The Broken Prince's Love

Lucille had to admit that Aurora might be the cutest little baby in the whole world. It had barely been two and a half months, and yet, the girl had grown so much while still being so small. Lucille had thought that she would get tired of holding the baby after a few times, but she enjoyed it for as long as possible whenever she could. Right now, she already regretted giving Aurora away because the girl had to sleep. So, she stood next to the cradle for a while longer until she saw that the baby dozed off. Then she finally directed her attention back at the other women.

Blanche and her maids had already sat down at the table but were still watching Aurora from the corner of their eyes.

Lucille hurried to join them and met the empress' gaze.

Blanche was smiling, as she always did when she was near her baby, and spoke up in a soft voice. “She is so cute that you don't want to let go of her at all, right? I can't believe how lucky we are to have been blessed with such a perfect little girl.” This would ensure another round of everyone gushing about how sweet the baby was.

At least it seemed like food would be served at the same time. A maid from the kitchen had already set the table and placed a plate of a steaming meal in front of everyone, so they would probably begin soon.

Stella was the first one who began to add to the following conversation. “The gods truly wanted to make us happy with such a sweet princess. She would have been cute no matter what, but someone really wanted us to brag with her. She will end up enchanting all the people in our nation.” She let out a dreamy sigh. She looked like she wanted to continue, but then her eyes fell onto her plate. Stella froze and lifted her gaze to the plates of the people around her. She remained silent for a moment before she spoke to Lucille. “Do you like stuffed mushrooms?”

Lucille was a bit taken aback by that. She met the other's gaze and hesitantly replied. “I think so. Why?”

Stella almost looked dejected when she looked down at her plate again. “My plate has so many. I don't mind them, but...”

Darlene already munched on her food and glanced over at her friend. “She doesn't like healthy things. So, you will have to take all her vegetables.”

Stella hurried to shake her head. “That's not true at all! It's just that-”

This time, Blanche inserted herself into the conversation with a bright smile on her face. “Lucille's plate has more scrambled eggs. Is that it, you greedy little thing? Now you're even trying to steal hers? I could just have ordered another portion for you, you know.”

Stella looked like she was ready to defend herself here.

So, Lucille quickly spoke up first. “We can switch if you want to. I don't mind.” She would gladly take more mushrooms if she only had to trade scrambled eggs for it.

But Stella's face immediately lit up. “Really? Thank you so much.” She seemed to be eager to claim her scrambled eggs since she exchanged the plates before even listening to her mistress' reaction. Then she quickly put her fork into her meal and took a first bite to make sure that no one would take it away anymore. This earned her a few grins, but she didn't mind. Still, she hurried to change the topic as soon as Darlene opened her mouth. “Say, Your Majesty. Didn't another letter arrive? What did she say this time?”

Blanche raised her eyebrows as if she wanted to underline the sudden change. But she didn't say anything about that. She only grinned at the other woman and then replied. “Not much. She is quarreling with her husband's sister and says that she liked me more than that woman. Apparently, that person is the type to be kind to you while secretly doing something bad behind your back. I don't think their fight will be resolved anytime soon. But she should be able to defend herself. She has enough, sometimes rather dirty, tricks up her sleeve.”

Lucille finished her bit of her mushroom while she looked to the sides. Everyone else here seemed to know what they were talking about. She had no idea though. Apparently, her motion had made that very obvious.

Blanche turned to her and gave an explanation with a soft smile. “We are talking about the monthly letters I get.” She gestured to a small stack of papers that lay on the table by the sofa. “These are from the queen, or rather the future queen, of Northern Ocrea. We exchange letters regularly. That isn't necessary since we are in contact with her husband, but it's good to get more information.”

If Lucille was right about this, that woman they were talking about happened to be the former empress and Theodore's ex-wife. From what she knew, the divorce had been so ugly, thanks to the emperor suddenly hating that woman, that the ex-empress had disappeared into another nation almost immediately after.

Lucille didn't know much about that matter. She only remembered that the former empress had been a rather intimidating person who had been forced to give up more and more power because Theodore had put his true love above an arranged marriage. In the end, he had divorced his former wife to marry Blanche. So, it was surprising that the queen even wrote letters to the person who had basically taken her spot. Lucille's expression seemed to have revealed that thought too.

Blanche let out a little laugh before she returned to eating a bit. She only spoke up when she had swallowed. “I can understand why you would be confused about that. I have to admit that it's still strange. The both of us used to hate each other, and she messed up in the past. Badly. But I don't have an issue seeing her as a political figure instead of a person while we are writing. It sounds a bit mean, but she is some sort of pawn for us to keep the power-hungry people in Northern Ocrea in check. So, we need to control what she is doing.”

