Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 153: Karma Served I

Chapter 153: Karma Served I

Atticus was the first to notice Princess Drusilla waving at him and Prince Nathaniel from a good distance away. She was like a crazed lunatic, swinging her arm back and forth as if afraid that if she made any smaller action they might completely miss the sight of her. In perfect synchrony, both he and Prince Nathaniel frowned.

"Is she..." Prince Nathaniel paused with hesitance, wincing as he looked at Drusilla. She even jumped a little when she noticed their lines of sight landing on her. "Is she alright?"

"As far as I know, she seems to never be alright," Atticus calmly replied. "Next time, you should vet your guestlist more thoroughly."

The two men shared a profound look, a wave of understanding passing through. If there was anything the two of them could agree on, it was that Princess Drusilla was not at all the perfect little princess of Reaweth and most definitely not the best princess of Reaweth.

If anything, she definitely had a screw loose in her head.

"Although, I think I might’ve spotted the reason why she is so eager to have us over," Nathaniel calmly said, observing the crowd that had gathered. His gaze also landed on his twin sister, his lips turning down into a frown.

’What had she done this time?’ he silently wondered to himself.

"King Atticus, Prince Nathaniel, how nice of you both to join us." Drusilla bounded over, a slight skip in her steps. She slightly pushed through Cordelia and Daphne to get through, coming over a little too close to Atticus’s side. She even tried to reach forward to hold his hand but the man cleverly evaded her hold with a mere side step, leaving her hands grasping at thin air.

Drusilla’s face turned scarlet when she realized that her little ploy had been found out but made no sign on her face that she cared about it. Instead, she played it off, locking her fingers together in front of her skirt in a demure manner.

"What is the occasion?" Prince Nathaniel asked, targeting the question specifically at his sister and outright ignoring Drusilla. She was, after all, seemingly King Atticus’s problem― her attention was entirely on him.

"It is just an afternoon tea, Brother," Aurelia replied. She plastered on a pleasant smile, much sweeter than Daphne had ever seen on her face.

"Oh? Is that so?" Prince Nathaniel, however, did not seem any bit convinced. He raised an eyebrow, gesturing to Daphne, who was still awkwardly standing behind Cordelia’s seat. "Then why hasn’t Princess Daphne got a seat?" he asked.

"Princess Daphne..." Aurelia started to say but paused.

She cast a look at the woman, chewing on her bottom lip as she tried to think of a reason she could give. However, it felt as though her brain had been run under goop and none of the gears could spin as they should. Aurelia could only hem and haw, unable to find the words needed to aid her.

"I wasn’t invited," Daphne replied outright, plain and simple. No need to help this princess save any bit of skin, considering the lack of courtesy she had shown her ever since she had first met her. Daphne didn’t even know what she had done to cause Princess Aurelia to hate her this much. "I was here to have a word with Princess Cordelia, nothing more, Your Highness."

Prince Nathaniel had a pinched look on his face. He was about to reply when one of the women present could no longer hold her curiosity. Princess Charlotte stood to her feet, her palms pressed against the table surface as she turned her question to Atticus.

"King Atticus," she called out, garnering the attention of everyone at the table. "Is it true that... that..."

She looked choked, unable to squeeze the word out of her throat. Noticing how verbally constipated the princess was, Queen Yvaine rolled her eyes. None of these noble women dared to talk about anything related to the bedroom― it was almost as though it was a sin punishable by death!

"It is just rather interesting," Queen Yvaine started to say, "and it had come to our attention that Queen Daphne’s ring holds a moonstone."

Atticus raised a brow. "What of it?"

Queen Yvaine cleared her throat. "Moonstones are stones of fertility," she said.

"I know how moonstones work, Queen Yvaine," Atticus cut her off, impatient. "Get to your point."

"We have just noticed that the sheen on her moonstone is blue," Queen Yvaine said, not a single bit offended by Atticus’s harsh tone. She understood that she — and the rest of the women — were asking for a piece of private information. The king and queen of Vramid had no duty to share it with them if they didn’t wish to.

But it certainly didn’t stop their curiosity one bit.

Atticus let out a cold laugh. "I don’t see why my bedroom matters are of any concern to you, Queen Yvaine." His gaze turned equally as cool. "Or are things starting to cool down between you and your star-crossed lover of a husband?"

"Nothing of that sort," Queen Yvaine immediately said, swatting off the assumption as if it were an irritating fly. "We were just worried about your relationship with Queen Daphne. After all, the queen is still new to the upper society." Her gaze held a hidden meaning in them. "It would be horribly difficult for her if Queen Daphne does not have the support of her husband, especially during this period of time."

Queen Yvaine might not be a friend but Daphne knew that she was, at the very least, an ally. She hadn’t missed the true meaning of her words. A warmth budded in Daphne’s chest at the thought, knowing that other than Cordelia, there was at least one other woman among the strong and mighty that had a proper human heart.

The others were monsters, not that it was anything new. Daphne had long known that only monsters could survive in this harsh, cruel world of the upper echelon.

Atticus’s eyes scanned through the crowd, turning warmth when he met Daphne’s gaze before quickly cooling once more when it eventually landed on Drusilla. The intensity of his stare was so much that Drusilla felt her knees go weak with fright when he quite literally looked down upon her.

"Let me make this clear," Atticus said, his voice loud and mighty, "Daphne is my beloved bride and queen, no matter what the rumors outside might say. It might be better to heed my word than to judge my love for her based on a stupid piece of rock. If it comes to my attention that anyone is in her way..."

He paused, scoffing. A cruel smile twisted onto his face, reminding Daphne of the same look he had on when he broke the necks of the assassins the first night together.

"The thornhounds in Vramid would be pleased to have a snack during the cold winter days."

Beside Daphne, Cordelia’s lips thinly stretched into a mischievous grin.

"Everything started because of Princess Drusilla’s curiosity," she said. "She had more than a couple of things to say about Queen Daphne’s... purity."

"What?!" Drusilla all but screeched, jumping a little when she heard her name. Suddenly, every eye was on her.