The King's Lover-Chapter 369: His Captive

Her fingers and wrist hurt. It felt just as bad as when she would help her father carve wood. Why did it hurt so much? But the Crown Prince seemed to be writing so easily, as though it was the most natural thing in the world. To her, it felt as though she had carved at least ten bowls without a single break. Rose couldn’t figure it out.

"Shall we call it a d—"

Rose sighed loudly and let the quill fall out of her hand; it landed on the table with a soft clatter. Her head fell sideways onto the desk as the muscles in her hand felt weak. She let her arms drop down in an attempt to stretch them.

Caius was in clear shock. "Was it that difficult?" he asked with concern.

"I have never written before now, Your Majesty. I can barely feel my wrist," Rose replied with a groan.

"You did very well—" he lifted his hand and tucked some hair away from her face, "—and with every stroke, your writing got better, less wiggly."

Rose didn’t even have the energy to flinch at his touch, and perhaps her exhaustion made it feel almost nice. She let out a small chuckle at Caius’s comment about her strokes being less wiggly.

However, he was flattering her. Her writing had improved enough that one could understand the letters she wrote, but it was certainly not less wiggly and couldn’t even compare to his. Was it always this hard to write?

The Crown Prince had taught her the letters of the script and then had her write them a thousand times. This was an exaggeration, but Rose refused to admit that only a couple of dozen times had brought her hand to this state. Gripping the quill and drawing graceful strokes required a strength she and even realized she lacked.

Another thing she noticed was that the Crown Prince didn’t seem to understand the meaning of a break, and Rose had tried her very best to keep up. She didn’t want to disappoint, not when she had assumed he would be the one to get tired first. But he didn’t, not once, not even when she made countless mistakes. He would patiently correct her and then proceed to repeat it.

She wanted to hit her head on the table. Why was he actually a really good tutor? She thought all the Crown Prince cared about was women and wine, but it seemed as though she was very wrong. She frowned as she recalled how serious he had seemed while reading Prince Rylen’s letter. He had a similar aura while teaching her.

"Your right hand," Caius said and stretched out his hand.

Rose’s brows furrowed slightly and she slowly lifted her head off the desk. She leaned back in her seat with a puzzled expression on her face but did as Caius requested and gave him her hand.

He pulled her thumb, and Rose winced; most of the pain was concentrated there. Caius noticed her expression and began to gently massage her palm. He dug deep into the tissue and pressed down, tracing the outline of her thumb.

Rose gripped the chair in pain, but the pain she felt quickly changed. It did hurt, but with each massage, it felt so much better. The Crown Prince moved from her thumb to her index finger. He seemed to know exactly where the pain was concentrated, and when he was done with her fingers, he moved to her wrist.

It was hard not to react, and Rose didn’t miss that the Crown Prince was watching her reaction. She tried not to think about how his hand felt or his expression and just concentrated on the relief she was getting.

"Is it better?" Caius asked as he stopped massaging her wrist, but he didn’t let go of her hand.

He sounded too close, and his voice sounded heavier than normal. Rose didn’t like the way that made her feel. She reluctantly pulled her hand from his grip and twirled her wrist, still feeling the aftermath of his touch on her hand.

"Yes, Your Majesty. It is much better. Thank you."

"Next time, you can just say you’re tired," Caius commented.

There it was, that smug, know-it-all tone. Rose couldn’t help but be defensive to it. It always felt as though she was in a battle of submission with the Crown Prince, and she absolutely hated to give in.

"I wasn’t tired," she stated stubbornly as she stopped twirling her wrist. "I am just not used to writing." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Caius’s eyes gleamed with mischief. "Is that so? Then perhaps we should continue. Your hand should feel better."

Rose’s eyes widened in horror. "Y-Your Majesty," she stuttered as her brain sought a good enough excuse.

"I thought you weren’t tired." Caius chuckled. "There isn’t enough time for another lesson, it should be lunch soon. Get some rest before then. After lunch, we will take a walk around the castle compound. That would help with your stiff muscles."

The relief Rose felt was quickly drowned out by his request. "A walk?" Rose asked, trying her best not to sound surprised.

"Do you have anything against walks?" Caius asked.

Rose shook her head. That wasn’t it; it was just an odd addition, but she couldn’t deny that it certainly beat being stuck in the room playing chess. Besides, if she couldn’t get rid of him, she might as well make the most of the situation.

"No," Rose replied. "I have been quite curious about the interior and exterior of the castle. I heard it belonged to your grandmother."

"Yes," Caius replied. "But she didn’t spend a single night in it. She died before the castle was completed."

Rose wasn’t being inquisitive; she was only trying to make conversation after he oddly asked her on a walk—more like demanded that she go on a walk with him—and she was trying to ease the awkwardness.

"I’m so sorry," she whispered.

Caius blinked. "No need to apologize. I never met her. She died long before I was born. Grandfather finished the building and named it after her. It’s mostly abandoned, especially in winter. It’s best around summer. Perhaps we shall return in the summer. Unlike the grueling sun in the capital, Castle Catherine is cooler and much better in the summer."

It was hard not to show any expression, not with the sour taste in her mouth. The Crown Prince was clearly letting her know that she would still be with him in the summer. Sure, there was only one season between winter and summer, but it was still a long time.

Rose didn’t want to still be at his mercy by then. Was there really no hope for her to get out of this? Was she stuck living like this? There was no way, right? Besides, Lord Leopold had mentioned something about a betrothed. The Crown Prince should get married soon, right?

However, she had not heard anything more on this matter, and if it weren’t for Lord Leopold, she would have never known of the existence of a fiancée.

"What do you say, Rose?" Caius asked.

Rose jumped; he was saying her name more easily nowadays, but that didn’t make her feel less uneasy. It made it worse. She couldn’t help but feel entangled in some kind of web.

Rose smiled, "As you wish, Your Majesty," she bent her head as she spoke, hoping to hide her anxiety.

She hated it, hated when he asked her things as though she had an opinion when she was only here to cater to his every whim. It was easy to forget, especially when he was teaching or helping her massage her hand. Some fleeting, useless thought that perhaps it wasn’t so bad would poke its head out, but it didn’t take her long to be reminded of what the reality really was, and Rose was grateful for this.

"Does your hand feel any better?" he questioned.

It was almost normal, she thought, laughing sadly internally. However, it wasn’t, and she knew better than to think so. This was the Crown Prince, her captor, and she was no more than his captive.

"Yes," she smiled as she regained clarity. "Thank you for your help, Your Majesty."

Caius opened his mouth to speak as he stared at her, but a knock interrupted, and moments later the door opened to reveal the butler.

"Your Highness," Fabian said as he walked into the room towards them. "Lady Rose."

Rose smiled at him as he walked towards them. He stopped in front of the desk and bowed.

"Fabian," Caius called, clearly in a better mood.

"Yes, Your Highness. Lunch is ready," he announced and bowed again.

"Is that so?" Caius asked rhetorically.

Regardless of it being obvious that he didn’t expect an answer, Fabian nodded diligently before saying, "Yes, Your Highness."

The butler bowed one more time before seeing himself out. Rose’s eyes were still on the door long after it had closed.

"Do you think you can handle eating? Or perhaps you need help?" Caius teased.

Rose jerked her head to look at him, her face a mix of confusion as she tried to understand what he was insinuating. "No, thank you, Your Majesty. I am sure I can eat just fine."

Caius smirked. "If you insist," he said and rose to his feet, stretching out his hand to her. "However, my offer is still on the table. Just let me know when."

That was never going to happen. She would rather eat with her feet than have him feed her in the presence of everyone. Rose didn’t want to think about it.