Transmigrated Into The Body Of The Cursed Prince Wife
Chapter 134: The Aftermath

Chapter 134: The Aftermath

Ave, who had caused the weather to misbehave for a few minutes after what she did, stared at Lydia, who was still unconscious on the floor. Though her appearance had strangely looked healthier after the light went into her chest, she wasn’t waking up and remained unmoving on the cold floor.

Biting hard on her bottom lip to keep herself from panicking, as she had not only risked her life performing magic inside the Pendragon palace, but the person she had risked it for was yet to wake up.

Reaching out her shaky hand, she searched for a beating pulse, and the relief that washed over her entire body made her sway to the side as she let out the breath she didn’t even realize she was holding in before. The girl was alive, that was all that mattered; she had a beating pulse, and now that Ave looked closely, her breathing was beginning to show.

Ave made a mental note to never do any magic again if no one noticed this one. Well, not any magic apart from the soul-swapping magic; she would not be doing another one again, as she wouldn’t even be here to try. At this point, she just hoped anyone who noticed the rain wouldn’t associate it with anything extraordinary, especially Lucian. She wouldn’t want him paying her a visit in her room tonight to confront her for this.

Though a small part of her heart wished he would come to confront her or even insist on sleeping in her bed, she quickly dismissed the thought and focused more on how to carry Lydia to a better room rather than leaving her in this cold one.

Knowing she wouldn’t be able to lift the girl, Ave used her handkerchief to first wipe off any traces of patterns from the floor before she got up to go and search for someone who could help her carry Lydia.

To her surprise, when she stepped out of the room, she could hear and see maids whispering among themselves about the sudden rain as they all gathered in the corridors and halls by the windows to look outside at the wet grounds. Well, why were they all surprised about the rain when it wasn’t unusual for rain to fall in autumn? It seemed this Pendragon land didn’t only hold ridiculous rules but also had strange and different weather from her time.

Trying to act calm and normal, Ave walked while also putting on a surprised expression like everyone else she passed by, so as not to make herself suspicious. She was about to walk away from where everyone was looking out the window when she caught sight of Zane standing alone before one of the many windows, as none of the maids seemed brave enough to stand where he was. His cold gaze was also glued outside, but if he was surprised about the weather, he didn’t even show it in his expression or demeanor.

This was the first time she’d caught Zane in the main palace without that jerk, Lucian, so without wasting time, she gathered up her dress and hurried toward him. Before she even came to stand before him, the man had sensed the approaching presence behind him and turned around to face her with a small frown between his brows.

Seeing that it was Ave, his frown disappeared, and he offered her a curt bow before he turned to leave the window as he didn’t want to be in Ave’s presence alone without Lucian. The woman’s energy was way past any woman he had come across, and the way she always acted with him made him uncomfortable, like when they were at that eatery nights ago and when she would pat his back as a form of greeting.

However, to Zane’s distress, he didn’t get to take a step away from her before she beamed widely and reached out to grab the back of his outer robe to stop him. "Hey, Zane, where are you going?" she questioned as she came to stand in front of him, blocking him.

Zane looked around warily, hoping and praying silently that Lucian would appear from somewhere in the halls and come to save him from this woman, or probably to come and take her away. He had never been the kind to like talking or being in the presence of any female who wasn’t there to serve him, not to mention one that talks unladylike and acts that way. Not that he disliked her; in fact, he found her amusing and interesting, but only when she was with Lucian and making him act out of character, not him.

"I have something to do, if you’d please excuse me, Milady." He said politely with a curt bow, but if the woman in front of him heard him, she didn’t move away from his front and instead began to cautiously look around with a smile on her face before she looked him up and down.

"How are you doing today?" Ave asked, meanwhile, in her mind, she was sizing him up and down to see if he’d be able to carry the unconscious Lydia for her. He looked strong, almost as built as Lucian; he would carry the girl with ease.

Zane was taken aback by her question. Though nobody had ever bothered to ask how he was doing since the day Consort Lyria had passed away, he was surprised that she didn’t move to excuse him. Putting his hand behind his back to hide his sweaty palms, he replied, "I am doing fine Milady." Even though he wanted to bolt from there.