Lucille understood that to some extent. But she knew that the former empress and the current empress had had some huge problems before they slowly got along better. She wasn't sure whether she would be able to forgive a person she had disliked for such a long time. “I have to admit that I don't know much about that matter. I only know that it's good for our nation to have a Northern Ocrean queen who likes Artias.”

Another spoonful of her food disappeared in Stella's mouth. She had already finished a third of her plate and happily munched on her scrambled eggs before she chimed in. “You're right. And that woman isn't here anymore, which is a good thing too. I never liked her a lot, and His Majesty hates her too. Having her here would only have been stressful, so it's good that she is far away.” She continued to eat after that and grinned when the others gave her affirmative nods.

Even Blanche seemed to agree. “It would have been odd to see her regularly. But I don't feel like it would have been a tragedy for her to-” She cut herself off. “No. It would have been a tragedy thanks to someone here who was already seconds away from beheading her. It's good that she is over there and can take care of all the problems we need to deal with in Ocrea. But I don't believe that we need to discuss this extensively. We came to a good conclusion for everyone, and by now, it seems like she is doing well over there. Her baby is fine, it seems. Even that cold woman can't keep herself from gushing about her son and husband.”

Stella gulped down another portion of her meal before speaking up. “That's good to hear. Then she won't have a reason to come back here. She probably wouldn't be received too well if she tried to travel to Artias.” She stopped for a moment. Then she resumed. “I hope she will be the crowned queen soon too. Then she could do much more and-” She cut herself off with a frown. She reached out for her glass to drink a bit of water. Then she put down the glass again and continued. “Where was I? Ah, yes. She is the type of person who will do whatever it takes to defend the people she loves. She'll do her best to keep her family there safe. Which means that we can expect her to crush her enemies soon.”

Blanche looked at her maid with some concern before replying. “Indeed. That is why she was sent there. We can expect results soon. But, say. You sound a bit hoarse. Is everything alright?”

The maid nodded. “I'm completely fine.”

Lucille would have liked to stay quiet to avoid unsettling the other woman, but she couldn't help but speak up. “Are you certain? You do sound like your voice is a bit weaker than before.”

Stella let out a nervous chuckle, which ended with her coughing. “I...might have swallowed something wrong.”

Darlene already raised her hand behind the other's back. “Should I knock it out?”

Stella moved away a little while hurriedly shaking her head. “No, no! You will hit me with too much force again. If someone does it, it won't be you! But I don't need help. I...just have to eat something to get it down.” She reached for her fork and began putting the food into her mouth again. Thus, the discussion seemed to be over.

But unfortunately, it didn't stay calm and quiet for long.

Barely ten minutes had passed before Stella moved again. She had drunk a lot during the past minutes, and by now, her glass and the can were empty. But her throat hadn't calmed down in that time. So, she stopped eating and just leaned against her backrest. She tried to hide it, but it was quite obvious that she wasn't feeling too well. She spoke less and less until she only nodded when people addressed her.

Still, Stella rejected multiple offers to call the doctor. She even tried to speak again, but that didn't help much. She barely got out four words before he began coughing and couldn't stop even after a few seconds had passed. She brought her hand to her neck and let out some strange mix of coughing and gagging.

That was the point at which Blanche decided that she had enough. “I'm calling the doctor. He will give you something to ease your throat. In the meantime, you will sit here and won't move.”

Stella shook her head while grasping her neck. “It's fine... Just need water...” She stood up and prepared to rush to the bathroom. She didn't get that far. Stella only took one step before she stopped and tipped over to the side.

All of that happened so quickly that it was a wonder that Angelica had been able to jump up and catch the other woman to keep her from crashing onto the floor.

Of course, the both of them still tumbled over, and the way that they landed on the parquet finally made one thing clear. Stella wasn't fine.

The other three women jumped up at the same time.

Blanche knelt next to her maid without skipping a beat. “Stella?” She reached for the other woman and pressed her hand against the other's cheek while trying to wake her. “Stella? Stella, please respond.” She received no answer. That was enough to paint terror onto her features, and she raised her voice to yell. “You need to get help. Get the doctor and Theo!”

Darlene, who had previously tried to wake her friend, panically nodded and jumped up to dart out of the room.

Lucille watched all of that as if she was paralyzed. She stood next to the others while feeling like her legs were pudding. She was so weak that even moving a single step would make her fall to the ground. Was this poison? Had someone seriously managed to poison a person in the royal palace? That should be almost impossible.

And yet, the maid was lying on the floor here without showing any signs of reacting to others calling her.

Lucille took a single step and almost tripped over her own feet. What was going on here? And what was she supposed to do now? She couldn't help anyone. She had no medical knowledge nor did she have anything that could help someone that might have been poisoned. She couldn't even calm anyone down. She just stood there in panic while hugging herself. At least she did that before she snapped out of it and heard some loud wailing.

