Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 212: The Date IV

Chapter 212: The Date IV

"That’s right!" Veronica declared hotly, whirling around to yell at the man who dared to interrupt, not realizing that everyone was shirking back in terror and wordlessly pleading with her to stop talking. "She will never be― my... my..."

"Yes? Feel free to continue your sentence," Atticus smiled as he looked down at Veronica Yarrowood. It was a pleasant smile, but only a fool would fail to detect the bloodlust in his eyes as he gazed down at her.

Then again, if Veronica Yarrowood was foolish enough to insult Daphne in his vicinity, perhaps he had too high an opinion of her intelligence to begin with.

"I’m waiting, Lady Yarrowood. It’s not kind to leave your liege hanging like this," Atticus tutted, raising an eyebrow. "Or are you intent on offending me?"

Meanwhile Veronica’s face was paler than freshly fallen snow. She had finally registered the face of the man who dared to interrupt her rant, and it was none other than King Atticus, the husband of said Queen she was too busy railing against. Her words caught in her throat, and her tongue suddenly felt like it was made of lead.

Daphne hurriedly repressed a snicker that was trying to escape her throat. Veronica Yarrowood now resembled a fish on dry land, her mouth wordlessly gaping as though that would absolve her of her words. She quickly darted a hopeful glance at Marchioness Francessa, praying for her to mediate the situation, but Francessa only shook her head in disappointment.

She might not think highly of Queen Daphne, but Marchioness Francessa wasn’t a brainless chit that just emerged from the schoolroom. There was a time and place for everything, but Veronica still hadn’t learnt it. And Francessa wasn’t going to waste that little bit of goodwill King Atticus had given her to save Veronica from his wrath.

It was tantamount to sacrificing a pawn for a queen. A ridiculous, unnecessary gamble that yielded no investment returns.

When Veronica realized that Marchioness Francessa wasn’t going to rescue her from this mess, her legs started to tremble. There was only one course of action she could take, short of pleading insanity and impaling herself on a stake.

"I... I... I apologize for my words, Your Highness," Veronica said weakly, her eyes never leaving the floor. She dared not meet Atticus’s eyes, for fear of witnessing his anger. How was she going to resolve this mess? Her king might simply decide to put her entire family to death for her mistake.

"There’s no need for that." To say that this statement was surprising was an understatement. Everyone’s eyes widened as they registered Atticus’s words. Was this an indication that the feelings he had for his foreign wife had cooled significantly, that he didn’t feel the need to bite off someone’s head for insulting her?

Meanwhile, Daphne internally rolled her eyes at her husband’s dramatics. He did love giving false hope to people!

"Your Highness? What do you mean?" Veronica asked as she finally gathered enough courage to look into Atticus’s eyes. Hope thrummed in her heart; perhaps she could be saved!

"I cannot make you accept Daphne as your queen, I’m not that big of a tyrant." Atticus shrugged, knowing full well he technically could, and was, such a tyrant. "In that case, there’s only one solution that will satisfy you. Simply leave Vramid, and she will no longer be your queen."

That tiny hope coursing through Veronica’s body was snuffed out in an instant. She nearly fell to her knees in shock, her breath coming out in trembling gasps.

"Your Highness! I apologize for my words! Please, don’t exile me or my family!" Veronica blubbered, all past bravado gone.

"Who said anything about exile?" Atticus asked, sounding confused, but Daphne wasn’t fooled for an instant. "I’m just saying, if you don’t accept my wife as your queen, you’d best find another man to call a king. There are many kingdoms in this world― I’m sure one will be to your liking."

"Besides, if I was exiling someone, you’d know," Atticus said significantly, glancing at Francessa from the corner of his eye. By the time this afternoon was over, Francessa would leave his kingdom, either by her own two feet or in a coffin.

Daphne pressed her lips to prevent the smile from emerging.

"Our King is right," Francessa chimed in. She had caught Atticus’s quick glance― clearly this was a sign he wanted her to step in and clean up the mess, since she was the most highly ranked woman in the restaurant. She had to use this chance to prove she was a better queen candidate than the one sitting back in the palace, possibly twiddling her thumbs.

"Wipe your tears, for our king is a merciful man. This situation can be resolved if you simply accept Queen Daphne as your queen."

Veronica bit her tongue, but she nodded. "Yes! I’ll accept Queen Daphne as my queen! I’ll swear loyalty to her, and to you King Atticus! Please, spare me and my family from exile!"

"Since I’m in a good enough mood today, I will spare you," Atticus said peacefully, the handsome smile on his face causing more than one woman to swoon internally. "Go home, and don’t let me see your face until next spring."

Veronica frantically nodded in agreement and all but fled the restaurant. They watched her stumble out of the establishment, pastry cream still on her gown.

"Now that this is resolved, perhaps we might get back to our meal?" Francessa asked hopefully.

"No. There is another woman that must be punished." Atticus growled out, the smile vanishing from his face.

The restaurant fell silent.

Atticus pointed a finger straight at Daphne accusingly.

"You. You are Queen Daphne’s maid, and you represent all palace staff, yet you are laughably clumsy. I must keep a closer eye on you from now on, in case you make things difficult for my wife." Atticus sneered, every inch the dissatisfied king.

Daphne’s eyebrow twitched, but she only bowed low to display her remorse. What was her husband playing at? "I’m deeply sorry, and I apologize sincerely for my actions. Please, give me a chance to make amends."

"Hmph," Atticus scoffed. "I don’t trust you to not cause another incident. In fact, you should stand right there in the corner where I can see you, so I can make sure you don’t ruin the opening of Marchioness Francessa’s restaurant."

The very same corner where Daphne was trying to sneak into to eavesdrop on them.

Well played husband. Well played indeed.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.