Chapter 339: His Whims
Rose could scarcely hide her shock as the crown prince had called her, but that wasn’t the problem—it was the name he had chosen to call her right in front of everyone. Rose slowly turned her head, still refusing to believe what her ears told her.
Caius stared at her with a raised eyebrow as he waited for her response. His impatience exuded from him seamlessly. Rose blinked once, then twice, as she felt her face burn.
"Your Highness," she mumbled, feeling a little embarrassed.
Caius frowned; he seemed displeased by her response. However, instead of speaking, he just stood to his feet and said one word, "Come."
Rose felt her back stiffen, but it was hard to say if it was from his order or the twenty-something eyes that were digging into her. Of course, the crown prince couldn’t be less conspicuous. If he didn’t put on a show, was he even the crown prince?
She knew all the knights here already knew the kind of relationship they had but it would be nice if she wasn’t made a spectacle each time. Rose almost chuckled at this thought. She must have forgotten who the crown prince was.
Rose forced herself to stand, unable to refuse a direct order, and right now, going out of the room seemed like the lesser evil. She gathered her dress as she rushed after him, hearing the hall burst into loud noises as though they had broken free from a spell.
Rose walked behind Caius while Fabian walked by his side. "The servants have done as you requested, Your Highness. Is there anything else you require of me, Your Highness?"
"No," Caius replied curtly, he sounded irritated.
Fabian nodded and bowed before he stopped walking completely. He smiled politely at Rose as she passed him. Rose couldn’t even return his smile.
Caius walked briskly, his shoes barely made any sound as they hit the hard floor. That would explain why she didn’t hear him. Compared to his shoes, hers were loud enough to wake the whole castle. Nonetheless, she found the steady click-clack rhythm comforting, and she internally hummed it to take her mind off what was about to happen.
Caius didn’t look at her the whole time; he just walked on steadily while she walked behind him. Rose suppressed the thought she didn’t want to have and concentrated on the noises her heels made as they hit the ground.
She was quite engrossed that she didn’t realize in time that the route Caius was taking was very familiar until they passed the front of her room. Rose’s eyes widened, refusing to believe the crown prince was in the same section as she was.
Caius stopped right in front of the room next to hers and pushed the door open. Rose hoped the ground would open and swallow her. There was no way he had been next door to her the whole time. Did he follow her from here to the dining hall?
"Would you rather not come in?" Caius asked.
There it was again—that displeased tone. Rose focused on his face and quickly hurried in. Caius shut the door a little too loudly as she stepped in. Rose jerked, and this earned her another displeased stare from Caius.
Rose felt a little weird as she stood awkwardly, a few feet from the entrance. She wasn’t quite sure if she should step further into the room. No, that wasn’t quite right. She feared what waited if she stepped further into the room.
Caius’s room was similar to hers except that it had a balcony. Rose could see the door of the balcony from where she stood, and she kept her gaze locked there, refusing to look at anything else.
She could feel him walk closer to her. Odd. She could barely hear his footsteps, but anytime he was close enough to touch her, it felt as though his presence thrummed beneath her skin. She must have lost her mind.
Caius didn’t touch her; rather, he walked past her towards the fireplace. Rose tried her best not to react when his clothes brushed her.
There were chairs by the fireplace—the setting seemed a little too familiar with the crown prince’s bedroom—and then Rose saw it. A chessboard lay on a small stool, its pieces laid out on the white and black board.
"Chess," she whispered.
Caius turned to glance at her, his tone impolite. "Do you still remember the rules?"
Rose jerked her head to look at him, then quickly looked down. What she saw in his eyes made her uncomfortable. It was hard to put how she felt about the crown prince into words, as it was a combination of different emotions, but right now, an emotion she didn’t like was rearing its head.
Perhaps it was the way he looked at her. Rose was completely dressed, but he made her feel as though she wore nothing. Another thing that bothered her was his displeased tone.
I should be happy, right? If he is annoyed with me, he might let me go.
However, Rose found that she wanted to ask what she had done wrong. She also wanted to tell him that she was glad he was better, and she wanted to tell him she had lost her mother, even though he already knew that. Why would she want to tell him that? They didn’t even have conversations. Only one thing mattered to him.
"Do you not?" Caius asked; he sounded quite annoyed.
"I do, Your Highness," she replied and fell to the carpet.
She sat next to the stool and hid her legs under her voluminous dress. Caius was lying on the long chair, staring at her, and Rose was hit with several memories that mirrored this one.
She frowned as she looked at the board. Had she actually missed this? That was not true. The only emotion she was certain she felt towards the crown prince was fear, and anger, but fear trumped it.
He terrified her in every aspect. She had almost forgotten about it, but this man was not to be trifled with. Her life and the life of her only family rested on his whims.