The Broken Prince's Love

Cedar had to admit that he didn't know what was cuter. How Lucille slept peacefully without a care in the world, how she childishly she acted while being drugged, or how she reacted upon waking up with a clear mind while remembering what she had done. It was probably the latter option.

The prince had been awake the whole time to make sure that he wouldn't accidentally touch her wound. He had used that opportunity to stare at her face while taking in all of the small details of her features and wondering what he was doing here.

At some point, the woman next to him had begun to stir, and she woke up quickly. As soon as Lucille opened her eyes and saw him, confusion overcame her. It took a few seconds until she realized what had happened. Then her eyes widened, and another moment later, her whole face got red while he just grinned at her. “I...” She didn't finish the first time and needed a second attempt before being able to speak. “I'm sorry.” She was so quiet, and the fact that she lifted her hands to cover her face made it even more adorable.

Cedar had actually hoped that she wouldn't remember what he had said, but now that he saw her reaction, he was fine with this too. He probably shouldn't tease her when she was already in this state, but he couldn't help himself. “Good morning, Lucille. Did you sleep well? I hope your pillow wasn't too hard.”

Lucille let out a small noise of embarrassment as she hid behind her hands. “I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to do something like that. What did that man give me?” She almost sounded desperate while saying that.

This made Cedar stop for the time being so that he could calm her down a bit. “It's fine. You were completely drugged. I'm surprised that you even recognized me. But don't worry. I asked the doctor to hold back with that medicine. You will get a different pill now. One that won't make you act like you are barely awake.”

Lucille quickly nodded at that, but she still refused to show her face. “It won't happen again. Something inappropriate like that will not... I'm sorry. You didn't have to stay with me, you know? You should just have pushed me away.”

Cedar let out a small chuckle at that. “That would have been cold-hearted, wouldn't it? After all, you specifically asked me to stay. And you did want me to stay, right? At least you held onto me when I tried to leave.” He grinned when he saw how she hid herself even more after remembering that. But his amusement was quickly replaced by worry. “Ah. Is your wound any better? If it hurts, you need to tell the doctor immediately. He can give you something against it if it's necessary. He also said that they might need to readjust the threads if you move around too much. In that case, it would be best to find out what the problem is as soon as possible. So, don't hold back or endure it if you feel something strange. Alright?”

Lucille slowly lowered her hands and dared to meet his gaze after nodding. “I can do that. But...what happens now? Will we stay here for treatment?” She obviously didn't know that yet.

Cedar had told her that they were in the palace, but he wasn't sure whether she remembered that much, so he explained a bit. “For the time being, we will stay in the palace. My brother said that he would visit in a while to talk to us. Probably after dinner. So, maybe around nine o'clock. He will decide everything then. But I would say that you staying here until your wound is healed is guaranteed. Since my mother was the one that hurt you, Theodore is interested in keeping you safe.” Upon mentioning that, Cedar's mind wandered back, and he quickly shoved the memory of Theodore gazing at him and Lucille away. He didn't need to feel bothered if his brother thought that he was in a relationship. Right now, the prince had different worries. For example, why Theodore was stupid enough to let his enemy roam around here. “But then again, I have no idea what he is thinking. For some reason, I wasn't arrested, so I assume that he won't put me into a cell.”

Lucille slowly nodded to herself as she listened to him, but she couldn't keep the concern off her face when she replied. “It's nice that His Majesty allowed me to be treated. But why didn't he do anything about you? I mean, I'm happy that it ended up like this, but...he shouldn't be happy about what's going on.”

“He shouldn't be. I just rushed to his home, broke in and told his doctor to treat you. And this happened after he searched for me for a month. He should be rather angry. But he seems to be more concerned about Mother trying to attack me. He probably wants to find out what is going on here. But his motives don't matter if he lets me walk around.”

Surely, Cedar's movements were restricted since there were guards everywhere. But since he hadn't tried to leave the doctor's office, he had been able to walk around without anyone watching him. He could easily have stolen some syringes and stabbed someone with it, but apparently, no one was cautious enough to consider that option. It was almost ridiculous how lax the security around him was.

Theodore should have ordered a few guards to keep an eye on his brother the whole time. Of course, it was more relaxed for Cedar without that, but he couldn't help but wonder why the emperor was so damned naive. Was Theodore this sure that Lucille's safety was enough of a token to keep Cedar in check? If so, he was definitely right, but it was still risky. After all, this could be a big act, and then the emperor might be in serious trouble.

