The Broken Prince's Love

Lucille had been nervous the whole time and could just stand there while stepping from one side to the other. It wasn't just the upcoming ball. It was also the worry what Cedar might say about her outfit that bothered her. Surely, she had been complimented by Angelica, but she doubted that the maid would be honest anyway. In the end, the only thing that mattered was Cedar being content with how she looked. So, she eagerly waited for him to come so that he could tell her what he thought about her attire. She paced from left to right in her room the entire time.

Lucille might have fallen in love with this gown. It was even prettier than the last one. The dress was light blue this time too, but it had less gold and was decorated with pearl ornaments instead. She still wasn't used to such lavish dresses, but it was so beautiful that she had been forced to accept it.

As long as Cedar had a similar attire, she would be happy. Then it might be obvious that they were going to this ball together despite their difference in status.

Lucille still hadn't calmed down when she was walking down the stairs to the ballroom, where she was supposed to meet the royal couple. As expected, both Theodore and Blanche complimented her, but that didn't calm her much. Lucille was still nervous and knew that she could only be calmed by one person.

Unfortunately, it seemed like Cedar took his sweet time. At least Lucille had thought that before noticing that she was just too early. That only served to worry her even more, after all she would need to wait for her response longer now.

But then at some point, he finally came.

Cedar was blinding today. Not only his attire, which was similar to hers and in the same light shade of blue, made him glow. His radiant smile also made it seem like he might have been sent by the gods to steal Lucille's heart. And then he made it even worse by looking at her with something in his eyes that almost made her faint.

Lucille could just stare at him and completely forgot that there were other people around them. She only snapped out of it when Blanche spoke up.

“You are in a good mood today. What happened?”

Cedar turned to the empress and still didn't cease to smile with much more honesty than normal. “It's a secret. And that isn't what we should discuss at all. I wish you a happy birthday. May your next year be full of joy, happiness and everything else you can dream of. I would call your title, but I fear that you will execute me then.”

Blanche returned the smile. “Thank you very much. We will find out about your secret, believe me.”

Theodore chimed in a moment later. “We will. Since it doesn't look like you killed that woman, I will let it slide and ask you later. But for now, you don't have to greet us when you clearly want to see someone else here.”

Cedar nodded but still smirked at him. “You will hear it from Harris in five minutes, won't you? So, you don't have to be too worried.” He didn't say more than that before turning to Lucille. His smile made her knees weak as he came a little step toward her. “I apologize for being so late. I needed to retrieve something in time and got distracted. I hope you can forgive me for that. If not, I will have to convince you with my gift.” He stopped in front of her and carefully reached for her.

Lucille could only look at him with wide eyes. Did he have any idea how overwhelmingly beautiful he was when he was this happy? He always looked like an angel, but this was too much. She immediately put her hand onto his before questioning it.

Cedar could have just made her breath hitch by holding her like this, but he also had to put the cherry on top. He slowly lifted her hand and lowered his head.

The moment that his lips brushed over her skin, Lucille felt like her heart stopped working. She slowly opened her mouth as she felt how her head began to get hotter with each second and let out some small noise that couldn't even be remotely seen as a greeting. What was this? Lucille wanted to say hello and not embarrass herself. But that was harder than it had to be when her heart was so warm and wanted to squirm with joy. She forced herself to speak and tried to suppress the small pleasant shivers that ran down her spine. “Good afternoon. You're...”

Cedar lifted his head and grinned at her as if he knew exactly what he was doing. He just spoke up before she could even try to finish the sentence. “You look beautiful. I'm glad that I'm the one to escort this charming young lady, or I might have been jealous. I will make sure that you don't regret your choice.” He turned his head to the side and lifted his free hand. It only took a few seconds before a servant approached him and pressed a bouquet into his hands. He didn't skip a beat and faced Lucille again without giving her a chance to process this. He showed her the flowers and held them toward her. “These are for you. The last ones withered, so I have to make up for that. These should be to your liking. Otherwise, I will gladly get others as well.” That was more than unfair. Cedar was breathtaking enough, and now he also did things like this.

Lucille could only look at him with wide eyes while waiting for him to say anything else. If she spoke now, she wouldn't be able to keep herself from telling him just how perfect he was. She bashfully took the flowers in her hands and held them to her face. As expected, even the sweet fragrance didn't distract her enough.

