Cedar wasn't surprised to hear about this at all. “So, you found the servant who put the drug into the drink, and that man coincidentally died before he could be questioned? That sounds like someone didn't want him to talk. Mother seems to be as active as always.” Which was terrifying since she shouldn't be able to walk around at all.
How come Camille still managed to control everything around her to some extent? In this case, she had probably given the orders to get rid of all people who could say anything a while ago, but that only meant that Camille had even more servants under her control than Lady Peril had believed. And now, a witness had been eliminated before anyone could get information from him.
Theodore didn't seem to care too much for that traitor's life. “It wasn't a big loss. One testimony wouldn't have helped anyway. Besides, I don't need evidence anymore. I just need time to get rid of the last stubborn rats that are hiding in between our loyal subjects. If a person who agreed to drug someone falls flat onto their nose, I don't care. The dowager empress won't help herself by killing everyone around her though. She will only make her demise even more painful.”
Leon fiddled around with something on his tray before bringing it over to the table. He set it down and then took a seat as well. He promptly entered the conversation while pulling out some documents. “Indeed. She makes herself more and more enemies. Those people will be eager to get revenge by the end of this. She is risking everything because she can't control her temper. It's odd. If that woman was thinking clearly, she could have used all kinds of gaps in our security to harm us. But she is so thoughtless that she only causes trouble for herself and lessens her own power. I don't understand that.”
Cedar couldn't hold back his comment this time. “Now you know how I felt for the past twenty-two years. It was pretty frustrating to see her gamble away good chances left and right. I never knew why she messed up so badly. She would be a terrifying enemy if her hysteria wasn't what controls her actions.” By now, Camille was already on a one-way trip to being executed, and even then, she didn't understand. It was almost pathetic.
Cedar had to admit that he was glad that his mother wasn't thinking clearly though. If she did, she would have found a way to kill Lucille by now instead of trying that strange route to make Lucille abandon her lover. Maybe she did that because she wanted to prove that she was the only one who would stay by Cedar's side and that he needed her. But she didn't see that she made him dislike her more every time she targeted Lucille.
Theodore took a cookie from Leon's tray and bit into it while listening. He chewed and swallowed before responding. “That's why I'm glad you are here now. I feel like all the plots that worked were actually your ideas. Everything that went wrong was because of her own stupidity and because she didn't listen to you. If you were the one to have planned the assassination attempts, you would have been successful already.”
Cedar would feel a bit arrogant if he affirmed that, but he agreed. “Maybe. But as you said, Mother doesn't like listening to others. I was the one who managed to get us out of confinement the first time by just writing some letters and going through the old case. She should have trusted me after that, but she only made it worse each time she acted on her own. She wasn't patient, she hurt our allies, and she caused trouble in public. She didn't even believe me when I said that Claude Vasquez, the former duke, was trying to betray us and destroy both factions. She refused to admit that someone might have played her, and in the end, I was still right.” He turned his attention to the tray.
The prince's eyes were automatically drawn to the cookie on the far left, so he took it and let it disappear in his mouth. As expected, he still didn't like the taste.
Theodore had opened his mouth to reply, but he stopped. He scanned his brother for a moment before speaking up. “Say. You used to dislike poppy-seed cake a lot. Just now, you swallowed a cookie with it without even noticing it. Did your taste change?”
Cedar would have liked to deny it, but his brother had seen him as a child. Back then, he hadn't managed to hide his dislikes, so he couldn't lie about that now. That didn't mean that he wouldn't twist the truth a little though. “Well, it's still not my favorite, but I don't dislike it either. I already touched the cookie, so I didn't want to put it back.” To be honest, there was more to this.
His mother had always demanded that Cedar didn't show his preferences and his weaknesses. So, she had forced him to eat what he disliked when it was offered to him, just because that would show that he didn't mind it. Now Cedar had seen the poppy-seed cookie and unconsciously believed that he would have to eat it. Thanks to his mother's strange methods, that was ingrained so deeply into his brain that he hadn't even noticed it anymore. Even admitting that he didn't like poppy-seed cake much made him feel like he had lost in some way. Great.
Theodore watched his brother with skepticism. Then he glanced down at the plate before focusing on Cedar again. “But you don't have to eat what you don't like. You know that, right? Especially since you used to hate those cakes so much that you pushed the plate far away from you when it was put onto the table. The only thing you liked less was coffee. You used to gag when you smelled that. But...” He seemed to be a bit distracted as he thought back to the past. “If I remember correctly, you drank coffee when you came out of confinement.” Oh no. Now that would be addressed.
