His Highness's Second Wife
His Highness’s Second Wife Chapter 79

Raena turned the key twice, glancing over her shoulder to make sure there was nobody in the hallway. Marden had given her his set of keys and since she didn’t want to run into Zen in case he was already back, she had sneaked into the eerily quiet brothel wearing the maid clothes.

She pushed the door at the end of the corridor of the third floor open, wincing as it creaked loudly, and snuck inside. Closing it as quietly as possible, she pressed her ear to the wood and listened for any noise of people coming after her. Not that she wasn’t allowed in the brothel rooms – she doubted anyone would even think to stop her – but if word got out she was snooping in the dead guy’s room, as Marden said, the killer might get a wind of it. Moreover, she wasn’t wearing her disguise, so that could also complicate things.

Raena looked around the room, her eyes stopping on the big dark spot on the floor that, even in the poor light, stood out. The smell of b***d had receded, but she could still catch it as she stepped further into the room.

Circling the dark spot, she strode to the window, pulling the curtains to let the last of the daylight in. Once the room basked in sunlight, the feeling of dread and danger subsided a little, but didn’t completely disappear. Raena took a deep breath and headed for the bed – the covers were wrinkled and messy, a faint smell of sweat and god knows what else rising from them since nobody must have bothered to change them since the attack. She winced as she pulled them off, shaking them in the air to make sure there was nothing hidden among them. She let them drop to the ground, checking the pillows as well before discarding them.

Raena grabbed the edge of the mattress, pushing it up with a grunt, then bent and looked under it and over the mattress frame, eyes searching for the ‘note’ Marden had mentioned. She let the mattress drop, then went on the other side, doing the same.

Still, no note.

Raena took a couple of steps back, putting her hands on her h**s and glaring at the bed. Hale probably had hidden it well somewhere. If it was indeed holding some sensitive information, he wouldn’t have left it where anyone could find it.

Where would I hide it if it were me? She wondered, stepping back to the bed and running a hand over the side of the mattress, looking for any holes or tears. When she found nothing, she dropped to her knees, checking under the bed.

There was just enough space for her to sneak underneath, so she did, twisting her head and looking up at the frame.

Still, no note.

Raena was just crawling backwards when one of the boards creaked loudly under her palm. She froze, listening in for steps or the sound of the door opening. The entire floor remained quiet and somber. This gave her an idea, though.

Raena reached out, sliding her hand over the even surface, ignoring the dust and dirt that gathered under her palm. When her fingers finally hitched on the edge of the board, she slid closer to it, grabbing it with her fingernails and pulling. The wood resisted for a second, then it came up with a creak, revealing a small hole underneath. The light didn’t come under the bed, so the hole was entirely dark no matter how long she looked at it. Trying not to imagine all the spiders, cockroaches, and other bugs that could fit in there, she put her hand in, searching the space for any objects. When her finger brushed against something, she squirmed, gritting her teeth and pulling her hand out along – with the object. She looked at it, hoping it’s not alive, and let out a relieved sigh as she saw a crumpled piece of paper hanging between her fingers.

She could see the writing on it, but it was too dark to distinguish much – she caught the words ‘anniversary’ and ‘plan’, but the rest was either written too small or covered with a thin layer of dirt that made it unreadable in these conditions.

She was just sliding out when her ears picked up on a noise and she froze, turning her head just in time to see the door opening. Raena gasped in panic, her heart beating like crazy in her chest. A pair of feet slowly walked into the room, turning to face the bed. Whoever that was, there was no way they wouldn’t see her. Half of her feet were sticking out from under the bed, and so did her skirts. But they didn’t pull her out or attacked her, so there was a chance they weren’t going to.

Raena swallowed her fear, sliding the paper in her cleavage and pulling out the massive ring with Marden’s family crest she had borrowed from him. Her excuse in case anyone caught her snooping was that she was looking for Marden’s ring so he could be buried with it as the last of his line- a hollow lie, but it was the best she could come up on the spot.

