I shouldn't have married the Crown Prince

Chapter 29

The next day the first thing I saw were two eyes fixated on my lips. I immediately froze, having forgotten for a moment what happened the day before. When Cadmael felt me move he lifted his gaze and smiled softly:

"Did you have a good dream?"

For some reason this scene felt really weird and I quickly got up. However something retained me on the bed and when I looked I saw that Cadmael was still holding my hand. I frowned. Did we sleep like this? Did I forget to let go of his hand? Cadmael followed my gaze before pulling my hand closer to him.

"Sorry. I fell asleep like this. I was scared that you would disappear if I let go."

I immediately relaxed and laughed:

"It's okay. Just never lend me your powers again."

Cadmael immediately frowned and I patted his head:

"I got it. I won't make jokes about it anymore."

Cadmael's birthday was coming up and I couldn't wait to spend it with him. He never was invited to my birthday balls. Not that it really mattered. My birthday balls were horribly boring and no one paid attention to me. I usually never spent more than an hour there. Not that Cadmael could have spent time with me even if he wanted to. He always had a little gift for me but I always ran away after thanking him quickly. I kept all of his presents and was very grateful for them. Others just gave the most expensive thing. He was the only one who really wanted to please me.

I didn't know how he managed to do it but he always gave me the thing I wanted most and for all these years I wanted to give him the best birthday ever. I immediately went to his door as soon as I woke up. I had years of experience in baking cakes. I did really well and was very satisfied with myself. A soon as Cadmael opened his door he saw the cake and me and I saw his eyes get huge:

"Is this for me?

-Happy birthday!"

Cadmael seemed really puzzled for a second but I could see that he was extremely touched by my intention. He slowly woke up from his surprise and moved aside to let me come into his room. I went to his table and put the cake down before cutting a huge piece for him.

"I'm sorry I don't have any plates or forks. I can go get some."

Cadmael shook his head so I handed him the piece of cake. However he just stared at it for a moment, not taking it. He suddenly decided something and bent toward the cake to take a bite. I backed away before realizing and Cadmael seemed disappointed.

"Feed me.

-I beg your pardon?

-Why not? It's my birthday."

I signed.

"You are just making fun of me.

-I would not.

-You really want me to feed you for your birthday?"

Cadmael took my wrist softly and raised my hand to his mouth. I let him do as he pleased not getting why this was so important for him. Cadmael's bite was really slow and as he took it, I felt his lips touch my fingers. I frowned. Wasn't this really weird? Why did he want me to feed him?

Cadmael didn't let go of my wrist and continued eating, taking his time. I didn't know what to say and felt more and more unseasy. How was I supposed to behave in this kind of situation? I didn't know what to do and that made me puzzled. Cadmael didn't seem bothered at all. He behaved as if this was totally normal and I was a bit reluctant to burst his bubble.

The cake was almost finished and Cadmael touched my hand more and more with his lips and tongue. It started to be too much for me and I backed away. Cadmael let me go before licking the corner of his lips.

"This is the best."

His smile was too bright for what he just did. Cadmael took another piece of cake and handed it to me:

"Do you want me to feed you?

-No!"

I may have answered too quickly. Cadmael only smiled before eating the second piece.

"This is the best cake I've ever had.

-I'm really glad.

-This is the best you've made so far.

-I think so too! This time I mixted the dough really softly so that..."

I suddenly stopped and glanced at Cadmael. How did he know? The only thing I made for him was sandwiches. He never ate one of my cakes. Well not with him knowing it was me at least. Did he know? What was I going to do? Cadmael heard me freeze and smiled:

"You were the only one who remembered my birthday.

-I didn't know. I just learned about your birthday not long ago.

-Really?"

Cadmael's smile became more and more mischievous as he approached me slowly:

"Then who baked me a cake every year and left it in front of my door.

-I have no idea. I didn't even know about it until now."

Not even I was convinced by my lies. But how could I tell him the truth? I avoided him for years. What would he think if he knew I baked him a cake despite this? I couldn't explain the reason and I didn't want him to know. I needed to pretend it wasn't me until the end. Cadmael could read me as an open book and tilted his head :

"I see you are going to keep on pretending. Not a problem. We could pretend if you want."

He finally backed away and all the air I forgot to exhale came out at once.

"Thank you for today, Eschyle. You are the only one who can make me this happy."

I raised my hand to my heart. What was this feeling just now? Did it feel this good to be thanked for your help? Was it because Cadmael seemed indistinctly happy? I didn't know but I felt my heart shrink.

Everyone came to wish Cadmael a happy birthday. I never saw so many people around us and despite my awkwardness around strangers, I was really happy to see Cadmael surrounded by his fans. This showed me that he wouldn't be lonely without me. I felt reassured that I didn't have to worry about him. But then why was I still feeling so strange?

After class Cadmael thought he was going to have training as usual but he didn't know there was no training that day and that everyone was hiding waiting for him in the gymnasium. Alphonse was the one to tell him that the location of the training changed and I offered to walk him there. This made Cadmael really happy and we went to the gymnasium without him expecting a thing. When everyone jumped ahead Cadmael raised his eyebrows and at first he couldn't figure out why everyone was here.

