Cedar shouldn't have trusted that telling his brother that they wanted to move into the new room would be fine. He had hoped that he would have his peace for a bit longer, but Theodore seemed to be overly motivated to have Cedar and Lucille move closer. Maybe the emperor wanted that because it would show that the couple would stay here longer, or maybe he was just in the mood to cause stress. In any case, telling him had caused him to immediately prepare everything.
The very next day, servants had begun to transport Lucille's and Cedar's things into the new room. At first, Cedar had been a bit annoyed since he hadn't been informed before, but in the end, he was fine with it. Mostly because he had been able to see how Lucille reacted to their new chambers. Apparently, someone from outside the palace was much more impressed than a prince, which was amusing to watch.
Lucille's mouth had hung open the entire time when she had entered first. She truly seemed to be impressed by the size of these chambers and was surprised that they now had a bedroom, a huge living room, a seating room, a small kitchen, two bathrooms and a huge dressing room. She didn't seem to believe it even after a while of looking around.
Cedar kept his eyes on her most of the time. He had known what the chambers would look like since he might have entered them as a child a few times whenever he had needed to slip away into silence for a moment. Surely, going into the unused rooms that were meant for members of the royal family had been forbidden, but he hadn't cared. No one had dared to enter those chambers, so they had been a good place to calm down after he had needed to keep himself from losing his temper.
But he could have sworn that the interior hadn't been as luxurious back then. Maybe Theodore really liked overdoing it when he wanted to show that his guests were welcome here. Cedar didn't care much and would just remind his brother that it had been unnecessary.
Lucille, however, was certainly impressed. Every room made her stop in awe, even the smaller ones. In the end, she barely made it to the last room because she was tempted to inspect all the decorations that stood around.
Cedar watched her do that for at least an hour and couldn't help but think that she was cute over and over again. He was overjoyed to finally have her back. He probably didn't deserve that she already hugged him so warmly again after their fight, but for once, he wouldn't complain. After all, he would question himself enough when it came to the possible, and thanks to Lucille's will, Cedar's lacking self-control and the royal couple's support, very likely, engagement. He could worry about that later.
Lucille seemed like she was somewhat helpless while she turned to scan the dressing room. She was slightly overwhelmed by the many wardrobes and dressers as she spun around. Apparently, she wasn't sure how to store her things here without losing sight of them.
Cedar admired how adorable she was for a while before he chose to speak up. “You can just let the servants decide where to put everything. You will find everything after a short while. There aren't too many drawers, and if they properly sort everything, you can get used to it quickly.” After all, most drawers were prepared to hold specific kinds of jewelry, and the staff would know what those had been meant for.
Lucille nodded, but she didn't seem convinced yet. She met her lover's gaze and came toward him while still skeptically glancing to the side. “I guess so. But all of this is rather...grand.” The emperor's room was much bigger, and she had seen that too, so she exaggerated a little.
Cedar shrugged. “Possibly. But Theodore held back with the decorations. Surely, it's rather...” Excessive. “Fancy for my taste, but he did his best to please us. And we were lucky enough to receive this room. I'm thankful that he didn't give us the empress' chambers.” He connected too many bad memories about visiting his mother with those. “Taking a room that has been unused for the past few decades is much more pleasant.”
Lucille nodded again. She looked around once more before returning her attention to her lover. “Then we only have to look at the bathroom, right? Is that unusually big as well?” Definitely.
Cedar wouldn't spoil the surprise though. “Let us take a look at it. If there is something impressive there, it will have to be the bathtub. I am interested in seeing whether Theodore had someone exchange the old one.” His brother probably had. But Cedar acted like he couldn't guess how big the bathtub would be now and approached that room. He waited for Lucille before entering the bathroom while keeping an eye on her face.
As expected, Lucille looked like she was shocked again. She blinked at the luxurious interior and quickly came to a conclusion. “This is completely exaggerated. That bathtub is way too big for one person. You will need a dozen buckets to fill that up.” Most likely, one would need many more than that.
Cedar scanned his lover and then the bathtub. He considered informing her that there was a smaller one in a corner of the room, which most likely had been put there because Theodore knew that his brother wanted to hurry when it came to bathing after training. But he decided against that and chose to use her words for something else. He moved slowly without making any noise and was careful not to alert his lover as he stopped behind her. Then he slowly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him.
