The Broken Prince's Love

Cedar had known that rumors traveled quickly in the palace. He had also known that his brother would hear about it soon. But he hadn't expected that Theodore would address the topic directly, even though five days without any incidents had passed

The prince almost dropped his teacup and forced himself to smile as he made eye contact. “Pardon me. Could you please repeat that? I did not quite understand.”

Theodore looked like he would rather be somewhere else right now, but he replied after a sigh anyway. “I said that it might be good to ask the doctor to give you some contraceptives. After all, Lady Valerian and you are quite young. She is eighteen, which is way too early, and you are twenty-two. You aren't married yet, and I would suggest waiting a bit longer since you've only known one another for a little over three months now.” He had looked at the floor before and now finally dared to make eye contact with his younger brother. He did that just in time to meet his brother's anger.

Cedar had more questions than answers right now. How had someone twisted the story until the emperor believed that? The prince's smile grew, but even he could feel how his voice became colder. “Theodore. What made you believe that Lucille and I were that close?”

The emperor scanned the other's expression before replying. “You spent the night in her room multiple times now. And she was in yours as well. You two are often hugging each other, and she blushes when you come close. You are definitely much closer than friends are. I see a few...parallels to how things developed for me. I have to admit that I wasn't careful enough in the beginning, so I wanted to make sure that you at least thought about this before moving on.”

Cedar brought his hand to his head and massaged his temples. The corners of his lips were already hurting from smiling so brightly, and it only got worse with each second. He took a deep breath before responding. “So, you assumed that I would move that quickly because you and your wife ended up being together a month after you met?”

In some way, it was amusing that someone compared him and Lucille to the royal couple that was known to have one of the most romantic relationships in the nation. But at the same time, the rumors went way too far.

At this point, Cedar couldn't laugh at his brother's misunderstanding anymore. He needed to clear this up now. “Theodore, while I am thankful that you worry about me, please ask before you jump to conclusions. Lucille and I aren't in a relationship.” At least not yet. “I don't know what we are, but I did not spend the night with her in the way that you imagined. We lay next to each other and held hands.” Admittedly, they had been closer than that, but he surely hadn't done anything that would require him to think about contraceptives.

For a moment, the room was filled with an uncomfortable silence. Theodore only spoke up a few seconds later. “I apologize. Then see that as advice for later. I'm not sure how long it will take. But I sincerely apologize for just assuming this anyway.”

Cedar took a small break to drink some of his tea before looking to the side. This was unpleasant. Why was Theodore acting like this? Maybe the emperor worried about Cedar having a child now and assumed that it might not take much longer. The prince hadn't ever believed that his actions could be interpreted like that, but seemingly, he would need to hold back from now on. Sneaking into Lucille's room only to hug her immediately seemed like a bad idea. People might have seen that and immediately gossiped with others. Hopefully, that talk hadn't spread far already, or Lucille would get a heart attack when she heard this.

Cedar stayed quiet while he put aside his empty cup and then spoke up. “Is that all you wanted to tell me when you called me here?”

Theodore seemed like he was rather uncomfortable with the situation but thankfully moved on quickly. “No. I actually wanted to address another thing first. I just thought that it would be better to get this subject out of the way. But since that is resolved, we might as well talk about the other thing. You might like hearing about this much more. I wanted to ask you whether you would like to get involved in politics.”

For the second time during the past five minutes, Cedar felt like someone had hit him. What was wrong with this brother today? There was no way that Theodore was serious right now. “By that, you mean...what exactly?”

The emperor didn't hesitate this time. “I know that the dowager empress made you study a lot when we were younger. She wanted you to make up for the five-year difference far too early. You spent hours upon hours learning about politics and all of those similar topics. You don't have the experience but the knowledge. It would be a shame not to use that to Artias' advantage. I know that you're clever and that you are good at scheming and infuriating people. That could be needed if we have to go against strong opponents. For example, if another person suddenly took over the crown in Northern Ocrea. We'd need to prepare for that, no matter whether it seems unlikely now. And when the baby is there, I will not be able to spend much time in the office.”

Cedar couldn't help but comment on that. “Don't you spend less than two hours per day working? You said that you would never give up more of your time with your wife, remember? Do you intend to work even less than that?”

Theodore replied without skipping a beat. “No changing the topic. Whether I will work less or not, having additional help is always good. Of course, I won't force you, but you always used to want to help Father. He never listened to your ideas, which was stupid since your plans would have worked out better than his, but you tried it again and again.”

