Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 382: Too Little Too Late II

Chapter 382: Too Little Too Late II

A guilty silence met her pronouncement.

"We’ll get to the bottom of this," Jonah promised, finally speaking up. He looked wretched. "I’m sorry, Daphne."

"Why were you not on duty tonight?" Daphne asked, narrowing her eyes. Usually, Jonah was saddled with such important tasks since Atticus trusted him the most. Yet, he was nowhere to be found.

"I―" Jonah gave Atticus a quick glance, but Atticus merely raised his eyebrow.

"Yes, Jonah, why were you not on duty tonight? I am curious to know too, since I gave you explicit instructions to stand guard," said Atticus. "Were you out with someone that you neglected your duties? Someone with long blond hair, perhaps? Strolling around in the palace?"

"That’s not..." Jonah spluttered, his voice trailing off as Atticus continued to stare at him. There was a look of abject disbelief and... hurt? As though Atticus had personally wronged him.

Daphne blinked in surprise, and that expression was gone from Jonah’s face, as though she had imagined it. Judging from Atticus’s tone, Jonah must have been spending time with someone that he didn’t approve of. Someone with long blonde hair― which did not narrow it down as much as it should have. There was Leonora, Blanche, Prince Nathaniel...

Oh god, was he out on a date with Prince Nathaniel? Was that why Jonah was so cagey about being caught?

Daphne immediately began to feel somewhat guilty. Was she not a good enough friend to Jonah that he felt that he couldn’t tell her something so important? Or perhaps Jonah thought it might be awkward since Prince Nathaniel used to be in love with her.

Still, that thought hurt. She would have been supportive! Daphne pursed her lips. Even if Jonah was out with Prince Nathaniel on a secret date, it did not explain how all the other guards were missing!

"I’m sorry, Your Majesties. It won’t happen again," Jonah said woodenly and bowed low. Daphne frowned, sensing something amiss. Jonah had not referred to her with such formality ever since she gave him permission to call her by name, and it’s even rarer for him to address Atticus so rigidly.

Maybe she’ll have a talk with Nathaniel to clear up any lingering doubts. She was upset with Jonah for deserting his duty, but not for who he chose to love.

"Fair enough, I trust that this will not happen again," Daphne said simply, and Jonah nodded without meeting her eyes.

Instead, she turned her ire on her husband, giving him a stony glare. Atticus had perked up, possibly thinking that he was absolved of blame since Jonah had admitted fault.

"Why do you look so happy? You’re also at fault!" Daphne scolded hotly.

Atticus started to explain, "Daphne, as you can see, Jonah was the one negligent in his duties―"

Daphne held up a hand to stop him, a look of disgust crossing her face.

"Oh please, stop blaming Jonah for everything! Even if Jonah was negligent in his duties―" something Daphne doubted he would have done without a good reason, "―it was still your business to ensure your orders were faithfully carried out! Was everything doomed to failure once Jonah went on a date? In that case, what are you good for?"

She scowled heavily at him, breathing deeply to calm herself down after that second rant.

God.

How infuriating of her husband to pin the blame on Jonah when he had a part to play. Also, since Atticus and Jonah were such good friends, Daphne doubted that Atticus would be unaware of the relationship between Nathaniel and Jonah.

How could he be so small-minded? If Jonah wanted time off to indulge himself, he should have been given the opportunity and Atticus should have arranged a replacement. What on earth was her husband thinking? Did he lose his brain cells fighting Alistair?

Was Alistair’s idiocy contagious?

Atticus gingerly approached her and tried to hug her in comfort, but she shrugged off his hands and pulled away, with Zephyr hissing angrily in her arms. Atticus’s face had an expression of abject misery, but she was determined to remain unmoved, glaring at him for even attempting to approach her.

Partly because she was still upset and she didn’t want to be coaxed, but mostly because she didn’t want him to see the contents of her pockets.

She needed to make her own investigations before deciding to trust Atticus with the results. If it came down between her and Sirona, Atticus might not take her side without proof.

"Now, I’ll be going back to bed after my husband moves out of our room," Daphne said severely, making sure to shoot Atticus with another glare as she pointed to the door, a wordless order for him to get moving. "Isn’t that right, Atticus?"

Atticus opened his mouth, trying to come up with a new reason to be forgiven. Daphne narrowed his eyes, daring him to say another word. The guards watched in disbelief as their famed king actually shut his mouth and nodded glumly, slinking away from his wife as she stormed into their shared chambers.

He was left standing outside as the door slammed shut in his face.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the door, Daphne took a deep breath and locked the door. She also closed the windows and pulled the curtains.

Finally, she was alone. Zephyr flew out of her hands and eagerly made a nest in the blankets, taking great joy in clawing Atticus’s pillow.

Daphne emptied her pockets and gathered all the information she just found. There was that dagger with the strange sigil. Sirona’s incriminating notes. Zephyr being completely unguarded despite Atticus’s earlier promise.

Daphne sighed as her temples began to ache. If only that intruder hadn’t escaped! Daphne would personally grill his every limb until he gave her a proper answer.

Now, the only suspicious people she could investigate were Sirona, Jonah, and her own husband. Daphne could only laugh quietly to herself at the sheer incredulity of it all.

Since Jonah was supposedly going out with Nathaniel, or Leonora — or god forbid, Blanche — Daphne decided that it would be best if she simply weeded out the suspects. If Jonah had an alibi that explained his absence, Daphne could forgive him.

Meanwhile, it was harder to absolve Sirona and Atticus of suspicion.

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