The Broken Prince's Love

For the past week, they had practiced waltzing as much as possible.

Lucille had hoped that learning to dance would be as relaxing as it had been last time. At first, that had been the case too. But as soon as Leonard had inserted himself into the lessons, she became much more tense. After all, they were being watched the whole time now.

The secretary always added comments about how they could improve their posture, but it quickly became obvious that Cedar was more or less perfect.

Lucille, however, got more embarrassed with every little mistake, and being reminded of what had happened last time wasn't pleasant either. She felt how her cheeks burned whenever she came too close to Cedar. It was ridiculous, and the fact that they weren't ever alone made it even worse.

Whenever they began a conversation or smiled at each other for too long, Leonard commented on it, seemingly because he found it funny to annoy Cedar. The prince always had a snarky reply, so the conversation was pretty sarcastic at some points.

Lucille just calmly listened most of the time. She had nothing to add and was just happy when she didn't mess up once. Practicing did help her, which made her wish that she had started earlier. Right now, she had managed to go through the steps five times without stumbling. That painted a beam onto her face.

Cedar noticed it immediately and grinned back at her. “See? You are doing well. Maybe your previous teachers were just useless. That would explain why you immediately do well after practicing a few times.”

Lucille had to admit that being praised by him was a treat. So, she couldn't help but feel how her stomach churned as she replied happily. “Thank you very much. I hope I will manage to perform acceptably during the ball because of this. I don't want to embarrass you just because I can't dance like a normal person.”

Cedar gave her an encouraging smile as they spun around again. “Well, normal people also make mistakes. It's just that no one watches them so closely. But believe me. If you fall, I will catch you. Nothing you do could ever embarrass me.”

Apparently, that had been too sweet for Leon again. He didn't look up from the book he was reading and just snorted. “No couple, huh? Not like your brother, huh?”

Cedar glared over at him for a moment without ever stopping his movements. “It seems like the third wheel doesn't notice when it's not needed.” He left it at that and returned his attention to Lucille. “In any case, you don't have to worry in the slightest. I will make sure that everything goes well. No one will pay attention to us as long as Theodore dresses up his wife like he always does. She will glitter in the candlelight and make everyone look at her. We will blend into the background and join for a single music piece, preferably a slow one.”

Lucille was calmed to hear that. “That's a good idea. I don't want too much attention. Since I'm not confident that I can dance well enough and...” She stopped herself when she realized one issue. Everyone would see them even if they were inconspicuous. Her father didn't know about her attending the ball with Cedar yet. She should tell him first, or there might be a problem when Raymond found out. “I still have to inform Father.”

Cedar beamed at her before he looked at their feet for a short moment. “That's not an issue. Even if he dislikes it, say that I invited you. That isn't even a lie. And you obviously couldn't refuse the invitation of the prince. So, you had to join. We will naturally be careful to stay at the normal distance, and we won't hint at anything that troubles you either. We just need to make sure that people see that we are accompanying each other. I won't leave your side during the ball.”

That didn't sound so bad. Actually, that sounded wonderful. Lucille was about to respond when someone knocked on the door.

Leonard took care of it before he was even asked. “A moment, please.” He stood up and walked to the entrance to open the door. “Yes?”

A male servant, whom Lucille only dared to scan from the corner of her eyes, stood in front of the room and bowed for a moment. “I sincerely apologize for disturbing you. I merely-” He didn't get farther than that. He made eye contact with the prince, and his expression showed that he was holding back a smirk.

Cedar glanced over at him. “Harris? What are you doing here?”

Harris almost seemed a bit amused when he watched the couple as he replied. “Good day, Your Royal Highness and Lady Valerian. Good day, Lord Astame. His Majesty wishes to speak to you, Your Royal Highness. He did not say what it was about, but it seemed to be of great importance.”

Cedar continued to spin around with Lucille, who watched them while trying to keep herself from tripping, before he responded with slight annoyance in his voice. “Really? Can't that wait? I'm in the middle of a waltz, as you can see.”

Harris scanned them again. “I can. A waltz with the woman you aren't in a relationship with yet. I doubt that. But it's none of my business. I am just bringing the message to you. Whether you come or not is not my problem. His Majesty wants to see you though.”

Leonard looked back at the dancing couple before sighing. “I will go and tell you whether it's important. When I come back, you two better not be kissing again.”

