Chapter 97: Rumors
The Villden mansion stood tall and huge in another part of the capital city. The Villden’s household was busy with servants moving up and down the halls doing their morning cleaning, while so were attending to the daughters of the Duke. As everyone were doing their morning routine. At another part of the mansion, in Rhea’s foster mother, Irene’s room. The atmosphere was different.
The room was brightly lit with the golden rays of the morning sun that poured in through the open windows.
Irene paced restlessly in the center of the room. She wore an ordinary dress, despite being a wife to a Duke, her face was plain, but laced with worry. Ever since the news of Rhea missing with her husband had reached them, Irene had been unable to rest. Her nephew, Cal, had just reported to her that soone had spotted Rhea in the city.
Cal sat on a sofa with a worried expression on his handso face as well. He had grown up in the Villden mansion, and had known Rhea his entire life, it just so happened that he had been away for a long ti and at that ti, she was forced to marry the general in place of Zoorah. If he were around, he wouldn’t have let that happen, and now that he was back, he was t with the news that she had gone missing with her so called husband.
"If it was really Rhea that was spotted in the city...I doubt that she’d ever want to co back to this mansion, where she considered a hellhole." Irene remarked, she’d been the one to foster Rhea, and also knew how her mind works, the Villden mansion would be the last place she’d want to return to after leaving.
Cal replied, concerned, "We can’t just let her be, Aunt Irene. She’s our family, and she might be in danger being on her own in the capital city. You know how Rhea is, what if she gets into trouble? I have to find her." He couldn’t just sit still after knowing she was in the city now, no matter what others say, Rhea was still a Villden, and she still had a ho here. Furthermore, if no one would accept her, he was ready to take her back with him.
Irene stopped pacing and turned to face Cal, her expression stern yet filled with concern. She sighed,"Cal, you must understand... Rhea is different. She’s always been headstrong, smart. Not even I, can control her, no matter how hard i try. If she’s not coming back, then it’s best if we let her be."
Cal glanced at his aunt with a deep frown, "What? How can you say that, Aunt Irene? She’s all alone out there, she’s probably starving and sleeping out on the streets or even worse. We don’t know what went wrong with that so called general, and why she’s back." He said and stood up from the chair, "I won’t rest until I find her and bring her back ho, safe."
Irene walked towards Cal and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. She then spoke softly, "I know you’ve cared for her deeply ever since she was little, Cal. As do I. But sotis, we have to let go and trust that she’ll find her way back to us if she wants to. We can’t force her to do anything against her will."
Cal looked torn, his expression reflecting his inner struggle. But he faced Irene with determination. "I can’t just sit around and do nothing, Aunt Irene. I’ll find Rhea, no matter what it takes. She doesn’t deserve to suffer alone, I’ll try to bring her back, and if she doesn’t want to co back here, I’ll take her far away from here then."
Irene watched her nephew with a mix of worry and admiration. She knew he was also stubborn, when he set his mind on sothing, he wouldn’t give up until he achieved just that. And now that he was set on finding Rhea, he wouldn’t give up until he found her. Irene sighed, "Very well, Cal. If you must go, promise
you’ll be careful. And rember, don’t force her if she doesn’t want to co back. It’s her life, let her make her own choices. She’s old enough to decide, she’s no longer your little Rhea."
"Thanks Aunt Irene, I’ll get going now. I promise, she won’t refuse to co with . Take care of yourself while I’m gone." With that, he leaned over and hugged his aunt before he left the room to go prepared for his search for Rhea.
***
For several days, Rhea experienced occasional chest pain. During this ti, she hardly consud any als prepared by the kitchen staff, except for the ones Draven made for her each morning as he had promised. Upon waking up every morning, she would eagerly pull Draven towards the kitchen and impatiently demand, "I want chicken soup, please prepare it for ." Acting like a spoiled child, she would tug at his sleeve, and he would silently oblige, cooking for her while she eagerly waited until he finished.
This went on for days, as Rhea’s injuries hadn’t completely healed yet. The Den Of Pleasure had a lot of rooms for them, thus Rhea didn’t think of leaving any ti soon, nor did she bother to go check on the new house gifted to her by Valen as a reward. Draven also didn’t seem to be in a hurry to find his Dragon form. He didn’t even bring up the matter with Rhea. Hence, she also didn’t bother to ask him about it, she just enjoyed her ti doing nothing for now.
