Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 243: Black Sheep II

Chapter 243: Black Sheep II

Daphne spotted the shine in Blanche’s eyes before she hurriedly wiped them away with her sleeve. Her heart ached for her poor younger sister, who felt so trapped in a terrible circumstance that she was willing to marry a complete stranger despite her young age, just to escape.

Suddenly, Daphne had an idea.

"Well... if you want, you can come visit us in Vramid," Daphne offered hesitantly. "I know it’s far from Reaweth, and the weather is a lot colder than what you’re used to, but it’s a very lovely place."

"...Thanks, it sounds perfect," Blanche said with a jerky nod. Hope bloomed on her face. "I’ll hold you to that. And just for that, I’ll help you break the chain so you can take the book."

"I wasn’t―" Daphne spluttered, but Blanche merely stared at her knowingly, causing her to fall silent.

"You’re a terrible liar, Sister," Blanche said as she circled Daphne to pull at the chain. "You need at least two different magical affinities to break this."

"How do you know?" Daphne asked, suspicious.

"All valuable texts in this library are chained down with obsidian metal to prevent theft," Blanche shrugged, "Father talked about it before. So you need at least two different affinities to overwhelm the absorption capabilities and shatter it."

"I see. Then let’s get to work."

True enough, it worked. The chain shattered, but not before it caused a loud crack. Daphne hissed; the whole castle must have heard the chain breaking! Thankfully, the library was at a more deserted corner of the castle.

"Hurry, take it and go," Blanche said, shoving the book into Daphne’s hands. Daphne stared at her in surprise, but Blanche didn’t flinch. "I’ll cause a distraction. In return, when you go back to Vramid, you must take me with you."

"I swear on my life I will bring you along," Daphne said, clutching the book with both hands. "But what will you do?"

"Just wait and see," Blanche promised, her eyes flashing with excitement, "I have my ways."

And to prove it, Blanche simply used her powers to knock one suit of armor after another, as though she was a cat shoving wine glasses down the floor for fun. The suits of armor made a din as they fell. Blanche knew well enough that if the guards came, they’d only sigh and shake their heads at her brattish behavior.

She was a princess still undergoing puberty after all!

"I’ll leave it to you then," Daphne said, reluctantly impressed. She darted out of the library and hurriedly made her way to Atticus’s room, trying her best to not attract undue attention.

Her siblings would think nothing of invading her quarters to search for the book if they realized it was missing, but they’ll think twice about bothering Atticus, especially after that disastrous dinner.

Unfortunately, the fastest way to Atticus’s room was past the gardens, which overlooked a pristine lake. It was a popular spot among royalty, both foreign and Reawethen. Nobility fought for the privilege of being invited to lounge on the grass on picnic mats.

Daphne gritted her teeth as she slunk around to the sides, making sure to draw as little attention to herself as possible. As she was approaching the lake, a voice stopped her. It was familiar, something she had just heard not too long ago.

She whipped around, searching for the source of the sound. It — or he — seemed to be speaking directly to her.

"That voice..." Daphne murmured under her breath.

Her eyes stopped at the lake, eyeing the crystalline waters. A sudden thought flitted through her mind, followed by an assault of memories that Daphne didn’t know she had. She gasped in pain, a hand reaching up to grab at her forehead.

Bits and pieces of a hazy past flew through her head. However, the images were all too fuzzy for her to properly hold onto. She could barely make sense of anything, but she knew that she had heard that voice before, both from less than a month ago all the way to a time Daphne could not even remember.

"Nereus...?" The name spilled from her lips before she could even comprehend why.

"Do you remember me now?"

Daphne turned around, and her face paled when she registered the owner of said voice.

It was the kelpie!

"It is you!" Daphne gasped audibly, taking a step back and away from him in surprise.

Instantly, the man’s eyebrows knitted together, wrinkles forming on the skin of his forehead. He raised his foot, wanting to take a step forward, but alas, he placed it back where it originally was, deciding not to move forward instead.

"Is that a bad thing?" he asked a little cluelessly, though his tone remained stagnant as ever.

If it weren’t for the micro-expressions on his face, Daphne would’ve never been able to guess what his emotions were. Even so, Daphne was also unsure how she knew how to read his expressions in the first place.

"How did you find me here?" Daphne asked, frowning. Then, her lips pressed tightly together into a thin line before she said, "You followed me? From Vramid?"

"I..." Nereus paused, a little hurt but the accusatory tone Daphne had used. "I noticed that you were returning to Reaweth," he confessed. "I wanted to make sure you are alright. It’s not safe here."

"So it’s true, then," Daphne said. "You’re not from Raxuvia. From the way you speak, you sound like you know Reaweth very well."

This time, it was Nereus’s turn to frown. The lines on his forehead creased even further with the weight of his thoughts, his lips becoming downturned. The intensity in his gaze was unmistakable, as his eyes narrowed slightly and fixated on Daphne― she seemed to be the source of his discontent.

"Of course I do," he said. "It seems like you’ve not remembered it after all."

"Remember what?" Daphne asked. Her grip on the book tightened, hiding it behind her. "Are you hinting that I am forgetting something?"

"Yes," Nereus said with a nod. "I am from Reaweth. I am sure you already know what I am."

"A kelpie," Daphne answered.

The man simply nodded. "A long time ago, our natural habitats were the lakes of Reaweth. This," Nereus gestured to the lake a short distance away, "was once my home."

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