"You need to be careful."
"About what?"
Caspian peered at the paper he was writing the items, then put it in the bag. Silas said:
"Hades might be Salvatore, but Salvatore isn't Hades. He's thousand times more manipulative."
"I know."
Silas took a seat on the bed and looked at Caspian, who was focused on cataloging all the items he'll present to the emperor.
"I don't want you to let your guard down."
Caspian said:
"You speak as though Salvatore is after something other than my body."
Salvatore liked the original, and now that he is in his body, he likes him. But it's pretty clear that he only appreciates his beautiful face.
There are only women in Salvatore's harem. He just intends to have fun with him for a night and then discard him.
Caspian will just use that to further his plan and then quit his job as a eunuch. Thereafter, he'll run his shop and be with Drea or someone like him.
Silas frowned.
"I don't want you to fall for his tricks. He's only showing a different side to you because he's playing you."
Caspian looked at Silas and asked:
"Do you believe I'm naïve?"
"You are when it comes to relationships."
Caspian narrowed his eyes.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Caspian, there's a reason you like timid and passive men. You know deep down that you'll never feel a profound love for them because they never challenge you. There is never passion or disagreement."
Caspian's eyes darkened. Even if it's true, he had feelings for all his previous partners. He likes shy men because he would rather not be in the relationship his parents were in. One day they loved each other, and the other they wanted to kill each other.
He already has enough on his plate without adding a fiery relationship to the equation. Silas sneered:
"The longest relationship you had was, ironically, with Hades when he was hunting you down."
"I know what I'm doing."
Silas sighed at the stubborn kid. No matter how smart Caspian is, he is oblivious to people's romantic intentions. He always thought that Hades' obsession with catching Caspian was odd.
No matter how obsessive you are, no one would spend 100 years of their life tracking some low-grade criminal. TSM had much bigger fish to fry, like actual murderers. All Caspian did was trick people around shells to get money out of them.
But Hades was relentless, and when he saw his office he realized why. The entire place was filled with pictures and information about Caspian. It was more a shrine than anything else.
There was even intelligence about his father and what led Caspian to this path. It's like he was searching for what made Caspian, Caspian.
Caspian believes that Salvatore had feelings for the original, but he's wrong. The reason the emperor changed his behavior is because of Hades. He can feel that Caspian isn't the original.
As soon as he saw the way he looked at him when he slept, he knew he wouldn't expel him from the universe. Hades is living his fantasy, in this universe, he is the emperor and Caspian is a servant. He has to do everything he says. In this universe, Hades doesn't have to hide his feelings. He can easily make Caspian his.
He doesn't want Caspian to confuse Hades' obsession with love. But knowing that child, he probably will. The only people who make Caspian feel anything are his father and Hades. He feels anger toward Hades, and everyone knows that there's a thin line between love and hate.
Caspian is so blind that it will take time before he sees that Salvatore's feelings are real.
He'll use that time to make sure he ends up with Drea.
Eben entered the living room and bowed.
"Your Highness."
Camilla said:
"Have a seat, my father, and brother will be right there."
Eben took a seat.
"Did the emperor ask where you were going?"
"No, he never does, since he has Caspian at his side."
Camilla nodded with dark eyes. Once she speaks to her father and brother, she knows that they'll deal with him. She wants to make Caspian suffer while they do though. They kept saying that she was being paranoid, they'll know now that she wasn't.
She stood up when her father entered, followed by Aeron. She smiled.
"Father, brother."
Aeron and Gray took a seat after smiling at her. Gray glanced at Eben who was sitting next to her then asked:
"How are you, darling?"
Camilla answered:
"I'm okay, but I'd like to speak to you both about something."
Aeron asked:
"Is everything alright?"
Camilla answered:
"No. I know you didn't believe me when I said that Caspian was seducing the emperor, but you will when you hear what his eunuch saw."
Gray and Aeron looked at Eben. Eben explained:
"The night Caspian was whipped, the emperor went to his quarters with the imperial physician."
Aeron asked:
"Were you there?"
Eben told:
"I was. He had the physician give him drugs and clean his wounds. Before the physician could put gauze on him, the emperor gave him his salve made of Idrisla flowers."
Gray's jaw clenched as he asked:
"He let the physician use it on him?"
Eben said:
"He did. The emperor even gave it to the physician again the following three days to make sure he would use it on Caspian, so he would heal completely."
Aeron's lips curled.
"He let grandfather die when he could've saved him with it, but he used it for a filthy eunuch."
Eben looked down.
Gray who was looking at him asked:
"What else did you see?"
Camilla peered at him with a frown. Eben hasn't informed her of anything more, but she can't imagine anything worse than what he already told her.
Eben murmured:
"The emperor asked Caspian to wash and dress him today. Then while Caspian was styling his hair, you could hear him laugh."
Camilla stared at Eben, wide-eyed.
She thought she had heard the worse, but she was wrong. She asked:
"What were they talking about?"
Eben glanced at her uncomfortably.
Camilla yelled:
"Speak now!"
Eben coughed and said:
"Caspian had pulled out blue robes for his majesty, and he asked him how he knew he hates blue. Caspian answered he had noticed his negative reaction to you when you would wear your blue robes. The emperor then asked why he was trying to anger him and Caspian stated that his majesty did the same, so he was retaliating. The emperor laughed and explained that he doesn't want to anger him, but that he likes to tease him. When the emperor walked out of the chambers, he was smiling."
Camilla looked down, and her hands tightened into fists. Those blue robes cost a fortune to make, but it turns out his majesty hated them all along.
The fact that he never mentioned it means that he doesn't care, since he isn't interested in her.
Camilla bit her lip to stop herself from crying. The emperor never smiled at her, let alone laugh, but he did with Caspian.
And that after he pulled out the blue robes to anger him. She stared at her brother and asked:
"What was the emperor wearing today?"
Aeron said:
"Blue robes."
Camilla couldn't keep herself anymore and burst out sobbing.
He hates blue, but he wore the robes because Caspian picked them out for him. Gray looked at Eben and ordered:
"Leave."
Eben bowed and left.