The King's Lover-Chapter 425: Just Leave

The next morning, Rose hoped that Caius would be in a better mood, but she couldn’t shake off the same feeling from the night before. However, it was hard to dwell on it when Caius had told her she could go see Lady Delphine in a few days.

With that in mind, she would be able to handle as much time as it took the crown prince to decide what he would do with her. He said he didn’t want to let her go, but they both knew he couldn’t keep her here forever—not with him being married—and Rose was counting on that.

It was the only way she had been able to keep herself sane these past few days, with the crown prince sneaking into her room as though it were nothing out of the ordinary.

"Good morning, Your Majesty," Rose said.

Her eyes squinted slightly as she spoke, annoyed that she remembered he had mentioned he didn’t want her to call him that. Then what could she possibly call him? The last time she had tried something else, he had teased her about it.

"Good morning, Rose. Did you sleep well?"

Rose nodded and smiled up at him. She moved to a sitting position but didn’t rush off the bed. Caius also noticed that she wasn’t chasing him off as she usually would, and he grew angry anew.

Telling her she could go see Lady Delphine was good enough to put her in this mood. However, he knew exactly what going to Lady Delphine meant, and he couldn’t help the rage he felt.

"Yes," she replied, but before she could ask him if he did the same, Caius got out of bed.

He snatched his shirt off the floor and, without saying a word, made his way to the wardrobe. Rose was too stunned to speak as she watched him leave, wondering if she had done something wrong.

He kept saying he wasn’t angry, but his actions clearly dictated otherwise. Rose wondered what could have happened, and with the way he left, she wondered if he would return tonight.

She would prefer if he didn’t, even if she would miss the lessons, because the less he saw her, the higher her chances of leaving. Still, she hoped he was all right, for her sake, her life still dangled on his whims.

Rose quickly shoved the thought to the back of her mind; she was just happy that he had left without any trouble. She had felt a little bad that he was in such a sour mood that she didn’t want to chase him off so early, but at least he had saved her the trouble.

Not long after, her maids arrived. It was just Chelsy and Isla, as she had expected. There was barely any conversation until they were helping her into her dress when Isla said something that caught Rose’s attention.

"Have you heard the rumor going around the castle?" Isla asked.

"Oh, shut up, Isla," her sister scolded.

"What?"

"You know she hasn’t heard anything."

"Well, don’t you think she deserves to know? It is about her, after all."

"That doesn’t mean you should bother her with rumors. They are just rumors, after all."

"What is this rumor?" Rose asked, feeling a cold trail run down her back.

Isla looked at her sister with a self-satisfied expression. "Well, the rumor is that there is trouble in paradise. According to the servants who saw this, it happened just last night." Isla brought her voice down and used one hand to cover the side of her mouth. "Princess Caira was seen running from the crown prince’s chambers with tears in her eyes, and everyone is saying it’s because of you."

Rose blinked slowly as she recalled Caius’s behavior the night before. She did think there was truth to this rumor. "His chambers? Did they say what happened?"

Isla shook her head. "Only that her maid had to rush after her."

Rose wondered if the Princess had gone to the crown prince instead and he had chased her off. It would definitely explain why he was in a foul mood. There would be repercussions to his actions, repercussions that would most likely affect her.

Why would you do such a thing?

"It has nothing to do with you, Rose; don’t listen to the rumors."

Rose almost shook her head. It had everything to do with her. What was the crown prince doing, acting like this? Why wouldn’t he be with his wife? It didn’t help that this rumor was going around. It was certainly bound to reach the Queen.

Rose simply nodded her head and didn’t say anything until they left. The only person she could discuss this with was Welma, and she hoped the maid alone would bring her breakfast.

Her prayers were answered as the next knock revealed Welma. The maid walked into the room with a tray and a stoic expression. She greeted Rose before heading to the dining table and setting the tray down; then she turned to leave.

"Have you heard the rumors?" Rose asked.

Welma paused and turned. "Which one?"

Rose sighed and held her gaze. "Make it easy for me, Welma."

"You say that when you make it very hard for me. The Queen is convinced that the crown prince comes to see you every night, and I have to keep telling her I haven’t seen any signs of that."

Her eyes locked with Rose’s neck, and Rose instinctively tried to cover it, wondering if there was a mark she had missed.

"You say it as though I have much of a choice."

Welma sighed. "I know you don’t, but you keep speaking to me as though I am on your side. The plan was for you to leave... not be back here."

Of course, it was easy for anyone on the sidelines to say that. Just leave. As if she wouldn’t do that if she could.

"What is Her Majesty saying about the rumors?"

"She only just found out this morning, and..." Welma looked at Rose with a serious expression. "She isn’t very happy. She didn’t say what exactly she was going to do, but she wouldn’t stop calling you names."

"Thank you, Welma. Is there some truth to the rumor, then?"

"Yes," Welma said with a heavy sigh. "I only just found out that the crown prince doesn’t go to the princess, and when she went to him, he chased her off without a proper reason."

Rose simply nodded. "Thank you, Welma." The maid had only confirmed the theory she already had. What she had wanted more, though, was information on what the Queen was planning for her, but Welma didn’t have any information in that regard.

Welma looked at her with a sad expression. "It is only going to get worse."

"I know," Rose mumbled, and Welma turned away and left.