Cedar had planned on sleeping next to Lucille. He really had. But there was no way that he would fall asleep. Not when it felt like there was acid running through his veins.
This was the fourth time.
At first, his mother had sent assassins to the Valerian estate. Then people had broken into the palace. After that, someone planned to attack them while they were walking through the forest. And now poison.
He should have expected it, but that didn't keep him from fuming. He waited until he was sure that Lucille wouldn't wake up anymore and then stood up as slowly as possible. He sat next to her for a moment longer before leaving her room. Cedar was well aware that his bright smile already proved how angry he was, but he didn't bother hiding it when he stepped into the hallway.
As expected, he was already greeted by a guard. “His Majesty wishes to see you.”
Cedar beamed at the other man. “Good. That's fitting.” He had to tell Theodore something after all. Actually, he had to tell his brother much more than just this one thing, but he would have to limit himself. He wasn't just angry with his mother after. He was also angry with himself and Theodore, so it would be good if he finally managed to say this out loud.
When Cedar reached the office, he knocked and came in immediately after that. He closed the door behind him and then turned around to face his brother.
Theodore sat at his desk with a strange expression. He was furious, but he lacked the normal burning rage. Instead, he just sat there calmly while it seemed like he was already coming up with a plan on how to get revenge. But that wouldn't undo what had happened today.
Cedar walked to the desk and then stopped. He smiled at his brother, who had to have noticed that the prince was in a horrible mood already, for a moment before speaking up. “Do you get why I told you to kill her now? Mother won't ever stop hurting us unless she is dead. What would we have done if that maid had died now? You said that you have everything under control. And look what happened. Lucille could have eaten that too.” He knew that there was no way to prevent Camille from attacking them, so this was useless. But he wanted his brother to understand that baseless confidence wouldn't help him here.
Theodore still stared straight ahead as he replied. “We already have the perpetrator. There was only one person who had the chance to mess with the food. I know what to look out for now. Give me half a year. I'm not just doing this for fun. Believe me. I need to kill her supporters before she dies, or they will gather their forces under another person. I promise you that she will suffer for this as well.”
And still, the question of who had brought the poison inside remained. The most logical suspect was Reeve. It seemed like they would have to arrest that man as soon as he came back. The prince would be prepared for that now.
Cedar gritted his teeth. He almost wanted to speak in a much more provoking tone to prove that this was absolutely stupid, but he held back. He needed to reason with his brother here. “That is logical. But you need to be more careful. You are too reckless. You act like you know what will happen and rely on your luck. But that won't always help you. You are way too trusting. I'm just one example. I could have stabbed you in the back at least four times by now. Don't you get that this won't just hurt you? Your family is affected too.” And Lucille could suffer. “This is the second time people did something you couldn't predict.”
Theodore finally lifted his gaze and made eye contact. “I know, Cedar. That's why I'm hurrying. If I could kill her without consequences now, I would do you the favor. But I need to get rid of the tail, or they will simply replace the head. I'm going to take care of this as soon as possible. You will see results in just a few months, I promise. Don't think that I will give up. I don't want to slaughter all the families that are backing her, but if it becomes necessary...”
Cedar forced himself to hold back another comment before replying in an exaggerated calm voice. “I didn't give you the names yet, did I? I don't know all of her supporters, but I can list everyone who contacted us at least once and everyone who tried to flatter me. That won't help you much, but at least we can check whether your list is the same as mine. But this isn't the priority.” If they couldn't kill Camille yet because of her entourage, safety was most important. “The servants need to be examined. We need to make sure that every single person that would bring poison here is taken care of.”
Theodore nodded at that. “We have the person who did it today. But we clearly have to make sure that no one else tries anything. I will take care of it.” He always said that. He had said that before the poisoning and the attack last time.
Cedar felt the need to stop smiling, and that was when he knew that it was really bad. “You will need to take care of it. Because if you don't, people are going to get hurt. You are always so perfect, so come up with something good now too. I want you to use Harris. He has enough connections to find out whether someone is traitorous. We need to weed out all the people that are being bribed here. You have to use vile strategies if you want to make sure that they won't betray you. I don't care what you need to do. Get fake assassins, and see whether your servants will take bribes.”
Unexpectedly, Theodore didn't refute that. “I will. I have a list of people who are more likely to do something. I will keep a close eye on them. We need someone to confirm whether the servants in the confinement mansion are still loyal too. It will take a week to prepare this. In the meantime, I will ensure that Camille won't be able to plot anything.” While he said that, he almost looked like he was completely emotionless. That usually meant that he was lost in thoughts and planned out his ideas. That was good. He needed to have great ideas after all.
