The King's Lover-Chapter 451: Delight and Shock

The next morning Rose was pouty after Caius took the swallow. She couldn’t believe he had really done that. Why would he even want it in the first place? She had asked him last night and he said because she made it.

She told him she didn’t exactly make it and her father had done it for her. He then dared to tell her to ask her father to make her another one as he was keeping this one.

Rose was annoyed that she had let him have it but at the same time, she knew there was no way she could have stopped him.

As if to prevent her from doing so he had also left before she woke up, he never did this and she would usually have to chase him away. Rose sat grumpily by her desk as she prepared to do her task for the day.

Rose could tell that she was getting better at reading but there was still some time before she would be able to read and write without help. She could feel that it wasn’t far away.

After some time she was able to distract herself from the fact that she lost her swallow as she got engrossed in her tasks. The swallow was still his, but for now, the loss had faded.

***

Caira was seated in the library as she tried to read but a huge part of her was waiting for Rylen. Sometimes he visited her twice but if he was only going to visit once, he always chose after lunch.

Caira wished she had been able to make some blueberry snacks for him but they still weren’t in season yet. She asked the servants to make regular snacks instead and she intended to offer them to him.

Caira didn’t have to, she knew that but she was unsure how else she could cheer him up. She could tell whatever was happening in the castle was bothering him, regardless of how he wanted to pretend otherwise.

She couldn’t concentrate on her reading and kept glancing at the door waiting for him to walk through it. She was willing to admit that the time they spent in the library was the highlight of her day.

Caira heard the door open and she had to fight not to rush to her feet. This was not the first time Rylen would visit her, she knew better than to act in this manner but try as she might she couldn’t seem to curb her excitement.

He headed straight for her and Caira smiled as she looked at him. "Prince Rylen," she called even before he reached her so he wouldn’t notice that she was staring for too long.

He was quick to slide into the long chair she sat down on. He seemed a little out of breath and his hair was slightly ruffled. This was unlike Rylen so it was easy to notice.

"Did something happen?" She asked as she peered into his face. Her gaze filled with concern.

"No, I rushed here."

"Why?"

"I was worried I was keeping you waiting."

Caira blushed, it was hard not to. "You weren’t that late," she said and turned to the tray that held the snacks, hoping he wouldn’t notice the color on her cheeks.

"I don’t like to keep you waiting."

Caira nodded, acting as though his words had no effect, and changed the subject for her own sanity.

Moving the tray closer, she said, "I had the servants make some snacks. Sorry, there aren’t any blueberries yet."

Rylen chuckled. "I don’t only eat blueberries and you’ve given me enough to last a lifetime."

Caira chuckled because he was not exaggerating. She moved the tray closer to him so he could easily take out the biscuits.

Only after he had taken one did Caira do the same. It was pretty crunchy and she subconsciously hummed to herself as it melted in her mouth. She could taste the honey, cinnamon, and milk.

"My lady," Mara suddenly said. "I will be right back."

Caira nodded but didn’t speak because her mouth was full. It wasn’t completely unusual for her maid to leave her while she was in the library but Mara didn’t do it very often and this time she had left without any reason but Caira didn’t take any notice of it.

She picked another biscuit and munched some more peeking at Rylen now and then to make sure he was enjoying it and he was. By the time she finished her second piece, he was on his fifth.

Caira giggled to herself and placed her elbows on the table as she watched him eat. "What do you think?"

"Absolutely delicious," he said, picking the last piece.

"I knew you’d like it," she announced with pride.

"A new recipe?" He asked, dusting the crumbs off his fingertips.

Caira shook her head. "Not exactly. I just haven’t shown it to you yet. The servants had issues replicating it so it took a while."

"It’s really good."

"I wonder what you’ll say then when I add blueberries."

Rylen didn’t laugh, rather his eyes seemed to get bigger and he said, "There are some crumbs on your face."

"Where?"

But his hand was already moving to wipe it off. He gently lifted her chin with his hand while his thumb lightly wiped the corner of her lips clean.

The rest of her body felt numb as she concentrated on the parts he touched her. He looked serious as he diligently did his task and Caira didn’t think to pull away. It was hard not to think about the fact that he was touching her lips.

Her eyes looked down to his parted lips and she realized if she leaned forward they would kiss. As if reading her thoughts, Rylen chose that moment to look into her eyes. It happened in a flash, Caira didn’t have a chance to stop it but even if she could, she would not. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

There was a sharp intake of breath as their lips met. His hand on her face was gentle but his kiss was even more gentle. Caira could feel herself melting. She always imagined what her first kiss would be like, it exceeded her expectations. His lips tasted like honey biscuits but were somehow even sweeter.

He pulled away and his expression mirrored hers, a mix of delight and shock at the realization of what they had just done. They just kissed and Caira didn’t try to stop him. His face was a little flushed and Caira pulled backwards and looked everywhere but at him.

He cleared his throat and said, "Thank you for the biscuits."

Caira nodded and watched him rise to his feet. He glanced at her one more time, she could tell he was looking at her but Caira couldn’t bring herself to look at him.

She knew her face was still flushed from the kiss and looking at him would mean she would have to face what they had just done and Caira wasn’t sure she had the courage to do that right now.

She heard his footsteps pulling away and she finally raised her head just to see him as he stepped out of the door. Moments later, her maid walked through the same doors and it finally hit Caira.

"Mara," she cried.

"What is it, my lady?"

"I have done something absolutely horrible," she said and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"What do you mean?" She lightly tapped Caira on the back who was hiding her face.

"I can’t believe I let that happen."

Caira realized she didn’t feel a single ounce of regret and that made her feel even more awful. She shut her eyes as she tried to get rid of the image in her head but that only seemed to make her see it more clearly.

"I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what happened."

But Caira couldn’t bring herself to tell her maid but little did she know that Mara wasn’t that oblivious. So she did her best to comfort her mistress who then finally reluctantly let her go.