The King's Lover-Chapter 375: Feed Me

"Feed me," Caius said.

"I am sorry, Your Majesty. What did you say?" Rose asked, turning her head sharply in his direction.

She had heard him; she had heard him clear enough, and so had the entire table. Conversations immediately stopped, and all eyes were on them. Rose had only asked the question to buy some time, and a part of her was hoping she had heard him wrong or at least he would reconsider his words.

"I said to feed me," he repeated. His expression wasn’t any different, and his tone was just as serious.

Why am I not surprised that he would just as confidently repeat the question?

Rose’s eyes did a quick scan around the table. She could hear small chuckles and whispers, but none were loud enough for the words to reach her ears. Rose was sure she had an idea what they were talking about.

"I don’t think I am best s-suited for that, Your Majesty." She coughed and shuffled in her seat. She brought her voice down to a whisper, hoping to minimize the embarrassment.

Rose couldn’t comprehend how the Crown Prince was so shameless, but she had already experienced his shamelessness firsthand before now. However, it didn’t stop it from being startling.

"I want you to feed me, Rose. I can’t use my right hand." He lifted his hand and gently dropped it on the table. The bandages were clear to all, as though to remind her of how much pain he was in.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t feed him, but did he really want her to do it here in front of everyone? If this was what he wanted all along, they could have had dinner in his chambers.

Rose frowned; she didn’t like how she was considering this, with her only reason for refusing being the audience. The Crown Prince just sprained his hand; why was he acting as though he was now incompetent, and why was she going along with it?

Rose sighed. She couldn’t say no, could she? Besides, it was clear he had no plans to give her the chance. "I am sure there is someone better who could—"

"You said you would help."

Rose was taken aback. What was he? A child? It wasn’t just his seriousness; it was his tone, his body language. It annoyed the hell out of her, but at the same time, she wanted to help him in his helpless state. But Caius wasn’t helpless, not in the slightest.

"Can I at least do it in the privacy of your chambers?" she asked.

"Do what?" Caius asked with a smirk.

Rose resisted the urge to smack him. It was pretty strong, but she satisfied it by wiping her hands on her dress. She knew exactly what he meant, as if this was the time to make a crude joke.

"Help you with your dinner," she softly said. Rose would rather die than say the words ’feed you’.

"Very well," Caius said with a satisfied expression. "Fabian," he turned to the butler, who was standing only a few feet away.

"Yes, Your Highness?" Fabian said and moved closer.

"Bring our dinner to my chambers," he stated.

Fabian bowed and stepped backward. "As you wish, Your Highness."

Caius stood and stretched out his left hand to her again. He was being unnecessarily ceremonious about this, but Rose accepted his hand. Why was she suffering for his stupid decision?

Rose didn’t even look at the table as Caius led her out of the dining room. Why did this feel even more embarrassing than everyone knowing they were intimate?

Rose was fully convinced that the Crown Prince enjoyed embarrassing her. Well, she already knew this. However, this incident should have been more embarrassing for him, but Caius didn’t seem to care.

"You seem quiet," he whispered after some time.

And you’re talking too much. Aren’t you in pain? So much pain that you can’t even eat by yourself?

"I was just thinking that your hand must hurt so much," she smiled.

"Yes," Caius replied and turned away. He raised his right hand and stared at the bandage. "I should have listened."

Rose was caught off guard once again at how casually he was willing to accept that she was right. Did he hit his head too when he fell?

Rose sighed. "You couldn’t have known. I shouldn’t have called you ’Castle Boy’."

Caius chuckled. "I quite like it."

"What?" Rose turned to look at him.

"Nobody has ever called me that before," he glanced at her briefly before turning away.

Rose stared at him in disbelief. He did know that it wasn’t a compliment when she called him castle boy, right? She had intended to be insulting.

They soon got to his chambers, and Caius sat by the dining table. While passing around the table to his seat, he hit his injured hand against it. Caius winced and grabbed it. He tried to hide the pain from her, but it was pretty obvious that it hurt.

She sighed. Just because he was stupid didn’t mean he had to be punished for it. Besides, it was hard not to take pity on him. She had never seen this side of the Crown Prince before. He didn’t look like the type that would ever rely on anyone, but he had asked her to feed him quite easily—and a little embarrassingly, too.

When dinner arrived, Rose no longer saw the reason why this was ridiculous. She carried on her task quite well and didn’t eat until he was well-fed. Caius was utterly quiet as she fed him. He didn’t make any nasty comments or cutting remarks. He obeyed when she spoke and didn’t decline whatever she fed him.

Another thing that Rose didn’t dare think about was how comforting it was to help him eat. Perhaps it was because it reminded her of when she would help her mother eat.

This had been a huge part of her life, and Rose had fed her mother for as long as she could remember. Even when the woman could help herself, she would insist, claiming the food tasted better from her daughter’s hand.