Lycan King's Regret: Punished The Wrong Daughter novel Chapter 118

Chapter 118: 118- The Game

Arabella Toussaint:

I settled into the chair beside Queen Theodora and carefully placed my napkin across my lap. I could feel her looking at me. I turned my head and gave her a pleasant smile. "Hello."

Theodora’s eyes traveled slowly over my dress, my hair, and finally my face. "You’ve changed," she said quietly. "Fancy clothes. Jewelry. A little confidence." She reached for her water, and her fingers lingered around the glass. "But I suppose none of that changes what you really are. Dress a slave however you like, and she is still a slave."

Ouch.

I didn’t miss the subtle smirk on her face. Three years ago, that would have been enough to make me stare at my plate for the rest of dinner.

"You’ve changed too, Your Majesty," I said with a small smile.

Her eyes immediately came back to me. She set her glass down with a faint click. "Have I?"

"Oh, yes." I tilted my head, letting my gaze drift over her face as if I’d only just noticed it.

"What?" Her brows drew together, and she looked a little uncomfortable under my scrutiny.

"Nothing, Your Majesty." I shook my head and reached for my glass.

Her fingers tightened around her fork until her knuckles seemed to pale. When her fork clinked against her plate, a few people glanced in our direction, but I paid them no attention. "Why are you not telling me? What were you looking at, slave?" She asked me in a whisper.

"Well..." I lowered my voice and leaned a little closer as my smile turned a little cheeky. "I don’t remember those little lines around your eyes... and jaw being there before."

Her hand immediately rose toward her face, and I almost laughed. "Hey. They’re very small," I assured her, hiding my smile behind my glass. "Hardly noticeable. But you do look old."

Her hand dropped, and her eyes flashed with anger. "You insolent little..."

"Your Majesty." I widened my eyes and placed a hand lightly against my chest. "It was just an innocent remark. Three years can change a person. I’m sorry if I offended you." Theodora stared at me, her fork hovering above her plate. "You still look young, though. I’m sure people mistake you for seventy all the time."

I smiled and took a sip of water. I knew she was way younger than that. Hardly fifty!

She started cutting into her food with precise, unnecessary force. After a few moments, she seemed to have recovered from the insult. "I hear you’ve been managing some little café in the human city."

"Yes." I dabbed the corner of my mouth with my napkin.

"How quaint." She lifted a morsel with the tip of her knife. "I suppose serving food suits you. At least your years as a palace servant prepared you for something."

Whoa. That one was actually quite good. I nodded thoughtfully. "They did teach me a lot."

"I’m sure." She tasted her food and watched me with a smirk.

"It taught me what kind of employer I never wanted to become, Your Majesty." I curved down my lips. Her knife stopped against her plate. I turned toward her with practiced politeness. "My employees are very happy."

"How wonderful for them." Her smile was thin enough to cut paper, but I wasn’t done with the old hag.

"It is." I folded my napkin, carefully. "We pay them properly too. We don’t make them beg for wages they’ve already earned, and we don’t threaten them with punishment when they say no to sleeping with a random warrior. And yes..." I took a bite of my bran bread. "We definitely don’t expect them to kneel all the time."

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