Chapter 164: Dare
The king’s voice thundered through the grand banquet hall, his fury reverberating off the marble walls. "What is the meaning of this?!" he roared, his booming authority slicing through the stunned silence. Gasps and murmurs swept through the gathered nobles like a wave, but the couple at the center of the storm paid no mind.
In the middle of the opulent hall, Thorne held Noelle in a fierce, unbreakable embrace. It was as if the entire world had fallen away, leaving only the two of them in a cocoon of relief and love. Thorne’s lips brushed across Noelle’s face, pressing feather-light kisses to his temple, his cheeks, his forehead. The soft, unguarded words he whispered were only for Noelle, sweet nothings murmured like a balm for old wounds. Noelle nodded, his arms wrapped tightly around Thorne’s neck, clinging to him as though he were afraid this moment would slip through his fingers like sand.
Their reunion was an island of peace amid the chaos. They were wholly in their own world, a world built on the foundation of years of separation, longing, and unspoken promises.
From a few steps away, Duke Remiro watched the scene unfold, his brow furrowed in astonishment. The man he had come to know over the past several months, the one who had seemed cold and impenetrable, now held this slender young man with a tenderness Remiro had never thought possible. Thorne, who always appeared stoic and implacable, was transformed. Gone was the hard-edged warrior, and in his place was someone raw and heartbreakingly human. It was a side of Thorne that Remiro realized he’d never even imagined existed.
Celia, Thorne’s mother and the Duchess if Remiro stood near her husband, her own feelings a tangled mess of guilt and awe. She had never witnessed this side of her son, had never seen him express even a fraction of the affection he now displayed so freely. A pang of regret twisted in her chest as she realized how deeply she had failed him, how she had neglected and mistreated the boy who had needed so much more. She wasn’t deserving of joy on his behalf, but nonetheless, she couldn’t suppress the glimmer of relief she felt. At least, he had found his home in this man. The way she had found her home, despite all odds, in her own husband.
Count Grady, standing not far off, couldn’t suppress his wide, delighted grin. The entire spectacle was simply delicious, the most thrilling event to rock Vitra in years. Not since the infamous antics of the unruly princess had anything stirred the nobility this much. This scandalous, unexpected reunion was undoubtedly a story that would be whispered through palace halls and written in the annals of gossip for decades to come.
All around the hall, nobles of every rank and allegiance stood frozen, their jaws hanging in shock. This was supposed to be a day of celebration, a day to honor the king on his birthday. Yet here, amidst the gold and crystal, the king had just introduced his long-hidden nephew as a newly recognized prince—only for that same prince to be swept up in the arms of a complete stranger. The nobles had no idea how to process the sight of a man so fiercely embracing royalty, let alone the prince’s utter surrender to it.
The king had never experienced such unbridled disrespect in all his years of rule. His face flushed a deep, livid red, and it seemed that fury radiated off him in waves, nearly visible. He stood up abruptly, his fists clenched, his powerful voice echoing throughout the hall.
"Knights!" he roared, the command like a battle cry.