His Highness's Second Wife
His Highness’s Second Wife Chapter 76

“Does it hurt?” Kara asked as she spread the ointment over Raena’s neck, wincing as if the ugly bruises that had turned almost black were on her own neck.

“No.” Raena lied, picking up his hair so her maid could tie the small scarf around her neck. The skin was tender to the touch and swallowing was uncomfortable, but it was her own fault anyway.

She should have figured the whole situation was off.

Raena shook her head before memories from that night could appear again. Every time she remembered it, all the b***d and the people dying around her, her body covered in a cold sweat and her hands started to shake. She knew Kassian had done it to protect her but seeing it with her own eyes had been horrifying. She had thought that after watching so many thrillers and horror movies where people got murdered in all kinds of ways, she would have been fine if she saw someone die, but the reality was much, much different.

Her eyes darted towards where Zen stood in the other end of her room, leaning on the wall with his hands crossed. Ever since the morning, he had been like a bomb that was going to explode any moment. The maids started avoiding him and even Kara seemed more careful in how she talked to him.

Apart from checking if she was alright and grumbling about the third prince keeping her there throughout the night, he had barely said two words to her, but he followed her like a shadow that even the sun couldn’t force away.

“Zen, I need you to do something for me,” Raena said carefully, keeping her eyes on her reflection as Kara helped her put on her black wig.

She didn’t look at him, but she could sense his piercing gaze settling on the back of her head.

“No.” He said almost immediately. “I’m coming with you. Whatever you need, I’ll do it after I bring you back safely.

Raena waited for Kara to finish, then turned to look at him.

“I don’t have that much time to spare.”

Raena sighed, adjusting the cufflinks of the sleeves of her maid uniform. “I need you to go and replace everything you can about Lady Vega’s death. Those men that attacked me said they were here for me, so it makes no sense to kill her and her servants. And they didn’t touch any of the other concubines, so this was personal. I also need you to go and check on my family and replace out if any of them have been hurt.”

“I said no.” He replied coldly.

Raena stopped fiddling with her buttons, slowly raising her head to look at him. She gave him her coldest look, taking a few steps towards him.

“Are you disobeying my direct order, Zen?” she asked, looking him in the eyes. “I don’t need a guard who refuses to do what I ask.” His jaw tightened and his stormy gray eyes turned even sharper – like a storm that was about to destroy everything on its path. “You should know me well enough by now. I value my life very much, so if l am asking you to do this, I have calculated that my life will not be in danger. I need to know that my family is safe and I need to know what happened to Lady Vega. Just before she died she told me she had important information she wanted to share with me so I need to know what that was.”

Zen remained silent for a bit, then let out a loud sigh.

“At least take Davin with you.”

“Davin has other tasks to do.” Raena turned her back on him, going back to the full-body mirror and giving herself one last look. “Kassian’s aide has been poking his nose in our documents and finances and he is looking for something, so need Gavin to make sure everything is in order here. And I need him to figure out what sir Blaine is looking for so I can prepare ahead. He is already in my office doing that

“Then take Elene,” Zen said in an exasperated voice.

“And how is a maid going to keep me safe?” Raena frowned, trying to keep her expression of confusion. “Besides, Elene needs to stay here to take my place. I’ll be fine with Kara, two maids are of no interest to anyone. And once I am at the restaurant, there are enough bodyguards to protect me. When you are done, just meet us there and we’ll go back together.” Zen opened his mouth as if to argue some more, but Raena raised her head. “That’s enough. I know we are all on edge, but I have made my decision. With Kassian stuck in the Imperial Palace, this is a good time for me to make a few moves. I need everyone to do as they are told, not to question me constantly. I know what I am doing.”

“Fine,” Zen grumbled with displeasure. “I’ll finish as fast as I can and meet you there.” Raena nodded and he headed towards the door, stopping at its threshold. She saw him through the mirror as he looked back at her, his face twisting as if he wanted to say something more. “Stay safe.” He muttered eventually, then stepped out of the room.

Raena let out a quiet sigh, looking at Kara, Raena raised her finger and pressed it against her who was just opening her mouth to say something.

“Let’s get going,” Raena said instead, and the two headed towards the door.

The guards at the outer gate took longer than usual to verify them and their reason for leaving the residence, but in the end, they let them go. Raena kept glancing left and right to see if they were being followed, but no matter how often she looked, she couldn’t see anyone. She doubted that meant she wasn’t followed, though.

She put her hood on as they neared Ruby Street and let Kara lead her to the back alley, where one of the managers let them in and guided them to her office. After changing into one of Madam Lydia’s dresses and securing her veil, she finally turned to look at Kara.

“Can I speak freely now?” Kara asked almost immediately.

“I think this is as safe as it can get,” Raena replied, rubbing her forehead.

“What exactly is going on? Did you replace something about Zen? Is this why you warned me not to ask or talk about anything apart from the attack?”

“I have not found anything yet” Raena said. “But Lady Vega’s death. I don’t think it is a coincidence she died just as she was supposed to talk to me. Somebody wanted her silenced.” Kara’s concerned expression grew even darker, fear making its way into her eyes. “Kassian also doesn’t trust him. And.. kind of told Kassian the truth. Well, some of it.”

“What? You did2” Kara exclaimed, quickly lowering her voice and stepping closer. “How much did you tell him?”

“I told him about waking up in this body and knowing certain things about the future like us getting divorced and the Empire going to war with Craidal.”

Kara grimaced. “Did he believe you?”