Cedar showed him a grin that would certainly infuriate his brother a bit. “You mean back when you kept offering me things I disliked as a child? Yes, I remember. I drank coffee then. I still favor tea, but coffee is fine too.” It wasn't. He still despised coffee. It was much too bitter, and he couldn't stand the taste or the smell. But his mother had been strict with her policy of not being able to show preferences and dislikes. At some point, she had forced him to drink coffee until he managed to act well enough to cover up his urge to shudder and throw up.
By now, Cedar could probably eat anything without showing the slightest bit of a reaction even when it tasted horrible. The only one who might know about his dislike for coffee now was Harris because they had quarreled about that a few times, and even he didn't know that Cedar absolutely despised it. But the prince wouldn't tell Theodore that.
Apparently, his brother didn't need to hear that either. Theodore looked at him with a deep frown, which revealed that he was already piecing together the story. Hopefully, he hadn't noticed anything odd during their childhood and wouldn't suddenly address that. “Cedar... Are you sure that you aren't just drinking it despite disliking it? Back then, I offered that to you because I wanted to annoy you. I didn't expect you to drink something that used to make you gag. I was taken aback when I saw you suddenly gulping down a whole cup as if it was nothing.”
Cedar remembered that. Back then, he had known that his brother would provoke him like this and admitting defeat would make him feel like he lost. So, he had just swallowed that revolting drink while beaming at his brother. Seeing the other's shock had granted him a small victory. “It's really not that bad. I still don't particularly like it, but I will drink it if the servants go out of their way to make it. But I don't think that my preferences are helpful when it comes to our situation at hand. We finished the documents for today, so we only need to discuss how to deal with the mess Mother caused.”
Theodore didn't seem to like giving up on the topic, but he complied. He focused his attention on the sheet of paper in front of him. He scribbled something down before pushing it to the side and looking up at his brother again. “There isn't much to discuss. Harris wants to talk to you. He is pretty sure that he found a traitor. There are three women, who happen to be friends, and one of them seems to be bribed by someone. We only need to find out which one it is now. He claims that one of them acts like she is interested in you, which he found a bit suspicious since she never interacted with you.” That sounded annoying enough to be one of Camille's plots.
Cedar almost sighed and rested his chin on his palm as he spoke with sarcasm in his voice. “That sounds fun. I'll look into it. There shouldn't be an issue if I go see him right after we are done, right?”
Theodore glanced at the clock before looking back at the prince. “I would suggest waiting a bit longer. They are probably in the middle of their break, so I'd understand if he got annoyed if you came now.”
That meant that Cedar indeed had to delay his visit and pass his time differently. He couldn't see his lover though. Lucille was currently with the empress. If he entered that room, Blanche would trap him in a conversation and make him hold Aurora for at least an hour. He didn't have that much time if he wanted to talk to Harris as soon as possible. “I see. Then I will sit here and bother you for five more minutes.” He took another cookie off the tray and made sure to pick one that wasn't a poppy-seed one nor one of the sweeter ones he would favor. “That gives us time to address a topic that confused me for a while already.” He leaned his chin onto his palm and watched his brother carefully.
Theodore didn't get defensive. He just leaned against his backrest and met the other's gaze. “Tell me then. I will gladly listen and answer your questions.”
Cedar was pretty sure that he wouldn't receive a direct response. But he still addressed it in hopes of the reaction helping him. “You know, ever since I came out of confinement, you have been odd. You are planning with many more hidden intentions than most people around you know. You are doing well crushing Mother's enemies, but I noticed something. You always keep your guard up so that your family can never be harmed, but there is one topic that you seem to treat a bit more carelessly. That doesn't match your normal personality. That's why I would guess that you are doing that on purpose.” He stopped here and waited for a reaction.
Theodore's expression was serious, so it seemed like the prince was onto something. “And what topic would you be referring to?”
Cedar smiled at him while addressing him. “Mother. I feel like you may have another reason to keep Mother close to us and alive. Normally, you would never have considered allowing her to live here. Letting her attend events and host her own banquet is strange too. I would almost guess that you purposefully gave her the chance to attack us for some reason as well. Maybe to let her feel like she is in control. Or maybe because you really have another reason you don't want to tell me directly.”
