Chapter 161: Cart Before the Horse
"I was a wanderer," Ralph breezily replied. "Before I joined the army, I spent a lot of my youth exploring the world. Raxuvia has always been one of my favorites."
Soleia narrowed her eyes at such a blase answer. It raised more questions than she was comfortable with. For a start, Sir Ralph couldn’t have been that old to begin with. What sort of parent would let their son gallivant around different kingdoms?
Soleia frowned. She had her suspicions, and none of them boded well for Sir Ralph’s home life. His family would have to be neglectful, or they simply had too many children to care for one extra mouth to feed. But it did seem strange that they would let an able-bodied son leave― normally, they’d be enlisted to help the family.
Rafael caught the furrow between Soleia’s brows and gently rubbed his finger around the creases. "Princess, don’t sulk. You’ll have wrinkles."
"I’m not sulking," Soleia said instinctively. "I’m just thinking. Since you’re courting me, I should know more about your family. Are your parents still alive? We could pay them a visit."
Rafael choked. He would never want that to happen in a million years. "I’d prefer not to. My mother has passed, and my father... let’s just say he’s something like your own."
In more ways than one. Both of them had rather hefty crowns on top of their skulls.
"Truth be told, he’d rather I’d leave the family for good," Rafael confessed. "Soleia, to be honest with you, I am actually a noble’s bastard son."
"You are?" Soleia gasped. Then she mentally kicked herself for not noticing earlier. "I should have guessed. You’re very knowledgeable about many subjects, and you have... well... magic."