Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 283: Crown Princess

Chapter 283: Crown Princess

After they had spent the entire afternoon exploring the limitations of the human body (Daphne had no idea her legs could even stretch this much), Daphne had all but put the unpleasant experience with Alistair out of her mind. Instead, while Atticus went off to explore the grounds with Jonah, Daphne took the chance to call for a bath to rest her sore muscles.

It was the perfect opportunity to test out her new powers. She sunk into her bath and flexed her fingers, this time focusing on the sensation of the water around her.

To her surprise, she found it a lot easier to draw from her source of power. The aquamarines on her wedding ring shone a brilliant blue, and Daphne held her breath as she gingerly lifted a hand, watching as a trail of water jumped into her hand, like a puppy leaping to nip at her fingers. She twirled her fingers, and the water followed suit, forming delicate ribbons in the air before finally falling back into the bath.

Daphne smiled, satisfied. With two abilities in her arsenal, Alistair would have to think twice about targeting her, even without Atticus’s protection. Her father certainly wouldn’t lift a finger to protect her; knowing him, he would consider this a necessary trial Daphne had to pass in order to take the throne.

If her father was serious about actually giving her the throne, she would rise to the occasion and prove to everyone that she could make a worthy heir. She wasn’t trained the same way Alistair was, but at least she wasn’t threatening to murder her siblings or torturing innocents as a child.

Come to think about it, she was already better than Alistair.

"Daphne, I’m back! Let’s go down for dinner. I’m famished," Atticus whined from the other side.

"Alright! Are you not going to wash up?"

"And deprive your family of my manly scent? I’ll pass."

Daphne barely smothered a cackle at the thought of Atticus rolling up to the dining table after he had gone romping around in the castle, looking sweaty and delectable. Still, she managed to wrangle Atticus into at least changing into a fresh new outfit, and together they made their way to the dining hall.

Daphne’s eyes widened as she spotted the two empty seats left for her and Atticus. They were directly next to the left of her father, a seat of honor if she had ever seen one. Usually, Lady Josephine would sit next to him as his cherished partner, while her mother sat on the right in dignified silence.

But Lady Josephine was once again noticeably absent.

"Good," King Cyrus inclined his head towards her before gesturing to the empty seats, "Now that you have arrived, we can start the meal." Servants entered the room and began to serve them food.

Daphne nearly choked in surprise. Everyone was waiting for them to start eating? Now the rumors were starting to sound more plausible. This respectful behavior was too strange.

Also, how could she eat seated right next to her father? If anything, that might give her indigestion.

Alistair gritted his teeth and glared at the both of them, deep-seated hatred visible in his eyes as he gripped a butter knife in his one remaining hand. The rest of the table didn’t look too pleased either, but that could be because Daphne and Atticus arrived over half an hour late. No one would be happy over having dinner delayed.

Unless they were Drusilla and Hazelle.

Daphne felt no guilt seeing their thunderous faces as they caught sight of her and Atticus’s joint hands, and Atticus still purposely undid the first two buttons of his shirt, allowing everyone to see the marks Daphne left on his skin.

"Wow, this is surprising," Atticus chimed in, pulling out the chair closest to the king for Daphne.

Drusilla and Hazelle looked even more upset at the gentlemanly behavior, which was exactly what Atticus wanted. He then plonked himself on the seat next to her.

"I didn’t think all of you would wait for us to start dinner. After all, didn’t you guys start eating without us on our very first day?"

King Cyrus cleared his throat. "We were unprepared for your arrival then. We are now. Before we proceed, I have an announcement to make."

The table fell into a hush, expectant silence.

"As all of you might have realized, Alistair is no longer fit to rule. In these trying times, I have selected Daphne as the Crown Princess. May we all raise our glasses to toast to Daphne’s success in leading Reaweth into an age of prosperity."

Her father certainly hadn’t wasted any time! He raised his goblet and gave everyone an expectant look. Her mother followed suit almost immediately. One by one, Daphne watched her siblings — her tormentors — raise their own goblets with various levels of enthusiasm.

Blanche raised hers first, but she looked slightly sullen. Silas looked delighted, but his twin Leonora was scowling heavily into her drink. Luis’s eyes darted between his siblings in worry, slowly inching back even as he raised his goblet.

Drusilla’s smile seemed to be cracking right under the lights. Her once useless sister was now... a Crown Princess. A position Drusilla couldn’t even dream about, being so far out of reach.

But this wasn’t the end. The higher Daphne climbed, the harder her eventual fall. Drusilla had to be patient.

The entire table turned their eyes towards Alistair, who looked like a powder keg waiting to explode with the way he was seething at the couple. Atticus was half-hoping for another display of violence to justify his retaliation, but he was disappointed.

Alistair raised his goblet, his eyes dark with loathing and rage as he focused on Daphne. Unbidden, Daphne felt a shiver crawl up her spine.

"Congratulations, Sister. Long may you reign," Alistair spat out, before downing his goblet with grim finality. He slammed his goblet on the table hard enough to rattle the tableware before storming off without a second word.

"That went well," Daphne murmured to Atticus as everyone took their seats.

"Pity. I wanted to see him cut food with one hand," Atticus said, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Alistair’s siblings gave him stricken looks.

This time, it was Queen Anette who spoke.

"Daphne, you’ll make your debut as Reaweth’s crown princess during Duke Lanperouge’s birthday party. He has always been a staunch supporter of the crown. It’ll do you good to strengthen ties with him."

"Very well," Daphne said with a slight frown.

She had no fond feelings for Duke Lanperouge. Based on what she remembered of him, he was a lech through and through. Even Daphne’s reputation as a useless princess didn’t deter him from trying to pursue her.

"Don’t worry, Sister Daphne. Hazelle and I will make sure everything goes smoothly," Drusilla said, with a twinkle in her eye. "I promise, no one will be able to take their eyes off you."