After Camille was dragged away, it took some time before her yells faded in the corridor. Apparently, the guards were rather harsh with her, but no one seemed to be bothered by that. In fact, many just seemed happy that she was finally outside the room. When the door closed behind her, the guests relaxed a bit.

Theodore cleared his throat. “It seems like this was it. I hope that this trial didn't dampen your spirits. Thank you for your attention. Of course, this punishment will not be the only one she will receive. So, please be patient for a bit. You have permission to leave now. Lord Valerian, would you please stay here for a moment longer?”

The guests all just nodded before slowly standing up.

Lucille stayed seated, much like Cedar did. She was glad that this was over now. She didn't have the energy to listen to long arguments anymore, at least not when Camille was involved.

Cedar next to her had to be relieved too, even though he was obviously in a horrible mood. He really hadn't been happy about being asked whether he would betray Camille, but he was smiling as if nothing had happened and relaxed now. That didn't make up for how he had tried to keep himself from speaking as much as possible during the trial though. That was because he hadn't wanted to interact with his mother, much like he hadn't wanted to gaze at Camille's arm. He probably still felt guilty. Because of what had happened and because he might end up convicting his mother during the next trial.

Lucille couldn't change that. But she could hug him in a moment. She just had to wait until everyone left.

A few seconds passed, and each of the guests came toward them to bid them farewell. Then they walked out of the door.

Theodore just said goodbye to each person while Blanche was already sitting on his lap again and said some nice words too. Both of them were still angry at Camille, and especially the empress was openly fuming. That kept most guests from saying more than they had to before leaving.

Merely one person couldn't read the mood.

Lady Peril didn't move to the door nor did she approach the royal couple. Instead, she immediately came to the prince, which shouldn't have been surprising. She put on that awful fake expression of concern while she curtsied.

Cedar seemed like he considered ignoring her for a moment, but then he lifted his head. He showed Jenna a blinding smile, which just told Lucille that he would like to send that woman away. “I wish you a wonderful day, Lady Peril. We thank you for being a witness to this trial. I hope that my mother's antics did not irritate you too much. Is there something you wish to inquire?”

Jenna still didn't let go of her facade of being a worried woman who wished to help. She slowly raised her head and gazed at Cedar with a slight frown. “May you have a nice day too, Your Royal Highness. I will join any trial if I can prove that His Majesty's decisions are justified like this. While I agree that Her Majesty, the dowager empress might have been a bit beside herself, I would never dare to point that out. I merely wished to ask how you were doing. It was a terrible shock to hear about that incident. And I am sorry that you needed to use such drastic measures. It must have upset you quite a bit.” She turned her head to Lucille. “For you too, Lady Valerian. I sincerely hope that you have not been injured.” She hadn't said anything bad at all. If any other person had said this, one would thank them and be grateful for so much compassion.

But Lucille could barely bring herself to refrain from grimacing. She didn't want to greet Jenna and only did it because she was currently too exhausted to ignore such an obnoxious person. “Good day, Lady Peril. I am fine. Thank you very much for your concern. Due to Cedar's quick reaction, nothing bad happened.” She didn't have more to say, and she didn't want to talk to Jenna longer. But in the end, it seemed like being silent wouldn't help.

Lady Peril immediately began talking again. “Thankfully. But that doesn't mean that you will forget that event so quickly. I mean, the dowager empress of Artias suddenly attacked you with a dagger. That had to have been disturbing. And I do not even want to imagine how His Royal Highness must feel.” She focused her attention on the prince again. “I would like to offer my help if you require it. I can assist in any future trial that mi-”

Blanche's voice sounded from behind Lucille. “Lady Peril. I do not wish to interrupt you, but we unfortunately have to deal with some family business now. I must ask you to leave. Please excuse this short goodbye.”

Jenna immediately met the empress' gaze. “I understand, Your Majesty. I sincerely apologize for disturbing you. I will take my leave now.” She made another perfect curtsy before making eye contact with the prince. “I wish you a pleasant afternoon, Your Royal Highness. Goodbye, Lady Valerian.” She looked at Lucille and showed her a weak smile before she straightened her posture and prepared to leave. She bid farewell to the royal couple too before exiting the room.

Leonard closed the door behind her with a bit too much force. He didn't seem to care and quickly returned to the center of the room. “Maybe it would be good if we sat down on the sofa for this. I will prepare some coffee for you.”

