The Broken Prince's Love

Lucille had to admit that she felt like a princess. Being escorted by Cedar felt wonderful enough. Then the tailor had also given her a gorgeous dress that came right out of a dream. And her lover had also taken it upon himself to compliment her each time they made eye contact. She was happy whenever he called her pretty, but she was still a bit embarrassed. She couldn't deny that much, and yet, she enjoyed it to the fullest.

Even if she felt like they were a bit too cuddly when others were here too. After all, she was holding Cedar's hand the whole time. But her worry about being too affectionate in public quickly disappeared when she glanced at the royal couple.

Once again, the emperor and the empress weren't too happy about leaving their daughter at home. Aurora had been put in a secret room with skilled guards and Leonard protecting her, so it should be fine. That didn't keep Theodore from hugging his wife the whole time so that she could rest her head on his shoulder though. He seemed to be in a rather bad mood, and only cuddling with Blanche made it a bit better. But his anger was understandable.

After all, they would now visit the dowager empress, their greatest enemy.

Lucille felt that Cedar was a bit tense too. He covered it up with a smile, as always, but he definitely held her hand a bit tighter than usual. Aside from that, Cedar's silence made it quite obvious that he hated visiting his mother. It was almost odd not to hear him blabber about random things to keep a conversation going. She was pretty sure that the others noticed that too.

That might have been why Blanche began to speak at some point. “To be honest, I am a bit worried. When I heard that she would celebrate, I thought that she would invite the whole capital. But the invitations that we had to approve made it seem rather sparse. It will only be us, the three dukedoms and the Peril family as well as some of her followers, right?”

Theodore let out a quiet snort. “The Vasquez family won't come. I can't blame them for refusing to see the person who tried to kill them. That Lady Peril will show up is ridiculous though. That woman put her in a pretty difficult spot last time. Why would she keep on standing at her side?”

Lucille found that strange too. But Jenna didn't seem to care about what other people thought about her anyway. That woman kept molesting an uninterested man after all.

Cedar turned his head away from the window and replied. “Either she ignores it because she thinks that staying with Mother will give her more power, or she wants revenge. If it's the second one, she may want to watch what will happen. It could be a mix of both. But all that matters is that Mother invited her for a reason. She will probably create problems one way or the other.” His smile was radiant when he said that. He truly didn't look forward to this evening.

Theodore showed his annoyance openly too. “I know. We're on guard. I have my sword with me, and you have yours, so we will be able to defend ourselves in an emergency. If that woman tries anything, we will crush her in an instant.” He was much more intimidating while saying that than he should be with his wife cuddled up against him.

Cedar's bright smile made it look like he was the polar opposite, but he might be even more upset than his brother. “That is good. You made sure that our food will be replaced, right?”

Lucille hoped so. She didn't want to have anything that Camille could have messed with. Luckily, the others felt the same.

The emperor nodded. “Of course. You won't consume anything she got close to, I promise you that. In fact, no one will receive the meals that she had someone prepare. I made sure to inform the servants to give her the plate that had been meant for you though. Just so that we can see whether she tried something.”

Cedar let out a low sigh. “If she gets even more aggressive now, that's on you. I certainly won't calm her down. Even visiting her here was annoying enough. I don't want to forsake the staff and make them deal with it, but...”

Theodore quickly chimed in. “No one thinks that you are responsible for her. If she gets too annoying, we will simply give her something that makes her sleep. We have everything under control.” He stroked over his wife's head before glancing out of the window. He scanned the building with annoyance. “But that doesn't make me happy to be here. When she is taken care of, I will probably tear down this building. It reminds me of her, and that is unpleasant.”

Lucille slowly leaned forward to look at the mansion too. She had never been here, so this was a completely new experience. To be honest, she had imagined something else when she had heard about the modest house the dowager empress was forced to stay in. This looked like it had cost a fortune and was at least as big as the Valerian mansion. How come Camille complained about something like this? It was quite beautiful. Sand-colored pillars adorned the entrance, and countless ornaments decorated the facade. The big entrance door had been opened, and a group of servants stood there to greet the guests.

When the carriage came to a halt, Theodore opened the doors and climbed out to help his wife. The servants immediately bowed to him, and he nodded at them in return. It seemed like the people here were rather loyal. It would make sense to place them close to the dowager empress.

Cedar followed his brother and offered Lucille his hand. She took it and carefully climbed down as she felt a bit unsteady, which might have been because of her nervousness. She still didn't believe that Camille had invited her for fun after all. Lucille almost expected something horrible to happen, just because that woman disliked her. So, she was on edge too. She hid it less well than everyone else though.

