Drevan and Rhea agreed on going to the cave the next day as they had to return to the Qielden residence before it turned dark. Sila also volunteered to tag along the next day, so they made plans to meet each other at the edge of the forest the next morning.
At the time when the sun was descending behind the horizon, Rhea and Draven reached the Qielden residence. However, Draven hadn't spoken a word to Rhea on their way back, and the moment they stepped inside the house, he went straight to Jurian grandmother's room to check on the old woman as usual.
Meanwhile, Rhea went straight to eat her dinner, she had been too preoccupied with Rinus' case she hadn't gotten to eat her lunch. She devoured her food with her mind clear. Now that her inner snow flurry was back, her mind and heart felt more at ease, it made her feel more alive and more like herself.
Upon completing her meal, Rhea remained in the dining room until she had completely satisfied her appetite, evident through her dress hugging tightly around her waist due to overconsumption. The journey back to her room was difficult, where she struggled to even bathe and change into her nightwear before finally collapsing onto the bed, facing upwards, with her stomach bloated from overeating.
Her stomach felt so full she couldn't stand up to walk around to digest her food.
"Ha, surely one shouldn't be greedy enough to consume this much..." she murmured while patting her bloated stomach, but almost immediately the door creaked open and the stone faced Draven walked in.
Rhea turned her head to his direction, but he walked in without giving her any regard. He headed towards the table, where he poured himself a glass of water and drank it all at once. As she observed him, Rhea couldn't help but notice how his Adam's apple moved in a fascinating manner. She marveled at how effortlessly beautiful he looked. How could one look this pretty without even trying? She thought to herself while also scanning his body. it seemed like he had taken a shower in a separate room as he wore his typical black night attire, and his hair still bore traces of dampness.
All of a sudden, Draven shifted his gaze towards her, as if sensing her eyes on him. He confidently made his way towards the bed, although she averted her gaze swiftly, she couldn't ignore his nearness on the bed. Her heart suddenly skipped a beat when she felt the edge of the bed pressed in. Before she could ask him what he was doing, he forcefully pulled the blanket under her body with such vigor that it almost caused her to throw up the food in her stomach,
"Ouch! Couldn't you just ask me to hand it to you?!" She glared at him while rubbing her stomach as if soothing a child.
However, Dravan ignored her and grabbed a pillow and the blanket. As usual, he lay the blanket on the floor and dropped the pillow.
"Ahh, my stomach feels too full!" Rhea wailed on the bed as she made an attempt to turn, "it's so uncomfortable and tight. Why won't it go down?!"
Draven's eyebrows furrowed as he gave Rhea a pointed look, clearly irritated by her constant wailing. "You're becoming rather bothersome," he remarked dryly, "If you don't want to end up resembling a human pig, I suggest you refrain from eating so much before returning to the room and disturbing my quiet night." He said indifferently, he then laid down and placed his head on the pillow, "Stop wailing and go to sleep."
Rhea heard him and flipped over on the bed to face Draven's direction. She wanted to retort to his remarks of indirectly calling her a 'human pig' but then remembered something.
"You aren't planning on sleeping on the floor with that fresh wound on your back, are you?"
"So?" He deadpanned, "What does it concern you?"
Rhea's lips pulled up, she chuckled in amusement, "If your face wasn't this handsome, I would've made you my daily punching sack because of your rude tone." She swung her feet down the bed, "Come on, the bed is huge enough for both of us, you can sleep on this side while I take the other side."
Draven frowned deeply.
Upon noticing his expression, she put on her shoes and walked towards him on the floor, she then crouched down beside him, "What's with that look you're giving me? I'm being kind enough to let you share the bed with me and yet you're glaring at me?"
With his usual emotionless demeanor, Draven turned away and shut his eyes, letting out a cold snort, "Kindness is not something I require." However, before settling into his sleeping position, Rhea suddenly struck his wounded back, causing him to quickly jolt awake. As he opened his eyes, he noticed her hand suspended in the air, seemingly preparing to deliver another blow to his back.
Draven frowned, but before he could speak, Rhea used the hand in the air to gently pat his shoulder while forcing a smile as if she hadn't just hit him. He glared at her with slight irritation. The injury on his back radiated pain due to her hit, however, he was already used to paying no heed to any physical pain for a long time, so the one on his back was nothing to him.