Cedar gave him a minute before he spoke up. “What happens in that mansion is our greatest worry in general. Mother keeps ordering assassins to target us without moving out of that house. We need to deal with that at some point. We have to know what she is doing and how we can manipulate it. Did the assassins that you captured after that first incident say anything?”
Theodore shook his head. “They only got their orders from their superiors. But those people weren't the most skilled ones either, much like the ones in the forest weren't. Your mother doesn't want to kill you or Lady Valerian yet. She wants to show you that the option is there. That means that her pride might help us again. She will show us what exactly she can do, and we can prepare.” But that wouldn't grant them the knowledge about why Camille managed to steer her puppets without moving.
Cedar stared straight at the table while he went through all the possible options. Maybe Camille had allowed someone else to plan for her. That would be the easiest option but also the most unlikely one. She was much too focused on controlling everything around her. She wouldn't share her power. Then this meant that the dowager empress had to have some other way to contact the people she wished to order around. “Right now, her strength seems to be sending information outside without leaving the house or alerting the maid you placed by her side, right? We need to find out how she does that under any circumstances. Then we can find out who her people are and deal with them. We will need to send someone she trusts inside so that they can steal a few clues from her.”
And there was probably only one person that could do that. Damn it.
Theodore nodded again. “I will find someone fitting. We only need a person who can slowly flatter her and get closer to her, and then-”
Cedar cut him off there. “That will take too long, and you know how she deals with her pawns. There is only one person that might be close enough to her. I will visit her.”
Theodore furrowed his brows. “What?”
Even Cedar knew how ridiculous that was. This idea was stupid, but right now, it was their best bet. “Leon can just give Mother something that makes her sickness worse. Then I act like I'm worried about her. If I let her believe that she lured me in again, she will talk with me for a while. And when I am taking care of her, I can freely move in her room and the house. Then I can find out whether she has something there that allows her to send people. If we give her something that makes her feverish, she may even tell me some secrets.”
The emperor couldn't deny that this was a logical plan. But he had the same concerns his brother had. “But that's... You would need to let her get close for that. For much longer than just a few minutes. And you would actually have to be nice to her. You know that this will only give her a chance to attack you with her usual mind games, right?” Then they would need to give Camille an even stronger drug.
Cedar held back a sigh as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Normally, I would agree that this is a stupid decision. Believe me, I hate myself for proposing this.” Going back to his mother when he had barely managed to cut his ties with her was more than ridiculous. However, he still had the one thing that gave him strength. If he wanted to protect that, he would have to move. “But right now, I'm really upset. This is the fourth time she tried to attack Lucille. I'm annoyed enough to know that I won't fall for her tricks.” His triggers didn't work on him, and he knew that her affection was fake. So, it should be fine.
Hopefully.
Theodore didn't seem convinced. He frowned at his brother and didn't say anything.
Cedar forced himself to keep his hands still to avoid running his fingers through his hair and showing that he hated this plan much more than anyone else. He didn't want to see Camille. “You used that trick too, remember? After the assassination attempt seven years ago. You were kind to her for a month or so, and she immediately thought that she might be able to forgive you because you clung to her. That must have been revolting to you. I can deal with this for a few hours or days too, if necessary. And right now, it looks like this could be necessary.”
Theodore narrowed his eyes. “Not days. I'm not sending you to that woman more than once. I'm not even happy about letting you go see her in private at all. For me, it was much different. After all, she killed my mother, so of course, I wouldn't forget my hatred for her. But you...”
Cedar might just forget why he had changed sides. But he knew that he could be stronger than that. He had to. “Right now, I hate her more than ever before. It will be fine.” He only needed to keep in mind what was most important.
His mother wanted to hurt Lucille. His mother wanted to kill an innocent person because they made her son happy. Camille had never cared about Cedar, even if she claimed the opposite. His emotions didn't matter to her unless he showed affection for her and hatred for those she despised.
So, Cedar didn't owe her any kindness. He wouldn't fall back into her trap. He forced himself to meet his brother's gaze.
Theodore had interlocked his fingers in front of his mouth and stared at Cedar as if he was trying to figure out what was going on in his younger brother's head. A few seconds of silence followed before he continued. “Owen will go with you.”