Cedar quickly linked their fingers and showed her an encouraging smile. “I will be fine. We arrived without any problems, and now we only have to sit around a bit. I brought a gift that she would like, and since I am your partner, she will have to accept that as your gift as well without complaining. The worst that can happen is her getting hysterical. Then she will yell, and that would allow us to leave immediately.” He said that as if he was sure, but he was already busy scanning their environment. He expected danger too. That was probably not a serious risk when about a hundred royal guards surrounded them, but at least he was careful.

Lucille forced herself to smile back. “Yes. It will be fine.” Hopefully. “I hope no one points out my lacking table manners.” She had mainly voiced that because she wanted to distract herself, but now she was even more tense.

Cedar squeezed her hand as they walked toward the entrance. “She won't be able to do that. If she tries to address unpleasant topics, we can ask her to stop. Don't forget that three of four members of the royal family are on your side. She might criticize you, but I'm right here to intervene.” As always, he just did his best to calm her down.

Lucille would have liked to say that that was enough to erase all of her doubts. Of course, it wasn't though. She was still terrified. But at least she knew that her knight in shining armor was here to protect her if something went wrong. Lucille squeezed his hand back and quickly focused her attention on their surroundings. She didn't want to accidentally bump into someone, so she had to keep her eyes on the people around them. Thankfully, it went well. She managed to go inside without tripping or crashing into a servant.

A butler greeted them by the entrance and waved them inside without asking for an invitation. Actually, it had looked like he had planned on asking Lucille, but Cedar had shut that down with a somewhat intimidating smile.

After that, they had entered the foyer. There, most of the servants of the house waited. They greeted the guests, and then a maid led them into the dining room.

Lucille wasn't sure what she had expected, but the size surprised her a little. Surely, there were many more people involved when there was a banquet within the royal palace, but then the guests would sit at different tables. Right now, they only had one grand table. Even if it looked like most seats would be empty judging by the tableware, this was impressive.

Some guests had already arrived and sat at the table, but all of them stood up when the royal family entered and bowed to them. Only one person remained seated for a few seconds longer.

Camille was at the short end of the table and calmly drank a bit of her wine. She looked as elegant as ever while she set down her glass with utmost care. For a few seconds, it was silent, and she just stared at the group, most likely at her second son.

Cedar opened his mouth a moment later while speaking quietly so that no one but this small group would hear him. “Theodore. How bad would it be for me to begin a fight right at the beginning?”

The emperor glanced at his brother. “Why?”

“Look at the chairs. The royal family sits at one end. The guests at the other. She has one chair directly next to her. Who do you think is supposed to sit there? I refuse.” Cedar's smile was as bright as it had been when they arrived. No, by now, it was even more radiant.

Lucille felt her heart sink. Would Cedar not sit next to her? That would be awful. What was she supposed to do if she was forced to deal with her table manners and a long banquet on her own? She needed someone to distract her from the tension that seemed to surround the entire room.

Blanche scanned the chair next to Camille and didn't even hide her dismay when she replied. “That's the emperor's spot. How petty she is. But I fear that we have a low chance of winning there. After all, she is the host, and this is her home. You can't quite argue with her.”

Cedar let out a little snort. “I can try it though. It looks like Lucille is supposed to sit next to Lady Peril. That's not going to happen. I came with Lucille today, so I have the right to sit next to her too. Isn't that what the host should pay attention to as well? They should respect the guests' wishes to some extent. We will have to go discuss that now.” So, he was looking out for his lover again.

Lucille scanned the table and was a bit relieved when she found Fiona. Her friend sat next to an empty seat. It would be fine if she had to sit there. But Lady Peril was on the other side, so it seemed to be rather unfavorable despite her friend being here. Lucille showed Fiona a little smile, which was returned, while ignoring how Jenna stared at Cedar as she already grew more uncertain.

The group walked over to the short end of the table.

Camille only stood up now and kept her head up high.

Theodore met her gaze for a moment before looking over his shoulder. “Cedar, should I give Lucille permission to refrain from bowing to that woman too? It would be more pleasant, but...”

Cedar replied without taking his eyes off his mother. “That will only make Mother target her. After your wife did that last year, she was fuming, so it would be better to follow the protocol.” He turned his head to Lucille when he finished. “She will be annoyed with you no matter what you do. So, don't worry about you making an error. She might be overly sensitive, so there is no need for you to pay too much attention.”