Cedar was getting more skeptical with every word. Was this a test? Why would Theodore compliment his political skills otherwise? The prince scanned his brother for a while before replying. “Isn't giving political power to a person who committed treason something you should avoid? That would be like making Mother a minister.”

“It wouldn't be the same at all. I don't know if you noticed, but you are very different from her.” Theodore drank some of his tea before resuming with a serious expression. “I will do my best to take more power away from her since I don't trust her. If everything goes well, I will trust you in a while though. There have been cases of members of the royal family serving as advisors or simply helping the ruler. It can never be bad to have different views on a topic. And tasks like going through contracts and finding mistakes don't require you to have some kind of official position at the moment. I am aware that this decision will cause some discussions among the nobles, so I would like to move slowly in this case. We can give you more and more privileges every few months.”

That didn't make sense. Why was Theodore so trusting? Cedar could be planning to stab him from behind at every second. To be honest, he had planned that just a few weeks ago. So, it was stupid of the emperor to accept that his brother was here, and it was even stupider to just allow the prince to grasp power just because of a single conversation.

Cedar had to hold back questions about his brother's sanity. “I don't think that is very clever, Theodore. People are already questioning whether you are too generous, and now you want to do something like this? And why? You don't need help, do you?”

The reply came immediately. “I am not in dire need. But as I said, it's always good to have someone else there. I wouldn't mind you working here as well. And I wouldn't call myself forgiving at all. I am rather cruel when I'm angry, which can be bad or good depending on the case. In the end, it doesn't matter whether the public knows that. Whether I'm a bloodthirsty war tyrant who lost his mind or a calm and gentle ruler who adores his wife, no one ever opposed me.”

Cedar scanned his brother with slight concern. Wasn't Theodore too sure of that? There could always be a revolt. Of course, it wasn't likely here since most of the nobles accepted their ruler, but still. Especially Camille's existence was a problem that needed to be taken care of.

And yet, Theodore sat here without worrying in the slightest. It was odd. Hadn't the emperor panically hid his relationship with Blanche for a long time to refrain from offending the most powerful duke? And now Theodore had just made that woman empress while effectively throwing the former empress out of the nation. He was truly too different.

Cedar had given up on understanding that difference long ago. He let out a small sigh. “I will...think about it.” He had always thought that he would overthrow his brother at some point, and now he was supposed to work together with him? That thought seemed strange. But not as bad as it sounded at first, at least if Theodore didn't flaunt how he was so much better than his brother every few days. Still, Cedar didn't think that he would insert himself into politics at this point. He should wait a few months before beginning and two years before officially doing anything.

And favorably, he would have liked to solve the problems with his mother until then. He wasn't sure whether he could expect to finish that issue in such a short time, but he would do his best.

After Cedar left the office, he was drained. He would have liked to train to clear his mind a bit, only to be reminded that he needed to visit the tailor. For some reason, Theodore had insisted that the prince should get some new attires despite Cedar saying that it was fine.

As always, the emperor had remained the more stubborn one. In the end, Cedar had just told him to pay and then wandered to the seating room, which the royal tailor used whenever she came. He entered the room and prepared to listen to an hour of small talk as soon as he greeted the elderly Madame Charture. But as soon as he had closed the door behind him, he heard that the tailor was already talking. A smile spread on his lips as soon as he heard the shy response.

Lucille was here. That made the visit much more pleasant.

Cedar waited for a moment and listened to what Madame Charture was telling the poor other woman. It seemed like the conversation was about how sweet Lucille was. He had to agree in that regard. He planned on eavesdropping a bit longer when the tailor suddenly rounded the paravent and made eye contact with him.

Madame Charture's wrinkled face was overcome with surprise, and a moment later, she seemed ecstatic. She immediately came toward him and only stopped in front of him with a bright smile.

Cedar returned the smile. “Good day, Madame Charture. Welcome to the royal palace. I hope that you are doing well at this time. We haven't seen each other in so long, and you haven't aged a day.”

Madame Charture beamed at him. “I can't say the same thing about you. I almost cannot believe it. Your Royal Highness, you grew up so much!” It had been seven years. It would be a wonder if he hadn't grown in that time. “You truly ended up being such a handsome man. Your family seems to have ideal characteristics.” Normally, hearing something like that felt extremely odd, and it still did. But since the tailor was such a gentle person, it just sounded like she was an aunt who praised her nephew.

“Thank you very much, Madame Charture. Though, I feel like I don't deserve your praise. I did not have to put in effort to age after all. Please do tell me more about what was going on in your life while we didn't meet though. I am curious. Your smile is just as bright and your eyes are just as shiny as before, so I assume you have been doing well.”

