Stolen by the Beastly Lycan King

Chapter 3: Serve Your Kingdom

Chapter 3: Serve Your Kingdom

"The marriage arrangement is final. You will marry Duke Vincent Kalder and move to his Duchy in the North."

Lorelai's stepmother, Queen Althea Erelith, did not even look at her stepdaughter while uttering these words. In the quiet embrace of her bedroom, they sounded more like a sentence than a happy announcement.

Once the princess got ready, instead of assuming her usual duties for the day, she was suddenly called into the queen's chambers. The messenger insisted that the matter was urgent and she had to see her stepmother immediately.

Now she understood why.

Lorelai shifted nervously as she stood before Althea's couch, clutching her cane with her right hand, and finally mustered the courage to speak.

"Duke Kalder of the Northern Duchy?" She repeated his name, still not quite believing that the queen was indeed talking about him.

"Yes, Duke Vincent Kalder. Why? You do not think he is good enough for you? A barren girl like yourself should be happy about such a fortunate arrangement!"

At last, Althea moved her eyes to the young lady standing in front of her and looked at her anxious face from underneath her perfectly shaped eyebrows. She set aside her half-empty goblet of red wine, then leaned back against the couch, and tapped her long, sharp nails on the wooden ornament of the couch's frame.

There was always something bohemian about that woman; though already in her forties, she was tall, slender, and beautiful, with her white skin, long red hair, and dark brown eyes sparkling under the soft light of the crystal chandelier.

And yet, every time she would open her mouth to speak, it felt as if she was a venomous snake, spitting words like deadly poison.

"You were aware of this agreement. Did you really think I was joking about it? You better get a hold of yourself, Lorelai; this marriage is important to the royal family's political stance, so don't you dare screw this up for us."

Althea rose to her feet and slowly walked up to her stepdaughter, towering over her like a menacing predator. Lorelai hated that she always made her feel incredibly small and insignificant with her mere presence alone.

No matter how hard Lorelai tried to shake that unpleasant feeling off, at the end of the day, she was nothing but a tool to help others accomplish their selfish, greedy goals. If the queen said she was to marry him, she had to obey.

Duke Vincent Kalder, the man she was supposed to marry, could easily pass as her grandfather, and although as a royal princess, she reserved the right to select her future husband, Lorelai could not help but feel trapped as she never had a choice to begin with.

The duke was a powerful figure. Reigning over the entire east-northern border, he was overseeing the biggest royal army that guarded Erelith against any possible danger roaming around that border line.

Having such a strong political figure supporting the royal family was incredibly important to Althea, especially since the king's poor health had proven how weak and unstable to crown truly was.

But no matter how rich or powerful Duke Kalder was, it did not erase the fact that he was a disgusting sixty-year-old pervert who had been drooling over Lorelai's body ever since she reached adolescence.

And now, thanks to the queen's greedy ambitions, he would finally have his chance to crush her.

"Good," Althea trapped her daughter's chin between the long fingers of her left hand and leaned closer, glaring straight into the princess' green eyes. "Remember your role, Lorelai. Serve your family. Serve your kingdom. You do not want to be completely useless, right?"

Lorelai closed her eyes, leaning heavily onto her cane as the pain from standing for so long had finally got to her.

She gritted her teeth, fighting the annoying sensation, and forced a response.

"No... Your Majesty."

Althea pushed her chin away forcing the princess to stumble from the impact. Watching her struggling to retain her balance, the queen chuckled and nodded, picking up her goblet.

"Good. Smart girl."