Lucille felt like her skin was melting. It was so warm that pouring a bucket of cold water over her head would have been good.
Hadn't Cedar just said that he liked her again? He had said that he didn't need a mistress because he could just marry the woman he cared for. And he said that after reminding her that he wouldn't be averse to marrying her. By now, Cedar had told her that he liked her multiple times, and still, it felt like her body wasn't working correctly whenever he said that.
Lucille's knees felt weak, and she fought the urge to tell him that she liked him a lot too. But the longer she stared into his wonderful light brown eyes, the more she wanted him to know. “I'm...happy that you say that. I like you too. A lot.” She would have liked to say that she loved him, but that was a bit much. Surely, they had known each other for a while, but she wasn't sure if she could confess her feelings in such direct words. At least not right now. She had told him this in another phrasing multiple times, and despite that, she was embarrassed, so she should hold back for now.
Cedar just smiled, as always. His voice was soft and made her insides tingle while he spoke. “That's good to hear. After all, I don't want to be rejected.” He slowly lifted her hand to his mouth and pressed a small kiss onto the backside of her hand.
It was almost over at that point. Lucille wouldn't be surprised if she suddenly fainted and he would have to catch her. That she would never reject Cedar was obvious, and yet, hearing him say that he thought about that only made her like him even more. If he worried, he truly had to care in a romantic sense.
As their kisses should have proven.
Lucille opened her mouth to respond when she heard the entrance door open. She barely turned her head in time to see the visitor. The timing was perfect once again. She was in the middle of trying to calm down after Cedar had reduced her to nothing but a blushing mess, and now her father came.
As expected, Raymond only needed a glimpse of the scene in front of him to determine what was happening. He quickly saw that his daughter was holding hands with the prince he had warned her about. His mood soured in an instant. This probably meant that dinner would be even tenser.
Lucille felt her confidence wavering and almost wanted to hide. She had no idea how her father would address the kiss, and that was bad enough. The fact that she and the prince were holding hands in public would only make it worse.
Cedar next to her was much calmer. He just calmly smiled at the visitor and waited until Viscount Valerian reached them. Then he spoke up. “I wish you a wonderful evening, Lord Valerian. We hope that your trip here wasn't too exhausting.”
Raymond's expression was as cold as it hadn't been in a few months. “There have been no issues, Your Royal Highness. I hope that you have been in good health.” He didn't bother saying anything else and turned to his daughter. “Lucille. Have you been well?”
Lucille quickly nodded while trying to move her hand away from Cedar's inconspicuously and gracefully. “Indeed. There...have been some small problems, but nothing directly troubled me.” The assassins hadn't been able to reach her, and the poison had been ingested by another person. “Good afternoon, Father.”
For a moment, it was silent. The tension was so thick that one could have cut it with a knife.
Cedar was the only one who didn't care. “It would be better for us to go to the dining room. I assume that talking there would be much more pleasant for multiple reasons. Please follow us.” He led the way toward their destination.
Lucille used the minute she had while walking to ponder whether she seriously wanted to talk to her father about this topic now. She felt unprepared, mostly because she wasn't even sure what she wanted to say. Could she tell Raymond that she loved Cedar without being scared of the reaction? Her father had made it clear that he didn't like the prince very much.
But by now, it might be impossible to avoid that discussion. After all, Lucille lived in the palace, attended events along with Cedar and had even kissed him. She probably didn't need to deny it anymore. Especially not since her father thought that they had been together for half a year already.
When they reached the dining room, they entered and sat down. Dinner began without anyone daring to speak. At least Lucille didn't dare to. Her father didn't seem scared and just angry, but Cedar smiled as brightly as ever. A few minutes passed, and everyone just ate.
That was interrupted as Raymond set his utensils down on the table though. He seemed to fight the urge to speak in a sharper tone and forced himself to be somewhat calm even though his anger was oozing out. “I want to address the most important part first. Can you confirm whether the rumors about the last ball are true?”
