Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 101: Token of Love

Chapter 101: Token of Love

Daphne did not have high hopes for the dinner. She was a known outsider to the circle of royalty, and her recent marriage would have been a hot discussion topic among everyone. Daphne expected to be grilled to death.

As such, she had put on her armor: the garnet earrings and necklace that Atticus got her adorned her ears and neck, and she wore that very same dress that she wore the first time she was introduced to Vramid’s nobility. This time, there was no Maisie to help her with her hair, but the handmaidens in Raxuvia had done a passable job.

Butterflies fluttered in her stomach, and she had to compose herself while she walked into the dining hall with her head held high.

Thankfully, she had Atticus right next to her, linking his arm with her in a silent show of strength and support. If she had him beside her, the dinner would be a lot more smooth sailing.

Unfortunately, that was not meant to be. Atticus was shuttled over to sit with the men, and while Daphne nearly giggled at the way he dragged his feet like a sulky child to the other table, she too felt upset at the change in plans.

She was about to resign herself to an evening of making polite small talk with random strangers when she spotted a familiar face.

"Daphne! Sister, you’re actually here!" Drusilla beamed delightedly at Daphne, and Daphne couldn’t help but smile back.

She eagerly waved off the server who had pointed Daphne to her original seat at the far end of the table and gestured to the seat next to her. "Sister, don’t sit so far away from me. Sit here instead so that I can talk to you more easily."

"Surely I couldn’t..." Daphne shook her head. She wanted to sit next to Drusilla too, but she wasn’t sure about simply changing her seat without giving advance notice. What if the other princesses took offense?

"It’s fine, sister," Drusilla said confidently. "I’ve arrived here a week earlier, and I’ve met all the women here before. No one will take any offense."

At her words, Daphne relaxed and settled into the seat next to Drusilla. She had missed her half-sister, and she desperately wanted to be seated next to a familiar friendly face so far from home. Drusilla eagerly grabbed her hands and squeezed.

"Oh sister, I have missed you so much! You must tell me more about what happened to you. Weren’t you supposed to marry Prince Nathaniel? How did you end up with King Atticus?" Drusilla asked rapidly.

"That’s what everyone wants to know," another woman chimed in, resting her cheek on her palm. She was clad in a bright orange gown that would have looked gaudy on anyone else, but it complimented her tanned skin and dark purple hair.

Such a striking appearance! Daphne gawked before she collected herself.

"I’m sorry, you have the better of me. I’m Princess Daphne Molinero of Reaweth, now Queen of Vramid. May I know your name?"

"Sister, how can you not know her?" Drusilla exclaimed, nearly red with embarrassment.

Her loud voice drew the attention of nearly every woman at the royal table. Even Sirona looked up from her spot at the end with the other servants. Daphne wanted to melt into her chair, but Drusilla wasn’t done.

"My greatest apologies on behalf of my sister," Drusilla said, getting up to bow lowly. "She hasn’t had the opportunity to meet other royalty often. Our father kept her hidden as she had no magical ability."

Daphne’s face reddened in embarrassment. Her sister wasn’t wrong, but it was still embarrassing to have her ineptitude brought up in front of a stranger!

The woman laughed, her gold eyes glinting in amusement. "How interesting. It’s been a long time since I had to even introduce myself. I’m Golcrest’s queen, Yvaine Viotto. "

Daphne nearly choked and she reddened further. "It’s an honor to meet you!"

Who hadn’t heard of Golcrest’s queen? Even if Daphne hadn’t seen her, she had heard stories about this fearsome queen. She had taken the throne instead of her younger brother and held it despite multiple attempts to overthrow her. Back in Reaweth, they heard that she eloped with the son of a scribe, and refused to return until they accepted him as her consort.

Now Daphne saw a wedding ring on her finger. She wondered if it was from the same man, or did they make her marry someone more suitable?

But she knew she could not ask such an indelicate question in public. Yvaine caught her looking at her wedding ring and winked playfully.

"Curious? I don’t mind telling you― this is from my husband, the very same man I eloped with," Queen Yvaine said proudly, giving them a good look. Her ring was a simple gold band with an engraving of two cats wrapped around a single shining orange stone.

"He didn’t have much back then, so he carved this for me with his own hands. Nearly took off his own fingers too. How could I not elope after that?"

"That’s so romantic," Drusilla gushed, with stars in her eyes. She turned to Daphne eagerly. "So sister, what about yours? If King Atticus gave you such a beautiful necklace, surely he must have given you a ring to match!"

Queen Yvaine also looked interested. An ugly flush crept up Daphne’s neck as she suddenly realized that her ring finger was bare.

Atticus had given her earrings and a necklace, but for all his generosity and protectiveness, he had not gotten her a ring.

Her heart ached. Were they even considered a real couple, if they had never exchanged rings or consummated their marriage? The very thought made her want to crawl away into a corner to hide. Her fingers curled instinctively; she didn’t want anyone to realize the truth.

"Sister, don’t be scared. I’m sure it’s lovely!" A nasty glint formed in Drusilla’s eyes, and she pounced on Daphne’s hands, trying to pry her fingers loose. Daphne hurriedly pulled her hands away from her grasp, but Drusilla wasn’t giving up.

In her midst to escape Drusilla’s hands, Daphne’s elbow knocked over a wine glass. She watched in growing horror as it tilted, spilling precious wine all over Drusilla, staining her lovely pale pink gown an ugly brownish-red.

Drusilla’s mouth froze in a wordless scream, but the worst was yet to come, the wine glass had shattered into a million tiny pieces that littered all over the floor, causing servers to crash into each other as they tried to avoid getting cut.

Platters of food fell to the floor, and some unlucky women experienced food raining on them.

The dining room fell into stunned disbelieving silence until the men from the other side of the room were attracted over due to the ruckus.

"What is going on?"

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.