" Nessa called out, but Orion Elsher did not react to it if he had heard her. He turned a corner and quickly disappeared from her view. Nessa noted that it seemed to be a different turn than the one Princess Soleia had taken, meaning he was most likely headed for the infirmary, not for their shared chambers.

But why? As far as Nessa could tell, there were no injuries on the Duke’s body. Unless... he was headed for the infirmary to see Lady Elowyn.

The thought had Princess Nessa hastening her pace as she trailed after Duke Elsher. If her guess was right and the Duke indeed was looking for Lady Elowyn after he had heard of her injuries, then it would mean that Princess Soleia could be lying.

And if she had spread lies... Nessa grinned darkly. There would be consequences for spreading such false rumors about one’s marriage.

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