The Broken Prince's Love

To be honest, Cedar had been frustrated when he had received the invitation. He didn't necessarily see the need to eat dinner with Theodore and his brother's wife. So, he had believed that he would force himself to keep a smile during the whole meal while being annoyed on the inside.

But then he had realized that Lucille had been invited as well.

The small note near the end of the letter had improved his mood in an instant. That only reminded him that he was too stupid and predictable. But he couldn't help it.

So, Cedar got ready with much more motivation than he would ever have had if he had been alone. He would lie if he said that he wasn't a little frustrated because he had to eat with his brother, but it was endurable if he could talk to Lucille. The only downside was that he couldn't tease her when they weren't alone. After all, her reactions were much too adorable for anyone else to see. It had been two days since the picnic, and Lucille still seemed to be a bit embarrassed around him, so he took full advantage of it. Her expression when he had asked her to let him escort her to the dining room had been enough to make him excited for the entire day yesterday.

Now that Cedar was waiting in front of her door, he had to admit that he looked forward to seeing her flustered expression again. But all thoughts of teasing her disappeared when Lucille opened the door to step out.

Lucille had dressed up for a dinner with the royal couple, and she might have seen this as a much more formal event than he had. She was wearing a pearl-colored dress with a wool shawl that was wrapped around her shoulders. That was coupled with a pair of earrings and no other accessories, which only underlined the elegance of her attire. The soft colors of her dress emphasized her gorgeous red hair and her dark eyes. All of this created a picture far too stunning to be natural.

For a moment, Cedar forgot what his original goal had been. The prince who always talked until others gave in was speechless? That was new. He actually took a few seconds to realize that he had been staring at her.

Lucille bashfully pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and looked to the side. “Good evening. Do you think this attire is fine for the dinner?” It was more than fine.

Cedar considered trying to phrase that in a more subtle way, but he quickly gave up. He had intended to compliment her later again, but if she was so uncertain, it was good to tell her the truth. “You look stunning. I have to say that it's been a while since I saw such a beautiful lady.” He wasn't even lying when he said this to her. He was used to voicing countless words of empty praise, but when it was Lucille, it was the truth.

As expected, Lucille avoided his gaze as she shifted around on her feet. “Thank you very much... I wasn't sure if it was...too fancy or anything like that.”

Cedar had no idea whether she had dressed appropriately. He wasn't sure whether Theodore and Blanche would arrive in their royal attires or whether they would be more subtle either. But since he had put on a uniform too, it should be fine. “In any case, we are matching, so it will be alright.”

Lucille only seemed more embarrassed. “Ah. Then...” She looked at the floor before slowly forcing herself to meet his gaze. “You look...” She searched for the right words. “Good too. I mean, handsome. No, elegant.” She folded her hands while saying that and looked like she fought the urge to turn away again.

Cedar just smiled at her. It was the first time that he was genuinely happy about such a compliment. “Thank you very much. But I can not compare to the young lady I will escort.” He beamed at her and lifted his arm to offer it to her. “Will you grant me the honor to accompany you to the dining room?”

Lucille quickly nodded and put her hand on top of his. She moved faster than before when she came to his side, most likely because she could hide her face better now. Her grip on his arm was so soft that it felt like she was scared of even using a little pressure to hold onto him though, which gave away her embarrassment.

Cedar's smile became genuine as he led her down the stairs. They reached the second floor and moved to the dining room without any interruptions.

It seemed like every servant or knight in the hallways glanced to the side to keep an eye on the couple, and it was very easy to guess that Lucille wasn't too happy about the people who watched them. She refused to make eye contact with anyone and came a bit closer to the prince as if that would protect her from the prying stares.

Cedar ignored the servants to the best of his ability, even if he prayed that no one in the palace would spread information to the outside. He focused on bringing Lucille to their destination instead of worrying about her future though.

When they reached the dining room, the servants opened the door for them, and they entered. The table was already covered with a white cloth and set with countless fancy plates, of which some were hidden underneath covers. It seemed like the room was empty though.

The emperor and the empress had not come yet.

Cedar looked around for a moment to make sure that no servant was standing in some corner before he led Lucille to the table. He pulled back the chair for her and gestured toward it. “Would you like to sit down?”

Lucille seemed a bit worried when she looked around. “But can we just decide where we will sit? Don't His and Her Majesty need to pick their seats first?”

He pointed to the other side. “They will definitely sit next to each other. I also assume that this tea over there is for Her Majesty. After all, they wouldn't decide the flavor for us. This means that we are supposed to sit here.” Maybe the already prepared tea had been supposed to test whether Cedar would put anything weird into it too. He wasn't quite sure, but it proved that Blanche would sit there.