Lucille stopped eating as well and hid her balled fists under the table. She wasn't scared since Cedar was with her, but she was still a bit intimidated when it came to her father. So, she hoped that the prince would deal with this for her. She glanced at him and immediately regretted that when Raymond looked even more upset. She almost shrank in herself and lowered her gaze. Didn't that look like she was shameful? That would only make it seem like she was guilty of something. But she couldn't help it.
Luckily, Cedar next to her spoke up. “It depends on what rumors you are referring to, Lord Valerian. A few things were mentioned after the ball. But I can guess which one you mean. Is it related to the incident on the balcony?”
Raymond's expression only darkened. “Indeed. People claimed that Your Royal Highness got rather close to my daughter then.”
Lucille barely managed to look up. She hated how her father scanned her expression, so she looked at Cedar. Would he deny it? It would be easier to deal with all of this then. But at the same time, the rumors were probably widespread already. Lying wouldn't help.
Cedar met her gaze to smile at her for a moment before he faced her father again. “I would like to refrain from speaking about such matters since Lucille is a bit bashful when it comes to that. But I can't deny that we kissed that day.”
Lucille's heart skipped a beat just because she heard that. She hurried to pick up her fork and almost dropped it accidentally. She barely managed to catch it before eating a bit. That didn't make the situation better, but at least she didn't have to speak.
A few seconds passed in silence before Viscount Valerian replied in a cold voice. “I don't believe I must explain what this means to you. Enough people saw, and by now, the whole capital is talking about this. You need to give me a response now. It should be obvious that the chances of Lucille getting married to someone else are pretty low due to your meddling.”
Cedar only smiled at that. “I am aware. But there is no need for you to worry about Lucille's future. I told you that when we met, right? I will take responsibility for my actions. In any case, I will ensure that she can live calmly without needing to worry about money.”
Raymond narrowed his eyes. “I hope you are not talking about what I think you may be referring to. I know that both His Majesty and the former esteemed emperor did something like this. There is no way that you-”
Cedar cut him off there. “No, no. You misunderstood. I would not simply take her into the palace as my mistress.” He stopped for a moment and moved his chair back a little. Then he turned to the woman next to him and smiled at her. “Lucille and I already discussed this topic. I'm not certain whether she is ready to tell you already though.” So, he was leaving this to her now?
Raymond's gaze immediately wandered to his daughter. “What did you discuss?”
Lucille felt like all confidence had been drained from her. She tensed even more until she felt Cedar's hand on her leg. She quickly took his hand and squeezed it tightly while forcing herself to look at her father. “This is...” She spoke while averting her eyes slightly. “We...talked about the rumors...and about what we can do.” Could she say more than that? Could she say that Cedar had offered to marry her in a few years? She wasn't sure. “We...just spoke about...” They had confirmed that he wouldn't take in any mistress if he married her too. This made it seem like they were pretty serious about all of this. If she said that, her father would be even more angry.
But by now, Raymond had already understood in what direction this was moving. “What did you discuss? I have the right to know.”
Cedar glanced at Lucille. He wanted to give her a chance to speak, but she just squeezed his hand. It was better if he said it, and thankfully, he listened. “We spoke about the option of marriage. We said that it wouldn't be a problem if Lucille and I married, under the condition that we are still fond of one another in a few years. Of course, Lucille's opinion matters most here. She isn't forced to agree to anything she doesn't like, so I wish to give her time. However, if she is truly unable to marry, I will naturally take care of her for the rest of my life. Either by marriage, if she agrees, or by gifting her an estate and sending her money regularly.”
Lucille looked up at the prince while admiring how confident he was while saying that. He was the one who had to explain all of this, but still, he held her hand and consoled her.
Raymond had given up on eating. He had pushed his plate away and was burying his face in his hands while resting his elbows on the table. If he was in such a position despite his typical dignified facade, he had to be in a bad mood. He spoke up in a voice that was a bit too weak for such a strong man with an explosive temper. “You are considering marriage?”
Lucille had to admit that she was as unbelieving as her father. Her voice was shaky when she tried to affirm that. “We...said that it was an option.”