That was Aurora, who had probably been woken up by the other's volume. Hearing her cry almost broke Lucille's heart, so she had to fight the urge to rush over to the baby.

But after a few seconds, Lucille realized that she had no reason to stand there while staring at the others without even lifting a finger. So, she moved over to the cradle and did her best to calm down the little girl. She made some shushing noises and carefully picked Aurora up before swaying her from left to right and back. She calmed herself as much as she calmed the little girl, but there was not much she could do about the terror that seemed to rush through her veins.

It wasn't clear how much time passed, it probably only took a few minutes. Then the door opened, and the doctor rushed into the room with three of his assistants. He didn't waste any time before sitting next to the patient and beginning his treatment.

At that point, Blanche had to back off, even though she was in utter panic and sobbed already.

Lucille hurried to her side to hand over Aurora and felt like that made it a bit better, even if nothing had changed.

For the following seconds, the room was only filled with loud wailing and the orders the doctor gave his assistants while stabilizing Stella.

Theodore stormed inside only a few moments after the doctor had arrived. His eyes darted across the room, and he immediately knelt next to his wife when he reached her. “What happened?”

Blanche could only cry and hold on to her baby, who was crying just as loudly.

Theodore didn't need another reason to hug her while panically checking whether the two of them were injured.

But Lucille couldn't pay attention to that. She was still in her strange state in which everything around her seemed like she was in a daze. The only thing that made her snap out of it this time was the fact that Cedar was here too.

He had moved as quickly as his brother and was by Lucille's side in an instant. “Are you alright?” He brought his hand to her cheek as he scanned her face.

Lucille weakly nodded, but she already felt panic welling up inside her. She only held on for a few seconds before she dove into Cedar's arms. Thankfully, he engulfed her in his hug and cradled her head to let her hold onto him.

In the meantime, Leonard had rushed to the unconscious maid and examined her along with the doctor. He only took a few seconds before coming to a conclusion. “Poison. Orally ingested. We need to make her throw up immediately.”

Lucille heard that they were beginning to move Stella around, but she didn't dare look in that direction. She only tightened her hold on Cedar. She barely managed to lift her head enough to gaze at him.

The prince kept his eyes on the scene in front of him while it seemed like a hundred thoughts rushed through his mind at the same time. He only said a single word. “Poison.” His expression darkened, and for a moment, nothing but pure fury showed on his face. Then he looked down to make eye contact with her, and concern mixed into this. “Did you eat something she ate too?”

Lucille dug her fingers into his clothes while trying to find some way to stabilize herself with this. Her mouth barely worked, and when she finally spoke, she was way too loud. “We all ate! But only...” She stopped in the middle when she realized the biggest issue here. Everyone had eaten here around the same time. Only one person had been affected by this poison though.

That was Stella. But Stella hadn't eaten from her own plate.

A cold rush of horror overcame Lucille as she finally understood. A sob escaped her throat, and she only began crying harder. “It's...my fault. That...was my plate...”

Cedar didn't seem surprised. He was only furious, which certainly wasn't a calming sight. And yet, he held her in his arms and stroked over her cheek to make her look at him. “That's not your fault. We know who this was. We will deal with this, and you don't have to worry about a single thing.”

Lucille shouldn't just trust that. She couldn't rely on Cedar to take care of everything for her, but it was so tempting. Another sob came out of her mouth, and she could only look up into his eyes. “What if she...”

Cedar replied without her needing to finish the sentence. “She won't. We have everything under control. Trust me.” He carefully stroked over her skin to distract her before turning to Leonard. “We have that antidote, right? I brought a vial so you can give her it. This should be the gray poison.”

The secretary lifted his head for a moment. He had never looked as upset as now before. He seemed to be conflicted, but he quickly jumped up. “That's too risky. I haven't inspected it yet. We have our own antidote though. I will get it immediately. Doctor, you will keep her from moving. Put something into her mouth to keep her from biting off her tongue. If she begins twitching, don't try to hold her back unless she could hurt herself. Put a blanket under her if that happens.” He didn't say anything else before darting out.

Lucille finally dared to look back at Stella, and she wished that she hadn't done it.

The maid was so pale that it couldn't be healthy. There were some traces of foam at her mouth too, her eyes glassy as she stared straight ahead. This certainly wasn't just some drug that had harmless consequences. This could actually kill Stella, even if the liquid next to her proved that she had already thrown up most of it. Just because she had taken Lucille's plate.

That realization made Lucille's stomach churn. She couldn't help but turn away and buried her face in Cedar's shoulder. He kept her in his hug while everything around them seemed to be in utter chaos.

So many people were talking outside or crying inside. Time barely seemed to pass, even though it couldn't have taken more than a few minutes.

