Lucille could practically see how irritated Cedar was when the royal couple treated him like the member of the family that he was. She would have liked to say something but didn't dare to speak up. She just stayed quiet and scanned Aurora's face.

The baby was too cute for her own good, even if she was just sleeping with a slight frown on her face. It was no wonder the parents were enamored already.

Lucille herself had already been won over too. She couldn't stop staring at the little girl while she already wished the best for her, even if Aurora hadn't done much aside from breathing at this point.

After everyone voiced their regards once again, it was silent for a while. Many people seemed to relish in seeing the baby sleep in Blanche's arms while others were lost in thoughts. But it didn't stay quiet for long.

Blanche quickly began to speak again after she had watched her angel sleep for a bit. She lifted her head and looked around before her gaze stayed on Lucille. “I just remembered that we never talked about this. Do you want to have children later too?”

Lucille was a bit taken aback by that, but she just nodded. “Yes. I'm not ready yet...but at some point, it would be nice.” It was rather typical for noble ladies to assume that they would give birth to heirs at some point. But to Lucille, there was a little bit more to it. She wanted children. Even if her mother hadn't been present in her life for the past decade, she would like to be a better mother to her own children. Right now, she wasn't ready in the slightest, so she would rather wait a couple of years before though.

Blanche seemed content with that response. She immediately moved on with her plan. A glimpse of the empress' expression sufficed to know what kind of joke would follow as she turned to Cedar with a bright smile. She scanned him for a moment before looking back at Lucille. “Then it seems like you will have to find a good partner first. Be careful whom you choose, but don't overlook a candidate right in front of your eyes.”

Lucille quickly looked to the side. She hated that she knew that her face would react. It would only be a matter of seconds before everyone here knew that she was embarrassed.

Blanche giggled quietly and then directed the conversation in another direction again. “This was a bit too quick. I apologize. I will stop bothering you now.” She looked down at her daughter, and her smile became much softer again. “Our sweet little angel is finally here. I am so happy to see that she is healthy.”

Theodore weakly nodded and leaned his head against his wife's. “You can't imagine how relieved I am. I was so...so worried. But everything is fine. Now I will protect the both of you and make sure that not a single threat comes close to us ever again.”

Blanche snuggled into him. “I know. We will do our best to create the most wonderful ending anyone can imagine.” That made it seem like they were lost in their own world again.

Lucille glanced to the side to offer to leave, but she didn't get the chance to begin.

Cedar was the one who spoke up first. “It seems like you two might need a break. It may be-” He was cut off.

The doctor had moved next to him and said something quietly.

That made Cedar stop before he followed the doctor. For a moment, the men talked in the neighboring room, leaving the door open despite that.

Lucille couldn't help but watch even though she heard nothing.

It only took a few seconds before Cedar's smile widened, so it was obvious that he was getting a bit annoyed. He only gave one small reply before returning to the main room. Cedar didn't waste any time approaching the bed again and beamed at his brother. “Theodore. Would you keep such nonsense to yourself in the future?”

The emperor shrugged. “I thought it would be better if you heard it from someone else. Just so that you remember to ask for help. I am sure that it won't take much longer. Be happy that I only addressed this in front of him.”

Cedar gave an affirmative hum, but the annoyance that bubbled under his skin was obvious. “It's nice to hear that you decided the date for yourself. Well, it seems like the royal couple is a bit tired. I would suggest our retreat so that they can recover quickly. We don't want to wake the crown princess.” Blanche looked like she wanted to refuse, so he quickly continued. “Aurora is sleeping so soundly. She needs rest now and the parents too. It isn't good to overwhelm a child with so many people this early. I will take my leave now if you give me permission.”

Theodore replied in a quiet voice. “If you wish to go, you are dismissed. For the next few days, I will be busy. But if anything important is going on or when you want to see Aurora, you can come here. Good afternoon.”

Cedar nodded at that. “I wish you a wonderful afternoon as well. And naturally, I hope that you two will have a chance to sleep tonight.”

Lucille saw that he attempted to leave and hurried to make a small curtsy to be able to join him. “I do not wish to disturb you longer either. I wish to voice my best regards to Her Royal Highness. May she have a wonderful life full of happiness. I hope you will rest well too.”

Blanche smiled at her. “Don't call her by her title. Stick to the name. You are going to be a part of the family soon anyway. Isn't that reason enough to call others by their first name?” She glanced at Cedar, who smiled as if he knew exactly what she was referring to. He wasn't too pleased, but the empress ignored that without having a guilty consciousness. “You may retreat if you want to. That holds true for everyone who isn't the doctor, Leon or one of my attendants. If you wish to stay close, you can wait in the neighboring rooms though. We will inform you if we need help.”