Lucille flinched in surprise but quickly relaxed and leaned against him. Just this much was already wonderful, but knowing that she was so trusting and let him stand where she couldn't see him made it much more pleasing.
Cedar would shamelessly use that to his advantage. He couldn't help but grin when he noticed how Lucille tensed for a moment when he whispered into her ear. “It may be a bit too big for one person. But isn't there a good amount of space for two people? We could take a bath together at some point. Just so that the bathtub is used properly.” He pressed a kiss onto her ear and fully expected her to tell him how he shouldn't even dare to joke about this before their marriage.
But Lucille surprised him once again. She froze in place, but she didn't push him away. She was silent for a moment before she whispered back to him in a weak voice. “Alright.” That shouldn't have been her response. Was she toying with him now?
Cedar was pretty sure that she would be able to see that this comment had made him flustered if she happened to catch a glimpse of his face. So, he wouldn't let her turn around. He held her in his arms and slowly brought his face closer to the backside of her head. He pressed a small kiss onto her neck, which made Lucille freeze completely. But after a moment, she leaned her head to the side.
Cedar saw that as an invitation. He allowed himself to take the teasing a bit farther today. He grinned while he slowly let his lips wander across her neck and occasionally stopped to kiss her. He did that for a while and noticed how his lover slowly relaxed a bit again. Of course, he couldn't be sure, but it felt like she might like this.
After all, Lucille hadn't complained or said anything ever since he had started. Instead, she just shivered when he reached a more sensitive spot. That reaction was addicting. So, Cedar would continue until she complained.
For the next minute or so, his lips ghosted over Lucille's skin while he did his best to pick up on any signs that she wanted him to stop. She didn't give off that feeling though. As long as he didn't hurt her, it should be fine to try something new. He was as careful as he could while daring to nibble at her skin for a moment.
Lucille jolted and let out a small mewl, which immediately made him stop, but the damage had already been done. She probably had no idea how adorable her reaction had been. Even now, she didn't pull away and merely covered her mouth with one hand.
Now Cedar was tempted to make her turn around. He hoped that she wouldn't notice that his ears had to be rather red by now and just assumed that her own embarrassment would keep her from paying attention to that. He loosened his hold on her and gently directed her shoulders in the right direction. He was slow while he tried to coax her into showing him her face.
Lucille weakly protested at first, but of course, persistence won. She turned around to him and averted her eyes to avoid his gaze. Once again, she was so red that her skin could blend in with her hair. That alone was enough to make him feel embarrassed too.
Cedar would have liked to tease her a bit, but he might just betray his own feelings with that if he opened his mouth. Still, he tried it, but he didn't finish.
Lucille dove toward him and hugged him tightly while pressing her face against him. Apparently, she liked covering up her face like this. She had been rather desperate about hiding her bashfulness this time.
Cedar had to admit that this helped him now too. A grin formed on his lips as he kept one arm wrapped around his lover. He began playing with her hair with the other hand. She seemed to enjoy that and relaxed more and more in his arm, which would have given him a chance to tease her again. He wasn't necessarily sure whether he could push it farther today though. So, he let it be and just stayed within the realms of what they had done already. He hugged her and pressed kisses onto her head. They stayed like this for a while until he slowly began to worry. “Is everything alright? Was that unpleasant?”
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Lucille quickly shook her head as much as she could while being pressed against him. She refused to look up, but at least she talked again despite her voice sounding rather weak. “No, I'm fine. It's just...I was a bit too...” She couldn't even find the words to describe it. “It was fine.”
Cedar almost laughed at that. He grinned down at his lover even if she couldn't see him. He continued to stroke over her head and only spoke up after a moment of silence. “Our room will be rather nice once we fully moved in. The staff still needs to add your items, and then it will have some sort of personal touch. I look forward to that.”
“I do too. But I don't have that much left to bring here.”
“We don't need much either. Have you seen the many decorations? There is more than enough. We only need to put up things you like.” Cedar paused for a moment when he paid attention to his own words. Maybe it would be good to buy some decorations Lucille liked. He wasn't sure what she would favor, but if he managed to find something he could surprise her with that. “Say, do you have some kind of wish?”
Lucille stayed silent for a moment before she replied. “Not really. Blanche asked me already too, but...” Somehow, it wasn't surprising that the empress had already planned on gifting her lady-in-waiting something.
