The Lycan King's Puppet-Chapter 55: Confront the King

As soon as the meeting ended, Yeren left the table.

One line of defence when she had been barraged with insults for the duration of the meeting? No matter how flattering it was, it wasn’t enough.

And she was determined to tell him her exact thoughts on the matter.

How dare he let them call her a whore! He was the whore if anyone was to own the title.

First woman to claim his attention, her foot! He obviously didn’t care about her.

She joined the procession behind the King, sparing Aldrich a glance.

He rose up from his seat, beckoning on her to wait for him.

The look on the King’s face when she had walked in with Aldrich had been priceless, no matter how subdued.

It was her own little way of striking back, she told herself with a smirk.

Not once in their conversation had he mocked her status as the King’s Cupbearer. Although he had asked about the origin of the task. She had told him the better part of the story, carefully carving out the part of her uncle’s abuse.

But from the look in his eyes, he must have heard about the trial - Jarren was quite popular after all.

"What’s all the talk about you and the King? Is it because you’re a woman and he’s a man? I could see how uncomfortable you had been the whole time."

His words brought a watery smile to her lips.

"Rumours. Ignore them." She waved her hand as if brushing the rumours away herself.

He nodded, seeming convinced.

"Shall I walk you somewhere?"

She glanced up. The King and his procession were long gone.

Claire rubbed her brow.

"Where do you have in mind? I was thinking of walking you to your carriage."

He ran a hand through his hair.

"Do you live here?"

She nodded.

His mouth formed a little circle.

"How unfortunate for you. I would love to assist you but society is against men offering assistance to unmarried women, especially as we are not related." He cleared his throat. "Which leads me to ask, are you sure there are no inappropriate relations between you and King Yeren."

She stared into his handsome face, trying to conjure up a lie that would not form.

"I have to go... before the King notices."

And she ran off.

It was a stupid thing to do, she knew, but lying wasn’t a better alternative.

When she got to his chambers, it was eerily quiet.

Only two guards stood there.

They simply shook their heads at her.

He wasn’t there? Then where in the heavens was he? She barely knew anywhere in the large castle... he could be anywhere.

The gardens? Having lunch? In the study? In the throne room?

A look outside one of the balconies in the hall told her he was having lunch.

Where was Andon? Why was he alone?.

Her stomach betrayed her, rumbling loudly. Not even a drop of water had entered her mouth since she had woken up.

How had she stood through such an endless meeting? She asked herself, already moving towards where he was.

Guards were stationed around him, but none of them were closed enough to overhear his conversations.

"Your Grace." She curtsied for the second time that day.

He glanced up from his plate of grilled meat.

She licked her lips without realizing it.

"Sit down." He indicated the chair across him.

Then, he selected meat from a large dish onto a plate and handed it to her. He poured ale from the pitcher into a goblet for her, never taking his eyes off her.

Her mouth nearly dropped open.

He poured her a drink? Wasn’t that supposed to be her job?

Claire just stared at the food.

"Enjoy."

She bit into a piece of meat. When she looked up, he was still watching her.

"Thank you." She mumbled sheepishly.

He nodded, still looking at her.

She glanced over her shoulder. She was the only one in his line of view.

Had she sprouted horns without knowing it. Claire touched her head just to be sure.

Then, she saw the guilt that flashed in his eyes.

Her fork froze mid-air. The fact that he felt guilty should have been enough - but for some reason, it made her want to rip his long, silky, finger-itching-pretty hair off his beautiful head.

Why didn’t he defend her? Why didn’t he tell them to stop? More importantly, why didn’t he tell them the truth?

Her fork clattered on her plate. She picked up her napkin and wiped at her mouth, trying to summon every shred of confidence she had.

"Is this what this is?" She gestured at nothing in particular.

He didn’t even blink.

"So you just sat there and let them roast me raw with their sharp, poisonous tongues and said nothing. Now, you want to seek my forgiveness with a polite act of kindness?"

Yeren didn’t lower his eyes, neither did he utter a word.

"I serve you and we both know whose fault this whole thing is. I don’t even want to be your Cupbearer! Now, I’m the one that seduced you? I can’t believe I didn’t see it before - your intention was to destroy whatever remained of my reputation." She paused to catch her breath, pushing away from the table. "You’re not different from the men in your council - only that you have a silky tongue. Don’t think that I’ve forgotten what you did to my family! I am not anyone’s puppet to be controlled!"

His jaw tensed.

"I’m not controlling you, Claire."

The way he said her name made her breath catch each time. Of all her accusations, that was the one he chose to defend?

"Stop! Just stop! You have to end the rumours. You’re the King - do something. Just make them stop." She was shaking violently, clutching the table to anchor herself.

"You know nothing about politics. I can’t stop rumours - it’s like trying to put out a wildfire in the forest. My reputation is very important -"

"And mine is not?"

His lips thinned.

"It isn’t important to the people."

Tears burned behind her eyes.

She backed

away.

"I didn’t ask for any of this."

Then, she turned and ran away.