Chapter 1
“Yes, move the table over there, more to the left,” Raena instructed, motioning with her fingers until the furniture was aligned with the rest. The waiters that were tasked with rearranging the place in order to hide the holes left from the destroyed tables and chairs sprung into action.
The damage during the attack hadn’t been that great and nobody was badly hurt, which was a relief, but the mess in her office was so big, she was still trying to determine if anything was missing. She had sent Davin home to rest after seeing his black eye, and now she had to deal with calculating the price for the new furniture. Not to mention the decreasing customers and revenue.
It was fine, though. It was a good opportunity to check if everything in the books was in order after Davin had been tending to them in her stead lately. Recent events had made her realize she had become too reliant on people she barely knew, but even if she wanted to, she couldn’t do everything by herself. Not with Kara out of commission, Lara no doubt thirsting for revenge, Kassian watching her, and all the troubles happening one after the other in the restaurant. Not to mention the Empress, who had been concerningly quiet after that stunt she pulled on her birthday.
Raena had expected Madam Lydia to receive a new summon to the Imperial Palace, where she would be forced to reveal her identity to the Emperor, but that never happened. Later, she learned that the Emperor fell ill and was on bed rest—also, the crown prince had declined her divorce request. She should have seen that coming.
“Madam Lydia, someone is looking for you outside,” one of the bodyguards called from the door. She motioned for the waiters to keep going, then walked through the double doors of the restaurant.
The street was lively with people going in or out of the stores with excited expressions. Most used the sidewalk across the street from the restaurant, throwing curious glances toward the tall, peach-colored building. It felt like it was forever ago when the street was empty and grim, with nothing but the stray dogs passing through to shit or dig into the trash of the struggling shop owners.
The bodyguard—one of the new ones she had hired—nodded toward the stairs, and Raena followed his gaze, her eyes stopping on a small group of children that was looking excitedly at her. Most of them had gained weight, and their pale, skinny faces looked almost healthy now. Marden had found them some proper clothes, and although they weren’t the cleanest, all of them now had shoes, pants, and shirts.
Raena descended the stairs, stopping in front of them and smiling.
“Madam Lydia! Madam Lydia! We did our job!” The little girl who liked to hug people and who Marden kept calling Mary wrapped her thin arms around Raena’s legs, smiling from ear to ear. “Do we get to eat cake now? I like the one you gave us last time!”
“Why didn’t you go to the back?” Raena asked, looking at Pen, who was towering over the rest of the group. In just a few months, he had grown over five inches, and now he was almost as tall as her.
“There are a lot of people carrying things, so we were told to stay away,” he replied. “But we came to report since you told us to come right away.”
“Right.” Raena nodded. She didn’t mean it like that, but they looked so excited that she didn’t dare to correct them. “So? Report.”
Pen cleared his throat.
“We paid a few vendors and tavern owners with the money you gave us to spread rumors that a competitor attacked your restaurant because they wanted to steal your brand-new recipe. Everybody is talking about it now, and I heard a few people saying they want to taste the new recipe once you reopen.”
“Great.” Raena smiled, patting him on the head. His face flushed.
“W-w-w-we also spread the festival flyers and people looked excited!” he added.
“Good job, everyone.” Raena praised them, and their smiles grew even wider. “Let’s get you something to eat.” Mary raised her hands for Raena to take her, and the latter hesitated. She picked her up with her left hand, trying not to put too much pressure on the right one. She had removed the thick layer of bandages since she couldn’t afford to walk around with them, but the doctor told her to be extra careful since it hadn’t fully healed yet. It still hurt like a bitch, but the pain reminded her that the next time she wanted to hit someone, she should do it with a bat.
Raena hadn’t made more than two steps when a familiar voice stopped her.
“Well, this isn’t a sight I expected to see when coming here.”
Raena turned slowly, sensing Mary tightening her arms around her neck as they both looked at the tall, handsome man standing a few steps away. Kassian studied the children one by one before his eyes settled on her.
“What an unexpected surprise, Your Highness. What brings you here?” Raena asked, looking around. He was alone this time, no guards or Blaine, and even though he was wearing indistinctive clothes—dark britches and a simple blue tunic—he was still easily gathering people’s attention. It wouldn’t be long before somebody recognized him.
“How about a meal?” he asked, looking at the restaurant’s open doors. “It has been a while.”
“We are closed for the next two days. We are preparing for the festival,” she replied, adjusting Mary in her arms since her left hand had turned numb. Her muscles were already protesting against the strain, but the girl was holding her so tightly, it was going to be hard to put her down.
“Even for me?” Kassian asked with a dazzling smile. Raena blinked in surprise, wondering what good thing could have happened to make him smile so brightly. Ever since they got married, she had never seen him smile like that—not to her, not to anyone else, not even on his own birthday.
Raena glanced around, noting that even more people were now watching them. This could be a good thing for the restaurant— if word got out that the third prince came all the way here to eat, it would be a great promotion right before the festival. And it could help her figure out what to do with him as Madam Lydia. He had already told Raena he wouldn’t allow divorce under any circumstances, so whether he fell in love with Madam Lydia or not was irrelevant.
“I guess the third floor can be used since it won’t be serving guests during the festival.” She turned her back on him, looking at Pen. “Wait at the back. I’ll tell the cooks to bring you your food.”
Pen nodded, giving Kassian a wary look before taking the unhappy Mary in his arms. The little girl pouted while the group of children walked away. Raena took a deep breath before turning to face the third prince again.