It only got quiet when Leonard came back. He brought a small vial and held it to Stella's mouth without hesitation. It seemed like the maid couldn't even swallow on her own, so they needed to tilt her head back to make her drink it in another way. As soon as the vial had been emptied, Leon slowly laid the maid down again and spoke. “She will have a fever and some cold-like symptoms for the next few days, but she will survive. We'll bring her to the doctor's office now. Theodore, take care of the rest. I will make sure that we get rid of everything.” He didn't wait for a response before beginning to carefully pick up the motionless maid to carry her.

Theodore took over at that point. His expression was scary when he spoke up in an authoritarian voice. “Doctor, you go with him. One of the assistants will examine everyone else who consumed something here. The food will not be touched, and we'll examine it later. We will find out who the responsible person is and punish them accordingly. You do not have to worry. We dealt with this poison once already and managed to save the concerned person. Back then, the person woke up after a few days with no lasting damage. It will be the same here. Your friend will be completely fine.”

He said much more than that, but Lucille didn't listen to the rest. She focused on Cedar's voice.

The prince's mouth was directly next to her and whispered into her ear. “Everything is fine. We will take care of everything. You don't have to worry about a single thing. I'm right here next to you. I will protect you.”

At that moment, she believed him. But even that didn't get rid of the fact that Stella had been poisoned in her stead. “I'm sorry.” Lucille wanted to say something else, but only that one sentence left her mouth. “I'm sorry...”

Cedar put his hand on the back of her head and pulled her even closer to him. “You're not at fault. This was my mother. She is responsible. No one else. Do you understand? It's not your fault. It can't be yours because you didn't put the poison into her food.”

Lucille knew that. But she had originally been supposed to eat it. And she hadn't done that. She had given it to someone else, and now that person was suffering because of it. She clung to Cedar in hopes of him just making it better. For some reason, his presence alone was enough to ease her worries at least a little.

Cedar did his best to calm her down as much as possible. He held onto her for minutes at a time. He didn't even let go when the doctor's assistant began to test whether the others had eaten some of the dishes on the table too.

Everyone appeared to be fine. No one except for Stella showed signs of sickness and nausea, but the assistant still checked twice before turning to the dishes. In the end, it seemed like only one plate had been poisoned, and that had been Lucille's plate. Either it had been a coincidence, or someone had truly targeted her. The only reason she wasn't the one lying on this floor in pain was that Stella had asked to switch plates.

Lucille wished that she had declined. Then they wouldn't have this issue now.

Even after minutes passed, and the people around them tried to talk to her, she wasn't able to stop worrying. She couldn't even stand on her own and just sat there on the floor with Cedar. At some point, he forced her to rise though. He was the only thing that kept her balanced by putting an arm around her shoulder. Lucille would have liked to leave, but she didn't manage to do so immediately. Not just because her feet didn't work.

Blanche had calmed down much faster than the other woman. She had probably only done so because her baby had to be consoled, but still, she took a moment to walk over to Lucille. She stood there in silence for a moment, which was enough to remind the other woman what was going on here. Stella was the empress' best friend, and now she had been poisoned. Blanche wouldn't be too happy.

Lucille averted her eyes. She felt like trembling again, but she tried to hold back. Speaking while she was about to cry was much harder. “I'm... I'm sorry.” She didn't dare to even look at the other woman.

Then Blanche moved, and Lucille almost expected to be hit or something like that. But the empress only put her arms around the other woman. “You didn't poison her. Don't blame yourself. Stella will make it. This was the poison that was used on Sefare once. We already saved him last year, so we can just use the same antidote. We will find out who the responsible traitor is and crush them. This isn't your fault. Remember that. This is on order. Today was exhausting. I expect you to take care of yourself and go to bed now. Cedar, you will join her.”

The prince replied immediately. “I planned on doing that. We will retreat now.”

Lucille only looked up when the empress backed away again and stared at her with wide eyes. “Lord Sefare? But he is...” That marquess had collapsed in the middle of a ball after being convicted of countless crimes. He had died back then. At least that had been the official statement of the palace.

Blanche shook her head and showed the other woman a soft smile. “He survived since we gave him our antidote. Stella can take the same. She will be up in a few days again. You don't have to worry one bit. We have an unfair advantage. We will use that to the fullest now. I...will do my best to find out who the perpetrator is.” She didn't sound happy, as expected due to her friend being poisoned. But her voice was full of conviction when she declared that it would be fine.

So, Lucille believed her. She only nodded and allowed Cedar to bring her out of the room.

That evening, she took hours to fall asleep. And the whole time, Cedar lay next to her and had his arms wrapped around her. He consoled her whenever she remembered what had happened and took care of her. She remembered his warmth accompanying her until the very moment she lost consciousness.