But Cedar didn't have the time to think much about that. He slowly sat up while being careful not to touch Lucille. “We can ask him what he is thinking later if you want to. I would suggest eating first though. You haven't consumed anything in the past two days. I asked for something light, so you should be able to swallow that.” He reached over to the nightstand next to him and retrieved the tray from there. “This should be some soup with bread and vegetables. I think yogurt is there too. What do you want?” He tried to hide his irritation at the fact that there were two portions of everything, which meant that his dear brother suddenly fed his enemy. Instead of revealing what he thought about that, he just smiled as he lifted the covers and showed Lucille the dishes. “I lived here for fifteen years, so I can guarantee you that everything will be delicious. You will like at least one of these dishes.”

Lucille stared at the meal for a moment before gesturing to the soup. “Everything looks good, but I would like to start with that. If it's really alright for me to eat this, I mean.”

Cedar let out a huff before replying. “Why would it not be alright? This was brought for you. I will help you a bit.” He carefully put his hands on her shoulders and her back and supported her as she sat up. He could see that she was in pain, so he quickly propped up the pillow behind her so that she could lean back again. Cedar would give her another pill against the pain after this meal, but first, she had to eat.

It would be good if she consumed some of the soup in the very beginning. There were a lot of nutrients in that mixture since this was the usual food that inhabitants of the palace got when they were ill or needed to recover after something.

Cedar took the tray and brought it to her before stirring the soup and blowing on it to make it cool down a bit. He was prepared to move the spoon to Lucille's mouth before he froze. He should probably ask her before doing something so embarrassing. “Do you want to try eating yourself, or should I help you? It may be better for you to refrain from moving around, but I'm not sure whether you're comfortable with this.”

Lucille looked like she wasn't too sure either. She glanced at the meal before lifting her hands and staring at her shaky fingers. She wasn't even able to hold them steady without anything weighing her hands down. It didn't look like she would be eating on her own. But the reddish tint of her cheeks made it obvious that asking someone to feed her was too embarrassing for her. “Well... Even if you're offering that to me, I could never accept. You're still the second prince of Artias.” So, that was the excuse she decided to go with.

Cedar stared at her hands for a moment before making eye contact with her. “The other option would be a stranger taking care of you. I can call one of the doctor's assistants if you want to. There is a woman among them, so I could get her if you feel less unwell with that.”

Lucille still didn't seem to be happy. “I don't...” She gazed at him while trying to steady her hands. “Can't I try to hold it on my own?”

Normally, Cedar was the type of person that would advise people once before letting them run into their misery if they didn't listen. But he wouldn't let Lucille burn herself with steaming soup just because she was too embarrassed. “I don't think that you dropping hot liquid onto your skin now is beneficial to either of us. It would be better if you allowed me to help you. Just as long as you are still this weak. Will you let me feed you so that I feel better?”

That seemed to be enough to convince Lucille. She was still a bit reluctant but probably relieved that she didn't have to hold a bowl with her shaky hands. So, she relaxed and slowly opened her mouth a little bit while closing her eyes. Apparently, she was embarrassed about all of this but still too hungry to argue.

The prince almost chuckled at that but held back. After blowing on the soup a bit longer, he brought the spoon to her face while being as careful as possible. He watched as Lucille slowly drank a bit before he withdrew the spoon to take a second portion, which he needed to cool down first as well. Working like this would probably take a while, but he would rather sit here for hours than let her burn herself.

Lucille opened her eyes after a short moment and scanned him for a while before speaking up. “You don't have to wait so long. I can deal with it if it's a little warm.”

Cedar glanced at the steaming bowl and quickly decided that he wouldn't let her deal with that. “It's not just a little warm. Believe me. I ate this soup often enough. You can burn your tongue with this if you're just careless for a single moment. And then, it will hurt for the rest of the day. You don't need that now. We have enough time anyway, so we can go slow. It's not like you will leave the bed anytime soon, and I'm pretty much confined to the palace too.”

Lucille seemed a bit dejected when she nodded. He already wanted to explain how none of this was her fault, but she spoke up again first. “Do you know what's a bit strange?” She looked at him as a faint but breathtaking smile appeared on her lips. “That you are so careful around me because I'm hurt. You're awfully protective for someone who didn't even stop training when his side was slit open. Even though I told you to stop, you probably continued in secret.” She had caught him there.

