The Meaning of Roses (Alberu Crossman x Cale Henituse)

Chapter 10: Through Their Eyes

People don't tell me what I need to hear.

I listen to the unsaid words,

observe quietly,

read the unspoken words between the lines.

The words they think they hide from me.

This kind of listening is an art in itself.

(raging rhetoric)

——————————

Rosalyn prided herself in being observant. She was brought up as heir to the throne and learned everything to prepare her for ruling the Breck Kingdom. She ended up defecting, of course, but what she learned stayed with her.

Ever since she met Choi Han, and later on Cale, Rosalyn had met a lot of people from a lot of different backgrounds with also a lot of different personalities. And by a lot, I mean a lot. Cale had tendencies to collect people, after all.

It took some time for her to know every single one of them, but Rosalyn could safely say that she fully understood the majority of her allies.

And that included the Crown Prince of the Roan Kingdom, Alberu Crossman.

Rosalyn had heard about Alberu from years ago, obviously. He was the heir to the Roan Kingdom's throne, after all. As an ex-Princess, Rosalyn had to memorize about the Kingdoms in the Western continent. It was simply expected of her to do so.

However, hearing about him and meeting him in person were two different things.

Yes, Alberu was everything the books and her tutors told her about, but those stories weren't everything Alberu was.

Every story painted Alberu as the perfect Prince. He had the looks, the mind, the capabilities, and the personality fitting for a Crown Prince. The only thing he lacked was support. But even then, the King named him the Crown Prince instead of any of his siblings, including the son of the current Queen.

Someone unswayable. Someone with a cool head who cared for his people. Someone whose glib tongue was unparalleled. Someone cold, even.

And then Rosalyn met Alberu.

The first thing Rosalyn noticed from Alberu was none of what she had expected before. Not his looks, not his personality, none of them.

It was his eyes.

Or more specifically, the way his eyes kept following Cale.

Oh dear, Rosalyn thought to herself, silently amused. It seems that young master Cale has caught His Highness's heart, hasn't he?

How could she not notice?

Rosalyn believed in the stories and rumors about the Crown Prince. They were based on facts and actual events, after all. Alberu Crossman really was the perfect, cold Prince despite the (honestly) excessive compliments rolling off his tongue.

So when she noticed the way Alberu gazed at Cale, well... It wasn't hard to put two and two together.

She knew of his affections, but she didn't know the extent of it. That was, of course, until the day Cage gave him the letter from God of Death.

"I will go read it in that corner. He said to look at it alone, so I'll have to do that."

Rosalyn blinked once. It wasn't like the young master to take a god's words seriously. (yes, she realized that sounded blasphemous, but it's Cale!)