Cedar barely managed to give coherent explanations, but he tried his best. “And those assassins didn't wear masks, so you can assume that they were supposed to kill everyone silently. I was lucky enough to wake up by accident. I saw how they were searching for Lucille and quickly figured out what was going on then.”

Theodore seemed more concerned about the situation with every passing second. “So, they were instructed to attack Lady Valerian. Why did the dowager empress target her specifically?” That was a stupid question.

Cedar might have laughed if he had any capacity to be amused left. But he couldn't hold himself back from giving a snarky response anyway. “Why are you asking that when you know the answer? Isn't me sitting here in this state enough proof? What did she say about your wife? Mother doesn't like us caring about other people very much. You should know that by now.”

The emperor was quiet as he scanned his brother's expression. He only spoke up after a short moment passed. “I understand. I will make sure that no one suspicious enters the palace. That woman won't be able to target anyone within the palace walls. We will treat Lady Valerian here until everything is alright again. She will definitely make it. You said that her father was out, right? Do you know where he is?”

Cedar had no idea. “Lucille knows, but I don't. At some friend's house, I presume. But I can't even guarantee you that he wasn't there. I didn't see him for the past few days.” He had to admit that he cared little for the health of that man, but it might be better for Lucille's consciousness if her father hadn't died because of the guest she had brought in.

Theodore paused for another few seconds. “I think I understood the general situation. But I still have a lot of questions. I would like to know as much as possible now, even if it might be better to wait until you calmed down. Is it fine for you to continue talking, or do you want to take a break?”

The prince's response was clear. Whenever it was silent, his mind wandered off to Lucille. He couldn't deal with being left alone at this point in time. “I can't think about this now, or I will lose my mind. Ask me anything.” His brother would probably have enough questions to voice.

As expected, Theodore began immediately. “From what I have gathered, you stayed at the Valerian Estate, correct? How did you get there?”

Cedar was probably a bit too emotional right now, but he couldn't start without complaining first. “Your knights are stupid. Within three days, two attacked me for no reason. Granted, I provoked the first one, but the second man was just unnecessarily aggressive. He wounded me, and I had to fight back. I think your men found him, but I had to run around while bleeding. I managed to climb over a wall to hide, but I collapsed there. Lucille found me and got a doctor for me. She said that she did that because she sympathizes with me due to our parents being similar. That doesn't sound good, does it? Anyway, I lived there in secret for a while. I hid from Leon by sitting in a wardrobe and making it seem like Lucille had a lover, which made me being there unlikely. That's why your assassin left the wardrobe alone and disappeared. A few days later, Lord Valerian found me. He thinks that I'm Lucille's lover too, so he didn't dare to inform any guards.”

Theodore narrowed his eyes. Seemingly, he had understood despite this rushed flood of information and asked about it immediately. “So, you remembered Leon's occupation. I should have known that you would. But that doesn't matter now. Why does the dowager empress want to kill you?”

That wasn't quite true, and for a moment, Cedar wasn't sure whether he wanted to correct this statement. In the end, he was much too angry to lie though. “She didn't want to kill me. Just hurt me to show that she isn't joking. We had a fight a month ago, and I wanted to leave for a few days, but then I got injured. After I ran away, we exchanged letters. She only ordered me to come back and didn't bother to ask how I was once. I told her that I would stay away until I recovered. But with every day outside, I liked the idea of going back less. So, I said that I didn't want to contact her for a while. Her reaction just proved that I didn't want to see her again. And when I wrote her that and asked what she would do about it, she threatened me. Apparently, she doesn't mind sending assassins after her sons for such small things. Is this becoming a tradition in our family?” He felt like he was just reading this off a chart and hurried to say everything before taking a deep breath.

Theodore's reaction was to be expected. On the one hand, he seemed a bit surprised, but on the other, he probably knew that their mother was the type of person that would do this without hesitation. So, he had no reason to doubt his brother's words. “I see. May I ask why you decided to cut off your contact with her?”

Cedar didn't have a clear response when it came to this. Surely, there were multiple reasons, which he had already prepared in his mind in advance, but right now, he barely managed to remember them. He took a few seconds before his brain worked again. “She was pretty mean during our fight. That may sound childish, but after she threw a cup at me, I had little desire to come back when she didn't even apologize once. I wanted to annoy her a bit by staying away. But the longer I was gone, the more I realized that I didn't miss her more than I liked being outside. I was feeling relieved, as if I could finally breathe. So, I had no reason to go back until my side wasn't slashed open anymore. As I said, she wrote letters, and all of them told me to come back. And when I said that I wanted a break from her, just for a month, she wrote the kindest letter I ever received. She said all the things that she told you after the trial to me now. And she added all of my triggers. It's understandable if I'm fed up with being by her side when all that comes out of it is this, isn't it?” He wasn't even sure whether what he said made sense anymore. His head was swimming, so he might have messed up the sentences he had prepared a while ago.