“It’s too early to say. I did give him some”

“And your deal with the Empress.?” Kara irrefutable proof, but it’s still a lot to take asked carefully.

“We were interrupted just as I was getting to that. It seems not only Lady Vega was attacked, but the crown prince too. His aide said it was serious, like death bed serious. But this wasn’t supposed to happen. He was never supposed to be attacked, he was supposed to die from poison.”

“I think we established that things have already changed,” Kara murmured. “But you should have told him. Waiting any longer now will feel like hiding it and that…”

“He gave me his immunity token so no matter what I say or what I have done, with that token he can’t execute me,” Raena said quickly, and Kara’s eyes widened. “But I gave it back until we could finish our conversation. He still doesn’t trust me, so keeping it would make him even more suspicious.”

Kara continued to stare at her with a weird expression when she suddenly smiled.

“l’m happy for you.” Raena frowned, giving her a confused look.

“About telling him the truth?”

“No, about replaceing someone who is ready to go to such lengths for you. The immunity token is not only a rare and extremely important object.

For the third prince, it must be his only protection against the Empress and his enemies. Imagine, without that immunity, they could set him up and with the Emperor already hating him, he could be executed for breathing the wrong way.” Kara took a step forward, carefully putting her bandaged arm on her shoulder. “You’ve already decided to tell him the truth. Does that mean we’re helping him to avoid getting executed as well?”

“Let’s hope we’ve already done that.” Raena scoffed.

“And the restaurant?” Kara asked, raising an eyebrow. “Are you selling it?”

“That’s on hold for now. But I am definitely buying boat tickets. If things go awry, we are leaving. Which reminds me, I need to speak with Marden.” She fished the key for the secret compartment on her desk, handing it to Kara. “Get started with the ledgers, and look for any irregularities, no matter how small. I’ll go next door and I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

Kara nodded, heading towards the desk while Raena stepped out of the room, closing the door and looking in both directions. She strode to the back door, ignoring the glances her staff gave her, and slipped outside, heading for the neighboring building. As she stepped inside, it struck her how unusually quiet it was. It was already past noon and while they weren’t that busy around that time of the day, there had always been the sounds of conversation or laughter or the distant echo of m***s and screams of pleasure.

She pushed the curtains out of the way, stepping into an empty reception room. Even the bartender was missing. Raena paused, listening in for any sound to show there were people there, and after a few seconds, she picked on quiet voices coming from upstairs mixed with crying.

Raena swallowed the lump in her and, ignoring her racing heart, strode across the reception room and towards the end of the corridor where Marden’s office was. She opened the door without knocking, replaceing the insides dark and empty as well.

“Arissa?” she called as she returned to the corridor, wondering how smart of an idea it was to make such a loud noise. For a moment, nothing happened, and she was just about to head upstairs when the sound of feet running down the staircase made her tense and move closer to the wall. She watched the corner where the person was supposed to appear and let out a sigh of relief when she noticed Arissa staggering on her way, her hair a mess and her face pale with fear and lack of sleep. “What is going on here?”

“Marden, he…” the woman started, then suddenly burst into tears. She threw her hands around Raena, who stood still, unsure of what to do or what was going on. She had never seen Arissa without her ironic smirk or perfectly arranged hair and clothes, so to see her sobbing in her shoulder and trembling likea leaf was unsettling.

“Calm down, Arissa,” Raena said, patting her on the back. “Calm down and tell me what happened. I can’t help if I don’t know what is going on. Take a deep breath and look at me.” The red-haired woman pulled away, wiping her face with the back of her hand and taking a deep breath.

“That’s it, that’s it. What happened?”

For a moment, Arissa looked like she was going to start crying again, but then she closed her eyes and let out a long, heavy sigh.

“Two nights ago, there was a murder at the brothel. Somebody stabbed Hale to death in his room, then jumped out of the window.” She said in a shaky voice. “When Marden found out he…” she paused, her l!ps quivering, “he went out to see if he could catch the guy and…

“And what? What happened?” Raena asked impatiently, her skin bristling with tension.

“He was stabbed in the back just outside the building,” Arissa said before bursting into tears again.

“ls he..?” Raena asked breathlessly. reaching out to lean on the wall before her feet gave in from underneath her. Arissa shook her head, then tried to say something, but her words were entirely incomprehensible. “Where is he? Is he here?” Arissa shook her head again, saying something, but the only thing Raena understood was the word ‘home’. “Arissa, pick yourself together. You need to take care of the others. They are probably just as worried and afraid. This is your job, the job Marden gave you. Do your job properly so when he comes back, he wouldn’t be complaining again. I’m going to see him.”

Arissa’s head bobbed in a nod, but she continued to sob in her hands. Raena pushed herself off the wall and strode back to the restaurant, heading directly for her office. As she pushed the door open and entered the room, Kara raised her head from the papers she was looking at, her frown turning into a concerned expression.

“Marden was attacked two nights ago,” Raena said in a shaky voice. “The same night I was, This has to be the Empress. She is going to make her move soon, and she is getting rid of all the obstacles”

Kara’s face turned white, and she slowly sat back in her seat, l!cking her l!ps.

“I’m going to see Marden if he is still alive,” Raena announced. “You stay here and keep checking. “I’ll post a guard outside. If Zen comes before I’m back, tell him you don’t know where I am.

“Raena, I know you care about Marden, but it’s too risky. What if…”

“He was hurt because of me, Kara. If he dies, it’s on me.”