CHAPTER 187

CHAPTER 187


Reika's POV

I couldn't believe that… I couldn't believe the fact that Ileus had actually walked out of the room without discovering my real identity.

Oh…. My Goddess.

The moment the scarf slipped off my head, it felt like my life had ended instantly. And when he asked why my hair was brown, I had surrendered instantly and was just waiting for him to order me to look up or grip my jaw and force me to look at him. I had imagined how he would freak out upon discovering that the wife he thought was dead was standing before him, alive and well.

But none of those scenarios happened.

Instead, he crouched lower beside me, his hand reaching out, and I cowered in immense fear. But suddenly, he paused and jumped back to his feet. He concluded that I had dyed my hair to seduce him just to get away with my crimes, but it wasn't going to happen.

If not for the fact that my life was too much of a mess with too many things happening right now, I could have found his ridiculous claim funny and burst into laughter… because how did he arrive at the conclusion that I would dye my unique silver hair brown just to impress him?

But then… I wasn't complaining that he had not caught on quickly; if anything, I was grateful that he was slow.

As he stormed out of the room, I heaved a sigh of relief. But it did not last long when I heard him ordering us to be thrown into the dungeon.

I quickly crawled towards the scarf lying on the floor and wrapped it around my head. I hadn't even finished when the door burst open and a guard stormed in.

His cold gaze burned into me. His hand reached out, probably to yank the scarf away.

“Don’t!” I said, my voice slightly authoritative.

He did not say anything, but his hand froze just inches away.

I quickly added, “I have a wound on my face and the physician told me that it might be contagious if others see it.”

“Ohh,” he murmured and withdrew his hand immediately.

There was a moment of silence before he spoke again.

“So the king has ordered you to be thrown into the dungeon. Stand up and let’s make our way there.”

I bet he would have wanted to drag me away, but the illness I mentioned must have scared him enough that he didn’t want to touch me.

I nodded and pushed myself up. He gestured towards the door and I walked out of the room.

“My lady,” Archer called, his voice thick with worry as he rushed to my side. His hand gripped my shoulder. “Are you okay? Are you fine? Did he hurt you anywhere?”

“I’m fine,” I murmured.

From the way he looked at me, I could tell he had other questions. He probably wanted to ask if Ileus had discovered my real identity or not. But then, he should have known he hadn’t, because if he did… the reaction would have been different and far more explosive.

The guard behind us cleared his throat. “Now is not the time for some reunion,” he said coldly. “Move immediately.”

Together and quietly, we walked side by side towards the dungeon at the far back of the palace. The shocked and curious eyes of the maids and guards burned into us as they whispered amongst themselves behind cupped hands.

At some point, I even ran into some of the elders who tried to ask the guards questions about us. He respectfully told them that he didn’t know the details of the crimes and that it was His Majesty’s orders.

Through the entire walk, my head remained buried towards the floor.

At the dungeon, there were about five guards present. They were throwing playful banter at one another, but when they saw us, they straightened up and paid their respects to the guard who was clearly their superior.

“The king ordered that these people should be brought here,” he said, his voice authoritative. “Make sure no one sees them without His Majesty’s approval. Understood?”

“Yes sir!” They chorused.

Two guards stepped forward and wanted to grab me—

“Oh… she has a wound on her face and it might be contagious, so be very careful around her.” Then he turned towards Archer squarely. “But him… make sure you keep your eyes on him. He is a strong and troublesome asshole.”

“Alright…” They stepped back from me fearfully.

Then they grabbed Archer. He struggled against them as they dragged him into the heavy doors.

“Don’t injure him,” I cried out. “He is not some criminal you can—”

“Shut up, lady,” one of them spat. “Just go in!”

I walked into the dungeon.

The darkness would have been thick if not for the dim torchlight that lit up the hallway. The thick smell of moisture and unwashed bodies hit my nostrils. The first three cells had prisoners in them, so they led us deeper.

Until they stopped in front of a room, pushed the heavy door open and pushed Archer in, while I was allowed to walk in slowly. Then they shut the door against us.

Now, the darkness was so thick that one could lose their sight if they stayed too long here. The room was cold and suffocating.

“Reika…” Archer called immediately. “I can’t see a thing.”

“Me too…” my voice was husky. “I’m so sorry that you have to go through all of this.” My tears trickled down. “Someone like me doesn’t deserve your loyalty…”

“Shhh!” He cut me off gently. “This is not the time for this, Reika. Moreover, I would rather die serving you than serving anyone else. So stop blaming yourself, okay?”

I nodded. “Okay.”

“Now… try locating a wall around you and move to your right.”

“Okay.”

I did as instructed.

My hand reached out and after a lot of trial and error, I finally pressed my hand against the cold wall. Then I started moving slowly towards my right… until our bodies collided.

“I found you,” Archer screamed out excitedly. “Now… let’s sit.”

We both slid down and sat on the floor, our shoulders rubbing against each other.

“Now… tell me about it,” he said. “Tell me how Ileus didn’t discover that it is you.”

I heaved a sigh, unwrapped the scarf around my head, and then I started narrating everything.