Lucille had guessed that Cedar would be much too ambitious, and that assumption proved to be true quickly. He hadn't just woken her up and given her a cake. After breakfast, consisting of all her favorite dishes, he suddenly showed her another gift.
Cedar led her into the dressing room while explaining a bit. He kept his eyes on her the entire time as if he wanted to capture her reaction. “I asked Madame Charture to prepare something for you. She might not have finished in time, but some empress you know already ordered a dress first. So, you can have one today and one a bit later.” So, those were two gifts already.
Lucille considered complaining because she didn't need that much, but she didn't want to hurt her lover. She would accept what he offered anyway, so she might as well show him a bright smile from the very beginning. “Thank you so much. I will make sure to treasure it.”
“You didn't even see it yet. You don't know whether you will like it.” Cedar led her toward their destination and stopped behind a paravent so that she couldn't see what he wanted to give her yet.
Lucille quickly replied while ignoring the slight churning of her stomach. “If you give it to me, I will definitely like it. Even if you are only the one handing it over.” And her expectations for dresses were much less specific than the ones of a member of the royal family were. She hadn't seen even one ugly dress here, so she was quite confident that this one would be nice too.
Cedar chuckled at her response. He slowly pulled her to their destination. “Of course, you would say that. But in this case, it truly was the empress who wanted to gift this to you. She chose something nice though. It will fit you well. Are you ready?” He waited for her to nod before he led her around the paravent.
As they walked forward, they immediately found what the empress had gifted Lucille. The mannequin in front of them allowed her to see the full attire. It was just as expected. Of course, Blanche would pick a dress that was much more fancy than anything Lucille would normally go with.
This gown was a dark green with a lot of tulle. The neckpiece was connected with the top of the dress at the shoulders, from which a long veil fell. The area between the neckline and the neckpiece was free, and a necklace with an emerald directed the attention there. The veil hung down all the way to the end of the long dress, which made it seem light, as if it would float with even a little gust of wind.
Lucille glanced at her lover before looking at the dress and back at the prince again.
Cedar gave her a breathtaking smile as he watched her reaction. He gave her a moment before he spoke up. “You can't really wear it today since we'll just walk around a bit. But you could put it on for the next ball. Blanche said that she wanted to wear dresses that weren't in the royal color for once and that it would be good for all of us to do the same that day. So, she chose this. As you can hear, she already sees you as a part of the family. That's why she announced that she would give you a few items in the royal colors as well.”
Lucille still worried about being seen as insolent because of that. Surely, the emperor, the empress and the prince were fine with it, so there shouldn't be any issues. Yet, she wasn't completely sure whether she could truly wear a dress in the royal colors without being embarrassed the whole time. Maybe not yet. But she couldn't focus on that now. She needed to reply to her lover. “Well, Blanche proved that she thinks of me as...you know. She did give us a blessing for our...engagement, which...doesn't exist yet.”
Cedar patted her back once. “We have enough time. It's not like we are under pressure. Right?” Once again, he smiled at her, and he almost looked like he was glowing while he did that.
Lucille lost all desire to wait when he looked at her with so much love, but she would never say that.
Cedar didn't seem to notice that she was admiring him and focused on the dress again. “But we should deal with your gift first. Whether you will wear this during the next ball or choose my gift, which will arrive in a few days, doesn't matter. You have to try it on either way. Would you do me the favor? I would like to see you in this gorgeous gown.”
Lucille glanced at the dress again. She would change into this gown if Cedar wanted to see her wearing it. But she doubted that she would be able to put that on by herself. So, she could either ask a maid or Cedar for help. Even though both choices were embarrassing, she would rather have her lover so close instead of a stranger. If she put on a corset and her underskirt first at least. A small voice in her head told her that she probably wouldn't mind Cedar being so close as long as she could hide her embarrassment.
That made Lucille blush a little while she averted her eyes. There was no need to think about anything like that now. “I...can put it on. I just need...a bit of help.” She was so quiet while saying this that it was embarrassing. She refused to look at her lover.
Cedar would certainly tease her again. She barely needed to wait a moment before he leaned closer to her and whispered into her ear. “I will gladly help you with whatever you require. I am rather sure that you want me to step out for a moment so that you can put on a corset though. Or am I supposed to stay?”