Cedar hadn't expected that. “Your guard? You would take him away from your wife's side? Why?” He already had the answer when he thought about it a bit longer. “Ah. That's understandable. You don't trust-”
Theodore interrupted him there in a sharp voice. “No. I trust you. I don't trust her. I would like to spare you the fate of needing to hit her while you defend yourself if she loses her temper. So, Owen will join you. At the same time, it will show everyone that I am aware of your visit and that you won't betray me because you saw her once. We don't need unfavorable rumors. You will take Owen with you. No arguing.”
Cedar hadn't intended on arguing. After all, he knew that his brother was stubborn, and he would be more comfortable if he knew that someone close to Theodore stood behind him. That could keep him from doing something stupid. “I understand. Then I will drive there in five days or so. Just so that we can hide the fact that this is because of the poisoning. It would be good if Leon prepared something for her in the meantime.”
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Theodore weakly nodded.
Then it seemed like the plan had been made. Cedar hated it with every fiber of his being. But he had proposed it, and he would be the one pulling through with it now.
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For the next five days, Cedar tried to distract himself. That worked out rather well when he had to take care of Lucille the whole time. After what had happened, she still blamed herself, and seeing someone being poisoned right in front of her shocked her. She was in dire need of some cuddling and calming words.
Cedar knew that he wasn't the most compassionate person in this world, but he gave his best. It seemed to work somehow. Even though it was an issue that he hated seeing Lucille dejected so much that he would have liked to stay with her twenty-four hours a day. In the end, he was even reluctant to leave for once despite doing this to keep her safe.
So, Cedar sat in the carriage along with Owen, who looked as expressionless and intimidating as always, while smiling so brightly that everyone should know that he was annoyed. He couldn't even refrain from asking himself whether he was stupid. Why would he go back to see his mother when he knew what would happen?
Camille would be overjoyed to see him, and he would feel bad for leaving her Then he would have to force himself to ignore that and remember all the horrible things she had done, including the fireplace incident. This would be an endless cycle until he came back to the palace. It might even be better if she just yelled at him, even if that defeated the original goal of finding out some secret information now.
Cedar rested his chin on his hand and only took his elbow off the window sill when they reached the mansion. He glanced at Owen, who was unmistakably supposed to watch the prince as well as the dowager empress, before speaking up. “I sincerely apologize for the fact that my brother made you come along. You probably do not wish to spend your whole day watching me pacify a hysteric traitor. I can promise that you won't be bothered though. You will only need to stand by the door and wait until we're done. You can even eat something in the meantime.”
Owen's expression didn't change even while he replied. “His Majesty ordered me to follow you, so I will not complain. I will ensure that nothing goes wrong.” He didn't say more than that. Apparently, he still hated the prince for the revolt last year. That was understandable.
Cedar ignored that and prepared to enter the lion's den. He jumped out of the carriage without waiting for someone to open the door for him and walked toward the building. He almost wanted to swallow, but he forced himself to stay still. There was no reason for him to worry. He only needed to keep Lucille in mind. He had to imagine how she smiled at him and how she blushed when her soft lips met his.
And he had to remember how often she had been threatened by now.
He needed to protect Lucille. So, he would fight against his mother once again. Even that thought didn't keep him from being tense, but he forced himself to walk forward.
The servants of the mansion didn't see that he was in a bad mood, but all of them should hate that the prince came here. At least one would expect that. In reality, about half of them glared at Cedar while the rest were just curious. When Owen reached his side, more of the people around them relaxed, most likely because they were sure that the emperor's guard would keep an eye on the criminal here.
Cedar nodded at them and walked to the door, where a middle-aged man was waiting. That person seemed to manage the house at the moment. Cedar showed him a bright grin and handed over Theodore's letter. “His Majesty sent me to deal with her for a while. I believe he already informed you though.”
The man, who looked rather strict, nodded at that. “Indeed. Her Majesty is currently in her chambers on the second floor. You are free to visit her and leave on your own accord. The servants are at your service. If you wish, you can order tea for the time that you are here.”
Cedar certainly didn't want to get cozy here, so he wouldn't ask anyone for anything. “I thank you for your offer. I do not need anything though. I will just go in and leave when I have heard what we need to know. If a commotion arises, I will do my best to take care of it.” Even though he didn't have the motivation to deal with his mother at all.
Thankfully, he wasn't stopped for long. The doors were opened, and he could enter despite the countless people staring at him. He let his gaze roam around the building and soon noted that it was rather modest.
