Stolen by the Beastly Lycan King-Chapter 78: The Desired Result

'I belong to him now...'

A strange tingling sensation spread inside her stomach and the princess felt her cheeks heat up. 'If only it was true,' she thought, blushing, 'if only everyone else could see that I belong to someone like him and no one else can touch me anymore...'

Suddenly, she flinched as another person's image appeared in her mind's eye.

'Duke Kalder, my real fiance...'

The elevating feeling of delight instantly disappeared and Lorelai felt upset again.

What was the point of that? Why would the king mark her knowing that he could not have her? Was it just a joke to him? Another way to torment her already fragile heart?

Even if she was not engaged to that disgusting old pervert, the queen would never let her become the beast king's wife. She despised them to no end. Yes, Althea found it more acceptable to marry her off to that horrible man rather than the lycan king.

"Your Highness?"

Lorelai had been quiet for so long that Marianna began to worry that her words might have distressed her.

The princess turned away, discretely wiping off her tears, and cleared her throat with a series of awkward coughs, dismissing all the hurt that gripped her heart again.

With a fake, yet wide smile, she finally said, "Yes, Marianna... Tell me how was the work today."

***

Kai picked up the thinnest blade from the large table and twisted it slowly in his hand, walking around carefully, tall shadows thrown by dim candlelight dancing around him like black ghosts.

"Separating flesh from the skin demands unwavering focus." The crown prince suddenly stopped, hovering over the large dead body spread on the table in front of him.

It was the carcass of a wild black bear––a rare creature that appeared only at night, blending with its darkness as it wandered through the forest.

"It's not a task you can rush," Kai continued, his deep green eyes solely focused on the body before him. "Especially when dealing with aging bodies where the low-fat content makes precision non-negotiable."

He lifted his hand all the way up to his face and looked at his own reflection in the sharp thin blade. "The knife must glide seamlessly between the crimson muscle and the pale layer of fat, slicing quickly yet carefully to avoid any misstep. Every movement has to be deliberate, almost surgical, to achieve the desired result."

His voice sounded strangely distant, as if he was in a trance, and Baron Claude Miran, Althea's father and the crown prince's grandfather swallowed hard, struggling to push an invisible rock that had been stuck inside his throat ever since he entered his grandson's dark room.

The room was cold, intentionally so, to stave off decay. Still, the effort and concentration brought a sheen of sweat to the man's brow.

"Yes, well... judging by all the masterpieces you have created here, my boy, it looks like you really know your craft."

Claude wiped off the sweat from his forehead with an old white handkerchief and offered the prince an awkward smile to which the latter responded with a wide grin.

"Those are not to be called masterpieces, dear grandfather," Kai said coldly, stepping away from the table. He continued to play with the sharp knife in his right hand which made the baron shiver in fear again.

"Wh-what are you t-talking about?" He stammered nervously, "You have gathered so many rare animals here! And look at that delicate work! It's in-incredible!"

As if in an attempt to confirm his grandfather's words, Kai turned around and slowly walked in front of his collection of stuffed animals. Like a diligent prison guard, he had his hands joined behind his back, pausing only for a few seconds before each animal, to examine their dead faces.

He could not really deny it––from the very moment he spotted his prey to the last stitch on its already cold body, his work was perfect.

And yet, the masterpiece he craved the most was still missing from his collection.

Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.

That one rare body he did not know how to hunt down... When would he finally be able to enjoy its death for all eternity?

"Anyway," Kai suddenly turned back to Baron Miran, making him gasp in surprise. "Why are you here today? I do not believe Mother is expecting you."

"It's the official work," the man explained, his voice still trembling. "It's about the beasts..."

"Ah," the crown prince grinned again, throwing the blade back on the table. "That is indeed an important official matter."

He then wiped his hands with a clean towel and patted his grandfather on the back, rushing him out of the room. "Let us go, My Lord, the rest of the Council must be waiting."