CHAPTER 357: VIRILE HORROR

Rose opened her eyes, and the memory of the night before came flooding through her mind like a punch to the gut, and the anger from last night bubbled up. She was annoyed not because of what happened particularly, but because she had failed to see it coming.

She should have known that the crown prince would do something like that but the fact that he had been so insistent that he would keep his word had made her drop her guard. She was annoyed to no end; the Crown Prince always wanted to have his way no matter what.

"I know you’re awake," Caius said from behind her. His voice was annoyingly close.

He wasn’t touching her, but he was close enough to. The tip of his toes lightly brushed against her heel, and Rose forced herself not to react. She felt his hands on her hair; worried that he might move past her hair to touch her skin, Rose was quick to admit that she was awake.

"Good morning, Your Majesty," she said and pulled away from him, her hands clutching her silk dress—well, whatever was left of it after last night.

His hand, which had been teasing her hair, hung empty, and Caius had an amused look on his face. Rose wished she could share in his amusement, but all she could feel was seething rage.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked with a raised brow, his lips curled up in a smile. He was clearly pleased with himself.

Did you sleep well? Rose internally mocked his voice.

"Yes, Your Majesty," she smiled tightly and tried to subtly move further away from him without him noticing.

Caius was still dressed in the robe; it was fastened around his waist but exposed a significant amount of his body. Rose made sure to look everywhere else.

"Your Majesty," she started before he could say anything else. "I’d like to go to my room to prepare for breakfast," Rose said a silent prayer as she spoke these words.

Caius studied her for a moment, taking a little longer than needed to reply and Rose started to fear he might refuse, then he smiled. "Very well. I suppose some sun would be good for us. I shall see you during breakfast."

Sun? Rose mentally questioned. She didn’t care what the Crown Prince’s plans were; she already had plans of her own that included spending at least one day without his company. She needed a break, or she might lurch at him.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Rose cried as she gathered her dress and fled the room, not caring if Caius had anything else to say.

She internally did a little dance as she made her way to her room. She was free; she could breathe properly now. Even if it was only brief, it was still a form of freedom.

She walked into her room, which was right next to his, and Rose couldn’t help the annoyance that surged up again. Why was she put here? It wasn’t really much of an escape when he could just make his way to her without breaking a sweat.

Rose sighed and tried to think of the positives. She took a deep breath as she walked in. She quickly made her way to the wardrobe; hidden deep behind the clothes was her gift from Lady Delphine. Rose never forgot to do the needful.

She looked at the little jar and shook her head. It might last for a bit, but she might need to get a refill when she got to the castle, no thanks to the fact that a certain virile horror couldn’t keep himself in check.

Rose sighed again and hid it as she prepared to call for the servants. The maids were quick to answer her call, and that was when Rose began her act.

"Are you okay?" one of the maids asked as she helped Rose wash up.

Rose nodded a little slowly and then softly asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No," she shook her head. "I was just a little bit concerned because you seem a little sluggish. I worry that you might be falling ill."

Rose would have given the young girl a hug for taking the words out of her mouth, but she didn’t agree; rather, she shook her head and said, "I just feel a little tired, is all." She gave the maids a weak smile.

They nodded and didn’t press the matter, but Rose didn’t fail to notice how closely they watched her. They dressed her quickly, and Rose noticed they had chosen a thicker dress for her to wear.

"The weather can contribute to illness," one of them said.

"Ah, thank you," Rose said.

The maids bowed and left the room. As soon as they left, Rose rushed to the mirror. It was annoying that her face was annoyingly red; no matter what she did, it couldn’t look pale.

Rose’s eyes suddenly brightened as she had an idea. She incessantly rubbed at her nose until it turned a little red. She didn’t want to make too many drastic changes; Caius would notice. You’d think someone that perceptive would be a little more aware, but his perception was simply a nuisance to her, as she couldn’t easily trick him.

Satisfied with the slight redness of her nose, she added a little sniff, mentally reminding herself to sniff now and then. Not too much. She couldn’t go from healthy to very sick too fast.

She also added a handkerchief to her attire. She would constantly use this to rub her nose to keep up the slight redness. Rose smiled to herself in the mirror; she was ready.

She looked left and right before speeding across the hallway, occasionally looking back to make sure she wasn’t followed. Eventually, she got to the dining hall and slowly sauntered in. She wiped her nose with the hanky once before she sat down.

"Lord Thomas," she said softly as she sat in her usual seat beside him.

She seemed to have arrived early; only a few of the knights were seated, and Fabian the butler wasn’t even here yet. Rose preferred this and wanted to be seated by the time Caius arrived.

"Rose," Thomas said as he turned to look at her, then his usual scowl appeared.

She sniffed and tried to speak as though nothing was wrong while also appearing less energetic than usual. "I haven’t seen you in a moment," she smiled tightly.

"Are you ill?" he asked plainly as he stared her up and down.

Rose’s eyes widened slightly as she tried to play her part. "I don’t think so," she said as she sniffed. "I am most likely just tired."

Thomas narrowed his eyes; he didn’t seem to believe her, and Rose did a joyful internal jump, happy that her little act was believable.

The dining hall slowly filled up, and there was barely any conversation between her and Thomas. Thomas wasn’t exactly much of a talker in the first place, and Rose was doing her best to play her role right.

Eventually, Caius walked through the doors of the dining hall, and Rose slowly lifted herself off her seat along with the rest of the knights. She placed her palm on the table as she stood, making it seem as though it was hard to stand by herself.

"Your Highness," the knights said in unison and waited until Caius was seated before they also sat down.

Rose dropped to her seat and sniffed. Caius jerked his head in her direction a little dramatically; Rose pretended not to notice this as she adjusted her seat to be more comfortable.

Rose ate very little, barely eating half the meal dished on her plate, and she didn’t touch anything else.

Thomas leaned in. "You are not eating," he stated in that gruff manner he usually spoke in.

"I am full," Rose said without being defensive.

"You should eat more," Thomas said and pulled away.

Rose noted that Caius didn’t miss this interaction. At this point, she stood to her feet, clearly about to leave even though the meal was only halfway through. There was no rule that said she couldn’t leave the table before breakfast was over, but it also seemed a little rude.

However, Rose was worried that if she waited till the end of breakfast, Caius would have her give in to his whims. This was the only way she could escape and also keep up her charade about being ill.

She curtsied and, without another word, turned around and left the room, half expecting Caius to stop her. But Rose made her way out of the dining hall without anyone calling out to her.

She wiped at her nose as she stepped out and slowly made her way to her room. She immediately lay in bed and pulled the covers over herself. She closed her eyes, trying to force herself to sleep even though she knew she wasn’t sleeping.