Theodore was silent. That was enough of a response. The emperor paused for a minute or so before he finally spoke. “You always notice it when people hide something. But I do too. We need to talk about that at some point. And about the other part. About...you know. The details of you coming here.” Of course.
Cedar had guessed that a while ago. One thing hadn't matched up when he had arrived here, and when he had broken off the contact with his mother for real, that had been even more obvious. He wasn't stupid, and the same held true for Theodore. So, there was no reason to address that. Cedar bit into his cookie and took his time eating it before he replied. “You mean the details you know already? I'm not hiding anything anymore. But you should know that. If we both know, there is no need to talk about it, right?”
Theodore let out a low sigh as he crossed his arms. “Not really. Just because we both know, that doesn't mean we should ignore that topic. But we can discuss that later. When this is over. Just a few more months, and we will get rid of that horrible woman.”
Cedar would feel a little relieved if he didn't believe that his brother was dragging this out unnecessarily. “Hurry up then. The sooner this is over, the sooner we can live without expecting assassins to kill us every second. It will be oddly calm when that happens, won't it?” He would be oddly relieved if he knew that his mother was dead. That was the worst part.
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He didn't just see this logically. He seriously hoped that Camille would disappear so that she couldn't try to lure him in again. Because no matter how many defenses he put up, Cedar was still scared of her getting into his head again. He had been her tool for two decades. Now he had finally been freed and found someone he wanted to live with. And that woman was in danger because of his mother. Of course, he hoped for Camille to finally leave so that he could finally push his past out of his mind and work on his problems. So that he could finally receive and give real affection. So that he would be able to talk to his brother without worrying about his mother using them against each other. So that he could tell Lucille that he loved her at some point.
Theodore just gave his brother a soft smile. “It will be over this year. Don't worry. We will be the winners.”
Cedar could only hope that. He didn't want to end up being knocked out after a failed battle again like during the revolt.
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Cedar didn't have to get involved in the matter of the traitors much, not when Harris had seemingly had everything under control. The prince had merely allowed himself to add some pressure by making some vague statements toward the suspects. In the end, two of the three maids had seemingly failed Harris' test.
They had both sold information to Camille without truly believing that it would help her, merely thinking about their own gain without any vile intentions. That Camille had merely picked two red-haired women did annoy Cedar a bit though. It was like his foolish mother thought that it would be enough for a lady to resemble Lucille in hair color for him to change his mind.
Nonsense.
Theodore found a way to resolve the situation with the servants in just two days. Apparently, both traitors had been rather chatty. They had been happy to admit what they had done, how they had been paid and what they had told Camille. Of course, all of their conversations had happened through external messengers, which they had met while visiting the city. All in all, it seemed like they hadn't given away important information. Thus, the maids would continue to work in the palace. They would try to gain more insights about Camille's plans while acting like they were working for her.
Cedar wasn't sure whether those maids would stay after this was resolved, but he left that choice to his brother.
Other topics, including the banquet his mother planned, troubled him a bit more. That could wait though.
Something else couldn't.
Surely, Cedar had been the one writing the contract for the trade with Southern Ocrea, but he hadn't expected that he would do anything more important than this. After all, a trade with one of Artias' most powerful supporters was something he could do in secret. Working on a contract that proposed an alliance between Southern Ocrea, Artias and Northern Ocrea was something completely different.
Cedar had listened to the reason why this alliance was important twice now, and still, he hadn't received his answer. “Yes, Theodore. I know that making our allies end their cold war is crucial to maintaining peace among the whole continent. I know. But I don't know why I would be involved here. I can read through your texts once you have written them. I can help you research complicated matters and find traitors. I can also secretly take part in the discussions that would follow when allied rulers come here in a few years. But actually putting in my name as one of the most important witnesses is a bit problematic when you know what my role in this nation is. What made you think that the person who tried to assassinate the emperor and take over the throne through a violent revolt should be a prominent figure during a diplomatic discussion?”
Theodore made a rejecting motion with his hand. “When we are done with these negotiations, that matter will be long forgotten. The emperor trusts you, so no one else can complain. Aside from you losing on purpose, that revolt wasn't even supposed to kill me. Stop using that as a reason to avoid work. We both know that you are a good talker, so having you with us during those discussions will be crucial. Those two nations have huge problems with each other. We need you to chew off their ears until they forget their grudges.”