Cedar still continued. “Did I catch you by surprise? Then I did everything right. Now only one thing is missing.” He took one of the flowers out of the bouquet and carefully planted it in her hair again. This time, he even stroked over her head in the process. “Perfect. You are stunning. If you aren't careful, you will enchant everyone in that ballroom.” He certainly had put her in checkmate with that.

Lucille could feel her skin tingle where he had touched her. Her mouth opened, and she stared at him while being very much aware that her face had to be tinted red by now. “Thank you so much. This...” She couldn't say more than that, even if she wanted to compliment him more than anything else. As she locked eyes with Cedar, every thought of speaking disappeared. She could only think about looking at him and relishing in his good mood. Seeing Cedar like this was enough to make her want to kiss him. But of course, she only stood there and hoped that he might tell her something else.

They were interrupted though.

Leonard's voice sounded through the hallways with audible annoyance. “Not you two as well.”

Blanche quickly intervened at that point. “Not now, Leon. You are already ruining one couple's moments. Leave the other one alone.”

Lucille ignored that completely. She glanced down at her bouquet and then glanced up at Cedar again. By now, she had gathered enough courage to reply in a weak voice. “You...are stunning as well. I'm...really, really happy to be here with you. Thank you so much, Cedar.”

Leonard couldn't help but add another dry comment at that. “This makes it rather unlikely that it will take much longer. When is the wedding?”

This time, Theodore interrupted him. “Leon, let him be. My brother finally got on the right track. You can't interrupt now.”

Blanche was quiet for a short moment before muttering her response to her husband. “You know, that reminds me of when we met. There is only one difference. Cedar isn't as dense as you are. He won't let Lucille wait for two weeks and then three additional months.”

The emperor began to justify that, but Cedar cut him off, still without looking away from Lucille. “I'm always told that I'm the chatty one. It seems like others are just as talkative though. But that's my fault. I should have brought you to a more secluded place.”

Lucille felt like her knees were about to give in. Cedar shouldn't say things like that with such a bright smile, or she might become much more infatuated with him than she should be at the time. She didn't mind whatever he might plan and nodded slightly.

Cedar let out a small laugh at that before he offered her his hand. “Don't tempt me. We need to attend the empress' birthday ball now. Maybe we'll find some free time after we greeted the guests. Or maybe we will have a few minutes to ourselves now if that cuddly couple over there decides to stall for time.”

Blanche chimed in here. “We would like to do that, but we don't have the time. Theo and I will excuse ourselves after I receive the gifts. We don't want to leave our princess alone for long, so we need to hurry.”

Lucille finally managed to tear her gaze away from Cedar at that. She turned to the royal couple and the secretary before quickly averting her eyes again. She was holding hands with Cedar, and everyone was watching them. How badly she would have liked to be alone with him now. “We...are ready.”

Cedar squeezed her hand and grinned at her. “Are you sure? You are a bit red, so I worry about you. If you need a break, tell me.”

Lucille was tempted to tell him that there might be something wrong with her but that it was not a sickness. But she just whispered a small response. “It's fine. Let's go in. When the royal couple is ready, I mean.”

Theodore seemed to have mercy on her since he replied immediately. “Of course. But I would like to point out one thing first. You need to hold back, Cedar. If you are going to tease her, do it after the ball. Otherwise, everyone will see what's going on.” Why was the emperor even proposing something like this?

And why was Cedar just agreeing? “Naturally. I won't let anyone else see this after all.” He turned back to Lucille and smiled at her once again before moving to her side to guide her. They positioned themselves behind the royal couple.

Blanche gave Lucille a little smile as well before she asked the guard to open the door.

The man announced the arrival of the members of the royal family, and they entered the ballroom.

As one should have expected, this ball was rather similar to what had happened during the emperor's birthday. The royal couple took a seat on their thrones and waited for all the people around them to greet them. Blanche happily accepted the gifts and smiled at them while having small talk with the nobles.

In the meantime, Lucille and Cedar stood next to them while interacting with the guests as well. Even though all of that was annoying, Cedar beamed the entire time. It wasn't his typical fake smile but one that looked like it was honest.

That was enough to make Lucille happy during the whole duration of the greetings too. The fact that the dowager empress hadn't appeared only made this better. No one caused any trouble, and nothing special happened even after half of the guests had been greeted.

