Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 173: The Incapable Prince

Chapter 173: The Incapable Prince

"Atticus!" Daphne called out as she caught sight of her husband storming through the corridors.

"Daphne!" Atticus met her eyes and hurriedly dashed towards her, Sirona hot on his heels. "How are you feeling? I heard rumors claiming that you fell ill?"

"I’m fine! Prince Nathaniel helped me just in time." Before Atticus could get upset over her words, she continued, "Atticus, I saw the kelpie!"

"What?" Atticus demanded, quickly whirling around as though he expected the kelpie to emerge from the windows. He clutched at her arms and frantically looked all over her, checking for possible injuries. "Where? Are you hurt?"

"Atticus, I’m fine," Daphne repeated. "Princess Cordelia was with me, and Prince Nathaniel helped treat me after I collapsed. He suspected I experienced malevolent hysteria."

"Malevolent hysteria?!" Two voices yelled in unison, and Daphne found herself prodded by both Sirona and Atticus, who were nearly dragging her back to her rooms in panic.

"I’ll do a check on you right now," Sirona declared. "Stop dragging your feet and walk!"

"But I’m fine! Prince Nathaniel gave me this pouch of herbs. It worked after I smelt it," Daphne protested, holding out the sachet Prince Nathaniel got for her. Atticus snatched it out of her hand without warning and threw it to Sirona.

"Hey!" Daphne cried out, upset at his rudeness.

"Check the insides," Atticus ordered, his gaze stony. Sirona nodded and quickly emptied the contents on her palm, her eyebrows furrowed as she considered the combination of herbs in her palm. Her hand glowed, and light purple tendrils enveloped the dried herbs.

Daphne held her breath. Surely Prince Nathaniel wasn’t out to harm her!

Eventually, Sirona spoke.

"...It’s a perfect remedy. The herbs chosen were of high quality, and their properties work in tandem with each other," she said with begrudging reluctance. "He even chose a combination I would never have thought of, but it works. And he even made sure to peel the stems before crushing them! Damn it!"

She then carefully put the herbs back into the sachet and gave it back to Daphne.

"Keep it safe."

"Of course," Daphne said, pursing her lips. She tucked it back into her pockets and crossed her arms. "Why do the both of you look more disappointed that Prince Nathaniel isn’t harming me than relieved at seeing me unharmed?"

Atticus spluttered and shook his head. "Nonsense! Sunshine, I’m just being cautious. In fact, I’m surprised he can do this one thing right, considering that he is useless in practically every other aspect of magic."

Daphne’s eyes bulged out in surprise. "What? But I saw him use magic!"

"I didn’t say he couldn’t do magic," Atticus clarified, but there was a look of utter disdain in his face as he whispered into Daphne’s ears. "But his abilities are very weak― I dare say even weaker than Jonah’s. I’m sure he’s secretly boosting his affinity with crystals and herbs."

Daphne didn’t even realize herbs could be used in such a way. Atticus continued to speak.

"Daphne, didn’t you notice that he never used his magic in public? That’s because he can’t afford to. If he did, every single royalty in attendance would know how weak he truly is. Better keep up the farce while he still can, even though everyone who has read a book on genealogy would know otherwise."

"How do you know that, if it’s such a secret?" Daphne asked. Knowing Prince Nathaniel’s character, he would rather die if someone found out such a devastating secret of his. Did Atticus spy on him too?

"He has a twin sister," Atticus said simply. "That’s how I know. It’s not common knowledge, but if someone were to piece the puzzles together, they could. And I could sense it."

Daphne blinked, now she was even more confused!

Sirona clarified, "Old records have shown that in the case of twins, one child would be significantly stronger than the other. One powerful and one powerless. The powerful would be considered chosen by the heavens, while the powerless would be sacrificed for the good of the kingdom."

"How could such a thing be possible?" Daphne asked in shock.

"We don’t know exactly what causes magic development in children, but perhaps it comes from sharing resources in their mother’s womb. Either that, or it’s really heaven’s way of choosing their preferred ruler," Sirona said grimly.

"There are even tall tales of how killing your twin would grant you unlimited power. For that reason, past rulers used to kill the second child when they found out they had no powers."

"That’s terrible," Daphne said quietly. Her life had been terrible enough when she was powerless and constantly compared to her other, more capable siblings, but if she had a twin and was constantly compared to her...

It would be so devastating, she might not even want to live past childhood. Her heart ached for Prince Nathaniel; was this the reason why he was so fixated on marrying her?

He thought she was powerless. Out of everyone else, Daphne would come the closest to understanding his feelings, the both of them living a life that most would not comprehend.

But Prince Nathaniel didn’t know the truth about her.

Suddenly, the seed bracelet inside her pocket suddenly felt very heavy.

Atticus added dryly. "Of course, Princess Aurelia would never kill her beloved older brother, since she’s obsessed with him. And I guess since he’s willing to tinker with his herbs and crystals to make himself a passable ruler, he’s not committing fratricide no matter how annoying she is."

"For what it’s worth, it’s said that the crown prince of Raxuvia truly adores his little sister," said Sirona. "Not everyone will kill for power."

"Such a sad existence, no wonder he’s only good for basic healing," Atticus continued, ignoring the warning look Sirona shot him from the corner of her eyes. "It’s so pathetic to be a royalty that can’t do magic, and having to live at the mercy of others, don’t you think so?"

Sirona sucked in a breath. She wanted to bang her head against the wall. Why was her king so foolish?

Daphne narrowed her eyes, her gaze suddenly glacial.

"Oh, so you think it’s pathetic if royalty can’t do magic?"

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