“Please follow me, Your Highness,” she said, picking up her skirts and climbing the steps. The bodyguard on duty looked at her with his eyebrows raised, but she just shook her head. She waved at one of the waitresses that were putting clean tablecloths on the tables, and the girl sprinted to her, nodding as Raena whispered her instructions.
She waited until Kassian tied his horse outside, then they headed toward the third floor. As she reached the threshold on the third floor, she motioned for him to go first.
“Ladies first,” he insisted, waiting stubbornly until she headed toward the balcony. The weather was nice, so she picked one of the smaller tables under the shade on the balcony. She set the menu in front of the head seat, turning to look at Kassian.
He was staring at the city, his expression distant and thoughtful. Raena waited a minute before clearing her throat. He flinched, then turned toward her, smiling. Again.
“Please take your time picking whatever you’d like to have,” she said as he strode next to her. Raena held back a sigh as he brushed against her, now fully convinced he had done that on purpose. “Do you want anything to drink while you’re making your choice, Your Highness?”
“Do you plan to let me dine all alone?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Raena licked her lips, swallowing the retort. What was up with him all of a sudden?
“Are you sick, Your Highness?” she asked, receiving a confused look in return. “You’re acting very unusually, so I’m concerned if you have been poisoned or maybe you got hit on the head really hard?”
“And how do you know how I usually act, Lydia?” Kassian asked, putting the menu down and leaning his chin on his hand.
Raena cursed herself, searching for the right words. Kassian continued to watch her with those piercing eyes, and before she knew it, her heart was drumming in her ears.
“I’m an excellent judge of character,” she said after another few seconds of silence. He chuckled, pointing at the chair next to him.
“Very well. Please sit down and judge me all you want.”
Raena hesitated before taking the seat. He was definitely up to something, but what was it exactly? Did he figure out her identity already? She had covered all bases, and he didn’t recognize her the last time at the Empress’s birthday party, so it was unlikely he had just realized it. Not to mention, if he knew the truth, with his personality, he would probably confront her directly and ask a million questions, not going along with her pretending. What else then? He couldn’t have fallen for her just because of some mild flirting that night. Maybe after his wife rejected and ignored him, he was in the mood for something else.
In any case, where did he pull this strong game from? The smiles, the gestures, even the way he spoke were different. Maybe he was better at pretending than she thought. His face still betrayed him though, so she should be able to tell his goal if she just observed him for a little longer.
Raena was just getting comfortable in her seat when one of the waitresses came to take their order. Once they were alone again, Raena locked her eyes on the rooftops of the buildings on the opposite side of the restaurant, her fingers unconsciously tapping on the table to fill the awkward silence.
She felt something big and warm cover her fingers and looked down in confusion, only to realize Kassian’s hand was holding hers. Her tapping stopped, and her eyes darted toward the prince, who was staring at her with his eyebrows raised.
“This is a very impolite way to show that you’re bored with the present company,” he said, eyes gleaming with amusement.
“My apologies if I have offended you, Your Highness.” Raena pulled her hand away. “I just have a lot to do before the festival, so I was thinking about work.”
“It’s alright if you speak informally to me when we’re alone,” he said, still looking at her. Raena wanted to laugh—he really wasn’t pulling any punches. As strange as it was to see him acting so differently, it was just as entertaining. “What’s this festival you keep bringing up?” Kassian changed the subject when she didn’t reply. Raena opened her mouth to reply when she heard the sound of steps, and a moment later, the waitress appeared with their order. She set down the prince’s meal first, then continued to arrange the kettle with the coffee Raena had ordered.
“There will be a festival on Ruby Street three days from now,” Raena replied when the waitress left. She pulled one of the cups in front of her and added milk and sugar, then reached for the other, preparing to offer it to the prince. “It’s not going to be big, just…”
Raena froze at the sight of a fork close to her face, the delicious smell of red meat and potatoes covered in spices tickling her nose. Kassian was leaning his head on his free hand, holding the fork for her as if preparing to feed her. Raena glanced between him and the fork.
“Would you mind?” he asked, a playful smile appearing on his lips. “I didn’t bring my taster with me, and my aide was busy.”
“I’m sure His Highness can taste his own food for once,” Raena said without thinking, her mockery more than evident in her voice. She expected him to frown, but he just scoffed.
“That’s how royals end up dead. Getting poisoned once is usually enough,” he said, pulling the fork away and looking at it from up close. “In that case, you wouldn’t mind if I return the dish, would you?”
Raena sighed. She didn’t like where this was going, and even less so the fact that he was winning this time around.
“Fine,” she said, picking up the second set of utensils the waitress had brought with the intention of using her own fork to taste it. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed him raising his fork again and bringing it to her face. Raena gave him an ‘Are you serious?’ look, which he either ignored or completely misread because his hand didn’t waver.
Raena hesitated. She could still use her utensils and leave him hanging, but as silly as it was, a small part of her wanted to see where this game was going to go. Besides, she had much more practice than him and she knew how to draw a line as she did with Marden, so it was better to take control of the situation.
Raena lifted her veil slightly, eating the steaming bite that was waiting for her. Kassian’s smile grew as he pulled the empty fork back and stabbed another piece. For a second, she thought he’d make her eat that one as well, so she tried to chew faster, but he raised it to his own mouth, biting into it without hesitation.
Raena held back a scoff. That sly bastard. He never cared about her tasting his food, he just wanted to make her do what he wanted.
“So,” Kassian pulled her out of her thoughts, eating another bite. “Tell me more about this festival.”
