"You're back." Raphael sighed in relief and gently brushed her head. For a moment, he was afraid that he lost his wife under the influence of his father's magic. It worried him to see Rowena go through this.
The Seventh Prince wanted to accept the punishment of his father and prove that they could overcome this challenge he was giving them, but it was unnecessary to bully Rowena this much.
Why did it seem like his father, the king, didn't want to give Rowena a chance?
As far as Raphael could see, the King of Cretea was no longer testing his wife but simply tormenting her at this point. It fueled him with anger as he looked at his poor wife.
"Did I… did I really go somewhere?" Rowena asked as she felt her eyes brim with tears. The brave front she had was breaking down fast. "I don't know what's going on anymore, Raphael. You were gone, everyone was gone and I…"
"What happened right now?" one of the gods complained as he pulled out an arrow from his shoulder. He winced but immediately started to heal once he took the arrow out. "We are not the targets."
"What's wrong with your wife—" a goddess swallowed her words at the dark look that Raphael sent her.
"Be more careful," another said.
Raphael picked his wife up and carried her in his arms. He gently whispered in her ear and asked. "Rowena, I am going to take you back home. Is that alright with you?"
Her entire face was flushed with embarrassment and shame. Rowena hung her head and clung to her husband. She knew that she caused a mess and didn't want to put her husband in jeopardy any longer. She whispered, "Let us go."
The two immediately disappeared and returned to their residence.
***
Raphael gently placed his wife back on the bed and kissed her forehead. "Rowena, I'm going to see my father today. This has gone on far too long enough."
"What… what do you mean?" Rowena stared up at him confused.
Raphael hesitated and shook his head. "It is not for you to worry about, wifey."
"From how you're speaking, it seems to be related to me, isn't it?" Rowena smiled sadly. "We left the event without another word. I'm not sure, but the damage around the vicinity was caused by me, right?"
"I… I cannot tell you." Raphael held his tongue and looked painfully at his wife.
It hurt to keep secrets from her because deep down inside of him, he knew that his wife loved him. If he could have taken her away from Cretea and kept her safe, he would have done it.
Rowena looked down in frustration and said. "I understand. I apologize for causing you much trouble today, yesterday… every time."
"Please wait for me. I will do my best to take care of the matter at hand." Raphael lifted his wife's chin. "It is not your fault, Rowena."
Rowena took a deep breath and shook her head. "You need to let me take responsibility for my actions, Raphael. I know you love me and I love you too… but it was wrong for me to ask help from you."
"No. Don't say that." Raphael looked seriously at her. "Even if you had asked, I was the one who said yes. I decided to intercede on your behalf so let me handle it, alright? I will be back as soon as I can."
"Raphael—" Rowena watched the man disappear before she said another word.
She clenched her fists in frustration and stayed in bed. She was still bothered, but she wanted to respect her husband's decisions.
A part of her already wanted to head back to the King of Cretea's main palace and throne room. She wanted to go there and ask for her due punishment again, but she knew that it would upset Raphael.
The Seventh Prince cared so much about her that she felt undeserving of his love and the lengths he was going through for her sake.
"What can I even do for him?" Rowena muttered bitterly.
She slowly stood up and went out of their bedroom.
When Rowena stepped out of her room though, she was suddenly surprised by the appearance of a witch. It was an old hag in the room and she immediately backed against the door.
"W-Who are you?"
Rowena didn't know that the old hag she saw was actually the most beautiful goddess of Cretea, Nymia. She came here personally to check on the situation and pretended to show sympathy to Raphael for the commotion that happened earlier.
Nymia stared at Rowena in frustration but understood that the mind-destroying potion she asked from the High Goddess was working.
Why did Nymia still come here though?
"Where is Raphael?" Nymia asked. She wanted to talk with him and probably be a helpful friend to him. The others were frustrated with Raphael, but she hadn't given up on him at all.
"I…" Rowena bit down on her lip, but firmly narrowed her eyes. "What is it to you?!"
Nymia knew about the deadline and the test given to Rowena. She saw how Raphael reacted during Rowena's little outburst that caused physical damage and ruined the party. She was secretly happy that it seemed like her plan worked.
The deadline was fast approaching, yet Rowena's condition just became worse and worse. Nymia felt bad for Raphael but she told herself this was for Raphael's own good.
The man had been so blinded by his love for this wicked wench Rowena that he couldn't see and think right.
When she realized that Raphael was not around, Nymia secretly felt happy. This would give her an opportunity to talk with Rowena and make her understand how she had destroyed Raphael's life by insisting to be here with him.
"You know, you're better off not here, Rowena." Nymia hissed at her. "You're not deserving of Raphael's love and you're nothing more but someone who used him to ascend here."
Rowena flinched at her words and shook her head. "That's not true."
Nymia couldn't help but feel vindicated and justified and she raised a finger. "You know it's true. You're a mess, a disgrace and you will never measure up to Raphael. Why are you staying at a place where you're not welcome?"
"Raphael wants me here! And I love him." Rowena stared up at Nymia and frowned. "The opinion of everyone else doesn't matter at all. Even if everyone hates me here… as long as we both love each other."
"So you insist on staying here even when you know you're nothing in Cretea?" Nymia asked. "Even when you know that you're endangering Raphael by staying at his side? You're a filthy and pathetic leech."
"What do you mean by endangering Raphael?" Rowena immediately stepped forward and approached Nymia. She was still seeing a witch mocking and cackling at her, but the mention of Raphael mattered more than anything.
"Your presence here is a danger to us all." Nymia clenched her fist and then smiled. "More than that, I presume that he's talking with his father right now, isn't he?"
If Rowena overheard the mention of the test, it would nullify it, wouldn't it?
Wicked and crooked teeth met Rowena's gaze as the witch bared a smile at her and yet the immediate thing that came to her mind was that she needed to find Raphael. She pushed past the witch and went for the door.
"I should have come with him," Rowena muttered underneath her breath and ran out of the house. "You're as stupid as ever, Rowena. Why didn't I insist on coming with him?"
She didn't know what exactly was going to happen, but if Raphael was truly in any sort of danger because of her, she wanted to stop it.
Her husband was going to take more punishment for her sake, wouldn't he?
That was why Raphael told her to have faith in him and trust in him.
Rowena had been a complete wreck at the party and now Raphael was going to clean up her mess, wasn't he?
She couldn't let it happen. It didn't take too long for Rowena to arrive at the King of Cretea's temple. She quickly ascended up the stairs and heard the words that broke her.
"If you insist again, Raphael. I will banish you, my son."