Lucille tried to fight against the urge to tease him back. She knew that this would only end with her lover turning her into a blushing mess, but it was worth an attempt. She might be able to get back at him at some point. “Well...you can decide that. I wouldn't mind it either way.” She had been rather quiet, but of course, he heard her.
Cedar was silent for a moment, which she saw as her victory. A few seconds passed before he replied. “You have become quite daring. What would you do if I decided to be so stubborn that neither of us could back out anymore? That would be a difficult situation.” He moved his face closer to her neck and pressed a kiss onto the spot below her ear.
That was enough to make a pleasant shiver run down her spine. Lucille felt like agreeing wouldn't be too bad. Merely her embarrassment held her back, and yet, it didn't stop her completely. “You are my lover, aren't you? Then...I shouldn't need to hide anything from you.”
Cedar immediately gave her another kiss. This time, he allowed his lips to rest on her skin before he nibbled on her again without a warning.
She didn't jolt as much as last time and just allowed him to touch her while she leaned into him.
But he didn't continue as long as she would have liked him to. Cedar quickly lifted his head and let go of her to step aside. “I will give you some privacy for now. Just so that you can put on your underclothes. I will be back as soon as you call for me.” He smiled at her before he turned around and left the room.
Lucille wasn't sure whether she had imagined that, but she could swear that she had seen that his cheeks were a bit redder than before. Wasn't her lover's strategy to run away when he thought that he might lose his composure? Had she really managed to bring him to that point with just a few sentences? She wasn't sure, but for some reason, that made her proud. She still had little confidence and was red herself, so that didn't mean much, but it made her smile.
Cedar was adorable when he was like this. She loved how he teased her, only to be gentle and sweet the next moment. All in all, everything about him was wonderful, so she was ecstatic to be with him. She couldn't imagine having anyone else by her side today.
Lucille began to get dressed. She took a moment to fasten the corset, but she would simply make Cedar do the rest, so she didn't do it properly. Then she put on the underskirt, and she was done. Now that she would allow her lover to come in, she was a bit nervous again. But she forced herself to open the door anyway.
Cedar looked like nothing had happened. He smiled at her, but it felt like he purposefully kept his eyes away from her body and just stared at her face. “You were quite quick. Should I help you with the corset again?”
Lucille nodded and turned around to show him her back.
Her lover didn't need much time to tie the strings this time. And surprisingly, he was rather reliable when it came to putting the dress on as well. In the end, they were done much sooner than they would have been if she had tried it alone.
Lucille stared into the mirror for a moment and needed to admit that Blanche had an eye for beautiful attires. It was just that Lucille usually didn't want to stand out, so wearing this in public would take some convincing. But right now, she didn't care much for that. She turned to her lover and just looked at him.
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Cedar scanned her whole body and took his time. A few seconds passed in silence, and she already got tense. But then Cedar's gorgeous smile came back. He closed the remaining distance between them and grinned at her while speaking. “I knew that you look good in green, but each time that you appear in front of me, you exceed my expectations. Are you sure that a woman of your beauty is not actually some magical being from far away? You surely must not be human. Otherwise, it would not make sense for me to fall for you again each time I see you.” It seemed like he was prepared to pay her back for teasing him.
Lucille didn't mind this kind of revenge. She took the last step toward him and hugged her lover. “Thank you. If you think that...I'm pretty, that is all I need.” She wanted him to look at her, and being praised by him felt wonderful. Her heart always skipped a beat and reminded her that she was utterly in love with him.
Cedar wrapped his arms around her and allowed her to cuddle against him before he kissed her forehead. “Of course, I think that you are pretty. You are the most beautiful woman I ever met. Anyone who doesn't see that is plainly stupid.” He allowed her to relax in his hug for a moment longer before he took a step back to look at her. “You can have a little more self-confidence. You truly are a breathtaking sight. Especially if you smile at me like that. This dress only underlines your beauty. Do you want to show that to everyone outside as well, or do you want to change before we leave? I feel like this dress might look too good on you for you to take it off immediately. I could simply put on a formal attire as well, and then we'll match.”
