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The Juliette Palace in which the infamous Prince of the Holy Kingdom, Jesse Venetiaan resides is usually bustling in sound. Whether it be the servants gossiping about new biweekly Riester magazines or chatting about upcoming events.
Today was any other day, today, Prince Jesse would wake up and follow his hermit lifestyle. Which consisted of him waking up at around 9 o’ clock, eating and last but not least, reading.
Of course the schedule would be altered if the Prince had any lessons with Cardinal Boutier or if the main characters dragged him into watching them spar against each other.
But today, today was different. For the first time, Prince Jesse hadn't woken up or at least gotten dressed. It was around 10 am where Benjamin would be the first to check up on the ‘little’ prince.
Benjamin opened the door and was greeted with a depressing sight. The room that usually was filled with warmth was now as cold as Cedric’s personality. The curtains were shut tight and tied with the decorative rope tassel.
The glass of water that Ganael had brought the night before was left untouched, seemingly rotting away on top of the nightstand.
Benjamin's eyes shifted towards the Prince.
“..oh lord”
The Prince was tightly hugging a pillow as if it would disappear if he let it go for even a second. His face was pale, and his skin was cold to the touch, presumably because of the cold atmosphere of the room.
The pillow had small damp spots, which indicated that the prince had been crying.
For who? Benjamin had thought before hastily pushing that thought out of his head.
Benjamin opened the curtains quickly,, this caused the Prince to flinch a bit and squirm in his sleep as the light hit his beautiful face. His golden hair was disheveled, and the sunlight had exposed light purple eye bags under his eyes.
Benjamin gently covered the prince in a light blanket. He hoped that the sunlight would warm up the atmosphere of this….well, depressing room. The light blanket prevented the prince from getting too hot from the sunlight but still kept him covered.
And with that, Benjamin left the Prince’s room quietly.
-
11 am was the time in which Ganael stepped into the Prince's room. He usually came into the room to chat about his book recommendations or deliver him new books to keep him entertained.
When Ganael entered the room, the Prince was still not awake. That did not stop Ganael from pulling a chair right in front of Jesse’s canopy bed. The white sheer curtains from the bed gently draped over the floor.
Ganael began to read the book he was supposed to give to Jesse. He had put his right leg over his left as an attempt to stop his nervousness.
Although it seemed like Ganael was reading, he was actually re-reading the same introduction over and over due to anxiety.
Ganael then glanced over to the cause of this unease.
Jesse, Jesse was silently weeping in his sleep. Ganael had attempted to wipe his tears with a handkerchief but they kept coming.
Although the handkerchief was already dampened from the tears, Ganael still had it held up to Prince Jesse’s closed eyes. Unexpectedly, Jesse moved his hand and softly grasped Ganael’s hand and lightly tugged at the handkerchief.
Ganael, without much fight let Jesse have the handkerchief. The Prince's hand that gently grasped the handkerchief was draped over the bed, his sleeping face that had fading tear stains facing Ganael.
Ganael knew he didn't have the heart to wake up the Prince, he didn't want the Prince to feel embarrassed with him seeing him in this state.
He did what was best and gently opened and closed the door behind him.
-
It was around 8 pm when the Prince woke up. He ignored the sweat dripping from his forehead and just quietly propped himself up. His hand fumbled around the pillows and landed on a notebook.
He stared blankly at the notebook, which was one of the few items he had on him when he woke up in this place.
He gently opened the notebook, he looked over the contents of the first page. He had this strange feeling when he saw the doodles and writings.
His thumb rubbed over the doodles of him, Jesse- no Jung Yeseo, he sharply corrected himself. He continued to look over the pages.
Somehow the smudged ink from the first time he had ever used a quill to write made him emotional. He now knows how to use a quill;he was scared.
Not because he knows how to use a quill but because he’s getting used to the life of Prince Jesse. It might seem silly, but him getting used to writing with a quill was just the tip of the iceberg.
He let out a sharp exhale, that exhale soon turned into heavy breaths as thoughts flooded to his head.
Was he trying his best to find his way out of the novel? Does he want to stay here? He doesn't want to live as Jung Yeseo anymore? What about Eunseo? Will he ever be back?
