Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 308: Curiously Mysterious Affinity II

Chapter 308: Curiously Mysterious Affinity II

Queen Anette could only close her eyes and let out a weary sigh. In the end, despite her best efforts, this particular skill of Daphne’s had still surfaced.

Perhaps it was time to tell the truth. With Daphne’s new status as Crown Princess, not even this new discovery would hurt her standing.

Anette took a deep breath and began to speak.

"You... always had an affinity towards water magic," Anette said, choosing to keep her eyes on her cup of tea instead of her daughter. "I knew it from the moment you turned two years of age. I was picking you up from the nursery and you were crying. But it wasn’t your face that was wet with tears. Water was splashing out from your crib. The aquamarine crystals that decorated the bars of your crib were glowing blue."

Queen Anette let out a nostalgic sigh as she recalled that shocking sight. She remembered how horrified she felt, thinking that she had imagined the whole thing due to tiredness. She had spent her days and nights looking after two toddlers while her husband went on gallivanting with his mistresses.

"It was lucky that I arrived before your nanny did. It would have been hard to explain that mess."

Daphne blinked in surprise. All of a sudden, the woman in front of her seemed less like a regal queen, and more of a doting, yet exhausted mother. Daphne wished she could actually remember how her mother cared for her when she was younger. Never before did Daphne lament her lack of memories as a child.

"I still assumed I was hallucinating, but I made sure to keep a closer eye on you after that. Your father never questioned it― he must have assumed I would prefer my daughter over my son. In the next few years, you continued to show signs of hydromancy without a single flame whenever you got upset. So I decided to keep you calm and discreetly remove all aquamarines from your vicinity."

Children were prone to mood swings, and mood swings often resulted in uncontrolled magic use. Even a well-behaved child such as Daphne could be easily made upset with a harsh word or two, something Alistair loved to exploit. Queen Anette nearly tore her hair out trying to keep her daughter content.

Daphne frowned, remembering the jewel Nereus presented her with. "Then what about my hair clip? There was a huge aquamarine crystal there!" And she was wearing it proudly too.

Anette sighed. "That hair clip was a gift from your father for your fourth birthday."

"What?" Daphne squawked in surprise, before clearing her throat and regaining her calm. "Mother, are you pulling my leg? Why would he give me a hair clip? He never liked me!"

In her memory, her father had never given her anything special. Any gifts he had were for Alistair first and foremost, and when Drusilla entered the palace, she got the lion’s share of his affection.

Daphne had always received the dregs.

"I would never joke about this." Anette took another sip of her tea. "He was a more indulgent parent when the both of you were younger. Although, I would wager that he most likely felt guilty over not spending time with you, since he was out seeing other women at that time."

Daphne scowled. That sounded more probable.

Anette continued to speak. "Since it was a gift from your father, I could not get rid of it without raising suspicions. What’s more, you adored it. You wore it everywhere, and you refused to take it off even when you went to bed. I had to make you hold it in your hand instead as a compromise!"

Daphne winced. She had no recollection of this, but she sounded like she would be a pain to cajole as a child. "I’m sorry? But Mother, why were you so worried about me showing my hydromancy abilities?"

Surely having a daughter with magic was better than having one without. Daphne had her suspicions, but she wanted to hear it from her mother’s lips.

"If you had conjured fire first, I would gladly let you spray water everywhere you liked," Queen Anette said bitterly, this time taking a long gulp of her tea as though it was ale at the tavern. "But you didn’t conjure a single spark. I replaced all your stones with garnets and rubies, hoping for the tiniest flame."

"Sorry for disappointing you," Daphne said wryly.

Her mother tipped the contents of her tea cup into her mouth.

"Of course I couldn’t let your father see you conjure water. He would have assumed I was having an affair behind his back, and that would have caused the both of us to be thrown out of the palace if he was feeling merciful."

Needless to say, they would both be executed if he was not. And he wouldn’t be. A man as prideful as Daphne’s father would never endure even the slightest hint of infidelity from his spouse.

After all, King Cyrus was the only party that was allowed to have romantic alliances outside of the palace. He was a man; it was in his nature to sow wild oats. Queen Anette was meant to be his loyal queen, his unwavering support.

Daphne thought, for a brief moment, that her mother must have been enduring this indignity for a long time.

"Then what did you do?" Daphne asked, curious.

"I... scoured the black market for illegal magic practitioners, so that I could learn ways and means to suppress your hydromancy and memories via potions," her mother said, not meeting her eyes.

"Excuse me?!" Daphne’s mouth fell open in utter shock. It’s not every day a daughter hears that her mother drugged her as a child. "You did what?"

"I did what I had to do to keep you safe," Queen Anette said firmly, but her throat bobbed as she swallowed thickly. "If you did not remember controlling water, you would mention it to anyone. I believed if I suppressed your hydromancy powers enough, they wouldn’t manifest― at least, not before you developed pyromancy and proved your parentage."

Anette sighed. "Then the incident with the kelpie happened, and you showed no further signs of hydromancy. I considered it a blessing."

"How was it a blessing! It left me powerless! You left me powerless! I was miserable!" Daphne exclaimed in hurt.

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