The Broken Prince's Love

Barely a few seconds passed after Jenna had disappeared. Then Blanche spoke up. “That woman is insufferable. How can someone so disgusting even exist here? I want to throw her out of the nation.” It was calming that someone here shared that sentiment.

Lucille pressed her lips into a line and watched how Lady Peril vanished into the crowd. Slowly, her annoyance ebbed away and left resignation behind. She couldn't get so upset when nothing had happened until now. That woman hadn't even touched Cedar yet, and still, this much was already enough to upset her. It wasn't good that she was this sensitive.

But there was something else that made this much worse. Now that Jenna wasn't here to make her angry, Lucille's mind had time to focus on the fact that the people around them all kept their eyes on her while she shamelessly leaned against Cedar. She could barely bring herself to look around once before she lowered her gaze again. Why were so many people watching them? Surely, the royal family was interesting, but right now, they were only standing here.

Lucille felt a shiver run down her spine and unwillingly tensed as worries about how she could mess up flooded her mind. So many things could go wrong. It was absolutely horrible. Lucille tried to force herself to stand upright without looking like she was terrified of others making fun of her, but it was hard.

Of course, Cedar, whose arm she still hadn't let go of, noticed that soon. He turned to her and gave her a bright smile. “I'm glad that she finally left us alone. At least as alone as we can be with all the guests watching us here. But it feels much more relaxed when that woman isn't there, right?” He didn't wait for an answer and just brought his lips to her ear to whisper. “You got really angry upon seeing her. What was that about?”

Lucille had a feeling that she knew. She had admitted to getting jealous because of a stupid story from the past, so she obviously would be envious now as well. She didn't expect Cedar to return the other's feelings, but she did feel like ignoring someone's lover like this was offending. Lucille averted her eyes but didn't try to move away from Cedar. “She...is unpleasant. She acts like she can just win you over by constantly bothering you. You told her to leave you alone, and she still doesn't get it. Even when I stand here and hug you. That is upsetting.” She hoped that she could leave it at that, but obviously, she wasn't so lucky.

Cedar grinned at her and lifted his hand to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Really? I'm glad that you dislike her too. But I can assure you that I have no intention of letting her get close to me.” He held still for a bit and just looked at her. He stubbornly waited until she met his gaze and then added another bit to provoke her. “Of course, I can't guess what is going on inside your head. But I feel like I may have an idea.” He whispered the next words in a tone that almost made her knees give in. “Are you jealous?”

Lucille felt blood rushing to her face. After almost nine months with Cedar, one should assume that she had gotten used to this, but that wasn't the case. She still reacted so sensitively that he could easily evoke this kind of expression with just a few words. The problem was that not only he could see her right now. Lucille closed her eyes and turned to Cedar in hopes of hiding her face. But then she felt his hand on her cheek and had to open her eyes again.

Cedar's smile was breathtaking. It was the rare soft kind that only Lucille got to see. The fact that he looked at her like that was overwhelming enough, but that wasn't even everything he offered her. He even had to add another comment. “You are adorable when you get jealous. I already told you that, but it seems like it's getting even cuter each time that you look at me like that. You are quick to get upset when it comes to things like that. That is good. After all, it gives me a reason to monopolize you completely.” That didn't sound too bad.

Lucille weakly nodded, which earned her a little laugh. She had wanted to say something about his face being a bit too close to hers, but now that desire had disappeared completely. She would even like to ask for a kiss, but they wouldn't have had the chance to do it anymore.

Blanche already chimed. She beamed at the couple but still used a scolding tone. “Stop teasing her, Cedar. She's had enough for now. We are in public.”

Cedar lifted his head with the same playful grin on his face. “That never stopped you and Theodore.”

Blanche glanced up at her husband and smiled at him before she turned to the prince again. “I admit it. But we are married. Theo and I are allowed to show each other this much affection. You have to finalize it too before you begin cuddling in public. Or rather, since you are already cuddling, finalize it before you begin kissing in public. After all, you are still only friends officially. Not that anyone with working eyes would believe that.” She let out a dreamy sigh. “Ah. It reminds me of how Theo and I started.”