Cedar turned his head to him and beamed. “We never kissed, Leon. Thanks to your interruption. But if you hurry up and give us five minutes, it may happen. Or you could just stay away completely. That would be nice.”

Lucille barely had the time to get embarrassed about that comment. When she got red, the two other men were already gone.

Cedar directed his attention at her again. “Finally.” He smiled and carefully guided them away from the sofa before speaking up again. “I have no idea what Theodore wants now. Maybe he wants me to read strange letters again. Or he'll just hand me a stack of documents immediately. That would be unpleasant, but well. Ah, by the way. Why are you so red?”

Lucille wanted to narrow her eyes at him but only averted her gaze. Ever since they had had that long eye contact, she felt like meeting his gaze made her body react strangely. She was way too sensitive, and that was obvious to everyone else. The observant Cedar wouldn't be ignorant either. “I almost...can't imagine that you...don't know what you are doing.” Her voice was weak, and when she was done, she pressed her lips together.

Cedar laughed quietly. “You may or may not be right. Let's find out.” He slowly loosened his hold on her and allowed her to spin around while he held her hand above her head. She was pretty sure that this wasn't part of a normal waltz, but she went along with it. When he pulled her toward him again, Lucille quickly regretted looking into his eyes though.

She was used to seeing Cedar smiling since he almost always did that. But when he showed her a genuine smile, her heart still skipped a beat each time. That surely wasn't good.

Lucille quickly averted her gaze and tried to hide how that was enough to make her want to tell him that he was beautiful. She truly was too sensitive when it came to him. That would be fine if no one could notice, but she was up against a person who always paid close attention to the facial features of others.

Cedar seemed to be able to read every single thing that was going on inside her head. And the worst part was that he kept staring at her as if he was waiting for her to react to his attempts at teasing her. Unfortunately, he was quite successful. He just needed to slow down the dance a bit and bring his face closer to her while his hand rested on her waist. “You know...dancing is much more fun with you. I always used to get bored quickly, so I never bothered to do it outside the lessons. But now I might start to like it a little. Especially when Leon isn't here. After all, he keeps interrupting us just because we look at each other. Does that seem so intimate to him that he needs to complain?”

Lucille tried not to panic despite being worried that he would notice how tense she had gotten as soon as his hand had moved a little. When he smiled at her like this while he was so close, she might get the wrong idea. “I...don't know. I mean, I'm glad that you like dancing now. But I don't know why Lord Astame is so...”

“Nosy? Don't worry. Theodore said that he is always like this. Apparently, Leon doesn't like couples very much and keeps making fun of them.” Cedar paused for a moment to spin her around again. “Do you know what that means?” He grinned at her while she turned and stopped her to pull her close.

Lucille had probably miscalculated since she took one step too much so that she fell against his chest with a bit too much momentum.

Maybe it had just been his fault too though. After all, Cedar smirked down at her as if he was rather unsurprised by this movement. “It means that Leon thinks that we are a couple. It seems like we act a bit too affectionately in front of others. There are more people who think that we are together than ones who believe us when we tell them the truth.”

Lucille's heart was still beating quicker because of the sudden collision, so she could only look up at him with wide eyes. “Cedar, you scared me! You can't do that all of a sudden. I could have tripped.”

The prince just continued to smile at her. “I don't know what you mean. I didn't do anything. And if you had fallen, I would have just caught you. We're used to body contact by now, so that shouldn't be an issue.”

Lucille cleared her throat. She wanted to reply, but all thoughts were wiped from her mind when she looked up at his grin. Cedar would definitely add something to make her even more flustered now. It would probably be worse than before, so she hurried to speak before he could. “You put in quite the effort. Today, you're awfully focused on making me embarrassed.”

Cedar laughed at that and brought them away from the sofa table to avoid bumping into it. “You caught me. But to be honest, I don't have to do too much. You blush easily.”

Lucille knew that. She hated herself for it, but it couldn't be helped. Especially not when the infuriating and way too charming prince was here to hold her hand and pull her close. She averted her eyes and replied in a low voice. “And still, it seems like you like seeing it. Recently, you started teasing me more often.”

Cedar didn't even try to deny it. “Maybe. It's cute to see how quickly your mood changes. Sometimes, I just have to look at you, and your legs get weak. And then on a different day, you even invite me to stay the night in your bed. It's interesting to see what mood you are in daily.”