She tightened her hand around the ring and crawled from under the bed, sitting up and dusting her hands and the top of her dress. The man that had walked in didn’t say a word or made a sound, so she continued to pretend not to notice him, opening her hand to look at the ring. When she was sure they had noticed the jewelry, she pushed herself to her feet, dusting her skirts to the best of her abilities before turning around.

She didn’t even have to fake her surprised scream as she found herself almost face to face with Zen. She hadn’t heard him move closer, and she surely didn’t expect to see him here, of all people. How did he even know she was here?

Unless.

“Holy mother of.” she cursed, but quickly covered her mouth and closed her eyes. “Zen, what the hell? Why are you sneaking on me like that? You almost scared me to death!”

“Why? What were you doing?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I was looking for this piece of crap,” Raena murmured, raising the ring between her thumb and forefinger. “But that’s not the point. We are in a dead guy’s room – you can’t just walk in without making a sound and stand behind people. I thought you were a ghost!”

“The door creaked, I’ll figured you heard,” I said, glancing towards the stripped bed and the sheets lying on the floor by it.

“Well, I didn’t. Goddamn, can this day turn any worse?” She said quickly, letting out a tired sigh. “How did you know I was here?”

“You weren’t at the restaurant so I figured you came here.” He said, returning his eyes back to her. “Arissa told me you’re here. So you heard about Marden?”

Arissa? She doesn’t know I am here. Raena wanted to say, but instead, she let her head drop, nodding

“I heard. l even went to his house to see if there was something I could do, but it turns out he died last night. His butler was arranging for the funeral so he asked me to find his family ring – as last of his bloodline, he is supposed to be buried with it. This happened so fast.. I can’t fathom who would want to kill him.”

“He must have had a lot of enemies with his debts and now his success of this place… He should have been more careful.” Zen said in an entirely unsympathetic voice. Raena glared at him and he sighed. “I’m sorry. He was your friend. I won’t speak ill of the dead. When is the funeral?

“The butler said he’ll inform me when everything was arranged,” Raena said, looking away and heading towards the door.

“Wait,” Zen called, grabbing her hand.

Raena turned to look at him, raising her eyebrows, when she noticed his hand moving towards the top of her dress – more specifically, towards the edge of her cleavage where she had slipped the paper. Her first instinct was to pull back, but she forced herself to stand still, staring at his face instead. He wasn’t smiling – he was smiling less and less lately, even when they were alone – but there was no dangerous spark in his eyes or that expression that made her afraid even though he had never even squeezed her hand too hard.

Zen’s fingers locked on the embroidered hem of her dress and she held her breath, waiting to see what he will do, when he jerked his hand away.

He raised his hands, holding his thumb and forefinger together as if there was something between them.

“There was a spider.” He said, opening his finger to show the squashed body of the spider in question. Raena made a disgusted face, looking down at her hands and shoulders in search of more. She ran her hands over them, feeling their non-existence presence, shuddering at the thought.

“If you don’t like spiders, don’t push yourself into the spaces where they live. Next time, ask me. I’m here to follow your orders, even if they are to crawl under a bed and scare the spiders. After all, there is no use of a guy who can’t follow orders, right?”

“Zen…” Raena said awkwardly. She didn’t like the look in his eyes, like he was testing her reaction to his self-pity. She had to give him the right answer – at least until she knew more about him, more about what he was doing. His presence here, in this room, and his lie about Arissa telling him of her whereabouts – it made her even more sure that she should have her guard up every time he was around. “I’m sorry. I was just on edge after the attack and I took it on you. You’re not useless.”

“That’s good to hear” Zen said, smiling for the first time. He took a step towards her, raising his hand and taking something out of her hair, throwing it away. She was just opening her mouth to thank him again when she noticed him leaning down as if planning to k**s her. Her surprise lasted only a second, then her body reacted instinctively, and she turned her head aside. His breath tickled her cheek, but she stood perfectly still, barely breathing.

