"Here," Caius said, handing the letter back to Henry without opening it. "Give it to Rose."
Mister Henry could barely hide his shock, but he didn’t say anything. Rather, he bowed and accepted it before rushing out of the study.
Rylen watched the exchange with concerned eyes. The door shut softly, almost making no sound except the clink of the lock sliding in place.
"What was it you wanted to discuss?" Caius asked.
Rylen had half expected the crown prince to change the subject and was surprised when he didn’t. "It is about the redhead," he said. "Her Majesty gave a task."
"Ha," Caius laughed. "I knew it. Mother wouldn’t act so agreeable if she didn’t have so kind of plan. What did she ask you?"
"Before that, Your Grace. I fear I must bring up the topic again. Whatever the purpose was to drag the poor woman all the way here, you must have had your fill. Let her go."
Caius’s gaze darkened. "This will be the last ti," he said. "Leave matters that concern alone."
Rylen grimaced, but he simply nodded. "As Your Highness pleases."
Caius’s face hardened. Rylen rarely referred to him with his official title. It was a reflection of the relationship they had. It was also the sa way Caius would call Rylen by na without his title of prince in private.
"What is this task the Queen gave you?" he asked, realizing he didn’t want to dwell on the other matter.
"Your ring," Rylen replied and leaned back. "She wants to steal it and hand it to her. She didn’t explicitly say so, but I’m guessing the plan is to place it in Rose’s room to fra her as a thief."
Caius snorted. "Has desperation made her dull-witted? Why would Rose steal my ring?"
Rylen gave him an unimpressed look. "It isn’t the why that matters. Just the fact that she would be stealing from you is reason enough to send her to the gallows—especially your ring. Besides, there are enough reasons to steal it. With the ring, she could lie in your na, write letters, and..."
"She can’t even write, nor can she read. None of the reasons you give make sense. But since Mother has entrusted this task to you and you’re telling , should I assu you accepted?"
"Yes, Your Grace."
Caius grabbed his forehead. "Learn to say no to my parents. They both know where your loyalty lies. Whatever, I also want to see how this plays out."
He took off his ring from his middle finger—it left a lighter mark. He stretched out his hand to Rylen. "Take it."
Rylen was hesitant. "Are you sure about this?" he asked as he accepted the ring.
"Yes. Thinking her plan is working will definitely keep her busy for the next few days. I’d rather deal with this than whatever other plan she might co up with."
Rylen held his tongue. He couldn’t bring up the crown prince letting her go again, even though that was the fastest way to end all of this. But sothing else had his attention. The crown prince had ntioned sothing odd.
"Do you intend to take the redhead with you on the journey to Futherfield?" Rylen asked.
"What gave it away?" Caius asked, smirking.
"You said a few days," Rylen responded.
"I did. Hmm. Do you not approve?"
"Quite the contrary. This is the first thing I have ever approved of that involves Rose. If you won’t let her go, at least keep her safe."
Caius narrowed his eyes. "I can keep her safe. You keep saying that when there has only been one mishap. An unforeseen incident."
"If it happened once, it can happen again," Rylen replied.
"Do what you are supposed to do, and try your best not to ruin my good mood."
"Very well, Your Grace. As you desire."
Rose stood up at the knock, wondering who would co calling so suddenly. The girls had already taken her dishes, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to do the usual round around the castle with Thomas anymore, especially with the preparations to travel.
She opened it and was shocked to see Mister Henry standing outside her door. He smiled as their eyes t, and Rose was quick to curtsy.
"Mister Henry," she said, surprised to see him. "Is sothing wrong?"
"No," the older man was quick to reply. "I brought you a letter from ho."
Henry handed her a brown folded envelope; a familiar seal held it down. Rose accepted it quickly—only then did she ask who it was from even though a part of her already knew and ached in anticipation.
"Edenville. I think your father sent this letter," Mister Henry said and took a step back as though to leave.
"Fat’er," Rose said with wide eyes. "Please wait, Mister Henry. I cannot read this. Would it be too much to ask for your help?"
Mister Henry imdiately looked nervous as he shook his head. He had wondered why the crown prince had so easily given the letter to Rose without first checking the contents, as he had asked Henry to do when the gifts arrived. He had only just rembered that Rose couldn’t read.
"Pardon , but I cannot help you at this ti. I have too many things to attend to right now."
Mister Henry withdrew before Rose could reply and left her standing in her doorway. Eventually, she stepped back into the room as she sought a way to find out the contents.
She didn’t have a lot of options. At first, she had thought of asking one of the guards outside the door, but Rose decided against it.
First of all, she couldn’t just show anyone the letter. Secondly, they could lie about the contents to her. Besides, there was also a high chance that the guards outside her room couldn’t read.
She placed the letter on the table and stared at it. She couldn’t even read the contents on the back. She recognized a few letters, but that was it. The letter she had been waiting for was finally here, and all she could do was stare.
She should have listened to Lady Delphine and asked the crown prince to get her a tutor—but that would be too many debts she would never be able to pay off. And why would he teach her to read? It was to his advantage if she couldn’t read or write.
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