He was the one to say that. Cedar was the one who was a bit odd today. He had started to tease her more and more for the past weeks, but today, he had done much more than usual. Whenever they were quiet for longer than a few minutes, he began a conversation or did things like staring into her eyes for a long time. It almost seemed like there was something else on his mind, which he pushed away by distracting her.

Lucille had no specific reason to believe that, but for some reason, this explanation seemed logical. Should she address this? She was quiet for a moment while thinking about that, but she wasn't forced to make a choice at all.

The door opened, and the secretary came back. He stood in the doorway and stared at the couple with an expression Lucille didn't like. His careless attitude was fully gone. Leonard made no snarky comment despite them being so close, which already told them everything.

Cedar stopped their dance and turned to the other man. “What happened?”

Leonard stared at them for a moment while letting out some strange noise. A deep frown was etched into his features when he replied. “Your mother happened. What a sneaky, little...” He cut himself off, and it seemed like he barely avoided saying an insult. He took a deep breath before continuing. “The confinement mansion burned down. Right to the ground. The people inside barely survived because they fled in time.”

Lucille's heart felt like it stopped for a moment before continuing with much more vigor. If this was about the dowager empress, then only her mansion could be the one that Leonard referred to. So, that woman had almost been burned?

Cedar next to her tensed. His smile automatically got a bit wider, but freezing anger glittered in his eyes. “How did the fire start?”

Leonard let out an unamused chuckle. “An assassination attempt. Allegedly. A candle was tipped over.”

Even without looking at him much more, Lucille could see that Cedar's mood rapidly deteriorated. He gritted his teeth for a moment and seemed like he had to hold back from showing his anger openly. “Nonsense. She probably started it herself. What does she want now?” It shouldn't be a surprise that he expected his mother to have done this on purpose. To be honest, that was more likely than it being an assassination attempt.

Leon looked grimmer than ever before as he replied. “She claims that someone wanted to kill her. So, she believes that she deserves the same protection her son receives here. That psychopath wants to move into the royal palace.”

Lucille's brain stopped working at that. How arrogant could someone be? The dowager empress had tried to kill both of her sons by now and expected to be taken in despite that? How ridiculous that was. There was no way that the emperor would agree.

Cedar narrowed his eyes for a moment before he quickly covered his expression with a brighter smile. “I presume that Theodore will not agree. Will he?” He asked that with much more emphasis to make it seem like a question.

Leonard's reply should have come directly. He should just have said no. But instead, he gave a response that didn't consist of a direct answer. “That's what he wants to talk about with us. You need to come to his office now. Lady Valerian is supposed to accompany us too.”

Lucille was rather uncertain when she pointed at herself. Why was she supposed to be here? She hadn't done anything special, so there was no need for her to get involved in such decisions.

But Leonard formed the word ‘please’ with his lips, so she hurried to nod.

When they left the room, she scanned Cedar from the corner of her eyes, and immediately, a wave of worry crashed down upon her. Cedar looked like he was completely lost in thoughts as he stared straight ahead with an almost unsettling smile. There was no way that he was doing well right now. He was in a horrible mood.

Was there something Lucille could do to help him? She wasn't sure. After all, this matter wasn't closely related to her. She couldn't do anything about his mother nor could she change the situation by giving advice. So, she chose to stay quiet while they walked toward the emperor's office.

Lucille only noticed how tense Cedar was when the door closed behind them.

The prince immediately addressed his brother without giving him a chance to speak up. “Theodore. There is no way that you want to do that, right?” His voice almost sounded like a threat. He seemed like he was convinced that his brother would agree with the dowager empress and that he needed to prevent it.

Theodore sat on the sofa and gestured to the other coach across from him. “Sit down, and let me explain first. I won't let her enter the palace but put her in the mansion in the royal estate again. I have my reasons, and you will understand if you listen.”

Cedar's expression didn't necessarily make it seem like he was willing to change his mind. He walked over and sat down without letting his smile falter.

Lucille hurriedly followed him. She didn't know what to do, so she just stood there until Leon gestured for her to sit down next to Cedar. She complied and immediately felt uncomfortable. The atmosphere in the room right now was horrible. This was the case because Cedar was fuming. The prince rarely got very angry, and when he did, it seemed to be rather intimidating despite his radiant smile.