“Next time,” Zen whispered in her ear, don’t go gallivanting around the city alone, making me search for you. We don’t want you getting kidnapped or anything, do you?”

“Y-yes,” Raena said breathlessly, forcing a smile to her face. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I didn’t think, I just had to see if it was true..”

“That’s unlike you,” Zen said, stepping away from her. “You’ve been doing a lot of ‘not thinking’ these days. I wonder what’s on your mind so much.” Raena was just trying to figure out what to answer when he circled her and headed for the door, opening it. “Let’s go get Kara and I’ll tell you what I found on that way.”

Raena nodded, following him silently in the corridor. He didn’t wait for her, nor did he turn, so she watched his broad back and stiff shoulders for any indication of what he was planning until they finally reached her office. As they reached it and Zen opened the door, they found Kara sitting on one of the couches, reading a book. The documents from earlier were nowhere in sight, and the place looked as tidy and clean as always.

“We’re leaving,” Zen announced, not even bothering to enter the room. Kara got to her feet, setting the book on the sofa.

“I need to use the chamber pot, so can you two wait for me outside?” Raena asked, and the two nodded, stepping out of her office. She waited for their steps to fade away, then pulled the paper out of her bosom, sending a silent prayer for no more spiders. She straightened it as quietly as possible, moving closer to the desk where one of the candles was still flickering on the last of its wax. She brought the paper to the light, narrowing her eyes at the small, uneven letters.

“Sir Marden, if you are reading this, that means something has happened to me. I should have been more careful and insis ted on you providing me protection. I know you would have, you are a good person. But l guess it’s too late now.

That is why I want to warn you – DO NOT attend the Empire’s Anniversary ball. A few nights ago, I was heading for my room where I had my usual appointment with Prince Rissen when I overheard voices. There was someone in the room with the prince and they were talking about the Anniversary ball where the second person was supposed to assassinate the crown prince. They said that even if the third prince lives after the ball, it wouldn’t be for long. Madam Lydia’s name was mentioned too, but I wasn’t able to hear the rest The second prince mentioned the word ‘rebels,’ so I think he might be working with them. Also. “the last part looked even more unreadable, as if he added it in a hurry or with a trembling hand. Raena bent down, trying to see the words better.”

The voice of the person in the room with the prince sounded very familiar. He had a soft accent, but it wasn’t from the Empire, and l am sure I have heard it before. Please watch your back, there may be enemies closer than you think. “Raena covered her mouth, closing her eyes. She knew the Empress was colluding with nobles from the other regions, but Craidal, too? In a way, that made so much sense. They were still disgruntled about the war and they probably wanted the Imperial family dead more than anyone.

This was all so much more complicated than the book suggested.. But it was such a bold move, it could only mean the story was nearing its culmination. But if that was the case, this meant Kassian and Yulien were going to die soon. Even with the changed timeline, this would be the perfect time to..

‘They said that even if the third prince lives’ the words after the ball, it wouldn’t be for long echoed in her head, her chest tightening. They were planning to pin it all on Kassian. In the book, there were surprisingly few details about the charge under which Kassian was found guilty of treason out colluding with the enemy, as stupid as it sounded, was reason enough. This meant…

An impatient knock came from the door and she jumped, looking back to make sure nobody was opening it. She then glanced back at the note and moved its edge towards the flame, watching it as the fire licked the paper and quickly devoured the rest. She let it fall into the metal plate she kept there for this purpose, waiting until the last of it turned to ash before heading back towards the door.

As she stepped outside with her heart still racing in her chest, she noticed Zen standing with his hands crossed by the door and Kara waiting patiently by the opposite wall. Raena frowned, trying to keep her voice steady.

“Don’t you know you should never rush a lady when she is doing her business?” She mumbled, closing the door and locking it. “Let’s go home. I have some work to do.”