Theodore didn't seem to be taken aback though, so it had probably been logical still. He just clenched his jaw and seemed extremely angry. “That woman is truly unbelievable. Are you really alright, or did something hurt you? Did you eat anything that might have been poisonous?”

“I didn't. I'm pretty sure that this attack was thoroughly prepared though. Earlier, I overheard one of the maids talking about how she had sold information to the assassins. I didn't have a chance to save her without endangering Lucille, so we can't ask her anymore, but she didn't know about them attacking. So, I assume that Mother used informants who had no clue about what was really going on. That's how she knew that I spent time with Lucille too.” At least he hoped that.

If Reeve had betrayed him, Cedar would be very disappointed. Of course, he hadn't let the guard get too close, but he trusted him to some extent. So, it would be relieving to hear that he hadn't been betrayed once again.

The emperor listened to that before nodding. “It seems like she is still as insistent on controlling everything as always. But you should be safe inside here. Did you find the guards on accident, or did you search for them?”

Cedar shrugged while trying to keep himself from trembling. “Both. I did search for them, but I was lucky. I couldn't take any risks with finding a capable doctor, so I had to get to the palace somehow. The guards were the safest bet.” Only saying that was enough to make him focus on Lucille again. He gritted his teeth and brought his hand down to the sofa before digging his fingers into the fabric.

She was being treated right now, right? The royal doctor was capable, so it should be fine. The wound had been deep, but it should not have been especially big. Hopefully, Lucille's organs hadn't been injured. As long as those were intact, sewing the wound up and bandaging it would be enough to keep her alive. Then the wound could slowly heal, and her condition would stabilize. At least Cedar told himself that it would be fine.

Theodore gazed at his brother and agreed after a short moment. “That makes sense. I can assure you that the royal doctor is the most capable person around. He will deal with everything. That's why you don't have to think about this at all. Just tell me what your plan is from now on. What will you do when the dowager empress is targeting you?”

Cedar didn't have something specific to do. He was the powerless prince and now the victim. There was no need for him to move when the other actors had to take their steps first. “I have to wait until she forgets me or something like that. I don't really have many options. So, I will just sit around and hope that she doesn't hire capable people.” And he might have to run away from the royal guards soon again since he didn't want to end up in a cell. It was actually a wonder that he hadn't been arrested already. He had waltzed into the royal palace without waiting for permission after all.

It seemed like Theodore wasn't too angry about that though. He actually looked like he was much calmer than he should have been in this situation. He was just staring at his brother as if he wanted to read what the other man thought off his expression. “I wouldn't rely on your luck. If she sent people after you, you won't be able to live in peace until we cut her off from the outside world completely. It seems like we will need to take care of that.” It didn't really make any sense for him to say this. It almost sounded like he wanted to help his brother, which was definitely not something he should think about due to their relationship.

But Cedar wouldn't complain about this. As long as Lucille could get treatment, he would even deal with this odd behavior. “I'm not sure what makes you think that you can cut Mother off. She has many more connections than you can imagine. Even if no one supports her openly after the revolt, there are still many traitors among your followers.” He didn't know why he gave the other man such an important hint, but maybe it was because he wanted to pay back his mother for this. Maybe that was petty, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

Camille was at fault for Lucille almost dying, so she deserved this.

A single thought of Lucille was enough to make Cedar freeze again. Damn it. He shouldn't have reminded himself of that image. He saw her face in front of his inner eye whenever he thought about her, and unfortunately, the bad times were too memorable. Images of her smiling were quickly replaced with ones of her expression being full of pain.

Cedar cursed all of the gods around him and himself before he lowered his head and ran his fingers through his hair. He had always seen that gesture when his father and brother had been frustrated, and it seemed like he was copying it too. Great.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

For a few seconds, silence followed.

Then Theodore spoke up. “Believe me. I can deal with that woman even if the whole world supports her. But there is no need to focus on this now. You look exhausted, and you are full of blood. You should go wash and rest. Do you want to sleep in your old room or a guest room?”