Theodore pulled his wife a bit closer and glared into the distance before replying. “Hiding my love for you was absolutely stupid, and no one else should attempt it. If those two care for one another, they should let the whole world know. Some people haven't understood yet after all.” It was unusual to see the emperor like this. Normally, he was always grinning when he was with his wife. But right now, he looked angry.

It wasn't surprising that Cedar immediately pointed that out. “Say, Theodore. You seem extremely upset today. Is that really just because of Aurora?”

Theodore narrowed his eyes as he let his gaze roam across the ballroom. “No, unfortunately, there is something else. I have a bad feeling about this. If we assume that this woman here is working together with the dowager empress, I presume she has prepared something unfavorable. Especially since that damned witch sent a letter here a short while ago. It didn't contain much but did hint at the fact that Lady Peril should invite you to a drink. Be careful. It would be best if you don't drink anything anyone offers you. And you shouldn't be alone with Lady Peril.”

Cedar didn't seem to be averse to that idea. “Naturally. And if you order me to obey, I can't go against it, right? That is the perfect excuse. You will just have to explain how you are justifying not allowing her to meet me. I will keep in mind what you said, so you don't have to be so on edge.”

Theodore looked around again. “Good. But I still don't trust it. It's unfavorable that Leon isn't here, but he has to make sure that nothing happens to Aurora.” He scanned the people around them with caution. “It would be best if the both of you stick to our side so that Owen can at least protect you a little.”

Lucille doubted that they needed that with all the knights around them and the huge amount of witnesses, but she felt calmer nonetheless. After all, she couldn't fight, and no matter how strong Cedar was, he couldn't defeat everyone. It was always good to have more help.

Despite the emperor's worry, the evening progressed with few occurrences. That didn't mean that it was relaxed though.

The first greeting of the day had been horrible already. Duke Duremont had been rather cautious of Cedar, and that much had been obvious. The biggest problem had been his son though.

Almost two years had passed since Lucille had caused trouble for Lord Duremont during the hunting festival. She had been extremely mean due to her father's order and had offended him and his fiancée, but why was that man still glaring at her with so much hatred? She was pretty sure that he wanted to kill her, even if Cedar reassured her that Lord Duremont always looked like that in a whisper.

Since that hadn't helped her relax, Cedar had begun distracting her. He had used some dirty schemes to make her look at him, and in the end, that only embarrassed her more. After all, Lucille was pretty sure that someone had to have seen the secret peck he had given her at some point. She could swear that this caused the Duremont family to watch them with skepticism, but that was much better than hatred.

The second household they had to greet was the Vasquez family. As always, Selena was there with Luciano and Rebecca, who stared at the strangers with round eyes. The meeting was relatively relaxed and full of interactions that one would assume to take place during a normal conversation within a family. Selena was simply kind and smiled at her children the whole time while Rebecca was visibly unhappy seeing so many new faces. The baby only accepted Cedar, whose hand she happily grabbed when he was close enough. Cedar didn't know how to deal with that, even if Lucille doubted that anyone else noticed. She didn't point it out either.

Not when she had been forced to greet Rebecca soon after. This time, the baby had been a bit more skeptical, but she had accepted the red-haired stranger too. Lucille had the suspicion that this was only the case because of the mother's and brother's presence though. She was content with that much, but her bashfulness quickly took over.

Luciano had watched his sister with a bright smile, but that didn't stop him from commenting on how Cedar might have children soon as well. This earned him a remark about finding a fiancée before speaking about such matters. The two of them teased each other for a moment, and Luciano managed to indicate that Lucille was a good choice for his cousin quite a few times. It didn't feel as unpleasant as it could have been, but Lucille had still been embarrassed in the end. Especially since Cedar never refuted any of the comments his cousin had made.

After that, they met the Lamont family. It was easy to talk to the elderly kind duke and Fiona. The main topic here was the chance of Fiona taking over her family as the first reigning duchess. She would be very happy about that, and her father supported her too. The mountain of work she had finished in the past few months proved that she was more than capable of leading her household, even if her cousin, who had been the heir before her, protested.