Lucille scanned the table again. “Ah. I didn't see that at all. You are probably right.” She slowly sat down on the chair and allowed Cedar to push her closer to the table. Then she directed her gaze at the table.

The prince took a seat next to her and waited for a short moment before looking over at her. “You know, I don't think I have to warn you since you should have seen it before too. But I will still remind you. As soon as our two lovebirds enter, you will be forced to endure watching them exchange displays of affection for the next two hours. When they come in, they will hold each other's hand. Then these two will sit down and cuddle again. They probably won't stop being like newlyweds during the whole dinner. You can imagine what that means. They will touch each other constantly, feed one another and interrupt conversations to speak about how much they love each other. It's almost disgusting how sweet the two of them are.”

Lucille avoided his gaze in the middle of his speech, but she still listened the whole time. “I will keep that in mind. They're like this during events too, so there is no need to warn me.” There probably truly hadn't been a need to warn her.

But Cedar had liked addressing the topic just because he had known that it would make Lucille a bit embarrassed again. He held back a chuckle and reached forward to lift one of the covers. This earned him a disbelieving stare, but he just spoke up with a smile. “We don't know how long they will take. So, we might as well enjoy a piece first. It's been a while since I dared to steal food, but I think I deserve it once in a while. Feel free to choose whatever you want.” He picked up a small macaron between his fingers and waited for Lucille to take something as well.

She seemed to be much more worried about this than he was. “But we can't begin eating when the hosts aren't there! You can't just take it! What if they come in and catch us?”

“What will they do then? I can assure you that they won't be upset about something small like this. And the odds that they actually catch us in the act are low. The danger level will only rise if you don't pick something and eat it quickly.”

Lucille stared at him for a moment. Then she glanced at the door before turning around and hurrying to take a cookie. She ate it so quickly that he almost feared that she would choke on it. But luckily, she managed to swallow it without beginning to cough.

Cedar could see how badly she wanted him to put down the covers to hide their insolence, and he obeyed after a few seconds. He gave himself some time to finish the macaron, which made Lucille more nervous with each passing moment. When he was done, she breathed out in relief, and he chuckled at that. “Are you so scared of being caught? Because of a little cookie? No one here cares. I would almost assume that the servants regularly take something off the plates as well. Do you want a piece of cake already too?”

Lucille quickly shook her head. “No, definitely not. Please refrain from taking something they will notice. This...is the first time I will eat with His and Her Majesty. I need to keep my manners in mind.”

Cedar raised an eyebrow at her. “Haven't you ever visited a banquet? We have one every year at least, right?”

She nodded. “Yes, but that's different. During such banquets, no one can pay attention to me the whole time. Everyone's eyes will be directed at the most important people. You may be used to being watched, but I am a viscount's daughter. Normally, I am ignored by many, which is relieving.”

Cedar let out a huff. “Ignoring you would be stupid though. I can't imagine anyone overlooking your charm.” He hadn't meant to say that but caught himself in the middle and changed the words so that he didn't just call her beautiful again. After that, he just smiled at her while earning his reward.

Once again, Lucille was more embarrassed than anything else. She turned her head to the side and pressed her lips into a line. She did that for a while before she sheepishly met his gaze again. “Thank you.” She probably didn't think that he was being honest.

Normally, Cedar would correct that assumption, but he was already distracted. There was a small crumb next to Lucille's lips. It had to have gotten there while she had been devouring the cookie. If he was a polite person, he would simply tell her that.

But Cedar wasn't interested in being polite. He couldn't help it.

He slowly lifted his hand and watched how Lucille froze when she saw what he was doing. But he didn't stop and just carefully brought his thumb to her lips to wipe over the crumb. “Give me a second. There is something here.”

The moment his thumb touched her skin, it felt like they were both frozen in time. They could only look at each other while he stopped his movement.

What was Cedar doing? He should get rid of the crumb and then watch how Lucille got embarrassed. He shouldn't be captivated by her eyes and stare at her as if he had never noticed how beautiful her softly curved lips were. He should pull away and apologize, but he just looked at her.

Lucille, who should push him away and point out his insolence, stared right back at him.

Cedar felt something strange bubbling in his stomach, which proved that this might not have been a good idea. He didn't have the desire to let go now, but he had to force himself in some way.

That was the exact moment when he heard the door open.

The prince inwardly cursed his bad timing, but it was too late. He didn't even need to turn around to confirm who was here and why it was so quiet. He slowly lowered his hand and turned with a wide smile.

Theodore and Blanche, who was clinging to her husband's arm, entered. They both froze. They definitely had seen that just now, and the reaction followed quickly. The empress smirked at the scene in front of her and quickly hid her mouth behind her hand. The emperor seemed a bit surprised before he smiled as well. “It's good to see that the two of you are here already.”

