Written all over your face

A little boy with a foamy mouth and redness around the lips, looking almost blue, lay on the couch in the Crown Princess Consort's welcoming room. His little chest heaved up and down weakly, and his breathing became labored the more the clock ticked. 

Luciana's loud voice rang out as she paced around the little prince, her composure slipping with each step. The poise and etiquette she had spent years mastering vanished into thin air, leaving only the raw intensity of her emotions seeing the little Prince Authur like that. 

"Who's there? Call the imperial physician; little Prince Authur is… There's something wrong with the prince. Hurry!" 

The scene moved to when the imperial physician arrived. He took the pulse of the little prince and used his finger to pry open the little prince's shut eye and saw how white his eyes had become with his pupils nowhere in sight. He shook his head at Luciana. 

"I'm sorry, Crown Princess Consort, the little prince is no longer with us. He was poisoned," the imperial physician said with a heaviness in his tone. 

"You vicious woman! You finally did it; you killed my son!" Noble Lady Evelyn's high-pitched voice could be heard as she bawled her eyes out, causing a commotion in the palace. It wasn't long before everyone gathered around the crown princess consort's palace. 

"Guards drag her away to the cold palace!" The emperor's voice, full of authority, boomed across the large hall. Luciana didn't even know when he arrived. 

"No! No! I didn't. I didn't kill him… Don't kill him!" 

"Luciana, Luciana, wake up! It's just a dream," Prince Nicholas, who had been sleeping beside Luciana, heard her mumbling in her sleep, sweating profusely and trying to wake her up. 

"Nooo!!!" Luciana screamed, and her eyes shot open. 

She looked around in a daze and instinctively clung to Nicholas, 

"Don't leave me; it was so cold in there; everything was so cold," she mumbled. 

Prince Nicholas felt his heart ache to see her vulnerable like this. He felt guilty seeing her like that; he thought she was dreaming about her parent's death. He gently rubbed his hand on her back to soothe her. 

"I won't leave you," he said gently. Like he was coaxing a child. 

After a while, Luciana came to her senses and realized how she intimately clung to Nicholas' body and abruptly shifted back, creating a distance between them. 

"I'm sorry, I was out of it right now," she said shyly, the tips of her ears turning crimson. She didn't want him to think she wanted to take advantage of him. 

She looked out through the window at the sky and saw it was about 3:00 am. Why was Prince Nicholas still here in her chambers? 

Prince Nicholas saw how she deliberately maintained distance between them and didn't like the feeling it brought him; he couldn't shake the unsettling feeling it stirred within him.

"What did you dream about?" He asked, 

Luciana's eyes shot up to look at him, but she lowered her gaze and shook her head. 

"I don't want to talk about it," she said. 'How was she going to explain to him that she dreamt about their son's death in her previous life?' 

Nicholas, on the other hand, thought she was blaming him; her reluctance to engage in conversation felt like an accusation, leaving him yearning for the connection they once shared. 

To Nicholas, it seemed as though she held him responsible for whatever rift had been formed between them, which only deepened his resolve to bridge that gap. 

"Let's go back to sleep," he said. 

Luciana knew she wouldn't be able to sleep again at this point and didn't want her constant tossing and turning to affect Nicholas' sleep, so she voiced her concerns. 

"Won't you return to your quarters?" She asked. 

Nicholas' eyes darkened at her words. Did she despise his presence that much? 

"Are you trying to drive me out of your bed?" he asked coldly, exuding an overbearing aura. 

Luciana looked at him and didn't understand why he was angry all of a sudden, but she realized it would be best to appease this big devil in front of her. 

"No, I just think I might not sleep again, and I didn't want to disturb your sleep with my tossing and turning," she explained hurriedly. 

The coldness in Nicholas' eye melted somewhat, and seeing how her innocent eyes stared at him as if she was afraid of angering him. He retracted his overbearing gaze. He didn't like the idea of her being afraid of him. 

"We could do something to make you tired so that it would be easier for you to fall asleep," his piercing eyes stared intensely at her. 

Luciana gulped, looking into his scorching gaze. Her face looked horrified as the memory of her first time with Nicholas in her past life flashed before her eyes. 

"No need! I can sleep on my own. We don't need to do that," she said and hurriedly lay on the mattress, turning her back against him. She didn't want him to see the blush on her face despite the fear she felt. 

"What did you think I wanted us to do?" Nicholas asked and stretched his hand to turn her to face him, but his hands that were about to touch her shoulder mistakenly landed on her chest when she shifted. 

"I said I can sleep on my own, you pervert!" She snapped and flung his hands away as if they were hot coals.

Nicholas' gaze narrowed. 'Pervert? Was that what she thought of him? He realized what she was thinking by seeing the emotions that flashed across her face. But why must she have such a strong reaction? Did someone try to molest her before? Who was so daring?' The thought made him want to kill the person.

"I wanted us to go to the training grounds and do some physical activities; who knew you would have such wild thoughts? I'm beginning to think you're not as innocent as I thought," he said, his voice sounding mischievous with a seductive tinge to it; he wanted to dispel the previous tense atmosphere. 

Luciana felt like kicking herself in the head; how embarrassing! Why would she think of that and make him tease her like this?

"I didn't think any wild thoughts," she said. 

"You are blushing; it's written all over your face," Nicholas retorted. 

"I didn't!" She insisted. 

"Okay, I believe you. Let's go back to sleep," Nicholas said and lay down on the mattress. 

Luciana looked at him in surprise. 'Did he agree just like that?' 

~~~ 

2nd Prince David's manor 

It was the early hours of the morning before the ministers went to court. The minister of war, Chancellor Edward, sat across from 2nd Prince David. The minister of war is Noble Consort Margaret's brother. 

"Uncle, is everything ready for today's court?" David asked the minister of war. 

"Yes, Prince, everything is ready; we have already planted the rebel soldiers in the southern region. They are awaiting our signal before they begin to march forward," the minister of war said. 

"Are you sure the 3rd Prince still has no idea about the gold mine discovered in the southern region?" Prince David asked. 

"Yes, Your Highness, all the people we have planted beside him said he's still oblivious he's sitting on top of a gold mine," the minister of war replied.

"Good, I have also planted people around the 3rd prince to make him think the eldest prince is behind his being sent to the Southern region borderlands to be stationed there. In case anything goes wrong and the 3rd prince survives, the feud between the 3rd prince and the eldest prince would only worsen. He would think the eldest prince is the one after his life," Prince David boasted. 

"Okay, uncle, so you can start dropping hints of unrest in the southern regions in court today; we must prepare the grounds before the main activity begins," Prince Nicholas added. 

The minister of war nodded, and after some pleasantries, he left the 2nd Prince's manor. 

Eric, who was the 2nd Prince's right-hand man, came forward and asked. 

"Does your Highness think there is a chance for the 3rd prince to become the crown prince?" 

Prince David smirked and asked back, 

"What do you think?"