The King's Lover-Chapter 468: Damaged

Caius had expected his cousin to be with him when he broke the bad news to his mother. Still, Rylen had excused himself immediately after breakfast, saying he had things to attend to and offering no further details.

Caius couldn’t begin to imagine what could possibly be more important right now other than this, but he didn’t press and he let Rylen excuse himself; Violeta Ravenor was his mother after all, and one could say it was his duty.

"Might I have a word, Mother?" he asked as she stood up to leave the dining room. "Privately," he added when she stared at him oddly, as though stating he could speak now.

He could see her shock at his words, it wasn’t often he asked to speak to her privately. It was usually her seeking him out.

"Perhaps later, son. I have to go see His Majesty now."

Caius was on his feet before he realized. "I insist," he said with what he hoped was a smile. He couldn’t ignore the tension he could feel; this wasn’t going to be as easy as he thought.

She glanced at him and shrugged. "As you like, but make it brief."

"I’ll do my best." Caius rounded the table, walking towards his mother, when they were side by side he offered her his elbow.

Her surprised expression was obvious for all to see, and she hesitated to take it, but only for a moment. She slipped her hand through the space and let out a soft laugh.

"Is this bribery? Do you intend to ask for something despicable?"

"Is it that astonishing that I would want to walk side by side with my mother?"

"This isn’t just walking side by side. You never offer your elbow."

"Because you’ve never asked."

He wondered if he had done too much by offering his elbow. He didn’t know why he did it. However, thankfully, she was distracted by the fact that he wanted to request something she wouldn’t like, so perhaps it did fulfill its purpose.

They soon arrived at her chambers. Caius was quickly ushered in by his mother’s ladies-in-waiting. Caius didn’t mind their presence while he broke the news to his mother, as he knew she would need consoling and, unfortunately, he had no skill in that department.

"What is it?" she asked immediately as soon as the doors were shut, but she didn’t pull away from him. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"Have a seat, Mother," Caius said.

She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously but didn’t argue; rather, she sighed and braced herself for the worst. She walked away from him and soon sat in her favorite chair.

It was a velvet cushion that was almost similar to the chairs in the throne room, with its high back and golden top. The ladies-in-waiting fussed around her for a moment after she took a seat, and Caius couldn’t figure out what they were doing.

By the time they moved away, Caius could barely tell the difference. Perhaps, they had adjusted her dress but it didn’t make a difference whether they did or not.

"Go on then; I told you to make it brief."

She sounded cross, but Caius knew she was happy with his presence. He took a step forward but not too close. He was simply here to deliver the news; he would leave the comforting to her ladies-in-waiting.

"Go on," she said again, impatiently, but Caius could see the worry in her eyes. She was starting to tell that something was wrong.

Caius was unsure how to break the news; there was no soft or easier way to say what he wanted to say. His father was dead, and no matter what words he used, it would still be the same thing.

"Mother," he said softly.

"Yes," she replied, studying his face. He could tell she was trying to figure out what this was about.

"I regret to inform you that Father passed away in his sleep."

Caius watched his mother closely as he spoke, and she simply blinked at his words as though she hadn’t heard him clearly, but she had, and one of her ladies-in-waiting grabbed her hand just as she let out a small scream. Her face scrunched up and tears poured down her face.

Caius didn’t know what to do; he felt awkward watching his mother cry, so he tried to slip away, but she stopped him.

"Caius," she called and stretched her hand to him.

He was reluctant to take it and would rather just leave, but he simply nodded and indulged her. Walking back towards her, he took her outstretched hand, and she clasped onto him tightly as she sobbed.

---

Rylen took the stairs two at a time as he rushed to the library. Caira had said she would be there after breakfast, and he didn’t want to miss her. He barged into the library, startling the librarian who was putting new books onto the shelves.

"Prince Rylen," the older woman said with a gasp.

Rylen simply nodded; he didn’t offer any apology for startling her. Rather, he made his way deeper into the library where Caira liked to sit.

There was no sign of her, but he already knew that as soon as he stepped into the library. He picked up a random book, pretending to read so as not to seem suspicious to the librarian, but she had already forgotten him.

Putting the last of the books onto the shelf, she promptly made her way out of the library without another word. All Rylen could hear was her uneven footsteps as she made her way out.

Rylen flipped the pages more for something to do than caring about the contents of the book. Caira had said she would be here, and he wanted to believe her. He knew better than to make his way to her chambers again; she didn’t like that, and it didn’t help that had she waited even a moment before slamming the door on him, the crown prince would have seen them.

Not that it mattered to Rylen; he was certain he would be willing to fight Caius for her. If he spoke to his cousin, they would certainly come to some agreement. This wasn’t a problem that couldn’t be solved, but he knew Caira couldn’t handle the scandal. So whatever decision she made, he would have to go with it; it was the price to pay.

Rylen heard the door open and he was on his feet in an instant. He walked towards the door, just as Caira walked in. Rylen stopped walking immediately, almost as if he was rooted to the ground.

Caira was dressed in a cream dress that matched her hair, and unlike yesterday, her hair was brushed away from her face. She still had an unhappy look in her eyes, but there was color on her cheeks and lips.

Her eyes darted around, and Rylen would have sworn her face brightened when her gaze rested on him, but perhaps that was what he wanted to believe.

"Princess," he whispered as she came close; he wanted to stretch out his hand to touch her, but he knew better.

She wrapped her arms around herself as she saw him, putting an invisible shield between them, and Rylen winced. They were worse than ever. He would do anything to rectify this.

"Prince Rylen," she said with a flat voice. "I am here as you requested. What do you want?"

There was something folded in the palm of her right hand. Rylen couldn’t see what it was, but she was gently squeezing it as if to comfort herself.

He took a step forward and she took a step back. Rylen sighed. "Would you have a seat?"

Caira glanced at where he pointed and then shook her head. "I don’t think I would be staying that long."

Rylen clenched his fist. "Would you rather never speak about this again?"

She lifted her head to look at him for the first time since she walked into the room, and Rylen knew that even if that was what she wanted, he couldn’t fulfill it.

"As much as I would like to say yes," she whispered, turning her gaze away from him. "The damage has been done."

Rylen felt as though he had been stabbed in the heart at her description of the event. She thought it was damaged. He took a deep breath to make sure his lungs could still function normally.

He didn’t know how he would approach the situation; Caira was closed up, and she didn’t look as though there was any chance for him to fix this.

"What would you have me do?" he said with a dejected tone in his voice.

Her expression brightened a bit at his question, and Rylen felt a little bit of hope—that perhaps there was some way to fix this and Caira, though reluctant, still wanted something.

She took a deep breath but still didn’t look at him and said the words Rylen didn’t expect; even after she finished speaking, he wasn’t quite sure he had heard her.