Transmigrated Into The Body Of The Cursed Prince Wife
Chapter 142: Princess Madeline’s performance

Chapter 142: Princess Madeline’s performance

The activities in the hall continued with different kinds of performances and gift presentations happening, which Ave, who was from the modern world, found completely and utterly boring and draining. She couldn’t believe how anyone could sit through all this nonsense, the royals did nothing but talk about their power and what they owned. One thing was for certain: if this ceremony were in her time and the president was having a birthday, things would have long gotten exciting.

She had been terrified when someone had been beheaded, but it seemed beheadings had started to become a natural occurrence in this time for her. She had seen more blood than she could ever imagine. Now that she had sat through all those boring talks and activities, she couldn’t wait to spice things up for these boring folks. She needed to give them a touch of the modern world and what real entertainment looked and felt like.

The sun was about to set, and as she and the twin princesses moved around the hall to find a better place to stand while the platform was being prepared for Princess Madeline’s dance, Ave couldn’t help but perceive an unpleasant scent that had been swirling around the hall the whole time. She had tried to ignore it, but it was becoming hard to ignore, as the scent was coming from the burning incense sticks placed in every corner of the hall.

It made her skin feel weird and made the spot where she had gotten injured by that night creature hurt even more. However, she didn’t dwell on it and tried to ignore it as she had been doing. Perhaps she was having an allergic reaction to it.

"Where have you been, sister Thalia?" came Celeste’s voice, breaking Ave’s thoughts and making her look to the side where the elder princess was now standing. She had noticed Thalia left, and she had reckoned it must have been because of the gory scene earlier, but now that she was back, her face looked paler, and the rim of her eyes red as if she’d been crying.

She smiled as she replied to Celeste, "I was getting some fresh air outside," keeping the part where she had been caught in an inappropriate position with a low-class man on the balcony to herself, as she didn’t want her sisters to judge or talk badly of Zane.

Though Thalia was smiling, Ave noticed a flash of emotion in her eyes. "Are you all right?" she questioned, placing her hand on the girl’s arm, but the girl beamed in reassurance.

"Yes, I am. I’m just feeling a bit nervous about our performance; everyone seems to be talking only about Princess Madeline’s dance and how entertaining it has always been," she said half-truthfully. She was indeed nervous about their dance, as when she was walking here, most of the guests had been snickering at her and whispering that they looked forward to seeing them embarrass themselves on the dance floor.

Isolde also nodded her head in agreement with Thalia’s words, as she began to use her hand fan the wrong way instead of elegantly fanning herself. "I think we should really back out now. We can tell Her Majesty that we can’t do it. The last thing I want is to fall on my face like Selene did last year. That would be very embarrassing, and if that were to happen, I shall never set foot outside my chamber again."

Last year, after Selene’s performance, gossip about her fall had spread so wildly that even the servants had openly mocked her, and no one had stopped them because she was the slave princess. Many women had felt embarrassed on her behalf, as the fall had not only made her dress fly up but also caused a drink she’d bumped into on a table to spill on her.

As if recalling the scene, the three princesses looked even more anxious, but before Ave could reassure them that nothing was going to go wrong with her there, the crowd began to cheer and clap, and when she turned around, she noticed they were cheering for Madeline, who had stepped onto the decorated platform where flowers were sprinkled all over the floor and hung from the walls.

She had also changed into another dress, a beautiful yellow one with a floral pattern on the material, and her black hair was tied up in a way that wrapped around her head like a crown. Her face had been painted—literally painted—to look the part for the traditional flower dance she was about to perform. Ave couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of the paint on her face. Was that supposed to be makeup? It looked more like a make-down than makeup.

Ave didn’t bother to hide her amusement at the ridiculous makeup on a face she had gotten used to seeing as hers before in the mirror when she was still in her world, but now a little bitch had it. As she chuckled, a few groups of girls standing next to her noticed it and turned to look her up and down before they sneered.

"What are you laughing about? Did you think you could do half of what Princess Madeline is about to perform? Che. You don’t even know how to dance. All you know how to do is perform that boring butterfly dance that has become outdated, and you dare to laugh?" sneered one of the girls, who had blondish-brown hair and a face that wasn’t so beautiful for a princess.

"Let her laugh. She must be laughing because she knows she wouldn’t be able to dance anything today because no one would be watching as always!" laughed the other, causing the other two to laugh along before they turned their attention back to the platform where the music for Madeline’s dance had begun.

Ave would have retorted if she wasn’t so curious about this "awesome performance" by Madeline. With how everyone was talking about it, she couldn’t help but want to see the girl’s talent.

Not long after, the hall quieted down as the traditional music, played with a flute and another instrument Ave didn’t recognize, filled the hall. There were occasional sounds of a drum, and soon Madeline began to dance. She moved about the hall, her hands moving at different angles with the music. Then, she swirled and jumped around, making leg movements that seemed to amaze the crowd, who praised and clapped for her.

Ave was dumbfounded—not because she found the dance half as entertaining or amazing as the others but because she found it stupid and childish altogether. What sort of nonsense was this? Madeline should be thrown off that platform with loud boos, tomatoes, and any other fruit for performing such a thing. How dare she embarrass her ancestors like this?