Cedar gritted his teeth slightly. Why did his brother look so content? That made no sense. And what was even more frustrating was that he should definitely not feel so disappointed that his interaction with Lucille had been interrupted. He should be happy. He wasn't sure what he would have done otherwise. “Of course, we're already here. We could never be late for a dinner with His and Her Majesty.”

Blanche scanned Lucille, who was turning away while her blush spread all the way to her ears, with a grin before speaking up. “Oh, please don't be so formal now. We are having something like a family dinner, isn't that right? So, we should be a little more relaxed. Good evening to the both of you.”

Cedar considered replying with Blanche's title just because she had been the one to insist on using them in the past. But instead of picking a fight, he just looked at Lucille to let her reply.

Lucille had begun fiddling with her hands underneath the table and kept her gaze trained on the plate in front of her though. It took a few seconds before she glanced at Cedar, and she quickly averted her eyes again. She slowly forced herself to look up and faced the royal couple. “Good evening, Your Majesty.” Her voice was so quiet that it was barely audible.

Blanche didn't seem to mind that. “Please don't use my title during such a nice dinner. And the two of you do not have to feel embarrassed. I can assure you that even we remember that phase clearly.”

Theodore gently patted her hand. “Don't tease them too much, my angel. I think that this is already enough for now.” He grinned at the couple as well. “And I would ask you to drop the titles when we're here in private too. I could just repeat what Cedar always told Blanche in that regard, but I think I'll leave it at that. Please stay seated too. We will join you.” He led his wife to the table and helped her sit down before he took a seat as well.

In the meantime, Cedar could barely keep himself from cursing his own stupid mind. He definitely shouldn't care so much about such a little scene just because Theodore teased him. He had indeed once told Blanche to drop the title and justified it by claiming that she was his brother's lover and thus part of the family. And now Theodore was seriously hinting at the same thing? Surely, the emperor thought that Cedar and Lucille were in a relationship, but wasn't this going a bit far?

The worst part was probably that Cedar had never cared about such jokes and now felt like he didn't even want to look at the others anymore. Was he sulking because he hadn't been able to be alone with Lucille for a moment longer? If so, that reason was pretty stupid. But he would obviously never admit that.

A few seconds of silence passed before the royal couple had taken a seat, and both sat there with a bright smile. Blanche was the one to speak up a moment later. “I hope that we haven't made you wait for too long. For now, we should begin eating. Would you like some wine or tea?”

Cedar asked for tea and Lucille did too.

The empress instructed a servant before turning to them again. “We will begin eating in a moment. The food is not supposed to get cold after all. I hope that you don't mind that we chose to put the dishes here. We wanted to make sure that we do not have to interrupt our meal to call for the servants each time. If you need anything else, we will retrieve it for you in an instant.”

Cedar waited and gave Lucille a chance to reply. When she didn't, he responded. “That is not a problem. If anything is amiss, we will tell you. But I am convinced that the meals in the royal palace will be as wonderful as always.”

The empress seemed content with that. She waited for the maids to pour the drinks for the guests and then dismissed the servants before continuing the conversation. “It has been a while since we ate like this together. Was it a year ago already? Not quite. But it has been a few months. A lot of things have changed since then.” She scanned the couple before looking directly at Cedar. “The last time we ate together, you offered me poison.”

Cedar froze in the middle of his motion and lifted his gaze. That was an irritating topic. If Blanche twisted the words like this, his intentions sounded quite vile. Normally, he wouldn't care since he knew he wasn't a good person, but today he was rather annoyed by this behavior. “Please don't phrase it like that, Your Majesty. It sounds like I wanted to poison you, which wasn't the case. I showed you the unharmful component of a poison that was used on you while knowing that you wouldn't drink it. I meant to give you a hint on who actually brought that poison, remember?”

He glanced over at Lucille while trying to read her face. She didn't seem like she was upset and just looked at him with curiosity.

Blanche nodded with a bright smile on her face. “Of course. You indirectly told us that Claude Vasquez had been the one behind that incident. We had already guessed it then, and you underlined that theory. Thank you very much for your help.”

Cedar grinned back at her while being slightly confused about why the empress had needed to say this. “I was glad to offer you assistance. After all, I did not have any connection to that man's schemes, even if I was accused of it multiple times. But I do not think that today is the right time to discuss that. We should eat.”

Theodore chimed in at that. “Naturally. Feel free to take everything from the plates. Nothing here is meant to be decoration, so have your fill without holding back. You are the guests, so please choose first.”

Cedar used that chance to turn to Lucille. “You may go first.” He had only intended to let the lady begin, but now she seemed even more uncertain than before.