Camille probably hated it here. She had already felt that way while they had lived here last year, but now even fewer decorations were to be seen. Instead, countless flowers adorned the entrance hall. Cedar was pretty sure that all of those were the ones that his mother disliked. Theodore was rather petty.
Cedar didn't care much. He immediately steered toward the master bedroom. He climbed up the staircase, only to be forced to catch a maid, who almost jumped downstairs, because she would have fallen down otherwise.
The maid seemed to be prepared to thank him before she saw his face. Then she jumped back and got tense. This was certainly the woman who currently took care of Camille. The one who was friends with Harris and probably troubled the dowager empress at any chance. Obviously, she would dislike the prince.
Cedar showed her a bright smile. “There is no need to worry. His Majesty knows I'm here. I will just have a short talk with my mother and leave again.” Only after a few hours, if he was unlucky. “You will not notice me being here at all.” With that, he wanted to move forward again.
But the maid seemed to snap out of her paralysis here. She shook her head, and her face lit up. “No, it's good that you are here now, Your Royal Highness. Right now, Her Majesty is-” She didn't need to finish the sentence.
The yelling from upstairs said everything. Cedar only needed to listen for a moment to hear a vase shattering on the floor. Then his mother began insulting someone so loudly that everyone in the entrance hall had understood her.
He almost let out a sigh. Though, this was beneficial for him. He could lull his mother into trusting him by calming her down a bit too. But of course, it still was far from pleasant. “I will deal with it.” Cedar continued to walk up the stairs and reached the second floor quickly.
Another crash sounded. Most likely, a second vase had been forced to join the first one and was now lying on the floor in small pieces. The prince wasn't even sure why Theodore had allowed servants to keep something like this here. Everyone knew how explosive Camille was.
Cedar was already unwilling to continue, but he forced himself. He walked to the middle of the hallway and then knocked on the wide door.
Unsurprisingly, the yelling didn't quieten. No one had heard him. Then no one could complain about him opening the door.
Cedar did just that, and immediately, a motion caught his eye. Something came flying to him at full speed. Great. Camille was throwing cups again. Cedar tilted his head to the side to avoid the cup, which met the floor in the hallway behind him, and scanned the scene inside the room.
The dowager empress was definitely sick. She was in her nightgown and wore her hair open, even though she normally put it up in a bun no matter what. She was much paler than normal too, and it looked like her footing wasn't too steady. And despite her obvious discomfort, she was already terrorizing the servants again.
Right now, Camille had buried her fingers in the hair of some unfortunate maid and pulled the other's face to hers before she yelled. “You filthy piece of garbage dare to lecture me? I can treat my servants as I see fit! You will regret trying to interfere. Your punishment will be so harsh that you will remember whom not to provoke!” She used more force, which made the maid cry out in pain. “Understood?” She was in the middle of having another fit.
Cedar's timing couldn't have been better. He would have liked to avoid chiming in like this, but he wouldn't let his mother hurt any servant again. This was rather similar to what he had always done in the past. “Mother.”
Camille froze. She released the poor maid, who panically stumbled backwards, and turned to the door. “Cedar?” She took a second to process that, and when she did, the prince regretted his decision already. “Cedar!” She came running toward him at full speed.
Hopefully, Owen wouldn't see that as dangerous and knock her out.
Cedar fought the urge to back off and had to accept how his mother slammed into him. He just focused on keeping them stable and hoped that the dowager empress was too ecstatic to notice that he wasn't hugging her back. “Good day, Mother.” He had been rather cold, but that didn't seem to bother her.
Camille already clung to him and leaned her head against him. When Lucille did that, it was fine, but right now, it felt like his mother was much too close. Luckily, she lifted her head quickly and beamed at him. “Cedar, you're finally back! I knew you wouldn't leave me behind.” So, she was still in denial. It was frustrating to know that his efforts were ignored, but at least she would be open with her plans if she believed him. That was good.
So, Cedar just smiled back at her. “I heard that you were extremely sick. Of course, I needed to check on you. It seems like you can stand though.”
Camille immediately shifted her weight so that she leaned more against him. “Barely. Cedar, it's so good that you are here. I'm so proud of you.” She was using that strategy now. She was clinging to him and began showering him with affection to bind him to her. Apparently, this was what he needed to deal with now. So, it wasn't surprising for her to suddenly remove one arm from his body to reach up. She stroked over his head, which immediately made Cedar want to run away again.
This gesture was the one he hated most. It had always been something she did to remind him of her so-called love. That meant that he couldn't avoid it now, or she would guess that this was a trick.