Cedar could probably do that if he had enough time to prepare, figure out what everyone's goals were and what kind of personalities they had. He would just need to watch them for a bit. Then he could possibly direct the conversation in a pleasant direction and win their trust. There was only one little issue. “Maybe that would have worked if they didn't know me as a lying traitor with vile intentions. The queen and king of Southern Ocrea are fine since they don't know me. But the prince of Northern Ocrea hates me. Thanks to your rather understandable warnings, he wouldn't even talk to me while he was here. Why would he suddenly allow me to discuss politics with him?”
Theodore was silent for a moment. “You have to admit that you acted pretty-”
Cedar cut him off there. “I don't want an excuse for why you did it, I know. I'm not trying to make you feel bad. But why would he believe me now?” He leaned back on his chair and crossed his arms. “Is he supposed to suddenly like me just because I smile at him? If he isn't stupid, he will remember your words from back then.”
Theodore pulled out his mysterious book, which no one was allowed to look at, from the drawer and checked his notes again. “Well... I mainly told him that you are similar to his sister. I should revise that statement. You wouldn't wage war just because you could gain a few territories.” He read through the things there twice before he looked up again. “I'm the one who warned him, so it should be all alright if I revoke those statements. And to be honest, Prince Linden is basically indebted to me. I saved his father from certain death because I gave him the necessary medicine. Their king had Father's illness, so you can imagine that it would have gotten rather bad otherwise. He will listen to me if I propose this alliance. He even agreed to join when I asked him for a favor. If we move slowly, it will work.”
Cedar froze when he heard that comment about their father's illness. There wasn't a cure for that. Most likely, Theodore had meant to say that it was a similar sickness, which could be cured. Cedar chose not to point that out and focused on the topic at hand again. He suspected that his brother had some ideas that would help all three nations that would be included in that alliance. It would be foolish for either participant to disagree. And yet, there was another issue. “What do you expect us to do when that time comes? Should we travel to Northern Ocrea? Because you surely won't let their future queen come here, right?”
Theodore's expression immediately became more resentful than it had been during the whole conversation. Apparently, he still hated his ex-wife. “Exactly. That woman will never take a single step into Artias. I will send knights to kill her if she tries that.” He almost acted like he hated the former empress as much as he hated Camille. That was surprising. And it was also a bit scary.
Cedar had never really liked the former empress. He hadn't been able to put his finger on it, but something about her had bothered him a lot. So, he had been content when she had been sent away. But he had no idea what made his brother hate her with so much passion. He only knew that they couldn't risk Theodore losing his self-control because he despised that woman so much. “Calm down a bit. I understand if you don't want to see her, but that is too much. We don't want war with Ocrea, so don't try to kill her. Or if you have to do it, choose an indirect way. There are enough ways to do it secretly, so don't use our knights. And for now, it would be better to just leave her be. She will be a good queen, I think. You said that she has to deal with Linden's sister, whom you compared to me. I assume that woman is quite horrible.”
Theodore almost seemed to take that as a personal insult. “As I told you, that was stupid of me to say. I just said that to keep Linden from supporting you. You aren't anywhere close to that woman's level. You aren't throwing away a hundred thousand lives just because you can. So, don't compare yourself to her. We will make sure that she won't ever get close to the throne. That person I sent there should be enough to keep her in check for now. She should do that at least. That she is dealing with that is the only reason she is still alive.” His expression had become even grimmer than before.
Cedar watched that with slight worry while he drank his chocolate milk, which Leon had once again brought without being asked for it. Since when was Theodore so aggressive? Cedar wasn't used to seeing his brother like this except for when it came to Camille.
It seemed like the emperor snapped out of it a moment later. He shut his book and put it back into the drawer while his expression neutralized. “We were talking about the alliance. I want you to help me when the time comes. But for now, we will only begin to draft the outline of the alliance contract and slowly prepare. You will still have enough time to worry about that later. I won't invite guests until the end of this year when the dowager empress and her faction are nothing but dust.”
Cedar glanced at the clock to confirm that he was still on time before he replied. “Aren't they close to finished already? I heard what you did to some businesses. If I see it correctly, you annihilated almost all families from the list I gave you.”
