Talking to Jenna was unpleasant enough, but she just had to ask about why the prince was here too. He would have been fine with answering that question for anyone else, but she was the exception.

Cedar would have liked to sigh but held back to be polite. “Unfortunately, it will be hard to discuss why I came back. Let us say that there are...differences in our family. However, my brother and I had the chance to speak to each other and got over those differences. Other people are not as willing to move forward. Of course, I understand if the guests are a bit uncomfortable with me being here. I knew that my sudden appearance could cause some issues, so I wished to wait a while, but my brother insisted on showing that progress has been made. So, I will hold back and stand at the side today. I do not wish to bother anyone. That is why I do not mind if you quickly move on to speak to others too. My presence shouldn't be a burden.”

Jenna hurried to refute that. “It could never be, Your Royal Highness! It is an honor and a great pleasure to see you here again. Welcome back to the capital. We are overjoyed to be able to speak to you again and would love to spend the evening with you. After all, we had so few chances to talk in the past few months.” By the gods, no.

Cedar would not stand even an hour with this woman close to him. He knew well that Jenna would only wait for a chance to send away her husband so that she could ask the prince to escort her. And Cedar wouldn't do that. He would rather get Theodore's help in that case. “That isn't necessary, Lady Peril. I do not wish to trouble you longer. I will have to answer quite a few questions about me being here, so I cannot stay too long either. I apologize for that. It is truly regretful.”

Jenna put on a downcast expression. “Oh, I see. Well, we'll just hope that the chance to speak longer comes up later again. For now...” Her smile returned as she looked up at the prince. “Could I perhaps ask a question?” No.

Cedar had no desire to reply when he knew that she would say something he wouldn't like. Whether it would be a comment about his appearance, his voice or about him not having a fiancée, he would hate it. But still, he had to listen to those stupid remarks. “I do not mind. However, I cannot promise that I will answer.”

Lady Peril grinned at that and hid her mouth behind her fan. “Our prince is as mysterious as always. I promise that it will not be an inappropriate question. We are in public after all. Since you live in the royal palace now, you should know about Her Majesty's new lady-in-waiting too, correct? I recently met Lady Valerian in the palace. Is it true that she will stay for a while?”

He didn't like where this was going at all. Why was that woman asking about Lucille? Cedar kept the most unaffected expression possible. “I can answer that. It's not a secret that Lady Valerian is here. Of course, I do not have the details, but we are acquainted, and it seems like she will become Her Majesty's lady-in-waiting in a short while. Before that, she will stay here to get used to life in the royal palace.” He didn't dare to propose that Lady Peril should ask Lucille herself like he usually would have. He wanted Jenna to stay far away from Lucille.

Unfortunately, it seemed like Lady Peril had understood that Lucille wasn't just a random woman in the palace. She scanned Cedar's expression with even more care than usual, which made it feel like she was trying to tear down his perfect mask. “So, she did tell the truth. How odd. It seems a bit sudden that Her Majesty would take in a lady-in-waiting without offering that position to the public. And to think that she would choose a viscount's daughter...”

Cedar forced himself to keep smiling while he replied. “I assume that Her Majesty does not care much about ranks. Why should she? After all, her lady-in-waiting is mainly there to keep her company. So, she should choose a person she would like to spend time with instead of a stranger.”

Jenna nodded at that as her smile grew again. “Of course. I just hadn't expected it.” Her smile slowly faded, and she closed her fan to press its handle against her bottom lip. “There was something else that confused me. I heard that Lady Valerian got closer to some quite influential people in the past, but I did not know that she was allowed to stay in the royal palace. I was a bit surprised about that and asked. She then said something odd.” Her tone already revealed that what would follow wouldn't be nice.

Cedar braced himself for the worst and focused on acting as if he was indifferent. He couldn't show that he cared about Lucille now. “What could Lady Valerian have said that confused you like this?”

