Chapter 32: Paragon In The Bed

"What?"

Stella froze where she stood, her expression twisting between confusion and anger as she stared at Elias. Her brows drew together, and she asked, "What did you just say?"

Elias gestured toward the larger bed and calmly said, "It would be better for you to take a seat."

"I am not a child," Stella responded sharply, crossing her arms over her chest. "Tell me what you meant by that?"

Elias sighed before answering, "Ten years ago, your father instigated a coup against the Duke, and he obviously lost. To punish the Bloodfang Clan who had supported the coup, everyone except you was killed."

Stella’s expression darkened as she lowered her gaze, and after several seconds, she mumbled somberly, "He really went ahead with it, huh..."

Hearing those words, Elias furrowed his brows and asked, "You were aware that he was going to do that?"

Stella’s eyes immediately sharpened, and she looked at him suspiciously.

"Why are you telling me everything so easily?" she asked.

"Ah..." Elias rubbed the back of his head before answering, "Well, you see, for the past ten years you haven’t been in your right mind, and just a few days ago you were wed to me."

"Huh?"

Stella’s jaw opened as she stared at him, and then she blurted out, "Married? What the fuck are you talking about?"

Elias simply shrugged.

"I had no choice in the matter."

Stella frowned deeply before her gaze shifted toward Natasha, who remained seated quietly on the bed. She studied the silent woman for a few moments before looking back at Elias.

"Who is she?" Stella asked.

Elias let out a nervous laugh and replied, "She is also my wife."

Stella’s jaw fell open even wider.

"So you are saying that I am married to my second-cousin, who is also a bastard, and to top that, he also has a second wife?" she muttered, her voice becoming increasingly incredulous. "What the hell happened to me?"

A wry smile appeared on Elias’s face.

’Would she kill me if I told her about Monica?’ he wondered.

Stella noticed his expression almost immediately.

Her eyes narrowed, and her brows knitted together as she asked, "Why are you making that face?"

Elias hovered a closed hand before his face and let out a forced cough.

"What face?"

She gave him a deadpan look. "You are still doing it."

He forced himself not to smile, but for some reason the situation was more exciting than he had expected.

He looked at her and said, "I have one more wife."

Stella blinked and remained silent for several seconds before slowly muttering, "You have three wives...?"

Elias nodded, and she stared at him before she narrowed her eyes.

"Are you a Paragon in the bed or something?"

Elias’s lips twitched, and he looked away from her before he bit his lower lip tightly to make sure he wouldn’t laugh.

’Paragon in the bed...’ he mumbled inwardly. ’It does have a nice ring to it.’

Stella continued staring at him as though she were trying to determine whether he was being serious.

After a moment, however, her attention shifted back toward Natasha.

Natasha had been watching the two of them with a deep frown, her golden eyes moving between Elias and Stella as she tried to understand what they were discussing.

Stella noticed her expression and frowned as well.

"Why is she not saying anything, and why is she... like that?" she asked, her brows furrowing. The woman on the bed had deep burnt scars running across her skin.

They were as though she had been standing at the center of a tornado of flames.

Elias’s expression turned somber for a moment before he looked toward Natasha and smiled gently.

"Natasha cannot hear or speak," he said, his eyes softening.

"Oh..." Stella whispered, a trace of pity in her voice.

Her eyes lingered on Natasha for a moment before she suddenly glared at Elias.

"What kind of sick thing did you do to her?"

His lips dropped immediately, and he turned to her.

"What are you talking about?" he asked. "I did nothing to her."

Stella crossed her arms across her chest, narrowed her eyes, and said while glaring at him with her sharp crimson eyes, "Those scars tell me a different story."

Elias shifted his gaze to the scars covering Natasha’s body, and immediately understood the misunderstanding.

Stella had probably misunderstood that he was the one who had caused the scars across her body.

’Do I look like someone who would do something so cruel?’ He wondered before he shook his head and explained slowly, "I am not the reason behind her scars."

"Natasha was a spiritualist prodigy recognized by the Sun Church itself."

"She was going to be the next saintess of the Sun Church and become a pillar of the kingdom. But five years ago, a ritual went wrong, and her spiritual power became chaotic. It burnt her spiritual veins and body, taking away her powers as a spiritualist and her ability to hear or speak."

"Those scars are markings of that failure... of that dreadful day."

Stella’s expression changed, and the suspicion disappeared from her eyes.

She slowly glanced toward Natasha and studied her scars before fixing her gaze onto her face.

"Poor girl..." Stella whispered in a sympathetic tone.

Natasha found the two staring at her with frowns, and all she could do was tilt her head in confusion.

Stella glanced at Elias from the corner of her eye and saw him smiling at Natasha.

It was clear that he was trying to keep her comfortable.

’Can I trust him?’ She asked herself. She didn’t know if he was lying or telling the truth about the coup because, for her, it had yet to happen.

However, regarding everything that he had said and done until now. She couldn’t help but think that he was telling the truth.

’Did I really lose my mind after the coup?’ She wondered.

She clenched her left fist and decided to trust him for now.

"Yes," she said as she turned to him. "I was already aware of the coup."