The Broken Prince's Love

To be honest, it had been tempting to show Jenna that he was close to Lucille. Cedar had only needed to hug the woman he liked, and everything else had resolved itself. It was almost too perfect. His mood had risen after that despite being forced to meet Lady Peril. And now Lucille came back from her father with a smile on her lips.

Cedar grinned at her when he offered her his arm. He got even more content when she accepted it again and linked their arms. “It seems like your conversation went well. He didn't tell you to change your mind about me? I almost expect him to write a long list of reasons about why this is a bad idea.”

Lucille slowly shook her head. “He only told me that he wants me to be happy, so he won't interfere. But he offered to help me if I need it.” It seemed like Viscount Valerian had finally managed to do something for his daughter. Good. That dense idiot should do his best to help Lucille as much as possible from now on.

Cedar glanced at the carriage for a moment before turning back to the building. He led Lucille inside and ignored how the servants gawked at them, as always. “It's calming to hear that. But I presume he was a bit unhappy about this decision.”

Even if a marriage with a prince was logically the best option, it was more than understandable that Viscount Valerian was skeptical. Cedar himself was unsure whether this was a good idea, but he at least knew that he cared about Lucille. He couldn't be sure whether this relationship would last, but in any case, being with her for the rest of his life sounded pleasant. Of course, Viscount Valerian only saw the prince as the convicted criminal who had led a revolt a few months ago and couldn't know about those feelings. That Raymond had just told Lucille to do what makes her happy was surprising.

Lucille nodded while smiling to herself. “I'm glad that he accepted it just like that.” She was too cute while she said that. Maybe she was happy with this. After all, she had announced that she wanted to marry the prince just a few minutes ago.

Cedar had almost choked on the air when he had hurt that, and even remembering it now made him feel a bit strange. This tingling in his stomach wasn't normal, so he could assume that he was nervous when it came to this. These new feelings were wonderful but also confusing.

For a few seconds, the both of them were silent until Lucille spoke again. She was careful not to trip on the stairs while looking around and then made eye contact. “About Lady Peril. Is His Majesty getting involved in Artias' economy that much? I almost can't imagine that he would just shut down someone's stores.”

Cedar glanced over at her with a smile. “That's a sudden change of the topic. I can't tell you what exactly Theodore is thinking since he is completely unpredictable, but I can tell you that he is good with these things too. He never used to get involved, but right now, he is using our cousin, Duke Vasquez, to take care of some businesses he deems a danger to our nation's well-being. Either because important ones disappear or others grow too strong. And obviously, because he has his personal opinion on specific people too. Lady Peril belongs to both categories. She is getting a bit too influential, so she will have to step back. And she is an enemy and Mother's ally, which means that Theodore is beginning to take her business apart completely. He isn't going to let her stay in the capital. Either he has mercy and lets her family persist if she holds back, or he might crush them completely. I have no idea.” Maybe he even hoped for the second option.

Lucille listened to that and weakly nodded. “It's...sad to hear that people still support your mother. I don't understand why they would. The dowager empress showed that she isn't sane. And while I don't doubt that you are very qualified, His Majesty is a wonderful ruler. Why would they risk committing treason and becoming the emperor's enemy to support the woman he hates?”

Cedar would like to say that stupidity was the answer. He phrased it a bit differently though. “To be honest, most are rather naive. I was told that they favored me because I was much kinder than my brother. I doubt that. To them, this just means that they believe that I will ignore their crimes and give them more power if I were to become the ruler of our nation. No one ever asked me whether I would even consider letting criminals off the hook, which is pretty stupid. Even years ago, I knew that I wouldn't just let people who are being bribed by nearly everyone around them work anywhere near politics. I never wanted Artias to break down because incompetent people make stupid decisions. But they don't know that, so they assume that I would help them later and maybe do them some favors.”