Raymond spoke up quickly. “I do not need anything to drink. Thank you for the offer, Lord Astame.” He glanced at the emperor. “I would rather like to hear what this is about directly. I presume the topic is important.”

Theodore still sat at his desk. He seemed like he had barely listened to what the other man had said. He was focused on his wife, who sat on his lap and slouched against him while looking rather upset.

Blanche had a deep frown on her features and complained while seemingly having forgotten about the guests. “Whenever I wanted to open my mouth, I felt the need to insult that woman. I think I would have overdone it if I hadn't held back. That woman is truly disgusting. I just want to send her to the cellar so that we can make her meet some interesting people. How about we allow Leon to-”

Cedar spoke up there. “Your Majesty.”

It seemed like that made Blanche wake up. She abruptly sat up and narrowed her eyes at the prince. “No title, please.” She took a moment before she realized that Viscount Valerian was here too. Then she jumped up and quickly became a bit more serious again. “I apologize for that. Now you have our full attention.”

Theodore still looked rather upset despite his wife's words. He glared into the distance for a moment before he stood up. “Let us sit down.” He gestured to the two sofas in the seating area and walked there without waiting for a response. He and his wife sat down on one of them.

Lucille didn't think much about it when she rose to her feet and led her lover to the other sofa. She took a seat without letting go of his hand. Cedar hesitated for a moment before he plopped down next to her. Lucille only noticed that she had forced her father to sit alone on the armchair next to them with that now.

But Raymond didn't complain. He merely scanned the couple's interlocked fingers with skepticism before he focused on the emperor. “Since you wished for me to stay here alone, I presume that you want to say something that isn't supposed to be heard by others. It must be rather important then, Your Majesty.”

Theodore allowed his wife to lean against them while they made themselves comfortable. “It is. I wished to inform you of my plans so that you aren't confused because of my actions. I hope that you aren't too upset with the result. I will make sure that that woman suffers in the future. The only reason I didn't penalize her more harshly was because I knew that she would be punished enough in just a few weeks. I want to show the public that she had multiple chances to stop so that no one will develop pity.”

Blanche added something before her husband could finish. “You can rest assured that the remaining punishments will be much more painful for her. So, you do not need to worry about her getting away with trying to hurt Lucille. We will make her regret it.”

Lucille didn't doubt that. She was well aware of how much the royal couple hated Camille. She despised that woman with an equal amount of fury, so she would be happy when they finalized their plans.

Raymond didn't seem to be very upset about those plans either. “I trust that you will take care of that, Your Majesty. Please take your time and be thorough. This punishment certainly hurt her already, but more can be done. I do not wish for a person who attacked our estate and is to blame for the death of countless innocent people to be treated kindly. I am sure that you feel similarly though.”

Theodore nodded. “Indeed. That is why I believe that I can inform you about this too. At the moment, we are preparing for her end. I got rid of everyone that can do damage to us. Now only the last small fish will need to be found. That won't be too hard. I merely need time. And I need the dowager empress to try to use her secret funds and the people she trusts most. To get her to do that, we need to increase the pressure on her a bit. Mental pressure. That means provoking her. And I believe that I found the easiest way to do so.” He glanced toward the couple on the couch across from him.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Something in his gaze made Lucille believe that her father wouldn't like what followed. Her stomach tingled a bit as nervousness rose inside her.

Raymond narrowed his eyes and just waited for the emperor to continue.

Theodore did him the favor. “I am aware that this may be sudden for you, but all of us are used to the dowager empress' outbreaks. And what provokes her most at the moment is the fact that Cedar cares for someone else much more than he cares for her. There is a rather easy way to do it. A way that would also protect Lucille a bit and keep her from harm in the future. But that is also a serious decision, so we can't demand that of you. In case both Cedar and Lucille agree, you, Lord Valerian, would have to give your permission too.”

Raymond wasn't happy about that. He still sat there with his head held up high, but his expression had gotten rather cold. “Since you keep addressing my daughter by her first name, I guess that means that you assume her to be a part of the family to some extent. Is that what this is about?”

Lucille's stomach still churned, and this time, it was much worse than before. This topic seemed to upset her father. Her own opinion didn't matter much when he got angry. She glanced at Raymond a few times before meeting the emperor's gaze.

Blanche continued for her husband though. “As you heard just now, the dowager empress feels very comfortable hurting Lucille because she insists it isn't treason. Being a member of the royal family could protect her.”