Lady Peril pretended to be bashful while she lowered her gaze and spoke in a quieter voice. “She claimed that you had given her permission to reside here while addressing you with your first name. When I inquired whether it would not be better to use a more appropriate title, she just claimed that you would address her by her first name too. I could not imagine that you would be so close to a person like Lady Valerian. So, I wished to ask whether she was telling the truth. Just so that I can be calmed instead of worrying about a person who spreads false rumors about Your Royal Highness.”

What was that supposed to mean? Lucille wouldn't have claimed that she was here because of Cedar. He knew that. Jenna was testing him. But from here on out, he could only make bad choices.

Both options were horrible. One would make Lucille seem like an arrogant liar, and one would reveal that Cedar had spent a lot of time with her.

But did the prince really have a choice? One wrong word could ruin Lucille's reputation completely. If he talked to any other person, it would be fine. But if Jenna thought that Lucille got closer to Cedar, she would put in her all to make sure that the other woman wouldn't want to attend any social events for years.

Lady Peril was powerful enough to control the rumors in the capital, and she had no qualms about ruining a potential rival. Unless the other person had a more powerful protector. That Lucille would be the empress' lady-in-waiting was good. But Cedar wasn't sure whether that was enough. He wouldn't take any risks with Lucille. If he immediately took her side, he could nip the problems in the bud and prevent Jenna from beginning her mind games. The thought that this might end up with his mother finding out about everything was bad, but the odds that the dowager empress already knew were high. After all, Lady Peril had known too.

So, Cedar put on an even brighter smile as he responded. “You can rest assured that she did not lie. Lady Valerian saved my life, so I am greatly indebted to her. It is usual for one to get along with the person who helped you, is it not? I was the one who allowed her to speak to me casually, but of course, this will not influence our positions in public. As you can hear, we have no intention of dropping the formalities while other people are present. There is no need to make a big deal out of this. I would be thankful if you could keep it to yourself.” That was his way of telling her to shut up. If he was lucky, the fact that it was him asking would be enough to make Lady Peril listen. He might be fortunate for once.

Jenna's eyes flickered with ill intentions for a moment, but when he responded, a barely noticeable pout formed on her lips. She probably felt disappointed upon not being able to take care of the person she deemed to be a threat. “I see. How odd. I never knew that Lady Valerian had the chance to do such great services to the royal family. Well, how would I? I sincerely apologize for bringing up something unimportant. I merely wished to inquire whether you were aware. If you are, there is no need to discuss this any further. I have to admit that I'm jealous though. Lady Valerian has the chance to meet Your Royal Highness so often. We will have to wait until the next ball.” She spoke about herself and her husband, but Eugene hadn't been a part of the conversation for a while now, and she didn't care about Cedar's feelings either. “But the next event may be weeks away. How about we make up for that by inviting you to-”

They were only a second away from a catastrophe.

That was the exact moment that Cedar saw a motion in the corner of his eyes. He spun around in search of something that would help him. He had never been so relieved to see Leon's fake smile. “Oh, I almost did not notice you. Good evening, Lord Astame. How have you been recently?”

Leonard's timing was so perfect that it couldn't have been a coincidence. He smiled at the other man while maintaining a polite facade much like the prince. “I sincerely apologize for interrupting. Good evening, Your Royal Highness. I would not have rushed in like this if it wasn't for an important reason.” He turned to the couple. “Good evening, Lord and Lady Peril. I would like to apologize to you too. However, His Majesty wishes to speak to His Royal Highness, so I must interrupt here.”

Cedar could have sighed in relief. He had never been so happy to be forced to go to his brother. He wasn't he only relieved her person though.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Lord Peril visibly relaxed and seemed like he was thanking the gods.

Jenna, however, stared at the secretary with annoyance, which she could barely veil. She lifted her fan to hide her mouth again and forced herself to seem chipper, but she was truly disappointed. “I see. How unfortunate. Then I fear that we must go our separate ways now. Maybe we will meet later again?” She sounded so hopeful that it would have been sweet if another person was the one speaking.