Lucille would like to agree just to humor him, but she didn't want to dress up this lavishly on a normal day. She shook her head quickly. “I don't think that's a good idea. We can do that for the next ball.” She had indirectly said that she expected him to escort her again then. That wasn't far off from the truth, but she was still a bit embarrassed. She averted her eyes and suddenly felt very self-conscious. “I think I should change out of this.” She looked at the paravent to avoid making eye contact.
Cedar knew what she was doing. For once, he was nice. “Alright. I can help you if you need me again.”
She wanted to refute that first, but one look down at her dress reminded her that she did need help. “It would be nice of you to assist me. Just so that I won't wrinkle this dress.”
Her lover seemed to like that answer, or he just made fun of her again. He grinned at her as he stepped closer. “I see. Then I will support my beloved again. Please allow me to help.” As before, he was extremely careful while he took off her dress and put it back onto the mannequin. He almost did the same thing as before, and yet, it felt so much stranger.
Lucille could swear that her cheeks felt a little warm when Cedar removed her attire, even though they hadn't done anything weird. That only got worse when her lover kissed her neck again. She seemed to be rather sensitive when it came to things like that, and that made her even more bashful. That caused Cedar to tease her a bit more.
By the time they left the room, Lucille was completely red. That was unfavorable when she would need to face everyone in the hallways in a moment. But it got even worse than she had expected. As soon as the door opened, she saw two people in the corner of her eyes.
The royal couple sat on a sofa a few steps away from the room, and they both lifted their heads when they saw Lucille. Blanche immediately jumped up and almost tripped over Theodore. She kissed him as an apology before they walked over to the door.
Blanche was the one who spoke up first. “Happy birthday, Lucille. I hope that you are having a wonderful day. May your future be blessed with happiness, health and lots of love.” She glanced at Cedar to perfect her innuendo.
Theodore spoke directly after that. “I would like to wish you a happy birthday too. We all pray for a wonderful new year to come for you. May you be successful in all of your endeavors and reach happiness with the best person by your side.” He seemed to hint at his brother too.
Lucille didn't mind that much though. “Thank you very much. It is an honor to receive birthday wishes from both of you. I...hope that your next years will be great as well.” And of course, she hoped for her own happiness as well, preferably one that she could obtain at Cedar's side.
Blanche made a rejecting gesture with her hand. “You don't need to be like that. We aren't interacting with you because of your ranks but based on our friendship. We hope to spend some time with you today, but we won't bother you two lovebirds that much.” She turned to the prince. “Good day, Cedar. I hope that you are doing well today too. Say. Did you two already eat breakfast?”
Cedar looked like he wanted to bow his head, but the empress glared at him when he tried to do that. So, he let it be and replied normally. “Good day. I hope that your morning was just as joyful as mine, but given the nature of today's event, that should be obvious. And I have to admit that we did eat already. Did you wish to eat breakfast with us? I apologize for that. We never talked about it, so I believed that it would be fine for us to eat alone.”
Theodore smiled at the both of them while responding. “We did hope that we could join you. But it may be better for us not to do it. You need to have your time together without anyone watching. We will just disturb you for lunch, at least if your schedule allows that.”
Cedar nodded in return. “We have a lot of time so that nothing is going by too quickly. If Lucille is alright with it, you can join us. I will have enough time to give her some gifts before and after that.”
Lucille was a bit worried about the plural, but she didn't have the chance to speak.
Blanche already chimed in with a cheerful tone in her voice. “Right. Now that you mentioned gifts. We have some too, but we will do that later like we discussed.” She turned her head to Lucille. “For now, something else is important. Did you like the dress?”
It took a few seconds before Lucille remembered that the empress had gifted her that gown. She hurried to affirm that. “Ah, yes! I liked it a lot. It's gorgeous. Thank you for your effort. I will treasure it dearly.”
Blanche's grin widened. “Oh, my. I didn't put much effort into it. Our tailor was the one who made it, and Cedar was the person who insisted on choosing which kind of dress it would be, the color and the style and everything. He did much more than I did, but I thank you for the compliment. But, you know... If you liked the dress, you could have worn it too. I wanted to see you in it. I guess we will have to do that later though. We will need to greet someone now. He is already here, so we shouldn't take too long.”
Lucille didn't bother to argue about why she wouldn't wear a ball gown on a random day while walking around the palace. She focused on the last statement. Whom would they meet? She looked up at her lover with a questioning gaze.