Rhea enjoyed peaceful days until so sudden news arrived this morning. The news was about Edmund’s death, which had started spreading throughout the capital city. As a result, the Emperor initiated a serious investigation into the events of that day.
Although Valen claid that his stepfather had been killed by skilled assassins, the Emperor proceeded with the investigation. Days went by as they gathered clues to identify the culprit. However, they were still uncertain, but several rumors about the real culprit started circulating.
According to so, a dragon was to bla for Edmund’s death, while others thought assassins were responsible. However, a new rumor began circulating that a woman with silver hair had been seen and was suspected of being the murderer. The only person in Birhhan with such hair color was Rheanna Villden. Despite the news spreading, there was no evidence to prove her guilt as everyone believed she was no longer in the capital city. Therefore, no one could hold her accountable at this ti.
Nevertheless, even after Rhea heard the news, she didn’t take it seriously as she knew they had no evidence. She causally sat with Aria on the balcony drinking the chicken soup Draven had made for her as she listened to Aria tell her about the rumors. Rhea didn’t look away from her bowl until it was empty. She glanced up at Aria and said,
"It’s just gossip, don’t let it bother you. Moreover, everyone still believes that I’m no longer in the capital city, so let them continue spreading it. You shouldn’t worry about , but Valen, who is also a main suspect in this and is currently being investigated."
Rhea looked down at her empty bowl of soup wishfully, then turned to look at Draven, who was casually sitting on the couch, seemingly unaffected by their conversation about the rumors. He even played chess against himself with an indifferent expression.
Rhea then asked, "Draven, will you be making another chicken soup for dinner?"
Draven shot her a brief glance and continued playing his ga, as if he didn’t hear her words. He completely ignored her.
Rhea frowned, calling him "Ice cube!"
Aria smiled and said, "Rhea, you’ve already eaten a lot today. If you don’t eat less, you will gain weight and have trouble moving quickly." She comnted, but Rhea seed unaffected by her words and continued to stare at the empty bowl, as if hoping the chicken soup would magically appear. Aria sighed and said, "Rhea, you seem more concerned about the food than the news." She lightly tapped Rhea’s forehead and added, "You seem to enjoy getting into trouble. If you still want to stay in the capital after hearing this news, you need to be extrely careful. Otherwise, if soone sees you, no one will be able to protect you from being executed."
Rhea still brushed Aria’s worried words away like it was nothing, and simply nodded her head, "I understand, Aria, don’t worry, I’m smart enough to escape if I get caught." She nudged Aria’s arm, "Thanks for always caring about ."
Aria smiled, her gaze montarily moved towards Draven, he just happened to be looking at Rhea from the corner of his eyes at that mont, he seed deep in thought. However, when his eyes t Aria’s, he acted like he had been caught red-handed, and looked down at his chess board. Nevertheless, he didn’t continue to play and stared blankly at the board.
Aria found it amusing that he seed to worry about the rumors as well, and cared for Rhea. She smiled faintly, perhaps in the future she wouldn’t be the only one to love and care for this crazy friend of hers, who always took serious matters like they were nothing.
Rhea acted nonchalant towards the news, unknown to her that in a few weeks, it would turn out to be a huge problem for her.
The next day, Rhea realized that she hadn’t stepped out of the grounds of The Den Of Pleasure for quite awhile now. She thought she’d need so fresh air outside since her injuries had healed. Thus, she prepared to go out to the market and buy a few things for herself. After all, she would soon beco a houseowner, it would be best to start preparing now before the day she’d depart from Draven and start her own life.
Rhea used the magical item Aria had gifted her to change her hair color before leaving for the market. She reached the market and began to mull over what she should buy. But suddenly, a tall figure blocked her path, her attention fixed on the fresh fruit stall and didn’t notice the person’s presence. The person only moved when she was about to bump into him, and reached out to grab her arm.
However, Rhea instinctively evaded the hand that attempted to seize her and was prepared to twist the person’s arm. Nevertheless, the person was highly skilled, swiftly spinning around and grasping her waist from behind. Rhea was ready to retaliate when the person spoke, "Relax, little bun, it’s ."
The person’s voice caused Rhea to freeze instantly, her body ceasing its movents. She swiftly turned around and saw the person’s face. Her eyes widened in astonishnt.
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