Ave saw how he looked uncomfortable, almost like a shy teen speaking to a girl for the first time, and chuckled softly as she shook her head. If only a certain someone could be as shy as this Zane, if only he wasn’t so perverted. But then, somewhere in her mind, she kind of liked Lucian’s perverted nature and...

Shit! Ave’s smile disappeared as she realized what she’d just thought. No way in hell would she like that perverted side of him, impossible. She would rather he placed a dagger on her neck than his sinful lips and tongue, and thinking about that, she couldn’t help but wonder if this Zane hadn’t interrupted them in that library, what he would have done when he slipped his hand under her dress.

Zane, who stood before Ave, noticed how she had spaced out with her cheeks flushed. Deciding to quietly leave her to her daydream or whatever she was doing right now with a lost expression, he sidestepped her to hurry away, but she snapped back to her senses and reached out to grab his robe again.

"I need your help with something," she said hastily, stopping him in his tracks and causing him to turn to her with a questioning look.

"My help? With what?" he asked curiously. One thing was certain, the prince cares about this woman a lot, and if he were to walk away when she needed his help, then Lucian might end up really skinning him alive when he was in that foul mood of his today.

"Come with me," Ave said as she led him toward the corridor of the inner part of the servants’ quarters. And once they reached the door of the dark room, she turned to say to him, "Lydia is sick and unconscious, I want you to help me carry her to the doomed palace so she can get the rest she deserves there."

Zane frowned as he couldn’t do that without Lucian’s orders, but then he also couldn’t say no to this woman. However, there had also been some leads in his investigation that had made her maid servant part of the suspected spies in the doomed palace, which he hadn’t gotten to report to Lucian because of his mood today.

Perhaps taking her there wasn’t so bad; when the time comes for her to be interrogated by Lucian, he would know where to find the girl. Thus, he nodded to Ave and followed her into the room where Lydia still lay unmoving on the floor.

"What happened to her, Milady?" Zane asked as he crouched down beside her to check her temperature and breathing. Seeing how faint her breathing was and how hot her temperature was, he frowned as he turned over his shoulder to Ave.

Ave scratched the back of her neck as she tried to search for excuses that wouldn’t give away the girl as the spy for now, as that would only get her killed if Ave didn’t get the chance to explain everything to Lucian first and make him see that she had no choice.

"She was mistreated by that bitch, Catherine," Ave lied between her teeth with a straight face. "Catherine made her overwork in the palace and even punished her by allowing her to kneel for a whole day outside the kitchen backyard."

Ave hoped he would believe her, and he seemed to believe as he nodded in understanding before he swiftly gathered the girl in his arms and stood up straight. He carried her like she weighed nothing.

Zane didn’t doubt Ave’s words as he had seen with his own eyes how that Catherine behaves when it came to Lydia or Selene. He had long wanted to have the woman’s head with how she held no respect for him as well, even though his position was higher than hers. Just because they came from the same lands, that didn’t mean he didn’t hate her and want her dead.

And seeing how sick she caused the poor young servant girl, he couldn’t help but think Catherine was going far.

"I will take her to the doomed palace and make sure the servants there look after her until she recovers. You can go on with your business, Milady; you don’t have to worry yourself by coming with me." He told Ave noticing she was following closely behind him as he took the route toward the back exit, where only servants take, so as not to bring attention to himself.

When they reached the back exit, Ave stopped and decided to let him take it from here as she was suddenly feeling slightly dizzy herself for no reason.

"All right, be careful on your way back. Will you need the lamp?" she asked, holding up the lamp in her hand while fighting the urge to wrap her arms around herself from the sudden chilling cold she felt.

"No, Milady. I don’t need the lamp, you should go back inside," Zane said as he noticed her shivering as if she were cold.

Ave didn’t argue; she indeed needed to go back inside. She nodded her head and turned to leave, feeling Zane’s eyes on her until she disappeared around a corner.

Ave walked down the corridor when she felt her knees threaten to give way beneath her. She steadied herself and kept moving toward her room, and once there, she closed the door behind her. Hurrying to the bed, she covered herself with the blanket and began to shiver uncontrollably, her teeth chattering.