Stolen by the Beastly Lycan King-Chapter 84: King’s Gold

"Something interesting?" Lorelai’s eyes sparkled with unexpected excitement and Rhaegar laughed again, patting her on the head.

"Yes," he nodded, offering her a slice of bread as well. "I will tell you why today’s victory was so easy for you, princess."

How could she think about eating after hearing such promising and intriguing words? The princess was about to set the slice of bread back onto the plate when Rhaegar grabbed her wrist, stopping her hand from moving.

"Don’t make me feed you, Lorelai," he warned coldly. "You promised to share a meal with me, so be a good girl and eat."

’Feed me?’

Lorelai recalled the last time the king fed her the dried raisin bread and her face instantly turned red. Without thinking twice, she shoved the bread into her mouth and downed it with red wine, almost choking, which only made Rhaegar laugh even louder.

"Be careful. You do not want to die before learning what I have to say, right?"

The princess slowly shook her head, her mouth still filled with half-chewed bread. She took her time chewing the rest of the bread and once she swallowed, she opened her mouth to ask the man again, but he only placed a piece of smoked meat dipped in something sweet between her lips and closed them, wiping a little smudge at the corner of her mouth.

"It’s not good to talk while you’re eating. Try everything you want, even if just a bite, and then we can talk."

There was no helping it, his words worked like a charm. All of a sudden, Lorelai felt an almost animalistic hunger as her eyes traveled over the delicious spread of foods before her.

Her hands became greedy, assuming a life of their own, and before she knew it, her fingers were smeared with a blend of dipping sauces and fats from all kinds of meats and the oils from fried vegetables while small breadcrumbs clung to the skin around her mouth with every generous bite she took.

She wondered if she looked ridiculously horrible, forgoing all rules of etiquette and table manners. Lorelai was eating the same way the beasts ate: with her bare hands, hovering over the plates, chugging delicious red wine as it washed down the incredible taste of every piece she put inside her mouth.

She loved it. She could not get enough. And Rhaegar noticed it too.

He was looking at her with the eyes full of admiration and concern. ’Who would have thought that a woman with such a healthy appetite could look so thin and sickly? If you were with me, dear princess, I would make sure to feed you properly every single day.’

At last, it looked like the princess had managed to satiate her appetite, her hands no longer greedily clutching the food. Sighing heavily, her eyes frantically looked for something to clean her hands with when her gaze suddenly locked on Rhaegar’s smiling face.

’Oh God...’

A chilling wave of embarrassment washed over her body as she realized what she had done. She must have looked like a pig in his eyes. A royal princess, stuffing her mouth with food like a starving beggar.

"Here, let me help you," Rhaegar completely ignored her distressed expression. Instead, he retrieved a big silk handkerchief from the inner pocket of his vest and started gently wiping Lorelai’s dirty hands, completely focused on that task alone.

He was sitting so love to her that even though she was surrounded by a myriad of strong, delicious smells, the princess could still feel the king’s scent cling onto her skin. She watched his long black eyelashes flutter every time he blinked, his strong chest rising and falling with every breath he took.

Her heart began to race in her chest and she was afraid he would hear it too. Lorelai decided to distract him by asking again.

"Will you tell me now?"

Rhaegar finished wiping her hands and silently moved to wipe her face. Lorelai felt like a child that needed to be taken care of, but if she had to be honest with herself, at that moment, she did not really mind that.

Once he was done, the king threw the handkerchief onto one of the empty plates and once again, without saying a single word, pulled the princess closer to him, placing her between his legs and letting her rest against his chest as he wrapped his strong arms around her body.

Lorelai wanted to protest at first, but quickly realized that she was too tired to even move as she was now full of heavy food that was slowly making her tired and sleepy.

"I will," Rhaegar finally replied, stroking her rounded belly with his warm hands. The princess knew what he was trying to do, but decided to ignore it; the comfort his tender touch brought her was just too pleasant.

"You were able to force Duke Kalder to vote for your proposal because I’d given you the proof of him robbing the old beast burial grounds."

"But how did you manage to procure that proof?" Lorelai wondered, her mind already drifting away.

"There is such thing called the ’King’s Gold’ in the Beast Kingdom. It is passed from one ruling king to another when the new one ascends the throne. King’s Gold used to be an entire treasury filled with all kinds of treasures but the previous kings were greedy and wanted to be buried with it instead of passing it on to their successors.

While gems and other valuables were not really that important, the actual King’s Gold possessed magical powers as it was melted and forged into a sword presented to the new king as his unique weapon. The sword I used during the gladiator fight... That is my King’s Gold."

Lorelai listened to his story as if it was a fairytale. Rhaegar’s soothing voice made her even sleepier but she wanted to hear the rest. Thankfully, the king, too, wanted to continue.