Cedar stayed silent for a moment before he added something. “And I can promise you that I don't intend to change my mind. I am serious. And you know your daughter well enough to know that she is serious too. I know that this is sudden. But nothing has been decided yet, so we thought about informing you when we already have the chance.” That sounded awfully like he was asking for Raymond's blessing.
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Lucille hid her face by looking down. She doubted that it would help much, but it was better than nothing.
Her father took a few seconds to process this. Then he spoke while slowly lifting his head to look at his daughter. “Last time we met, you told me that the rumors about him making you his fiancée were misunderstandings. And now you suddenly tell me this. Did something happen that makes you feel like you need to agree now? Even if those rumors are widespread, that doesn't mean that you have to marry him.” He completely ignored that Cedar was right next to them while saying that.
Lucille squeezed the prince's hand more tightly and tried to calm herself down while replying. “Well... I only addressed that after you warned me about those rumors. And...Cedar said that he wouldn't...mind marrying me when I asked, so...” She felt even more uncertain while saying that.
Cedar squeezed her hand back as if he wanted to reassure her, but she didn't dare to speak anymore.
A few seconds passed until Raymond replied. This time, he was even more serious than before. “Lucille, you don't have to do this. If he forces you or if you feel pressured because of his rank, you can tell me that. I will find a way to deal with this.”
Lucille was taken aback by that. Shouldn't Raymond be happy about her having an influential husband? When he didn't think about it that way, he truly had to be completely against this arrangement. Lucille couldn't have that. The thought made her lift her head even though she would have liked to avoid eye contact. She needed to say this now, or she would feel like she was accusing Cedar of something. “But...I want to do this.” That sounded like she had openly said that she wanted to marry Cedar. Wonderful. This made her even more embarrassed, but she forced herself to meet her father's gaze.
Raymond scanned her as if he expected her to say something else. When nothing followed, he stayed quiet as well. Then he looked down and stared at the table. He was upset. He couldn't hide how he glared at the plate, but he didn't yell and was silent. At least a minute passed before he replied. “I see. But this isn't official yet, is it?”
Cedar shook his head. “No. As I said, I do not wish to pressure her nor do I want to coax her into making a rash decision. We merely said that we like each other and that a relationship like this would be good for spouses. Of course, we have to wait a few years to confirm that since Lucille is rather young. But we are considering it, which means that you do not need to worry about Lucille finding a marriage partner.”
Raymond didn't like that much better. But he nodded and stared at his plate without making eye contact with anyone.
The rest of the meal was silent. Lucille didn't dare to address the assassination attempts of the past weeks and just went along with any topic Cedar addressed. In the end, they didn't discuss much more.
Dinner was over soon, and Viscount Valerian insisted on leaving even though he had only been here for two hours. Lucille and Cedar, who had offered her his arm to Raymond's dismay, accompanied him to the door and even stepped into the garden to bid farewell to him. They quickly regretted that though.
Lucille barely recognized the silhouette of the person that they saw, and maybe that was because it was someone that shouldn't have been here.
But the fact that Cedar was sighing said everything. “What does she want here?”
To be honest, Lady Peril looked like she was in a bad mood. She had come out of a secondary entrance and glared into the distance while being lost in thoughts. For a moment, that made it seem like they could hope to avoid her. But then her eyes fell onto Cedar, and immediately, a bright smile covered her true feelings. Everyone else here got annoyed in an instant, but that didn't keep her from approaching the group and making an overly exaggerated curtsy.
Cedar's smile told Lucille that he disliked the other woman, but he replied politely. “I wish you a wonderful evening, Lady Peril. I hope that your past few weeks have been quite calm. What led you to the royal palace?”
Jenna only beamed at him while she lifted her head again. “I wish you a just as wonderful evening, Your Royal Highness. I happened to have an audience with His Majesty. He wished to talk about my husband's business despite only inviting me. It was odd.”
Lucille would have liked to say that she had at least the slightest idea about this matter, but that wasn't the case. She did know that Jenna was very much active in her family's businesses though, so that had been a lie.