Lucille nodded again and turned her gaze to the hallway in front of them again. She glanced at the guards before quickly averting her eyes. It seemed like she was embarrassed because she was holding his arm despite having done this a couple of times already. Still, she acted like she was reluctant to part from him when they reached her room. She only let go after a few seconds passed.

Cedar had to hold back a playful comment at that. He thought about inviting her to his room for the night, but the knights were already watching. He didn't need to embarrass her any more. Even if giving her a small goodnight kiss would have been pleasant. He glanced to the side and made eye contact with a guard, who immediately turned away. Maybe that was enough to give him a few seconds. Cedar focused his attention on Lucille again and leaned forward. He put his hand on her head and pressed a small kiss on her forehead. Then he pulled back and smiled at her. “Good night. I wish you sweet dreams.” He would certainly have a good night's rest if he was allowed to look at her reddened face before going to bed.

Lucille looked like her mind stopped working for a moment before she nodded at him. “Good night. You...too.” She opened her mouth again and looked up at him but gave up without saying anything. “I wish you a wonderful night.” Lucille stood there in silence for a moment longer before slowly turning around and entering her room. She waved and considered speaking without actually doing it once again. Then she gave the prince a nervous smile, which made her even more adorable. She closed the door when he waved back.

Cedar was grinning by now. That wasn't unusual, but currently, it was an honest smile, which was special. He didn't waste time finding out whether the guards were staring at him since they definitely were. He just walked over to his chamber.

He had barely opened the door and already noticed one thing, which ruined his mood in an instant. There was a person in his room.

The prince surely hadn't drawn the curtains, so this meant that the very person inside had done it. No servant would do something so useless.

Cedar immediately changed his approach. All muscles in his body tensed against his will. He prepared for a fight. It would be clever to stay out, but now that he had opened the door, he would have to enter, or those people would flee. Catching those intruders alive and letting Leon interrogate them so that they could give away which entrance they had used was more important than Cedar staying away.

So, Cedar only hesitated for a short moment to make eye contact with the guards who were walking around a few steps away from him. He merely mouthed something about them informing the emperor and protecting Lucille. Of course, the guards didn't get much, but at least they realized what he meant when he repeated it and gestured in the direction of Theodore's office and Lucille's room respectively. Then he watched as the guards ran off and stayed silent to listen for sound.

No muffled noises were audible anywhere, so Lucille was probably fine. But he couldn't be sure. He only dared to relax when one of the guards knocked on Lucille's door and was greeted by her a split second later. Good.

Now Cedar had to hurry to avoid seeming even more suspicious. He went into the room and closed the door to ensure that no guards would kill the people he needed alive. Cedar looked around and vaguely saw the silhouette of a person by one of the cabinets. He spoke in a calm tone. “May I ask what you are doing inside my chambers?”

The answer came immediately. “We sincerely apologize, Your Royal Highness. We only wished to clean up so that you could rest properly when you come back.” Liar. No one would dare to enter the prince's room just like that.

Cedar would play along for now though. “I see.” He listened for a moment.

Someone was moving, but the person by the cabinet didn't walk. So, there were at least two people. Maybe more.

Cedar did his best to act like he was completely relaxed while steering toward his destination. He couldn't use the sword since he had been stupid enough to put it away while greeting their guest. Great. Then he would use something else. He reached the table quickly and stopped in front of it. He purposefully turned his back to those people while sorting some items on the table. “Let me ask again. You came here to clean, even though I told the servants to stay out of my room unless I grant them explicit permission to enter?”

Those people would regret attacking the prince in his own chambers. Did they really think that he wasn't prepared? Cedar only took a few seconds to find the blade he had glued to the underside of the table. He removed it without making a sound and positioned it in his hand while listening to the people inside the room.

Those were at least three men. Apparently, they weren't good at being quiet either. These people weren't some of the best ones that his mother had. This meant that she expected her son to kill them anyway. Perfect. The fight wouldn't take too long.

One of the men walked toward the table while replying. “We apologize. But it was necessary today. His Majesty ordered us to keep your room in check.”