Theodore rested his elbow on the table and leaned his chin on his hand. “I didn't crush all of them. Only about half. The others changed their minds before or shortly after the revolt. Some didn't need too much conviction before they joined my side. I just had to get rid of their debt for some, and they weren't dependent on the dowager empress anymore. That quickly made most run away from her. Every intelligent person found out that she will lose soon after all. You will see how much progress I made at her banquet in two days. Most of the seats will be empty. It won't take long anymore. I think I only need three months, and it's done.” That sounded good. Surely, he wouldn't be able to defeat all disloyal people in Artias, but he might be able to clean out the capital enough to get rid of the members of the prince's former faction.
Cedar scanned his brother's face and couldn't hold back the comment. “Are you finally going to be done with your secret goal by then too?”
Theodore looked to the side for a single second before he met his brother's gaze again. “I think we will have finished it quite well then. But as I said, we should talk about that when it's over. Is there anything else we need to discuss now?”
Cedar glanced at the clock again. He still had twenty minutes. He only needed five minutes to walk to the tailor even if he dragged it out. So, he could talk for a little while longer. “How is the investigation in the Peril estate going? Any news after the dead servant?”
Theodore half-hardheartedly sorted the documents in front of him while he replied. “As expected, Lady Peril is upset that that woman wanted her to take the fall. And as petty as she is, she made herself out to be the victim. She sticks to the story of trying to contact a mentally unstable person to help. But now, she gave up on trusting that person at least. Lady Peril handed over all of the letters she received from the dowager empress. You were right about the flower pots being some strange way to communicate with the outside world. Some letters mentioned what kind of order was a signal for her to do something. And we also have a more decisive clue too. We kept an eye on the corner in front of the house by the dowager empress' window. We really found some men going there to check the window. When they saw it, they immediately left again. I sent someone to follow them. Those assassins gave away their hideout, so they won't last much longer either.” None of that was surprising.
Jenna was fuming now. Camille had risked her death. Obviously, she wouldn't be too thrilled about that and might use some quite harsh methods to get herself out of harm's way. It would be interesting to see how long she would last.
Cedar smiled at his brother before drinking the rest of his milk. He pushed the cup away and replied with the same grin that Theodore had always hated. “When I look at your expression, I feel like you plan to do everything necessary to get rid of those people. It's almost laughable. You used to tell me that I am much too cruel, but now you act like being direct is the best option.”
Theodore shrugged. “Because it is. I might not have understood it in the past, but now I know. You can't try to reason with people that crossed a specific line. I have to make sure that they can't hurt anyone else around me, so I will have to get rid of them. And to be honest, your methods weren't that bad. You never slaughtered anyone in cold blood. You do have good ideas at times and just ensured that your staff would stay loyal. I used to say that being too cruel is bad, but being too lax is dangerous too.” That was another point in which Theodore had changed completely.
Cedar remembered how different their opinions on cruelty and kind guidance had been in the past. He had been sure that scaring your puppets once in a while secured their loyalty. Theodore had hated that, but now he seemed to consider that option too, at least when it came to some specific people. It really was strange. But Cedar wouldn't question it anymore. He was getting used to those rapid changes by now. He looked at the clock and decided that he would rather leave earlier instead of letting Lucille wait. “I will take my leave now. Lucille will be at the tailor's in a moment. I need to be there when she tries on her new dress.”
Theodore's lips formed a grin at that. “Of course, you do. You need to tell her how beautiful she is as soon as you see her. I hope that the two of you will have a nice afternoon.”
Cedar stood up and put the empty cup onto the tray again. “Thank you. I hope the same for you and your family. Don't over-exhaust yourself by cuddling with them the whole day.”
Theodore already seemed happy when he thought about that. “I will have to risk that. I miss them, even though I've only been here for an hour. Well.” He put aside his pen and stood up too. “Will you and Lucille come to visit later? You haven't been there for a few days.”
Cedar hadn't seen Aurora for exactly two days, and the royal couple already complained. Something was wrong with this family if they wanted him to visit their baby despite knowing how difficult their relationship was. Or at least how difficult their relationship had been. By now, Cedar didn't get annoyed upon seeing Theodore anymore. Talking to the other man wasn't anger-inducing anymore either. Maybe they were truly getting along a bit better. One couldn't demand too much, but it was a positive look-out for the future. After all, Cedar didn't begin arguing about his visit anymore either. “Sure. We will take a while thanks to Madame Charture's chattering, but after that, we should be free to come.”