Then the Peril couple came and left after a short conversation. Only then, the atmosphere had become a bit more tense. No one but Lucille seemed to have noticed it, but she could have sworn that Lady Peril had glared at her for a moment. In the end, Jenna didn't say anything though and just calmly left along with her husband.

It was quiet for a few seconds before Theodore spoke up with a smirk on his face. “You know, Lady Peril looks like she is in a bad mood. Someone has to have been unfriendly with her.” He met his brother's gaze. “What did you tell her?”

Cedar still didn't seem to be annoyed even though that woman had come here and replied quietly enough to only let his family hear. “She started trying the same thing as always. I'm not very happy about her making strange assumptions about my preferences, but well. I told her that I'm not interested and that there is someone here I like much more.” He seemed like he wanted to end it here but then noticed that he had to say something else too. “Ah. And maybe it would be good for you to know that she used the same argument Mother used last time when I talked to her. So, you could assume that they have been talking about this matter.”

Lucille could barely react to the small comment about there being someone Cedar favored. It had made her heart skip a beat. She quickly forced herself to focus on the conversation again. Still, she couldn't help being happy.

Theodore grinned at that and leaned against the backrest. “So, the neutral family took someone's side again. Unsurprisingly.”

Cedar scanned his brother for a moment. “Why do you look so content with that? Shouldn't you be upset that Mother gained a powerful supporter?”

Theodore shrugged. “I'm not that scared of anyone. If Lady Peril tries anything illegal, I can easily crush her. You know that. If she happened to commit treason, we can get rid of her. I mean, accusing her of offending royalty is possible too but not as efficient.”

Cedar pondered that for a short moment before he replied. “You're not wrong. But I doubt that she will do more than continue her little blackmail schemes. It's still good to keep our guard up though. It won't do any harm to make someone arrogant fall flat onto their nose. But that's enough about that. Today is a wonderful day, and we shouldn't waste our time speaking about upsetting matters.”

Blanche smiled at that. “Don't worry. I can deal with some strange things happening during my birthday. I'm used to it. I would rather have you discuss something than awkward silence. It's good to see you get along when you bond by talking about common enemies.”

Theodore let out a small snort at that. “Now that you mention.” He became a bit more serious before he let his gaze roam across the room. “Something about this worries me. Cedar, the dowager empress isn't here.”

Lucille quickly used that chance to look around as well. The emperor was right. There was still no trace of Camille anywhere to be seen. That was unsettling. She expected that this woman would use every chance to attack her sons while trying to gain followers. Lucille looked up at her partner and quickly received her response.

Cedar sighed. “I know. That means that she'll come later. To have the dramatic entrance, I guess. You should prepare to have guards throw her out again, just in case.” If he, who probably knew his mother best, said that, Camille would be in a rather bad mood. That was even more unsettling than her absence.

This was enough to make Lucille tense. She almost expected Camille to burst into the room any minute, and when nothing happened, it only worried her more.

The guests made their way to the thrones one after the other without any special occurrences. The last person to come was Raymond, who still wasn't overjoyed to see his daughter with Cedar. But he held back his comments and left after handing over his gifts.

Now the dance followed. The royal couple had decided to waltz together once again and twirled around with the others around them.

Lucille had given her bouquet away so that Darlene could put it into a vase, which allowed her to dance with Cedar too. This time, she didn't trip and was thankful for it. Like this, the first half of the ball ended without anything special happening. Now it seemed like a big discussion regarding the role of the host would follow though.

One could already see what was going on inside Blanche's head when she approached the younger couple. “It seems like our job here is done. Now we'll need to take care of our angel again. I assume that we'll retreat in two minutes after-”

Her husband cut her off with a gentle nudge. Theodore looked down at her and showed her a soft smile. “Not yet. I have one more surprise. Let us deal with that before leaving the party to the new hosts here.”

Blanche genuinely seemed surprised when she turned to him. “Really? Theo, you didn't get anything strange, did you? I already told you that I don't need any more gifts. Our dressing room is already full.”

Theodore shrugged. “I thought that there was something special that we could use to celebrate your birthday with even more vigor this time. So, I got it from Travuan. They invented something interesting during the past few years. Few people here have ever seen it even if I think that many heard about it already. I will allow the guests to go to the terrace so that they can see it properly, and we will join them. But...” He glanced at his brother. “You might want to use the smaller balcony upstairs if you want to be left alone. See it as compensation since you will host the ball after this No buts.”