With how everyone had been overhyping the princess’s performance, Ave had expected something astonishing and out of this world, but this nonsense had astonished her in all the wrong ways. It was just like when people would overrate a show or a performance, leading one to spend money on it only to be disappointed.

Not long after, the crowd erupted in loud cheers and clapping after Madeline finished her nonsense, and she was beaming brightly and proudly at the guests. The loud cheering surrounded Ave as she watched, jaw slack, at how people were showering praise, and the princesses around her seemed even more nervous as the twins now gripped each of her arms, their eyes darting around the hall.

"Selene, you see what we told you. I think we should go and find Her Majesty and tell her we can’t do this anymore. I don’t think we can beat that spectacular dance Princess Madeline just performed with our Water by Tyla dance, despite the adjustments we made," remarked Celeste, biting the inside of her cheek nervously.

Ave knew that, because of the difference in time and world, the princesses wouldn’t know that their dance was surely going to beat that nonsense. To them, what they believed to be spectacular and wonderful was just plain stupid to Ave. However, now that she thought about it, she hoped their own dance wouldn’t end up being the one everyone would throw things at. Though she had made adjustments to make it appropriate for this world, the princesses’ nervousness was rubbing off on her.

"Selene, Madeline is coming our way. Let’s pretend we didn’t notice and go look for the Empress. We need to back out now," Thalia whispered, seeing Madeline walking towards them.

Ave didn’t move. She was never the kind to run away from something as simple as performing for a crowd. She stood her ground as Madeline approached them with a smile, while the guests continued praising and gifting the servants following her.

"She’s just like the flower goddess! She danced so beautifully and gracefully." Those words were passed around by everyone in the hall.

When Madeline came to Ave, she offered a curt bow as per tradition when competing with someone on their lands. She then looked up with a smirk on her painted face before stepping forward, as if about to pass her, but then stopped to speak for only her to hear.

"Did you think I didn’t see how you tried to seduce my future husband on the dance floor, Lady Selene? Because of that, I added more steps to my dance this year. I would like to see you try to get as close as that. Take that as a way of me putting you right where you belong. And heed my advice: don’t step on that platform to embarrass yourself in front of everyone," she said with a sweet smile. Then, before she walked away, she added, "Did you see how the second prince is looking at me with so much pride. I reckon he is proud of my performance. Enjoy falling down along with your fools of a dance group." Saying that, she brushed past Ave and walked away.

Ave turned around and saw Lucian, whom she had thought had left the hall after their dance, sitting at the high royal table where the princes were seated, giving him a clear view of the platform. His eyes revealed no emotions as usual, and he looked away from her as quickly as possible, his gaze briefly moving to the top balcony where the Empress and Emperor were seated. Because he’d looked there, Ave looked up as well, only to see the tyrant Empress staring at Lucian intensely before she turned to look at Madeline, who was approaching him.

Elara, who was at the top of the balcony, couldn’t help but feel that Lucian, whom she’d been keeping an eye on, had been staring far too often in Selene’s direction. Thus, to confirm her suspicion that he still seemed to like the girl, she decided to keep her eyes on him. After all, if her suspicion was proven right, then she wouldn’t have to dig deeper to find his weakness, because Selene could be just that.

"Lucian seems to be getting along with the Banzai Princess," came the Emperor’s words as his eyes followed his wife’s line of sight towards the royal high table, where his second son was looking up at his future wife from where he sat.

"I can see that. He is getting along with her..." She trailed off with a thoughtful expression, but then, as if realizing something, she turned to the Emperor and smiled. "The Pendragon Princesses will be performing next, and just like you always give out gifts to the most brilliant dancers, I look forward to seeing to whom you’ll give it tonight."

Elara wouldn’t want Madeline winning this, as the performer who won wouldn’t only be getting a gift but the reward of making a request to the Emperor. Since the Banzai Princess would be marrying Lucian, she didn’t want the lady to have a request; she’d rather the Pendragon Princesses receive the present.

The Empress’s eyes went back to the royal table. Tonight, she wasn’t just keeping an eye on Lucian but also on the guests to see who would be the person to get affected by the witch detector incense stick.

Ave on the other hand saw Lucian push the chair beside him for Princess Madeline to sit, and he casually draped his arm behind the chair as she began to talk to him. He listened with a blank, almost bored expression on his face. Ave didn’t know why, but she sensed something amiss about Lucian’s behavior. However, before she could dwell on it, Isolde tugged at her sleeve.

"Look, the platform is being arranged for us. We should go and tell Her Majesty. She’s already looking our way, and look how pleased Father looks with Madeline’s performance. We shouldn’t ruin his mood by embarrassing ourselves."

Ave could see how everyone looked pleased with the nonsensical performance, but if she were to back away now, she wouldn’t be Aveline Eamon, the top actress. If she were to back away now, she would feel like a loser to Madeline. It had taken years of practice for her to teach herself never to waver at a challenge, and Madeline’s behavior and words felt more like a challenge to her. She would like to put the girl right where she belonged and also make that jerk Lucian see that his future wife could never come close to being as good as her when it came to performing.

He was proud of that nonsense, right? She would show him how a real performance should look tonight! Ave thought as she glared at Lucian, who was no longer looking at her and was still listening to Madeline. This made her grit her teeth as she then said to the nervous princesses.

"Don’t get nervous, girls. I’ve got your backs. Let’s go and prepare to show Madeline just how silly her performance truly was."

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