Cedar let out a little laugh. He still didn't turn around, but he moved the blade so that he could attack in a single second. “It's odd. Because Theodore knows that I hate insects snooping around in my chambers. If I tell you to leave now, will you do it?” This was the last affirmation to confirm that those weren't just some servants who had wanted to scare the prince.

Of course, that wasn't it since no one ran away. Two of the men began walking as one came from the left and one from the right. The third one walked directly toward the table. It was odd. Even now, they hadn't heard the warning undertone in Cedar's voice. And they hadn't secretly attacked Lucille, who should be much more vulnerable, and alerted the prince instead. Why?

There was only one explanation for this. Camille didn't wish to kill Lucille directly now. She wanted her son to fight. And most likely, she hoped that Lucille wouldn't like the result. How petty. As expected of the dowager empress, whose pride had been hurt after Cedar had run away a few days ago. But was she truly letting go of such a chance to get rid of the woman her son liked? Maybe Camille had understood that killing Lucille would not get her far since her son would be much too hateful to work with her after that. But it was doubtful that she accepted that Cedar cared about Lucille that much. Once again, Camille's actions were too confusing for any sane person to understand them.

Cedar almost sighed. He was getting angry. Maybe it was good that he could fight a bit now. Then he could vent his annoyance at least. He slowly prepared for the first attack. It was unfortunate for the assassins, but he had an unfair advantage. He knew their fighting style since he had trained with many of their colleagues. This would be too easy.

As expected, the first man lunged forward while the second one came from the other side. Now the darkness would also be their disadvantage.

Cedar moved away as slowly as he could while still avoiding them. He was quiet so that they couldn't have heard him. They might have seen his silhouette move, but it was too late.

One of the assassins let out a strange gurgling noise that didn't sound too pleasant. Apparently, his useless colleague had hit his neck. He would survive that though. Hopefully.

Cedar didn't pay attention to him. The two that had collided would need a moment to orient themselves, and in the meantime, their colleague would be taken care of. Cedar took a step to the side and crouched down to avoid a blow. Now the other man would try to kick him, and the blade came into play. Cedar lunged to the side again and attacked for the first time. He hoped that he wouldn't hit anything important so that the assassin wouldn't die. He was lucky and made contact with the other's leg.

The man let out a low yell, and that was already the second last thing he would do.

A distraction had been enough for Cedar to slam his fist into the other man's abdomen. The assassin doubled over. A quick hit to the back of his mind with the handle of the dagger was enough to knock him out. Then Cedar immediately jumped, bringing distance between them.

Seconds later, the other two assassins moved. Now that they had realized that their enemy could fight, which Camille might have generously left unmentioned, they would try to get him down quickly.

They shouldn't forget that Cedar had been in this room for much longer than them though. He knew what stood at which place. He backed away, pretending to be defensive. He only needed to be careful not to trip over the small coffee table in the middle of the room.

The first assassin was lucky. But his colleague fell onto the floor with a loud crash.

Cedar used that chance to grab the vase next to him and throw it at the other man. This slowed down the assassin so much that the prince could come closer again and throw something else. This time, a heavy stamp from one of the dressers followed.

Since it hit the assassin's head, he tumbled and fell. He would take a moment to recover, so Cedar focused on the attacker that had tripped a moment ago. That man was a bit too close to the prince already.

Cedar had to step back before inwardly apologizing for using their superior's trick against them. He let the man miss him by a close distance and then grabbed his arm to sink the blade into his flesh.

The assassin's loud mewl was cut off when he felt the blade handle a moment later too. He still stirred a bit, so he received another punch to his jaw, which was enough to make him relax completely.

Now only the third person remained.

Cedar listened to the low groans and quickly found the person on the floor.

That assassin made one last attempt to stab the prince's foot but missed since he couldn't see anything. This only earned him a kick to the face. Then it was silent.