Still, the emperor was as calm and composed as always. “Please relax before you listen to me. I will not endanger Lady Valerian or you with this decision. If the dowager empress is here, I can control her through simple methods. I can find out what she plots, and I can also steer her in a favorable direction. We already talked about my strategy.”

Cedar truly didn't seem very relaxed when he responded. “Theodore, you're naive. You won't be able to control a hysteric narcissist that is ready to set herself on fire to drag you down. By now, you should have noticed. You are much too clueless, and that will be your downfall if you mess up. You don't even know that there are some people who work for her here. She has more allies than you think.”

Theodore didn't seem upset about any of those comments. Instead, he was rather composed and seemed to see this much more logically than his younger brother did. “Likewise, she doesn't know that some of her people are actually mine. There are enough people around her who value money more than loyalty. She uses them, but that doesn't mean that I can't use them as well. You underestimate me, Cedar. I have used much harsher tactics to get information from my enemies in the past. I would have no issues dealing with a war, so this will also not trouble us. This is my honest promise to you. I will take full responsibility for this decision. I will protect as many people as possible. It will be better for her to be here.”

Cedar let out a snort. “It will? I don't think so. I think you just want to drag her here to make her miserable seeing you be happy and then send her off to the execution. Is that really necessary? I understand that you harbor a grudge against her. But if you want to protect others, it may be necessary to ignore your own emotions. Isn't it better to kill her now?” He did his best to seem composed, but he wasn't calm. He was actually very upset. So much that Lucille wouldn't have been surprised if his fingers, which were digging into the sofa, would rip the fabric soon.

Theodore was the one who stayed completely calm despite his brother's rage. “No. If her death now was safer, she would be dead already. But there is something that makes it impossible to solve all of this now.”

Cedar responded immediately. “What is it?”

For a moment, it was silent. Lucille looked from one of the men to the other until the response finally came.

The emperor had leaned against his backrest and spoke with utmost seriousness. “Your faction still exists, Cedar. There are enough people who want to use the problems of the royal family to gain power. They don't necessarily care about who rules, they just want to grasp a bit of power for themselves by being the ones who helped the future ruler. If we cut off the head of the snake without preparations, they will recover and put someone else on top. They will continue their schemes and try to use us against each other. If they can't begin a war between us, they will use our descendants. I won't let that happen. So, we need to crush all limbs first and then end it. This time, I won't leave a single traitor in a position of power. And if we make it seem like the dowager empress' schemes work to some extent, we will lure out those who believe in her.”

In some way, that made sense. But to be honest, Lucille was still worried. It was risky to give the most dangerous person in the nation more power in hopes of luring out those that supported the dowager empress. And the political issues that could arise weren't the only problem.

Right now, Cedar was much too tense for Lucille's liking. She wanted to calm him down, but she had no idea how to do that.

Cedar pressed his lips into a thin line while watching his brother. “You're bringing a person that is just waiting for a chance to slaughter you into your home.”

Theodore nodded. “I know. I already did that once. Last year, she came here too and couldn't do much. She was here during our whole childhood too, and we endured her. It will be the same, but we will be even more on guard. There will be people protecting you and Lady Valerian at all times. Don't worry about what could happen. I will make sure that everything is alright.” He scanned his brother for a moment before his expression softened. “You will win, Cedar. I know that you worry about her influencing you, but I know that you are stronger than that. You already shook her off and drew the line. You just have to stay on the side you chose now. I think it will be easy to do that when you remember whom you really care about.” He glanced to the side.

For a moment, it was completely silent again. No one uttered a single word, but it was enough to know what everyone was thinking.

Lucille turned to Cedar, and his expression made her want to hug him immediately. She had rarely seen him so vulnerable.

Cedar was smiling, but it looked so bright that the true nature of his feelings was revealed quickly. He was trying to distract himself from being upset, but it didn't work.

That sight made Lucille desperate enough to dare to try something. She moved slowly as she brought her palm onto the couch and carefully pushed it toward him. Their fingers barely brushed each other's, but that was enough.

Cedar reacted so quickly that she almost had a heart attack. He caught her hand and interlinked their fingers before holding her in an iron-like grip. He was clutching her as if she would pull away otherwise and used so much force that it hurt.

But despite that, Lucille didn't consider moving away. She tried to hold onto him with a similar amount of force but wasn't sure if she succeeded. She only knew that she wouldn't let go. She wanted to give Cedar as much support as she could. Even if the most she could give was holding his hand right now.