Cedar slowly lifted his head. He would have liked to make fun of his brother for this stupid amount of consideration, but he didn't have the energy to voice more than a snarky comment. “It's not a cell? I'm lucky. But I don't want a room. I don't think that I will be able to sleep for even a single second. I'm staying here.” He needed to be able to hear the doctor announcing that Lucille was fine. “It will take a while until they are done, but I want to be right here when it's time for her to wake up. So, I will have to refuse your offer.” Not that he would have been happy to accept it under other conditions.

Theodore seemed hesitant for a few seconds but understood that he wouldn't be able to discuss this here. So, he just nodded. “I see. Then you can stay here. You can try to sleep on the sofa. But if you want a room, you just have to say something. I will-”

Cedar didn't want him here. He knew that his brother was uncomfortable taking his eyes off him, but right now, the prince didn't want anyone to look at him. “You don't have to sit here. I don't have the intention to do anything bad. You have Lucille, right? I won't try anything. Here.” He took the sword off his waist and threw it onto the floor with a lax motion. “There are enough guards here, so it's fine. Go to your wife.” He actually didn't want to be alone either, but he couldn't do much about the sun rising.

There was no way that Theodore would stay here while his pregnant wife searched for him.

Thinking about that reminded Cedar of another thing. “By the way, congratulations on becoming a father. I didn't say that yet, did I? I only wrote a letter for your wedding. When will the baby be born?” He had intended to babble a bit more to distract himself, but he didn't have the strength to do so.

Theodore didn't seem like he knew how to react to this. So, he paused again before speaking up. “Thank you. It should happen in a little over three months.” He didn't trust his brother yet, which was the last thing that made Cedar believe that Theodore wasn't a complete idiot, but he was still pretty careless.

Even letting the prince enter the palace was reckless, no matter whether he carried an unconscious woman. But seemingly, that was enough of a bargaining chip for the emperor, which was a bit naive. If that naivete was enough to ensure that Lucille would be treated, Cedar was happy about it though. At least he would be happy as soon as she was in a stable condition and woke up.

That thought made him groan again, and he raised his hands to massage his temples. Maybe laying down would be a good idea, even if he doubted that he would be able to fall asleep.

Theodore seemed to sense what his brother was thinking. He stood up and stepped away from the sofa. “It would be better for you to rest. There will be people here to watch you, but I will return in a while to talk to you again. Just trust the royal doctor for now. He patched us up countless times. He will be able to deal with this too. There isn't anyone else that would be a better fit than him. We can't do anything but wait. And you need to sleep for Lady Valerian's sake too. It won't help her if you look like a walking corpse when she wakes up. She'll be back before you know it.”

Cedar didn't really know how he was supposed to deal with his hated brother consoling him. It was definitely ridiculous. But right now, even that was better than anything else. “I'll try to sleep.” He wasn't sure whether he would really do that. “You should go back now, or Her Majesty will worry. Hurry up.” He didn't get another response and just heard how footsteps went away.

Without a doubt, Theodore would prepare something to make sure that Cedar couldn't cause trouble. And that was fine.

The prince didn't care either way. He just slouched against the backrest and let his head hang forward as he waited for something to happen. He needed the doctor to come out with good news, or he would snap. It could take a few hours before he heard some news though. Great.

Cedar closed his eyes and tried to think about anything but Lucille bleeding out in his arms. But as soon as he focused on how his clothes had to be stained with her blood, he wanted to jump up and run around again. He forced himself to keep still and gave his best to think about pleasant things instead. Before he could control his mind, he saw Lucille's smile in front of his inner eye, followed by how she had blushed after a simple compliment.

She could never have imagined that she might end up sacrificing her life for him, right? It was hard to guess how Lucille would feel if she knew that. Maybe she would regret it. She probably hadn't wanted to be pierced with an arrow after many of her servants had been killed.

Cedar hadn't wanted that to happen either. He had only wanted to get her out as soon as he had noticed what was going on. And before that, he had closed his eyes from the truth and desperately hoped that it would work out this time. That he could have something he liked in his life for once.

And of course, his mother had just needed to intervene.

He should have been more careful. From now, on he would be more careful. He wouldn't be so careless anymore while hoping that it would be fine. Cedar would have to be concentrated at all times and make sure that no one could read his emotions. He couldn't let Lucille get closer either. She was already much too dear to him for his liking. He would have to avoid her in the future.

But only one thought of her bright smile as she talked about her favorite book was enough to make him give up on this idea again. The dowager empress had already found out, so there was no need to act like it wasn't true now.

