"Ham..."
What should he do?
Return the hug?
Treat with coldness?
What the hell was going on?
The man continued to hold him tight, giving no sign that he would release Lucian so soon. Despair was growing and Lucian only tried to remember any mention of that man in the original story. That feeling was even worse than facing the Emperor with that intensity and presence.
Turning away from Lucian, the man still held him by his arms and his dark eyes assessed the eighth prince's countenance with concern.
"Tell me how you're feeling. Do you remember anything? Did something happen?"
"I should be feeling something... Your Majesty?"
For a moment that man was hesitant and silent, as if he did not expect those words coming from Lucian. Damn, would he have said something wrong? Did Lucian have any involvement with that gentleman? What was it?
Ah, he would go crazy!
"No, of course not. Forgive me, I think I must have scared you, right?"
"A little, I admit."
"Come, sit down. I asked the chef to prepare some buttery cookies."
The man finally released Lucian from his embrace and pointed to the table set for afternoon tea. Still hesitant, the prince sat down in front of the lord and was served by the consort himself with a cup of tea.
"You still like teas, don't you?"
"Yes, but do not need to serve me..."
"Don't bother about that, my dear. It's all right."
How uncomfortable it was to walk in that story without any information! Indeed, should Lucian treat that man the same way as he treats the Emperor? After all, if he is called consort, it must mean that he is the current husband of the Emperor, right? And if the Emperor was an omega, and he was married to another man, then the consort would be an alpha, right?
While Lucian tried to find a way out of that little dilemma, he tasted the strong taste of herbs in his tea. It was slightly bitter that made noticeable the sugar that broke the taste. Although his life as Luciano he was not a great fan of teas, for some reason he felt at ease when drinking the small stock of the eighth prince.
After trying the tea, Lucian left the cup on the table and reached for one of the buttery biscuits. He wanted to ask a question that sounded casual and harmless so as not to alarm the consort.
"Is there any particular reason for calling me, Your Majesty?"
"My only son will get married, how could I not see him?"
Lucian choked on the cookie, starting to cough almost breathlessly. The man immediately got up worried and went to him, giving light strokes on his back and looking at him in despair.
"Are you okay? Is there a problem?"
Had he heard right?
Did that man say Lucian was his son?
Did he refer to all the Emperor's children in this way? After all, they all had different mothers. But what the hell, why did the author of that story never mention about the consort?
Drinking a sip of the tea to soothe his sore throat and bad breath, Lucian managed to recover from the choking. Raising his hand in sign that he was well, he tried to control the slight blush of shame that appeared on his face for having triggered such an embarrassing situation.
"Sorry, I think I ate in a hurry."
"My goodness, Lucian. I know you like these cookies very much, but you should eat slowly and chew your food well."
"You're right, forgive me" Lucian picked again and dried his lips with a napkin trying to regain the little dignity that had remained.
"It's all right, I imagine you were surprised that I called you here. But considering the sudden news of your engagement, I felt the need to see you."
Your engagement? Well, people were expected to be shocked by the news, but Lucian remembered that the idea came from the Emperor himself. Did the real Lucian's father ever comment on the matter with his consort? If not, it already said a lot about the relationship between them.
Maybe Lucian should play green...
"I understand, but the idea of the engagement came entirely from the Emperor and I was just lucky that the Grand Duke accepted."
"Yes, I know, after all your father and I discussed a lot about this subject."
"You... discussed about it?" Asked Lucian with surprise watching the consort return to his place.
"Of course. Surely the mothers of your brothers should do the same with them. We discussed who would be the best partners for our children and your father gives final approval" The man explained calmly, seeming not to mind giving more details to Lucian. "Look, I also committed to take care of Cadec's marriage because of his situation."
Yes, the story of Cadec was known, after all he was Magnus' best friend.
In
'If there was anyone in that land who was able to understand Magnus, it was Cadec. The love of a family would always come first, especially for those who have already lost it'.
Many readers thought that Cadec lost his mother and therefore received more attention from the Emperor than his brothers. Unfortunately the details of the death were not so well explained, although it is explicit that it was a tragedy involving the throne. It would be justifiable that having the Emperor's attention would trigger envy in the other brothers, at least Lucian believed that was the case now that he was stuck in history.
"I understand... I didn't know there was such a process."
The man calmly extended his hand over the table, holding Lucian's hand with affection.
"I would prefer that you could at least find the person you love to be together, but I heard from your father that you has been getting along with the Grand Duke."
"In a way we get along very well. Despite being a political marriage, we respect each other quite a lot."
A little lie would not hurt, right? The consort did not need to know the details... Lucian could smile innocently and make sure everything was going as planned, right?
"I'm glad to hear that. I hope the Grand Duke really makes you happy" Those words.... they sounded so strangely in Lucian's ears, that he was left with nothing to answer. "Ah, right! I have a small engagement gift, hope you like it."
The man made a sign and the maid — who stood still and silent like a statue for all that time — withdrew from the room to return a few minutes later with a box in hand. She stood next to Lucian, who stared at the wrapped box with curiosity.
"A gift?"
"That's right. I hope you like it."
Lucian untied the flawless tie and opened the wrap and lid of the box. Inside there was a piece of clothing that looked like a white coat with blue details. An embroidery on the bar depicted a silver bird with blue eyes, made with delicacy that seemed to pull thread if carelessly bumped into the fabric. It was thin, not looking very hot in winter, but still very beautiful.
"Wow... thank you, Your Majesty."
"I hope you like it, I did it myself."
"I really liked.... Wait, what?" Lucian looked surprised at the consort, who smiled sweetly.
A consort... wait a bit, such a noble figure has spent his time to embroider a coat and deliver it to a renegade prince?
For some reason, that made Lucian uncomfortable. It was as if the missing information of the original story left him in a void that caused a little anguish.
Who was that real man and why was he treating the renegade prince with such affection? Should Lucian be suspicious of him? Should he imagine that the consort is collecting information to give to one of his brothers? Or would he himself be interested in the political power that Magnus had?
It was an unknown.
Lucian really did not know how to deal with the unknowns.