It was just a shame that Cedar would be faster. “What did you tell her?”
Lucille turned her head slightly so that she pressed the side of her face against him and could speak without uttering everything into her lover's chest. “I didn't say anything. I just said that I didn't want to have a ball when she offered one. It's kind that Blanche wanted to have a party for my birthday, but that might be a bit...odd. Since I am not a member of the royal family, celebrating in the palace's ballroom is unacceptable.”
She had lived here for nine months. Thinking about that party now wouldn't change much about the fact that Lucille had obviously been in the palace for a while and kept on visiting events with the prince. Most people assumed that she would marry Cedar by now. If that kept people from approaching Lucille, the prince wouldn't even care. Right now, his issue was something else entirely though.
Cedar had realized that they were at the end of the first third of spring already. He was a moron for forgetting this just because of his mother's stupid trial. He could swear that an important date came closer, and that Blanche had already planned something proved that he was right. “For your birthday, you mean. It's the thirtieth, right? Isn't it only in a few days?” He remembered this date, but as always, he was as paranoid about being mistaken. Thankfully, he seemed to have been right.
Lucille quickly affirmed that. “Yes. It's the thirtieth of spring.” That was in five days.
So, the couple had made up just in time for Cedar to celebrate with his lover. But he wouldn't admit it to her when he needed to do this behind her back. He would need to do something to grant her the most beautiful birthday anyone had ever seen. “I will remember that.” He needed to get a wonderful gift for her too. In just five days, it would be hard to find something fitting, but it had to be good. After all, this was the first time that he gave Lucille a present on her birthday. It would have to be perfect.
Cedar was already planning out everything inside his mind, but he didn't voice a single thing. He just kept grinning and coaxed his lover into slowly showing her reddened face again. A single comment about her sounding cute would probably make her hide herself again, so he held back.
In the end, Cedar had to hold back for the rest of the conversation. He did his best not to scare Lucille off again, and it worked. He managed to have a conversation with his lover without bringing up what was on his mind. He talked to her about some random things, but he didn't truly focus all of his attention on that. In reality, he was constantly thinking about whether he would be able to do what he had planned in just five days. He was confident.
He would need to prepare something special for Lucille, but he had experience. He had planned successful birthday parties for a whimsical woman with hysteria and few kind moments. Lucille would be much more keen on thanking him for his efforts at least once. Maybe he could get some help as well. Surely, Blanche and Theodore would be willing to support him.
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Cedar stuck to that plan and planned on addressing the topic as soon as he arrived at the office that day. But when he entered the office and made eye contact with Theodore, something else came up. He paused for a moment and waited for his brother to speak up, but silence followed.
It took a few seconds before Theodore finally opened his mouth. “You really are insistent on following that rank order even in private. You don't have to do that when we are alone. You can speak first, and I wouldn't complain.”
Cedar would rather be safe than sorry. He didn't want anyone to accuse him of being disrespectful in the emperor's presence. “I can go without that. Good day, Theodore. Is Leonard not here?”
Theodore rustled around with his documents and put them into a folder before moving it away as he replied. “He is training for once. He normally does that at night, but apparently, some guard said that he couldn't fight, and now Leon will make that poor, unknowing man fall to the floor quite a few times.”
Cedar had little sympathy for such stupid guards, so he could only voice an unsympathetic comment while approaching the desk. “He deserves it. You should never underestimate your enemy. Your guards really need to work on guessing whether their opponents are stronger. I'm not as tall and broad as them, and that alone made ten of the twelve royal guards I defeated while I was on the run think that they could win easily. I proved them otherwise, and I am sure that Leon will remind that man to be careful too.”
Theodore looked up at his brother and showed him a little smile. “I will kindly remind them of that. But I presume that they understood when you keep winning whenever they ask you for a duel. Some of the young guards really admire you by now and are disappointed that you rarely agree to train with them.” That was rather stupid of them, but Theodore seemed like he was content. He continued without waiting for a response. “But I know that you are already being nice if you even agree to a single duel when none of them can match you. Thank you for humoring them a bit. But that wasn't what you came here for.” He looked like he wanted to add something.
This time, Cedar was quicker though. “I think we should discuss why you looked so murderous just now first. Is something bothersome going on?”