The tailor happily began chatting. “Luckily. I traveled around a lot and sated my curiosity when it comes to seeing the world. I will be happy to stay in the same place again now. That is why I might move into the palace soon. After all, the royal heir will be born, and they will need new clothes regularly. Her Majesty already showed me the quarters that I could be using, and I have to say that I am intrigued. But first, I will need to convince my assistant to consider taking over my position if I retire.” She didn't seem to have the desire to ever truly retire. Designing clothes was what she loved to do most for decades. And since she hadn't lost even a little of her burning motivation, she should be fine.

Cedar scanned her face for a moment. The other's wrinkles were a bit deeper, but otherwise, Madame Charture was truly rather fit for her age. He could swear that she was as agile as she had been seven years ago. “That is good to hear. I hope that you will make the decision that makes you happy. It would be wonderful if we could rest assured that the future royal tailor will be educated by someone as skillful as you.” Just as he said that, a motion from the corner of his eyes caught his attention. He turned to Lucille and gave her a soft smile. “It's nice to meet you here. Are you getting a new dress for the ball too?”

Lucille slowly came toward him and smiled back at him. “Yes, I am. I didn't want to bother the royal tailor, but apparently, Her Majesty insisted that I have to try on what Madame Charture brought.” As expected.

Blanche had sent Lucille while Theodore had forced his brother to go here. That probably wasn't a coincidence.

Madame Charture spoke up just a moment after that and proved the prince's assumption to be true. “It's good that the both of you are here already. I need to make sure that everything fits and that your attires match. That's the most important thing when a couple attends a ball together. It's good that His Majesty already gave me that hint. I prepared something that will make you two the center of attention that day.” As always, she already blabbered on about random things without giving someone else the chance to speak.

Lucille seemed taken aback by what the other woman said. “Ah...we...” She looked like she wanted to interrupt but only helplessly turned to the prince.

Cedar showed her a smile before voicing what she probably meant. “Thank you for your help, Madame Charture. Theodore told you? It's interesting that my brother did that when he shouldn't even know that I will escort Lucille.” For a moment, he worried about how Theodore had found out about that, but he received a calming response quickly.

Lucille averted her eyes and replied in a weak voice before the other woman could. “I...may have told Her Majesty. She probably told her husband.” She acted like she felt bad about that, which made Cedar correct her.

“That's fine. It's not like this was a secret. At least I know why he found out now. I was worried about him spying on us already. But if you told them, it's perfectly natural for them to start planning things like this. Matching attires are appropriate when we will go to the ball together anyway. But I will still have to intervene in one aspect.” Cedar addressed Madame Charture with a bright smile. “We're not supposed to be the center of attention, and we don't want to be either. My brother and his wife will shine again. Please don't forget that.” He would lie if he said that he believed that she would listen to him.

In fact, Madame Charture had already turned her back to the couple and happily began searching out what she wanted them to wear. Apparently, someone, who might or might not have been Theodore or Blanche, had already given her the measurements of the concerned people. After all, the tailor had already pulled out a dress and a uniform that almost seemed to be finished. She didn't waste a second when rushing toward the couple and beaming at them. “You need to try them on. Hurry. I want to see how they look on you.”

Cedar didn't even think about arguing. He still remembered how excited the tailor had been in the past, so he just went along with it. He took the uniform and showed Lucille a bright smile. “Just allow her to help you dress, and don't try to convince her to choose a different gown. She is very stubborn. Her style usually fits whomever she has in mind while designing the items. If a beautiful person wears her attires, they will shine even brighter. So, it should be perfect for you anyway.” He purposefully added the compliment to see Lucille blush before turning around to change behind a paravent.

The prince gave himself a lot of time since he knew that putting on the ballgown would take much longer than changing into a uniform. He didn't want to pressure Lucille into hurrying, so he would only finish when she was done.

The sounds that came from the other side of the room made it seem like Madame Charture was happily dressing the other woman while chatting about her private life. This would take a bit.

Cedar spent at least ten minutes sitting around while waiting for the other party to be done. At some point, he had given up on changing slowly and was now standing in the main room to wait for Lucille, or rather for Madame Charture to end her chattering. When it was finally time, he showed Lucille a small grin but swallowed down any comment about her being slow.

It was the first time that Cedar had been so taken aback upon seeing a person who had only dressed up for a bit.