Cedar had already opened his mouth to complain and had to give up now. “You surely are hard to discuss with. I knew that our family was stubborn, but by now, I understand why people are annoyed with me insisting on things.” He had a staring contest with Theodore for a moment before he glanced at the guests. “If it's not official, it probably won't be an issue. I don't think that the people here are going to accept my orders if a conflict arises, but in the end, that would be your problem as well.” He made eye contact with Lucille. “Would you be fine being stuck here for four more hours? We just have to run around and talk to the guests if they seem bored.” Of course, he had no interest in doing that, and Lucille wasn't ecstatic about this either. But it was obvious that the prince couldn't run away from his responsibilities.

So, Lucille would have to give in here. She weakly nodded. “As long as you are with me, it should be fine.” That earned her a bright smile.

“Naturally. I'd never leave my gorgeous partner alone. I can't let anyone steal you away.” Cedar turned his attention back to his brother while ignoring how Lucille immediately became embarrassed again. “Then I guess I will agree. But only because Lucille told me that it was fine. In return, I demand the little balcony for ourselves though. I have a general idea of what you may want to show, and we need two more minutes before you can begin. I want Lucille to see everything.”

Now Lucille was intrigued too.

Theodore let out a little chuckle. “Of course, you would know. You somehow manage to find out everything. But that won't be my concern if you keep your mouth shut until it begins. We will go to the terrace now, and I'll give you a moment to disappear. Enjoy the show from up there. Don't forget that you're still in public though.”

Blanche beamed at her husband before she looked at the couple. “Or you may ignore that on purpose. It's not really important since everyone here already guessed what is going on.”

Lucille was slightly confused by that comment, but she wasn't able to say anything.

Cedar already dealt with it. “We will pretend we didn't hear that. I assume that you will start eating each other's faces in a minute anyway, so no one will pay attention to us. Until after the show.” He turned around and didn't waste any time to move forward. Cedar carefully pulled Lucille through the groups of people and led her to the entrance.

She followed him while excitement churned in her stomach. When they left the ballroom, the sudden silence felt weird, but there was no time to think about that.

The couple climbed up a staircase and reached the second floor, from which Cedar brought her to a rather inconspicuous-looking room. He led her inside and closed the door behind them before pulling her to the window front. He opened a glass door and presented a small balcony to her. “There we are. This is the perfect spot. We'll have some free time until it's over.”

Lucille followed him to the railing and took in their surroundings. One could see the royal garden and the terrace below them, where everyone was waiting for the surprise. The guests could see them too if they turned their heads, but no one cared enough to look up. This was perfect if one wanted to take a short break. “What is this present going to be?”

Cedar held his index finger in front of his lips. “I won't spoil the surprise. I saw what the servants prepared, so I know, but you will see in a minute. I will only give you one hint. It's good that it's already dark outside.”

Indeed, the sun had already set completely. The sky was black, and the area around the palace was only illuminated by the lanterns and the light that came from the building.

Lucille should have had enough hints to understand what it was with this, but she still had no idea. She scanned their surroundings and saw how the guests all gathered on the terrace to wait for the surprise. It seemed like it wouldn't take much longer. “Will it be an object or-” She didn't get further. A movement in the distance caught her eyes, and she froze while staring at it.

Something like a glowing sphere rose to the sky, and then a loud bang echoed through the air. The sphere exploded into a hundred smaller parts, and those fragments spread across the sky before falling down and slowly fading away. This was only the first of the dozen colorful lights that began to rise seconds later.

Lucille could only stare at this overwhelming display in front of her in awe. Suddenly, the cool air wasn't an issue anymore, and she completely focused on the night sky. “Fireworks...” She had heard about this new invention a few times now, but she had never imagined that she would ever see it right in front of her. She was glad that she had the chance though. Only a few seconds had already made her fall in love. She leaned forward while holding onto the railing and looked at the firework with wide eyes.

It was beautiful. The guests below them seemed to think the same and let out loud noises of surprise, but Lucille barely paid attention to them.

