The King's Lover-Chapter 406: Rylen’s Suspicions

They were approaching the Queen’s wing when Rylen and Caira caught sight of Caius walking with Thomas. Caius had his head bent as he stared at a paper, speaking to Thomas as he walked, but as soon as he saw them, he stopped.

"Your Grace," Rylen said and bowed.

"Prince Caius," Caira called with a softer curtsey.

Rylen noticed Caius’s grip on the paper tighten; he did not like how she addressed him. Caira didn’t seem to notice, and Rylen let out a sigh of relief.

"Princess Caira," Caius called, not even bothering to smile. Thomas bowed beside him without a word.

"Won’t you join us for lunch?" Caira asked, noticing he was heading in the opposite direction. She looked worried, clearly ready to offer help if needed.

"No, I will have to skip this one. But dinner," he forced a smile, "I’ll attend."

Rylen was appreciative that his cousin was at least willing to keep up appearances. Agreeing to the marriage in the first place was already a big shock, but Caius had also taken her on a walk. He wasn’t interactive, but it was already better than Rylen had expected. Whatever hold the King had, it was pretty effective.

"Okay," Caira reluctantly gave in, picking up that he would not appreciate any help she might offer.

"Well then, Princess Caira, enjoy your lunch."

Caius marched off with Thomas without waiting for a reply, leaving them standing awkwardly in the hallway. However, something else held Rylen’s attention: the way Thomas glanced at him as he passed.

Rylen hadn’t thought much about it before. He did know the Crown Prince was making more inquiries about the wedding, but he had thought it was just to exert some control over the situation. Now, he felt that wasn’t the case.

"Prince Rylen?"

Rylen jerked his attention to her, then politely smiled. "Shall we?"

She studied him suspiciously. "Is something wrong?"

"I just remembered I haven’t had the chance to speak to His Grace about something important, but I don’t think now is a good time," he said with a dry laugh as he started walking. "It will have to wait until after the wedding."

Caira nodded as he spoke. He wasn’t sure how much she knew about the ongoing politics in Velmount—this was the sort of topic kept away from the women—but Caira wasn’t completely oblivious.

She had also been determined to find out any information she could in her first few days here, and though it concerned the kingdom, Rylen hadn’t failed to notice it centered around the Crown Prince.

The walk to the dining room was quiet, and when they arrived, Queen Violeta rushed up and air-kissed both of Caira’s cheeks. The Queen was quite taken with her, which was good. Having the Queen’s favor was crucial for her stay here, and Rylen was relieved she had at least that silver lining.

Rylen took his seat and was quiet for the rest of the conversation. Queen Violeta couldn’t stop talking about how happy she was that Caius was involved with the wedding and that, with only a few days left, guests would be arriving soon.

She also talked about how it was a shame Caira’s family wouldn’t be able to make it, but Caira quickly repeated Rylen’s words back to her, and the Queen was absolutely ecstatic that Caira considered them her new family.

After lunch was over, Rylen was quick to make his way to the Crown Prince’s study; the whole situation bothered him, and he wanted more information. He knocked twice when he arrived and waited for a response to enter. After some time, Thomas appeared at the door but didn’t step aside as he held it open.

"Lord Thomas," Rylen called. There was no point getting angry at the disrespect; he had expected it.

"Prince Rylen," Thomas replied with a bow.

This appeased Rylen for the moment. "I would like to see His Grace."

"I apologize, Prince Rylen, but His Highness is busy."

Rylen sighed. "Are you really going to ignore me, Your Grace?" he asked over Thomas’s shoulder.

Caius dropped the paper with a loud sound as he hit his hand on the table. "What do you want?"

Thomas stepped aside, allowing Rylen to enter. He shut the door and stood by it, one hand resting on his sword, the other at his side.

Rylen glanced at the table as he got close enough, but it was hard to read anything from the scattered papers. Caius was also staring at him suspiciously, he couldn’t give anything away.

"When are you letting her go?" Rylen asked directly.

"Is that what you came here for?" Caius asked with a dry laugh.

"Your Grace..."

"Did Mother not tell you about our conversation?"

Rylen, in fact, did not know. All he knew was that the Crown Prince was taking charge of the wedding preparations—an odd thing to hear—but Rylen had easily come up with excuses for him.

"I had expected at least you would know." Caius scoffed. "If that’s all you came here for, get out."

"I was informed you’re in charge of the wedding." Rylen didn’t hide his disbelief.

"I don’t see how that is any of your business. And since when do you think your role is to supervise my actions? Don’t be ridiculous, Rylen!"

"Your Grace is right," he said simply. "However, I just wanted to know if you would need any help," Rylen offered.

He felt a pang of guilt, as he wasn’t offering his help out of goodwill; he wanted to make sure the wedding would go smoothly. He was surprised the Queen was willing to put Caius in charge, but she was most likely so thrilled by his compliance that she granted him this concession without looking too closely.

Caius looked at Rylen, leaning back in his seat. "I think you’ve helped enough, Rylen. Wouldn’t you say?"

Rylen reluctantly nodded. Caius’s tone was final, and it stung. He knew not to expect anything less from the Crown Prince, but it still stung.

"I apologize for the intrusion, Your Grace," he bowed and slowly walked to the exit.

Caius was surprised at his cousin’s quick exit. He didn’t know what the latter’s plan was but he knew this wasn’t any simple visit and to blatantly offer his help when he knew Caius would decline was not something he would do without purpose.

He narrowed his eyes as he watched Rylen leave. He was infuriated, more than he showed. Things would have gone much simpler if he were on his side. However, that was clearly not the case.