Lucille was absolutely gorgeous. She always was, but her attire only made her stand out even more. She was wearing a light blue ballgown that was adored with white and golden decorations. The color scheme was similar to Cedar's uniform, and the only color that was missing was navy. After all, Lucille wasn't part of the royal family, so putting on navy and gold would be seen as insolent. She didn't even need those colors to look majestic though.

Lucille almost seemed to glow when she nervously met his gaze and then averted her eyes.

Cedar was pretty sure that he had forgotten to smile for a moment and hurried to speak up. “It seems like Madame Charture once again created an artistic masterpiece. It's...” He considered voicing a more subtle compliment but gave up on that halfway. “Lucille, you look beautiful.”

Lucille only got more red at that. She almost seemed to squirm a little as she forced herself to meet his gaze again. “Thank...you very much. You are very... I mean...you are very attractive and...” She couldn't even say that without stuttering. But still, it was the most satisfying compliment that the prince could have received.

A grin formed on Cedar's face as he watched her expression shift through a few different emotions. That was too adorable. “Thank you. It's good to hear that the sentiment is returned.” To be honest, Cedar was very happy about her complimenting him, and he had to admit that his heartbeat had quickened a bit too, but he was good enough at acting to cover this up.

Lucille, on the other hand, wasn't able to do that. She couldn't look him in the eyes anymore and just brought her hands to her face to hide her reddened cheeks. That only made her blush even more obvious, but her expression was so cute that no one would mind.

Madame Charture watched the situation for a while before she decided that it was enough. Then she put a hand on Lucille's back and walked to Cedar to push him forward in the same manner until she had positioned both of them in front of a mirror. “Do you see that? The attires match perfectly. You're such a cute couple.” She patted Cedar's shoulder before whispering to him. “You should keep her at your side. You are lucky to be with such an adorable girl. I can't believe that I'm fortunate enough to finally make dresses for a woman aside from Her Majesty.”

Cedar could see how Lucille next to him became even more red so that her skin almost resembled her hair and turned to the tailor to correct her. “Well, we're not-”

Madame Charture didn't give him a chance. She just continued to blabber on. “Will I be able to make your wedding attires too? Please tell me that I can still do that in the next few years. I have so many ideas for wedding dresses.” It seemed like everyone here was already planning for the future.

Cedar tried to correct her again, only to be cut off once more.

Madame Charture continued happily. “And the veil could be short this time. And I might be able to use less tulle and more lace. And I could-”

Lucille barely dared to raise her voice, but she spoke up anyway. “Madame Charture. We're not a couple. We're...” Her voice trailed off as she panically tried to find a word that described this. It seemed like she didn't know what they were either though. That was relieving.

And at the same time, it gave Cedar a perfect situation to tease her a bit. He met her gaze in the mirror and showed her a beam. “To the public, it seems that we are, in fact, a couple. I visited my brother a minute ago. Do you know what he called me for?” He leaned over to Lucille and whispered into her ear. “He just reminded me that we should give you contraceptives.”

It only took a second for Lucille's face to be colored in a dark red as she stiffly turned to him. Her reaction was close to what he had imagined and even more adorable than that. “Please...tell me you're joking.”

“I wish I was. You can't imagine how weird I felt when Theodore started lecturing me about my responsibilities and about how having children at a very young age could endanger the mother's health. I had no idea what he was talking about until he dropped that comment. It seems like me leaving your room wasn't as inconspicuous as I would have liked it to be. We'll have to be more careful in the future.”

That only made Lucille tense even more. She probably had to be dying out of embarrassment right now. She looked like her brain stopped working for a moment before she buried her face in her hands. “That's... What if...people hear?”

Cedar had worried about that too but chose to console her instead of being honest. “My brother won't tell anyone. And the servants here probably don't talk to the nobles too often. It should be fine as long as we don't overdo it. But...” He turned his head to her and gave her a bright grin. “I don't want to miss out on our nights together. I will just have to sneak in from now on.” He expected her to be embarrassed while she told him to stay away from her room.

But Lucille just squeezed her eyes shut while nodding. “You...have to be more careful from now on.” Wasn't that an indirect invitation for him to visit her at night?

Cedar wouldn't complain, but that was still a little risky. Even the fact that they were cuddling in her bed would be problematic if others found out. The misunderstanding would make all of this even more complicated. This could definitely cause rumors that were grand enough to ruin Lucille's chances of marriage.

In that case, it would be Cedar's fault, and he naturally would be forced to take responsibility. That thought alone should be enough to remind him to hold back, but surprisingly, it wasn't. For some reason, none of that sounded so bad that it would keep Cedar from visiting Lucille.

It seemed like he had truly crossed the invisible line long ago. There was no turning back now.