Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 374: Shatters & Cracks

Chapter 374: Shatters & Cracks

Back at the palace, the mood was a mix of solemnity and delight. Her other siblings and the common folk were delighted that the monster was finally put down, but her parents had taken one look at Alistair’s bruised, bloodied head and the rest of his body, and had to be escorted back to their rooms due to the shock.

Daphne tried not to feel too upset about it. Alistair was their prized son― how could they deal with the visceral proof of his death? Never mind that he was a monster that terrorized hundreds. All her parents saw was their child, dead.

As a result, most people in the palace dared not to blatantly celebrate, but that didn’t stop Atticus. He presented Sirona with Alistair’s body and he even wrapped him up in a bow. If he delivered it when Prince Nathaniel was present, well, that was just an awful coincidence.

"What in God’s good name is that?!" Prince Nathaniel screeched in horror, jumping back as he pressed his fist against his lips to prevent himself from throwing up.

Atticus threw Alistair’s headless body on the ground without much care, happily watching as it flopped lifelessly, as though he was truly dead. Alas, that was not the case, since Alistair’s head had been awakened and was rumored to be making quite the fuss down in the dungeons.

At least this time, his head and body were kept apart, with Alistair’s head kept in a maximum security prison cell. It was unlikely for him to be able to reattach himself so quickly.

"It is the perfect subject for experiments, of course!" Sirona said in awe, scuttling over to examine Alistair’s body. "Do you think he can still feel pain even while his head is separated?"

As she spoke, she began to poke and prod at Alistair’s neck, watching as the bulging veins pulsed as though blood was flowing through it.

"Fascinating," she commented, before returning to her desk to pull out some quills and parchment to begin her studies.

"Wait," Jonah said, stepping forward. "What happened to your ring?"

Everyone’s heads — minus Alistair, of course, with it locked away — turned to look at Atticus’s finger, where his famed obsidian ring sat. The crack that had formed in his ring was still there, clear as ever with the light streaming into the room, plain for everyone to see.

Daphne hadn’t observed it closely when they were fighting with Alistair, but now that they were in a safe room, she finally had the luxury of time to raise her finger and look. Her ring had clear shatters in the aquamarines as well.

Could Atticus have gone overboard with his magic usage? But he was still able to tap into his powers to control Alistair even without the assistance of the ring, just like how he did in the maze of the Crowned Conquest. Why did he even need a ring, then?

"Oh," Atticus simply said, turning his hand back and forth to look at the ring. "I guess the stone is getting old."

He pulled the ring casually off his finger, tossing it in Jonah’s direction as the latter caught it midair before it could land on the ground.

"Get me a replacement stone, Jonah," he casually said.

"Just like that?" Nathaniel spluttered. "Where are you even going to find such a good quality stone in such short notice?"

"Our king’s obsidian stones will require maintenance every once in a while," Sirona answered. "Due to his high magic usage, the stone isn’t able to withstand the amount of power for a long period of time. Cracks are common. We’ve prepared in advance for this, just in case."

"And he still managed to subdue Alistair even without the help of his ring?" Nathaniel asked, stunned. "Fascinating."

Standing in a corner, Nereus frowned, silently listening to their conversation.

"Is this normal, then?" Daphne said, holding out her hand. She turned to Atticus, then continued, "The aquamarines are damaged. It must’ve been in the fight with Alistair when we were rescuing Nereus."

"We can replace the stones for you too, if you would like," Sirona said.

"Is that not too much trouble?"

"Of course not," Jonah said. "We have to send Atticus’s ring for maintenance, anyway. Doing yours too isn’t a hassle."

"Alright then," Daphne said, pulling her ring out. She handed it over to Jonah, placing it in his open palm. Once her ring was gone, she flexed her fingers, oddly uncomfortable with how empty it felt. "Please do."

Atticus’s gaze shifted to Daphne’s hand, observing her movements. He then reached over and interlaced her fingers with his, lightly squeezing her hands in a show of comfort.

"We’ll get you a replacement," he said, remembering the incident in Raxuvia. Then, he shrugged. "At least until the Symphony is fixed, so that you wouldn’t be harassed by the noble ladies again."

Daphne’s heart warmed. It was nice to know that Atticus took notice of such small details, especially when she hadn’t even said her woes out loud. She nodded, smiling brightly.

"We’ll be going, then," Jonah said. "I need to get the stones replaced as soon as possible, and I am sure Sirona would love to have the infirmary all to herself to experiment."

Sirona nodded. "Get out of here," she said, playfully making the shooing motion with both her hands. "I can’t wait to crack into this guy. If anyone is in the dungeons, please let me know if Alistair can feel the pain."

"It would be a good punishment if he could," Atticus said with a wicked smirk. His expression turned soft when he looked at Daphne, gently tugging her hand. "Let’s go get some food. You must be hungry after all of that."

"Shouldn’t we help Luis?" Daphne asked. "He’s still with the survivors, right?"

"Your sister is with him," Atticus replied. "They’ll manage."

Atticus and Daphne then left the room alongside Jonah. Prince Nathaniel was next, and Nereus, who had been quiet the entire time, kicked off from where he was at the wall, wordlessly observing the exchanges.

An uneasy feeling had been brewing in his chest ever since he conversed with Prince Nathaniel for the first time after his recovery, and this feeling had only been exponentially growing ever since then. With the latest conversation, there was something Nereus needed to ask. Among the group of Daphne’s friends, only Prince Nathaniel seemed to be trustworthy.

"Prince Nathaniel," Nereus called out once they were a safe distance away from the makeshift infirmary. He had been trailing the Raxuvian prince since they left.

The prince in question turned around, curious. He raised an eyebrow, stunned since he hadn’t even noticed the fact that he was being tailed the entire time.

"Can I help you, Nereus?" Nathaniel asked, wary.

"Yes," replied the kelpie. "There’s something I would like to discuss."

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