Will he ever be home? Home, home. Does he consider this place as his home?
The last thought stuck to him hard.
-
It was now morning. Jesse had woken up at exactly 9 o’ clock, like usual, like his normal schedule.
But Jesse had a strange look on his face. He had a face of displeasure. With a look of discomfort he got dressed in his ‘casual’ white clothing.
He gently opened the doors and walked towards the hall leading downard to the dining area. Before he got to the dining area, he would usually chat with the servants wandering around the hall.
It was all meaningless chat, it varied in weather, books, plays and family.
But today, Jesse only acknowledged the servants with a fragile smile and small hand gestures. As he passed the hall he could feel stares, even though these glances came from a good place they still made him feel uncomfortable. He hurriedly made his way to the dining area to get away from this suffocating atmosphere.
He carefully stepped down the marble stairs, his gentle footsteps seemed loud in the quiet ambience of the large room.
He carefully sat down at the end of the ridiculously long table. His breakfast was brought in by Benjamin.
The Prince stared at the food, today he was served his favorite. It was a pain au chocolat, it was a french breakfast that Jung Yeseo had never tried in Korea, but as Prince Jesse he had and was now his favorite.
The pastry was beautifully baked golden, the outside was crispy. The chocolate was oozing out of the airy pastry. It was paired with beautifully cut strawberries on the side.
Prince Jesse would normally start to dig in, and halfway in would request another plate of the same dish. Though the royal chefs would already have it out as soon as he finished saying his request.
Jesse stared blankly at the pastry and looked towards his side. The side chair was empty, that seemed to irk the prince as he looked down again at the pastry. He slowly raised his hand to grab the fork and take a bite.
The Prince only took a few bites before Benjamin noticed that Jesse’s face began to turn pale.
“Your highness?”
Jesse then stood up hastily and excused himself. He had apologized profusely to the servants attending to him and the royal chefs for wasting food.
Jesse quickly walked himself up towards the stairs and entered the nearest bathroom.
He hated this so much.
All anybody could hear was the sounds of vomiting, and heavy breaths.
-
News spread about how the Prince of the Holy Kingdom was sick. Although much information was not provided, people began to speculate that he was poisoned of some sorts.
It wasn't long before the Prince started to get visits. Most notably visits were from the Imperial Prince Cedric and Christelle de Saranez.
Cedric was first. A few days after the incident of him throwing up, Cedric had come up to him in the late hours.
He had heard shuffling from the balcony late in the night. He didn't have the strength to check on who it was.
His fire-like eyes were quite noticeable in the dark. He wasted no time and immediately walked towards the sleeping Princes and inspected him. He carefully looked down at the sleeping beauty, Cedric saw the Prince squirm from how cold it was.
He carefully took off his black glove, and gently placed his hand on his hand. His body warmth was intense, but he made sure to control it so that the prince would feel, at best, warm.
Jesse gently squeezed Cedric’s hand before squinting and fully opening his eyes. Jesse blinked in confusion as his eyes adjusted to the dark.
He squirmed a bit before whispering under his breath
“...cedric?”
Although Cedric did not respond to him, Jesse felt warm.
It could've been just his hand that felt warm.
-
Next it was Christelle. Christelle had arrived in the early morning to visit Prince Jesse. She also came through the balcony.
Christelle had broughten flowers. Specifically, tulips, purple tulips. Her hands moved swiftly, she placed them inside a glass cup that stood on top of his nightstand.
Gently, she sat on top of his bed. She fumbled with her hands awkwardly before brushing his bangs off of his forehead. She carefully tucked them behind his ear.
Christelle stared at his sleeping face. His lashes were long, and his hair was even longer. She thought to herself ‘he needs a trim’. She twirled his hair as he squirmed under her touch.
Prince Jesse blinked his eyes as he saw Christelle play with his hair. He let out a small ‘hi’ under his breath. He couldn't keep up with honorifics , hence the fact he didn't say her name nor her title.
Christelle only rubbed her thumb on his cheek and gently whispered
“I hope you get well.”
Although Christelle was referring to his cold, Yeseo thought about his situation.
He smiled, as he fumbled with his thumbs.
“..yeah, me too” he responded calmly as his eyes started to get heavy.