Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 210: The Date II

Chapter 210: The Date II

At long last, the little maid outfit that Daphne had stolen a while back was finally put to good use again.

For the longest time, it had been chucked at the back of her wardrobe, left there to collect dust after she had given up on escaping from Atticus’s side. It was quite ironic how she was now wearing the same clothes she had tried to run away in, only this time, she was trying to get as close to Atticus as possible without getting caught.

"The signal is weak," Jonah commented. He tapped the equipment, adjusting the sodalite and clear quartz pieces on it. "We need to get closer. There are too many people hovering around the restaurant and it is jamming our connection."

Daphne whipped her head back to glance at Jonah, finally tearing her eyes away from where she had last seen Atticus and Francessa. "Both pieces?" she asked.

They had spent the last couple of weeks preparing for this undercover mission. Atticus would go in, pretend to have a date with Francessa — when in truth, he was to sieve out information from her about her underhanded tactics — while Daphne and Jonah would stay hidden at the back.

The device that they had invented would receive information from Atticus’s end to broadcast on their side so that the entire town could listen in on what sort of unsavory dealings the Seiberts had been secretly doing.

Jonah took a look at the backup they had and grimly nodded.

"The device is working properly," he said, "it’s just that there are too many influences around this area. It’s a pity we couldn’t get her alone."

"I can never understand how magic can be disrupted by normal humans," Daphne grumbled under her breath. "And we need this to be public. I want to destroy her."

"Every person has a unique aura and energy field. When a cluster of humans — magical or not — is in the same area, the crystals might pick up on different energies and cancel each other out," Jonah explained, not even bothering to entertain Daphne’s later statements.

Husband and wife were now united in bloodlust, and Jonah was happy simply sitting by the sidelines and not drawing any extra attention to himself.

He fiddled with the contraption, heavily hitting it at the side with the base of his palm a few times. After that, the stones began to hum and glow; it worked.

"Is it done?" Daphne asked cautiously.

"As good as it’ll ever be," Jonah replied, eyeing the stones. "I would’ve preferred more time experimenting on these designs, but that’s a luxury we can’t afford. Now’s your chance. But be careful. Remember, you need to focus to maintain the illusion. Don’t get angry, no matter what you hear. Be calm."

Daphne nodded wordlessly, her braided pigtails bouncing slightly with the movement. In the eyes of others, they were now brown instead of blonde, styled in a similar fashion to most maids.

This was all thanks to a special hair clip nestled at the side of her fringe, helping her to create an illusion to mask her true appearance by causing face blindness for those looking directly at her. That way, she wouldn’t be recognized so easily.

The charmed hair clip worked similarly to the mask Daphne wore at the auction house, but since it didn’t touch her face, it was less effective. Wearing a mask would be too much of a standout.

This was an extra precaution advised by Jonah, but it had its drawbacks. Simply put, Daphne had to remain calm and even-tempered. Any fluctuation in her heart rate could risk the illusion collapsing.

And Daphne couldn’t afford that.

Once she got caught, that would be the end of her. Not that Atticus would ever harm her in any way, but the news of her wearing a maid’s dress and spying on her own husband would forever destroy her reputation for good in the eyes of Vramid’s citizens.

No, Daphne steeled herself. If it got down to it, she would rather set Francessa aflame.

As though he could read her mind, Jonah’s frown deepened even further. He pulled Daphne back, forcing her to look into his eyes.

"Don’t even think about setting them on fire," he warned, his gaze stern.

"What?" Daphne gasped, pretending to be shocked. She batted her eyelids innocently. "I would never!"

She would. It was better to go down Vramid’s history as a pyromaniac tyrant than some pathetic jealous wife who had to resort to spying. The people had already witnessed her commanding fire at will anyway. There’s no more use in explicitly hiding her powers.

"I am serious, Daphne," Jonah said. "If you turn to your powers, your already atrocious reputation will be beyond salvation. You wouldn’t want to cause more trouble for Atticus, would you?"

His words brought a pout to Daphne’s lips. Jonah knew very well how to manipulate both his king and queen into listening to his words. If he wanted to, he could very well take control over Vramid without anyone knowing.

"She deserves it," Daphne muttered under her breath indignantly, "but I won’t. I am not that childish."

"If this succeeds, what awaits her will be more than the restaurant of her dreams razing to the ground," Jonah reminded. "Her entire business empire will fall, along with her reputation, maybe even her life."

An evil smirk crossed Daphne’s face as she pictured Francessa Seibert wailing on her knees, her every accomplishment reduced to nothing but ashes. Just the thought of it brought a wave of satisfaction rushing through Daphne’s veins.

Fire truly wasn’t the way. After all, revenge was a dish best-served cold.

"Be careful," Jonah chided, sensing his queen was too preoccupied with thoughts of revenge for his liking. "Don’t count your chickens before they hatch."

"Oh, don’t be a mother, Jonah," Daphne said. She turned around, her chest puffed out and her back straight. "Everything will be just perfect."

Only, Daphne had barely even made it past the entrance of the restaurant when the crowd’s pushing and shoving sent her tumbling through the sea of bodies. She held her breath; Francessa Seibert’s opening event was so popular that she could barely walk. There were lesser people surrounding Atticus and Francessa, but everywhere else was heavily packed, with workers running around serving the customers.

How was she going to make her way to their side?

Daphne barely contained the curse that was about to spill from her lips when a random hand that shot out from nowhere had Daphne sidestepping to avoid getting slapped right in the face.

She immediately ducked left to avoid the oncoming hand... only to jab her feet right into the waiter’s foot, who then sent his tray soaring into the air.

"Ugh!"

Daphne watched in horror as said tray containing a plate of freshly baked pastries and hot drinks sailed through the air, only for the food to land directly on a familiar face, the scalding liquid narrowly missing her body. Daphne’s body froze and she fought to keep her breath steady. She could not panic now and ruin the plan before it even started.

"What in the blazes is this?!" Veronica Yarrowood shrieked, standing up as she frantically tried to dab her face clean of cream. "Who is the clumsy oaf responsible for such a mistake?! Come out here right this instance!"

The waiter immediately pointed an accusing finger at Daphne.

"Lady Yarrowood, it’s this girl’s fault! She tripped me with her foot!"

Suddenly, everyone’s eyes turned to stare at Daphne.

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