Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 386: The Checklist of Possible Suitors III

Chapter 386: The Checklist of Possible Suitors III

"Excuse me?" Leonora demanded, blinking in confusion, her ears reddening at the unexpected question. "What are you talking about?"

"You have feelings for Commander Jonah?" Silas asked, an unholy light in his eyes as he began what younger brothers did best even when they were disembodied heads, which was to tease their sisters. He continued to speak, his voice sing-song, "I see you’ve been keeping secrets from me! Ooooooh oooooh oooooh, you’re in love! You like hiiiiim― ack!"

Leonora slapped her hand over his mouth none too gently to shut him up, and Silas winced at the pain, turning his sad eyes onto Daphne for help. Meanwhile, Zephyr flew out of her arms and sat imperiously on his head.

"Gross," Leonora said.

Before Daphne could ask if it was in response to her feelings for Jonah, Leonroa pulled out a spare towel and wiped her hand clean on it. It turned out that in a highly childish move, Silas had licked her hand to make her let go. He then rolled his eyes upwards to stare at Zephyr’s bulk above his head.

"You’d better not fart on me, you stupid bird," Silas said warningly. "Wait― don’t!"

Zephyr peered down and stared at him with beady eyes, and then smacked his face with his wings.

Leonora cackled, and Daphne couldn’t help but laugh along too.

"So, you’re not going on dates with Jonah?" Daphne asked after they finished laughing at Silas’s misfortune.

"No, I’m not," Leonora replied. There was a glint of shrewdness in her sharp blue eyes as she gazed at Daphne. "But that’s not what you really want to know, right? Daphne, why don’t you just get straight to the point?"

Daphne sucked in a breath. "Where were you last night? Were you on a date with Prince Jonah in the wee hours of the night?"

"I was in my room the whole time, Silas can vouch for me," Leonora said, and Silas chorused in agreement. "And even if I were to date, I wouldn’t date a man below my station, let alone in the middle of the night. I’m not Drusilla."

Leonora sounded offended at the very implication.

"More importantly, nice as Sir Jonah is, nothing short of a prince would do for me."

"Oh," Daphne said, torn between wanting to defend Jonah’s honor and the realization that yet another possible prospect was crossed off the list. That left... "Then, do you think Blanche likes Sir Jonah?"

If it wasn’t Blanche, the only other person with long blonde hair was Daphne’s mother. And she was sure Jonah’s taste didn’t run that old... right?

Right?!

"Huh? Is Sir Jonah so desperate for love that he’s making you his matchmaker? Does he not have the guts to ask himself?" Leonora asked derisively, disgust in her voice. "And you know Sir Jonah better than I do. Do you think he likes young girls who aren’t even of marriageable age? Daphne, what’s the point of all these questions?"

"No, it’s not that," Daphne said weakly, sending Jonah a mental apology for accidentally ruining his reputation. "I heard a rumor that Jonah was out with someone with long blond hair the night before, which was why he wasn’t at his post. I’m trying to ascertain if there is any truth to the rumors."

"Then why don’t you just interrogate Sir Jonah with blue kyanite?" Leonora said bluntly, "You’re technically his queen. He can’t refuse you."

"I’d rather not," Daphne said. Jonah was a friend. She didn’t want to pry secrets out of him unwillingly or cause him unnecessary pain.

"But that’s the fastest way," Leonora pointed out, her mind only focused on the efficiency of the methods. That was what made her such a fearsome leader on the field. "If you are going to ask every man and woman with long blonde hair if they dated Sir Jonah, you’d only get a definite answer by winter solstice next year. And even that might be too hopeful. There are simply too many blondes here."

Daphne sighed, acknowledging her point.

"Where did you even hear such a rumor from though?" Leonora asked curiously. "My men work with Jonah often, and they’ve never heard him mention anyone special."

"... Atticus said so."

"It sounds like he’s just pushing the blame on Sir Jonah because he doesn’t want you to hate him," Silas chimed in, an uncharacteristic frown on his face as he listened to their conversation. "This reminds me of the time the old Duke Lanperouge missed the birthday of his old fling and then blamed it on his poor secretary for misplacing his gift. Do you remember?"

Daphne did not remember, but this incident must have happened when she was in another kingdom, for Leonora scoffed in agreement.

"Of course. That woman was foolish to accept such an excuse, and it wasn’t as though the secretary could do anything to defend himself. It was his word against the Duke’s. Since he didn’t want to be out of a job, he just accepted the blame. Doesn’t that sound familiar, Daphne?"

Daphne froze, remembering the look of hurt she saw on Jonah’s face and his wooden demeanor afterward. He must have felt so betrayed by Atticus’s words.

"Besides, if I was Sir Jonah, I wouldn’t pick nighttime for a rendezvous," Leonora continued. "If it came out the wrong way, others might misunderstand that I am trying to plan a coup. He is, after all, not even in his own kingdom. Father could easily pin some crime on him and accuse him of planning against the crown."

Daphne sighed, nodding. She understood Leonora’s point completely and understood what she was implying. In fact, she had already considered the possibility. She just didn’t want to think that Atticus would so blatantly lie to her straight to her face.

"There’s something else, isn’t there?" Leonora asked. "It isn’t just about Sir Jonah’s love life. You’re keeping something else."

"Jonah was supposed to stand guard last night outside the infirmary," Daphne said. "Or at least, I was under the impression that he would, if not his men. However, there wasn’t anyone, so what was their excuse?"

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.