Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 303: Old Debts & New Bargains III

Chapter 303: Old Debts & New Bargains III

Prince Nathaniel did not stir. Daphne turned her accusing eyes onto Jonah and Atticus. "How hard did you hit him? If he dies here, we’ll have a diplomatic disaster on our hands!"

Atticus shrugged again, more cavalierly. "If he does, I’ll cut him to get the blue kyanite stone. Can’t waste it on him."

Meanwhile, Jonah had a more rational response. He shook his head, scratching at his scalp. He badly needed a holiday. First Sirona, now Atticus. These two were giving him a headache that would last hundreds of lifetimes.

"Sirona might have overdone it a bit," Jonah said sheepishly. "She still harbored a grudge over how his healers imprisoned her. Let me instead."

Jonah drew out a flask and sprayed its contents onto Prince Nathaniel’s face. Daphne had no clue what was inside that flask but whatever it was, it worked like a charm.

Nathaniel spluttered awake, glaring hotly at Jonah. But then his eyes caught sight of Daphne standing behind him, and his eyes widened in shock.

"Princess Daphne," he gasped. "What... What are you doing here?"

"I’m visiting Reaweth with my husband. Of course I have every right to be here." Daphne retorted.

"Here..." Prince Nathaniel blinked a couple of times then began to look around. His look of surprise slowly melted away into a stern, somber frown. "Here... Where even is here?"

"A hut somewhere in Reaweth," Atticus answered. "Somewhere your men wouldn’t be able to find."

"No matter about that. Why are you looking for Jean Nott?" Daphne asked, headed straight for the bud. "Where is he?"

"What...?" He trailed off, then paused when he took a glance at the two men standing behind Daphne. All of a sudden, he understood.

They must’ve relayed all they had learned to her, hence her sudden questioning.

Prince Nathaniel bowed over in pain, but he managed to grit out. "That man owed me something. And I couldn’t find him before I got waylaid by Sir Jonah and Healer Sirona. I simply received the news that he was hiding in Reaweth’s red-light district. "

"Was that ’something’ me?" Daphne asked.

"...Yes."

The word that escaped Prince Nathaniel’s lips in a breathy exhale was so soft that Daphne needed to strain her ears to hear it. But there was no mistaking the word; Daphne’s heart sank as she realized Atticus was speaking the truth.

"Were you involved in my kidnapping?" Daphne asked.

At this, Prince Nathaniel doubled over and wheezed, straining against Jonah’s vines until they dug hard enough into his skin to draw blood. His refusal to answer her question, even at the cost of great physical pain to himself, spoke louder than any words he could have said.

Daphne could only sigh in disappointment.

"Why did you go to such lengths to bring me to you?" Daphne asked.

"I approached Jean Nott first," Prince Nathaniel admitted. "As I am sure King Atticus is well aware, Jean Nott is the leader of the Order of the Serpents. He has a network of incredible spies, mercenaries, and assassins working under him, just to name a few. He promised to bring you to me in exchange for gold."

Prince Nathaniel shrugged.

"Riches aren’t a problem. What is gold to the royal family of a prosperous kingdom?"

"Why didn’t you hold up your end of the bargain, in that case?"

Come to think of it, didn’t she overhear those kidnappers mentioning that they still hadn’t received their end of the bargain before they tried to ruin her? With what he said, it couldn’t be that the price was too high. It would’ve been agreed upon before the deed was carried out.

"Those mercenaries were supposed to deliver you to me unharmed if they wanted the money. I didn’t trust them not to double-cross me if they received payment," Nathaniel said, his voice low. "More importantly, I didn’t trust Jean Nott. He might be an elusive member of the underground society but I had intel that told me he was still a citizen of Vramid."

"So you always knew who he was?" Daphne questioned.

"No. I’ve never seen him in person. Discussions were always made through multiple other members of the Order of the Serpents. Jean Nott would never make a deal in person― not until recently," said Nathaniel. "But if he’s a citizen of Vramid, I couldn’t trust that he wouldn’t betray our contract in favor of his king."

He glared hotly at Atticus. "This bastard stole you from me! You were meant to be my wife! How could I let this go? Of course I had to get you back."

At the end of his rant, Nathaniel looked visibly upset.

Meanwhile, Atticus only smirked unrepentantly and looped an arm around Daphne’s waist to further show how married they were.

"But why were you so insistent on having me?" Daphne asked.

While she was his ex-fiancée back then, they had never even met face to face nor exchanged any letters prior to the Crowned Conquest. It seemed preposterous for him to ally with Jean Nott and hire mercenaries to get her back.

"You were just like me! I knew I wanted to marry you when I heard the rumors. It felt like the world was finally giving me a way out of this despair. A companion who knew my own heart... Where else would I find a woman who understood me?" Nathaniel ranted bitterly. A pained expression crossed his face and his voice turned soft.

"No one else would know how it feels to be powerless..."

Yet, that look of pain melted away quickly, hardened and replaced by annoyance.

"But then, it turns out I was wrong about that too. I heard about your exploits, Queen Daphne. It turns out that the maze wasn’t lying after all. You have power, and you’re a lot stronger than me too."

Prince Nathaniel hung his head low, defeated even as a wry smile crossed his face.

"It’s only me... me who has been left behind. Now that having you is out of the question, Eugene Attonson is my only hope for a brighter future. I’ll pay whatever price he needs."

"Even if the price was me?" Daphne asked coldly.