Unfortunately, the fact that he held still only made Camille happier. Her eyes seemed slightly glassy as she focused on him, but she was smiling so brightly. She was convinced that she would win here. “Cedar. Your mother loves you very much. I almost went insane without you.” She had probably crossed that line long ago.
Cedar forced himself to reply at that point. “That's why I'm here again. I want to help you get better. You are really sick, right? I heard that you have been ill for the past two weeks or so.” Thanks to Leonard ordering for something odd to be put in her meal. “Do you have a fever?” Even though every single part of him hated it, he lifted his hand and carefully put his palm on Camille's forehead. This definitely was a fever. So, this was why she was much more emotional than normal. This was good and bad at the same time. She would be more open about her plans, but at the same time, she would also be more clingy.
Camille didn't stop beaming, maybe because she thought that allowing her to touch and hug him made Cedar her obedient tool again. “Now that you're here, I'm fine again. But I am a bit nauseous. And I have a headache. And my body hurts and my throat too. You will have to help me, Cedar. I've been sick for so long, but nothing made it better. That must be because I missed you so much that I got ill.” She began early with her guilt-tripping today.
Cedar would have liked to push her away just for that but quickly reminded himself that he needed to endure it. By now, his stomach was already churning, and he felt like he was about to turn around and run away to avoid losing here. So, he told himself what mattered most. Lucille, the one person who truly cared about him. Not Camille, who would burn his skin when he did something she disliked. Not Camille, who didn't seem to understand when he told her why he wouldn't hurt a drugged woman to upset Theodore just because his mother had ordered it.
Those thoughts were enough to remind him of whom he was dealing with. His mother had used him for his whole life. That had been over two decades.
So, Cedar could use her to gain information in return.
The prince showed his mother a bright smile as he forced himself to see the image of Lucille bleeding out in his arms in front of his inner eye. He wouldn't let Lucille get hurt again, so he could be strong for a while. “Of course, Mother. I came here to take care of you. Let's get you back to your bed so that you can lie down.” Cedar didn't face any resistance when he led her around the room while gesturing for the maid to leave.
The young woman was still crying and looked at him as if he was her savior before she darted out. That lucky person could just run away.
The prince, unfortunately, couldn't.
Cedar glanced over his shoulder to confirm that Owen had positioned himself in a corner to have an overview of the room. Seemingly, Camille really didn't feel too well, or she would have thrown the knight out already. This meant that she would cave in easily if Cedar managed to keep his cool for a day. Good. He carefully helped her into the bed before pulling the blanket over her. That was enough to remind him that it wasn't that easy at all.
Normally, he might have kissed his mother on her forehead, but he certainly wouldn't do that now. So, he only sat on the side of the bed.
Camille quickly grabbed his hand and held onto it as if she wanted to keep him from running away. Now that Cedar was directly next to her and could see her face in the daylight from the window, he saw that his mother was truly unwell. She had dark circles under her eyes, and the rest of her skin was paler than it should be so that he could see her veins. Even her normally straight hair had been tangled by now, which probably meant that she had stirred in bed for a long time.
If Cedar didn't remember what she had always told him when he had been sick, he might have felt bad. But now, he only held back a comment about how he had felt much worse after the fireplace incident.
For a minute, which was the most calming part about all of this, the both of them were quiet. Then Camille began speaking again. “Cedar, my head hurts. Will you get a servant to bring me cold cloths?” She could have asked for that before, but she hadn't. Now she suddenly needed them? She only wanted him to sit next to her while being forced to exchange the wet cloths on her head the whole time.
For now, Cedar had to play along though. “Of course, Mother.” He gave her a soft smile before letting go of her hand and going to the door. The desire to leave was so big that it took all of his self-control not to just walk down the corridor. Instead, he addressed the first servant there and ordered what he needed, including some specific medicine for later. Then he returned to the room despite letting out a sigh, which earned him the sympathetic gazes of all the people who stood in the hallway.
Even they seemed to know how horrible it was to deal with Camille.
Cedar sat down on the bed again and focused on suppressing the emotions he had had while being close to his mother in the past. At some point not so long ago, he would have been overjoyed to see her smiling at him like this, which she only had done rarely. But by now, she had destroyed all chances of him ever coming to terms with her again. She had burned the bridge to him the very moment that she had targeted Lucille just because she had found out that he cared for that woman.
Camille didn't want him to be happy unless he was completely dependent on her and her alone. So, there was no way that he could stay close to his mother.