That was enough to make everyone move. The doctor's assistants quickly disappeared into the other room while the two guards took a seat at the other end of the chamber. The empress' maids sat down in the seating area while Leonard stayed by the bed. He waved while Cedar and Lucille walked to the exit.

As soon as the two had left the room, it felt like the world became more hectic than it had been before. There only were a few guards in the hallway, but even they stared at the couple. A bigger number of servants stood near the staircases and watched the two with curiosity. Apparently, someone was very interested in what was going on with the royal heir.

Lucille quickly averted her eyes and addressed Cedar. “And what will we do now?”

The prince's smile slowly neutralized again when he turned to her. “I have no idea. There is nothing special that I need to take care of. I considered taking a walk though. The palace is a bit too loud at the moment since everyone is busy chattering. Going outside might be nice. Do you want to accompany me? Even if that may only cause even more misunderstandings on my brother's part?”

Lucille had a bad premonition about him feeling the need to note that. “What did the doctor tell you just now?”

“Ah, just the usual things. He wanted to give me a lecture about how you are awfully young to have children and that he would like to give you some contraceptives, just in case. Because he seemed to doubt that I was telling the truth when I said that it wasn't needed. Seemingly, my brother already convinced the doctor that he needs to pay attention to that.”

Lucille shouldn't be surprised. After all, Cedar had left her room early in the morning after spending the night with her. It was obvious that there would be some rumors. Yet, she could only avert her eyes in embarrassment. “I...see. So, the rumors...still...circulate.”

Cedar showed her a little smirk as he scanned the people next to them who seemingly tried to eavesdrop but were just out of reach. “Still? I assume those are new ones already. But don't worry about that too much. These kinds of rumors usually stay within the palace. Since Theodore doesn't hide his relationship anymore, they have less to talk about, so they have to come up with something else. Her Majesty is a romantic, so she might joke about that rather often, and Leon likes saying things like that too. I apologize if they are making you uncomfortable with that. If you want to, I will ask them to let it be.”

In any other case, Lucille might have hated rumors and jokes like this. Because she knew that this could cause trouble for her marriage prospects and because she got embarrassed so easily. But if the person who was known to be her partner was Cedar, it wasn't that bad. “It's...not an issue. I mean, if you aren't uncomfortable with it. And...I would like to accompany you for a walk.”

Cedar seemed to have expected that. “Then let us go downstairs. But we should use the other staircase instead of the full ones here. I don't want to be forced to squeeze past them.” He waited for her to nod before he moved, and she joined his side. They walked a few steps, and then he began to speak. “I hope they didn't scare you off with their behavior just now. Her Majesty makes such specific jokes because she still holds a grudge. There was a time when I tried my best to infuriate her every time we met, which was easy since she hated me. So, I only needed to call her by her first name without a title, and she fumed. Then I justified that by saying that she would marry Theodore soon and be part of the family like that. I never thought that she would be able to twist my words and use them against me now. It's a relief that you call her by her title too, or I would be the only one she discusses with.”

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Lucille glanced at him while he talked while also trying to refrain from bumping into any of the curious servants around them. “I see. I do want to comply with her wishes, but...calling the empress by name is...” It probably wasn't an issue since Blanche didn't mind, but Lucille was scared of messing up in public too. Certainly, that wouldn't cause her to be punished if the concerned person didn't scold her, but still, she didn't want to make such a mistake. “But I am not certain about the princess either. Calling a child by such a distant title is a bit odd, but at the same time, I can't dare to use her name. You are her uncle, but I'm just a random girl...”

Cedar snorted at that. “The title of an uncle sounds so old. It feels strange to suddenly have it. But I doubt that anyone will complain if you call her name too. As the empress' lady-in-waiting, you will be treated like an aunt anyway. Aurora will probably view you as part of the family.”

Lucille doubted that. “If I stayed here for a few years, maybe. But I don't think that my presence here will be tolerated for that long. I mean...I'm only...” She was only supposed to stay here until the dowager empress wasn't a threat anymore.

And then what?

Would she return to her father's home and wait until he married her off to some random man? Lucille almost stopped in her tracks when she thought that.

