Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 168: Water Nymph?

Chapter 168: Water Nymph?

This time, her words were met with three incredulous expressions.

"Are you sure it was curiosity it exhibited?" Prince Nathaniel asked doubtfully.

"Well..." Daphne hastily replied, "I tried to touch it, and it didn’t eat me!"

"What?" Atticus exclaimed in shock. "You tried to touch it?"

"That’s what I said," Daphne huffed. "It was... beautiful. And it didn’t look like it was going to bring me any harm so I didn’t think too much about it."

Atticus’s head felt like it was about to implode. "Sunshine, you ought to be more careful with wild animals, especially potentially hazardous dark creatures that could lead you to your death."

The darn baby griffin flashed across his mind. That would be any problematic creature in the future, Atticus had no doubt.

"I see..." Prince Nathaniel nodded and then gave Atticus a glance from the corner of his eye, a wordless signal for him to convince his wife that she might have been experiencing vivid hallucinations.

A kelpie that didn’t eat flesh? Perish the thought.

Atticus couldn’t believe he was actually agreeing with Nathaniel. His heart despaired when he thought about how close Daphne came to death. "Sunshine, please don’t do that again. Next time you see something like that, get away quickly!"

"It’s most likely pretending to be curious to lure you into a false sense of security," Prince Nathaniel continued grimly. "I’ll make sure to get to the bottom of this."

"Assuming it was even a kelpie," Jonah helpfully added. "Let’s not forget that there is always a possibility of it being a water nymph!"

The other two men turned their incredulous faces to Jonah, who only beamed excitedly like a puppy who saw a friend. How preposterous! Daphne spotting a non-threatening kelpie was already highly unlikely, but a water nymph? That is nothing more than an optimistic delusion!

"What’s your obsession with water nymphs?" Atticus asked, his eyebrows knitting together.

"They are ridiculously rare, and sightings are said to bring good luck and prosperity. It’s a good sign!" Jonah said, and Daphne could only smile in return in the face of his enthusiasm, even as she privately doubted it was true.

"Then something good came out of such a mishap after all," Daphne said, looping her arm around Atticus. "In that case gentlemen, I think it’s time for us to return to the castle."

"And we’ll be sharing a carriage," Atticus added possessively, giving Prince Nathaniel a warning glance. "Prince Nathaniel, you should start investigating the lake immediately. Perhaps you should stay behind."

Prince Nathaniel’s eyebrow twitched. "I’ll return with you. I need to see all of you back at the palace first."

And so, the party of four made their way back to shore, where Sirona was anxiously waiting for them on the other end. She had seen the boats grow smaller in the distance, but there was no mistaking how one boat seemed to fly all the way to the other side without warning, and the two figures that stood up.

And then she saw Daphne fall in too!

"Are you alright?" Sirona asked the moment Daphne’s feet were back on steady ground. She circled around her, prodding and poking with her fingers. "Do you feel the chills? Difficulty breathing? Water stuck in your nose and lungs?"

"I think I’m fine. Atticus dried me off," Daphne said.

Sirona only tutted, giving Atticus a baleful look. She just knew it was his fault! Atticus tried not to look so guilty, and barely succeeded.

"Let’s go back to the palace so I can check anyway," Sirona said. "Jonah, you’ll be sharing a carriage with Prince Nathaniel."

"I am?" Jonah said, a little stunned. He blinked dumbly, unable to properly process the words spoken to him until it suddenly clicked in place.

Why did he have to share a carriage with this foreign prince again?! He had already shared a boat with him just now on the lake. This was just unfair!

"Wait," Jonah tried to argue, "I’ve never agreed―"

"Excellent idea, Sirona," Atticus added, immediately grabbing Daphne’s waist and hauling her to the nearest carriage as though it would vanish from his eyes. "You’ll sit with us to examine Daphne, and Jonah can spend more quality time with Prince Nathaniel since they bonded during the boat ride."

"We did?"

"We did?"

The two men glanced at each other in confusion.

"Onwards we go!" Atticus declared, steamrolling over their words.

He practically yanked the doors of the carriage right open, eagerly helping Daphne in. Sirona hopped in after Daphne before Atticus, too, jumped in. As quickly as they came, they were off!

Prince Nathaniel and Jonah stood there in silence, watching the carriage fly over the cobbled path.

"What the hell just happened?" Jonah asked, still blinking in disbelief as he stared at the cloud of dust that was left behind by Atticus’s speeding carriage. He watched as it settled as though nothing had ever been there in the first place.

"It seems like you’ve been abandoned by your dear friends, Sir Jonah," Prince Nathaniel flatly said.

"It seems so," Jonah said with a sigh. This poor prince definitely did not want to spend ’bonding time’ with a random knight he was barely familiar with, and vice versa. "Shall we go, then?" Jonah held out a hand, opening the carriage doors. "After you."

Prince Nathaniel sighed.

At least he wasn’t stuck with the healer. He could already hear Aurelia’s whines and screams if she ever caught sight of him stepping off a carriage with just another woman and no one else. That sister of his was never too fond of seeing him with female companions, no matter how often he had assured her that they were just acquaintances, not even friends.

Anyone else other than Princess Daphne was not worth the trouble of dealing with Aurelia afterward.

"So," Jonah began to say as they boarded, "have there ever been sightings of water nymphs in Raxuvia?"

Prince Nathaniel suppressed a groan. Perhaps he was wrong. Perhaps the healer would be a better travel companion.

As they both made their way back in a futile attempt to catch up with the first carriage, they failed to notice a stream of bubbles forming on the serene waters of the lake. A brilliant pair of luminous eyes traced their every movement. Strands of silvery white hair floated about the water’s surface, its appearance resembling fine mist after a rainy morning.

In a blink, it was gone. All that was left behind that served as evidence it was once there was a slight ripple that disturbed the water’s surface. Once that disappeared, the waters of the lake returned to the crystalline state it held prior, beautiful and still like a painting on display.

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