She only focused on the breathtaking sight in front of her. The lights and the loud sounds continued for a while as she was captured by this, simply enjoying it without thinking much. But at some point, she spoke up. “It's wonderful, isn't it? I've never seen something so beautiful.”

Cedar next to her hummed in approval. “Definitely.”

Lucille began smiling when she turned to him, only to freeze when she immediately made eye contact. Unsurprisingly, Cedar looked even more angelic when he showed her such a soft smile while watching her. She could see how the light of the lanterns hit him from behind so that he almost seemed to glow, even if that judgment might not only have been based on the light source. He seemed so elegant even while he was resting his elbow on the railing and leaned his head onto his palm.

Lucille couldn't help but swallow before she tried to speak in a hoarse voice. “Why are you looking at me and not the firework?”

The corners of Cedar's lips twitched. “The firework is very pretty indeed. But watching your eyes light up with joy might be even more beautiful. If you continue like this, I may not be able to tear my eyes away from you ever again.” That was just unfair. What was she supposed to say about that cliché when it worked so well?

Lucille felt like her mouth had become dry. She tightened her hold on the railing and forced herself not to look away, even if it was tempting. “You...can't keep saying stuff like that. I will...end up...” She didn't need to fool herself. She had already fallen in love and knew that it was stupid. Because she had high expectations now. She was well aware that no man could ever be as wonderful as Cedar, so she would be disappointed with any other fiancé.

And the worst thing was that Cedar kept saying things that made it seem like he liked her too. Not just as friends but as something that could have significantly more impact on their lives.

Cedar smiled at her with that same cheeky grin as before. “You will end up falling for me? Then I will have to keep this up, won't I? You are making it seem like I truly have a chance, so I will use that to the fullest.”

Lucille felt how the blood drained from her fingers because she used too much pressure to hold on to the railing. That sounded too unambiguous. There was no way that Cedar meant to say what this sounded like. He often teased her, did he not? He probably just liked seeing her embarrassed. There was no reason to assume that this was what he felt like. Last time in the winter garden, she had confessed her feelings for him, and he hadn't given her a definitive answer about their relationship.

He had said that he liked her. She knew that.

But she needed to know whether he was really on the same track as she was. Whether this was serious to him.

Cedar noticed how she stared at him and scanned her expression before speaking up again. “Is something wrong? You seem tense.”

She would have liked to deny it, but it was too obvious. So, she only held onto the railing with more force and took a deep breath. Maybe it would be good to clarify this here. From now onwards, she would only spend more time with him, and knowing what to expect would be better for that. Lucille stared at the prince for a moment before she spoke up. What she had hoped to be a confident tone was only a faint whisper. “Cedar. What is this here? I need to know, or it's going to drive me insane. I don't know if I just accidentally keep misinterpreting your actions. I have to know whether it's serious now. Otherwise, I will keep thinking about this forever without...” Without being sure of

whether she could allow herself to hope. She desperately wanted to hear an affirmation of this being as serious to him as it was to her.

Cedar looked right into her eyes while he replied with a little smile on his lips. “You truly need second invitations, don't you? Didn't I show you that already? You are the only one that can get this close to me. I hate touching others, and yet, I adore hugging you. You're the person I care about most. I can tell you that much. I don't let anyone else so close.” It had always sounded like he told her more than he would tell many others. That did prove that he liked her, but it didn't answer the important question.

Lucille pressed her lips into a thin line. She had told herself that she would ask properly, so she had to speak now no matter how worried she was about the response. “I know that you care. You saved my life. But do you care as a friend or...” She couldn't bring herself to be any louder. So, she barely mouthed those words. “Or more?”

Cedar let out a little laugh, and she almost got scared. But his smile didn't fade, and he also didn't make fun of her. Instead, he spoke with that same gentle whisper that made her hair stand on end as pleasant shivers ran down her spine. “Didn't we confirm that already?” He moved at that moment, as if he wanted to underline his words. He lifted his hand off the railing and offered it to her. She put hers onto his without hesitation, and Cedar continued in a soft voice. “I held your hand often enough by now, just like this. I freely came to you to hug you. I even spent the night in your bed. I didn't forget the conversation in the winter garden either. You said that this is more than just a friendship multiple times. I never refuted that. I said that I like you more than I should, right? I think that is enough of a response.”

