Stolen by the Rebel King-Chapter 568: In Trouble

"Princess Cordelia," Lord Waylen greeted her smugly. "I’m glad to see that you have decided to start the next part of your contest with me. Dare I say that after you’ve spent time with me, you would see no reason to continue with the rest of the contest. These other candidates could not possibly hold a candle to me."

Cordelia smiled like a viper waiting to strike.

Lord Waylen might not have been the man who killed Yael, but not only did he fail to report the death after finding it first, but he also attempted to frame Nikun for it. Granted, he wasn’t too far off the mark, but Lord Waylen had played one too many dirty tricks. He truly believed he was able to play Cordelia for a fool.

"Believe me when I say that the pleasure is all mine."

Daphne could only marvel at Lord Waylen’s deliberate obliviousness. The smile that was on Cordelia’s face should have sent warning bells ringing through his head, but Lord Waylen’s mind was so stuck up his own behind that he did not detect the bloodlust in Cordelia’s gaze.

"Must we have such a huge audience?" Lord Waylen asked, his eyes brushing over the guards and Jonah, Daphne, and Atticus. "I was under the impression we were meant to be spending time alone."

Cordelia chuckled darkly. "That would be true if I actually meant to spend any time with you. Lord Waylen, you’re suspected of theft, unlawful possession of a weapon in this phase of the competition, as well as the bribery of fellow contestants. Guards, seize him!"

The guards moved, grabbing his arms. Lord Waylen’s eyes bulged out in shock, and he tried to twist his way out of their hold. However, these knights were physically trained men, while Lord Waylen’s strongest muscle was his mouth― hence he could not do anything but yap angrily as he was manhandled.

"Princess Cordelia, I demand an explanation! How can you arrest me on these grounds without proof?! My family will hear about this!"

"Men, gag him," Cordelia said as she rolled her eyes. "The rest of you, search his quarters."

"You can’t do this―" Lord Waylen would have continued to screech, but one of the guards covered his mouth with his hands, only to hiss in pain when he felt Lord Waylen bite down on his palm.

"I demand restitution! You cannot silence me, you bitch!" He howled out loud, and his loud voice attracted the attention of the other contestants who were residing in their rooms, patiently waiting for their turn. They popped their heads out, mouths gaping at the commotion.

Meanwhile, a wintry silence enveloped the room, and an evil glint entered Cordelia’s eyes.

If Daphne were a more religious woman, she would pray for Waylen because he definitely needed some form of divine intervention to survive Cordelia’s wrath. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

"I’ll add disrespecting royalty to the list of charges," Cordelia added, her smile ever-present and ever-frosty. "Feel free to continue casting doubts on my character. I’ll take that into account when deciding your sentence."

"How dare you―" Waylen continued to yell, but then one of the guards held out a knife with an awfully familiar design.

"Princess Cordelia, I found this in his trunk!"

Daphne and Atticus exchanged victorious glances― it seemed that Lord Waylen was too confident in Nikun’s chances of getting arrested and charged that he did not get rid of the evidence.

Lord Waylen paled. "Lies! You put it there to frame me! Princess Cordelia, you must see sense!"

"Oh, I must, must I?" Cordelia repeated drolly as she walked to where the guard was. He handed her the dagger, and true enough, there was a ruby missing from one side of the knife’s hilt. "What have we here?"

"Princess Cordelia, there’s more of them in the trunk," the guard said, and Cordelia peered down to see a hoard of knives, all featuring Santok’s dragons strewn haphazardly all over each other in the trunk, their rubies winking mischievously under the light of day.

"Fascinating," Cordelia said, clapping her hands in delight. She can now charge him with treason.

"Lord Waylen, there is no way my guards could have deposited such a large amount of knives from Santok into your personal trunk since they were not allowed access to your rooms to begin with."

She let her words sink in before she plunged in the finishing blow. But of course, she left out the fact that there, in fact, was someone who managed to sneak into his room. Lord Waylen needn’t know about Nikun’s little harmless visit.

"Harboring so many weapons alone could be constituted as a threat against the crown."

Cordelia’s smile widened to reveal her canines. Her tongue darted out to swipe at the sharp edges, as though she was a carnivore relishing in the taste of fresh meat.

"Lord Waylen, do you have plans to assassinate me during our outing? Or perhaps, were you planning a full-scale rebellion?"

All earlier haughtiness was gone from Lord Waylen’s demeanor, and he began shaking like a leaf. Treason was a charge that was punishable not only by his death but also by the execution of his entire family.

"O-Of course not! Princess Cordelia, I would never! I’m only loyal to you!"

Cordelia smirked, but she didn’t let him get away. Now that she had this irritance pinned under her claws, she was going to shred him into pieces for all his nonsensical prattling he put her through.

"You have an awfully funny way of showing it since you called me a bitch mere minutes ago. If this is how you portray your loyalty, I find myself more comfortable with your treason. Guards, throw Lord Waylen into dungeons to await trial."

Lord Waylen fell to his knees, begging for forgiveness. "Please, Princess Cordelia, have mercy!"

While Lord Waylen was prostrating himself, Cordelia stood tall and imposing, a goddess staring down at an unworthy peon, unmoved by demonstrations of his faith.

Somehow, Jonah suddenly felt hot under his collar. Cordelia was stunning when vicious, elegant like a hot knife slicing through butter. Unbidden, he recalled the way her hands felt on his body when she tried to clean him up, the softness and adoration in her eyes as she watched him stumble and bumble his way around, and he had to will himself to calm down.

This could not be happening to him! He could not be having lustful and romantic thoughts about Nedour’s Crown Princess! This was simply not the time and place for it―

Atticus merely shot him a knowing gaze from the corner of his eyes. Clearly, his best friend was driving himself into a conniption at the thought of Princess Cordelia destroying her enemies.

Well. He would simply have to get used to it.

Atticus realized there was no bloody candidate that could outshine his best friend, so Jonah would have to adapt to being Nedour’s king. He could give him advice, but since Jonah had been advising him for most of his reign, it seemed awfully redundant.

But there were other things he could advise him on. After all, Atticus was the married one among the two of them. A finality sank into his bones; Atticus could only sigh― it was time to accept that Jonah could not — would not — stay with him forever.

"Jonah," Cordelia spoke, her voice sending pinpricks of longing coursing through Jonah’s body. He quickly turned towards her, only to see her victorious smile.

His heart stuttered in his ribcage. Oh, he was in trouble.