Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king

Chapter 430: Departing guests

Chapter 430: Departing guests

With the dinner ended, the royal couple retired to their chambers. The room was bathed in the soft, flickering glow of candlelight, casting restless shadows across the high walls. The scent of burnt wax lingered in the air, mingled with the faint traces of jasmine perfume.

Alpheo lay stretched out on the grand bed, hands folded lazily behind his head, watching as Jasmine changed into her nightgown. She moved with the effortless grace of nobility, yet as the delicate fabric slipped over her bare shoulders, she let out a sharp sigh—one heavy with frustration.

"Our guest has no manners," she muttered "The way he ate… Gods, I've seen starved dogs with more refinement. He tore into his food as if he expected someone to snatch it from his plate."

Alpheo smirked, adjusting his position against the pillows. "He's from a different world, Jasmine. A different way of living. You should've seen how Egil ate before he entered your father's service through me . The man had the table manners of a warhorse."

Jasmine turned sharply, placing her hands on her hips, the hem of her nightgown swirling around her ankles. "From brute to brute—they are not so different," she scoffed.

Alpheo chuckled, shaking his head. "Egil is one of my oldest friends. He may be rough around the edges, but he's loyal. I'd trust him to hold a dagger to my throat while I slept, knowing full well he wouldn't use it."

Jasmine narrowed her eyes, arms crossing over her chest. "Yes, loyal to you," she pointed out, her voice carrying a note of exasperation. "But to me? He barely acknowledges my existence. The way he speaks to me—or rather, the way he doesn't—it's as if I'm nothing more than an inconvenience to him, if he wasn't so dear to you I would have already done something about it ."

Alpheo sighed, rubbing his temple. "Egil is… Egil," he muttered, as though that was explanation enough.