Cedar smiled at her much too smugly to let her believe that he wasn't doing this on purpose. “I almost forgot. We need to go to the foyer to welcome a guest. Someone came just because of you, and we can't ignore them.” He lifted his hand and offered it to his lover. “Would you allow me to escort you to our destination, My Lady?”
Lucille quickly took his hand and joined her lover as they walked downstairs.
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When they reached the foyer, Lucille quickly found out who this mysterious visitor was. “Father?”
Raymond looked like he was much more uncertain than usual. He met Lucille's gaze with an expression that made him seem like he was more worried than relaxed, which wasn't typical for him even when he wasn't angry at the moment. He was carrying a mixed bouquet and held it forward when his daughter reached him. “Happy birthday, Lucille. May your nineteenth year be wonderful and bring you joy. I hope that you will receive all you wish for.”
It was short. Very short. And yet, it was much more than he had done for the past years.
Her father's usual words for her birthday were always just him wishing her a happy birthday or sometimes adding that she should continue to work hard for their family in the next year. This time, he had mentioned her happiness for the first time, and that wasn't even everything.
Raymond had never given her flowers. He never bought them in general. After all, he believed that things that withered away in a few days weren't worth much money. For Lucille's birthday, he had always gotten jewelry or dresses, which were objects that would last and could even be resold for a part of their value. Those had also been things she could use to dress up and represent their family when she attended an event. They had mostly been for the Valerian family's reputation and not for her sake. This year, Raymond seemed to have changed his mind though.
Lucille carefully received the flowers and looked at them for a moment. There were blue hyacinths, pink carnations and yellow roses, with the former ones being the most prominent. It was a beautiful bouquet. Lucille admired that for a moment before she lifted her head.
Raymond met her gaze, but his usual confidence was still nowhere to be seen. He waited for a moment and spoke when she didn't say anything. “Be careful with the thorns. The vendor said that they clipped them all off, but...” He stayed quiet after that.
Lucille glanced down at the flowers again. It truly looked like the roses' thorns had been cut off before she had received them. This made it even stranger. Since when was her father the type to pay attention to this? She wasn't sure, and she didn't care. As long as he was like this, she would be happy about it. For a moment, she felt a lump form in her throat before she lifted her head and smiled at her father while trying not to cry. “Thank you. I'm happy that you visited. I really didn't expect you to come here.”
She had spent some birthdays in the past all alone because her father had been on a business trip, and on other days, Raymond had just greeted her once in the morning to give her the gifts before leaving. Now he had actually sat in a carriage to travel to the palace just to see her. Her father acted like that wasn't special, but to her, it was.
Raymond averted his eyes while he replied. “It is your birthday. Of course, I would visit you. His Royal Highness invited me, but I would have come either way. I hope that I am not disturbing your plans.”
Lucille quickly shook her head. “No. We have a lot of time. It's nice that you are here. How about...” She couldn't offer him tea so early. She had just finished breakfast, so it should be around ten at most. But taking a walk would be boring, would it not? Thankfully, she didn't need to respond.
A few seconds of silence were enough to make Raymond remember that she wasn't the only person here. He glanced to the side and made eye contact with the emperor. He should have waited for him to speak first before greeting Theodore, Blanche and Cedar, but he had ignored all of that in favor of chatting with his daughter. Making such an error was unusual for a man like Raymond, who was focused on gaining the favor of influential people. He immediately bowed his head and tried to correct that now. “I sincerely apologize for disrespecting you, Your Majesty. I-”
Blanche cut him off with a dismissive motion of her hand. “It's fine, Lord Valerian. Lucille is your daughter. It's normal for you to focus on her first. Especially on her birthday. We wish you a wonderful day on this special occasion.”
This reaction wasn't unexpected for Blanche and Theodore. Lucille had already believed that this would happen. Her father was much more confused, but she couldn't quite focus on that fully. Her attention still rested on the bouquet in her arms, which she had pulled closer to her. It was like her heart was swelling with joy just because of this. That small gesture certainly shouldn't have made her this euphoric, but Lucille didn't mind. To her, this meant more than others might guess. She would treasure the flowers for as long as they hadn't wilted fully.