The Lycan King's Puppet-Chapter 120: Set in Stone

She wanted to kick her feet into any surface she could connect with.

Every time the blasted man was near, her whole body betrayed her, spiralling out of control.

And the only thing she had succeeded in getting out of him was protection for Aurora.

She was still his Cupbearer. Still bound to him whether she liked it or not.

Because he didn’t want her to leave.

She hadn’t actually planned on leaving just yet - not when Jarren was very serious about abducting her, not when the King was almost poisoned, not when Redmare claimed she owed him.

She and Rory wouldn’t make it a day outside here, except they disappeared to the South.

And to do that, they needed money. A lot of money.

A woman couldn’t be hired for manual services and she wasn’t paid a dime as his ’Esteemed’ Cupbearer. She thought of selling the watch she had, but it was the only thing of her father’s she had left.

Yeren would never give her money - because he was against her leaving.

But... if she could be promoted to a position that ensured her financial wellbeing, she would be well off.

He was... stubborn. Part of her was flattered, but flattery got her nowhere.

After a while, Lara and her girls arrived.

In the afternoon?

A smile touched her lips - they were an unusual group of maids.

"Finally! I can see your pretty face." Lara exclaimed, throwing her arm over Claire’s shoulder as she opened the door.

"Your so-called guard refused us entry the two times we came to see to your bath, my lady." The freckled one said before she could ask any questions.

Claire’s mouth formed a round shape. How considerate of him, she thought.

"Whatever happened to you? We all have been sick with worry for you."

The pale one leaned closer and asked, "Morning sickness?"

"It’s too early to tell." Lara quickly said.

Claire could only blink.

They were taking their assumptions too far.

"Thank you for the concern, Ladies." She said, hoping they’d dismiss the topic.

Then, they pulled her towards the bed and sat her down.

"We have news for you."

She looked from face to face, wondering what kind of news they possibly had for her.

"A date has been fixed for the wedding." The quiet one said.

"I wanted to be the one to tell her, Fina."

Fina, the quiet one, pinned her lips together with a sheepish look on her face.

A date had been fixed.

Claire forced a smile.

"When?"

"A fortnight from now."

"Has the news been confirmed?" She couldn’t help asking. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Lady Eliza’s lady-in-waiting just told me. The King is aware of it and no objections were made by him."

She tried to maintain her smile, but it crumpled faster than an unstable pile of rocks.

"I should congratulate them."

Lara waved her hand in front of her. "Save the nonsense courtesy act, love. Do you know what this means for you?"

Claire shook her head, even though she knew that whatever suggestion Lara would make wouldn’t be a good one.

"It means that you have a fortnight to make him fall in love with you."

They made it sound like a mission to be pushed with all her might.

She didn’t want to have to fight for his attention - it was supposed to be freely given.

And the last thing she wanted was to make an enemy of Plumette’s entire family.

"You must be mistaken. I’m not a suitable bride for the King."

"Says who?"

"No one has to say it."

"Nonsense. You’re the only one suitable for him."

Claire rolled her eyes.

Lara was quite persuasive when she wanted to be, but there was no way she was falling for this one.

"I’ve heard enough from you about this matter."

They all fell silent and set about their tasks.

But it was clear that this wasn’t the last time the topic would surface.

When they were done with her, they left her alone.

Much further into the uneventful day, her guard knocked to inform her that someone wanted to see her.

Her mind immediately darted to Redmare. But it was much too soon. Andon wouldn’t have bothered with such tedious formalities if he wanted to see her.

As she stepped into the hallway in her sapphire dress, she saw Zach standing there with a handful of handpicked white roses in his hands.

A smile touched her lips.

"Zach." She threw restraint into the wind and jumped on him.

He was the only friendly face she had seen in a long while.

Firm hands wrapped around her waist.

He was more... broad and taller.

Sensing the difference in his warm embrace, she stepped back to look at him.

He looked more like a man, the way Yeren and Andon did, but his physique was born from hard work rather than sheer effortlessness.

He was wearing a long brown leather coat with a stylish cut and matching breeches. Her eyes rounded.

"You look different."

Even his hair was longer. When was the last time she saw him? Was it up to a fortnight? She couldn’t even remember.

His smile was the same however.

"I’ll take that as a compliment. And you look splendid."

Splendid? That was new.

"I can see that your business is successful."

He beamed even wider. "It is. There’s not a day that your image doesn’t push me to do better."

Oh. Really.

He held her at the small of her back.

"Where is Aurora?"

"In her room." She took the flowers from him, held his hand and dragged him towards Rory’s door.

Rory was sitting on the bed, reading a book that looked too heavy for her own hands.

"Zach!" Her sister excitedly screamed the moment she saw him.

He let go of Claire and went to pick the little girl up.

"I heard about your... accident. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help."

Claire patted his back affectionately.

"It’s not your fault."

He produced a handmade hairpin for Rory. There were Amethyst stones on it. From the way Rory’s eyes brightened, it was clear that she loved it.

Then her sister dug under her feather pillow and produced a handkerchief that she’d sewn herself. His name was even embroidered at the bottom.

He put it in the pocket of his coat.

"I love it." He whispered quietly.

Then, he turned to Claire.

"I’ll come back to see you, Rory. Now, I need a few minutes to seduce your bull-headed sister."

Claire colour, hiding the flowers behind her back.

"Don’t say such things in front of her!" She chided.

Zach and Rory were smiling mischievously amongst themselves.

"Take all the time you need."

He held Claire’s hand and literally pulled her out of her sister’s room.

She stumbled behind him, wondering why he was in such a hurry.

Wait, what did he mean by seduce?

As soon as the door closed behind her, he pushed her against the wall and pressed his lips against hers.

She tensed. But he was unrelenting.

She placed her hands on his shoulders to stop him, hesitating when she realized that she didn’t know how best to break the news to him.

"Miss Stenly."

The voice made her blood run colder than ice.