Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 404: The Silver-Haired Beauty

Chapter 404: The Silver-Haired Beauty

"Very well," Atticus said easily, rolling his shoulders. "Sirona, you heard Princess Cordelia. We’ll get straight to business then. Where’s your uncle?"

"Hopefully not in his cups," Cordelia grumbled quietly, but not quietly enough that Daphne couldn’t hear her. In a louder voice, she continued, "He’s in his office. I’ll escort you there. Daphne, do you want to come along, or do you wish to rest in your rooms with your..." her voice trailed off as she considered Zephyr, a grown man with wings who was gawking at the painted ceiling like a child brought to a fish market, "friend?"

Good thing she caught herself in time. Cordelia had nearly let the word ’pet’ slip from her lips. If it weren’t for the practice she had over the last few times interacting with Daphne in person, she might’ve just spoken her mind and let everything loose.

No doubt the griffin wouldn’t take it well. However, Cordelia wasn’t too bothered about an overgrown man-child who was more interested in the artistic decorations of the palace than the current tense environment. Or, more accurately, she believed that Daphne could easily placate this beast-turned-human.

Daphne blinked, heartened by Cordelia’s consideration for her welfare, completely unaware of the wild thoughts running through her friend’s head at the moment.

"Zephyr and I will greet King Calarian first before resting," Daphne said. "It’s only polite." Hopefully, she could get some idea of King Calarian’s receptiveness to their visit.

Zephyr nodded in agreement.

Cordelia narrowed her eyes as though she could sense Daphne’s ulterior motives. Yet, she said nothing, simply leading them down a series of narrow corridors to a large door. Daphne’s eyes widened; this was nothing like the wooden doors of Reaweth’s royal palace.

Instead, a white slab of stone decorated with intricate carvings greeted her eyes. Daphne couldn’t see a way to open it― there was no door handle anyone could use to pull it open or shut.

"Uncle! Your guests are here!" Cordelia yelled, causing everyone to startle in surprise.

The door swung inward, revealing King Calarian and a woman with long silver hair cuddled together on a couch. The woman had hair so bright it was almost white. Before Daphne could even ask who she was, the sound of screeching children filled the air.

Two young children with pale hair darted out from behind the sofa and flung themselves at Cordelia’s calves like a pack of rabid puppies, begging to be picked up.

"Cousin Cordelia!"

"Cousin Cordelia!"

Cordelia sighed, rolling her eyes as she begged for patience. The woman, sensing her exasperation, merely laughed and extricated herself from King Calarian’s embrace.

"Boys, behave. You know you’re not supposed to jump at Cordelia. And we have guests over," she said, standing up and pulling her errant children by their hands. "What do we say to guests?"

"Welcome," they chorused in unison, their bright green eyes widening as they caught sight of Atticus’s imposing figure and Zephyr’s wings. As one, they darted behind their mother’s skirts, grabbing the fabric tightly with their tiny hands as they eyed them warily.

King Calarian stood up too, a warm smile on his face. "King Atticus, it’s great to see that you and Queen Daphne have arrived safely. I trust there were no mishaps on the road?"

"Nothing we couldn’t handle," Atticus said as they exchanged brief handshakes. He turned his gaze onto the woman and smiled, leaning down to kiss her outstretched hand, the very picture of gentlemanly grace. "And you must be Queen Lavinia. It’s a pleasure to meet you."

Well, that certainly answered the question of who the mystery woman was. Then again, only a fool would have missed the resemblance between her and the children, and fail to recognize the look of slavish adoration King Calarian gave her when she started moving.

Daphne’s heart couldn’t help but ache for herself, but she still smiled and politely curtseyed at Queen Lavinia, Cordelia’s aunt. While they were both queens, Daphne was technically a guest, and even though she looked no older than thirty, Queen Lavinia was at least two decades older than Daphne.

And according to Cordelia, she had given birth to four children. Daphne wasn’t a fool to put on airs in front of a woman willing to go through the pain of childbirth multiple times.

"The pleasure is all mine, I assure you. I hope you and your party enjoy your stay. I’m so happy to finally have guests visiting. It’s always nice to see new faces, especially one as lovely as yours, Queen Daphne," Queen Lavinia said cheerfully.