But when it was her, it was different.

Cedar just smiled at her. “We will see if the opportunity comes up.” He would make sure that it wouldn't. “I sincerely apologize for ending our conversation here. I will have to see my brother now. I wish the both of you a wonderful evening though.”

Lord Peril hurried to bow. “We wish you a wonderful evening too, Your Royal Highness. Please enjoy yourself.” He probably meant to say that the other man should stay far away since he would have to deal with his wife otherwise.

Jenna still seemed dejected but curtsied anyway. “Good evening, Your Royal Highness. I hope that we will see each other again soon. Goodbye.” She did her best to smile as softly as possible while looking at him with an innocent gaze.

Cedar might have believed in that innocence if he didn't know who she was. “We will see what the future holds. Goodbye.” He turned around and contently followed the secretary. He stayed quiet until they were far enough away and then spoke up. “I didn't need help, but it's nice to see you again.”

Leon slowed his pace just so that he walked next to the other man. For a moment, he dropped his mask and showed how annoyed he was, but he quickly smiled again. “I know that you didn't need help. But even I know how unpleasant that woman is. She gives off an ugly feeling.” That wasn't surprising.

“Says the person with an assassin's intuition. Then it must be true.” Cedar agreed. Jenna wasn't as horrible as Camille was, but she was a strong contender for being the second-worst woman in Artias.

Leonard looked over his shoulder before speaking up. “Sometimes, I wonder why you didn't just get rid of her. I saw how you can deal with unpleasant matters already.”

Cedar had to admit that it would be tempting to get rid of the person who troubled him the most aside from the dowager empress. Unfortunately, doing that in his current position wasn't helpful. “Since I'm not the emperor, it will be difficult to make one of the most powerful noble families fall.” In addition, doing that would force him to acknowledge that Jenna annoyed him so much that he wanted her gone. He wasn't ready to admit that she had so much control over him. “I also think that Mother tried it once already. I don't know what went wrong, but it wasn't pretty.”

Leon let out a snort at that. “Bugs are hard to kill, but you should know that. You knocked out twelve of my best knights. You can't imagine how upset they were about that.”

Cedar glanced at him with a bright grin. “Should I teach them a bit? They might get a little stronger if I helped them. They certainly need improvement. From what I saw, my brother is better than most of them too. Isn't it concerning that the members of the royal family are the ones who are more capable than the people who should protect them?”

Leon didn't have the chance to reply since they arrived at their destination at that moment.

The royal couple's arms were still interlocked as Blanche cuddled against her husband. It was like they were inseparable, so it wouldn't be surprising if they didn't notice the others' arrival at all. But they did notice and seemed oddly serious when they made eye contact with the prince.

Theodore scanned his brother with a strange expression before speaking. “Finally. I should have known that she would show up. Are you alright?”

Cedar showed him a bright smile. It was irritating that the emperor acted like he was worried. The prince might not ever get used to that. “Yes. There was no need to worry, so I cannot complain. I can deal with typical noble small talk. As always, Lady Peril seems to like gossip and talking a lot, so it is good that I managed to leave in time. She wanted to invite me to her home. I certainly do not want to hear more about what her cousin did in his free time, so I am glad that you gave me an excuse to object.”

Blanche glared into the distance before muttering her response. “What a vile woman. I never paid much attention to her, so I couldn't have imagined.” It didn't sound like she was talking about gossip.

Cedar only took a small moment to understand. He glanced at his brother before meeting the empress' gaze again. “So, you already know all of that too. You two really share everything with each other. Is there anything you don't know about one another?”

Blanche shook her head. “In a relationship, being honest is most important. We know what keeping secrets and reading things into the other's action can cause. Of course, we exchange every bit of information we have. And Theo told me what happened with that woman too.” She narrowed her eyes briefly before leaning her head against her husband, who promptly pressed a small kiss on her forehead.

