Fangless: The Alpha's Vampire Mate
Chapter 54: Petty Revenge

Chapter 54: Petty Revenge

"Scrub it well. I won’t leave you alone if I find even the tiniest stain. You still have to learn to respect your elders," Juan the Cook said.

He had fully recovered from his injuries and had now returned to the palace kitchen with the same grumpiness. As expected, Juan the Cook was born to be cranky.

The cook crossed his arms, "I let you off the hook because you’ve been helping out in the kitchen for so long. I couldn’t believe you repaid my kindness with violence! But I let it slide this time."

The only reason why Riona said nothing and kept scrubbing the stockpot was because he was responsible for giving food to Riona and Florian now.

"Know your place and keep your head low! My life is worth more than yours in His Majesty the King’s eyes," he continued with his ranting.

Before the whole incident of throwing Juan the Cook out the window, distributing meals was Miss Olive’s duty.

However, since the release of level two and a half, Lady Maris decided to bring Riona closer to the cook.

The king’s lover indeed knew her way around the palace. Giving Juan the Cook the leash around Riona’s neck was an unbeatable strategy. There was no truer saying than ’keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer.’

Riona could only grit her teeth and bite her lip if she felt dissatisfied with something. This was the first time Riona believed in diplomatic discussions to resolve disputes.

Juan the Cook stood beside her just to finish his grumbling. "You should be grateful that I still accepted you here."

You did not accept me. King Valentin assigned me here as my punishment for kicking your shitty ass. I still think you deserved the beating.

She did not retort loudly, opting for the wiser decision to keep her rebellious responses to herself.

Glancing at Florian, who was drying washed utensils, Riona found the strength to hold back her tongue from voicing the nasty things she wanted to tell Juan the Cook.

She tried to encourage Florian to try peeling the potatoes again, just like she had taught him. But he was traumatized by what happened last time and had a hand tremor.

Eventually, his peeling skills just got worse. She didn’t want him to suffer from another bout of verbal abuse like last time, so Riona told him to dry the utensils instead, which didn’t take much skill to complete.

From the beginning, Riona had been the target. If she kept her mouth shut and protected Florian from behind, he should be safe from Juan the Cook.

During breaks, Riona would usually eat lunch with Florian before dashing to Thorin’s chamber to execute their plan. Now that the plan had been finalized, Riona didn’t have to visit the werewolf’s chamber anymore.

She thought she could finally have some days to rest before the masquerade, but she was wrong. Sir Kai came to the royal palace looking for her. That legendary knight asked around for her, inevitably creating rumors about them.

"Hey, fangless, your boyfriend is looking for you," said a servant, leaning back on the door frame.

She looked down on Riona, who was eating her bread with Florian on the lower level of the stairs.

"What nonsense are you spewing? Did you become even more brainless overnight? You weren’t this dim-witted yesterday. I mean, you’ve always been a fool, but this is a new low. What happened? Did you get a bit too close to sunlight and fry whatever’s left of your tiny brain?"

The maid almost spit at her, but she didn’t. She straightened up and motioned towards the hallway with her chin.

"A gorgeous vampire wants to see you. He’s quite tanned considering he’s a vampire. Where did you dig up someone like him, huh? I guess causing chaos in the palace is the only way you’d ever snag a decent-looking man," she grumbled sarcastically, irritated.

If she was talking about a vampire with uniquely dark skin, it must be Sir Kai.

Riona swallowed the rest of the bread in her mouth and planted a kiss on Florian’s head.

"I’ll be right back. Just get some rest until the break is over. Don’t move even if that fatty cook tells you to do something, okay? This is your time to rest, and you should use it just to rest."

She emphasized "rest" a couple of times to ensure that Juan the Cook had no chance of exploiting Florian while she wasn’t there.

Stomping towards where Sir Kai was, she deliberately bumped into the maid’s shoulder.

The maid faltered, almost falling, which made Riona grin widely. "Oops, sorry. I thought you were just a piece of trash. Oh wait, you are!!"

Riona left the kitchen giggling as the maid seethed in anger. How fun it was to tease those who often teased her! Did they think they were the only ones who could spout one or two insults?

She usually didn’t respond when the aggressors moved in groups, but that maid was alone, and it was too good of an opportunity to miss. That petty revenge gave Riona a boost of confidence and happiness.

Taking long strides towards the inner court of the royal palace, Riona spotted Sir Kai immediately.

Just as the maid had said, Sir Kai’s skin was unique. Even from this distance, his slightly darker complexion stood out among the pale vampires.

He stood with his feet wide apart, at attention, as if a Nightwatch General were supervising him from somewhere. Both of his hands were behind him, perfectly angled and positioned.

"Sir Kai," Riona called out to him.

Even the way he turned towards Riona’s voice was very rigid. Riona felt like Sir Kai was her subordinate.

Would there ever come a time when Riona ranked higher than Sir Kai in the Nightwarden? But he was the ace who beat the odds.

Well, Riona would beat the odds too if she could overcome this petition madness.

"Lady Riona, please forgive me for coming unannounced," he said, bowing slightly.

"I’m not a lady. Don’t call me that! But don’t mind that. Why are you here?"

"The Blood Moon Masquerade is next week, and I know I should have given you updates before this, but I was occupied with other matters."

He took out a scroll from his bosom and said, "I have compiled your original scores for the Trials, as well as testimonies from the official sparring with Princess Lisbeth. These should be enough to bring justice to your case."

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