Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 184: Made Use Of II

Chapter 184: Made Use Of II

The men turned around to see a slightly older woman with bright green eyes staring at them. Her posture and dress showed that she was nobility, but her arms were full of flowers and they could see dirt on her old leather gloves. Clearly, she was someone who knew how to work!

"Why are you asking?" one of the guards asked, his eyebrows tightly knitted together as his gaze squinted.

"Simply curiosity," the woman answered with a shrug. "There are only these many flowers I can sort before I get bored." She tilted her head and then said, "I don’t think I’ve seen people like you before."

"We’re not from around here," one of the men replied, casting an appreciative eye over her. What can he say? He did like to admire beautiful women.

"Travelers?" The woman looked pleasantly surprised. "How splendid, you must be here for our Spring Parade then."

"You can say that," that man replied. "We―"

His friend elbowed him, a fair warning not to say too much to this beautiful stranger. After all, whatever was said could be used against them. If it went in a full circle back to their prince, they might be in trouble. They couldn’t depend on villagers to keep their mouths shut. Her expensive clothing could just mean that she was from a rich merchant family.

So, instead of giving the long story, the soldier summarized it. "We’re just here to run an errand for our lord."

"Oh?" She gave a glance over their attire, taking note of the detailing in the uniform they wore. They hadn’t changed out of gear and it was clear they were knights working in service to the royal family.

Only, it wasn’t Vramid’s royal family.

"Your lord wouldn’t be the crown prince of Raxuvia, would he?" she quickly deduced.

The knights visibly stiffened. The man who had elbowed his friend harshly whispered to his companions, "I told you we should’ve changed out of uniform before walking around!"

His words, however, weren’t as softly spoken as he had wished it would be. The woman had caught everything crystal clear, a smile finding its way onto her face.

"How rude of me," she said. "I should’ve introduced myself. Surely you must be worried about sharing too much information with a random stranger." She peeled the old glove off her hands, revealing smooth, milky skin which she then held out for the men to shake. "Francessa Seibert. You might’ve heard of my husband, Marquis Seibert. He’s a well-known businessman even in foreign kingdoms."

At the mention of Marquis Seibert, the three knights visibly relaxed. They had indeed heard of the Marquis― he had businesses in many different kingdoms and was known as a talented mind during his younger years. He was a little older now but age had only offered him greater wisdom when it came to the world of commerce.

His wife was also a famed name, even in faraway kingdoms like Raxuvia. There were tales of the powerful couple, a woman who was equally as brilliant as her husband, someone plenty of other noblewomen — even princesses — looked up to.

"Lady Francessa," the first knight greeted. "It is an honor."

"The honor is all mine, to be able to meet the valiant soldiers of an allied kingdom. It must be fate that brought us together," Francessa replied, a bright smile on her face. "I could hear your complaints a mile away. What seems to be troubling all of you? Has something happened to His Highness Prince Nathaniel?"

The men startled in surprise and looked at each other, unsure how best to respond.

Having worked for the royal family, they knew very well that the noblewomen weren’t much better than common peasants when it came to keeping the rumor mill running. However, the difference was that they, more often than not, knew better about keeping mum about the sources.

"You were a little too loud just now, I could hear you complaining a street away," Francessa said apologetically. "But I’m surprised that His Highness Prince Nathaniel actually made his way here since he should theoretically still be busy with Raxuvia’s own spring festival."

Francessa shook her head and watched how the first knight was subconsciously nodding his head to her words. Perfect.

"I hope his efforts were appreciated."

Francessa had already guessed they were not. The first knight was feeling rather indignant for his prince prior to this conversation and now that she had given him a chance to vent, he felt like he was about to explode!

"They weren’t appreciated at all! She is treating him like... like a fool! After all he did for her!"

"George!" The second knight hissed, though it fell on deaf ears.

"What? I’m telling the truth!"

The third one piped up, "His Highness isn’t here for the festival or to meet with King Atticus. He’s here to deliver... something."

"For His Highness Prince Nathaniel to deliver something personally to a woman, said woman must be of high rank..." Francessa mused, her eyes practically sparkling, "Perhaps, are you referring to Her Highness Queen Daphne instead?"

The second knight sighed. These buffoons.

"Yes," said the first knight, George. "Prince Nathaniel came to personally deliver a batch of flowers for Her Highness. He had picked some of the best blooms of this season upon her request."

"We hadn’t known what it was for until we arrived," said the third knight. "That was when we found out that it was for Vramid’s Spring Parade. A beauty competition too, at that!"

"And to think it was because His Highness had wanted to help his beloved to win." George shook his head. "He hadn’t even known that he was helping Queen Daphne win a date with her husband."

"Our poor prince," the third knight continued. "He was just starting to get over his previous engagement with Queen Daphne when she had first arrived in Raxuvia. Now, this. She is just making use of his affections at this point! So despicable!"

"God damn it, Perry, shut it!" hissed the second knight. Again, no one heeded his word.

"I had heard of the rumors but didn’t think it was true," Francessa said thoughtfully, tapping a finger to her chin. "Such a shame. It sounds like a star-crossed romance."

George scoffed. "Maybe it would’ve been the case if Queen Daphne cared for His Highness just a fraction of how he cares for her. I bet she views our prince as a mere tool to be used― Mmph!"

He was effectively cut off when the second knight slapped a hand over George’s mouth, preventing him from speaking any further. He gave a firm tug, yanking his friend away from the lady as harshly as he could.

"Please excuse us, Lady Francessa," he said, "but we must be off. "We’re required back at the palace as soon as we’ve finished our purchases. It was wonderful meeting you."

Francessa only offered an understanding nod, completely pretending not to see the way the man was pulling his friends away like she was a monster that was about to swallow them whole.

"I hope you enjoy your stay here in Vramid," she said, waving a little.

The smiles on the men’s faces were half-hearted. With one last pull, the knight had managed to hull his two companions along, quickly disappearing past the bend.

Once they were gone for good, Francessa’s hand fell back down to her side. She had received some interesting news today. She scoffed, the cogs within her head quickly spinning. To think that women were often given the bad press of being gossipy when it was truly men who were the biggest gossipmongers of any kingdom.

It was nice — and very helpful — to know that it was the same even in Raxuvia.

Francessa glanced down at her basket and smiled, brushing a white petal carefully before crushing it with her fingers.

She didn’t need the flowers to win anymore. Queen Daphne had already handed her her victory on a silver platter.