Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 469: The Prison of Trust

Chapter 469: The Prison of Trust

Daphne tried to reach out for Atticus, only to realize that he had her pinned to the bed with his magic. This was the very same tactic he used on Alistair and Leonora during their first eventful family dinner; Daphne had felt nothing but vindictive amusement when it happened to her siblings― now that Atticus used the very same trick on her, it was a lot harder to respond with gaiety and nonchalance.

"Atticus! What are you doing? Let me go this very instant!" Daphne demanded, attempting to break free of his magical hold. Of course, her efforts were depressingly futile.

"I can’t do that, Daphne," Atticus said apologetically. "I need you to remain here, quiet and still, so that you will keep whatever I just told you a secret. If you informed the rest of your family and they launched an attempt to kill me, I would have to kill them all and leave you an orphan. This is for your own good."

"You― How can you even use this as a reason?" Daphne exclaimed, her face turning red with fear and indignation.

Truth be told, she didn’t have any intentions of telling her siblings to begin with. Her first thought was to tell Nereus and Zephyr, and then send letters to Cordelia and Prince Nathaniel warning them of the madness that was sure to follow.

Now that Atticus had mentioned it, perhaps informing her family members might be a better course of action.

Then again, what could they even do with such information? Even if there were ten of them multiplied by another ten, Atticus was strong enough to do away with them just as easily. The Reawethen royalty person most likely to actually survive a bout with Atticus was herself, simply because Atticus might not kill her so quickly.

Yet, if she told no one, Atticus would succeed without a doubt. She didn’t want him to succeed. No matter what, Daphne had to escape this room. She couldn’t do anything when she was stuck inside with no one she could contact for help.

"Atticus, I swear, I won’t tell them. It’s not like they could lay a hand against you. The last one that tried is nothing more than a decapitated head locked in the dungeons ready to be sentenced," Daphne admitted, referring to Alistair.

"You can’t keep me in this state, what if I need to relieve myself? Do you wish for your wife to become a bedwetter? Can you live with such embarrassment?"

Atticus quirked his lips in amusement. Even when their marriage was on the rocks and quickly sinking beneath the waters, she still managed to unintentionally bring him joy with her words.

"I won’t be gone too long for that to happen, don’t worry," Atticus said. "But if it makes you feel better, I can let you go. You will face no harm so long as you stay in this room. I’ll trust that you won’t leave. Can you promise me that?"

"Alright. I’ll hold up my end of the bargain," Daphne agreed easily, and Atticus released her before turning to leave.

The door slammed shut with grim finality, and Daphne waited until she could no longer hear the sound of Atticus’s footsteps outside before she finally got out of the bed, gingerly tip-toeing to the door.

She reached out a hand in an attempt to tug the door open, only to be met with a nasty surprise. A sharp jolt shocked her hands, and she instinctively pulled back, wringing her hands to get rid of the foreign sensation in her limbs.

For all his claims about trusting her, Atticus had used magic to shock anyone who opened the door to prevent her from leaving. And Daphne, for all her promises to hold up her end of the bargain, had already attempted to make an escape attempt.

What a pathetic couple they both made, Daphne thought, internally despairing at the sad state of affairs. The trust they had in each other had long been eroded. Daphne closed her eyes and began thinking of another way to escape.

***

"She tried to leave so quickly," Atticus mumbled to himself, sighing in disappointment as he felt the spell getting triggered.

His lovely wife had lied to him once again. Atticus was half-hoping that the enchantment he put in the room wouldn’t be activated― especially for Daphne’s sake.

It was a nasty piece of magic that Atticus had developed to keep his valuables safe from thieves; it was triggered by touch, and the shocks would grow steadily stronger with repeated attempts. Even if Daphne were to wrap her hands with the blankets and tug, it would not have made a difference. The magic shock would simply pass through it to hit her.

Well, his wife wasn’t a fool. Hopefully, she would realize that escape was futile and simply wait patiently until Atticus returned. He had more important things to do now. Atticus widened his strides so that he could reach Princess Leonora’s room. After a few sharp knocks, he was greeted with Princess Leonora’s surprised face.

"King Atticus, what a pleasure," Leonora said, sounding anything but pleased. She discreetly peered around, looking for her older sister. "Is Daphne here with you?"

"Daphne is still resting in our room. She has undergone a lot of trouble on our trip," Atticus said.

Leonora narrowed her eyes. She had gotten the news from the palace healers that her sister was unconscious, but King Atticus had refused to let anyone see her. The man also didn’t tell anyone what happened during the trip, leading Leonora to think about the worst-case scenarios.

"What happened to her?"

"I’ll let your sister tell you when she wakes up," Atticus promised, "Besides, I’m here because I thought it might be prudent of me to get down to business first. Do you wish for your brother to be restored to his original state?"

"Of course!" Leonora nodded frantically, hope entering her eyes. "So you mean to say that your mission was successful after all?"

"Yes, you can say that it was," Atticus smiled wanly. "Now, do you wish to get started immediately, or do you want to wait until Daphne wakes up?"

"There’s no time like the present!" Silas’s voice rang out from inside the room. Evidently, he had been awake and listening to the conversation the entire time. "Please, give me my body back!"

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