The Hidden King's Stolen Wife-Chapter 168: A Ring of Stardust

Soleia smiled at Ralph. "Look at our rapidly growing family. With so many new members, the issue of children would be resolved very quickly indeed."

Rafael wheezed at Soleia’s joke. His wife certainly had a strange sense of humor.

"No! My ring is special!" Evangeline protested, clutching at it protectively.

But the damage was done― no one took her words seriously. They laughed among themselves and cheerfully chattered about their rings.

Evangeline took a small step back, an ugly flush blooming on her cheeks as she realized what Sir Ralph’s new wife had done. An angry scowl crossed her face as she glared at Soleia, but Evangeline wasn’t a fool. She would deal with this woman later. It was time for her to make a hasty escape.

But her hand trembled, and the ring she was so proud of flaunting had slipped out of her grasp without any warning. Before Evangeline could make a desperate attempt to grab it, it fell on the floor with a sharp crack and rolled away.

It stopped right in front of Soleia’s feet. Soleia bent down and picked it up carefully, her smile widening as she received absolute proof that the ring had nothing to do with Sir Ralph. After all, there was still a possibility that Sir Ralph had been drunk enough to create a ring for her.

"This ring is made out of old copper," Soleia said.

There was a tiny crack running through the width of the ring, most likely from the fall. It was lighter than she expected. If she used enough force, she could probably smash it to pieces with a rock.

"There’s rust on one side... My dear husband, how could you make something so cheap that could break from one blow? Three coppers is a bit too expensive. I would price this at one copper at most."

"My dearest, you run a tough bargain," Rafael said, the pressure in his chest easing as he realized Soleia was simply pulling his leg. He would not have to share his marital bed with the entire town.

"Here, you can have this back," Soleia said politely, handing Evangeline the ring. To her surprise, Evangeline swatted her hand away, causing the ring to fall and roll into the bushes.

"Keep it! I don’t want it anymore!" Evangeline cried out, tears beading in her eyes at the public humiliation. She scrubbed her face with one hand and stormed away.

"Well, my dear husband, I guess that means you’re stuck with me," Soleia said, trying not to sound too smug about not entirely succeeding. "I can’t have you flooding the townspeople with poor-quality rings."

"Thank the gods," Rafael said, heaving a sigh of relief. He reached out to hold Soleia’s hand tightly in his own. "I promise you, I have not given a ring to any woman other than you."

"I know, I trust that you won’t lie to me," Soleia said, lowering her voice. "Besides, I doubted you would reveal your blood manipulation abilities in front of a commoner, no matter how beautiful the woman is."

"She’s not as beautiful as you," Rafael said instinctively before he registered the rest of Soleia’s words. "Wait... so you made everyone think we were such a perverted couple looking for extras in our marriage instead?" Rafael asked.

Soleia shrugged. "It was either that or you demonstrating your powers to prove that she’s a liar. It’s too much risk for too little reward."

Rafael grumbled internally. In his opinion, there was nothing more important than proving to everyone that Soleia was his one and only wife, but Soleia was thinking about saving him from future trouble. He couldn’t help but feel heartened at her concern before guilt welled up within him.

It wasn’t as though he meant to lie to Soleia. He would tell her the truth... eventually. Hopefully, after they had three children, a few dogs, and several cats. If they kept their head down, no one would bother to look for them in this corner of Raxuvia.

For now.

"Does this mean we’re not staying in your house?" One child cried out, disappointment in his voice.

"Sadly yes. You are welcome to visit during daytime though," Rafael raised his voice to address the townspeople, his hand wrapping around Soleia’s waist. "I’m sorry to disappoint everyone, but I would like to spend a lot of alone time with my wife! As newlyweds living in marital bliss!"

He specifically emphasized the last two words so that no one could misunderstand his meaning, save for the young children.

Several well-intentioned jeers filled the air, and Soleia’s face purpled in embarrassment.

"Ralph! Don’t say that out loud!"

***

Evangeline sobbed at the outskirts of town. Her friend Luna was sitting next to her, patting her on her back.

"I thought I had it... How did she find out it was a fake..."

"I’m sorry," Luna said apologetically. "I had no idea that so many people would buy the same ring after I made one for you."

"No... it’s not your fault," Evangeline sniffled pathetically. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

She couldn’t fault her best friend for taking advantage of a good business opportunity. She had noticed Sir Ralph’s ring five years ago, and she made sure to ask around if there was any lucky lady matching him. Seeing that there was none, she approached her friend Luna to ask her to make something similar, hoping that it would give her good luck for her future romance with him.

When Sir Ralph was away, more people became interested in the rings. They were a cheaper alternative to gold, and the poor townspeople were open to wearing them over more priceless metals that could be easily damaged when doing hard labor.

"I just don’t understand though," Luna mused with a frown. "If his wife claimed Sir Ralph made a ring for her, what did he make it out of?"

"I don’t know," Evangeline complained. "It was also a red one, but it was almost maroon and the material of the band shimmered like stardust... he must have gotten a professional to create it."

She remembered how it shone in the light, and how her little ring was nothing more than a cheap copy. Her heart ached at the thought. Somehow, this woman had caught Sir Ralph’s wandering eyes and trapped his heart.

"She’s not that pretty anyway," Evangeline sulked to her friend. "It’s just blonde hair and green eyes."

"May I ask if the ring looked anything like this?"

Both women jumped in surprise. The one who spoke was a man who was faintly familiar, but they couldn’t quite place where they had seen him before.

"Who are you? Why didn’t we hear you walking here?"

"Are you a creep?"

The both of them huddled closer together, ready to flee. But the man merely chuckled and held out a ring for Evangeline to examine. "I just have one simple question."

"This... Yes, it does look like it! How did you get it?" Evangeline exclaimed in surprise.

The man smiled, and goosebumps formed on their skin. "That’s nothing you need to worry about."