The Hidden King's Stolen Wife
Chapter 142: Did You Do It?

Chapter 142: Did You Do It?

Soleia watched in horror, her outstretched fingers curling around open air. She could only watch dumbly as Elowyn’s body seemed to pitch backward without warning. Before Soleia could even stretch further to grab her, Elowyn had rolled down the stairs.

And she was now lying in a pool of her blood. Soleia’s face paled and she scrambled to her feet. But before she could dash towards Elowyn, Sir Ralph gripped her arm and held her back.

"Let go of me! I’ll need to check on her―" Soleia rambled, but Ralph shook his head firmly.

"Are you crazy? If you show up right in front of Orion now, he will kill you!" Ralph hissed.

"I didn’t do it, I didn’t push her at all, I wasn’t anywhere near her―" Soleia continued pleadingly, hoping that Ralph would believe her. For all that she detested Elowyn, she didn’t want to harm her unborn child. Soleia merely wanted to undo her spell on Orion so she could be judged by Vramid’s law!

"I believe you, but he will not," Ralph said, the harsh expression in his eyes softening as he registered Soleia’s distraught expression. "You cannot hope to reason with him, not when he’s in this state."

Rafael knew better than anyone Orion was nothing more than a wounded animal, lashing out at anyone nearby. Elowyn’s enchantment would cause him to see Soleia as nothing more than a threat to be taken care of, an enemy of his little family. He would not bother to find out the truth, not when his unborn child was at stake.

And Rafael refused to let Soleia pay the price for Elowyn’s dramatics.

Meanwhile, Orion was still huddled protectively over Elowyn. Rage and fear warred on his face as he roared for help.

"Where’s the physician!" Orion demanded furiously as he glared at the crowd of gobsmacked nobles who were gawking at Elowyn as though she was a circus act. "Someone call a physician! Keep glaring and I’ll tear out your eyes!"

Like a flock of startled birds, they instinctively scattered and rushed to obey his command. The guards quickly managed to pull out the two physicians who were sitting near the end of the church for the ceremony and escorted them to the front, where they immediately began to examine the poor injured pregnant woman, their hands glowing purple.

Frowns grew more pronounced on their faces. Orion, upset at the silence, yelled at them.

"Can you help her?! What are you standing around for?"

King Godwin’s eyes flashed with barely restrained anger― who was the ruler here? How dare Orion Elsher issue commands under his roof?! And how dare these physicians actually obey him to treat this mistress?!

"...Don’t worry about me..." Elowyn whispered faintly, but she made sure that Orion could hear every word. "Save... Save our baby..."

Orion shook his head, desperately insistent. His eyes filled with distraught tears. "No... No... you’ll be fine. You and the baby will both be fine."

The two physicians exchanged dismal glances, withdrawing their hands.

"Duke Elsher, we need to transport Lady Elowyn to the infirmary. We do not have the tools to conduct surgery here."

"Surgery?" Elowyn’s eyelashes trembled. Next to her, Orion was similarly shocked. "Why... Why would you need..."

"We can only save the mother, not the baby," Sven said, not in the mood to mince words. "If you do not transport her to the infirmary, you will lose both mother and child."

That was all the encouragement Orion needed to move. He gingerly cradled Elowyn’s body in his arms and lifted her up. Elowyn let out a cry of pain at the movement, and onlookers could clearly spot the trail of blood flowing from her inner legs, staining the white fabric a dark red.

Somehow, most of them couldn’t help but feel sympathy for her and her pain. It was a gory sight; most nobles were unused to it, and the dramatic tragedy playing out in front of them captivated their attention better than any theatre play.

As Duke Elsher rushed out with his bleeding lover in his arms, the attention of everyone was drawn back to Princess Soleia, the woman who was responsible for causing this tragedy.

Soleia shifted, sensing the resentful expressions. They didn’t worry her― but what was concerning was that Orion’s men were now staring at her with barely concealed hatred in their eyes, and they were armed.

"Princess Soleia, you should leave here," Sir Ralph said worriedly, following her gaze. "Take Reitan and return to the palace with your sisters. It’s not safe here."

"What about you?" Soleia asked, "What are you going to do?"

"Things are going to get ugly," Sir Ralph said, which told her nothing.

He escorted her to her older sisters, with Reitan scurrying behind her. He held up the long trail of her wedding dress, so she wouldn’t trip over it. That small amount of care made her want to cry.

Who cared about the dress now that Orion had vanished?!

Bellaflor and Celestina immediately embraced Soleia with panic in their eyes. Their precious younger sister’s wedding ceremony had been ruined beyond repair, and there would be nothing to shield her from their father’s wrath.

"What on earth happened? You didn’t push her, did you? No, what am I saying, of course you didn’t―" Bellaflor scolded herself, squeezing Soleia tightly.

Soleia’s lips trembled, and tears began to form, clinging to her eyelashes. It was disgraceful for a princess to cry in public, but no princess had ever had her wedding ruined so spectacularly.

It was a humiliation like none other.

"Let’s leave here for now. There are too many eyes here," Celestina said, discreetly brushing away Soleia’s tears with her fingertips. "Father..."

Soleia froze, prepared to face the consequences of her failure. Her sisters also tensed up, but she couldn’t help but notice that they did not move out of the way. Her father wouldn’t be able to hit her without crashing through both of them.

That thought made her sob more heavily.

King Godwin raised his hand. He was beside himself with anger, but Celestina’s words weren’t wrong. There was a line between being a strict father and a cruel one, and King Godwin abhorred the thought of these nosy royalties treating him like a spectacle.

"We’re leaving," King Godwin ordered, seething. The crowd of people parted to let the royal family through.

But just as Soleia thought she might finally catch a break, her father turned and gave the order.

"Guards, imprison all members of Orion Elsher’s household. I am stripping him of his title as Duke!"

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