Cedar should have expected that. He watched the two lovebirds for a moment while wondering how much time he had to give them. He was quiet for a few seconds, but they still didn't stop, so he gave up. “How long am I supposed to stay next to you now? I don't want to interrupt your conversations with the nobles.” And he didn't want to be forced to see those two cuddling the whole time. That always made him feel like he was constantly breaching their privacy even though they were in public. “You will probably not run around for the whole evening anyway, right? Her Majesty is pregnant after all.”

Blanche immediately chimed in to stop him. “Don't remind Theo of that. Everyone keeps making me sit down, even though I'm perfectly fine. Let me stand for an hour during a ball at least.”

Theodore gently patted her back. “We have to be careful, you know that. I won't keep you from walking around though.” With that, he turned back to his brother. “I won't force you to accompany us. But I thought that it may be better for you to stay with us. Otherwise, that woman will come back quickly. She is staring at you even now.”

On second thought, maybe watching the royal couple cuddle wasn't so bad.

Cedar responded in a tone that made it seem like he was indifferent and just polite. “I understand. Then I will have to bother you for a while. I won't stay the whole time, but for now, it should be fine. Though, most people will be unhappy about that.”

The emperor looked around the room. “I doubt that. Have you seen how they were circling you already? No one dared to ask us, but everyone is curious. Duke Duremont was the only one that dared to be direct while speaking. Well, in any case, no one will be bothered by your presence. You will probably be the center of attention today. So, prepare yourself for superficial small talk and repeating questions. Are you ready to leave? We need to make sure that Duke Duremont says hello to you. And you greeted our cousin already, but you might as well welcome our aunt and Rebecca.” It was a bit odd to hear how he suddenly accepted his mother's relatives as his family but not Camille herself. The reason was rather obvious though.

Cedar just nodded at that. “I don't mind. We can go there.” He gave his best to ignore how the couple in front of him kissed again before they finally moved forward. Cedar followed them and prepared himself for a stressful evening.

As they made their way toward the Duremonts and to the Vasquez family, only one interesting thing happened. The prince saw a glimpse of red in the corner of his eyes and looked to the side.

As expected, Lucille was there. She met his gaze and gave him a weak smile.

He returned a much brighter one before hurrying to turn away again. He couldn't give her more attention than anyone else. But even after just a short glance, he had to admit that she was as gorgeous as always.

Lucille's dark purple ballgown didn't stand out too much, but that only underlined how elegant and beautiful she herself was. Cedar would have liked to tell her that, but he would have to wait until the ball was over for that. And then he would also have to warn her about Lady Peril and explain that she could be a target now.

The prince got pulled out of his thoughts when they arrived at their destination.

Surprisingly, his aunt, Selena Vasquez, didn't seem to hate him for what had happened. Instead, she promised her support and invited him to come visit them in a while.

Cedar had to reject that since he couldn't leave the palace and invited them instead. Even while he did that, he regretted it already. He shouldn't try to make connections here, or making his decision would get even harder. But then again, it might be too late for that already.

In the end, this conversation was as calm as all the other ones during the evening. After the royal couple began greeting the guests, Cedar said hello as well and mostly reacted to the others. He told everyone the same things. He greeted and complimented them before explaining that he was in the palace due to some circumstances he couldn't talk about. It was a bit annoying, but not as bad as he had imagined it to be. He didn't have to deal with any hostile comments and just needed to follow Theodore and Blanche. This made the evening as boring as always, but that had been expected.

Since he was so bored, it was no wonder that Cedar couldn't keep himself from looking at Lucille occasionally. But maybe that wasn't the only reason. Maybe it was also because he wanted to avoid Jenna's piercing stare. Maybe it was because Lucille looked beautiful while she was talking to some random nobles too.

At some point, Cedar had to force himself to refrain from glancing over at her, and that only made the ball more exhausting. But in the end, it had been acceptable.

Until that one incident happened.