Cedar didn't seem surprised either. “I see. Then it seems like he must have guessed that you were more involved than you publicly claimed to be. Since your family's business is quite influential, it is obvious that he would be interested.”
Jenna completely ignored the other present people to reply. “I hoped so too.” She put her hand on her cheek and showed a dejected reaction. “But then he explained his story to me. Say...” She looked directly at Cedar. “Could you perhaps talk to your brother and ask him why he needs to be so harsh with our business? I always paid my taxes and never did anything illegal. And yet, he suddenly claims that I should sell at least half of my stores because I might be accused of cartelization. I worry about someone some mistakes my employees could have made, but His Majesty refused to tell me what crime has been the reason for his caution.”
Cedar smiled at her while glancing at Lucille for a moment. He didn't do much but tap her arm once, which was enough to make her remember that she still held on to his arm. He replied in a calm voice, but he was unmistakably contemptuous. “That sounds horrible. But he did tell you what crime he accuses your family of. Cartelization isn't just a triviality. It could destroy our fragile economy if the wrong people sink their fingers into the market. That is why he is so careful and wants to ensure that can't happen. Right now, your business is quite strong. You own a big portion of the smaller businesses that sell the most famous flowers and herbs, correct? At the same time, you made sure to lower your prices so much that most less wealthy clients will buy from you. If your business grows, you might successfully drive out all others in the same niche.”
Jenna put her hand in front of her mouth. “But that was never my intention. I only wished to sell perfume of good quality to the ladies around me. I will do my best to prevent any damage if I am told where the problems lie. I will take care of everything, I promise. I am not sure whether I am able to convey that to your brother though. So, I wished to ask you whether you could perhaps help me out here. Of course, I will compensate you in return. You can ask for anything you wish for.”
Lucille hated how the other woman said that. She was standing right here and held Cedar's arm and was still being ignored. That was annoying. Lucille would have liked to do something that would draw attention to her, but she didn't. Instead, she just looked away until Cedar squeezed her arm again. She still wasn't sure what he wanted to tell her with that, so she stayed still.
That was enough for Cedar to take it into his own hands. He was careful, but he made it more obvious by pulling his arm toward him and moving her with him.
Lucille was forced to take a step closer to him. She controlled half of her motions, and the rest was her stumbling toward him because she had been surprised. In any case, she ended up leaning against Cedar's side. She felt the embarrassment rush to her face immediately.
It only got worse when Cedar looked down at her and showed her a radiant smile before carefully stroking his fingertips over the side of her face. Then he pushed a strand of her hair aside before facing the other woman again.
Jenna was still smiling, but it almost looked like she was holding onto her fan with more force than before. “Oh. I sincerely apologize. I almost forget due to all this stress. Good evening, Lord Valerian.” She smiled and nodded at Raymond's reply while ignoring how upset the other man seemed. She immediately turned to Lucille after that. “Good evening, Lady Valerian. How have you been?”
Lucille felt like this was only common courtesy and that Lady Peril would have liked to avoid speaking to the other woman. But in the end, she felt similarly. “I wish you a wonderful evening, Lady Peril. I cannot complain about anything unpleasant happening. I am sorry to hear about the problems you mentioned.”
Jenna still refused to give up on her grin. “Thank you for your concern, but there is no need for you to worry about me and my family. I am more concerned about you and your reputation.” She scanned the couple without hiding it well. “Of course, I will not pry into your matters. But it's no wonder that rumors arise when you act like this.”
But Cedar wasn't intimidated by that. “Well, my brother wasn't a good example when it came to holding back. I am not sure why he even tried.”
Lady Peril let out a little laugh as she unfolded her fan and hid her mouth. “Well. He had a fiancée at the time that he met Her Majesty. So, it is obvious that he would need to be a bit more discreet about it. And one day, you will need to keep that in mind too. Now that I mention it, it is a bit odd that Your Royal Highness doesn't have a fiancée yet, isn't it?”