Luckily, Cedar already replied. “I don't want to make you uncertain, but this will take a while longer. Theodore said that he wants it to be done by the end of the year, but I don't know whether he will manage to do that. After all, he has a lot to do by then. And I feel like he won't mind it if you stay a bit longer afterward if the situation with your father is problematic. For now, it seems like there won't be any issue if you stayed, but I presume that your father will murder me if he finds out that I'm not actually your lover.”

Right. Raymond still thought that, didn't he?

Lucille had almost forgotten about that. Even though her father had reminded her to be careful just a few weeks ago, she had already pushed away all of that. Camille's words were a bit more difficult to forget, but Lucille did her best. “I...don't think that he will make an issue out of this. As long as my reputation didn't...make it that I can't marry anymore, he probably won't care too much.”

Maybe Raymond would even be relieved to hear that his daughter wasn't together with the person he deemed to be so dangerous. But he would still ask why Lucille had lied to him, even if she had never truly claimed that Cedar was her lover. Then she would have to admit that the prince had come up with that because they had feared that her father would hurt her. That wasn't something she wanted to say to Raymond's face.

For a moment, Lucille lowered her gaze to the floor. The situation was problematic in many more ways than she could have imagined, right? She had appeared with Cedar during a ball already. People probably assumed that they were a couple, and there might be issues because of that. Would anyone be willing to marry a person whom they believed to be the traitorous prince's mistress when she was only the daughter of a viscount? It was unlikely.

Cedar and Lucille walked down the stairs and reached one of the side entrances. They left the palace and walked around on the main pathway.

It only took a few more seconds until Cedar seemed to read her mind again. He addressed a topic that would allow her to distract herself. “It still feels a bit odd to know that my brother is a father now. I remember when we were small children, and now he suddenly has his own child. It will be interesting to see what he does now. He promised that his daughter would become empress and rule without anyone's help. He will have to change the whole constitution if he wants to deal with that. But I assume that he will manage without an issue. He still has two decades after all.”

In the past, Lucille hadn't quite believed that the emperor would really be able to change the entirety of noble society by implementing laws that allowed women to lead their households. But after meeting Theodore, she was fairly certain that he would do anything to give his daughter everything he could. “I'm excited either way. Fiona is waiting for those laws. She wants to become the duchess without needing to hand over her family to her cousin. And I am sure that Aurora will become the head of the Estien family too. She was born to two strong people. She will probably be strong too.” Her chest felt warm while she said that. Just thinking about a future in which this little girl could be happy made her content.

Cedar glanced over at her while they reached the terrace. He slowed his steps and stopped in front of the fountain. “Certainly. She has two of the most stubborn people imaginable as her parents. She will show even less tact than her father. But first, she has to grow up. I wonder what that will bring. She will probably have a wonderful childhood.” He stared at the water that softly rippled at the side of the fountain and already seemed to be mentally absent.

Lucille opened her mouth and closed it again.

The prince probably hoped that Aurora wouldn't have to deal much with her grandmother. After all, Camille had already shown vile intentions by giving the emperor some strange herbs while his wife was pregnant.

Lucille quickly decided not to mention that topic though. She would rather talk about something a bit more pleasant. She slowly sat down on the edge of the fountain and faced the terrace while replying. “I think so too. Just seeing her once was enough to make me wish for her best. And for some reason, that made me happy. I can't even tell you why. I mean, nothing changed for me. But I still feel so content. I can't imagine how ecstatic His and Her Majesty have to be now.”

Cedar scanned the area around them before turning his gaze toward the fountain again. As always, his lips formed a smile, but it seemed genuine at the moment. “I understand what you mean. It was refreshing to see the birth of a new member of the royal family. I doubt that this will be their last child, so we can watch how the Estien family slowly grows. That will be necessary too. After all, my brother needs to make sure that there is an heir who is interested in ascending to the throne.” He made it sound like Theodore having children was the only option for the royal family to grow.

Lucille moved back a bit and shuffled around to find a better and more comfortable position. When she was content, she replied. “It was to be expected that a touch-starved couple like His and Her Majesty won't just have one child. I just hope they wait a bit so that she can recover from the pregnancy first. But in any case, I don't doubt that they will do well. From what it looks like, Her Majesty will be a great mother. She already loves her daughter so much. She probably will support Aurora until the very end and do her best to push away all obstacles so that her daughter never has to feel alone.”

Blanche wouldn't run away and leave her child alone like Lucille's mother had done.

That thought was enough to make Lucille blink as she turned her head. Even now, thinking about Emily was enough to make her heart feel like it had been stung. And suddenly, her smile faded and her good mood had been carved away. It was pathetic. Why was she so sensitive when this had happened a decade ago? She shouldn't pay attention to that.