The prince waited for a few seconds to make sure that it was fine and moved then. He let out a loud sigh and stomped over to the window. Cedar reached out and pushed open the curtains. The dim sunlight fell onto his face. He looked down, and as expected, there was blood everywhere. Great. That would be a hassle to clean up. The poor servants deserved a raise for this.

But the room wasn't the only problem. Cedar's clothes were stained too, and one of his arms was covered by blood. By now, he had cut open someone's skin often enough. He should be used to the blood sticking to his hands, but he still hated the feeling. It was disgusting.

Cedar groaned again and considered sitting down on the sofa. That wasn't a good idea if he wanted to refrain from staining the pillows, but the idea of lying down was tempting. In the end, he decided to check on the assassins though.

The men all wore servant clothes, which explained how they had moved within the palace without being caught. How they had gotten in posed another question though. Their motives too. These fighters had been especially bad, so he presumed they were beginners. Why would anyone send them?

But Cedar would take care of that later. First, he needed to make sure that none of those men were awake, and then he would visit Lucille to confirm whether she was fine. He called out to the men on the floor and pushed their legs with his foot, but no response followed. They didn't even twitch when he hit them with a little more force. Cedar also confirmed their pulse and was relieved to have a guarantee that he hadn't killed them. He had learned a few tricks about this, so he might be lucky enough for them to be unconscious for one or two minutes before they woke up with a mostly intact brain.

At least he hoped for that. He had probably found a good amount of force for at least one of the men, so he wasn't too worried in that regard.

That the assassin Cedar had stabbed in the leg was bleeding a bit too much was unfavorable though. Apparently, the prince had hit a vein. That was just wonderful. Now the room would be unusable for a while.

Luckily, Cedar didn't have much time to think about that.

A knock sounded, and Theodore's muffled voice followed. “Cedar, is everything alright?”

Cedar would have liked to affirm that, but after moving his hand, he quickly noticed that he might have made more of a mess than he had anticipated. A small river of blood ran down his arm and dripped down onto the light carpet. He sighed quietly for the dozenth time and replied then. “I'm fine. Those people here not so much. Don't come in if you can't see blood.”

The door was opened immediately. Theodore had already drawn his sword, but he only needed a moment to confirm that all the attackers were down. In an instant, his anger flared up even more. “Cedar, you damned idiot! You are absolutely the most reckless person I know. Why didn't you inform the guards instead of waltzing in alone? Those people could have killed you.” Why was he even so upset? Because of the carpet? That was understandable, but the knights probably wouldn't have solved this in a less messy way.

Cedar just shrugged. “Not really. They wouldn't have killed me because these were the least capable assassins I ever met. Ever since I visited Mother, she's been convinced that I will come back. I told you that she doubled her efforts to meet me, right? She wouldn't want me dead. She only wanted to make me kill someone to scare Lucille. But I managed to knock them out. If we are lucky, they will wake up in a somewhat helpful state. I may have cut the one over there a bit too much, but he should be fine.” If one didn't count that this man would probably lose a part of his flesh in his thigh. Cedar glanced at the assassin that had been wounded the most. He scanned the injury for a moment and quickly decided that he himself had been through worse. “He'll manage.” He looked back at his brother. “Is Lucille fine?”

His question was ignored.

Theodore wasn't amused by any of this. “Cedar. Why didn't you get help?” Why did he sound so angry? Nothing had gone wrong.

Cedar crossed his arms. “I did. But I needed to prepare some things before you came. Because those idiots here would have run away if knights had entered. We can't have that. And I couldn't let the guards kill them either. Besides, I fight better when I don't need to pay attention to anyone around me. I didn't kill anyone, and all of them are ready for interrogation. I'm unharmed too. There is no need to be angry about that.”

Theodore still looked like he was fuming for some reason. “No. If you don't see the issue here, I feel like I should get much angrier.” He stepped closer to his brother while the knights behind him cleared the area. “The reason you didn't get help is that you don't even think about others possibly being able to make it easier for you. By the gods. Why are you so stubborn? Can't you just accept help once? From now on, you won't rush into danger like this. No matter how weak you think someone is, they can still hurt you. Do you understand me?”