Lucille weakly nodded at him. But of course, there was a need to worry. She could feel the heavy atmosphere inside the room already. Acting like it wasn't there would be impossible. Especially when they approached the dowager empress.

Theodore and Camille were challenging each other just with their presence, and Blanche suddenly seemed much more authoritarian than before too. For a moment, they just stared at each other before the emperor spoke in a cold voice. “Good evening.” He didn't say more than that. He didn't even cover up the strained relationship between them.

Blanche didn't leave a pause before speaking up. “It is a pleasure to your banquet. How have you been?” Since the empress knew that their royal advisor kept giving Camille interesting things, as Cedar had phrased it, that question was a bit provoking.

The dowager empress didn't seem to know that though. Her expression was as cold as always while she spoke. “I hope that you had a pleasant journey here, Your Majesty. It is an honor to be able to welcome you today. I cannot complain about any ailments that would be of concern to you. I will do my best to ensure that this banquet will be successful nonetheless.” She had avoided greeting Blanche with her title by just addressing the emperor, which she certainly had done on purpose. After all, Camille didn't care about those two. She cared about Cedar, whom she spoke to just a moment later. “Cedar, it is good to see that you arrived. I was already worried about you not attending. I have missed you.”

The prince looked like he was rather unaffected by this greeting, but he squeezed Lucille's hand. “I wish you a wonderful evening, Mother. Of course, I attend when you invite me. I am relieved to see that you are in good health. I hope that there weren't too many issues these past few weeks.”

Lucille already tensed as she waited to be addressed. But that didn't happen.

Camille still paid attention to her son. “Unfortunately, there have been a lot of issues. I do not wish to discuss them in front of others, but we need to have a conversation later when we are alone. It is of the utmost importance that you listen to me this time.”

Cedar beamed at his mother without showing any interest in talking to her. “We will have to determine whether we have the time after this banquet. But you are correct about one part. For now, we should not force the guests to deal with our personal conversations.” He glanced at Lucille.

Camille followed his gaze, and the atmosphere became much more icy in an instant. She glared at the other woman with much more resentment than she should have for someone she didn't really know. “Lady Valerian. It is a surprise to see you here.” Her voice was as friendly as her expression was. Along with her words, this made it quite obvious that she wasn't happy about the other woman being here.

Lucille tightened her hold on Cedar's hand, and she only noticed that curtsying like this would be hard now. But she didn't want to let go either. She would feel like she lost the last chance to keep herself somewhat calm if she gave up on that support. So, she curtsied while just holding up her dress with her free hand. “I wish you a wonderful and relaxed evening, Your Majesty. I...” Even now her voice gave in, and she hated it. But Lucille forced herself to speak. “I received an invitation, so-”

Camille cut her off there. “I am aware. I merely did not think that you would attend despite the obvious difference in status between you and everyone else here.” What was that supposed to mean? Thankfully, Lucille didn't need to respond.

Blanche already narrowed her eyes at the dowager empress. “We just entered, and you are already being impolite again. It seems like you truly are in a bad mood. We will excuse it if you manage to pull yourself together for the rest of this evening. Do you understand me?” This was definitely a threat.

Camille didn't seem to care much about that. Her expression only got colder when she replied. “I spoke nothing but the truth. It is not a fact that Lady Valerian is a viscount's daughter while the person with the second lowest rank here is a marchioness? It should be obvious that there is a difference. However, I still invited her, so I do not need to listen to complaints. The guests did not come here to see us quarreling. Please take a seat so that everyone else is allowed to do so as well. Our family will sit at this end of the table. Cedar will naturally be by my side. Lady Valerian will be able to sit next to her friend, Lady Lamont.”

Only a second passed before Cedar replied. “I sincerely apologize, but I feel like we will need to change that plan.”

Camille turned to him with obvious anger bubbling up inside her. “Why is there a problem with that? I, as the host, assigned seats. Is there an issue with that?”

Cedar beamed at her while stroking over Lucille's hand as if he wanted to distract himself. “Of course not. I understand that. However, I wish to ask why you see the necessity to separate a couple that came here together. I am Lucille's escort. I cannot stray away from her side. Naturally, I have to sit next to her.”

His mother narrowed her eyes while giving Lucille a dismissive look. “I understand why you would assume that. But today, it will be a bit different. The members of the royal family will sit over here. There is a way for that woman to join us. That should be logical.”

Lucille didn't care much about any insults about her rank. She knew that everyone here was more powerful. That didn't make some more bearable either.

