The King's Lover-Chapter 264: When You Come Back

Queen Violeta stopped walking a few feet away from her son and stretched out her hand to him. Her hand was covered in blue gloves lifted high with the back of her palm on top.

Caius looked down at his mother’s hand, and the thought of ignoring her outstretched hand crossed his mind, but he wouldn’t see her for a while—he could indulge her.

Caius lightly grabbed it and kissed the back of her gloved hand. Queen Violeta smiled happily at him. She looked very proud. Caius raised his head and stood to his full height. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"I have to go now, Mother," Caius said coldly, dropping her hand. He gave her a blank stare as he spoke.

"I know, son, I know," Queen Violeta said, beaming at her son, pretending not to notice his cold tone. "I won’t keep you for long, I promise. I am simply here to tell you goodbye." She spoke to him as one would a child.

Caius didn’t appreciate this neither her tone nor her presence. "As I said, it is too early for you to be up. Get some rest. I’ll be away for a while. If anything that needs my attention comes up, let me know."

Queen Violeta nodded and grabbed her son’s hand. "May the goddess be with you," she whispered.

Caius’s lips thinned, but he nodded and slowly pulled his hand from his mother’s grasp. "If that is all, Mother, I have to go."

Queen Violeta nodded, her smile never wavering. "I know, son," she repeated for the umpteenth time. However, even as she said these words, she didn’t step away.

Caius frowned, his brows dipping in disapproval. He didn’t have the time or patience to deal with his mother. He also knew she wasn’t just here to say goodbye—she couldn’t fool him. But he found that he didn’t care for the real reason she was here; he just hated that it was interrupting him.

"Very well," Caius said and started to turn around.

"When you come back," Queen Violeta started to say, stopping her son from turning.

"Yes, Mother?" Caius said, turning his attention back to his mother. She was doing this on purpose—stopping mid-sentence so he would have to ask.

"When you come back," the Queen started again, "your father and I will have a surprise for you."

Queen Violeta ended her sentence with a sly smile, but it wasn’t the smile that bothered Rose—rather, it was that the smile was directed at her. Rose didn’t know how the Queen had found her amid the guards, but she clearly had always been aware of her presence.

She had tilted her head just slightly and caught Rose’s eyes. It was a brief glance, but the look she gave Rose shook her to her bones before Queen Violeta turned back to her son, who didn’t look very impressed by her sentence.

"What surprise?" Caius asked.

"You’ll see. You’ll finally not need to flock with peasantry," Queen Violeta said loud enough for everyone to hear.

Caius’s eyes narrowed. "If that is all, Mother," he said, turning away. "I’d best leave if we want to make it to Futherfield before nightfall."

"Of course," Queen Violeta smiled sweetly at her son as she took a step back.

Caius didn’t turn around as he was already walking through the open door. Rose rushed after him, passing beside the Queen who was standing right in the middle of the path. There was no way to avoid her.

"Whore," Rose heard a voice say. It wasn’t the Queen—it was one of her ladies-in-waiting.

Rose didn’t even flinch. It would have been more shocking if they had called her by her name. She wondered if the surprise was getting the crown prince married, as Welma had said. Rose hoped so too.

She adjusted the scarf around her neck as she stepped out of the room. It was colder outside, and Rose briskly walked down the stairs. If she had to ride a horse in this weather, she might end up freezing to death.

At the bottom of the stairs were at least fifteen men. They were all dressed in similar clothes, but they weren’t dressed like knights. Rose thought they were dressed too casually as they sat on their horses.

Only Prince Rylen and Lord Thomas were on foot. Thomas stood by a carriage holding the carriage door open. It was the only carriage amid all the horses.

Rylen, on the other hand, was speaking to the crown prince, but Caius didn’t look to be listening as his gaze was locked on Rose as she approached them.

Rose’s legs suddenly felt wobbly. She might fall over with the way he was staring. Caius wasn’t subtle in the slightest, and she hated that she couldn’t figure out what was going through his mind.

She got to the bottom of the stairs and curtsied to both Rylen and Thomas. Then she stood with her eyes locked on the ground as she waited for his orders.

It was still a little dark, and if it weren’t for the torches some of them held, Rose wouldn’t have been able to see much.

"Half should go ahead, Your Grace, and half behind you," Rylen was saying.

"Yes," Caius replied, with his gaze still on Rose. "Make sure they put enough distance between themselves and the carriage."

Rose adjusted the scarf on her neck. It was suddenly hard to breathe, and she knew the cold had nothing to do with it. It was just a certain person who wouldn’t stop looking at her.

"Thomas and I will ride with the carriage," Rylen said.

Caius lifted his gaze to Rylen, his eyes not hiding how he felt about this. He had already had this argument with his cousin, and the latter was insistent. Caius had to agree to change the path before Rylen accepted the plan of letting the men ride some distance away from them to lure the bandits.

Rylen thought it was too dangerous for Rose. Caius felt insulted that his cousin thought he couldn’t protect her. It was a battle both of them intended to win and a compromise had been made.