Cedar was more than skeptical. A promise didn't do much when he couldn't predict the future. He would do whatever was necessary to solve the issue in a way he found logical. So, he would need to act alone when he was faced with dangers. “I understand. From now on, I will remember-”

Theodore cut him off. “No. You are not going to lie to my face again. You will not just promise this. You will remember it. Because Lady Valerian is waiting for you. If you care for her, you won't just live for yourself from now on. You need to come back to her, no matter what. You can do whatever you have to do that, but you will not endanger yourself recklessly unless you want to break her heart.” He sounded much too serious while saying that. Was that how he always motivated himself to fight? Because he could come back to see his wife?

It had always seemed like having someone you wanted to protect made you much stronger than anyone else could imagine. And this was his reasoning?

Cedar had to admit that he understood it to some extent. He had been upset with Lucille when she had thrown herself in front of him and had been hit with an arrow as well. That he needed to be careful unless he wanted to worry her was true. But surely, Lucille would be able to move on if he died. Right?

What would he do if she disappeared? He didn't need to think about that long before replying. He would be devastated. If Lucille would even feel remotely similarly, he could never do that to her. He didn't want her to be upset, even though others' emotions had never been very important to him.

The prince had been silent for a bit too long before replying. “I told you that I will not let such incapable brats hurt me. It was dark when I came here, and I still got rid of them. I only needed a dagger, a stamp and...” He stopped himself. “The one vase that might be broken now. I apologize for that. I can repay you whatever that thing was worth.”

Theodore put away his sword and let out some noise that made it sound like he was venting his frustration. “That stupid vase isn't important at all. Are you hurt?”

Cedar replied without skipping a beat. “No. But I worry about other things. First of all, that assassin over there is about to bleed out.” He glanced at the concerned man. “I think your guards are taking care of that though. It should be fine. Then I would rather talk about how those extremely unskilled men broke into my room. As you can see, your palace isn't as safe as you thought it to be. What would have happened if those people had entered Lucille's room instead?”

The emperor followed his brother's gaze and scanned the scene skeptically. “It seems like you treated them with the hospitality they deserved. I'll deal with them now. The issue of them showing up here is extremely concerning, but I can calm you when it comes to Lady Valerian. I have a person watching her room. A very special person.”

Cedar wasn't surprised. It would have been odd for his brother not to do that, even if imagining what that person might have seen already was a bit uncomfortable. But the fact that the prince himself wasn't followed by a dozen guards was stupid. “And no one is watching my actions? That's odd. In the beginning, you were keeping an eye on me the whole time, right?”

Theodore didn't even deny it as he replied with a straight face. “Yes. I did send someone. But I withdrew that order after a few weeks. After...you know. After you cleared up that issue. Now I don't need someone to watch over you. I already felt uncomfortable putting someone at Lady Valerian's side, but it was necessary. Since you can fight, I didn't want to make you feel like I don't trust you. I also believed that you were clever enough to inform me when you meet assassins and not to fight them off alone.” He became a bit more angry again when he said that.

So, the emperor refused to have people watch the most suspicious person here because he didn't want to make his brother feel like no one trusted him? Theodore had truly gambled away a part of his brain during the past years and even more so during the past months.

Cedar ignored that part and focused on interrupting his brother so that he wouldn't get scolded. He made a dismissive motion with his hand. “To be honest, this was the best plan I could come up with. The assassins are right here, and you can interrogate them to your and Leon's liking. He surely has some tricks to make them talk. After that, we will know how they came in. I suspect that mother has a secret passageway that I don't know about. And she will keep on thinking that we don't know. We can act like those people died as soon as they came here. Then you don't have to close off the secret passageway they used. You can have people watch it, and we might be able to catch the next attackers.”

Theodore was quiet for a moment. He probably knew that this was a good idea and was annoyed that this reckless plan was supposed to work. He brought his hand to his face and massaged his temples. “How many places am I supposed to guard? You already gave me a hundred locations to watch.”

