Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 240: Heart’s Desire

Chapter 240: Heart’s Desire

Atticus raised an eyebrow. "And why are you asking? Are you so tired of her now that her mother is a little blue in the face? I must say, that’s an improvement over her original looks."

King Cyrus’s eyes flashed with anger, but he sucked in a deep breath, willing himself to calm down.

"I am asking as a concerned father," he began. "As you know, my daughter has a high opinion of you."

"I know. I married her after all," Atticus said, deliberately being obtuse. He ran his fingers through his hair, ensuring that his wedding ring glinted under the candlelight.

"I was referring to Drusilla," King Cyrus said with gritted teeth.

"Ah, that annoyance." Atticus stretched his neck, the very picture of an indolent panther. He observed King Cyrus with hooded eyes. "How honest do you want me to be?"

King Cyrus paused. His daughter was skilled, beautiful, and caring. There was no way King Atticus could find fault with her as a person, even if he harbored reservations regarding her parentage. "As honest as possible. We are both reasonable men here."

"Fair enough," Atticus said with a smirk. Now that he was given permission, there was no need for him to hold back.

"Every time I see her, I wish time travel was invented so I could go back in time and ignore Daphne’s request to save her sorry life in the maze," Atticus said frankly, distaste coloring his every word. "This daughter of yours knows nothing but to scheme, and her frequent attempts at ruining my wife’s reputation despite her own inadequacies disgust me."

King Cyrus’s face turned red with anger but Atticus was far from finished.

"She is but a pale imitation of my wife, and even bringing them up together in the same sentence causes me pain," Atticus declared, putting his feet on the low coffee table in a blatant show of disrespect.

Once again, King Cyrus’s face deepened to purple as he heard his beloved daughter being described in such an unsavory fashion.

"Nonsense! Drusilla is not a schemer and would never require saving. Nor is she inadequate!" He growled in anger. "You must be mistaken."

Atticus rolled his eyes. Someone certainly had a favorite child!

"King Cyrus, if you honestly believe that your daughter is as pure as freshly fallen snow, I have a bridge to sell you," Atticus said bluntly. "Now stop beating around the bush― why do you wish to know what I think of Drusilla? I don’t have an opening for a court jester, despite that woman being an utter joke."

"You―" King Cyrus closed his eyes, imagining how it would feel to set this insolent young king on fire. Unfortunately, his precious daughter had set her sights on such a man, and he had to do his part.

"Drusilla would make a fine candidate for your wife."

"I have a wife I love," Atticus replied coldly. "And I’m not interested in taking concubines."

"Why not?" King Cyrus asked, genuinely perplexed. "Drusilla is the perfect woman to be your concubine and bear your children. She is beautiful and skilled, and well-versed in court politics," King Cyrus said without blinking.

Atticus wondered if he was suffering from auditory hallucinations, but no, King Cyrus’s mouth was open, and more bullshit was spewing out of it like an overflowing canal.

Now he understood what was going on, and he could only laugh incredulously to himself.

Princess Drusilla was using her father as a matchmaker? If she didn’t disgust him so much, Atticus would have applauded her for her audacity.

Atticus listened with one ear, slouching on the couch as he stared blankly at the clock in the corner. The old king prattled on and on about Drusilla’s virtues, all of it lies. Perhaps Drusilla was secretly an illusionist, Atticus mused to himself, or maybe there were multiple Drusillas living in the palace.

There was no way Drusilla was ’kind and considerate and chaste’. If she was chaste, the whores in Vramid would be nuns. Atticus would sooner eat his own cock than to believe it.

"Whereas Daphne had always been of poor health―"

Atticus straightened immediately, a sharp smile crossing his face.

"Excuse me? What did you say about my wife?"

King Cyrus stilled, but then he cleared his throat and continued. "As I said, she had always been frail and retiring―"

This time, King Cyrus was interrupted by the chandelier. The entire fixture began to vibrate, making loud grotesque groaning, keening noises as though they were possessed by a particularly upset spirit.

Atticus smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. "I have known Daphne for months, and her health is stellar."

King Cyrus scoffed. "She has you fooled! She inherited her weak physique from her mother! Always lying around in bed, failing to turn up for lessons―"

"I let you speak out of respect for you as an elder," Atticus interrupted frostily, "but if you dare to utter one more unsavory rumor about my wife without basis, I will wage war on you. Keep my wife’s name out of your mouth. I will not accept a harlot who has already lost her innocence as a concubine. If she has a child, it might not even be mine!"

"Drusilla is an untouched innocent!" King Cyrus roared, "Daphne is the whore!"

The chandelier came crashing down right in between the two men, causing crystal fragments to shatter and scatter all over their feet. Through it all, Atticus was unmoved, his eyes glinting in malice.

"I see you have chosen war."

"Don’t be ridiculous, we are civilized men," King Cyrus scolded, as though lecturing an impulsive youth. King Atticus was skilled, but to wage war for a woman was nothing short of lunacy, to begin with, let alone for Daphne, his most useless child.

Of course, if it came down to it, King Cyrus had faith in his army to repel any invasion. They had the sacred texts in their library and the biggest family of magic users at their disposal. King Atticus was skilled, but he couldn’t overpower all of them.

If Atticus thought that he could win a war against Reaweth, he was sadly mistaken.

"Is there no possibility that I could change your mind about Drusilla?" King Cyrus demanded. This man was foolishly spitting him in the face! "If you give her a chance, she’ll prove that she is everything your heart desires."

Atticus laughed darkly. This old coot knew nothing of his heart’s desires, the true darkness lingering in his heart, and he wanted to keep it that way.

"I already have a part of my heart’s desire." Atticus’s gaze was cold. "The other will be mine soon enough."

The lights in the room flickered as the flames of the candle swayed.

"And a word of warning, King Cyrus. You should not listen to Drusilla’s tall tales," Atticus continued, brushing off the fragments of the chandelier crystals from his pant leg. "Her status as a whore is already made known to many monarchs present at the Crown Conquest. If you don’t believe me, send a letter to Queen Yvaine. She’ll tell you the truth."

"You―"

"Rest well, King Cyrus. My army will meet you soon."

With that final parting shot, Atticus stood up and left the room, leaving King Cyrus to stare at the shattered chandelier in anger.

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