Cedar beamed at her. “I have to admit that you are right about that. But it would be hard to compare us. There is a little difference between us two. We grew up in quite different situations. I had to deal with worse often. You obviously didn't do that, so you are much more...” He paused for a moment. He didn't want her to misunderstand his intention. “Sensitive?” He paused again. “I don't know if that's the right word. Please don't get me wrong. I don't mean to criticize you. It's not bad if you are like this either. In fact, it's good. It means that you didn't get used to this amount of pain in the past. Since not receiving an arrow in your stomach every few days is good, I would say that you being more sensitive is a positive thing.” He wasn't sure whether he had accidentally offended Lucille with that. After all, her childhood had seemingly been rather unpleasant too. He hadn't wanted to say that she was weak in any way and already prepared to apologize for that.

But Lucille didn't look offended and just a bit sad. “I see. When it comes to pain, I'm a crybaby, so I can't refute that. But when you say that you are less sensitive about this sort of thing, doesn't that mean that you are used to flesh wounds?” It had sounded a bit like that, hadn't it?

Cedar quickly shook his head. “No, I'm not used to things that are this bad. I think that wound was the worst I ever had.” Maybe. Unless one counted the remains of that incident. “What I'm used to is ignoring pain and patching myself up after I get hurt. Training in my childhood was harsh. Not as bad as it would be for real warriors or on a battlefield, but I did have to endure quite a bit. My mother didn't like me whining, so I quickly stopped complaining. That also meant that I had to learn about first aid, which is rather beneficial now. But just because this was helpful to me, it doesn't mean that I want other children to experience the same thing.” He wasn't even sure why he told her that. Didn't it sound like he wanted sympathy? That would seem a bit pathetic. So, he smiled at her and brought the spoon to her mouth again. “Come on. Open up.”

Lucille looked at him with obvious worry and hesitantly complied. The spoon disappeared in her mouth. She slowly swallowed and prepared to speak up after that. “It's horrible that you had to go through that alone. Your mother is-” She didn't get to finish that sentence.

A knock sounded from the door.

Cedar sighed and quickly blew onto another spoonful of soup before holding it toward Lucille so that she at least had drunken three sips. He was still annoyed that someone interrupted them now, but he had no choice but to answer. It could be the doctor after all. He turned to the door and raised his voice. “Yes?” He expected the person to announce themselves, but nothing came, and the door just opened.

That already made it obvious who this was. There was only one person who didn't need to ask for the prince's permission before entering and would just waltz in here.

Theodore stood in the doorway and scanned the couple with a conflicted expression. The emperor's timing was incredible as always. Of course, Theodore would come while Cedar was much too close to Lucille again. By now, it was obvious that anyone here would misunderstand.

The prince didn't bother to explain anything. He didn't speak up either and just met his brother's gaze. Now that he could think clearly again, he was definitely annoyed by Theodore's actions, which only made it more uncomfortable to face the other man.

There could only be one thing that made this even worse.

Theodore entered the room and brought a young woman with alabaster-colored hair and a gorgeous dress inside. She was pregnant and stuck to the emperor as if they were glued together. This was Blanche Estien, Theodore's former concubine, who was now his wife and the empress of Artias. If she was here, the conversation would probably be even more annoying than usual.

After all, Cedar hadn't shown that woman his kindest side during the few times they had met. He had done his best to provoke and scare her during every single conversation and, admittedly, had sometimes felt bad for going so far.

But in the end, Blanche had been the person to tell him about the riverbed metaphor. She had been so ridiculously insistent on him needing to change his life. Now that he had done something that would make a big change, she was probably smug and would say that she had told him that he could do it. That would be frustrating.

Cedar would favor it if Blanche just glared at him like in the beginning instead of acting like he deserved pity, but he would have to deal with everything the empress sent his way. Still, it was tempting not to go along with everything she and her husband would want.

It took all the prince's self-control not to be petty enough to ignore the royal couple to feed Lucille. Since he needed their support to protect Lucille for now, he would have to behave though. He slowly put the bowl onto the tray and placed it on the nightstand before waiting for someone to speak up.

Theodore led Blanche closer to the bed, but they stopped at a safe distance, with two other men, the royal couple's personal guards, standing close to them to intervene in an emergency. It seemed like the emperor at least had some sort of distrust directed at his younger brother. Good. Anything else would have been infuriating.

For a few seconds, it was quiet before Theodore began. “It is good to see that you are awake, Lady Valerian. Are you feeling better, or are you still in pain?”

