The King's Lover
Chapter 224: Restrict

Chapter 224: Restrict

Rose nodded. "But, Your Majesty," she whispered, "would it be too much if I made a request that would make me feel better?" she asked softly.

She was getting nowhere with this conversation. All the crown prince had said so far was that she had nothing to worry about—but everything around her suggested otherwise.

"You may," Caius replied, pulling his hand away from her chin.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Rose started. "I would like to restrict the number of maids who bring me my meals and help me get ready. I prefer a very reduced number and hopefully pick the people I can trust. I know it’s too much for me to ask, Your Majesty, but I’d feel better if only the people I trusted were allowed around me."

"Done," Caius said without hesitation. "Anything else?"

Yes, let me go. How long does this intend to go on? Rose thought, but she knew she couldn’t dare say these thoughts out loud.

"No," she said instead, her voice a little lower. "That’s all the request I have, Your Majesty."

"Good. Enough with this."

Rose’s stomach twisted at his words, but her expression didn’t change. She didn’t know if the crown prince even saw her as anything other than something he could command—something to parade in front of nobles for his amusement. His words often sounded like favors, but they were shackles in finer wrapping.

She doubted this would ever change—not that she cared. She just wanted to be away from the castle and all its troubles. Dealing with nobles was far beyond her powers. <a href="https://.com">.com

"Henry will take care of it, as well as the guards. As for my mother," Caius whispered, stepping closer, "you have nothing to worry about. The most you’d get is petty actions like this. She wouldn’t dare hurt you this time."

Rose stared intensely at Caius as he spoke. She wondered if he would still be saying this if she had been the one to drink the poison last night. She wondered if she would be dead by now.

What would the crown prince think if she were to die? Would it make any difference to him? Rose knew this was not the sort of thought to be having—but what else could she do?

Tonight was already so exhausting, but at least she was able to state what she wanted. She doubted it would do much, but she would certainly feel much better if only a few people were allowed into her room.

She doubted this would stop the Queen, but she didn’t exactly have a list of options, and the crown prince wasn’t treating this as seriously as it was. Still, she was only a peasant who was here to warm the crown prince’s bed. She didn’t expect to be treated any less.

She nodded at his words, even though she didn’t believe a single one, but the crown prince wanted to move past the topic—and from the look in his eyes, he wanted to move to the next. Her body.

Caius lifted her chin and pressed a kiss to her lips, forcing her on her tiptoes. Rose couldn’t even fake it if she wanted to. She was clearly distressed, but the crown prince didn’t seem to care; he only cared for one thing.

Caius pulled his head away and ran his fingers through his hair as his eyes studied her face. Rose was quick to bow her head.

"I apologize, Your Majesty. I just had a rough day and I—"

"Your apology isn’t nearly enough," Caius interrupted with a dry tone.

He lifted her chin and Rose shut her eyes, not looking at the crown prince. She feared she might be punished but try as she might she couldn’t. Not tonight.

"Not tonight?" he asked.

Rose slowly opened her eyes to reveal wet lashes. For a moment, she had thought she said her thoughts out loud. "Your Majesty," she whispered.

"Answer me!" Caius said sternly, his voice so cold it could drop the temperature in a room.

Rose shook her head, which the crown prince still held up by her chin. She saw his expression darken at her reply.

Caius let go of her chin and stepped back. "Leave," he said with difficulty, the veins in his neck ticking with each breath.

Rose nodded and fled the room. She didn’t even bow before leaving. The sound of the door closing behind her as she stepped out of the room was the only reason she believed she wasn’t dreaming.

The crown prince had let her go. Rose still found this hard to believe. It was one thing to not call on her for the night, but to let her go without forcing himself on her was unheard of. The only time she managed to escape it was when she fell asleep. She didn’t count the times they just played chess, as Rose also thought it was another form of torture.

When Rose returned to her room, she was still shocked and stayed by the door as she ruminated on the crown prince’s actions. She didn’t know how to feel about it. It was hard not to notice that he had asked her.

Rose shook her head as she tried to remind herself: he didn’t do anything nice. He was the reason she was in this mess in the first place, and if he was willing to do as she asked, it might help her feel a little better. <a href="https://.com">.com

Rose was exhausted and all she wanted to do was sleep. The events of the day had been a little too much, and she could already feel the effects.

She pushed herself away from the door. At least this time around, she returned with her robe in one piece.

Rose walked to the vase. The flowers weren’t as bright as they were when Edna had thrown the bouquet to her, but they still looked pretty. She touched a petal and it came off. She didn’t toss the tiny piece away; rather, she kept it on her open palm and just watched it.

She blew on it, and the petal floated off her palm, but it didn’t fall to the floor immediately. It tossed and turned in the air, as though fighting against it—but eventually, it dropped to the ground.

Rose turned away and threw herself on the bed. She was asleep in only a moment. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she immediately felt drowsy and fell asleep.

Rose woke up early, stretching and yawning as she got out of bed. It was a much-needed sleep, and thanks to the crown prince letting her go, she got more than enough rest—especially since she hadn’t slept much the night of the ball.

Rose opened the window and stared out of it. It wasn’t dawn yet, but one could see it was fast approaching. Rose couldn’t really see anything as she stared out—it was still quite dark.

Rose heard a knock just as she finished dressing up for the day. She looked toward the door with a concerned look on her face. It was just dawn. There was still a significant amount of time before breakfast.

She walked slowly to the door, opened it, and was shocked to see Mister Henry standing right in front of her door with his arms behind his back.

"Mister Henry," she called.

"Rose," the older man said.

"What are you doing here so early, Mister Henry?" Rose asked.

"You told the crown prince you want to restrict the number of maids that come to your room."

Rose was surprised Mister Henry was already making inquiries so early. However, she was more impressed that the crown prince had immediately given the orders—he could have waited a few days more if he wanted. It shouldn’t please her, but she couldn’t help it.

"Yes," she said, nodding happily. "I’d like to restrict it to just three."

"Three?" Henry yelled out in horror.

Rose jumped a little at his outburst. "Is that too much? I was hoping I could choose Chelsy and Isla. I am absolutely happy with them."

"The sisters?" Henry asked with slight confusion on his face. <a href="https://.com">.com

"Yes," she whispered.

Henry immediately looked relieved. "Good," he said, nodding vehemently.

He had been worried she might choose maids the Queen frequently used. The sisters were a perfect choice—they didn’t even attend to anyone in the castle, let alone the Queen.

"And the last one?" he asked almost immediately.

"The last maid would be Welma," she replied.

Henry frowned. Welma was a little troublesome, as she was currently one of the busiest maids, from attending to the Queen to working around the castle. However, he didn’t think this was a problem, as Chelsy and Isla were free enough to attend to Rose without ever needing Edna.

"Very well," he said after some time. "I will do as you have asked."

Rose thanked Mister Henry as he withdrew. He barely heard her words, his mind churning on how he would carry out these orders.