She clasped Daphne’s hands eagerly with her own. To Daphne’s astonishment, Queen Lavinia pulled her into a warm hug and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"You look as beautiful as the rumors say."

Daphne’s cheeks warmed at the easy display of physical affection. Not even her own mother acted like this to her!

"Auntie, what am I then? Chopped liver?" Cordelia protested from the side. "Is my company not enough for you?"

"Nonsense, Cordelia, you’re family and you’ll always be my favorite," Lavinia said, pinching her precious niece on the cheek.

Cordelia made a disgruntled sound but made no move to escape.

Daphne hid a smile behind her sleeve.

"And judging by the wings, this must be the griffin Cordelia told us about! My my, he has certainly grown into a handsome man!" Queen Lavinia exclaimed, and Zephyr pulled himself to full height, preening at the praise. The twin boys gasped in wonder when they saw his wings flutter.

"He has wings?"

"Can he fly?"

"Of course I can!" Zephyr boasted proudly, and they latched onto his legs instead, tugging at his wings in amazement. "Ouch, ouch, don’t pull! Daphne! Help!"

"Boys, stop that. You have better manners than this," Queen Lavinia said warningly, and her children reluctantly let go, identical expressions of shame on their faces. She turned and gave Daphne an apologetic smile.

"I know that our husbands have things to discuss. What do you say I escort you to your rooms? Children, say goodbye and goodnight to your father. He needs to work now."

"Oh, I couldn’t possibly―" Daphne stammered at the offer, but the older queen simply looped an arm around her arm. Daphne shot Cordelia a panicked glance― was her aunt always like this?

But Cordelia merely shrugged, grabbing her two nephews by their hands so that they wouldn’t run off and cause trouble. "Come on you noisy hellions, let’s go."

Said hellions cheered loudly.

"Bye Father! Goodnight!" They chorused together.

King Calarian patted their heads, an indulgent look in his eyes. "Goodnight, my dears. Sleep well. Darling, I’ll see you later?"

The last part was obviously addressed to Queen Lavinia, who smiled softly in response and nodded. King Calarian stood up and pulled her close and they exchanged a tender kiss, right in front of Daphne’s shell-shocked face.

Oh god, how could a couple be so demonstrative in front of an audience? Not to mention they were guests!

Cordelia groaned behind her. "Uncle, Auntie, must you do this every day?"

"Why not?" Queen Lavinia asked, with a tone of genuine confusion, "What is the point of marrying a man I love if I’m not allowed to kiss him at every given moment? Cordelia, you will understand these feelings in the future."

"I would not," Cordelia grumbled. "I most definitely would not. I want to go back to Nedour now."

"Remember to pack warmly then, the seas get cold," King Calarian said easily, too used to his niece’s threats of going home to pay them any real concern. "Why would I not kiss my wife goodbye? It’s perfectly normal. You’re only embarrassed because you have not found a partner."

"Urgh, never mind, can we just go already? Goodbye and goodnight!" Cordelia protested, grabbing Daphne’s arm to tug her away.

Daphne squawked as she was all but towed away by Cordelia’s strong arms, Zephyr following behind her with the children stuck to his calves. Queen Lavinia had no choice but to follow behind them, her husband looking longingly at her retreating back.

"Isn’t this a little rude?" Daphne asked worriedly.

"No, trust me, if you don’t leave quickly they’ll just continue kissing and nagging at me to find someone," Cordelia said, shaking her head. "If I don’t interrupt them, they may just end up accidentally making another child and that’s too much. My ears haven’t recovered from the twins and I already have another niece in the bassinet to spoil. At least she’s cute and quiet."

Daphne choked and nearly stumbled, shooting a panicked look at Queen Lavinia. Wasn’t this an insult to her aunt?

But Queen Lavinia only looked amused as she held her children’s hands. "What can I say? Your uncle and I simply cannot keep our hands off each other. He has only grown more handsome with age, and I desire him carnally. Four children is too little for the results of our lovemaking."

"Gross! Auntie! I didn’t need to know that!" Cordelia let out a disgusted sound, pretending to retch.

Meanwhile, Daphne’s face was a flaming red. Oh gods, now she understood where Cordelia inherited her bluntness from.

Then Queen Lavinia addressed Daphne.

"Speaking of, do you have any plans for children, Queen Daphne?"

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