Theodore replied after a short pause. “You don't have to concern yourself with that.” That only made it sound like Cedar would have to get involved. Most likely, it was about Camille then.
Cedar held back a sigh and plopped down on the chair in front of the desk. “What did Mother do? She is in a horrible mood, isn't she?”
Theodore didn't deny it. He leaned against the backrest of his chair and almost looked like he was rather annoyed, but the cold glint in his eyes made it clear that it was a bit more serious. “Yes. Of course. I made the mistake of letting her return to her mansion already. She has one fit after the other, mainly because you finally were honest with her. She can't accept the fact that her beloved son might not have been as happy with her as she believed you to be. Thus, she keeps crying and yelling at random intervals each day. Sometimes, even the slightest mistake of a servant can cause some serious trouble if she decides to make a big deal out of it. And she complains about nonexistent issues, like people looking at her for a second too long. I don't care about why she snapped the last few times. Either way, she lost her composure and hurt servants again. She isn't a member of the royal family anymore, so this is a crime, and she already was put into a cell for another night because she didn't calm down. And...some servants might have had enough too. One pushed her down the stairs because she tried to grab them by their hair again.”
Cedar would be lying if he said that he was surprised. He could understand that sentiment well. If he hadn't been so attached to his mother, he would certainly have lost his mind in her presence already. “That is her problem if she attacks the staff. We will not get involved for now. But do ensure that she doesn't hurt anyone else. Now the guards don't have to fear attacking her anymore, so it should be fine.”
Theodore groaned quietly and let his head fall forward. He covered his face with his hands and complained. “Normally. But for some reason, they can't deal with that frail woman. Maybe because she keeps yelling that you will become emperor and get revenge if they touch her. She swore to remember their names and wants to send you a letter with them at some point. Since you ruling the nation is a valid option in an emergency, they may be a bit intimidated.”
Cedar acted like he hadn't heard the last sentence. There was no way that his brother would trust him enough to act as a substitute if Theodore and his wife were unable to deal with their duties. So, he focused on the rest. “Well, I won't be upset with them. I broke her arm, so I doubt that they can do worse. Even if I did rule, which I won't, I wouldn't punish them. As they may have noticed, I'm not close to Mother anymore.”
Theodore lifted his head again and looked at his brother with pure annoyance. “Right? They should have gotten it by now, but they are still awfully slow to understand. Well.” He took a deep breath and then smiled a little. “You didn't come here to talk about that though, right? What did you want to tell me?”
Cedar smiled back and replied in a cheerful tone. “I came here to work, Theodore. Some all-mighty emperor, who happens to be my older brother, forced me to help him with some documents. Thus, I am here to keep him from beheading me. So, I will do that now that I have permission again. But there is indeed something I would like to talk about.”
Theodore had gotten a bit too serious while listening, so he ignored the last sentence. “I wouldn't think about punishing you just because-”
“I know. That was a joke. You don't have to focus on that so much. I just wanted to remind you that I am still skeptical when it comes to involving a traitor in politics. But that doesn't matter now. I wanted to address something regarding Lucille's birthday next week. I have some plans.”
Theodore's grin returned at that. “Of course, you do.” He sounded a bit too amused about this.
Cedar immediately became skeptical. “What's with that expression?”
“Everyone knows that you are a genius at event planning. And not only that. You are a perfectionist. You were the one who had to deal with everything when the former dowager empress was too lazy to do anything. I remember you organizing the annual tea party for the noble ladies when you were thirteen or so.”
Cedar wasn't sure why his brother brought that up, but he played along. That time had annoyed him a lot, so he remembered well. “Those are bad memories. During that time, Father's sickness got worse, and Mother used that as a reason to do nothing but sit around and whine. At that point in time, I might as well have called myself the empress because I took care of most of her tasks.”
Theodore let out a chuckle. “You certainly would have been a better empress than she was. But thankfully, you didn't need to make do with that title. You can help our nation without pretending to be the empress.” It was odd to see him so relaxed. And seeing him laughing and joking with his brother when they had hated each other was strange too.
Cedar wouldn't admit that, but it might be nice to do this once in a while. Of course, he was only here to plan Lucille's birthday, but he might as well joke around a bit when he was already sitting here. Getting along with the emperor could never be a disadvantage.