Still, Fiona wanted to do more and lay the foundation for her political influence. The chance of possibly becoming a minister overjoyed her, even if she didn't admit it. But that didn't make her doubts about Cedar being this close to Lucille less obvious. She eyed the couple the whole time, and her fake polite smile was much more forced than normal. But she never said anything and just showed her friend that smile whenever they made eye contact. So, the conversation ended without much trouble.

As soon as they were a few steps away from Duke Lamont, Theodore spoke up, his voice sounding a bit strained. “Those were the three dukes. We can leave now, right? I don't see the need to waste time exchanging pleasantries with others.”

Lucille was almost surprised at how quickly this had gone by. She let her gaze roam across the room and made eye contact with Raymond. That reminded her that she hadn't spoken to him for the whole evening. She couldn't just leave like that. She slowly turned her head to the royal couple. “Could we...perhaps greet my father too?”

Theodore glanced at her and then at her father. His expression was still grim, so it didn't seem like he would affirm this. “I am not sure whether that is a good idea. We were lucky to avoid Lady Peril the whole time. I don't want to risk it. It would be best if we just leave.”

Blanche interrupted before he could finish. “Let Lucille talk to her father. One minute won't change anything. We will just say hello and leave after that. Is that fine?” She asked that, but the answer was already clear. After all, Blanche had been the one to ask her husband. Of course, the emperor would agree.

So, the group walked toward Viscount Valerian. But they didn't get there in time.

Lucille had barely taken a few steps when Cedar gave her a heart attack. He suddenly pulled her backward so that she collided with him with full force. That knocked all air out of her lungs, and she let out a yelp in surprise. She almost fell, and only leaning against him allowed her to stand. Her heart was thumping so loudly that she feared that he had to hear it. She lifted her head and wanted to complain already, but then she saw what the issue might have been.

Right in front of them, a maid knelt on the floor. A tray was lying on the tiles next to her, and a few glasses were broken on the ground. She had tripped and let that tray fall down.

Cedar seemed a bit too angry at such an accident. His smile was as radiant as the sun as he met Lucille's gaze. “I apologize for that. Are you alright? You didn't get hit by anything, did you?”

Lucille weakly shook her head. “It's fine. I didn't...” She turned her head and made eye contact with that maid.

The poor woman looked like she was terrified. She just sat there on the floor and trembled while watching the couple with panic in her eyes. Nothing bad had happened. Why was she so scared?

Lucille could guess why, but Cedar wasn't that horrifying. He just stood there with an arm wrapped around her waist and stared at the maid. His smile wasn't even the most terrifying one he could give.

Only a few seconds passed, and then the maid almost lunged forward to press her head onto the floor. “I sincerely apologize, Your Royal Highness! There almost was a big problem because of my incompetence. I swear that it will never happen again!” Why did she act like she would be executed soon?

Cedar was definitely upset, but his murderous aura looked different. Right now, he only looked at the servant with an expression that probably seemed like his normal smile to everyone else. “Why are you apologizing to me? Say that to the person you almost poured the drinks over.”

Immediately, the maid lifted her head and hurried to repeat her words. “I sincerely apologize, Lady Valerian!”

That surprised Lucille more than the actual incident. Why did some maid from a noble house know her name? There was no logical reason for that unless that servant was coincidentally able to name every noble in the capital, which was unlikely. The only other reason would be someone telling the maid who Lucille was. But why would anyone do that?

Lucille had a bad premonition. She glanced at Cedar, who still watched the maid as if he expected her to move, before she decided to resolve the conflict. She didn't notice how she tightened her hold on Cedar's attire while she spoke up in a quiet voice. “It is fine. You didn't do it on purpose. But please be more careful from now on. And please clean this up so that no one trips.”

The maid's face lit up as if she had reached salvation. She hurriedly nodded and jumped to her feet before rushing off.

Seconds later, some other servants appeared to begin cleaning the mess on the floor.

Cedar kept an eye on them while he pulled Lucille to the side. He leaned closer to her and whispered. “That was on purpose. That maid was supposed to dirty your dress so that you would have to go change and would leave my side for a while. Then the host would have offered to join me to make up for your absence. Since Lady Peril is currently rushing toward us, I assume that that was her plan.”

Lucille's eyes widened as she turned her head.