With both hands planted firmly on either side of his head on the floor, Rhea leaned forward abruptly. Draven's face twisted into a frown, "What are you doing?" Her body fragrance was quick to invade his nostrils, causing him to cringe. He quickly turned his head away, "Step back, you're obstructing my personal space!" he spat out, gritting his teeth as he forcefully pushed her away. Rhea lost her balance and fell back with a soft thump. Despite that, she bounced back up and towered over him once more.
"I'm invading your space. Good, I like to get under your skin." Rhea smirked, completely ignoring his spiteful glares, then seriously said, "Do you think I also want to be by your side? No, I'm only showing you kindness because of your wounds. Because you got that wound while trying to save me from Sila. If I let you sleep on the ground despite your injury, wouldn't that make me seem like an evil wife?" She raised an eyebrow,
"Even though I'm a little tough, I'm a kind hearted person, and everyone in the capital knows of my kindness. So due to my kind heart, I'll allow you to sleep on the bed with me until your wound heals completely. Now pack your blanket and pillow and let's go back to the bed." She said with a forced smile, "And if you dare to refuse...I will carry you all the way to the bed myself."
She said those uncouth words with a straight face. However, Draven stared blankly at her. He was silent for awhile, he then said, "How in the world did you become this mannerless, it's like you've lost any form of etiquette taught to you while being groomed to be a noble lady. You have no manners." He spat.
Although, Draven was a thousand year old dragon who rarely had any involvement with humans. However, he was well versed in how a noble lady should act. They were groomed to be humble and tamed. But this one, she was nowhere close to humble. She was mannerless, unladylike, sharp tongue, utterly annoying to the point he always had the urge to strangle her to...death!
Rhea grinned in amusement, "Well, this is my nature. If you can't bear with it, then write me a divorce letter as Jurian and also tell the Emperor you don't want the marriage, so I can return to the capital without being forced back."
"..." Draven silently stared at Rhea for a long time. He knew by writing a divorce letter as Jurian, he would finally get rid of her from his life. However, how could he do that when he hadn't yet achieved his own goals? Ha, if he had to bear with her for years before he completed his mission, then he'd do it.
And so, he had to do what she wanted now. He would bear with her. Draven closed his eyes to calm his nerves.
Seeing that Dravan was about to sit up, Rhea moved back before he shoved her away again.
However, When Dravan noticed Rhea's satisfied expression, he didn't know why he suddenly had the urge to give her a taste of her own medicine, to wipe that satisfaction off her face. He tried to hold himself back, but his urge bubbled and before he knew it, he blurted out,
"Do not develope a misconception about yourself, there's nothing special about you, you're useless to the Villden household, a disgrace, you have no useful powers. Yet you act so arrogant, you behave so wildly that people can't tolerate your mere presence..." He paused. He felt like he shouldn't bickle with a little girl, he shouldn't say such vicious words to jab her, but...
This annoying little girl had been getting to him for quite awhile. Her words were so vicious and rude. She cursed at him, blamed him for what wasn't his fault. She chose to believe the lies...
Thinking of all the words she'd thrown at him for the past few days, Draven didn't hold back as well, he glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes. He then coldly said,
"No wonder even your own father hates you so much he agrees to send you away. How does it feel to be hated by your own family? Unpleasant, right? Because that is how it should be, you deserve every single hate thrown at you. Someone like you doesn't deserve any affection. You're nothing but a useless piece of trash just like everyone addresses you!"
Hearing his words, Rhea's satisfied expression slowly turned blank. Her hands balled up into tight fists. She felt it deep down her bones. However, she chuckled as if it didn't bother her,
"I can see I've made you mad to this point." She let out a fit of laughter, but Draven could see through her facade. He'd also touched her sore spot. He recalled her words in the afternoon,
'I feel really satisfied everytime I make you angry, It brings me an immense amount of pleasure. Because a heartless jerk as you is unworthy of happiness for the sins you've committed in the past.'
Even though he disliked his own childishness, he couldn't help but add,
"Knowing that your life was a miserable one in the Villden household makes me immensely pleased, because a cursed seed doesn't deserve happiness."
Draven noticed her clenched fists trembling. For some reasons, he felt an immense amount of satisfaction knowing that he'd jabbed the right spot. His lips slightly quirked up, making him appear even more evil to her.