Lucille's mouth opened before she glanced at Cedar as if she was uncertain what to say. To her, this situation was probably even more uncomfortable since she was sitting between the factions of a family feud that influenced the entire nation. She took a moment before lowering her head. “Your Majesty. I apologize for causing problems. And I apologize for not being able to greet you properly.” That was the first thing she thought about? She was too worried about being polite despite barely escaping death.

Blanche quickly ended that though. “Please don't say something like that. You are hurt, so it is natural for us to offer assistance. If you are in pain, please do tell us. We can inform the doctor at any given time. Our priority is to let you recover, so do not hesitate to call for help if you need anything.” Offering that after they had interrupted Lucille's meal was a bit strange, but at least the patient was being treated kindly here.

Lucille slowly lifted her head but still barely dared to make eye contact with the royal couple. “Thank you, Your Majesty. I'm not in pain. I will have to thank you and the doctors properly when I'm recovered, but I doubt that I will be able to repay you in any meaningful way. Thank you very much.” Why was she lying? She was still in pain. She probably just didn't want to ask for more medicine because she was worried about repeating what she had done before.

Theodore scanned the injured woman for a moment before replying. “If you aren't in pain, that is good. Please remember that you are here as our guest though. We will not ask for compensation in any way. As Blanche said, it is natural for us to help. Focus on recovering without thinking about anything else. By the way, is it alright for you to sit up already? I am a bit worried about you overdoing it.”

Lucille quickly shook her head. “It doesn't hurt as long as I don't move. I need to sit up while eating, so this is necessary. But Cedar helped me, so it wasn't that bad.” Why had she needed to mention him?

Cedar would have liked to sit here in silence for the whole conversation. But now, it didn't seem like he would be able to do that. He forced himself to show the royal couple a wide grin while waiting for them to speak up. He almost expected the empress' face to scrunch up when she saw him, which might have been more relieving than her calm reaction.

Blanche stared at him for a few seconds before she spoke up. “It's been a while since we saw each other. I will not ask how you are doing though. The situation is a bit too grim for that.”

Cedar didn't know what to do with that kind of sympathy. He didn't need anyone to pity him. But explaining how he had felt like dying while Lucille had been unconscious would probably have been problematic, so he was glad that he didn't need to mention anything about how he felt. “It truly has been a while, Your Majesty. I think it's been four months by now.” Four months since he had broken into the palace with mercenaries for a revolt, and now he was suddenly back again. Cedar didn't point out that issue though and just focused on something else in hopes of the empress taking it well. “Congratulations on your pregnancy. I would like to wish you the best for the birth and hope that the baby may be in good health.” Was it inappropriate for him to say that when the young mother hated him? Maybe.

But Blanche didn't seem to get angry. Instead, she gave him a sad fake smile. “Thank you very much. But I fear that I am a bit too worried to think about that. I heard about the incident. The one that happened a month ago and about the new one too. Did the doctor examine you as well? Are you hurt in any way?”

Maybe he was mentally scarred, but his body hadn't been injured. Cedar smiled at her while replying. “There wasn't a trace of any injury except for the old ones. I survived that, so I'll manage. Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty.” He hoped that he would be left alone with that, but it didn't seem like he was lucky.

Theodore stared right into his brother's eyes before speaking up. “Good. But the doctor will keep an eye on that sword gash. He said that the wound was huge, so it needs to be treated even now. You shouldn't get an infection. And even if you aren't freshly injured, you need rest. You look less exhausted than this morning. So, at least it seems like you slept a bit now.” What was that supposed to mean?

Cedar could imagine that he hadn't looked too happy while seeing how Lucille's whole torso was wrapped in bandages. But he certainly hadn't slept after seeing that she was fine either. After all, he had been too busy being careful not to touch her on accident. He had only lain next to her without closing his eyes for one second. Did he look more relaxed despite that? If so, that was good, but he was pretty tired if he was honest. Maybe Theodore was just making fun of his brother's apparent exhaustion. That would be annoying.

Of course, Cedar didn't say any of this though and just gave a short reply. “I see. Then it was good that I lay down for a bit. I feel much better now. I needed to make up for the lost sleep from the days before that.” Hopefully, this was all they wanted to hear from him.

But unfortunately, it didn't look like that. The royal couple didn't act like they would leave anytime soon. Theodore led the empress to the sofa so that she could sit down, which made it seem like they intended to discuss something important now.

Wonderful.