Lucille scanned the dishes while stiffly sitting on her chair. She didn't appear to be sure what she wanted nor did she have the confidence to take something for herself.

For a moment, Cedar considered offering to give something to her instead, but he glanced at the royal couple and decided against it. He had chosen to ignore the rumors, but he didn't need to emphasize them. So, he just offered another solution. “I can also begin if you are more comfortable with that.”

Lucille hurriedly nodded, which he took as his cue to pick a few things to put them onto his plate. Cedar noticed that she watched him the whole time, and that made offering to help her even more tempting. He even thought about giving her his plate in case she was still too worried.

But while he was moving, Lucille slowly dared to put something onto her plate too. She was extremely modest though. The portion she had taken was much too small. She was probably so nervous that she didn't think that she could eat much.

That only made Cedar want to give her his food. And this thought made him realize that he was way too focused on her. Even while he was filling his plate, he could only glance at Lucille. This certainly wasn't a good idea. He couldn't end up dropping something. So, he forced himself to look at his food until he was done

By then, Lucille had also finished taking a portion that would be fitting for a child.

After that, the royal couple began choosing their dishes too. They already knew exactly what they wanted and happily put things onto the other's plate. In the end, they would eat from both plates anyway.

When they were done, Theodore spoke up to begin a conversation. “If I remember correctly, this is the first time we ate with a member of the Valerian family in private. Is that correct?”

Lucille weakly nodded. “Yes. It is a great honor to share the table with the royal family. I sincerely thank you for inviting me.”

Blanche chimed in at that. “There is no need to be so polite. If everything goes right, we will eat with one another more often.” She looked at the two across from the table directly after that, which definitely hadn't just been a coincidence. Her comment still hadn't seemed very truthful. There was no way that she and Theodore would give up their intimate meals to eat with his hated brother. The empress seemed to guess what Cedar was thinking quickly and met his gaze with a smile. “Or is that a problem? Do you two want your privacy instead?”

Cedar still had no idea why Blanche had suddenly begun joking around with him. It felt so odd that he had no clue how to react, but he wouldn't begin a discussion about him not being in a relationship now. “Naturally, there isn't a problem. I just assumed that you two would want your privacy instead. After all, you only have a few months left until a third person will disturb your every meal. And since you didn't seem like you enjoyed eating with me a while ago, I would be surprised if that changed over the course of a few months in which we didn't see each other.” Unless she had suddenly changed her mind in that regard too.

Blanche just grinned at him, which made that more likely than it should have been. “You have to admit that I only disliked it because you made it your task to provoke us. You always told me that I didn't truly love Theodore. I have to say, that made me really angry. So, I might have been pretty harsh too.” Was she doing this on purpose? Did she intend to make the prince seem even worse in front of Lucille?

Cedar was slowly getting annoyed, but he had to admit that the empress wasn't telling any lies. Normally, he wouldn't have cared a single bit, but still, he felt the need to defend himself when Lucille was here. So, he smiled at Blanche and replied. “I can assure you that the problem did not lie with you or your relationship with Theodore. One can see that you love each other. It was rather because what I said was my general opinion at that time.”

He still believed that most people formed social connections to gain something from it. But he might have changed his mind a little upon seeing how his brother and Blanche acted around one another. Since a while ago, he had believed that there would be exceptions.

And then he had met Lucille and begun to pray that there were exceptions more often. He wanted to believe that Lucille genuinely liked him, even if it was stupid. That was why he also didn't want her to hear what he had done in the past.

With that in mind, Cedar added another apology in hopes of pacifying Blanche a little. “I hope that you have not taken it to heart. I sincerely apologize for what I said back then.” When Cedar finished, he glanced to the side and made sure to check Lucille's expression. She didn't seem like she was angry nor did she seem to be disappointed. He almost breathed out in relief.

But he didn't dare to because he had no idea what Blanche still wanted to say. The empress had seen some of his worst strategies, so he didn't want to give her a chance to continue talking.

Unfortunately, Blanche already spoke while staring at Lucille. “Did you listen to that? I would like you to remember that in the future. As you can hear, Cedar often does or says things that you may not understand in the very beginning. But if you give him a chance to explain, you usually find out that you have misunderstood him.”

Now Cedar had no idea what to say anymore. He could only look at Blanche, who was smiling as innocently as before, while trying to read her expression. He quickly gave up on that and turned his attention to Lucille.

Lucille was just looking at him and gave him a little smile when their eyes met. “I already knew that. Cedar is a good person. And I trust him. So, I'd obviously give him a chance to explain first.”

He should just have thanked her with a smile. He shouldn't have frozen in place while his heart skipped a beat. This definitely wasn't the normal reaction. Damn it.

Cedar was in the middle of steering himself into a quite dangerous situation.