Indeed, it looked like Jenna was coming toward them. She had lifted the hem of her dress to be able to move quicker and walked around the other guests to reach the couple. She had put on a fake expression of worry and immediately spoke up when she came to a halt. “Is everything alright, Your Royal Highness? Did something happen? I could only see that one of my servants caused some trouble and that it looked like Lady Valerian-” She scanned them both and stopped. Then she breathed out in relief. Still, she kept that concerned expression. “I sincerely apologize for failing to educate my staff. I am relieved to see that nothing happened, but that maid still made a grave mistake. I will punish her accordingly. Please forgive me for allowing something like that to happen during my party. I will take full responsibility.”

Lucille could only stand there and fume about the other's audacity. If Cedar was right about this, which he usually was, it would mean that Lady Peril had arranged this. And coming to apologize and punish someone innocent after giving that order took some nerve. Lucille almost wanted to narrow her eyes, but she was still too shy to do that.

Cedar, however, didn't care much about what others thought at all. He ignored Jenna in favor of turning Lucille to him. He scanned her from head to toe and even put his hand on her chin to lift her head. She felt oddly warm under his gaze, and by the time he stopped, her anger had ebbed away a bit. Then Cedar replied without even looking at the other woman. “Luckily, nothing happened. But not out of pure luck but because we stepped aside in time. I can assure you that the royal family would have expected you to take responsibility otherwise. There is no need to punish someone for a mere accident, but make sure that things like this never happen again.” He slowly lifted his gaze to show Lady Peril a faint smile. “One accident can happen. Two can be a coincidence as well. But the third one shows a pattern.”

Jenna quickly bowed again. “Of course, Your Royal Highness. I will personally make sure to educate our staff better in the future. I sincerely apologize. Please allow me to make it up to you. Maybe I could invite you for a drink as some sort of apology.” She looked up, and her face actually showed some trace of desperation, even if that was most likely fake.

Cedar gazed at her with something unusually cold in his eyes. “I doubt that it will help us much. Especially since you offered it to me instead of the person who was troubled by your maid. Surely, you didn't mean to suggest that I leave my partner behind. I would be a horrible escort if I did that.”

Jenna interlocked her fingers as she folded her hands. She averted her eyes and stared at the floor. She looked so uncertain and almost scared that it didn't match her usual personality at all. Even her voice sounded less convinced now. “However, as Her Majesty's lady-in-waiting, she is responsible for Her Majesty first and foremost. That was why... That was the only reason I...” She acted like a kicked puppy now.

That almost made Lucille have some sympathy. Almost. Knowing that Lady Peril had approached a fourteen-year-old boy in an attempt to use him for power made her forget all sympathy she could ever have had. And to be honest, seeing this act only upset Lucille even more. It was infuriating that Jenna kept changing her strategy to impress a man who was taken and cuddled with his lover in front of her.

Cedar replied without caring about the other's pretense. “Naturally, that was your only reason. I can assure you that I will not leave her side though. After all, I am escorting her, so all of my attention belongs to her.”

Jenna kept averting her gaze while she responded. “I see. Then it appears that we will have to delay our tea party. I will always be able to make some time for you.” Normally, she would say that with her usual sultry voice and a soft smile. But right, now she only acted like she was dejected.

For a moment, it was silent before a voice chimed in from the side. Lucille hadn't even noticed Theodore having returned to the scene until he spoke. “Why do we have to delay it? We can just all drink something together. Or is there something that would make that unfitting? From the very beginning, you acted like it would be impossible for us to join. But obviously, the royal family will not split in public when there is no apparent reason.” His voice was a bit too strained to make it seem like this was about a simple tea meeting and nothing more.

In fact, Theodore looked like he was absolutely disgusted as he stared at Jenna right now.

By now, Lucille was extremely sure that this wasn't just a small misunderstanding or an accident. Lady Peril had prepared something, and the royal family didn't like it at all. Otherwise, Theodore wouldn't glare like that. To be honest, it was a bit satisfying to watch that. Mostly, because Lucille knew what Lady Peril had tried in the past. And maybe because it was pleasant to stand at Cedar's side while that woman failed to get his attention too.

Surely, Lucille might be a bit too resentful when it came to this. But she had every right to feel like that. As a normal human being with common sense and as Cedar's lover.