Cedar shrugged. “Well, those were just tips. You don't have to do it.”

“But obviously, I will. Your tips are much too accurate. I will take care of this.” Theodore scanned his brother from head to toe before adding another bit. “How about you go wash yourself? We don't want you to...run around with that stuff for longer.”

Cedar didn't even need to look down to confirm what the other man was referring to. He still felt the sticky and warm substance on his hand. “Gladly. I will probably need to use another room though, right? After all, you have to investigate here. Can I just take one of the guest rooms next door?”

Theodore nodded. “Yes. Choose any room you like. All of them are empty.”

Cedar tried to hide how much he looked forward to washing himself when he replied. “I will. Thank you.” He quickly moved over to the wardrobe to pull out some clothes to change while asking the final question. “Is there anything else that I need to know about before I take my leave?”

Theodore replied in a calm voice, but his expression was icy. “Indeed. Harris managed to find a few suspicious individuals already. He is a way too good actor, much like you are. And I cornered some of your mother's followers. Everything is coming together. I feel like those people here might offer me a few more puzzle pieces.” He gazed at the assassins with an expression that was the most terrifying thing the prince had ever seen his brother show. Theodore had truly changed from when he had become emperor. That was good. He needed this cruelty to get rid of Camille. Hopefully, he would end it within the next few months.

The prince smiled at his brother. “I trust that you know how to deal with that. Have a good night's rest.” He exited the room and already wanted to ask for a few buckets of water to be prepared for him, but he didn't get that far.

The door of the room across from him opened, and Lucille leaned to the side to glimpse outside. It only took a moment until her eyes widened. “Cedar, are you alright? You are...” She had probably heard the loud noise and worried after a knight had searched her room. The group of guards in front of her door proved that she was safe, but she still looked so scared. Of course. After all, she just stared at a man that was full of blood.

Cedar had never cared about what others thought about him being a cruel fighter. But right now, he hated the fact that he was like this. He almost felt ashamed and considered hiding his arm, which was covered in the most blood. But that wouldn't do much. So, he quickly added the most important information. “Mother sent some assassins. I knocked them out so that my brother can interrogate them. You don't have to worry.” Those were bad people, and he hadn't killed them.

What was meant to calm Lucille down didn't help her much. She still looked like she was worried. “No, I didn't ask that.” She pushed open the door fully and came toward him. “I don't care about those people. Are you alright? Are you injured or...” She came toward him and gazed up at him while waiting for a response.

Cedar was a bit confused, but the previous emotion disappeared as quickly as it had come. Instead, a warm and strange sensation seemed to fill the area around his heart. “No, I'm fine. Thank you for asking. I only need to get washed and then find a new room. Since there are enough guest rooms here, I assume that I will be able to pick a random one.” He gave her a bright smile.

Lucille pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and scanned his expression. She seemed a bit relieved, but at the same time, her concern wasn't gone. Now embarrassment mixed into it though. “Well, you could use...mine if you want to.” Inviting a man into her room at night was bad enough, and right now, the corridor was full. She shouldn't say that in front of all the guards here.

Cedar almost let out a little sigh when he felt how everyone turned to see his response. “I'm not sure whether that's...” He had attempted to refuse to keep her safe from the most vile rumors, but her expression stopped him. How was he supposed to say no when she looked at him like that? Besides, he would feel safer if he didn't leave her alone tonight. “Sure. I can do that if you don't mind waiting a bit before going to sleep.” After all, he needed to get rid of this blood first.

Lucille's face immediately lit up. “I don't mind. Come in. I will ask someone to prepare a bath.” She quickly searched for a servant, voiced her order and rushed into her room after that.

Cedar watched her with a little smile. They were both doing stupid things right now. This would haunt them for years to come. But if they considered marriage anyway, it might not be too bad. He could just claim that he would sleep on the sofa, even if he and Lucille knew that they would end up cuddling in her bed.