Cedar didn't seem to have an issue provoking his mother though. He showed her a bright smile before replying. “Oh, Theodore and Blanche won't mind if Lucille sits with us. You do not have to worry about that.”

Blanche quickly chimed in here. “Lucille is part of the family already, so it's fine. It would be much better if she sat next to Cedar. Surely, one could make an exception and change the seating order based on the guests' preferences.” That request wouldn't be heard. That was obvious.

As expected, the dowager empress just glared at the people in front of her. “I cannot push the guests that already claimed their seats away because of some sudden complaints. And even if me being the host does not convince you, there is something else.” She turned her attention toward her younger son. “This is my birthday wish. Cedar, you have not visited me once in the past few weeks. We didn't see each other on my birthday, and you didn't even write your mother a single letter. You will have to fulfill this wish now.”

Cedar only became more upset at that. He had told Lucille how he had always done everything for his mother during her birthday. Refusing even such a little wish had to feel odd to him. And to be honest, it would be much easier to just give in. After all, this was just about someone sitting on a chair for two hours or so. But Cedar wouldn't just listen to his mother here. “I understand that you are the host. I am not telling you to discard all of your plans either. I am merely asking you to allow Lucille to sit next to me. There is nothing else that I am asked for, so you should be able to fulfill that one wish. I will-”

While he spoke, Camille's expression had darkened with each second. It was obvious that this would turn into an ugly disagreement if no one here gave in.

Lucille turned around to gaze at the table. If she sat at the place that was supposed to be hers, she would be at the other end of the table, far away from Cedar. Surely, Fiona would be there and keep away the worst problems. But at the same time, Lady Peril would sit on the other side. That woman would obviously cause trouble. It would be unpleasant to sit there, but one look at the discussing people next to her made it clear that a fight now would be worse. So, Lucille forced herself to chime in. “It's fine.”

She had been rather quiet, but Cedar heard her. He turned to her. “What do you mean?”

Lucille met his gaze and tried to ignore everyone around them. “It's fine if I sit over there. I don't mind that. I can just chat with Fiona, so it will be alright.”

Cedar showed her a radiant beam that betrayed that he didn't like that option at all. “Of course, you could do that. But you don't need to. I'm your partner for the evening, so I will stay right next to you. That is only logical, so we have the right to ask for a little change like this.”

Lucille theoretically agreed. She didn't want to sit close to Lady Peril either. But she wouldn't cause a fight because of something like this, not when she knew that it would only ruin Cedar's evening. Camille wouldn't be nicer to him if the woman she hated was present. “I know. But if it isn't a problem, we don't have to discuss. We...will just listen to the host today. In the future, there will be few chances for you to sit with her like this. So...you could do it one last time. Since you will...” Since Cedar wouldn't eat with Camille often again. “Sit with someone else from now on.” She wasn't quite sure whether she had been able to convey that without upsetting the dowager empress.

Cedar looked at his mother for a split second before he met Lucille's gaze again. He was quiet for a moment, in which she actually feared that he would refuse. He replied though. “Then we can do this one last time. Just because you asked me. After that, I will always sit with you though. I can't allow my partner to be left unattended during events.” He hadn't needed to point out that he did this for her, but he had done it anyway. Surely, his mother was really angry now. But he ignored that and just turned to Camille to ask for one more thing. “Allow me to bring Lucille to her seat before I sit down. That is the least I can do now.” He didn't accept criticism here. He didn't even wait for the answer.

The prince turned around and walked over to the other end of the table while still holding Lucille's hand. By now, everyone here had to have seen, but no one commented on it. And while Lucille got a bit red upon remembering that, Cedar didn't seem to mind making it even more obvious. He waited for his mother to sit down and then pulled back the chair for Lucille. That wasn't necessary at all, but he helped her sit before pushing her closer to the table again.

Then Cedar leaned down to her to whisper in her ear. “If anyone troubles you, tell me. And don't eat anything that doesn't come from your own plate and your own glass.”

Lucille nodded and mouthed her response. “I will.”

Cedar's face was still too close to hers. Apparently, that wasn't enough for him since he opted for pressing a small kiss onto her forehead before straightening his posture. “Good. Enjoy your meal to the fullest.” He smiled at her before turning around and leaving.

Every single person in this damned room looked at Lucille now. She didn't even dare to lift her gaze to the dowager empress and just stared at her plate while her panic boiled up inside her. Blood was already rushing to her head. It was only a matter of time until she was as red as a tomato.