Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 346: Damage Control I

Chapter 346: Damage Control I

The mood at the palace was grim as everyone filed into the meeting room. They had to discuss how best to handle this situation with Alistair. They only had Hazelle’s body as a testimony of what Alistair was capable of, but Nathaniel had helpfully reminded everyone that since Alistair had fed on her, he could have gotten a lot stronger due to the additional blood.

"We should send the troops; we need to scour the kingdom until we find him," Daphne said. "The longer we waste time discussing like this, the more innocent people he will kill."

"That seems like a ridiculous waste of time and effort," Leonora snorted. "We can’t possibly dispense the royal guard for something as trivial as this. If Alistair is as monstrous as you claim, the troops wouldn’t be able to stop him― instead, he might drain them dry, leaving Reaweth undefended!"

"I had no idea Reaweth was so pressed for troops, or that their troops are so worthless," Atticus interjected with a cold smile. "But I assure you, if you sit still, Reaweth wouldn’t have any people left to defend it."

"I didn’t say I wasn’t going to do anything to stop him." Leonora’s face flushed an angry red as Atticus shot her down in front of everyone. "In my opinion, we should instead lead small search parties to investigate Alistair’s whereabouts. He’s bound to leave a trail of bodies wherever he goes. The more people know about this, the more unrest will grow in the capital."

"That’s a good idea," King Cyrus said approvingly, and Leonora couldn’t help but sit a little straighter at this praise. "If the populace sees the army marching through the streets asking for Alistair, it will cause widespread panic and fear. It’s best to handle things discreetly."

"But they have a reason to feel panic and fear," Daphne pointed out. "Are you going to keep them in the dark about the threat Alistair poses to their lives? He’s a dark creature on the loose!"

"Foolish!" King Cyrus gave Daphne a disparaging glance. "You have much to learn about leading your people."

Before Daphne or Atticus could take offense to that comment, he continued.

"The commoners cannot be allowed to know what Alistair has become; this would shake their faith in the very foundation of Reaweth’s monarchy. Alistair was groomed to be my successor for years before you and the people knew it as well."

King Cyrus brandished his fist in Daphne’s direction as he said, "If the commoners knew he turned into a bloodthirsty monster, why would they even want you or any of us to lead them? You’ll make us a laughing stock!"

Atticus rolled his eyes. Of course that arrogant old coot wouldn’t care about the lives of the peasantry in comparison to his reputation. This battle was a lost cause, but his wife refused to give up and continued to argue.

"Saving the royal family’s reputation from crumbling is not worth the lives of many innocents. The more people know about what to look out for, the more help they’ll be able to offer. And they’ll be able to take precautions to keep themselves safe."

"Are you listening to yourself?" Leonora snapped back in return. Her oldest sister was a foolish chit, even if she was technically the crown princess.

"How do you expect mere commoners to keep themselves safe from him, let alone offer a helping hand? Even if they manage to stumble upon Alistair, the chances of them dying immediately are more likely. Unless you have actually found a cure to reverse his transformation in this short time, then by all means, go ahead."

Everyone turned to Prince Nathaniel, who was poring over his notes, his long blond hair falling over his face. In front of him was a stack of notes that he had recalled from memory about his previous experiments, as well as some possible thoughts for a solution based on what he knew about the ingredients. Sirona had offered him some suggestions too, since she wasn’t allowed in the meeting room.

It was a meeting meant for royalty only, and even if she wasn’t, she didn’t want to waste time watching a whole bunch of egoistic blonds butt heads and argue. She might as well work on a possible cure with Jonah back at the infirmary.

Meanwhile, Nathaniel was not so lucky to escape, since he had more information than anyone else. Even though he told King Cyrus and Queen Anette that Alistair was all but lost to the toxin, they still harbored some hope that a miracle might happen and they would have their son back.

Alistair was their favorite, after all. Daphne could only sigh, already past the point of bitterness.

Nathaniel looked up, blinking at the sudden attention. His face had regained some color now that they had left the gory scene.

"Unfortunately, I have not found anything yet to reverse the transformation or even to kill him." He gave Daphne an apologetic look. "There has only been a single victim, and no one has caught sight of Alistair’s whereabouts to testify about his ongoing transformation. There’s not much I can do when I do not have enough information."

"So, you’re saying we need to give you... more victims?" Atticus asked on purpose.

Nathaniel’s face curdled and he was so close to flinging his quill at Atticus’s face.

"There will be victims anyway," he replied. "You might as well let me examine them. If any of you confront Alistair, do injure him. It would be best if we got a sample of Alistair’s blood."

The room stared at him as though he had asked for gold coins to rain from the sky. That would, in fact, be an easier task to accomplish than Prince Nathaniel’s request.

"We’ll be aiming to kill," Atticus said cheerily. "So that’s not a very useful suggestion."

Nathaniel said in what he deemed was a tone of remarkable self-restraint, "In any case, I have another idea― perhaps we could extend our efforts to apprehending Jean Nott as well. If we interrogate him, we’ll know what he truly did to him."

"Excellent idea!" King Cyrus slammed his hand on the table. "That criminal cannot be allowed to walk free after harming my son!"