Theodore spoke in a gentle voice while he resumed, as if he wanted to keep the people around him from getting angry, but he mainly looked at his brother. “Indeed. It will make it much easier to punish any offense directed at Lucille and give her more protection even against high-ranking enemies. That is why-”

Cedar cut his brother off with a bright smile on his face. “Please do be more careful with such comments. That isn't necessary at all, Theodore. Our reasoning today was more than enough to win. And we got over this incident, right? You already voiced a punishment, so there is no reason for you to do anything but focus on that next trial. We need to analyze the past then and not just deal out some petty provocations.”

Theodore quickly replied. “It's not just a petty provocation.”

Cedar still beamed while he responded. “It is. You only want to see Mother's face when she hears about that. Normally, I would do you the favor if it makes you happy, but this isn't just a game. This will influence our future, even if it's just some little joke to you.”

Theodore almost seemed a bit annoyed about that. “Cedar, I didn't say that it was a joke. I agree that we should have discussed this with you first, but I wanted to propose this to all of you. It is only a matter of time until you finally take care of that yourself. So, doing it a bit quicker to protect Lucille shouldn't be an issue. For now, please give it a serious thought. You personally do not mind, right?”

Lucille glanced from her lover to the emperor and the empress, but no one looked at her. A mix of uncertainty and panic rose in her as the true topic of this conversation dawned upon her.

Raymond furrowed his brows while he turned to the royal couple. “What is His Royal Highness referring to?” His voice had a warning edge to it.

Theodore made eye contact with his brother, and when no answer came, he spoke up while looking at Raymond. “Cedar understood what my intention was by saying this. Maybe it would have been better to discuss this in private with only the two of them, but I believe that you should hear it too, Lord Valerian. The reasons I mentioned, as well as the fact that the relationship between Lucille and Cedar is unambiguous by now, led me to think that this is a valid option. I am aware that both of them are young, but they know what they want. So, if they agree, we could think about a formal engagement.”

Lucille almost choked on the air in her lungs. An engagement? Was he serious about that? Surely, Cedar and Lucille were close, but the talk of an engagement was too sudden. If one signed such a contract with a member of royalty, it wasn't just a simple promise, but it would actually be binding.

Not that Lucille would have a problem with that, which she only realized now as she felt how the warmth rushed to her face and sat there in paralysis.

Raymond wasn't as perplexed as his daughter. He just narrowed his eyes and glared at the emperor. His voice was icy as he replied. “I presume that Your Majesty is well aware that matters like that aren't a joke.” Even though he hadn't done much, he was rather intimidating while saying that.

Theodore didn't care about that though. He remained completely calm while responding. “This is not a joke. As you may have noticed, these two have become rather attached to each other.” He gestured to Cedar and Lucille. “There is no reason not to allow them to stay together. An engagement would make sense. I won't push anyone to do anything. I will, however, bless their engagement if they decide to finalize it at some point.”

Raymond didn't look too happy with that reply.

Lucille still hadn't quite processed this. She just looked from one person to the other and opened her mouth. Nothing came out, so she took a second attempt before she managed to speak. “Are you...serious? You mean a real engagement?”

Cedar turned to her and replied, even though his brother had wanted to speak. “You don't need to worry about being forced into anything here. Theodore just spoke before thinking about it. That matter is nothing the emperor would have to concern himself with.” He was beaming and sounded rather happy, but that actually was a warning, which he only emphasized by glancing at his brother.

Theodore narrowed his eyes and responded. “Of course. I won't push this topic anymore. I just wanted you to consider the situation in the capital and the power this could give Lucille. If you consider getting engaged, you shouldn't push it into the distance. You and Lucille already said that you are considering it, and you told Lord Valerian too, right?” That wasn't wrong.

The couple had indeed discussed getting married in the future. But this felt sudden nonetheless

Lucille was confused. Maybe because this felt so unreal or maybe because she wasn't too averse when it came to this idea. For her, there only was Cedar. So, she would like to stay with him for longer, maybe for her whole life. But since she was only eighteen, deciding this now was difficult. She had already been blessed since arranged marriages were decided much more abruptly and way earlier, but she couldn't help it.

