The King's Lover-Chapter 475: Changes Nothing
Caius didn’t leave Rose’s room until the next morning. He left before her servants arrived and Rose looked reluctant to let him go. If he didn’t have such a massive issue weighing on his shoulders, he might have stayed a bit longer.
She had been clearly worried about him as she indulged his antics, kept staring at him with concern, asked if he was well, and never once asked him to leave.
He wanted to stay as long as possible in that room with her, cut away from the rest of the world and what had happened. Caius didn’t want to think about it and more especially, he didn’t want to think about how complicated this made things and, worse, Rylen’s double betrayal.
First, his cousin worked hand in hand with his parents to rope him into this marriage and now this. Caius had the sudden urge to rip something apart but couldn’t do that rather he had to find some solution.
Caius had thought his father was the only one to worry about. With him gone, he could end things with Caira and be with Rose, but that wasn’t going to happen as easily anymore. This incident stopped him from being able to easily end things with Caira. He would have no right.
A nauseating feeling filled him once more.
"Your Highness," Henry said, pulling him out of his thoughts.
Caius adjusted his sleeves as he stood dressed in the middle of his room. He had on a black doublet, a shiny black linen shirt, black pants, and black boots in honor of his dead father. His sword lay by his side, and for the occasion, he wore his golden band.
His father’s burial was to begin tomorrow. Most of the guests had arrived, and since he had been away the entirety of the day before, Caius would have to make up for it. The lords would want to see and speak to him.
He was surprised they had left him unbothered for the whole day, but he suspected they just chalked it up to him grieving his father and had left him alone for now. With the burial and coronation coming up, he would have to show himself sooner rather than later.
"Yes," Caius replied.
Henry immediately looked uncomfortable. "Lord Furtherfield demanded to see you the day before as soon as he arrived, but I had to decline. I didn’t want to mention it before now as I didn’t want to bother Your Highness, but I told him you declined."
Caius understood why Henry seemed uncomfortable. If he had indeed wanted to see Leopold, that would be a problem for Henry. But other than meal times, he had requested not to be bothered while he was with Rose.
Here he was thinking the lords cared enough to give him a break, whereas Henry simply kept them away. However, his holiday was over and he would have to deal with them now.
"You did well, Henry," Caius praised and turned away from him.
"Thank you, Your Highness, but it was mostly Prince Rylen. He handled all the lords that arrived yesterday."
At his cousin’s name, Caius immediately stopped walking and turned to face Henry. The latter took a step back at Caius’s demeanor, wondering what he might have done wrong.
"Your Highness," he mumbled, bowing his head to make amends if he offended Caius.
"Open the door, Henry." His voice was curt and irritated.
Henry nodded and hurriedly walked to the door, even though he didn’t have to do it and the servants could have handled it, but he knew better than to argue or hesitate.
Caius marched towards the open door without another word to Henry, but his expression was clear enough to put fright in everyone nearby, and made their bows stiff.
Caius very much intended to address this situation with Rylen, and no matter what the issue was, he was determined to find a way around it. It didn’t matter who he angered.
He thought back to Rose and felt a calm sweep over him. He couldn’t see himself with anyone else, didn’t want anyone else. At several points during the time he spent with her, Caius wanted to tell her what had happened but found that he couldn’t for several reasons.
One, he was unsure how to bring it up. Two, he was worried she would accept it—after all, if he was with the princess, he would have to let her go, and this hurt more than he was willing to admit. Three, he needed to find a solution before accepting this as the new situation.
Caius clenched and unclenched his palms. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t remember anything, which was highly unlikely, no matter how drunk he was. He didn’t think it was enough for him to completely lose consciousness. There was almost no doubt in his mind that he had been drugged, and if that was the case, then Rylen had drugged him.
Did Rylen anticipate that he would get rid of the princess as soon as the king died and do this to prevent that? But Caius couldn’t seem to understand how this would benefit his cousin. Did this have something to do with his father, especially after what he had last said to the dying king?
Did his father find a way to meddle in his affairs one last time before giving up the ghost? Caius could almost see this happening. His father would want to have the last laugh.
Caius’s thoughts churned as he tried to wrap his head around the situation. He had spent the entire day yesterday avoiding it, but he knew he couldn’t keep avoiding it. He was determined to have Rose by his side, and the only way to do that was to face this head-on.
Henry trod behind him with his head bowed as he made his way to the dining hall. The dining hall was in the north wing, the wing meant for guests, and it had a big enough dining hall for all of them.
Caius walked through the door with Henry behind him, and everyone rose to their feet with a chorus of "Your Highness" while bowing and curtseying.
Caius smiled tightly and walked to his seat. His expression darkened as he took in the people seated at his table. His mother was on his right side and Caira was on his left. His cousin sat next to his mother and didn’t once glance at him.
Caius suddenly felt something the size of a fist try to slide down his throat. He forced himself to contain his emotions as he took his seat at the head of the table. As soon as he sat down, the lords did the same.
"Your Highness," Lord Leopold spoke first, his voice held slight annoyance. "Glad you could join us for breakfast."
Caius barely spared him a glance; rather, he stared right at his wife, Lady Deana, and said, "Glad you could make it to Hearthgale on such short notice."
Lord Leopold was just like a buzzing fly. Harmless but equally annoying, and Caius knew Leopold was displeased about being declined an audience with him. He expected favoritism from Caius due to their relationship.
"Of course, Your Highness," Lady Deana said with a bright smile. "I know this is not the place, but please accept our condolences."
Caius smiled tightly and looked down at his meal. He didn’t look at Caira, but he didn’t miss that she too couldn’t meet his eyes. His mother, on the other hand, was surprisingly quiet; his father’s death had taken a toll on her. Her eyes were red and puffy from all the crying.
Breakfast went well, but after breakfast, every lord wanted to have a word with him. However, Caius already had something far more important planned, and he was able to push the meetings until after lunch. In the meantime, he planned to deal with this issue with Rylen.
Rylen didn’t arrive in his private study right away, despite Caius’s express orders to go to his study as soon as breakfast was over. But Rylen’s lateness didn’t bother Caius because his cousin couldn’t refuse the order.
Eventually, he heard a knock, and the handle slowly turned. The door opened to reveal Rylen. He looked tentative as he stood by the entrance, his hand still on the handle. Caius leaned back, staring straight at him.
Some moments passed before Rylen walked into the study. Caius didn’t speak, didn’t tear his gaze off him as he walked closer and bowed. "Your Grace."
Caius took a deep, loud breath, filling his lungs as he watched the top of his cousin’s head. It was all he could do lest he reach for his sword.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn’t have you beheaded. Haven’t you antagonized me enough? If you think this changes anything, you’re wrong."
Rylen lifted his head and stared at Caius right in the face. He took a step forward and placed his hands on the desk. "You’re right, this changes nothing!"