Lucille was already complaining inwardly. The other woman was still ignoring her. Normally, she should be happy about not needing to talk, but still, anger bubbled in her stomach when she heard Jenna speak. She certainly didn't like that woman, and it felt like it was even worse today. Maybe because Lady Peril hinted at the fact that the prince should be with a different woman once again. In any case, it was annoying.
The fact that Cedar didn't care about that person and held Lucille in his arms instead was satisfying though.
Cedar grinned at Jenna while he responded. “Father didn't care enough since he already had a future wife for his eldest son, and Mother didn't like the thought of me leaving her, as she called it. So, they didn't arrange an engagement for me. But I am very thankful for that. After all, I wish to choose my fiancée myself. And since the woman I will spend the rest of my life with has to be wonderful, I can only imagine few people taking that spot.” He finished as he smiled down at Lucille.
Lucille felt even more blood rush to her face. She leaned forward to rest her forehead against Cedar's arm to hide that, but she doubted that it made her look more dignified.
It served to underline the point though, so Lucille didn't even try to keep her distance and just hugged Cedar as obviously as she could.
For a moment, it was silent. Then Jenna spoke in her sickeningly sweet voice again. “It is good to hear that Your Royal Highness knows what he is doing. It would be best for you to follow that plan. But of course, you will need to think about such an important decision carefully.” Then it seemed like she turned her attention to someone else. “Lord Valerian, regarding the business contract we were discussing-”
Raymond's voice was icy when he cut her off. “Unfortunately, I doubt that I will be able to trade with anyone in the near future. Some serious issues came up, and I need to deal with them before focusing on this. I apologize.” That was unusual for him. He never threw chances to gain money away like this. But it seemed like he was too annoyed with Lady Peril.
Apparently, even Jenna was speechless at that. When Lucille lifted her head, the other woman had returned to smiling though. “I see. I will keep that in mind. Maybe we will be able to trade in the future though. Then I do not wish to bother you any longer.” It was almost surprising, but she simply left after giving everyone a short goodbye.
But all the people here were rather content with that.
As soon as Lady Peril had left, Cedar let out a quiet comment. “Finally. That woman isn't good at taking a hint. I apologize that we had to have that short conversation just now. Lord Valerian, it seems like your carriage has been prepared. I wish you a quick and safe return to your home without any issues. Until we meet again.”
Raymond narrowed his eyes at that but replied anyway. “Thank you, Your Royal Highness. I wish you a calming evening. But would it be possible for me to speak to Lucille before I leave?”
Lucille immediately felt panic rise in her stomach. For a moment, she was scared before she realized that her father wasn't that upset and that they were in the middle of the royal estate. Raymond wouldn't do anything bad.
Cedar didn't reply immediately but turned to Lucille. He only spoke when she nodded. “Of course. I will not disturb you and wait by the door.” Then he slowly let go of Lucille and walked the few steps to the entrance of the palace.
Raymond waited for the prince to distance himself before he focused his attention on Lucille. He still looked grim, but there wasn't any anger in his voice when he spoke quietly. “If you are in trouble, any kind of trouble, send a letter. I won't let anyone hurt you, no matter how powerful they are.”
Lucille was taken aback by that. She wasn't used to hearing something this protective from her father's mouth. Hadn't he always been the one to tell her that she needed to do things herself? She had to collect her thoughts before replying. “Thank you. But you don't have to worry about me. Cedar is good to me, and I like him a lot.”
Her father didn't seem like he was too happy about that, but he didn't seem upset either. Just concerned, which was a strange expression on his face. “That is good. But if that ever changes or if you are scared of him or anything like that, contact me. I will find a solution. No one can force you into a marriage, remember that. If you are happy, I won't interfere. But if you dislike it, tell me.” Was this really her father? The man that had used to yell at her after she had made the smallest mistake?
Lucille couldn't stop staring at him even while he left. Apparently, her father had changed too along with the world around them. Right now, it truly seemed like everything was so very different in contrast to just a few months ago.
But she had to admit that she liked this much more than she had liked her life before meeting Cedar. In the past, she had always been scared of change, but currently, it only seemed to bring her benefits.