"They are here to celebrate your birthday.

-My birthday?"

I was so happy that so many people came for him and watched as everyone came to wish Cadmael a happy birthday. Seeing him surrounded by people reminded me of his future and I knew deep down that I would disappear in this crowd. For some reason I wanted to grab him and stay next to him but I forced myself to forget these hopes and slowly hid in a corner. I wanted to slowly slip away but as soon as I was close to the door, Cadmael turned around and looked at me before frowning. I froze as if I had just been caught doing something wrong and averted my eyes.

Cadmael immediately walked up to me, grabbed my arm and dragged me to the center of the gymnasium where all the food and people were. He took a plate, put a piece of cake on it and handed me the plate without a word. I couldn't reject it so I started eating in silence. Cadmael had been so happy a second before so why was he so grumpy all of a sudden? For some reason I felt as if it was my fault and just like a kid who got grounded, I didn't dare move away from Cadmael.

I couldn't even if I wanted to. Even if Cadmael was talking to someone, he would immediately turn around as soon as I moved and once he saw I was still there, he would relax and continue with the conversation. Gilbert and Diana soon came to my rescue. Gilbert signed and grabbed my arm before hiding his face in my shoulder:

"Thank you for not inviting Andrew. I couldn't shake him off lately. I finally have the time to breathe."

I laughed before handing him a piece of cake that he accepted. Then I gave one to Diana too and she smiled:

"You are truly amazing, Eschyle. To plan all of this on your own is not a small affair."

I immediately glanced at Cadmael hoping that he wouldn't hear but he was looking at me intensely. I wanted him to be happy but I also planned all of this to get him closer to Diana. Cadmael was in love with her but Diana was complimenting me. Moreover, I really wanted Diana to be the center of attention now, not me. I immediately clapped my hands with an uncomfortable smile:

"What if we moved to the presents?"

Everyone seemed excited and I let the others give their presents first. Wanting to finish with Diana's gift, I went second from last and gave Cadmael a bracelet that I made. I didn't want to give anything too good to steal the thunder from the sword but really liked the bracelet I made. I thought it would suit Cadmael perfectly and couldn't wait to see him try it on. Even if it wasn't an amazing gift, I wanted him to be happy at least.

As soon as I handed Cadmael the wrapped gift, his eyes started shining strangely. He didn't wait before opening the other gifts and didn't care about the state of the gift wrap; however with my present, he started by carefully observing each detail of the wrap before slowly and cautiously opening it. He didn't damage the paper anywhere and took out the bracelet as if he was holding something made out of glass. He looked at it for so long that everyone fell silent before handing me the bracelet with determined eyes:

"Help me put it on."

I was taken aback but couldn't say anything in front of so many people and simply did as I was told. Cadmael couldn't take his eyes off of his wrist completely forgetting about the people around him.

"Did you make it?"

I slowly nodded, getting more and more uncomfortable with everyone's gaze fixated on me. I thought my gift would be dealt with quickly and we would get to the better part but for some reason, Cadmael didn't seem like he wanted to open any more gifts. He continued looking at the bracelet, smiling broadly. I cleared my throat and gestured to Diana to come closer. She handed Cadmael her gift and it took him a moment to realize she was there.

The effect of the sword was way different from the bracelet. Everyone exclaimed in amazement and wanted to have a better view of the gift:

"Isn't this?

-Wow I can't believe it.

-Where did she get it?"

Everyone was jealous and wanted to try using the sword, especially the ones from the sparring club. Cadmael noticed my gaze and handed me the sword without thinking:

"Do you want to try it?"

I backed away my hands in front to protect me from the gift:

"No, it's yours.

-You can have it if you want."

I widened my eyes in shock. How could you say this in front of the one you love? Were you trying to play it cool not to show your emotions? Were you this shy? I continued shaking my head:

"I'm really fine. It's yours."

The others seemed very shocked that I would reject such an opportunity and quickly asked if they could try. Cadmael didn't seem to care but was still looking at me:

"If Eschyle really doesn't want it.

-I really don't."

Camdale nodded and let the others try the sword as much as they wanted. I immediately turned to Diana ashamed:

"I am so sorry. He really does love it. He is just really shy."

Gilbert immediately burst out laughing:

"I wouldn't have used that word to describe him. "

Diana punched Gilbert in the stomach before smiling at me:

"Don't worry about it. You were the one who bought it anyway."

I wanted to jump and cover Diana's mouth but again it was too late. Cadmael wasn't far enough not to hear what she had said. His eyes became really round and he immediately stood up before running to the others and snatching out the sword from their hands. His eyes completely changed and his hand became white because of how strongly he gripped the gift.

I signed in relief. It seemed Cadmael understood that he behaved badly. He heard Diana and understood that she had been hurt by his actions. He quickly fixed his mistakes so there was no problem. I was happy things turned out for the best. Seeing me smile made Gilbert smile as well:

"What is it Eschyle?

-I'm happy Cadmael liked Diana's gift."

Gilbert hit his forehead with his palm for some reason.