A few seconds passed in silence before Blanche spoke up. “We understand if this is rather sudden. This should also be a personal decision, so see it as an impulse, not a request or demand.” She focused her attention on Raymond while she spoke with the couple, as if she wanted to check what kind of reaction she would receive. “We do not have to give you a legally binding engagement contract already if you are uncomfortable with this. I could just hand you a paper that says that I am blessing your engagement. That should be enough to prove that you are together and give Lucille some formal support in the royal family.”

Lucille wasn't sure how that would be less binding. If the empress blessed someone's union, one basically couldn't break the engagement without upsetting her and rejecting her blessing. That was rather unfavorable for a viscount's daughter. Lucille doubted that Blanche would be really angry about that, and she didn't think that she would want to end her relationship with Cedar either, but still.

Her father seemed to think the same. He glared at the empress and spoke in a voice that sounded so cold that it could make people freeze. “How is that different, Your Majesty? Everyone is aware of what a blessing of the royal family means. Then you could just give them a royal decree already, and nothing would change.” A royal decree would force people to marry, which meant that Raymond really thought that this was some sort of order of the royal couple. “You know how nosy the people here are. Someone will find out and chat about it. If a rumor is spread in some way, and someone from outside finds out, Lucille will never be able to marry into a family in the capital. This means that she will effectively lose all options of choosing someone else. Are you aware of that?”

Blanche replied without skipping a beat. “Do you think that Lucille wants to marry into any of the other families here?” She sounded so serious that even her calm voice made everyone listen.

Raymond clenched his jaw, but he refused to say anything. He just glanced at his daughter.

Lucille considered answering. She didn't want to marry a man she didn't know and risk him being an awful person. And even if she did manage to find someone nice, she probably wouldn't fall in love with them. After all, she was enamored with Cedar. So, all of her thoughts when it came to romance revolved around him. She didn't want to choose anyone else. Maybe her expression also revealed that since her father didn't speak up.

At that point, Theodore chimed in again. “You probably noticed it too, Lord Valerian. Your daughter will not be happy being married off into a random noble family, whom she has no relation with. She fell in love with Cedar, and he loves her back. Do you really think that both of them would give that up for an arranged marriage without love? That would make no sense. You have no idea how stubborn Cedar is, so don't even think about that. I believe that there is no reason to keep them apart.” He glanced at his brother.

Cedar didn't say anything. That was unusual. He just sat there and held Lucille's hand in a tight grasp. He listened to the conversation with great care and scanned the expressions of everyone that spoke. It seemed like he truly had some worries regarding this topic.

Raymond remained silent for a moment before he leaned against the backrest of the sofa. He raised his hands and covered his face before staying like that for a few seconds. Then he lifted his gaze again. He looked like he was defeated. He seemed much more exhausted than he had before while he replied, and all of his anger appeared to have vanished. “I want my daughter to be happy. I am not questioning this because I am trying to forbid it. I am merely worried. His Royal Highness is young, and Lucille is even younger. I don't want her to get hurt because of some little romance in their inexperienced times. Once she married into the royal family, it would be hard for her to ever leave without ruining all chances of staying in the capital.”

Blanche, who was still leaning against her husband, quickly replied. “Do you think that they want to separate? You may know Lucille better than we do, so you can guess whether she would be the type of person to give up on something like this or whether she may not be a bit more attached. I can calm you when it comes to Cedar though. He will never treat someone he cares about badly. I'm pretty sure that he would lay down the world at her feet if she asked for it. He won't give up on her.”

Lucille hoped so. After all, she wouldn't like Cedar leaving her very much. She would actually be content with him holding onto her, maybe even forever. So, wasn't thinking about an engagement good? They didn't have to do it in the next few days, but one could plan for the following months. Nothing was stopping them as long as her rank wasn't a problem. They only needed her father's permission and, of course, Cedar's too. Lucille glanced at her lover while trying to read his expression.

Cedar wasn't happy about this discussion. His radiant smile revealed as much. But she didn't know why. Before, he had never expressed discomfort with marrying her. So, this might not be about their engagement specifically. He never liked it when others got involved in his matters, so maybe he was upset with his brother.

Or it was something else.

Lucille couldn't know it though. She would ask him a bit later when they were in private. There was no need to rush this, but she wanted his general opinion on this. Being his fiancée didn't sound too bad. She squeezed her lover's hand and felt how he carefully stroked over her skin.

Maybe Cedar wasn't too averse when it came to this either. He had never let go of her hand and still showed everyone that they were together after all.