Lucille's heart skipped a beat, only to make up for that after by pumping with so much vigor that her chest felt constricted. This was an affirmative reply. One that she wanted to accept as the truth. How else should it be? She was enamored with him. Even now, Cedar was stroking over her skin with his thumb, and that was enough to make her breath hitch. Of course, she wanted him to see their relationship similarly. “Then... You too?”

Cedar slowly turned to her. He lifted their hands while they interlinked their fingers. He kept meeting her gaze while he pressed a small kiss onto the back of her hand. His smile was unusually faint while he replied. “Is that a good response? I know that this is probably much too soon for us to come to a conclusion. We are young, and this may be overwhelming for us. But I don't think that we're dense enough not to notice the difference between friendship and this.”

“So...” Lucille barely dared to say anything while she turned to him. “So, this is...” Saying those words seemed dangerous. It was such a meaningful phrase that she didn't want to misuse it. She didn't want to pressure Cedar into saying anything. But she still wanted to say this wonderful word to make sure that she didn't misunderstand. “This is love?” She was so quiet that it was a miracle that he even heard her.

Cedar took in her expression while he lifted his free hand to her face. He gently pushed aside the strand of her hair that had fallen forward and tucked it behind her ear. Then he put his hand on her cheek. “I never fell in love with anyone, so I wouldn't know. You said you didn't know either. But I've seen how people who fall in love act. So, I can tell you one thing. This is the closest I've ever gotten to romantic affection.”

Lucille's body stopped working at that. She could swear that her heart wasn't even beating with a steady rhythm anymore. At the same time, it had felt like all air had been pushed out of her lungs. It was easy to understand that she had to be in love with him. No other person could evoke those emotions in her just with a few words.

And here he was playing her like a puppet. Cedar saying that he liked her had been enough to make her whole body tingle. The way that he held her face also made it worse.

She could barely think clearly anymore while looking into his beautiful, alluring eyes. She wasn't even sure how she managed to press out her response. “What will we do now?”

Cedar's lips formed a smile. He didn't let go of her while she spoke and just replied in a whisper as he stroked over her cheek with his thumb. “We don't have to rush, do we? It's fine if we just stay like this. You will be in the palace for a while, and we have enough time to move slowly so that no one here has to be overwhelmed. We're both not bound by any other person, so there is no reason to hold back either though. We can just do what feels best. I'm selfish when it comes to things like this, so I don't even want to show consideration for anyone else. But...I don't want to move too fast for you. I will hold back.”

He was holding back? Then she didn't want to know what he would do when he gave up on holding back, or did she? He had already defeated her with one blow in the form of a bouquet earlier, so he didn't even need to put in more effort.

Lucille wasn't sure whether she would be happy about finding out about what he was like when he didn't hold back in some way or whether she wanted to be spared for a moment. Her emotions were already in an uproar, so she didn't need to add much more to that.

Cedar had said that this was close to love. He liked her too. Romantically. That very thought was overwhelming. And as if this wasn't enough, he also told her that he slowly wanted to let it develop. That sounded like a dream come true.

For a moment, the both of them were silent and just looked at each other. Lucille wasn't sure what was showing in her eyes, but apparently, it was something special.

Cedar broke the silence after a few seconds. “Don't look at me like that. If you continue like this, I might do something more binding.”

She hadn't moved away from the same spot for a while now, but she was out of breath while she whispered back. “Like what?” Challenging him probably wasn't a good idea, but it felt like the both of them might just look forward to this.

Cedar continued to watch her for a while longer. Then something flickered in his eyes, and he leaned forward. “Are you seriously asking?” He waited for a short moment and gave her a chance to back away if she desired. Of course, she stayed, and he only saw that as an invitation to step even closer. His thumb brushed over her bottom lip, which only served to take her breath away even more. “Something like this.”

Lucille had a vague idea of what might happen as he carefully tilted her head up and leaned down to her.

Maybe the both of them had just forgotten where they were because of the chilly air and the music that seemed to drown out the noise from the ballroom. Maybe the firework was loud enough to make them ignore everyone else.

But at that moment, they didn't notice anyone around them.

Lucille didn't think about moving away to avoid him, and Cedar didn't think about stopping halfway. So, it only took a moment until the life-changing second arrived. Their lips met.

A completely different firework began to explode inside Lucille's chest as a hundred different emotions rushed through her veins.