Lucille lifted her hand to hide her face. At the same time, she moved back a bit more.

She hadn't meant to move that far back though.

Her second hand didn't land on the edge of the fountain anymore but in the air. She had prepared to rest a part of her weight on that hand, so she lost her balance immediately and fell backward.

“Lucille, wait!” Even Cedar's words didn't help her much.

A small cry escaped her lips, but it already was too late when she felt how she came closer to the water. At least she thought that when she was falling.

Then an arm wrapped around her waist and kept her upright. Everything happened so quickly that Lucille barely noticed what was going on. She only felt how Cedar had pulled her away from the water and crashed back onto the edge of the fountain with her. He had probably caught her at the last moment, and she was thankful, but she couldn't focus on that.

Not when Cedar's face was directly in front of hers. She was so close to him. Too close. As if that wasn't enough, she was also pressed against him, and he held her in a tight embrace.

The prince only loosened his hold on her a little when she managed to stabilize herself again. “You need to be more careful. That was awfully close.”

They were awfully close too. Not that she minded.

But Lucille found the way that she could see the small patterns in Cedar's irises too distracting. “I... Thank...you.” Her heart was pounding way too quickly. Hadn't he saved her rather often already? This was getting repetitious, and still, she couldn't deal with it properly. That was foolish.

Cedar slowly withdrew his arms while making sure that she wasn't swaying and showed her a bright smile as soon as he saw that she was fine. “Sometimes, you are rather clumsy. I fully expected to fall inside while trying to save you. We should be glad that we managed to prevent that.”

Lucille was glad. She would have died out of embarrassment if she had pulled the prince into the water with her. But even now, she was already too embarrassed to respond properly. As soon as she saw the silhouette from the corner of her eyes, it got worse. She whipped her head to the side and immediately wanted to vanish into thin air.

Why was this man here? It seemed like the servant Cedar got along with approached them. That normally wouldn't be an issue, but that man was also the only that dared to openly joke about Lucille and Cedar. This would make her even more embarrassed.

Cedar followed her gaze and quickly realized that they were being watched too. He let out something that sounded like a mix of a sigh and a huff. He met the other man's gaze without averting his eyes even once. “It's been a while, Harris. Is there an issue, or are you going to stand there and watch for longer?”

It would have been expected for Harris to make some petty comment or to call out that the couple was very close. But he didn't. He just came a bit closer and stared right at the prince.

Cedar seemingly wasn't fond of that expression on the other man's face. He jumped to the worst conclusions. “What happened?”

Harris seemed annoyed even now, his voice dripping with a mix of frustration and possibly even anger. “Unfortunately, I've been forced to search for you for the past half an hour. Do you have any idea how frustrating that was? None of the other servants dared to approach you, so they sent me. Great, huh?”

Cedar didn't seem to care about that much. “Why did you put in that effort if it's so frustrating? You could tell them to do their job instead of taking it over to make even more people like you. Was it something important?”

Harris narrowed his eyes. “Indeed. Do you know how often the other servants complained about your mother annoying them? Apparently, she is by the door every day and asks to see you. When she is sent away, she throws a tantrum. Didn't your brother tell you?”

Somehow, that didn't seem too unlikely. Lucille had only met Camille a few times and never talked to her for very long, but those little pieces of information were enough to conclude that the dowager empress didn't mind causing issues in public. That woman didn't have any shame at all.

Cedar didn't act like he was too happy about this. His smile widened. “Thankfully, Theodore didn't. I don't see the need to concern myself with that. Is she at the door right now too? I won't see her. If I go to meet her now, she will think that yelling at the door helps.”

Harris nodded. “That is true. But she said she wanted to meet the royal heir.” Apparently, the rumors of Aurora being born had already traveled to their enemies.

Cedar reacted as expected. He continued to smile without showing any intention of giving in. “I mean... At some point, she will see the crown princess in public. So, there is absolutely no need to see her before that. Theodore won't give his permission, and Her Majesty won't give hers. I believe that Mother may be able to see some royal guards though. I can tell them to drag her away. If they don't listen to me, I will tell my brother to give the order. In any case, she will be gone in ten minutes. Don't worry.” He might not have noticed that he was harsher in his words and tone than usual, but it was obvious to Lucille.

He cared about his niece already. That was why he wanted to keep his mother at a distance.

Lucille couldn't help but smile at that. Cedar was truly too kind. And this meant that he didn't dislike children, right? That was a fitting coincidence.