Instead, Cedar would rather need to protect Lucille by ensuring that she was in a safe place. The palace was the best option, but there was no way that she could just stay here. Cedar would have to get her to some kind of house with many guards outside of Artias, wouldn't he?

But that was just a daydream. There was no way that he could just bring her far away. He knew what type of person his mother was. The future could only hold more plots from now on. Lucille needed to stay right here so that he could protect her, or she wouldn't last.

Cedar gritted his teeth as a hundred ideas crossed his mind, and none of them seemed satisfying. He would need to think about this more later when he wasn't focused on worrying about Lucille. He pressed his eyes shut and prayed that sleep would take him if he held still for a while.

As expected, it didn't help much. By the time he felt like his body was ready to sleep, his head already began telling him that Lucille was in danger, and he recounted the events that had led to her injury again and again. When he finally forced himself to stop thinking, he had probably already spent hours on that sofa. At least it felt like that.

But when something finally happened, the sun hadn't fully risen, so it seemed like not too much time had passed.

At that point, the door opened, and the doctor stepped out.

Cedar had closed his eyes, so he only heard what was going on. Still, he immediately snapped out of his hazy state and jumped to his feet. “Is she alright?”

His sudden inquiry surprised the doctor a bit, but the elderly man calmed down quickly. “She is in a stable condition. But the wound was very deep. She is currently sleeping, and it would be best to give her a lot of time so that she can recover. She will need to stay in bed for two weeks or so. She can only move around after most of this has healed. Until then, we are going to give her pain medicine. Is there anything the lady is allergic to? And is there anyone that can tell us about her previous medical state? A house doctor or something like that?”

Cedar's muscles relaxed in relief as he plopped back onto the sofa. He squeezed his eyes shut and silently thanked all of the responsible ones for saving Lucille. He took a moment to think properly again before he replied. “She never mentioned any allergies, but that doesn't mean much. Her family has a doctor, but I have no idea who that man is. Lucille's father can tell you though. Lord Valerian seems to have visited a friend, and Lord Astame is in the middle of searching for him. I can't tell you more than that.” He was silent for a few seconds before a thought crossed his mind, and he lifted his head. “Can I see her? Or are you still treating her?”

The doctor looked around, probably because he was searching for the emperor. When he didn't find anyone but some very confused guards, he quickly turned back to the prince. “I...think it would be fine. As long as Your Royal Highness doesn't wake her.”

It was a bit strange to hear people using that title when Cedar effectively held no power right now. But he couldn't even focus on that. He stood up and followed the doctor into his office.

Lucille was lying on the same bed as before, but she looked much calmer now. She had probably been drugged, which was why her expression was so relaxed. She was still pale, but her breathing had steadied, and the bloody bandages had been exchanged while a bunch of clothes with red stains were lying on the floor. She seemed to be fine, even if she was definitely exhausted.

Cedar couldn't stop himself from approaching the bed as he scanned every part of her body.

Lucille would survive.

The realization hit him, and almost all the adrenaline in his veins seemed to disappear. In an instant, he became so tired that he might as well have collapsed onto a bed. But he just stood there and rubbed over his eyes before looking at Lucille again.

It would be nice if he could erase what had happened from her mind, but that wouldn't be possible. Still, it might be better to tell her about all the dead people after she had recovered and not while she was so weak.

The prince carefully extended his hand and pushed a single strand of crimson hair that had fallen onto Lucille's forehead away. Then he pulled back again to refrain from waking her. She looked so peaceful right now. He could only hope that this would help her recover quickly.

The other people in the room stayed quiet for a while before one of the assistants came closer. He seemed a bit hesitant to ask but forced himself to speak up. “Do you require treatment too, Your Royal Highness? There is blood on your attire.”

Cedar glanced down and stared at his sleeve. “Oh, it's not...mine.” At least he was pretty sure since he didn't feel anything painful. He didn't remember being hit with an arrow or a sword either.

Still, the female doctor's assistant spoke up just a moment later. “But you were injured a month ago, correct? Would it not be better to make sure that the wound didn't reopen?”

Cedar slowly brought his hand to his side and pressed down on it. It hurt a bit, but as it had been during the last few days, it wasn't too bad. Yet, the wound getting infected was the last thing he needed, so letting a professional look at it would be helpful. He wouldn't argue about this but accept the help that was being offered for once. “Rumors sure do travel fast. Do what you need to do. I won't move away from here anyway.”

He sat down on the bed next to Lucille's and stayed there. He was too exhausted to do anything else. Too exhausted and too worried. He would wait right here until she woke up.